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Surviving Songkran - Ambush Attack
Copyright: © 2011 Jeremy Villasis. All Rights Reserved
It is worth mentioning that when riding a tuk-tuk, the driver will stop at every street corner where small groups of water throwers are waiting to drench you. Taxis will be willing to take you to your destination, but where’s the fun in that?
- excerpt from my article in Lifestyle Asia Travel Magazine Issue 3 (June-July) 2011
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Former Worcestershire batsman investigated by police
Former Worcestershire batsman Adrian Shankar is being investigated by police over suggestions that he may have provided false information to obtain a contract with the county.
By Paul Bolton 4:39PM BST 27 May 2011
Shankar was signed by Worcestershire on a two-year deal only two weeks ago but that deal and his registration were terminated on Thursday.
Worcestershire have declined to comment on the reasons for Shankar’s abrupt departure but a West Mercia Police spokesman confirmed: “We have been informed by West Mercia Police about this issue and the information has been passed to officers which is now being looked at.” No charges have been made.
A West Mercia Police statement said: “We have been informed by Worcestershire County Cricket Club about this issue and the information has been passed to officers which is now being looked at.”
At the centre of the police investigation will be Shankar’s alleged participation in matches in Sri Lanka last winter which Worcestershire claimed had persuaded them to sign him.
But details of any matches in the mercantile league competition are missing from all reputable cricket websites.
There is also confusion about Shankar’s age. Worcestershire were led to believe that was 26, but most cricket publications clearly state that he was born on May 7 1982.
Much of Shankar’s cricketing career is shrouded in mystery. What is beyond dispute is that he played for Cambridge University from 2002 to 2005 and was on Lancashire’s staff in 2009 and 2010 without making a first team appearance.
He put himself up for offer at last winter’s IPL auction at a price of £20,000 but went unsold. Worcestershire signed Shankar without seeing him bat in a second team game and they pitched him straight into their first team.
He was dismissed for a third ball duck in last week’s CB40 defeat by Middlesex at Lord’s then batted 20 overs for a defiant unbeaten 10 on his County Championship debut against Durham before he damaged a knee in the warm-up the following morning and took no further part in the match.
Shankar’s registration with Bedfordshire, for whom he played Minor Counties cricket in 2006, has also been terminated on the instructions of the England and Wales Cricket Board.
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A Construo do Conhecimento em Servio Social IPBeja2267
No dia 20 de Maio de 2011 decorreu no Auditrio 2 do IPBeja o Seminrio “A Construo do Conhecimento em Servio Social”
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Mike Pelfrey can punctuate his in-season turnaround with a strong performance against the Yankees today.
After a disastrous stretch to begin the season, the Mets right-hander has settled into a groove over his last three starts, with solid performances against the Giants, Rockies and Marlins. But none of those teams compare to the Yankees -- even with the recent struggles by Jorge Posada, Derek Jeter and Nick Swisher, among others.
"They are still dangerous, no matter where you look at," Pelfrey said before the Mets' 7-3 loss to the Yankees last night at the Stadium. "Russell Martin has [eight] home runs; for a catcher that is impressive. [Robinson] Cano is dangerous, A-Rod is dangerous and [Mark] Teixeira is obviously dangerous. Some of the guys aren't where they want to be offensively, but by the end of the year, you know the numbers are going to be there for those guys."
BOX SCORE
PHOTOS: SUBWAY SERIES LEADERS
Pelfrey, who is 2-2 with a 4.70 ERA in four career starts against the Yankees, said the Subway Series never gets old for him.
"The fans get into it, and you can feel the excitement in the air, which as players makes it extra fun for us," Pelfrey said. "When the fans are into it, that does make it a lot of fun."
*
Daniel Murphy's footwork around first base has become a new point of emphasis with the Mets, after Murphy was ruled off the bag on Jose Reyes' throw in the fifth inning Friday. Replays showed Murphy was on the base.
A day earlier, Murphy came off the base in the ninth inning against the Nationals, but it wasn't spotted by umpire Phil Cuzzi.
Manager Terry Collins said the missed call by umpire Jeff Kellogg on Friday indicates word is out to pay close attention to whether Murphy stays on the bag.
"If it's going around that [Murphy] is coming off the bag, we've got to correct it," Collins said. "I don't know what the whole thought process is, but we've got to make sure we get those calls."
Collins planned to have infield coach Chip Hale discuss the situation with Murphy.
*
Carlos Beltran will shift to designated hitter today, with Fernando Martinez moving to right field.
Collins also plans to give Ronny Paulino the start at catcher. After a good beginning at the plate, Paulino is in a 1-for-13 rut. But Paulino has worked well with Pelfrey.
*
Angel Pagan (oblique) played his final game for Single-A St. Lucie, finishing 3-for-4 against Tampa, and will extend his minor league rehab assignment, either at Double-A Binghamton or Triple-A Buffalo, according to Collins. Pagan could join the Mets in Chicago this week.
*
Justin Turner has reached base in 12 straight games, dating to May 7, and has a career-high hitting streak of eight games thanks to RBI single in the first inning last night. Over that stretch, Turner is batting .424 (14-for-33) with one homer and 12 RBIs. He had three hits in the Mets' 2-1 victory over the Yankees on Friday.
*
Tom Fersch lived to see his beloved Mets defeat the Yankees, 2-1 on Friday.
Early yesterday morning Fersch, 49, the senior director of group sales for the team since 1994, died after an 18-month battle with cancer, passing after watching the game with friends at Sloan-Kettering.
"He was in and out all night," Mets vice president of communications Jay Horwitz said. "But he perked up when he heard his name on SNY. He passed with a smile on his face. Tom's entire life was about the Mets."
