A suicide bomb plot to kill soccer fans at Saturday’s English Premier League match between champions Manchester United and Liverpool was foiled by police, The Sun newspaper reported on Tuesday. Intelligence chiefs believe al-Qaeda fanatics planned to blow themselves up in the 67 000-capacity Old Trafford crowd.
Trinidad welcomed West Indies captain Brian Lara home on Monday, naming him sports ambassador after he reclaimed the world record for highest total with 400 not out in last week’s final cricket Test against England. Lara was greeted at the airport by thousands of fans including Prime Minister Patrick Manning.
Olympic inspectors are hopeful work to complete the main stadium will now be finished in time with the controversial roof in place for the opening ceremony on August 13. The project’s most crucial part kicks off later this week when two giant steel arches that support the stadium’s glass and steel roof are slid into place.
”Zimbabwe’s government-controlled media made headline news of the few positive points that could be extracted from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) press statement at the end of their two-week visit last month. The first points highlighted by the IMF team were skimmed over for local readers, if mentioned at all”. Economic consultant John Robertson outlines the IMF’s key findings.
Former Ireland A coach Steph Nel is to step down as director of rugby at relegated English Premiership club Rotherham at the end of the season, the South African revealed on Monday. ”The position is going to be advertised and I won’t be re-applying,” Nel told the club’s website.
Kenya’s Timothy Cherigat won the men’s Boston Marathon on Monday — improving on his fourth place from last year’s race as his country celebrated their second men/women’s marathon double in 24 hours. The 27-year-old added to Kenya’s earlier success in the women’s race where Catherine Ndereba won the event for the third time.
FC Porto and Deportivo de La Coruna may be among the smaller clubs in this season’s Champions League but they have hit the big time by reaching the tournament’s semifinals. Tucked down in the southwestern corner of Europe, the two clubs can’t boast any international soccer celebrities or bulging bank accounts.
Brazil World Cup winner Ronaldo has given David Beckham a vote of confidence and called on the England captain to resist a reported approach by Chelsea and stay at Real Madrid. Ronaldo also dismissed newspaper reports of alleged Beckham love affairs as ”sensationalist”.
The Chiefs face the prospect of having a fourth rugby player ruled out for the season with injury and other players out temporarily this week as they prepare for their Super 12 semifinal push. Coach Ian Foster admitted on Monday night that Saturday’s 34-27 landmark win over the Sharks in Durban had come at a huge cost.
Between seven and 20 African penguins have been affected by an oil slick in Algoa Bay, the Addo Elephant National Park said on Monday. The oil-covered penguins were sighted by a member of the public on St Croix Island last week. St Croix is one of the islands that fall under the jurisdiction of the Addo Elephant National Park.