Japan's Sawa Soccer World Player of 2011

FIFA, soccer's international governing body, has named Japan’s captain Homare Sawa as the Women's World Player of the Year. The 33-year-old scooped the award, known by the French term the Ballon d’Or, for leading her country to Japan’s first ever World Cup Finals triumph in July last year. She won the best player and top scorer awards at that tournament. Ms Sawa wore a pale blue kimono at the prize-giving ceremony. She stood next to Lionel Messi, who won the men’s award for the third year in a row. An emotional Sawa told the audience: “I feel very pleased to have been given this honor. I'd like to thank all those who have helped me to play soccer….I hope our football has given a chance for future players and children to dream."

Sawa is the first Asian player to win the award. She beat Brazil’s Marta, who was best female player in the world for the five previous years. Japanese Aya Miyama came fourth. Sawa later paid tribute to the Brazilian ace at a news conference, saying: “I am proud to be sitting here today alongside such legends as Marta.” Japan picked up another two awards at the ceremony. Norio Sasaki, manager of the women’s team, was coach of the year, and the Japan Football Association was chosen for FIFA’s Fair Play award. Mr Sasaki thanked those who supported Japan following the earthquake and tsunami that struck in March 2011. He said: "We provided excitement for Japanese people and boosted their spirits.”

--http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1201/120111-homare_sawa.html

Father Makes Toddler Train in Blizzard

A video of a father making his 4-year-old son train in freezing weather has caused outrage across the world. The man, He Liesheng, 44, calls himself "Eagle Dad" because he believes he will give his son strength and increase his intelligence if he trains him like eagles raise their young. Mr Liesheng recorded his son, He Yide, wearing just underpants and trainers running in a minus 13 degrees Centigrade blizzard. He said: "When the old eagle teaches its young, it takes the young eagles to the cliff side, beats them and pushes them to teach them to use their wings, and I believe I am helping my son in this way - to force him to challenge limitations and exceed his own expectations."

Liesheng said on Tuesday that his son was diagnosed with cerebral palsy when he was born and that this could hinder the intellectual development of his son. He explained that the tough training schedule, including jogging in the snow without clothes, would make his son as healthy and intelligent as other children. He told CNN: “I consulted my doctor friends to ensure what we do is scientific and that it won't harm my son's body.” In the video footage, little Yide is crying as he chases his father and begs to be picked up. Xu Pengfei, a paediatric doctor said Mr Liesheng’s method “lacks scientific basis” and that “education can only lead to a modest change in IQ.”

-breakingnewsenglish.com

Internet Piracy Bill in Trouble

Several prominent websites like Wikipedia and Reddit went 'dark' on Wednesday to protest against the proposed anti-piracy legislation called SOPA (the Stop Online Piracy Act). Many other sites oppose SOPA but did not “go dark” in Wednesday’s 24-hour protest. These include Mozilla (owner of the Firefox web browser), Facebook, eBay and Google. A similar bill in the US Senate, the Protection of Intellectual Property Act (PIPA) would allow U.S. copyright holders to get court orders against foreign websites that steal from them. Sites that abuse copyright would not be able to use many online advertising networks or credit card services. It is now doubtful the bill will get the support of the sixty senators it needs in a crucial vote on Tuesday, January 24th.

 The entertainment, pharmaceutical and fashion industries strongly support the bills. They lose billions of dollars every year to copyright violators. Internet companies oppose the bills, saying they will lead to censorship that would damage the Internet by discouraging new online start-ups. A letter to Congress signed by 130 technology entrepreneurs and executives expressed their concerns. It said SOPA and PIPA would "hurt economic growth and chill innovation in legitimate services that help people create, communicate, and make money online". Wikipedia has said it would continue the fight. It declares on its front page: "We're not done yet." It also said: “More than 162 million people saw our message asking if you could imagine a world without free knowledge.”

-breakingnewsenglish.com

The "Friendliest" Countries in the World

A new report shows which are the friendliest countries in the world. The HSBC bank conducted the Expat Explorer Survey to find out which countries offered the most comfortable lifestyles. Researchers questioned people in one hundred different countries between May and July 2011. They asked 3,385 respondents to assess how willing they would be to make different countries their second home. The questions were based on how easy it is to make friends with the local people; learning the local language, fitting in with the new culture, and integrating into the local community. The top-ranked country was New Zealand, followed by Australia, South Africa, Canada and the United States.

Head of marketing for HSBC, Lisa Wood, said: “As the largest global survey of expats, Expat Explorer allows us to capture invaluable insights into expat life and how it differs from country to country, continent to continent and from an expats’ home country of origin.” The lowest ranked country was the United Arab Emirates, which is surprising as around 80 per cent of the whole population comprises of expatriates. Most of these are poorly paid labourers who are unlikely to be eligible for HSBC’s survey. India finished second bottom. Danish expat Pia Mollback-Verbic said the country “is simply a minefield of relentless mental, emotional and practical daily challenges for most non-Indians.”

- www.breakingnewsenglish.com