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World Cup 2010: Rustenburg

Fabio Capello calls it "the curse of the captain" - now he must hope the man he is believed to have thought too timid to lead England breaks the spell.

Capello set out a simple line of succession for the captaincy when he appointed John Terry, but the Italian's preferred choice was sacked amid personal problems and his successor Rio Ferdinand's South African World Cup adventure was over before it began.

So Gerrard, third in line even though he was the first captain Capello selected to audition for the job, steps forward with the task of repeating the inspirational leadership he demonstrates at Liverpool for his country.

Frank Lampard, installed as vice-captain after Ferdinand's knee injury forced his departure before the end of England's first training session, gave Gerrard a glowing reference.

He said: "I think he will do the job he does for Liverpool, in which he's been fantastic. It will mean everything to him to captain England at the World Cup. Steven has got that quiet way about him off the pitch, but everybody respects him and he is an inspirational player."

It is Gerrard's "quiet way" that is understood to have caused Capello concern and persuaded him to place the armband elsewhere. Now he has it back by a combination of default and ill-fortune and has been presented with the game's biggest stage to demonstrate he is up to the job.

There have been suggestions Gerrard is something of a reluctant England captain. An introspective individual despite the powerhouse performances that have won silverware for Liverpool almost single-handedly on occasions, Gerrard has often given the impression that he has enough on his plate defining his own role in England's team without carrying the cares of captaincy as well.

He is also still being used in a role not strictly designed to bring out his best, lurking on the left flank with licence to roam. There is a sense that he would prefer either a central midfield role or being dropped in just behind Wayne Rooney - but Capello is clearly reluctant to grant him that wish.

Gerrard insisted recently that there would be no repeat of his miserable Euro 2004 campaign when he fretted in his Portugal hotel room about his Liverpool future as Jose Mourinho attempted to take him to Chelsea.

No distractions was the message - but he has been presented with plenty to occupy his mind should he choose let it wander again.

Gerrard, now 30, arrived in South Africa as manager Rafael Benitez left Liverpool, and as Real Madrid's interest started to gather momentum, with Mourinho once again a central figure.

Spanish newspaper Marca, famed for close connections with the Bernabeu, devoted its front page to Gerrard this week and former Anfield team-mate Xabi Alonso - whose departure bitterly disappointed England's latest captain - rolled out the welcome mat.

Gerrard has insisted all deliberations on his future must wait until after the World Cup, and now he has England's captaincy to crystallise his thoughts.

And, despite many supporters mysteriously believing England might be better off with someone else occupying his place in Capello's side, Gerrard is fully equipped with all the tools to make a success of the job.

No-one can seriously believe Gerrard is anything less than 100% committed to delivering for England. This outstanding player is respected not just by his England team-mates, but around the football world.

He has thrived on responsibility at Liverpool and despite a chequered history as England captain, Capello saw no reason to consider any other members of his squad as replacement for Ferdinand.

England and Capello do not want Gerrard to undergo a transformation into a fist-pumping, patriotic leader of men or issue tub-thumping jingoistic rhetoric - they simply want him to be the world-class player he undoubtedly is and finally shine at a major showpiece.

Injured for the 2002 World Cup in Japan, badly distracted at Euro 2004 and subdued in Germany four years ago, if Gerrard is going to make an indelible mark at international level, it is arguably now or never.

Indeed, he may just flower away from the woes of Liverpool that dragged him down into a decline below his normal standards last season.

Capello can help him cope with any additional pressure he may feel. He has never quite grasped the interest that surrounds the man with the armband in England, believing all his players have leadership responsibilities and the role itself is purely symbolic. He has never bought into the hoopla that surrounds the captaincy.

Terry remains a natural leader on the pitch, and it was Chelsea's captain who made sure he was one of the first to greet Michael Dawson with a warm handshake when he arrived on the margins of England's training session after his arrival in Rustenburg.

So Gerrard should not feel the need to take all of the weight on his shoulders. If he ever needed the perfect platform to show he can be as indispensible for England as he has become for Liverpool, then Ferdinand's misfortune and this South African World Cup have just provided it.

Picasso's Mediterranean inspiration

An exhibition in London brings together some of the works Pablo Picasso produced when, after
World War II, he left Paris and went to live in the south of France.



The show focuses on Picasso's emotional and family life

Picasso - The Mediterranean Years contains 150 pieces, most still in his family's possession. They give an insight into his complex private life.

During the World War II Pablo Picasso, the most famous artist alive, had lived quietly in occupied Paris. When the war ended he was 63 and decided it was time to reinvent himself.

