■ Thailand
Thaksin to attend final
It seems that nothing will stop Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra from being at the final of the World Cup -- not even a deepening political crisis at home. "As of this moment, I am confirmed to go," Thaksin told reporters yesterday of his plans to watch the final match in Berlin. "I support every team," he added. In 2004, the telecoms tycoon-turned-politician came up with an idea to raise US$115 million through a state lottery to buy a stake in the English soccer club Liverpool. The plan was scrapped after a public outcry. Thaksin said he would also take the opportunity to meet with any foreign leaders who might be attending the soccer finale -- something domestic critics have said violated diplomatic protocol since he heads a caretaker government.
■ Argentina
Fan dies of shock
A fanatic supporter of Argentina's soccer team in Bangladesh died of shock and hypertension as he watched his side's defeat to Germany in penalty shootouts, media reports said yesterday. The daily Bangladesh Observer said 40-year old businessman Jahangir Alam suffered a massive heart attack as Argentina conceded defeat in Friday's World Cup quarter-finals. The newspaper quoting family sources in a village in southern Noakhali district said Alam fell sick soon after the live telecast of the match and was rushed to a local clinic, where he was declared dead on arrival by doctors. Alam was visibly upset by the result as he witnessed his chosen team go down fighting, the newspaper report said.
■ Sidelines
World Cup-themed virus
The general excitement about the ongoing World Cup is increasingly being exploited by the programmers of Internet viruses. Sophos, an IT security firm, is warning of e-mail messages currently making the rounds that promise naked photos of soccer players and fans. The file in the e-mail attachment actually contains the Sixem-A worm, reports the Mainz-based company. Opening the file allows the virus to install itself on the recipient's computer, where it then attempts to deactivate security software and to automatically send itself to all stored e-mail addresses. Infected e-mail messages often contain the subject line "Naked World Cup Game" or "Crazy soccer fans."
■ France
Djorkaeff caught offside
Former France forward Youri Djorkaeff was caught out by his New York Red Bulls soccer team on Saturday when he was spotted at the France-Brazil World Cup quarter-final while supposedly attending a family emergency. "We were told by Youri on Thursday that he had to leave the team and attend to an unexpected, serious family matter in France," the team, formerly known as the MetroStars, said in a statement after Djorkaeff was picked out in the crowd. "We will be addressing the situation with Youri as soon as possible." France, world champions with Djorkaeff in 1998, beat Brazil 1-0 on Saturday to secure their place in the semi-finals.
■ England
Unruly fans arrested
Police arrested 50 English and German fans in Gelsenkirch-en on Saturday as England crashed out of the World Cup in a penalty shootout against Portugal. The fans were arrested for minor offences, mainly related to drunkenness, although there were minor scuffles, police said. A reporter said the atmosphere was calm despite England's quarter-final defeat.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but