Everton pull out of Indonesia tournament - Football
Published: 24 Jul 2012 - 20:16:59
English football club Everton pulled out of a pre-season tournament in Indonesia on Tuesday citing concerns over the event after the withdrawal of Turkey's Galatasaray.
The Premiership outfit said it was forced to abandon plans to play this week's Java Cup after organisers were unable to give assurances "following a number of recently uncovered issues".
"Club officials here in the UK and our forward planning/security team deployed to Jakarta at the weekend have repeatedly asked for clarity and assurances from the organisers on the issues but unfortunately have not received the answers we required in the timeframe necessary to ensure our participation," a spokesman said on the club website.
"We are grateful for the support today of the Indonesian government in this matter, however the unresolved issues mean that the risk of travelling was too great."
The inaugural Java Cup, scheduled for July 26-29, had already been hit by Galatasaray's decision not to play. Uruguay's Nacional were lined up as a replacement but their participation could not then be confirmed.
The tournament, also involving an Indonesian XI and a Malaysian XI, is due to be played at Jakarta's Gelora Bung Karno stadium, scene of a deadly stampede in November and fatal clashes between fans in May.
The latest events provide further embarrassment for Indonesian football, which has long been mired in controversy and was threatened with suspension by world body FIFA following the launch of a rebel league.
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Snow Patrol get late licence for Hyde Park gig - BBC News
Snow Patrol will be allowed to play until 1am at a Hyde Park gig coinciding with the Olympic opening ceremony.
Westminster Council called the curfew "exceptional" and said it was dictated by the Olympic TV broadcast, which is being shown on screens in the park.
Snow Patrol will play alongside Stereophonics and Paolo Nutini at the BT London Live gig on 27 July.
Earlier this month, Bruce Springsteen had the plug pulled on him after his show at Hyde Park overran.
Audrey Lewis Licensing chairman of Westminster CouncilThe opening night of the Olympics is clearly an exceptional evening and the Hyde Park show on Friday is timed to run around the opening ceremony of the Olympics
Councillor Audrey Lewis, licensing chairman of Westminster Council, said: "The opening night of the Olympics is clearly an exceptional evening and the Hyde Park show on Friday is timed to run around the opening ceremony of the Olympics.
"It is not a case of a straight forward concert night at Hyde Park.
"We took that into consideration when granting the application. It is clearly different from commercial shows that run throughout other parts of the year."
Bruce Springsteen's show at the Hard Rock Calling event on 14 July was controversially cut short by concert organisers after he went past the council's 10.30pm curfew.
Snow Patrol will take to the stage at 11.10pm at this week's central London event, which features acts representing all the countries of the UK.
However, it's thought the band is likely to finish about half an hour short of the 1am curfew.
Duran Duran fly the flag for England at the gig, a decision that has been criticised by some music fans.
Paolo Nutini, Stereophonics and Snow Patrol represent Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Westminster Council also confirmed that Blur's gig coinciding with the Olympic closing ceremony on 12 August will also have a 1am curfew.
Twitch or flinch no longer a false start - Reuters UK
BIRMINGHAM, England |
BIRMINGHAM, England (Reuters) - The danger of one inadvertent twitch ruining the greatest day of a sprinter's life has been removed after athletics' governing body softened the rules on false starts ahead of the London Olympics.
The little-publicised clarification by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) permits athletes to move in the starting blocks without being disqualified so long as their hands do not leave the ground or their feet the blocks.
Previously, such twitching or flinching could have resulted in disqualification at the discretion of the starter.
"The bottom line is, outside of an athlete removing his hands off the track or his feet leaving the blocks, nothing else is a false start," David Katz, one of 17 members on the rule-making IAAF technical committee, told Reuters by telephone.
The need for improved quality and consistency by starters worldwide had prompted the clarification, said Paul Hardy, IAAF competitions director.
Usain Bolt's false start at last year's world championships in Daegu, while a clear violation, only added to the discussion.
"This allows a safety valve," said international starter Tom McTaggart, who has been sending off athletes for more than 40 years.
"It takes a little pressure off the starter in general, the recall crew and the athletes. They (the athletes) know 'I got a second chance here'."
Spectators and starters might need to adjust, McTaggart told Reuters.
"Fans may say: 'that guy moved, so it's a false start'," the 1996 Olympics starter said. "It will be a little bit of a learning curve."
IMPROPER CONDUCT
Starters might wind up disqualifying athletes less often, he noted.
