World Sport Top Stories - Football Focus - 'Special One' Mourinho returns to Chelsea

June 3, 2013 -- Updated 1425 GMT (2225 HKT)
Jose Mourinho completes his widely-expected return to Chelsea after the English Premier League club ends weeks of speculation by confirming he has agreed a four-year contract. FULL STORY | EPL APOLOGIZES
June 3, 2013 -- Updated 1636 GMT (0036 HKT)
Jose Mourinho waves to the crowd following his final match in charge of Real Madrid -- a 4-2 home win against Osasuna. Jose Mourinho waves to the crowd following his final match in charge of Real Madrid -- a 4-2 home win against Osasuna.
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STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Chelsea announces that Jose Mourinho will return to the English football club
  • The former Real Madrid coach has agreed a four-year contract in London
  • Announcement comes nine years and a day after he was first appointed
  • He led Chelsea to two English league titles before leaving in 2007
(CNN) -- Jose Mourinho has completed his widely-expected return to Chelsea after the English Premier League club ended weeks of speculation by confirming Monday that the former Real Madrid coach has agreed a four-year contract.
"I am delighted to welcome Jose back to Chelsea. His continued success, drive and ambition made him the outstanding candidate," Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay said in a statement.
"It is our aim to keep the club moving forward to achieve greater success in the future, and Jose is our number one choice as we believe he is the right manager to do just that.
"He was and remains a hugely popular figure at the club and everyone here looks forward to working with him again."
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In his first interview since taking charge, the Portuguese told Chelsea TV that he was offering fans the same qualities that he did when he first took charge of the club nine years ago - namely, a pledge to deliver quality work, love and passion to bring success to the Blues.
"It is exactly the same message but now I can say I am one of you - and that makes a little bit of a difference," he said.
"In football, I had in my career two great passions: Inter and Chelsea. Chelsea is more important for me.
"It was very, very hard to play against Chelsea - I did it only twice, which was not so bad - so now I promise exactly the same things that I promised in 2004, with the difference that I am one of you."
After leaving Chelsea in 2007, it was not until 2010 that Mourinho returned to Stamford Bridge as a visiting coach - winning a Champions League quarterfinal 1-0 in March 2010 to seal a 3-1 aggregate win for an Inter Milan side who would go on to lift that year's trophy.
Chelsea said the 50-year-old would bring his three coaching staff -- Rui Faria, Silvino Louro and Jose Morais -- who will work alongside the current first-team coaches Steve Holland, Christophe Lollichon and Chris Jones.
Mourinho first joined Chelsea on June 2, 2004 and dubbed himself "the Special One" after having led Porto to the European title the previous season.
He was unable to take Chelsea to the Champions League final, but guided the club to two successive EPL titles -- its first English championship successes since 1955.
After falling out with Chelsea's Russian owner Roman Abramovich in 2007, Mourinho joined Inter Milan the following season and won two successive Italian Serie A titles and the Champions League in 2010.
He was then courted by Real with the goal of ending the club's long wait for a record-extending 10th European title, but despite winning La Liga in his second season Madrid fell three times at the semifinal stage of the Champions League and his relationship with key Spanish players such as captain Iker Casillas deteriorated.
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As in Italy, he had a prickly time with the local press -- who took every opportunity to publish stories about dressing-room unrest at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real announced last month that he would be leaving, despite having signed a contract extension until 2016.
Mourinho's final game in charge of was Saturday's 4-2 win over Osasuna, which left the Spanish club in second place in La Liga -- 15 points behind Barcelona.
Read: Cup win clinches Bayern's historic treble
He did not talk to reporters after the match, though he did an interview with Spanish television in which he denied omitting goalkeeper Casillas and defender Pepe -- with whom he has had public disputes -- and top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo for any other reason than they were not fit enough to play.
Last month he described this season as the worst in his career after losing the Spanish Cup final to Atletico Madrid, meaning no trophy for Real in 2012-13.
"I wish everyone associated with Real Madrid much happiness in the future," he said in a statement on Friday.
"I appreciate the support of lots of fans and respect the criticism of others. Once again, a lot of happiness to everyone and, above all, good health. Hala Madrid!"
His return to Chelsea was one of the worst-kept secrets in world football -- the English Premier League jumped the gun by announcing his reappointment Sunday before a deal has been done.
Read: Mourinho to leave Real Madrid
The EPL's website published a story, dated Monday, with the headline "Jose Mourinho makes Chelsea return."
Its subheader read: "Portuguese coach back at Stamford Bridge after signing a XX-year contract."
The story was taken down, and the EPL issued a statement apologizing to Chelsea -- which was searching for a new manager following the departure of interim coach Rafael Benitez.
"It was a publishing error. We took it down as soon as we were notified of it, and we've spoken to and apologized to Chelsea," the EPL said.
Benitez led Chelsea to third place in the EPL, guaranteeing a place in the Champions League next season after taking over from the sacked Roberto Di Matteo in November.
The Spaniard also took Chelsea to success in the Europa League, with the club having dropped to the second-tier competition after becoming the first Champions League winner to fail at the group stage the following season.

