■ BASKETBALL
Yao to raffle off China trip
NBA center Yao Ming is raffling a trip to the Beijing Olympics to raise money for his personal foundation, which he launched to help victims of the May 12 earthquake in China. Tickets for the raffle are US$2 and can be purchased via credit card at www.netraffle.org. The winner, to be announced on July 21, will receive round-trip airfare from a US city to Beijing, a seven-day stay at a hotel in Beijing from Aug. 7-14, two tickets to the China-USA basketball game at the Olympics, a US$1,500 cash stipend, a guided tour of the Great Wall of China, two Houston Rockets jerseys autographed by Yao, two tickets to a Rockets game and a chance to meet Yao after a Rockets game.
■OLYMPICS
Stadium construction halted
Construction work on part of the foundations of the London 2012 Olympic stadium has been temporarily halted after asbestos was found on the site. Work on one section was stopped as a precautionary measure to protect workers from exposure to the material, which can cause tumors and other serious illnesses, the Olympic Delivery Authority said on Wednesday. Illness from inhaling asbestos only usually occurs from repeated exposure over a period of time. Activity on the rest of the Olympic site is continuing as normal. “The health and safety of the work force is our No. 1 priority,” said Lawrence Waterman, the ODA’s head of health and safety. “We are working with the relevant authorities and expect work to restart progressively as protective measures are put in place over the next few days.” The stoppage shouldn’t cause too many delays, since construction on the Olympic Stadium site started three months earlier than planned in May.
■SOCCER
FIFA looks for neutral venue
FIFA in Zurich, Switzerland, is searching for a neutral venue to stage two World Cup qualifiers between warring neighbors Sudan and Chad. World soccer’s governing body has told the two countries to play their African Group 10 games in the same city on Sept. 6 and 10. “The city where the matches will be held will be communicated at a later date,” FIFA said in a statement on Wednesday. The World Cup organizing committee suspended a May 31 game scheduled to be played in Omdurman, near Sudan’s capital Khartoum, after diplomatic relations were broken off between the countries. Their border runs along the troubled Sudanese region of Darfur. The matches are also intended to count toward qualifying for the 2010 African Cup of Nations being staged in Angola.
■FORMULA ONE
Singapore prepares for event
Singapore’s preparations for Formula One’s first night grand prix are on track with three months to go, the city-state’s officials said yesterday as organizers released more tickets. Race promoter Singapore GP said it will be releasing tickets for an additional 1,600 grandstand seats on Friday to meet strong demand for the Sept. 28 race. The additional tickets bring the race’s total daily capacity to 100,600 people, the promoter said. “We are pleased to say that we are on schedule in all areas of race preparation,” Lim Neo Chian, chief executive of the Singapore Tourism Board, told reporters during a briefing. Lim said that all road surfacing and resurfacing works have been completed for the 5km street circuit that winds along streets lined with high-rise buildings and newly restored, British colonial-era mansions.
RSS