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Premier League - United Owners report LO$$ of over £100m Tue, 22 Mar 11:45:00 2011 Manchester United's owners made a £108.9 million loss last year, according to their accounts. The loss by Red Football Joint Venture, the Glazer family's parent company that owns United, include some one-off costs from setting up the £526m bond scheme last year to replace their bank loans, according to accounts filed at Companies House. The lack of income from selling players also contributed to the loss for the year ending June 30, 2010 - the previous year the company had recorded £21m profit thanks largely to the £80m sale of Cristiano Ronaldo. Last year's losses included £30.2m interest on their £220m payment in kind (PIK) loans which have since been paid off. United's club accounts were published in October and revealed losses of £83.6m - the PIK interest payment is not included in the club accounts - but club chief executive David Gill said then there was £165m in the club's bank account and that they were in a healthy position. Gill said in October: "We have money in the bank so there is zero pressure on that, no pressure at all to sell any star player. The philosophy is to retain and attract the best players. We have £165m in the bank but in some ways we would prefer to have £80m in the bank and Ronaldo on the pitch." The highest loss recorded by a Premier League club was Chelsea's £132m in 2005.

ALAMAK !!!...Game Over liao Ex-Taekwondo CHAMP fined for PIMPING By Angela Lim | SingaporeScene Mon, Mar 21, 2011 12:03 PM SGT Once, he was a taekwondo champion, bagging a gold medal for Singapore at the 1993 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. But for Wong Jing Ching, the fall from grace has been painful. On Feb 25, 40-year-old Wong was fined S$29,000 for introducing customers to Uzbekistani prostitutes and bribing two security officers of a hotel to turn a blind eye to the activities. He was caught last June and faced charges for taking a cut from the prostitutes' fees for every customer he brought them and for being a contact point for the prostitutes. Wong's wife, Shirinbekova Yelean, 23, who is also from Uzbekistan, pleaded guilty to helping him and was fined S$8,000. Wong, who was so proud of his achievement that he added an alias in his identity card -- Patrick Champion Wong -- may never relive his glory days. Going in and out of training, he took part in local tournaments and set up a business. He even worked briefly as a bodyguard in 2007. But last year, he became a pimp, bringing in women from Uzbekistan, paying off security guards to keep his women at a hotel. His voice quivering and tears welling up in his eyes, Wong told The New Paper, "People are... saying that I'm a disgrace to Singapore." "Do they know how much I have sacrificed and suffered for taekwondo? I don't deny that I have made a big mistake in my life. The law has given me a chance, God has given me a chance. Now why can't Singaporeans give me a chance?" Wong revealed that after he was charged in court last year, he would often quarrel with his wife, blaming each other for breaking the law. He said his friends began avoiding his calls and stayed away from him when news of his crime broke in the media in January. Wong, who has a 19-month-old daughter, stopped taking his family out. He said the only place they would go to as a family was to his parents' home for dinner in the evenings. At first, he was too ashamed to face his parents, but his parents showed him love and support which he said helped him get through the tough times. The former national athlete was so proud of his achievements in taekwondo that he would display his medals inside his car. But since his appearance in court last year, Wong has removed those items from his car. "My life is gone now. Do you know that taekwondo is my life? Now that I have a daughter, I should be so proud to tell her that her daddy was a gold medalist in taekwondo. I wanted to teach her taekwondo when she grows older. Now I don't think I will do that anymore," he said. "I will not mention anything about taekwondo that will link her back to this incident." He said he has learnt from his mistake adding,"I... made a mistake and I have paid my dues. It has nothing to do with taekwondo. It was a moment of folly... I am paying for it with my life now. I can no longer fulfill my dream in taekwon-do." In 2007, Wong became a bodyguard for a client and he met his Uzbekistani wife on one of his work trips to Malaysia. "She was there on holiday... She was attractive and