Great Britain

Sukan Olimpik 2012

Aug 13th, 2012
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LONDON 13 Ogos – Malaysia berkongsi dengan lima negara lain untuk menduduki tangga ke-63 daripada 85 negara yang meraih pingat pada temasya Olimpik 2012 yang berakhir semalam.

 

Malaysia bersama Bulgaria, Estonia, Indonesia, Puerto Rico dan Taiwan berkongsi tempat selepas kontinjen negara masing-masing meraih satu pingat perak dan satu gangsa.

 

Malaysia memperoleh perak melalui Datuk Lee Chong Wei yang tewas dalam perlawanan akhir badminton perseorangan lelaki kepada Lin Dan dari China sementara pingat gangsa diraih oleh Pandelela Rinong Anak Pamg dari acara akhir terjun 10m platform wanita.

 

Antara negara Asean, Thailand mendahului kutipan pingat dengan memperoleh dua perak dan satu gangsa untuk menduduki tangga ke-57 dalam jumlah kutipan pingat keseluruhan, diikuti Indonesia (63), Malaysia (63) dan Singapura (75).

 

Thailand memperoleh dua pingat perak, masing-masing menerusi Pongprayoon Kaeo dari acara tinju Lelaki Light Fly 49kg dan Pimsiri Sirikaew (angkat berat wanita 59kg) dan satu gangsa dari Chanatip Sonkham (taekwondo wanita 49kg).

 

Indonesia meraih kedua-dua pingatnya dari acara angkat berat, satu perak dari Yuli Irawan (lelaki 62kg) dan satu gangsa menerusi Triyatno (lelaki 69kg). Singapura mendapat dua gangsa dari acara ping pong, menerusi Feng Tianwei (wanita individu) dan berpasukan wanita.

 

Pada edisi di Beijing 2008, Malaysia mendapat tempat ke-70 daripada 86 negara yang mendapat pingat, berkongsi dengan Chile, Ecuador, Iceland, Afrika Selatan, Singapura, Sudan dan Vietnam, selepas masing-masing hanya mendapat satu perak.

 

Pingat perak Malaysia dari edisi Beijing disumbangkan oleh Chong Wei yang tewas dalam badminton perseorangan lelaki akhir juga kepada Lin Dan dari China.

 

Amerika Syarikat muncul sebagai juara Olimpik 2012 dengan menggondol keseluruhan 46 emas, 29 perak dan 29 gangsa, sekaligus memperbaiki kedudukan selepas meraih tangga kedua pada edisi Beijing 2008 dengan kutipan 36 emas, 21 perak dan 28 gangsa.

 

China yang muncul juara keseluruhan pada temasya di negara sendiri, dengan 51 emas, 21 perak dan 28 gangsa, jatuh ke tempat kedua di London dengan mengutip 38 emas, 27 perak dan 22 gangsa.

 

Sementara tuan rumah Great Britain berpuashati di tempat ketiga di laman sendiri dengan kutipan 29 emas, 17 perak dan 19 gangsa selepas mendapat mendapat tempat keempat di Beijing dengan kutipan 19 emas, 13 perak dan 15 gangsa.

 

Olimpik 2012 : France Kejutkan Juara Bertahan

Jul 29th, 2012
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LONDON, 2012 – France melakukan kejutan terbesar pada hari pertama acara Bola Baling Wanita dengan menewaskan juara bertahan Norway dengan keputusan 24-23 dalam Kumpulan B peringkat kelayakan di Copper Box.

 

Norway yang merupakan Juara Dunia, Juara Olimpik dan Juara Eropah terpaksa berhempas pulas menentang France yang bermula dengan cemerlang dengan mendahului 6-1. Walaubagaimanapun, pasukan dari Scandinavia itu kembali merapatkan jurang kepada 9-10 setelah 22 minit separuh masa kedua bermula.

 

France kembali menjarakkan diri dengan menjaringkan empat gol berturut-turut sehingga berada dihadapan seketika dengan jaringan 17-12 mengakibatkan pasukan Norway hilang tumpuan untuk kembali mencari rentak permainan.