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TOP MIDDLE EAST STORIES - College president named Palestinian PM

June 3, 2013 -- Updated 1409 GMT (2209 HKT)
College president named Palestinian PM

College president named Palestinian PM

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas named the president of a West Bank university as his new prime minister, a top aide said. FULL STORY
From Kareem Khadder, CNN
June 3, 2013 -- Updated 0028 GMT (0828 HKT)
President Mahmoud Abbas appointed Rami Hamdallah (pictured) as prime minister on Sunday.
President Mahmoud Abbas appointed Rami Hamdallah (pictured) as prime minister on Sunday.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Longtime West Bank university president chosen to form new government
  • Rami Hamdallah replaces Salaam Fayyad, who led caretaker government
  • He did post-graduate work at universities in Britain
  • He is the top official on the elections commission
(CNN) -- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas named the president of a West Bank university as his new prime minister Sunday, a top aide said.
Rami Hamdallah has been asked to form a new Cabinet, Abbas adviser Sabri Saidam told CNN. The British-educated linguist is now the president of An-Najah National University in Nablus, West Bank.
Hamdallah will replace Salaam Fayyad, who has led a caretaker government since Abbas accepted his resignation in April. Fayyad's decision to step down was viewed as a step toward the possible establishment of a unity government between the two main Palestinian factions, Fatah and Hamas.
According to a profile on the An-Najah website, Hamdallah has been president of the university since August 1998. He is also the secretary-general of the Palestinian Central Elections Commission and head of the Palestinian stock exchange.
He received a doctorate in applied linguistics from the University of Lancaster in 1988 and a master's from the University of Manchester in 1982. He graduated from the University of Jordan in 1980 with a degree in the English language.

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TOP LATIN AMERICAN STORIES - Brazil worthy of its 'B' for BRIC?

June 3, 2013 -- Updated 1138 GMT (1938 HKT)

More Latin America

Brazil worthy of its 'B' for BRIC?

 

Does Brazil deserve its 'B' for BRIC?

