Ukraine

From the back of the net to the internet.

October 7, 2009 By Julia Leave a Comment

By Julia Bruce

courtesy of the independent.co.uk

For the first time in British football history the England qualifier will be streamed live to viewers online across the UK. The move from television to online comes after the demise of the pay for tv sporting channel Setanta earlier this year.

It was only a matter of time before we saw the end this particular era of television viewing. According to the Independent, Andrew Crocker, Performs Executive Chairman told the BBC “The world is changing…this is a classic example of it. It’s exciting. Anyone who wants to come on a journey with us should sign up – they will enjoy it.”

The away game against Ukraine on Saturday will be shown through Media group Perform, and the independent will also be streaming the match. There is a maximum of one thousand viewers to ensure the sight does not crash, but questions of quality of viewing have been raised, especially in the current era of high definition television, sky plus, and many other “luxury” viewing facilities.

Are football fans across the nation willing to forgive the quality of image in order to see the action first hand, and what will happen to our nations trustworthy, high quality, broadcasting outlets if the online television phemomenan continues to thrive?

Filed Under: Sports Tagged With: England, Football, online streaming, Ukraine

Russia is not the only one to blame over gas crisis

January 8, 2009 By Claire Charras Leave a Comment

By Claire Charras

Mary Dejevsky chief editorial writer, columnist and Russian specialist for The Independent gave Dunedin Napier News this exclusive interview on the Russian and Ukranian gas crisis. After a row over who owed what, Russia decided to cut off Ukraine’s gas supplies leaving the rest of Europe with a quarter less supplies.

Is it strategic of Russia to have cut off gas supplies over the coldest months of winter?
Of course not, but there are two qualifications. First, Russia and Ukraine have been negotiating, without success, for at least half a year, and the agreement expires at the end of the calendar year. Maybe that is another change that needs to be made. The other is that there is a dispute about who actually cut off the gas, or at least who is responsible. Russia says that Ukraine cut off the gas to force the EU to put pressure on Russia. It also says that it only cut off the gas to Ukraine when Ukraine started siphoning off gas for itself, which it wasn’t paying for – and so depriving EU countries of gas. This is all part of the dispute. [Read more...]

Filed Under: All Politics Tagged With: EU, Gas crisis, Mary Dejevsky, Russia, The Independent, Ukraine

Singing Scots Support Children in Need

October 23, 2008 By garyphilp Leave a Comment

Scottish fans dismayed by their countries failure to beat Norway can console themselves with the fact that they did their bit for charity.

Around 50,000 supporters at Hampden neglected their obligatory pie and Bovril at half-time to take part in a recording of 1982 World Cup hit, “We Have a Dream”, shown in this YouTube video, led by the original singer John Gordon Sinclair, which shall be released for BBC Children in Need.

The single, available for download now, will be available in shops on November 10th. “Gregory’s Girl” star Sinclair shall be joined on the single by guests including former Scotland striker Ally McCoist and movie legend Samuel L. Jackson.

It was a small piece of consolation for supporters who were disappointed by the team’s failure to defeat the Norwegians, a poor performance summed up by Chris Iwelumo’s shocking miss, shown on this YouTube video. However upon reflection members of the Tartan Army were at least proud to have done their bit.

Darren Hendry, from The East of Scotland Tartan Army, said: “Obviously it was a disappointing day but to know that we did our bit for charity is good. It helps cement our place as the greatest supporters in the world.”

This isn’t the first time the Tartan Army has taken part in a charity single. They were recorded singing “Loch Lomond” at half-time of the international versus Ukraine, with proceeds also going to Children in Need.