-- Additional reporting by Mike Vaccaro
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Arsenal power battle continues as Alisher Usmanov offers #14,000 a share
Alisher Usmanov, the Uzbeki billionaire, has responded to Stan Kroenke’s takeover bid of £11,750 per share in Arsenal by offering £14,000 to any shareholder wishing to sell their stake.
Gunning for a takeover: Uzbeki billionaire Alisher Usmanov Photo: REUTERS
By Jeremy Wilson 9:36AM BST 25 May 2011
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Kroenke, an American billionaire sports team owner, has already secured around 63 per cent of the club following the decision of two key former directors, Danny Fiszman and Lady Bracewell-Smith, to sell their shares to him.
Usmanov, however, remains determined to limit Kroenke’s overall stake and has paid in excess of £12,000 for shares even while Arsenal has been under offer.
With the completion deadline looming on Friday for Kroenke’s unconditional offer of £11,750 per share, Usmanov has indicated that he is currently willing to pay an additional £2,250 per share. He has also rejected the chance to sell any of his existing 27 per cent stake to Kroenke. His offer of £14,000 per share puts a theoretical value on Arsenal of £871 million.
Usmanov has always said that he supports the club’s plural ownership structure and would argue that his decision to offer such a high sum for each share is to prevent too much of the club falling into the hands of one single individual.
When it was revealed that Lady Bracewell-Smith had agreed to sell her 15.9 per cent stake to Kroenke for £116.24 million, Usmanov failed with a counter bid in excess of £128 million.
Usmanov was placed second in the recent Sunday Times list of the richest people living in Britain, with an estimated worth that exceeds Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich by £1.9 billion.
The Arsenal Supporters’ Trust set up a ‘fanshare’ scheme last year to encourage ordinary supporters to become shareholders and has recommended that its members should reject Kroenke’s offer.
Arsenal also confirmed its pre-season tour to Malaysia and China, with Jack Wilshere likely to take part in that trip after missing the European Under-21 championships.
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Arsenal's Jack Wilshere and Liverpool's Andy Carroll left out of England Under-21 squad
Arsenal's Jack Wilshere and Liverpool's Andy Carroll have been left out of Stuart Pearce's England Under-21s squad for the Uefa Under-21 Championship finals in Denmark next month, the FA have confirmed.
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Workhorse: Wilshere played 49 games for Arsenal this season and three times for England Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Image 1 of 2
Making the jump: Andy Carroll has also established himself at senior level, scoring against Ghana in the second of two appearances in England friendlies Photo: Reuters
By Telegraph staff and agencies 4:40PM BST 23 May 2011
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Coach Stuart Pearce had hoped to include the senior internationals at this summer's tournament, and named both in a provisional 40-man squad.
But Wilshere's inclusion in particular has become contentious, with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger describing his selection as a "massive risk" given the amount of football he has played this season.
Wilshere himself always maintained he was keen to play, but the player has apparently been convinced by Wenger's arguments: "I spoke to Jack last week and he explained that while he told me in March that he wanted to be part of the squad, he now feels he is not in the best condition to take part in the finals.
"That is based on the number of games he has played for Arsenal this season, sports science data which Jack was presented with last week and concerns he has for his fitness looking ahead to next season.
"Jack has always expressed his enjoyment at being involved with the under-21 squad, and while I am disappointed not to have him with us for the finals I've accepted the situation."
He added: "I am very conscious of the importance of looking after all our players, and that is why I have frequent conversations with club managers throughout the season.
"I believe that representing your country in international development tournaments can be a great advantage to players, and increases the chances of being successful at senior level."
There was always some doubt over the participation of Carroll, whose position on being drafted back into the under-21s after making his senior debut was unclear.
He also reportedly expressed concern this summer's tournament could do him more harm than good after an injury-hit second half of the season and Pearce today had simply one line to say about the 22-year-old: "Andy has been ruled out through injury."
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Scottish Cup final 2011: Motherwell v Celtic - player ratings
Telegraph Sport runs the rule over Celtic and Motherwell's displays in the Scottish Cup final.
hoop dreams: Celtic celebrate their Scottish Cup success Photo: PA
By Ewing Grahame 4:09PM BST 22 May 2011
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Celtic
Fraser Forster
The big goalkeeper could have taken a deckchair and a novel on to the field with him, so little did he have to do. 6
Mark Wilson
The full-back capped a fine second half to the season with a storming performance, culminating with the shot which ultimately led to Celtic’s second goal. 8
Glenn Loovens
Like Forster, the Dutchman was rarely called upon to show his worth, although he did well to recover from a nasty challenge from Lasley. 6
Daniel Majstorovic
The Swede has yet to convince that he is more solution to than cause of Celtic’s defensive problems. Fortunate not to be sent off for lunge from behind on Sutton and escaped a second caution for deliberate handball. 4
Emilio Izaguirre
As always, looked better going forward than he did defending but he had so little of the latter to do that he excelled. 7
Kris Commons
Failed to find his best form in a final for the second time in two months. Should have scored at least once can be content with his contribution since joining in January. 6
Scott Brown
Restored to the central role he has often struggled to fill, he was effective enough against Motherwell. Produced the pass of the match to release Commons, who fluffed the chance. 7
Ki Sung Yeung
The South Korean produced the best moment of the final with his sumptuous strike for the opening goal but, even without that, turned in an assured performance. 7
Charlie Mulgrew
Does seem better suited to a role in midfield rather than the back four, where his lack of pace and defensive instincts can be exposed. His free-kick for Celtic’s third rivalled Ki’s opener. 6
Georgios Samaras
Unbalances Celtic’s team due to his inability to link with strike partners or the midfield. He held the ball up for too long and rarely posed a goal threat. 4