The new French government had banned the ownership of second homes so Picasso decided to quit Paris for good and head south where previously he'd spent his summers. He moved his studio to the plain little town of Vallauris, near Cannes, known for its ceramic industry.

Picasso - The Mediterranean Years gives an insight into what the the artist did there from 1945 to 1962. His British-born biographer, John Richardson has helped stage the show and says he hopes to shed light on a less well-known part of Picasso's career.

"In a way most of Picasso's life was a Mediterranean period. He was born in Malaga in Spain and from 1918 took a house in Antibes or nearby every summer.

"His big stylistic discoveries were almost all made in the south. After three of four months he'd go back to Paris and work on what he'd discovered," says Mr Richardson.

Devoted partner

It's always tempting to trace Picasso's career through a timeline of women he was involved with. Picasso's main relationship at this time was with Francoise Gilot (though he was still married to his first wife Olga).

When the Gilot relationship ended he became involved primarily with Jacqueline Roque, more than 40 years his junior. There are portraits of each woman in the exhibition.

The Gagosian show is quite different from the one at Tate Liverpool

Mr Richardson first met Picasso in the late 1940s and knew both Gilot and Roque. After Gilot left he witnessed a series of women being "interviewed for the role".

"But I knew Jacqueline Roque would be the winner because she had absolutely what it took. She was totally devoted to him and prepared to sacrifice herself on the altar of his art. Which she did: after he died eventually she committed suicide".

The new show features paintings, linocuts, sculpture and ceramics which show Picasso focusing on his emotional and family life.

It's a contrast to the current show at Tate Liverpool (Picasso - Peace and Freedom) which looks at his political side, though Mr Richardson thinks his Communist belief wasn't profound.

Also at the exhibition's opening was the artist's grandson, Bernard Ruiz-Picasso. He says toward the end of this period some people Picasso knew urged him to return to Franco's Spain but his family were against it.

"My grandfather was a Spaniard in exile. The colours of nature in the south of France reminded him of Spain - and the light, the sea. He was able to reinterpret his past work," says Mr Ruiz-Picasso.

But was his grandfather happy during this Mediterranean period?

"He was pleased to have his family and friends around him and to make art. But I don't know if artists or great people are really happy. It's more complicated."

Indian film 3 Idiots sweeps Bollywood awards

Bollywood director Rajkumar Hirani received several awards for 3 Idiots

A film that broke box-office records in India has won nearly all the top International Indian Film Awards - often called the Bollywood Oscars.

The comedy 3 Idiots, starring Aamir Khan and directed by Rajkumar Hirani, won 16 out of 27 awards, including best director and best film.

The ceremony was held in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo.

Members of the film industry from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu had asked Bollywood stars to boycott the event.

They wanted to protest against the treatment of Sri Lanka's Tamil minority.

Many ethnic Tamil civilians died during the country's civil war which ended last year, rights groups allege.

The stars who stayed away from the awards ceremony included Amitabh Bachchan, who won best actor for the film Paa.

Some of the Bollywood stars who came defended their presence.

One, veteran actor Shatrughan Sinha, said: "We are not representing north, east, west or south India, but I am representing the whole of India for that matter as a world citizen... And our only caste, our only religion, is entertainment."

The BBC's Charles Haviland in Colombo says that the controversy shows that a year after the government's victory against Tamil Tiger separatists, Sri Lanka is still overshadowed by the conflict.

Bangladesh housing collapse rescue operation called off

The building is reported to have collapsed like a "house of cards"

Rescue workers in Bangladesh have stopped searching for bodies in the ruins of a four-storey building that collapsed in Dhaka on Tuesday.

The collapse killed at least 25 people and injured several others.

The building, constructed on the edge of a canal, fell down on top of three flimsy homes where scores of low-paid garment workers and labourers lived.

Officials say the building collapsed as the owner was adding another floor to an already unsafe structure.

"Having recovered 25 dead bodies from the rubble, we have called off the search and rescue operation," the director of Dhaka's fire brigade, Sheikh Mohammad Shahjalal, told the AFP news agency.

"We don't have reports of anyone else missing," Mr Shahjalal said, pointing out that the army and fire brigade had removed large quantities of debris from the nearby canal.

Police say that six children and nine women are among the dead.

In 2006, at least 15 people died and 50 were injured when a five-storey building collapsed in Dhaka.

And in 2005, more than 60 people died when an illegally constructed garment factory collapsed near Dhaka.