caught my eye. We exchanged numbers and kept in touch," Wong reminisced. Later, he invited her to Singapore for a holiday and developed their relationship further. The couple registered their marriage here in 2009. "At night, it is my wife who puts my daughter to bed, and I wake her up in the mornings... I love to play with her. My daughter is very close to us because we spend a lot of time with her every day," he said. "We want to put the past behind us. I will work hard and provide the best for my family." Wong is also ashamed of the pain he has caused the Singapore Taekwondo Federation. A self-professed taekwondo fanatic, Wong was determined to be a champion despite being beaten during his first SEA Games selection trials in 1988. He said his coach Lim Teong Chin gave him two options then. "My coach told me: You either quit taekwondo now, or you become unbeatable." Wong quit school to dedicate all his time to taekwondo. He trained seven days a week and more than 12 hours a day. "I would wake up at 5am to run and do my weights training at the gym before practising my kicks in the afternoons. In the evenings, there would be the national squad training. After that, I would go running again," he recalled. He added, "I wanted to be the fastest player..." At the 1993 SEA Games, Wong beat his Malaysian opponent with his kicks. The score was 5-3, adding to the milestone year for taekwondo with the sport bagging five gold medals at the Games. But in the 1995 SEA Games, Wong fractured his shin and had to undergo surgery to insert a metal plate into his shin. He then left the sport to work as a flight steward. He said, "I sat for the English paper at the GCE O Level exams only after I quit school. With a B3 in English, what can I do? I was hired because I was a former SEA Games Gold Medallist. After working as a flight steward for seven years, Wong went on to operate pubs and karaoke lounges in 2003. Bent on making a comeback to the taekwondo scene, he sold off his businesses in 2010. In 20o6, he came in third at the National Taekwondo Championships, second in 2007 and 2009, and clinched a bronze last year. Wong had hopes of winning another gold medal for the country and for his daughter, but it seems that hope is gone for now.

No Quick FIX seen at Japan's Nuclear Plan By ERIC TALMADGE - Associated Press,MARI YAMAGUCHI - Associated Press | AP – Tue, Mar 22, 2011 9:51 AM SGT Officials are racing to restore electricity to Japan's leaking nuclear plant, but getting the power flowing will hardly be the end of their battle: With its mangled machinery and partly melted reactor cores, bringing the complex under control is a monstrous job. Restoring the power to all six units at the tsunami-damaged complex is key, because it will, in theory, drive the maze of motors, valves and switches that help deliver cooling water to the overheated reactor cores and spent fuel pools that are leaking radiation. Ideally, officials believe it should only take a day to get the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear under control once the cooling systems are up and running. But it could take days or weeks to get those systems working. "We have experienced a very huge disaster that has caused very large damage at a nuclear power generation plant on a scale that we had not expected," Hidehiko Nishiyama, deputy director general of Japan's Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, told reporters late Monday. The nuclear plant's cooling systems were wrecked by the massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeastern Japan on March 11. Since then, conditions at the plant have been volatile; plumes of smoke rose from two reactor units Monday, prompting workers to evacuate units 1-4. The crews resumed the work early Tuesday, plant spokesman Motoyasu Tamaki said. In another setback, the plant's operator said Monday it had just discovered that some of the cooling system's key pumps at the complex's troubled Unit 2 are no longer functional — meaning replacements have to be brought in. Tokyo Electric Power Co. said it placed emergency orders for new pumps, but it was unclear how long it would take for them to arrive. If officials can get the power turned on, get the replacement pumps working and get enough seawater into the reactors and spent fuel pools, it would only take a day to bring the temperatures back to a safe, cooling stage, said Ryohei Shiomi, an official with the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. And if not? "There is nothing else we can do but keep doing what we've been doing," Shiomi said. In other