Gary Hooper
Another player who was short of his best, although he was unfortunate to see a shot come back off the crossbar in the second minute. 6
Subs: The arrival of Anthony Stokes, James Forrest and Paddy McCourt did little to alter the course of the match. 5
Neil Lennon: The Celtic manager, unaware of the pre-match vote of confidence proffered by major shareholder Dermot Desmond, approached the final in a positive manner and reaped the reward. 7
Motherwell
Darren Randolph
Arguably Motherwell’s most consistent performer this year, the Irishman commanded his penalty area and was blameless at all three goals. 7
Tom Hateley
Injury to Maurice Ross saw the midfielder become an auxiliary right-back. He acquitted himself reasonably well in that role but was unable to put his shooting ability to good use. 6
Stephen Craigan
Astonishingly, he failed to receive a caution for handball on the edge of the penalty area, was later booked for a foul on Stokes and, incredibly, escaped a red card for chopping down Hooper. 3
Shaun Hutchinson
The pick of Motherwell’s defenders. The 20-year-old stuck manfully to his task and made some telling interceptions to keep his side in it. 7
Steven Hammell
The full-back put in a solid shift on the left flank, supporting his forwards whenever possible before becoming the first Motherwell player to be replaced. 6
Chris Humphrey
A winger who recently opted to represent Jamaica rather than Scotland, he was a peripheral figure in every sense, unable to get the better of Mulgrew and Izaguirre. 5
Steve Jennings
Spent most of the match kicking for touch, seemingly unable to keep the ball on the park. One decent defensive block apart, this was an afternoon to forget. 4
Keith Lasley
More leg-breaker than playmaker, he was lucky to remain on the field after his 15th-minute studs-up challenge on Loovens. Several later tackles might have produced a second yellow card, too. 4
Gavin Gunning
Came closest to shocking Celtic with a magnificent 30-yard drive which came back off the underside of the bar. Otherwise solid but unspectacular. 6
Jamie Murphy
Much was expected of the Scotland Under-21 forward but, like too many of his team-mates, he’s still waiting for the game to start. 4
John Sutton
Impossible to criticise the striker because he received next to nothing in the way of service or support and so never looked like scoring. 5
Subs: Franny Jeffers and Steven Jones brought nothing to the party and never looked like salvaging extra-time. 5
Stuart McCall: Took too long before making changes in personnel in a formation more concerned with damage limitation than inflicting damage. 4
Referee: Calum Murray produced as inept a performance as has been seen in a major final. He got most of the major decisions wrong and his only consolation was that he didn’t affect the outcome. 1
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TRIPOLI, Libya—Under growing military pressure, Col. Moammar Gadhafi's government offered to withdraw the Libyan army from cities it has occupied to battle a three-month-old uprising if the North Atlantic Treaty Organization stops bombing the country and rebel forces agree to disarm.
Libyan spokesman Moussa Ibrahim, who outlined the offer late Thursday, said it was a response to a Russian proposal. It was the closest the government has come to addressing NATO's demands for halting a crackdown in which thousands are believed to have died.
The offer came after more than two months of intense bombing by NATO forces, including strikes on Col. Gadhafi's headquarters and command centers. On Thursday Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the colonel's wife, Safia, and their daughter, Aisha, had fled the country into neighboring Tunisia, apparently confirming a report that Tunisian and Libyan authorities have denied.
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"The pressure on the Gadhafi regime has increased," Ms. Clinton said in an interview with CBS's Katie Couric. "There is an enormous amount of increased messaging going to Gadhafi, not just because of the military strikes, but from those who he thought were in his camp or at least wouldn't try to push him to leave."
Mr. Ibraham insisted Thursday that Col. Gadhafi's wife and daughter were in Tripoli and had not left Libya since the fighting erupted in mid-February. He said he had spoken to the colonel's wife earlier in the evening.
As he spoke to reporters, a NATO airstrike hit what appeared to be a warship docked in the port of Tripoli, sending up flames and plumes of black smoke.
The British military said NATO had launched a "major" strike against Col. Gadhafi's navy. British jets hit two corvettes at the naval base at Al Khums, a British spokesman said. They also targeted a facility in the dockyard which has been building the sort of fast inflatable boats that Libyan forces have used to mine Misratah and attack vessels in the area, he said.
NATO forces have been bombing Libya under a U.N. resolution authorizing them to protect civilians from Col. Gaddafi's forces. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Thursday the alliance had "significantly degraded Gadhafi's war machine" and that it would keep attacking until Libyan forces pull back to their bases.
Turkey proposed such a withdrawal about a month ago, but Mr. Ibrahim said Libya had balked out of concern that rebel forces might re-occupy cities from which they had been routed.
Russian officials revived the proposal Tuesday during a meeting with a Libyan government delegation in Moscow, Mr. Ibrahim said.
"We are prepared to withdraw all our army units from the cities ... if we could work out a way to guarantee that no arms, no weapons are in these cities—not the government's weapons, not the armed rebellion's weapons," Mr. Ibrahim said. "If people are really interested in peace, they should say yes."
He said the proposal could be a first step toward peace talks and "a transitional period" in which Libyans would decide the country's political future.
A NATO spokesman said the alliance was looking for "deeds not words." He referred to NATO's terms for stopping its military action: an end to hostilities, the army returning to its barracks and unfettered access for humanitarian missions.
President Obama and rebel leaders have said Col. Gadhafi must give up power before any talks can begin. On Thursday, Mr. Ibrahim rejected any such preconditions, saying, "It's not Obama who decides. It's the Libyan people who will decide their future."
The Libyan army has kept a heavy presence in Tripoli and other cities of western Libya since crushing uprisings there. On Thursday the army fired rockets at rebel positions in the mountains southwest of Tripoli, forcing civilian inhabitants to flee across the nearby Tunisian border, news agencies said. Rebels control much of the western city of Misrata and the principal cities in eastern Libya.