"Things that they would just whack somebody for a false start before, they are going to think about it," McTaggart said.
The preferred method now is to call up athletes and begin the process again if movement is observed.
"They (the IAAF) are interested in preventive officiating because the penalty is severe," McTaggart said of the IAAF rule that disqualifies an athlete for his first false start.
With the clarification, movement, if it constitutes a major disturbance or delay, can be considered improper conduct instead of a false start.
The penalty would be a yellow card, or warning. A second would result in disqualification.
"I believe this gives them (IAAF) the wiggle room they were looking for without saying we were wrong (on the one-and-done false start rule)," said Bob Podkaminer, secretary of USA Track & Field's rules committee and an international technical official.
U.S. relays coach Jon Drummond, who was involved in one of the most publicised false starts of all time in 2003, said it was time something was done.
"Athletes are getting penalised and that is the starter's fault," the sprinter-turned-coach said.
Drummond drew major attention at the 2003 Paris world championships when he lay on the track for more than 15 minutes in protest after being disqualified for a false start he said he did not commit.
Many today believe Drummond was correct, that he might have been pushing on the blocks early but had settled down before the gun was fired.
"I think it is a fair solution," Drummond said of the clarification, though he would prefer that the false start rule reverted to the previous one, when the first infraction was charged against the field and the second eliminated the offending athlete.
Sprinter Tyson Gay said he liked the clarification.
"I think it will save some people," the world's second fastest man told Reuters.
"Because if a person flinches and they don't call it a false start, it can allow another person to flinch and they call it on that person. They (the starting crew) didn't see the first person."
Katz has a solution for that - employ video in the starting process that would be immediately available to starters.
After all, he said, with television beaming races globally, "the whole world gets to see who is moving except the starters."
(Editing by Clare Fallon)
Bolt: This is my time, my moment - ESPN.co.uk
Usain Bolt has warned his rivals he is "definitely" in the right shape to win both the 100m and 200m at London 2012, insisting this is the time "when I set myself apart from other athletes in the world".
Bolt will attempt to become the first man in history to successfully defend his 100m and 200m Olympic titles at this summer's Games, with the Jamaican also targeting a repeated triumph in the 4x100m relay.
"This will be the moment, and this will be the year, when I set myself apart from other athletes in the world," he told the Guardian. "A lot of legends, a lot of people, have come before me. But this is my time."
At last year's world championships, Bolt lost his 100m title after he was disqualified following a false start, with fellow countryman Yohan Blake going on to become crowned champion. If Bolt has a weakness it is the start of a race, where he often struggles to come flying out of the blocks. However, Bolt insists he has no concerns about the start, revealing he has brought the starting blocks he uses in training with him to London to improve his chances of glory.
"Every season, for me, it's like starting from scratch again. Me and my coach [Glen Mills] sat down and evaluated and talked a lot about this. We've figured out where I have gone wrong and what I need to do to make sure I get a consistent start."
When asked whether he has found a method to deliver a more consistent start, he added: "Yeah, yeah, definitely. I've actually bought some blocks that we're going to be using at the Olympics and I've been training with them. I will be much more comfortable and much more consistent starting with those blocks at the Olympics."
Bolt suffered two defeats in three days at the recent Jamaican trials, Blake taking his scalp in both the 100m and 200m. However, Bolt has ramped up the pressure on the man he nicknamed 'The Beast', suggesting he may struggle with the enormity of competing at his first Olympic Games.
"It's not going to be him alone. It's going to be me, Asafa Powell, Tyson Gay, Justin Gatlin and all these guys. It's a packed race with top-class athletes so it will be a different level of competition for Yohan. It's going to take a lot of focus. And it's going to cause a lot of stress. It will really test him as an athlete - and as a person overall. We'll see how good he is."
© ESPN EMEA Ltd
UPDATE 2-Western Union's business payment unit faces slow growth - Reuters UK
* Q2 adj EPS $0.46 vs est $0.43
* Raises FY EPS view to $1.68-$1.72 from $1.65-$1.70 (Adds details, CEO and analyst comments, share movement)
By Sharanya Hrishikesh
July 24 (Reuters) - Western Union Co, the world's largest payment transfer company, raised its full-year profit forecast due to a one-time tax gain in the second quarter, but said a deteriorating global economy is expected to weigh on its business payments unit.