 

Sehingga tiupan wisel ditiup, akhirnya pasukan France berjaya menumpaskan Norway dengan jurang keputusan yang cukup rapat 24-23.

 

Sebelum itu, juara tiga kali Olimpik acara Bola Baling Wanita, Denmark memulakan langkah kanan dengan menewaskan Sweeden dengan keputusan 21-18. Keputusan lain turut membabitkan Korea Selatan menumpaskan Sepanyol dengan keputusan 31-27 dalam Kumpulan A.

 

Rusia turut menewaskan Angola dengan keputusan 30-27, Brazil pula menewaskan Croatia 24-23 manakala pasukan tuan rumah Great Britain terpaksa tunduk kepada Montenegro dengan keputusan 31-19.

Olympics: Village people bed down in London

Jul 23rd, 2012
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Olympics: Village people bed down in London

LONDON: Super-rich footballers bed down along the corridor from penniless gymnasts, while an Australian husband and wife are banned from sleeping together.

 

Welcome to the Athletes’ Village at the London Olympics, a complex of 11 blocks housing 2,818 apartments described by the organisers as gold medal standard.

 

Each night, competitors will return after crushing disappointment or glorious triumph to either cry on their teammates’ shoulders, or hold impromptu victory parties.

 

Although a familiar feature of Olympic life for most competitors, the relatively modest accommodation at the Athletes’ Village is a new experience for the players in Great Britain’s football team.

 

Liverpool midfielder Craig Bellamy, more accustomed to five-star hotels, admits it is an eye-opener.

 

“It is all new to us,” he said. “It’s a lot different. You eat with other athletes but it all adds to the experience.”

 

Bellamy admitted that top footballers are usually kept away (from other people), adding: “So we have to embrace this.”

 

Australia shooter Russell Mark found his arrival in the village less comfortable after he was told he will not be allowed to share a room with his wife Lauryn.

 

Mark, 48, and his wife, who is also on the Australian shooting team, have been told to room separately.

 

The veteran, competing at his sixth Olympics, said Australian officials had enforced the ban because Lauryn had angered officials by posing in a men’s magazine holding a shotgun over her back dressed only in a green and gold bikini.

 

Mark said he and his wife were being punished for being a married couple.

 

“The stupid part of this… is that there are tonnes of gay couples on the Olympic team who will be rooming together so we are being discriminated against because we are heterosexual.”

 

But Nick Green, chef de mission for the Australian team, dismissed the claims.

 

“It is simply not true… accommodation and bedding are done in a particular way to ensure all the athletes are accommodated in the village.”

 

Clearly many athletes are finding a way to meet up, judging by the organisers’ decision to distribute 150,000 condoms in the village, reportedly 50,000 more than were given out at the 2008 Beijing Games.

 

When not arguing over their sleeping arrangements, the Australians were quick to make an impression on the village, spreading banners reading “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie; Oi, Oi, Oi” over several balconies.

 

They have even hung an inflatable kangaroo from one apartment.

 

Another block has a long banner in the Belgian colours hanging from a balcony, while others were decorated with Slovenian, Norwegian and Team Ireland flags.

 

The basic rooms have artwork done by schoolchildren on the walls.

 

Competitors are two to a room and are even allowed to take home their colourful London 2012 duvet.

 

Britain’s double Olympic gold medallist swimmer Rebecca Adlington tweeted a picture of her bed, complete with Team GB mascot.

 

The beds can be extended to accommodate the tallest of athletes.

 

While some of the footballers were prepared to give the village a go, it is just not luxurious enough for the US basketball Dream Team — Kobe Bryant and the rest of the squad are taking over an entire boutique hotel in London.

 

It means they will miss out on the extraordinary range of food on offer at the village.

 

American 400 metres hurdler Kerron Clement sparked headlines with his claims that it had taken four hours to travel across London from Heathrow Airport to the village.

 

But his next tweet raved about the food on offer, chirruping: “Love the variety of food choices.”

 

Tessa Jowell, Britain’s Olympics minister from 2005 to 2010, has been appointed a deputy mayor of the village.

 

“I think the athletes will love it. It transcends nationality,” she told AFP.