In outlining the Libyan offer, Mr. Ibrahim said NATO would have to stop bombing to allow Libyan troops to leave the cities safely.
He said the government would welcome international supervision of such an arrangement and would would insist on maintaining a limited police presence in the cities.
Col. Gadhafi made a rare, brief appearance on Libyan state television late Thursday, meeting with Mohammed al-Sharif, who had led the delegation to Moscow. The Libyan leader, dressed in black and wearing sunglasses, appeared in good health and spirits.
—Alistair MacDonald in London contributed to this article.
Corrections & Amplifications
Col. Gadhafi's wife's name is Safia. An earlier version of this article misstated the spelling of her name.
Write to Richard Boudreaux at richard.boudreaux@wsj.com
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The new clay courts at the U.S. Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y
The National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., has 21 outdoor hard courts, the sport's largest stadium, and a $65 million indoor facility with 12 hard courts and a gym.
If you're looking for the U.S. Tennis Association's most important weapon in its fight to return the U.S. to tennis glory, though, you'll have to walk on the road behind Arthur Ashe Stadium, past the dumpsters and into a parking lot, where you'll find four clay courts inside an inflated bubble.
During the U.S. Open, the bubble comes down and the courts, which were built a year ago, are covered with plastic planks so cars can park on them. But for the rest of the year, they're the chief training ground for the elite juniors who live in the area.
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Mustafah Abdulaziz for The Wall Street Journal
Anna Ulyashchenko, 14, from Brooklyn, N.Y., dries the sweat from her face during a break.
Patrick McEnroe, who runs the USTA's player development program, says the courts are also a metaphor for what the U.S. needs to do to restore its competitive edge: Dig harder, grind longer, slide better, and get dirtier.
"We fell behind a little bit in how we train our young kids," he said. "That's not a knock on any individual, but a knock on our country."
Earlier this month, the U.S. hit a low in tennis, when for the first time since the invention of the computer ranking system, almost 40 years ago, it didn't have a single man or woman in the top 10 of the men's or women's tours. When the French Open begins Sunday, Mardy Fish, ranked No. 10, will be the highest-ranked American in either the men's or women's field. The top nine men will call Europe home. To catch up, McEnroe says, the U.S. must learn to take a page or two from the European playbook. And that means training more on clay.
For many years, clay-court specialists struggled on grass and hard courts. But over the last two decades, those surfaces have slowed down to become more like clay. Hard courts are grittier and give the ball more loft. The lawns at Wimbledon are grown on firmer dirt that holds up better over a two-week period and offers higher, truer bounces. This, combined with today's forgiving rackets and spin-inducing strings, has given an advantage to players who depend on athleticism, defense and footwork over big-shot fireworks.
"Clay is where you learn how to move—you can't cheat on clay," said Mats Wilander, the former No. 1 and three-time French Open champion. "On hard courts, you inevitably get lazy. There isn't that big of a difference between Mardy Fish and Novak Djokovic in terms of hitting the ball, but Djokovic moves 10 times better." Djokovic, ranked No. 2 in the world, has yet to lose a match this season.
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Mustafah Abdulaziz for The Wall Street Journal
Zak Steiner, 15, from Greenwich, Conn., hits a ball during practice.
Jose Higueras, who was dangerous on clay back when it was more of a specialty surface, rather than a breeding ground for greatness, now travels the U.S. as the USTA's director of coaching (McEnroe hired him in 2008). His initial take on America's young tennis players, he says, has held up over time.
"Our kids don't hit the ball worse than anybody else," he said. "They don't play as well."
The shift to clay marks a radical change in ideology for American tennis. If future generations of U.S. players are going to succeed, McEnroe and his team believe, they'll have to temper the attacking approach to tennis that has helped past Americans thrive, and adopt a more European style that prizes patience and defense. Potent offense alone—whether it's a huge serve or a blistering forehand—no longer works. "The great American players over the years have been aggressive players, and we're certainly trying to continue that," McEnroe said. "But if you can't hit a lot of balls from the back of the court, it's pretty unlikely you're going to make it to the top."
McEnroe sees another European strength that he'd like to emulate: A tennis federation that shapes training nationwide, rather than leaving it to privately run academies. "Spain has a very systematic approach to how they teach kids, when it comes to margin of error, when to attack, when to defend," he said. "You can go pretty much anywhere in Spain to a coach, and they'll teach you pretty much the same thing."
In recent years, the USTA has flown some of its top juniors and coaches to Barcelona for a closer look. At Barcelona Total Tennis, the players spend a week training on red clay, often with Francis Roig, the academy's technical director and a part-time coach to Rafael Nadal. "They're pretty surprised at the intensity of the drills—even our coaches are," McEnroe said. "It's good for our coaches to see it, the attention to detail."
Nikko Madregallejo, a 16-year-old from Monrovia, Calif. currently ranked No. 3 in the country in his age group, took part in one of the first Barcelona trips a few years ago. He now trains at the USTA's main training center in Boca Raton, Fla., where he spends a lot of time on clay. "I used to just hit balls as hard as I could and hoped that they went in, which wasn't too smart," Madregallejo said. "It has helped me a lot."
Higueras, the USTA's director of coaching, hopes to instill an intensity and urgency—don't waste a shot, build an advantage, then capitalize—that he sees in young European players. Earlier this winter, he visited the indoor clay courts at the National Tennis Center. As Higueras roamed, Robert Levine, a talented 13-year-old from Bedford, N.Y., waited for a softly hit ball and smacked a beautiful backhand. Higueras saw something else: Three seconds squandered as the ball floated over the net. "Hit a forehand, Robert, you have time!" he shouted. Later, Higueras said: "If you go to Europe, you don't see that. That's not what the kids there are programmed for. If they have time to run around the ball, they do it."
