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QUICK NEWS TO KEEP YOU IN THE FAST LANE
IC NE S T KE Y IN T E F ST L E
There are also joint applications from
Netherlands and Belgium, and Spain and
Portugal.
The winning bids for the 2018 and 2022
World Cups will be announced at the
same time in December 2010.
Should a 2018 bid fail it now means
countries can enter the 2022 vote straight
after, although FIFA’s tournament rotation
policy prevents a nation from hosting the
World Cup if either of the previous two
tournaments were held on the same
continent. That means that if another
European nation wins the right to host
the 2018 World Cup, England could not
bid for 2022.
British Cyclists
Destroy Olympic Suits
The suits that British cyclists wore
at the Beijing Olympics have been
destroyed to stop rivals getting
their hands on the technology. It
has meant that none of the cyclists,
who won eight of Team GB’s 19 gold
medals in Beijing, could keep them as
mementoes.
Performance Director David Brailsford
said: “They have been shredded
because we believe that the
technology will hold well for 2012.”
PlayStation Pox
Your mother was right, too much
PlayStation is just not good for you.
Dermatologists warn that PlayStation
gamers who use their consoles excessively
risk painful lesions from a new skin
disorder called palmar hidradenitis.
The condition was identified in a 12 year
old girl in Switzerland who developed
lesions on her hands after playing for
several hours a day.
The good news is that the condition
cleared up after the patient ceased all use
of the PlayStation for ten days.
The more common version of the condition
is usually seen on the soles of the feet
of children who play lots of sport or take
part in intensive physical exercise such as
jogging. It is thought to be connected to
intense sweating, but it is very unusual to
appear on the hands.
Geneva University Hospital doctors found
the girl had not played any sport and
the lesions only appeared after she had
played her PlayStation for several hours
a day.
Lead author of the case, Behrooz
Kasraee, reported in the British Journal of
Dermatology that the condition appeared
because of the “tight and continuous
grasping of the console’s handgrips
together with repeated pushing of the
buttons which produces minor but
continuous trauma to the palms of the
hands”, compounded by sweating that
can occur if the player becomes anxious
while playing the game.
A spokesman for PlayStation said: “We
firmly believe that video gaming is a
legitimate entertainment pastime like
watching movies, listening to music, or
reading books. As with any leisure pursuit
there are possible consequences of not
following common sense, health advice
and guidelines, as can be found within our
instruction manuals.”
Twelve nations bid for World Cup
Twelve nations have now put in bids for
the right to host the 2018 and 2022 World
Cups. Egypt and South Korea the last
nations to apply for the right to host the
tournament with the former bidding only
for the 2022 competition. FIFA, has also
received individual bids from Australia,
Indonesia, Japan, Qatar, Mexico, the
United States, England and Russia.
Fifa loses faith in Nigeria
Fifa vice-president Jack Warner has
raised fresh concerns over Nigeria’s
preparations for their hosting of
October’s Under-17 World Cup.
Speaking at an event in Abuja to
launch the official emblem, Warner
said: “I have always had faith in
Nigeria but at the moment that faith
is not there.”
Warner is chairman of the organising
committee for the tournament, and
was not impressed after touring the
facilities.
“I cannot go back to Fifa and say yes,
Nigeria is ready, because plenty still
has to be done before we get to that
stage.
The
country’s
Vice-President,
Goodluck Jonathan, assured Fifa that
there will be an improvement.
Nigeria lost the right to host the 1995
Under-20 World Cup, due to lack of
facilities and medical concerns.
But the country successfully hosted
the tournament four years later, with
Spain winning the trophy.
With South Africa hosting the 2010
World Cup, the continent will also this
year stage the Under-20 World Cup in
Egypt, and the Under-17 World Cup
in Nigeria.
Above: British men’s team pursuit squad in Beijing
London 2012 venues get
£461 million bail-out
The UK government has been forced
to use £461 m of its £2 bn contingency
fund for the London 2012 Olympics to
help support construction costs on two
of the main projects for the Games
after private sector funding failed
to materialise. The £900 m Olympic
Village will receive £326 m from the
fund, while two media centres, costing
a total of £355 m, will get an extra
£135 m.
However, Olympics Minister Tessa
Jowell pledged that spending on the
Games would remain within the £9.3
bn budget.
The Olympic Delivery Authority
admitted the economic downturn had
threatened private sector funding
for the Athletes’ Village and media
centres, but pledged the Games would
not exceed its budget. The original
budget for the Games was £3.4 bn but
this was increased to £9.3 bn in 2007.