words, officials would continue dousing the plant in seawater — and hope for the best. An official of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said in Washington that Units 1, 2 and 3 have all seen damage to their reactor cores, but that containment is intact. The assessment dispels some concerns about Unit 2, where an explosion damaged a pressure-reducing chamber around the bottom of the reactor core. "I would say optimistically that things appear to be on the verge of stabilizing," said Bill Borchardt, the commission's executive director for operations. What caused the smoke to billow first from Unit 3 and then from Unit 2 on Monday was under investigation, nuclear safety agency officials said. In the days since the earthquake and tsunami, both units have overheated and seen explosions outside their reactor cores. Workers were evacuated from the area to buildings nearby, though radiation levels remained steady, the officials said. It was a setback in efforts to rewire the plant, where officials had hoped to finish connecting all six reactor units to the grid on Tuesday. Problems set off by the disasters have ranged far beyond the shattered northeast coast and the wrecked nuclear plant, handing the government what it has called Japan's worst crisis since World War II. Rebuilding may cost as much as $235 billion. Police estimate the death toll will surpass 18,000. Traces of radiation are tainting vegetables and some water supplies, although in amounts the government and health experts say do not pose a risk to human health in the short term. That has caused the government to ban sale of raw milk, spinach and canola from prefectures over a swath from the plant toward Tokyo. The government has just started to test fish and shellfish. Tokyo Electric said radioactive iodine about 127 times normal levels and radioactive cesium about 25 times above the norm were detected in seawater 100 yards (meters) off the Fukushima nuclear plant. Despite that concentration, a senior official at the International Atomic Energy Agency said the ocean was capable of absorbing vast amounts of radiation with no effect and that — comparatively — the radioactivity released so far by the plant was minor. "The quantities are tiny compared to the reservoir of natural radioactivity in the oceans," said Graham Andrew, senior adviser to IAEA chief Yukiya Amano. The Health Ministry has advised Iitate, a village of 6,000 people about 19 miles (30 kilometers) northwest of the plant, not to drink tap water due to elevated levels of iodine. Ministry spokesman Takayuki Matsuda said iodine three times the normal level was detected there — about one twenty-sixth of the level of a chest X-ray in one liter of water. "Please do not overreact, and act calmly," Chief Cabinet spokesman Yukio Edano said in the government's latest appeal to ease public concerns. "Even if you eat contaminated vegetables several times, it will not harm your health at all." Edano said Tokyo Electric would compensate farmers affected by the bans on milk, spinach and canola. The World Health Organization said Japan will have to do more to reassure the public about food safety. "Walking outside for a day and eating food repeatedly are two different things. This is why they're going to have to take some decisions quickly in Japan to shut down and stop food being used completely from zones which they feel might be affected," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said. The troubles at Fukushima have in some ways overshadowed the natural catastrophe. The World Bank said Monday that Japan may need five years to rebuild from the disasters, which caused up to $235 billion in damage, saying the cost to private insurers will be up to $33 billion and that the government will spend $12 billion on reconstruction in the current national budget and much more later. All told, police estimate around 18,400 people died from the 9.0-magnitude quake and tsunami. More than 15,000 deaths are likely in Miyagi, the prefecture that took the full impact of the wave, said a police spokesman. Police in other affected prefectures declined to provide estimates, but confirmed about 3,400 deaths. Nationwide, official figures show the disasters killed more than 8,900 people and left more than 12,600 missing, but those two lists may have some overlap. The disasters have displaced another 452,000, who are in shelters. Yamaguchi reported from Tokyo. Associated Press writers Jeff Donn, Shino Yuasa, Mayami Saito and Elaine Kurtenbach in Tokyo, and Matthew Daly in Rockville, Md., contributed to this story.