McEnroe expects that the road to success will be long. For one thing, there are 400,000 hard courts in the U.S. and only 30,000 clay courts, according to USTA estimates, and that's not likely to change anytime soon. But McEnroe said it wouldn't necessarily take mounds and mounds of clay to teach a clay-court ethic.
The USTA's two main training centers, in Boca Raton and Carson, Calif., have clay courts, and it recently moved its top international junior tournament, the Orange Bowl, from hard courts back to its clay court origins. The tournament dates back to 1947. In 2009, the U.S. had one national clay court tournament for its juniors. It now has five. Since 2008, it has raised the number of clay-court Futures tournaments for young, lower-ranked pros to 25 from 10.
"You can't predict the future, technology, whatever," McEnroe said. "But the way the game is going, it would be very surprising if we went back to some kind of bang-bang tennis. One-shot tennis is dead."
Online.wsj.com
Snow at Cullen Bullen, 1970
On our family's return from a holiday in the New England Tablelands in September 1970, we came into snow near Lithgow, west of the Blue Mountains. The road was shut across the mountains and we got the last two rooms in one of the pubs in town. The road was cleared about lunch time the next day. This was the second time I'd ever seen snow! My brother and I having a snow-fight before we got into the snowstorm proper.
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West Ham offered Avram Grant's job to six other managers months before he was sacked
Avram Grant's postion as West Ham manager was undermined at the start of this year when six managers were approached by the club's owners David Gold and David Sullivan about replacing the Israeli, according to Grant.
End of the line: Avram Grant has told close friends he should never have accepted the job at West Ham Photo: AP
By Telegraph staff 8:53AM BST 18 May 2011
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According to a close friend, Grant, sacked at the weekend after it was confirmed West Ham had been relegated to the Championship, ignored advice urging him to snub the job at Upton Park but almost immediately recognised the error of his ways.
"Avram was advised not to take the job by several people in football but he wanted the challenge," a close friend of Grant's told the Guardian.
"He feels almost from the moment he took over the situation was virtually impossible.
"Avram points to January when Martin O'Neill was offered his job [when Grant's dismissal was expected to be announced]. He says six managers were asked by the club to take over, including Steve McClaren and Sam Allardyce, but they would not do it because they knew the situation there.
"Avram feels frustrated. If he had not been sacked he believes he could have steadied the club and taken it on to much better things next season.
"He actually said that despite all the financial difficulties at Portsmouth, where players were not being paid and the club faced liquidation, that job was far easier than the West Ham."
Expanding on the frustrations and pressures put on Grant by Gold and Sullivan, the source added: "He [Grant] was concerned about the lack of a strong midfield-enforcer type when he arrived so he wanted to sign Marc Wilson, who was a player for him at Portsmouth.
"Wilson wanted to sign for Avram and Portsmouth would have sold him for £3m but the owners would not go beyond £2.5m and so he ended up joining Stoke [City].
"Another example is Yakubu [Ayegbeni, the Everton striker]. West Ham were willing to pay £6m for him – David Moyes [Everton's manager] wanted £10m so the deal could not happen, but Avram was not allowed to spend [that] money on other signings, which he could not understand.
"He regrets not checking out the club properly to find out the true situation about the budget. His vision was for the club was to be a mini-Arsenal, developing their own players and style. He knew it would be difficult in the first season, fighting relegation at the same time. But if he knew then what he knows now he probably would not have accepted the job."
Grant's apparent admission that he was wrong to have accepted the role at West Ham is a view shared by his wife who added that while her husband found joy with the fans and players he faced unimaginable pressure from behind the scenes.
"Maybe there was a mistake on Avram's part to accept the job," said Tzofit Grant. "There were so many people who were offered it but turned it down because they thought they wouldn't be able to manage. But Avram wanted to rise to the challenge.
"There are so many things that we can't talk about – so many things he had to deal with that people don't know about. He found no joy except only with the fans, players and his assistants."
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Denmark's defiance over frontier controls has left European Union bordering on crisis
Will Denmark reinstating border controls help to stop crime, or will it be a first stop on the road to dismantling the EU?
Ex-border guard and curator of the 'Graenslands' museum in the town of Tonder, Carl Jorgensen, in the old border post museum in Denmark. Photo: JANE MINGAY
By Harriet Alexander, Tonder, southern Denmark 8:00AM BST 15 May 2011
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For 50 years as he kept watch over Denmark's border with Germany, Carl Jorgensen knew all about frontier problems. The former border guard tracked down drug dealers with his sniffer dog, cycled every inch of the boundary, and stopped hundreds of trouble-makers from entering his country with dubious intentions.
But the latest struggle for control over Denmark's frontier is not being waged on these flat farmlands of northern Europe, which Mr Jorgensen and his fellow border guards once policed.
Instead, it is being fought in the offices and chambers of Brussels, as Denmark takes on the European Union in a bitter row over the right to police its borders.
Last week Denmark announced that it was resuming checks along its frontiers with Germany and Sweden - having suspended them in 2001 when it joined the Schengen agreement, which allows passport-free travel throughout 22 of the EU's 27 member states, plus four others.
The Danish government says the resumption of border checks is needed to help prevent cross-border crime, illegal immigration and drug trafficking. Soren Pind, Denmark's integration minister, said that the EU needed a frank discussion about the "dark side" of open frontiers.
Copenhagen warned that, within the next three weeks, it will rebuild border stations; employ more customs officials; begin extensive video surveillance of cars crossing Danish borders; and make rapid police assistance available if the customs officers need them.
"We are trying our best to take measures that will secure the best aspects of freedom of movement, and at the same time, not let criminal activity pass through freely," said Mr Pind.
