Barcelona’s Messi named world’s best footballer

ZURICH: Just a few weeks after Argentinian striker Lionel Messi earned the prestigious Ballon d'Or prize as Europe's best soccer player, he's managed to top that with another very prestigious honor: the title of World Player of the Year, given by soccer's governing body FIFA.


The past year gave the 22-year-old Messi plenty of chances to prove his ability as the world's best footballer. He's been a key player at his club side FC Barcelona since joining the first team for the 2004-05 season, and led the team to a slew of major titles in 2009.

In the spring, Messi's nine goals were essential to Barca's march to the Champions League trophy, including one in his team's 2-0 victory over Manchester United in the final.
 
Lionel Messi is officially the Best Footballer for the year 2009 according to FIFA. The managers of the national teams voted for Messi and the two times second placed candidate finally got this great distinction.

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Barcelona win FIFA Club World Cup title

ABU DHABI: Spanish club Barcelona won the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup title defeating the Argentine club Estudiantes de la Plata.


It was expected because they are the reigning UEFA Champions League monarchs, La Liga champions, and Copa del Rey winners. It was expected because they have the reigning Golden Ball winner Lionel Messi wearing the No. 10 jersey and scoring winning goals with regularity.

It was expected because this is their time. They are at the top of their game, playing at a level currently unequaled by any other club in the world, including their arch rival, Real Madrid featuring Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka.

It was not easy, nor was it pretty. But at the end, powered by a goal in overtime by their golden boy Messi—who chested a Daniel Alves' cross into the goal in the 110th minute—Barca won its first ever intercontinental club title in front of 43,050 fans at the Zayed Sports City stadium in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Messi was relentless throughout the 120 minutes of play, displaying great energy and determination, plus a few flashes of brilliance with dazzling dribbling and speed. But it was his will power that made the difference on this day. Messi scored one of those seldom seen off-the-chest goals. It was sweet justice as the winning goal featured a soccer ball that literally bounced off the heart of a true champion.

Estudiantes de la Plata had gone ahead in the 37th minute with a Mauro Boselli header as he craftily sneaked in between two Barcelona defenders.

Pedro then tied the match in the 88th minute on a triple header play. First, Juan Sebastian Veron defensively deflected the ball with his head further into Estudiantes' penalty kick area where Barcelona defender Gerard Pique headed the ball towards teammate Pedro, who then headed the ball over the Estudiantes goalkeeper’s outstretched arms for the equalizer.

Estudiantes from Argentina never really had a chance. They looked exhausted as the second half began and from there on out, they simply defended their lead and launched a few sporadic counterattacks.

FC Barcelona lost both of their previous intercontinental finals. In 2006, Internacional of Porto Alegre lifted the trophy, and Sao Paulo was the better side in the 1992 Toyota Cup.

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Non-binding climate deal struck at Copenhagen

US President Barack Obama has announced a climate deal in Copenhagen with other major world leaders, calling it "unprecedented" but still not enough to beat global warming.


His announcement came more than four hours after the scheduled close of the summit and an exhaustive round of diplomacy between the US, China and India.

US officials say the agreement includes a commitment from wealthy and key developing nations to limit global warming to two degrees Celsius.

Mr Obama said he would leave the Danish capital before the 194-nation summit takes a final vote on the accord, which he called "meaningful".

"This progress did not come easily and we know this progress alone is not enough," he said.

"Climate change threatens us all, therefore we must bridge all divides," he said.

"The time has come for us to get off the sidelines and shape the future we seek.

"That's why I believe what we have achieved in Copenhagen will not be the end, but the beginning."



The United States, China, India and South Africa have agreed on the text of what will be known as the Copenhagen Accord.



If the 194-nation summit votes for the accord, it will be a statement of intent, not a legally binding treaty.



Correspondents say the breakthrough appears to have come after a US backdown on wording on verification procedures.



French President Nicolas Sarkozy says all countries have agreed to the deal.



"We have an agreement," Mr Sarkozy told a news conference in Copenhagen after the meeting of 120 world leaders.



"The text we have is not perfect."



Mr Sarkozy says Germany will host a new conference on climate change in six months in Bonn, to follow up the work of the Copenhagen summit.



The final outcome will be sealed at a conference in Mexico City at the end of 2010.



Under the accord, he said all countries - including China - would have to submit written plans for curbs in carbon dioxide emissions by January 2010.



He said all countries had signed up for a plan to provide developing nations with $US100 billion a year in aid by 2020.



China's top climate negotiator Xie Zhenhua said the summit had a positive result and that all should be happy.



"After negotiations both sides have managed to preserve their bottom line, for the Chinese this was our sovereignty and our national interest," he told reporters.





Step towards binding treaty



Mr Obama described the document as a step towards drawing up a legally binding treaty.



"The way this agreement is structured, each nation will be putting concrete commitments into an appendix to the document," he said.



"Those commitments will then be subject to an international consultation and analysis.



"It will allow for each country to show to the world what they are doing. We'll know who is meeting and who is not meeting the mutual obligations set forth.