The company bought Travelex's global business payments unit for about $970 million last year to bulk up its products to businesses and help ride out slowing growth in its consumer segment, which accounts for more than 80 percent of its revenue.
"Performance of the acquisition has been disappointing, largely due to a slowdown in global trade, which is a big driver of growth for Travelex," David Togut of Evercore Partners said.
Chief Executive Hikmet Ersek agreed that revenue at the unit has "come a little short because of global trends."
Western Union now expects the business payments unit to post pro-forma constant currency revenue growth in the mid-single digits in the year. It had earlier expected the unit to post low double-digit constant currency revenue growth.
The business solutions segment, which lets companies transfer money across countries, contributed 6 percent to total revenue in the second quarter ended June 30.
For the full year, it expects to earn between $1.68 and $1.72 per share, up from its earlier forecast of $1.65 to $1.70 per share.
The company maintained its full-year revenue forecast, but cut its operating margin forecast by 50 basis points to 24.5 percent as it expects higher compliance costs, mainly related to remittance disclosure rules associated with the Dodd-Frank regulations.
Revenue from electronic channels, which includes westernunion.com, account based money transfer, and mobile money transfer, grew 26 percent. The channels contribute 3 percent to total revenue.
PREPAID REVENUE RISES
The company, whose prepaid cards were available at about 22,000 retail locations around the world at the end of the quarter, recorded a 6 percent rise in prepaid revenue.
"We expect prepaid revenue growth to increase in the second half of the year, as we benefit from greatly expanded distribution in the U.S. and some of the international introductions," CEO Ersek said on a post-earnings conference call with analysts.
Prepaid revenue currently contributes about 1 percent to Western Union's total revenue, but Ersek expects the contribution to increase in the near term.
Net income climbed 3 percent to $271.2 million, or 44 cents per share, while revenue rose 4 percent to $1.43 billion.
Shares of the company were up 2 percent at $17.25 in late-afternoon trading on Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Sharanya Hrishikesh in Bangalore; Editing by Sreejiraj Eluvangal, Maju Samuel)
Oddbins' anti-Locog stunt offers discount for wearing Nike trainers - Marketing
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The boss of Oddbins has attacked the "asinine rules" on mentioning the Olympics in marketing and has introduced a 30% discount for customers who wear or display a total of eight items from non-sponsor brands, including Nike and Pepsi. Ayo Akintola, the ...Open organisers may change rules after Tevez cameo - ESPN.co.uk
The Royal & Ancient Club, organiser of the Open Championship, has admitted it might impose tougher restrictions on players' caddies after Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez's surprise appearance on Sunday.
Tevez, an avid golfer, carried the bag of fellow Argentine Andres Romero for the final round at Royal Lytham & St Annes - as Romero carded a score of 82 to finish last of those who made the cut.
A sizeable crowd followed Romero because of Tevez's presence, however, and the R&A admitted that the case has given them a number of things to ponder.
"Well, I think we may need to look at this particular case," said Jim McArthur, chairman of the tournament committee, when asked if the tournament had been disrespected in some way. "Obviously it just happened [on Sunday] but we haven't had a chance to discuss this.
"Maybe it's something we need to just have a look at. We do normally get a list of caddies at the beginning of the week and we take that into account."
The player's final round score has caused them some concern, however.
"It's not for me to say anything about players' choice of caddie, as long as they behave in the best traditions of the Championship and within the rules," R&A chief executive Peter Dawson said. "I can't really comment.
"For all I know, Mr. Tevez may be a very experienced caddie. I've got no information as to his background. But whether it's the player's fault or the caddie's fault that the score was so high, I couldn't possibly comment."
The attention Tevez brought to Romero, and the tournament as a whole, has not escaped notice, however - even if organisers admitted initially being stumped as to why so many fans were following Romero's group, despite the player being so far from contention.
"The one thing we couldn't quite understand is why such a big crowd was following a match at the end of the field, until we realised actually who was doing the caddying," McArthur said.
Dawson added: "Pretty interesting I thought because of the big crowd following the group that golf fans and football fans may overlap a little more than I had realised. It's not a bad thing, perhaps."
However, McArthur noted that Tevez will perhaps need to improve his technique if he is to take up caddying on a full-time basis.
"The strange thing for me was he never put the bag down, so when he was standing on the green he was carrying the bag all over the place," McArthur observed. "It's just absolute madness. I suppose he'll learn from that if he does that for the rest of the season."
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