It is a move welcomed by Mr Jorgensen, 77. Sitting inside the only remaining pre-Schengen Danish border post, preserved as a museum in the town of Tonder, Mr Jorgensen reminisced about how he would keep an eagle eye on the comings and goings across the frontier – a boundary which dates back 1,500 years.
Some 20 miles to the east, where the A7 dual carriageway runs from Hamburg up into central Denmark, cars, coaches and huge container lorries thunder in both directions, a large sign and a pair of flags the only indication that they are crossing the border. "It's right that they are bringing back the controls," he said. "Since 2001 things have got much more dangerous, and there is a big problem with criminals coming across. Everyone around here wants this."
But the decision has sparked an angry reaction within the EU. At stake, opponents claim, is the key principle of a united, integrated Europe. A furious European Commission denounced the Danish plan as illegal, triggering the latest row to convulse the EU which now appears to be bordering on perpetual crisis.
The row over frontiers comes as the economic meltdown is shaking the world's faith in European monetary union, which was as much a part of EU's founding vision as the free movement of goods and people.
Last week Greece was convulsed by angry demonstrations against spending cuts and the further round of loans from other EU governments needed to keep its economy afloat. One in four Greeks, according to the latest poll, would now rather their country left the euro.
The crisis is straining EU cooperation as Germans bridle at bailing out their more profligate southern European neighbours, and voters in countries like Britain and Denmark, both outside the eurozone, baulk at paying to save the single currency.
On Monday George Osborne will tell European Union finance ministers that Britain will not be dragged into joining any further bail-out of Greece. "We don't want to be a part of it, and we see no reason why we should," a source close to the Chancellor said last night. "That's the message George will take with him to Brussels."
Last week the French government accepted that the UK would not be brought into any EU support for Greece, according to the Treasury.
The row over the EU's internal borders reflects fears over immigrants fleeing the unrest in North Africa and the Middle East. Under the current Schengen regime, anyone of more than 400 million people can travel from Portugal's Atlantic coast to Poland's frontier with Russia, without showing their passport.
Both France and Italy want this reviewed, and this will be discussed at a summit of EU prime ministers and presidents next month. Italy is particularly under pressure from North African immigration, with refugees arriving by the hundred on the island of Lampedusa.
Lucio Malan, a senator from Italy's governing People's Freedom Party, said: "As long as we don't have a realistic European policy about illegal immigration, of course the single member states will try to make a little fortress.
"Immigrants are coming to Italy in big numbers and we have been condemned for rejecting many immigrants or making it a crime to repeatedly enter Italy without the proper authorisation. We are trying to work a solution by ourselves because there is no burden sharing."
Denmark's unilateral move to reintroduce controls has increased the risk that the whole Schengen Agreement could collapse.
"We must not destroy Schengen," said Jerzy Buzek, president of the European parliament, after an emergency meeting on Thursday, while EU justice commissioner Viviane Reding said that she was "extremely concerned" by the Danish government's action.
Elsewhere in the region, Right-wing Eurosceptic parties are capitalising on fears of immigration and the meltdown of the euro. In France, Marine Le Pen's Front National is threatening President Nicolas Sarkozy in next year's elections, while in Finland last month's general election created a new headache for the EU, with the Right-wing True Finns gaining a foothold in government and challenging the Portuguese bail-out.
Indeed, in Denmark, the decision to reinstate border controls is largely due to the influence of the Danish People's Party – an anti immigration and Euro-sceptic grouping.
In order to pass its 2020 economic plan, the government needed the party's support, and the price the party extracted was a promise to impose tougher border controls.
Soren Espersen, foreign affairs spokesman for Danish People's Party, told The Sunday Telegraph that it was high time that Denmark faced up to the problem. "We have real problems with the smuggling of drugs, weapons and illegal immigrants. Gangs of Eastern Europeans come here to break into people's homes," he said.
"There is a profound scepticism in Denmark about the lack of border controls, and the march of federalism. I am not surprised that this has ruffled feathers in Europe. Any step against their rulings sparks a kerfuffle – but it's the right thing for our country."
His view is supported by many. A poll last week by a Danish newspaper suggested 70 per cent of Danes wanted tougher border controls, and the government insists that as a measure against crime – and not a compulsory passport check – it is still within the Schengen remit.
Statistics do show a rise in crime in Denmark, with thefts of lorries and articulated trailers every second day in 2011, according to the Insurance Association. Chief Inspector Christian Ostergaard of Southern Jutland Police admitted: "There is no doubt that many Eastern Europeans are responsible."
Theft is also a problem, but with the increased focus on break-ins, police say they no longer catch as many human smugglers and illegal immigrants at the borders. In the first three mnths of this year, 917 asylum seekers were apprehended entering Denmark – most from Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria or Russia.
"We don't catch as many illegal immigrants and human smugglers," said Inspector Jens-Ole Wilhelmsen of the Foreigners Department in Padborg, on the German border. "To get them, we have to be at the borders, and we are not there because of other tasks."
In the pretty border town of Tonder, where Mr Jorgensen proudly maintains his frontier museum, the controls are also met with approval.
"I go to Germany once a week, but I think it's a good idea," said Dide Johannsen, 16, riding her bicycle to work in a shoe shop. "I think it will help stop crime and cut down problems with illegal immigrants."
Stig Jacobsen, 36, who runs an international furniture business, said that he approved – even if the measures meant his delivery lorries would occasionally be delayed.
"It's easy for people in Copenhagen to say that we should keep everything open. But living here, you are aware of suspicious people hanging about, and theft. I am very pro-EU, but this is a necessary measure."
Others are not so sure. The leading Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten called the decision "un-Danish", while many fear that the controls will lead to excessive border queues and damage Denmark's pro-European reputation.