"We know they will not be by themselves sufficient to get to where we need to get by 2050."



Mr Obama said while a legally binding agreement would be neccessary in the future, it was important for progress to be seen to be made.



"This is a classic example of if we just waited for that [a legally binding agreement], then we would not make any proccess," he said.



"And I think there would be such frustration that instead of taking one step forwards, we would take two steps back."



But he warned that the cuts needed to halt global warming cannot be ignored and should not be lost in the debate.



"But this will ultimately be driven by the science, and the science indicates we're going to have to take more aggressive steps in the future," he said.



"I want to make sure that whatever it is we can promise we can actually deliver on."

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MacKillop to become Australia's first saint

Australia will have its first Roman Catholic saint after Pope Benedict approved a decree recognising a second miracle attributed to the intercession of Mother Mary MacKillop.

The approval means Blessed Mary is likely to be formally declared a saint at a canonisation ceremony next year.

Blessed Mary (1842-1909), who founded the Sisters of Saint Joseph, is revered by Catholics for her work, especially with needy children, former female prisoners and prostitutes.

She was beatified by pope John Paul II in 1995.

The miracle approved on Saturday involved the healing of a person who had cancer and was cured after praying to Blessed Mary.

Sister Anne Derwin from the Sisters of Saint Joseph says many have been inspired by Blessed Mary's work in education and with the poor.

"It's not only the sisters, but many other people, men and women, who love the way Mary MacKillop lived her life," she said.

"They try and live in that spirit too, and do great things for people."

Sister Derwin says the Pope's decision is a significant event for the church in Australia.

"Mary herself wouldn't have expected this sort of limelight, but it makes us feel excited that the gift she was given for the church, for the world, is being recognised as valuable," Sister Derwin said.

"And that was a gift to focus on those most in need in our society."

Mary MacKillop was born in Melbourne, worked throughout South Australia and died in North Sydney.

She co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart in 1866 but was excommunicated from the Church at one stage for allegedly disobeying authorities.

However she continued to spend her life caring for those less fortunate.


Venerable John Paul II

Meanwhile, the late pope, John Paul II, has also moved closer to sainthood, as his successor approved a decree recognising that he had lived the Christian faith heroically.

The Vatican said Pope Benedict had signed the "heroic virtues" decree, a key step in the procedure by which the Church recognises its saints, after a recommendation by a Vatican panel of experts.

The late pope will now have the title "venerable".

The following step will now be the recognition of a miracle attributed to John Paul II, who died in 2005.

That is expected to happen early next year, meaning the late pope can be beatified, the final step before sainthood.

In John Paul II's case, the miracle under consideration - and subject to another papal decree - involves a French nun who was cured of Parkinson's disease in 2005.

Vatican watchers expect Benedict to approve the beatification, which could be celebrated next year, either on the April 2 anniversary of his death or in October on the anniversary of the start of John Paul II's papacy in 1978.

Pope Benedict also declared controversial wartime pontiff Pius XII venerable, putting him on the road to beatification despite controversy over his role during World War II, when many historians say he remained passive while Nazi Germany killed millions of Jews.

The beatification of Father Jerzy Popieluszko, the "Solidarity chaplain" who was murdered by the Polish secret service in 1984, has also been approved.

The decree places the charismatic priest, a staunch anti-communist who laced his sermons with political messages, on the path to sainthood.

Because he is considered a martyr, Father Popieluszko's beatification dossier did not require evidence of a miracle.

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Swiss watchmaker drops Tiger from US ads

NEW YORK: Tiger Woods lost backing from his third major sponsor in a week Friday when Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer revealed it is dropping the golf star from US advertising campaigns in the wake of his sex scandal.

In a move that follows consulting firm Accenture ending a six-year deal with Woods, Tag Heuer chief executive Jean-Christophe Babin told Swiss newspaper Le Matin his firm will not use Woods images in US ads for the foreseeable future.

"We recognize Tiger Woods as a great sportsman but we have to take account of the sensitivity of some consumers in relation to recent events," Babin told the newspaper.

The company, a unit of French luxury goods empire LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, will continue to back Woods's charity foundation, Babin said.

Tag Heuer's move mirrors that of razormaker Gillette, which last weekend announced it was dropping Woods from commercials during his hiatus, calling it a supportive move.

"As Tiger takes a break from the public eye, we will support his desire for privacy by limiting his role in our marketing programs," Gillette said.

On a day when Elin Woods reportedly hired famed Hollywood divorce lawyer Sorrell Trope and details emerged about a 2007 deal between a US magazine and Woods to keep an extra-marital affair secret, Tag Heuer provided another blow.

Elin Woods has hired 82-year-old Trope, a noted divorce attorney who has represented such stars as Nicole Kidman, Hugh Grant, Nicolas Cage, Britney Spears and Cary Grant in a 60-year career, the New York Post said.

Trope's reputation as a tough dealmaker could help the former Swedish model, who reportedly signed a pre-nuptual agreement with Woods but might be in line for even greater riches given her humiliations of the past weeks.

That is, if Woods has any riches remaining.

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