PHEW !!! No FOOD Imports from affected regions in Japan: AVA By Ion Danker | SingaporeScene – 1 hour 18 minutes ago By Fann Sim Singapore's Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) says there are no food imports from the affected areas in Japan since the start of the Fukushima nuclear plant incident. It added that surveillance of food imports from Japan have been stepped up to ensure they are safe for consumption. In the joint statement from several government agencies, AVA stressed that all exports from Japan after 11 March are tested for radioactive contaminants. No radioactive contamination have been detected on the more than 120 samples of fresh produce such as seafood, fruits, vegetables and meat. However, the likelihood of any radioactive plume reaching Singapore remains very low, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Tuesday. Radiation levels, which have been monitored since the start of the accident, shows an average reading of about 0.08 micro-Sieverts per hour. This is safe and is within the normal range of Singapore's natural background level. In contrast, radiation is potentially harmful when it reaches 50 millisieverts, about 50,000 times more than Singapore's current radiation level. For Singaporeans returning from the Japanese evacuation zone and feel unwell, they can seek medical advice at the Emergency Department of one of the local hospitals (Singapore General Hospital, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, National University Hospital, Changi General Hospital, and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. Children and pregnant women are advised to go to KK Women's and Children's Hospital). The joint statement by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), on behalf of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), International Maritime Organization (IMO), World Health Organization (WHO) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO), reported that there are no health reasons that would require the screening of passengers from Japan, and there is no health risk associated with increased levels of radiation that have been detected at some airports. However, developments will continue to be monitored, and measures introduced should the need arise. The government has also set up a micro-site, for the public to get updates on the Fukushima situation. MICA has established a micro-site on www.gov.sg on the Government response to the Fukushima situation as a one-stop information portal for the public. The site contains links to FAQs, the joint statement, hotlines and useful links to relevant ministries and agencies.

Any TOY-BOY out there ??? Debbie Harry: I cant find a MAN Cover Media Tue, Mar 22, 2011 2:30 PM SGT Debbie Harry wishes she could meet her Mr. Right, but fears she will have to visit a morgue to find someone. The singer made her name as the frontwoman of Blonde in the 70s achieving success with hits such as The Tide is High and Heart of Glass. The 65-year-old is widely regarded as one of the sexiest women ever to front a band and she is currently single. Debbie who previously dated Blondie guitarist Chris Stein - would like to find a guy to settle down with, but claims she may have to resort to drastic measures. Id love to be in a good relationship, but I think Ill have to go to the morgue to find somebody… she said in an interview with Grazia. I do date its a horrible process. But I dont have a fella thats why I keep having to tie them up and put them in my room. Debbie says she is still in great shape and her health is good. Even though she feels happy with appearance, she finds it disappointing when men she finds attractive are already taken or more interested in dating younger women. However, Debbie is determined to continue her search for a suitable partner. I actually do feel pretty good. A lot of things have really come together for me. I enjoy what I do more, because Im more relaxed about it, she explained. I think I enjoy reasonably good health. The only thing that is bad for me is that most of the men I meet are either married or want younger women, so thats a little bit difficult. I have to capture them and take them home, tie them up and put them in a room and then abuse them SEXUALLY. © Cover Media

WAH PIANZ !!!...cannot buy from this SHOP. Personal Documents found on NEW Laptop By Ewen Boey | SingaporeScene Tue, Mar 22, 2011 12:42 PM SGT A 14-inch Asus notebook PC recently bought at an IT fair was supposedly brand new. However, Hidayat Sudirman found Central Provident Fund statements and divorce documents stored in the new computer that he bought from retailer Newstead Technologies at the fair. The 25-year-old civil servant grew upset when he discovered 10GB worth of personal data, including tax return forms, belonging to the laptop's previous owner. He went back to the company and was told that it was a "mix-up". Apparently, the laptop belonged to another customer who had sent his laptop for repairs. Hidayat got a refund and bought a new laptop from another retailer. When contacted by The Straits Times, Newstead's operations manager Mark Ong said, "The notebook was accidentally packed along with brand-new products headed for the IT fair. The employee responsible has been counselled and steps have been taken to remind the teams to be vigilant in their operations." This incident prompted Taiwanese computer maker Asus to warn its 30 authorised retailers here to pay extra attention when selling their products. Asus' notebooks are shipped from its factories in Taiwan and China to its branch here, which then sends them to the authorised sellers, a spokesman of the computer maker said. She declined to delve into the details of the steps taken to avoid such mix-ups again. Seah Seng Choon, executive director of the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE), said that he does not see a rising trend in cases similar to Hidayat's. However, he added that consumers do have avenues to seek redress. "If a vendor claims a laptop is new, and subsequently the customer discovers this to be untrue, this is a breach of the Consumer Protection Act. He can take the vendor to task, such as seeking redress through the Small Claims Tribunal," he noted. Case revealed that they received 16 complaints last year from consumers who bought "new" electronic gadgets, such as laptops and mobile phones, and discovered them to have been used. Three cases have been lodged so far this year. Netizens voiced their concerns after the issue was raised in an article on an online journalism website. Tech enthusiast David Lee, 32, noted that while such occurrences cannot completely be eliminated, there are signs that consumers can look out for. The IT programmer pointed out that buyers can look out for scuff marks on a brand new gadget, or if the security seal has been tampered with.