"I prefer open borders," said Maria Dalsgaard, a consultant, from Copenhagen. "Of course there is a problem with human smuggling and crime, but I don't think things will change with a permanent border presence. These criminals will always be able to find a way in, and anyway I prefer things to be open."
Additional reporting: Julian Isherwood in Copenhagen
Telegraph.feedsportal.com
Vancouver, British Columbia
On Saturday, in what could be his last run at the Winter Olympics, Bode Miller will try to win his first medal in an Olympic men's slalom event.
No matter what happens, this Olympics has already cemented Mr. Miller's place as the most successful skier in U.S. history. If he can pull off a win in the slalom, he'll rival French legend Jean-Claude Killy as one of the greatest and most versatile Olympic skiers of all time.
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Bode Miller races in the men's downhill on Feb. 15.
Saturday may be a last chance for a glimpse at a skier rarer than most people realize. Heading into Saturday's slalom, Mr. Miller, 32 years old, has five Olympic medals, including one gold, spread among four of skiing's five disciplines.
Mr. Miller broke onto the scene as a slalom specialist in the mid-1990s, wearing the first generation of curved skis to help him power through turns in a way no one had before. His two silver medals at the Salt Lake City Games in 2002 came in combined and giant slalom.
As he shifted his focus to speed events, coaches worried his reckless style would lead to a career-ending injury.
That didn't happen, and now, far beyond the age when most skiers win slaloms, Mr. Miller still judges himself by how quickly he can dance through the gates.
"It's always been my dream to win in slalom," Mr. Miller said after taking his first gold medal in the combined in Vancouver. "I've always said, when you're skiing well, there's nothing better than slalom."
Mr. Miller hasn't said he'll retire after the Olympics, and now that he's winning again, he has suggested he may well return to the World Cup circuit.
Professional skiing is a grind, both mentally and physically, and especially for Americans—who often spend up to seven months far away from home each year. Mr. Miller has noted how his desire to spend time with his 2-year-old daughter often outweighs his desire to ski faster than anyone else. So it seems unlikely that Mr. Miller will still be on the slopes in Sochi, Russia, in 2014.
He has won five world-championship medals and 32 World Cup races, but he also has 68 World Cup podiums and two overall World Cup titles. That's a résumé that rivals that of France's Mr. Killy—who is still considered the gold standard of skiing. Mr. Killy famously swept the alpine competitions at the 1968 Olympics.
"You're just not going to see a skier like Bode come around ever again," said Tom Kelly, the longtime spokesman for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association. "A guy who's won World Cup races, overall titles and Olympic medals. That just doesn't happen."
By now, Mr. Miller's return to the U.S. team last year is part of skiing lore. He'd quit two years earlier to form his own, self-financed team because he didn't like the way Team USA was being run.
This came a year after Mr. Miller had boasted of his late-night carousing during the Turin Olympics, where he won no medals, despite hype that made him a favorite in all five competitions before the Games.
Mr. Miller said this week his behavior in Turin was his way of taking back his identity after seeing it hijacked by the media.
More
Mavericks Win Medals
Bode Miller Wins Gold in Super Combined
Even Bad Boys Turn Good in Vancouver
Last spring, Sasha Rearick, the men's alpine coach for the U.S. team, called Mr. Miller and asked if he wanted to return. Mr. Miller told him no thanks and spent the summer playing golf and fooling around on the beach with his daughter.
"After everything I'd done, I thought I deserved some time not trying to kill myself every day," Mr. Miller said.
But by September, Mr. Miller was considering a comeback and flew to Utah to discuss it with Mr. Rearick. "I saw the problems he'd had in the past that forced him to leave the team as opportunities," said Mr. Rearick.
He welcomed Mr. Miller back even though a World Cup season was just six weeks away and Mr. Miller was completely out of sync physically with his teammates. "I was pretty much on my own," Mr. Miller said.
He'll be on his own on the hill Saturday, trying to win that elusive slalom medal.
Write to Matthew Futterman at matthew.futterman@wsj.com
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British woman beheaded in Tenerife made desperate plea for help before attack
Jennifer Mills-Westley, the British woman beheaded in a Tenerife supermarket, tried to avoid her tormentor by taking refuge in an office doorway.
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By Fiona Govan, Los Cristianos, Tenerife and David Barrett 8:30AM BST 15 May 2011
The retired 60-year-old from Norwich was stabbed to death and beheaded in the horrific attack on Friday.
Jennifer Mills-Westley, the British woman who was beheaded in Tenerife.
She alerted a security guard in the social security office that she had been subjected to "threatening behaviour" from an unwashed vagrant.
Her tormentor, a 28-year-old homeless man called Deyan Valentinov Deyanov, was well known in the popular holiday resort for his unpredictable and sometimes violent behaviour.
Mrs Mills-Westley waited for him to move on, and alerted a security guard in the social security office where she sheltered that she had been subjected to "threatening behaviour".
It is unclear whether the Briton, a 60-year-old retired road safety officer from Norwich, was aware of the man's dangerous reputation. After a few minutes Deyanov left and the danger seemed to have passed.
At about 10.15 on Friday morning Mrs Mills-Westley left the office doorway and walked to a Chinese-run discount store next door. Tragically, she there encountered Deyanov again and he attacked her, with grisly consequences.
Mrs Mills-Westley, who divided her time between Tenerife, Norfolk and France, was hacked to death by the Bulgarian, who reportedly claimed to be "a prophet of God" as he carried out the frenzied attack.
Relatives of Mrs Mills-Westley, a grandmother of five, arrived on the island yesterday as details of the gruesome attack emerged.