By Anthony Pereira, Special to CNN
June 3, 2013 -- Updated 1234 GMT (2034 HKT)
(File) Brazil grew by less than 1% in 2012, the lowest of the BRIC countries, and only 2.7% in 2011.
(File) Brazil grew by less than 1% in 2012, the lowest of the BRIC countries, and only 2.7% in 2011.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Many are asking if Brazil deserves to be seen as an economic powerhouse given its weak growth
  • Over the last ten years Brazil has benefited from a commodity boom, but that boom is slowing
  • The political system seems incapable of responding to these challenges
  • But it may be too early to count Brazil out of the BRIC club, Anthony Pereira argues
Editor's note: Anthony Pereira is a professor and director of the Brazil Institute at King's College London.
(CNN) -- When former Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill first went to Brazil after coining the acronym BRIC, someone asked him whether he had included the "B" just to make the name sound good.
Such skepticism is becoming common again, as investors compare the projected rate of growth in Brazil this year -- just 3% -- to that in China and India, around 8% and 6% respectively.
So does Brazil still deserve to be seen as an economic powerhouse?
Many would say no. Brazil grew by less than 1% in 2012, the lowest of the BRIC countries, and only 2.7% in 2011. Its problems are well known. It saves less than it invests, and 70% of its growth comes from consumption.
Credit has risen dramatically over the last few years, but many families are now heavily indebted, which slows growth.
Read more: Rising Brazil tackles immigration question
Over the last ten years Brazil has benefited from a commodity boom, but that boom is slowing. Brazil has become an expensive country, with a strong currency, and that has eroded the competitiveness of its industry.
Ten years ago around 50% of exports were manufactured goods; today the proportion is closer to 35%. The tax burden is heavy, at around 35% of GDP, especially in comparison to the quality of services the state provides, and government spending is rising faster than GDP.
Brazil's productivity grew by only 1.3% between 1990 and 2010, while China led the way at 8.3%, followed by India at 4.7% over the same period.
Read more: WTO: Emerging markets get the nod
There are other causes of concern. Inflation is pushing right up against the Central Bank's ceiling of 6.5% per year. The balance of payments deficit is rising. Infrastructure such as ports, roads, and airports is poor, and attempts to bring in the private sector to modernize some of it, such as with airports, have not been entirely successful.
Expensive electricity, an inadequately funded public sector pension system, and high interest rates round out this negative picture.
Read more: Building on 'BRICS': The next emerging economies
According to some analysts, the fundamental pillars of the Brazilian economy are being eroded.
The political system seems incapable of responding to these challenges. The state's bureaucratic machinery is cumbersome and antiquated; corruption is rife among politicians, and effective opposition to and debate about current policies almost non-existent.
The current government is planning for president Dilma Rousseff's re-election in 2014 and there is a danger that it will postpone necessary adjustments, making a bad situation worse.
So should we be talking about the RIC rather than BRIC countries?
Not really.
There are three main sets of reasons why it is too early to count Brazil out as a global economic player.
The first has to do with fundamentals of its economy that are often ignored by short-term investors. Brazil's economy has a higher per capita GDP than both China and India, and as a more mature economy, it is not surprising that its growth rate is slower.
Read more: Is Brazil ready to take sporting center stage?
More importantly, the country is much less vulnerable to external shocks than it used to be. Public debt as a percentage of GDP declined from about 60% to 35% of GDP between 2002 and 2012.
International reserves are now $377 billion. Brazil attracted around $62 billion in foreign direct investment in 2012, making it the largest recipient of FDI in the world after China and the United States.
All of these factors are reasons to be confident in the capacity of the Brazilian economy to continue to advance in an unspectacular but steady fashion.
Second, Brazil has a number of enviable attributes. It has few threats to its security, meaning that it can afford to spend relatively little on national defence. Brazil is alone among the BRIC countries in not possessing nuclear weapons.
Read more: Brazil competes with China, India to invest in Africa
Brazil also has a generous land to people ratio, with a large basket of natural resources, including petroleum, for a population that is relatively small (200 million) compared to China and India. It boasts a world-class agricultural sector that has not yet reached its potential.
Already the largest producer in the world of soy and beef, it has the capacity to adapt more crops to its tropical soils and develop its vast land frontier.
In addition, Brazil is becoming an environmental leader. Its management of the Amazon rainforest is crucial to the health of the planet, which is why the recent large reduction in the rate of deforestation has been so encouraging. It has some of the largest reserves of fresh water in the world.
Almost half of all energy coming from renewable sources, mainly hydroelectric but also biofuels.
There is a third and final set of factors that make Brazil stand out.
Together with Russia, and unlike China and India, Brazil has reduced economic inequality in recent years. Its Gini index, a measure of income inequality, dropped from 0.63 to 0.52 from 1989 to 2009.
Between 2003 and 2011, about 30 million Brazilians joined the so-called "new middle class," earning between GBP100 and GBP400 per capita per month, and gaining access to formal sector employment, credit, and the country's large consumer market.
This reduction in inequality has a racial component, because 75% of the new middle class is non-white. It also has a gender component -- formal sector employment for females has increased 136% in the last twenty years.
It is true that Brazil's rate of economic growth is slow compared to China and India.
But so are the growth rates of most countries. Brazil tends to be the focus of exaggerated analyses of its economy.
If one looks past the superficial concern about growth at Brazil's economic fundamentals, its resources, and the extraordinary social progress that the country has made in recent decades, it seems premature to remove the "B" from BRIC.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Anthony Pereira.

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