Next week marks a month since the Kanjuruhan Stadium disaster in Indonesia, which is now one of the deadliest football stadium tragedies in the sport’s history. The death toll rose to 135 last week, after two more supporters died from injuries. Hundreds more are still recovering after sustaining injuries at the stadium. Fifa president Gianni Infantino has called the disaster one of the sport’s darkest days.
Shockingly, it was the second large-scale disaster in world football this year, following the Yaounde Olembe Stadium crush in Cameroon, during which eight people died and 38 supporters were injured.
The twin tragedies of Cameroon and Indonesia, join a long list of at least 14 football stadium disasters from the past 40 years. Hillsborough, Heysel and Valley Parade will be catastrophes instantly familiar to British football supporters, particularly those who followed the sport in the 1980s, just as the needless loss of life in Bastia 30 years ago when a temporary stand collapsed at a cup match leading to the loss of 19 lives, will never be forgotten in France. For Egypt, it was Port Said 10 years ago, where 74 people died after a match between Al Ahly and Al Masry. Twenty one years ago, tragedies in Ghana and South Africa cast equally long shadows over the sport. Needless loss of life binds all these disasters and others together on a far too long roll call of catastrophe.
Mr Infantino travelled to Indonesia earlier this month to offer his support and Fifa’s help, meeting with the country’s president Joko Widodo in Jakarta. In remarks reported by AFP, he said that the organisation stood in solidarity with the people of Indonesia and he committed to it working in “close partnership” with the government, the Asian Football Confederation and the country’s football association.
Contrition in the past has been followed by inaction after fatal episodes
An official investigation will seek to establish a definitive narrative of events from October 1. It has been reported that three police officers and three others have been charged over the disaster, which was triggered after police fired tear gas following the conclusion of a match between Persebaya Surabaya and Arema Malang. There have also been calls for the country’s leading football administrators to step aside and allegations have been made that crucial CCTV footage has disappeared or been deleted since that early October evening.
The original version of events from Indonesia seemed to blame unruly behaviour by fans, while initial reporting of the disaster often used the word “stampede” (for reference, the Oxford English Dictionary defines that word as meaning “a sudden panicked rush of a number of horses, cattle, or other animals”), which we now know presents events in a lopsided and inhuman way. Too often the first draft of football disasters apportions blame with haste and describes events as something they were not.
After the disaster in Cameroon during the Africa Cup of Nations tournament in January, the continent’s football confederation said there had been “deficiencies, failures and weaknesses” in policing and stewarding. Earlier reports had said a surge of ticketless fans had been the primary cause, before witness statements found that fans had been directed to an enclosed area with gates locked, which became fatally congested.
It has become apparent since the disaster in Indonesia that police and officials at the site breached the safety and security standards set out by world football’s governing body. The indiscriminate use of tear gas created panic in the stadium, and a rush by fans towards locked exit gates created the conditions that resulted in more than 130 people losing their lives at a football match.
Mr Widodo has said the stadium will be demolished and rebuilt to modern safety standards.
Indonesia will also host one of the governing body’s major tournaments next year, the Under-20 World Cup, so there is an obvious compulsion for Fifa to stay the course. Policing of age-grade tournament crowds will need careful planning too. If previous tournaments are a measure of how the 2023 iteration may look, there will be large swings in crowd sizes, with stadiums full for matches involving the host nation or the traditional big draws of world football, such as Brazil, while other games may be more sparsely attended.
Many may ask how can two mass fatalities at football stadiums happen only months apart in the 21st Century?
There are no simple answers to that question, but what is clear is that contrition has in the past sometimes been followed by inaction in the months and years after these fatal episodes. The mistakes of the past can too easily be forgotten. Only in January, football administrators in Africa said that “a tragedy of this nature should never be repeated” and yet, some of the hallmarks of that disaster – locked gates and crowd mismanagement by security staff – were apparent in Asia in October.
If dark days are to be avoided at football stadiums in the future, then lessons should not only be learnt but truly understood. History simply cannot be repeated, again.
RESULT
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3
Chelsea: Willian (40'), Batshuayi (42', 49')
BACK%20TO%20ALEXANDRIA
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
Student Of The Year 2
Director: Punit Malhotra
Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal
1.5 stars
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Jetour T1 specs
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, John Oliver
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Result
Arsenal 4
Monreal (51'), Ramsey (82'), Lacazette 85', 89')
West Ham United 1
Arnautovic (64')
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ways to control drones
Countries have been coming up with ways to restrict and monitor the use of non-commercial drones to keep them from trespassing on controlled areas such as airports.
"Drones vary in size and some can be as big as a small city car - so imagine the impact of one hitting an airplane. It's a huge risk, especially when commercial airliners are not designed to make or take sudden evasive manoeuvres like drones can" says Saj Ahmed, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research.
New measures have now been taken to monitor drone activity, Geo-fencing technology is one.
It's a method designed to prevent drones from drifting into banned areas. The technology uses GPS location signals to stop its machines flying close to airports and other restricted zones.
The European commission has recently announced a blueprint to make drone use in low-level airspace safe, secure and environmentally friendly. This process is called “U-Space” – it covers altitudes of up to 150 metres. It is also noteworthy that that UK Civil Aviation Authority recommends drones to be flown at no higher than 400ft. “U-Space” technology will be governed by a system similar to air traffic control management, which will be automated using tools like geo-fencing.
The UAE has drawn serious measures to ensure users register their devices under strict new laws. Authorities have urged that users must obtain approval in advance before flying the drones, non registered drone use in Dubai will result in a fine of up to twenty thousand dirhams under a new resolution approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Mr Ahmad suggest that "Hefty fines running into hundreds of thousands of dollars need to compensate for the cost of airport disruption and flight diversions to lengthy jail spells, confiscation of travel rights and use of drones for a lengthy period" must be enforced in order to reduce airport intrusion.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Global institutions: BlackRock and KKR
US-based BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager, with $5.98 trillion of assets under management as of the end of last year. The New York firm run by Larry Fink provides investment management services to institutional clients and retail investors including governments, sovereign wealth funds, corporations, banks and charitable foundations around the world, through a variety of investment vehicles.
KKR & Co, or Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, is a global private equity and investment firm with around $195 billion of assets as of the end of last year. The New York-based firm, founded by Henry Kravis and George Roberts, invests in multiple alternative asset classes through direct or fund-to-fund investments with a particular focus on infrastructure, technology, healthcare, real estate and energy.