Deyanov, had left a psychiatric unit where he was reportedly being treated for paranoid schizophrenia in February. He was known among locals for his aggressive begging and outbursts of violence and had been picked up several times by police.
At the Port Royale complex of apartments where Mrs Mills-Westley had been a resident for at least 10 years, neighbours expressed shock and concern at the way the case of the dangerous assailant had been handled by the Spanish authorities.
A long-time friend and neighbour of Mrs Mills-Westley who was too upset to give her name said: "It's shocking the man that did this had been let out of hospital. It shouldn't have to be that you wait for something like this to happen before he gets locked away. He was obviously a danger."
She added: "This is just awful. It's too upsetting for words. I've known Jenny for more than 10 years, since she first moved out here.
"She was a lovely, bubbly person who appeared much younger than she was. She was back and forth to the UK and France to see her children and grandchildren."
Mrs Mills-Westley owned two adjacent apartments in the development set on a peaceful hillside at the edge of Los Cristianos. She rented out one two-bedroom apartment and lived in the other. Similar properties are on the market for about £240,000.
Phil Gibbs, the owner of Premier management services at the complex, said: "She was a very nice lady. She wasn't the kind of expat who spent a lot of time in bars. She was quiet and peaceful and always immaculately dressed. We are all horrified to hear what happened to her."
The victim's daughter, Sarah Mears, 41, from Newton St Faith, near Norwich, released a statement describing her mother as "generous of heart".
"Mum was fully enjoying her retirement travelling between Tenerife and France where she spent time visiting her daughter and grandchildren, and her other daughter in Norfolk," she said.
"She was full of life, generous of heart, would do anything for anyone. We now have to find a way of living without her love and light."
Before her retirement Mrs Mills-Westley gave cycling safety training to schoolchildren in Norfolk, and also worked on other road safety projects.
In Los Cristianos, at the southern tip of the Canary Islands, eyewitnesses described the scene of the crime as "something out of a horror movie".
Colin Kirby, a British expatriate working at the Tenerife Magazine said: "I thought someone had fainted and walked on, then I heard screaming and looked behind and saw a scruffy, unkempt man in his mid 20s holding a head by the hair.
"It had blood on it and I thought at first it was a sick joke stunt. The man was muttering and shouting and more people started screaming as I quickened my pace."
Another witness told how he saw the man drop a bloodstained woman's head on the pavement after coming out of the shop.
"I saw this man running out with something bloody in his hands," the witness said. "It was a head. He had it in his hands. It was like a horror movie. The security guards chased him and overpowered him."
Authorities said they were not aware of any reason why Mrs Mills-Westley had apparently been targeted. Manuel Reveron, a local councillor, said: "Apparently this gentleman without any motive or any reason, although for this there is no reasoning, entered the shop and then cut this woman's neck and took the head in his hand outside up to the sidewalk."
Dominica Fernandez, a government official, said the suspect had "chosen his victim by chance". Deyanov was known to be sleeping rough in the streets and in an abandoned house in the resort.
Last night at the filthy location, there was still a Bible and a shrine made out of breeze blocks among scattered possessions. Deyanov was being held at the police station in nearby resort of Playa de Las Americas.
He is scheduled to appear before an investigating judge on Monday.
Telegraph.feedsportal.com
BRUSSELS—The arrest of International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn will have no impact on current European Union and IMF bailout programs or on bailout decisions which need to be made in coming days, a European Commission spokesman said Monday.
The spokesman for EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn also said the commission doesn't consider a reprofiling of debt maturities to be the same thing as a debt restructuring.
On the Mr. Strauss-Kahn arrest in New York, the spokesman said "these events should not have any impact on the programs which are currently under way for Greece or Ireland, for example."
"Nor should they have any impact in terms of decisions which should be taken over the coming hours in respect of Portugal," said the spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio.
WSJ's Sudeep Reddy and David Gauthier-Villars discuss IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn's arrest. Namely, how it affects the IMF's operations and his potential presidential candidacy in France. (Photo: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)
EU finance ministers are gathering in Brussels on Monday and Tuesday. They are expected to sign off on a bailout for Portugal and to discuss the situation in Greece.
The spokesman said Mr. Strauss-Kahn's number two at the IMF, John Lipsky, would ensure continuity, calling him a "skillful man" with a "very good knowledge of Europe."
He said contacts between the EU and the IMF remain very regular "at all levels" and that the so-called troika—the EU, IMF, ECB mission—is continuing its work assessing the current Greek program in Athens. The spokesman said the troika is making "important efforts" to ease the conditions of the Greek loan "both on the maturity side and on the interest rate side."
He said Greece's government must move quickly to spell out its privatization plans, saying the sale of state-owned assets "could have potentially a major impact" in paying down the country's debts in coming years.
The spokesman again ruled out a debt restructuring for Greece. He said no decisions would be made on further help for Greece until the fact-finding mission to Athens is complete.
However, he said that the European Commission doesn't necessarily consider a reprofiling of debt maturities to be a debt restructuring. He said reprofiling has difference consequences to a restructuring. "Reprofiling is one concept. Debt restructuring is a different concept."
Write to Laurence Norman at laurence.norman@dowjones.com
More
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Heard: IMF Boss's Arrest Risks Euro Fall-Out
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sepik river - papua new guinea
Papua New Guinea is one of the most culturally diverse countries on Earth, with over 850 indigenous languages and at least as many traditional societies, out of a population of just under seven million. The country is one of the world's least explored, culturally and geographically, and many undiscovered species of plants and animals are thought to exist in the interior of Papua New Guinea, like here in Sepik river.
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I like to pretend that the most prominent three (or five!) people you see standing here are in a band.
I don't need to pretend, though, that they're frustrated at the idea of Sheppard having its useless subway extended when they can't even catch a King car in rush hour.
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