hamburg

A giant kite designed to help slash the spiralling cost of fuel consumption could herald the winds of change for commercial cargo shipping. The first freighter to be fitted with the hi-tech sail was launched in the north German port of Hamburg in December by Eva Luise Koehler, wife of German President Horst Koehler.

German rider Patrick Sinkewitz, who was forced to retire from the Tour de France on Monday, has tested positive for testosterone, the German cycling federation BDR announced on Wednesday. The BDR said that T-Mobile rider Sinkewitz was caught with an elevated testosterone level at an out-of-competition test on June 8.

Roger Federer has split from coach Tony Roche just two weeks before the world number one tennis player makes another attempt to win the only Grand Slam title eluding him, the French Open. The announcement to end the partnership after more than two years comes during Federer’s worst slump in years.

Osasuna take a 1-0 lead into their Uefa Cup semifinal return leg against holders Sevilla while Espanyol have virtually one foot in the final after a 3-0 demolition of Werder Bremen. Roberto Soldado got the only goal for the game for Osasuna nine minutes after the interval.

Roland Schoeman became the first man to dip under 21 seconds as he shattered the world short-course record in the 50m freestyle at an invitational meeting in Hamburg on Saturday. The triple Olympic medallist swam a blistering 20,98 seconds in the morning heats, bettering the previous mark of 21,10 set by Frenchman Fred Bousquet in March 2004.

Ecuador beat Costa Rica 3-0 on Thursday to clinch qualification for the second phase of the World Cup for the first time in their history. The result means that Ecuador only need to draw with host nation Germany next Tuesday to win Group A by virtue of a superior goal difference, meaning they would avoid England if Sven-Goran Eriksson’s side win Group B.

An estimated 400 000 prostitutes work in Germany, about 250 000 of whom are probably foreigners. Many were brought into the country by human traffickers from Ukraine, Bulgaria and Russia. Experts believe that between 70 000 and 120 000 women are transported to Germany for prostitution each year.

Several portable MP3 players can be as loud as a Formula One car causing irreparable damage to your hearing, the German Forum of Good Hearing (FGH) warned quoting a recent British study. The FGH said the study found that 39% of 18 to 24-year olds spent at least one hour per day listening to music via headphones with a volume of up to 105 decibels.

Michael Schumacher has been offered another lucrative two-year contract extension at Ferrari, seemingly ensuring that he ends his career at the famed Italian Formula One team and doesn’t move elsewhere. Bild said that Schumacher will earn the same annual â,¬35-million he gets under the current four-year deal he signed in 2003.

Michael Schumacher aims to stay calm and at the same time highly motivated at the San Marino Grand Prix on the weekend in an effort to close in on Formula One world championship leader Fernando Alonso. The ex-world champion Schumacher said on Tuesday that Sunday’s race in Imola, the home GP of his Ferrari team, is to start Ferrari’s comeback.

Hundreds of thousands of people spent the night without electricity after a tornado tore through the north German city of Hamburg, leaving two people dead and a trail of destruction. The powerful winds uprooted trees, brought down power lines, overturned cars and forced rail traffic to a halt, officials said on Tuesday.