 

“The athletes are arriving, the excitement is palpable. All those years of preparation and it’s all about to start.”

 

To pass the time, competitors can spoil themselves with complimentary salon treatment, where they can have their hair cut, get a shave, a facial and their make-up done.

 

They can also have their nails painted with one of the 207 nail-sized flag designs.

 

And home comforts can always be found — a Colombian athlete who had run out of shampoo and had been using washing-up liquid was given a bottle of the real stuff, a salon worker told AFP.

Source: MOLE

Fresh French attacks on British economy fuels row

Dec 16th, 2011
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Fresh French attacks on British economy fuels row

PARIS: France fuelled a burgeoning cross-Channel row on Friday, describing Britain’s economy as very worrying as the press in London reacted with fury to French calls for British debt to be downgraded.

 

The row comes after Britain clashed with France at last week’s EU crisis summit and refused to join the members of the eurozone single currency bloc in a new fiscal pact, prompting French President Nicolas Sarkozy to declare there were now two Europes.

 

Despite widespread condemnation in London of criticisms from Paris on Thursday, Finance Minister Francois Baroin picked up the issue again on Friday, saying the French economy was in better shape than the British situation.

 

“It’s true that the economic situation in Great Britain is very worrying and that we prefer being French rather than British on the economic front at the moment,” Baroin said on Europe 1 radio.

 

“We don’t want to be given any lessons and we don’t give any,” he said.

 

His comments came as the British press on Friday slammed French officials for suggesting that ratings agencies were targeting the wrong country for a debt downgrade by looking at France.

 

“They should start by degrading the United Kingdom, which has greater deficits, as much debt, more inflation and less growth than us,” central bank chief Christian Noyer had told regional newspaper Le Telegramme.

 

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon picked up on the theme on Thursday, telling reporters in Sao Paolo that ratings agencies seemed to be ignoring the state of British government finances.

 

“We are challenged on the European currency, first of all because we are too indebted,” he said. “But we are not the only ones. Our British friends are even more indebted than we are and have a higher deficit, but the ratings agencies do not seem to notice this.”

 

Prime Minister David Cameron’s official spokesman had rejected the French criticism, insisting Britain had a credible economic plan.

 

British officials would not be drawn into responding directly to the French criticism, but the British press reacted furiously.

 

Noyer’s comments were dismissed as outrageous and plain wrong by The Times.

 

“It is simply not the job of a central bank governor to urge the downgrading of another country’s credit,” it added.

 

“There is only one good answer when asked about another country’s rating. ‘Sans commentaire’,” argued the broadsheet.

 

Popular tabloid The Sun ran a scathing leading article attacking treacherous Noyer under the headline “Gall of Gaul”.

 

“You find out who your friends are in a crisis,” it continued. “We shouldn’t be surprised, then, when the head of the Bank of France tries to better his country’s economic position by sabotaging ours.”

 

“Monsieur Noyer, you’re a AAA-rated fool,” it concluded.

 

The Daily Telegraph, which carried “France declares war of words on Britain” as its front-page headline, also quoted Conservative lawmaker David Ruffley calling the comments another example of Gallic self-delusion on an epic scale.

 

Analysts said the concerted French attack appeared to be aimed at deflecting attention from concerns on its ratings.

 

In its morning briefing note, British foreign exchange firm Moneycorp described Noyer’s attack as a clumsy attempt to divert attention from the possibility that France itself could lose its triple-A rating.

 

US ratings agencies Standard Poor’s and Moody’s have warned that France is close to losing its prized triple-A debt rating over fears that eurozone members cannot control their rising debt and deficits.

 

Britain, which is outside the euro and which has the Bank of England to act as a lender of last resort in the event of debt problems, is seen as a safe haven by bond buyers as the debt crisis engulfs the eurozone on its doorstep.

 

The shock decision by Britain a week ago to stand aside from a new European Union architecture to control budgets has raised strains between the EU and Britain.

 

But Poland, which is coming to the end of its presidency of EU meetings, said on Friday that Britain would send experts to a meeting of the other 26 EU members at the end of the month on saving the 17-nation eurozone.

Source: MOLE

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