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School Kids in London Take an Avid Interest in African Cup

Gabon players celebrate after Jim Allevinah's late equalizer against Ghana. (AFP)
Gabon players celebrate after Jim Allevinah's late equalizer against Ghana. (AFP)
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School Kids in London Take an Avid Interest in African Cup

Gabon players celebrate after Jim Allevinah's late equalizer against Ghana. (AFP)
Gabon players celebrate after Jim Allevinah's late equalizer against Ghana. (AFP)

Just about every schoolyard in England echoes with a semi-heated debate about which Premier League team is better.

This month, with the African Cup of Nations underway in Cameroon, many students in London have plenty more to argue about.

Nathan Williams, though, didn’t have to search long among the 24 teams at the tournament to pick his favorite. He’s originally from Ghana, and that’s who he is hoping will win the title in Yaounde on Feb. 6.

“It’s just the same when everyone here was supporting England last summer,” said Williams, a 17-year-old student from west London, referring to last year's European Championship. “Ghana’s my country and I’m going to follow them, support them and watch their games.”

The African Cup, which is always a cause of concern for European clubs because they lose some of their best players in the middle of the season, was delayed a year because of the coronavirus. It's now dealing with the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. Only fully vaccinated fans with proof of negative virus tests will be allowed to watch games at the six host venues in five cities.

In Britain and other countries, the games are being shown live on television, making it easy for the students in London — a city renowned for its diversity and multiculturalism — to follow along with the tournament.

“The last tournaments were so hard to watch so I’d usually just check score updates,” said 18-year-old student Philmon Teklemichael, who lives in south London and is supporting Ethiopia at the tournament. “This year, I just have to flick on my TV and it’s right there. It’s great.”

The expanded tournament, now with 24 teams instead of 16, has led to even more people taking interest. But you don’t have to have ties to Africa to watch.

“I never really followed it before, but now I’ve found myself watching it,” said Kliz Christy Reginold, who is originally from Sri Lanka but now lives in west London. “Several of my friends were watching it and I got interested.”

As for choosing a team, well, everyone has their own reasons.

“I’m supporting Nigeria, mostly to annoy my friend, who’s Ghanaian,” Reginold said. “You’ve got to have a team to support.”

Along with her students, religious education teacher Niamh Mcilduff is also keeping an eye on the African tournament. She has chosen to support Nigeria because, like her home country of Ireland, they have St. Patrick as a patron saint.

“I want to be involved,” Mcilduff said, “so if I’m going to chose anyone, I have to be able to relate to them.”

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Why Does Trump Want to End US Daylight Saving Time?

Members of the public on a snow covered National Mall in Washington, DC, USA, 06 January 2025. (EPA)
Members of the public on a snow covered National Mall in Washington, DC, USA, 06 January 2025. (EPA)
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Why Does Trump Want to End US Daylight Saving Time?

Members of the public on a snow covered National Mall in Washington, DC, USA, 06 January 2025. (EPA)
Members of the public on a snow covered National Mall in Washington, DC, USA, 06 January 2025. (EPA)

Daylight saving time, a practice affecting almost 400 million people across North America, is once again in the spotlight as debates over its necessity continue. This twice-a-year ritual of adjusting clocks forward in spring and back in autumn has been ingrained in American, Canadian and Cuban life for more than a century. However, US President-elect Donald Trump has pushed for an end to daylight saving time, which he has called inconvenient and costly.

WHAT DID TRUMP SAY ABOUT DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME?

Trump said his Republican Party would work to end daylight saving time after he takes office on Jan. 20.

"The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn't!" Trump wrote on social media. "Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation."

Trump's billionaire allies Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, whom he picked to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency, have endorsed Trump's plan.

In 2022, the US Senate passed a bill called the Sunshine Protection Act that would make daylight saving time permanent. It stalled in the House of Representatives because lawmakers could not agree on whether to keep standard time or permanent daylight saving time.

Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, could revive the bill or introduce a new one.

WHEN DO THE CLOCKS CHANGE?

Any changes that Trump and the Republicans may enact probably would not take effect immediately.

Daylight saving time in the United States and some other countries is due to start on March 9 at 2 a.m. local time, meaning people will lose an hour of sleep. Mornings will be darker but it will stay light until later in the evening. Daylight saving time is scheduled to end on Nov. 2. The saying "spring forward, fall back" serves as a helpful reminder for adjusting clocks.

Daylight saving time in the United States always starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.

In the UK and other European countries, daylight saving time, also known as summer time, begins on the last Sunday in March and ends on the last Sunday in October. This year it will start on March 30 and end on Oct. 26.

WHEN IS THE SHORTEST DAY OF THE YEAR IN 2025?

The shortest day of 2025 will be on Dec. 21, which marks the winter solstice. Daylight hours vary significantly across latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. Areas near the North Pole will be plunged into complete darkness while southern regions will still get more than 10 hours of sunshine.

WHY WAS DAYLIGHT SAVING CREATED IN THE US AND HOW DID IT START?

The modern idea of changing the clocks with the seasons can be traced back to at least the late 19th century, when New Zealand entomologist George Hudson proposed it to conserve energy and extend summer daylight hours, something that would have benefited his hobby of collecting insects after work. The idea was slow to gain traction until World War One, when European states sought any strategies to conserve fuel. Germany was the first country to adopt daylight saving time in 1916. The United States followed in 1918.

The practice went through many variations before the United States standardized it in 1966 in a law called the Uniform Time Act, which allows states to opt out of it but not to stay on daylight saving time permanently.

WHY IS DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME CONTROVERSIAL?

A common myth is that the United States adopted daylight saving time to benefit farmers, but in reality many farmers are opposed to the practice for being disruptive to their schedules.

The original motivation to conserve fuel is also under debate, as studies have found little, if any, energy savings from the shift, according to the US Congressional Research Service.

Opponents point to other studies that have found adverse health effects linked to daylight saving time, such as a spike in fatal traffic accidents, heart attacks, strokes and sleep deprivation in the days after clocks are moved forward an hour every March.

A March 2023 YouGov poll found that 62% of Americans want to end the practice of changing clocks, though only 50% prefer to keep permanent daylight saving time.

DO ALL US STATES OBSERVE DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME?

No. Hawaii and Arizona, with the exception of its Navajo Nation region, do not observe daylight saving time. The US territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands also observe permanent standard time.

While daylight saving time is widespread across the United States, 19 states have passed legislation to permanently use daylight saving time if Congress were to allow it, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.