Bryan Adams on learning to deal with FAME 36 mins ago by Shirley Halperin It was a little more than 30 years ago when Bryan Adams set out from his native Canada to make a name for himself as a musician and songwriter. He hoped for a foot in the door. What he got, and didn't necessarily bargain for, was success on a global scale, boasting record sales of tens of millions. The 51-year-old dad-to-be (he's expecting his first child with personal assistant Alicia Grimaldi) continues to tour, bringing his treasure trove of hits (his biggest came during the 1990s) to some of the world's more remote markets such as India and Nepal. On March 21 he received a permanent home in Los Angeles with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It's a long way from being "just a spotty kid from North Van," as Adams describes his pimply self in the early days. The Hollywood Reporter caught up with the Grammy-winning rocker. THR: Canada has long been hailed for supporting the arts by providing grants to musicians and mandating that 35 percent of songs played on the radio be by Canadian artists. Do you think this helped at all as you were starting a career in music? Adams: "I never took a grant or borrowed a penny from anybody. It was partially because I didn't really know how to do that, but secondly, my pride would never have allowed me to. In the beginning, it was about doing it the right way, on the merits of the music." THR: You famously signed with A&M Records in 1979 for one dollar. Can you explain the circumstances of that deal? Adams: "They were cheap as chits and didn't want to invest any money in me, and it was the time when I needed it most. But in those days, the idea of getting your foot in the door was everything, and let's see where it goes from there. All they really wanted were the songs, but we made an agreement -- and this is probably the one redeeming thing about the deal -- where they could have a few of my songs under the condition that I get to record some myself. So I got a shot "I did say to the label, "Could I have that dollar, please?" And they sent me a check, which I still have." THR: One would imagine it was renegotiated soon enough? Adams: "At some point, but not right away. The only thing we negotiated immediately was tour support. In 1980, as soon as my album was ready, we were put on tour, and I don't think I went home until about 1999." THR: You reached your career high at age 27 when promotion was winding down for your fourth album, the multiplatinum "Reckless." How did you not end up with an alcohol or drug addiction, as so many musicians often do? Adams: "First of all, I decided to make an album called 'Into the Fire,' which is kind of how I felt. "Reckless" was such a big album in 1985, and it was a lot to take. There's not an instruction manual on how to deal with success, so you just have to rely on having great friends and a good team. "I'm really grateful to my manager, Bruce Allen, and producer Mutt Lange because both had seen it before with different artists. And I had a great girlfriend at the time, Vicki Russell, who was a child actress and her father was a director, so she was able to laugh at the situation and help me see the humour in it. Plus, I was never really interested in drugs or alcohol at all." THR: Did you want to be famous? Adams: "I didn't understand what that meant because I really wanted to be a working musician. The craft was everything to me. To be a celebrity, I couldn't think of anything more cringe-worthy. I had difficulty with it and used to argue with my manager all the time about some of these press things that would come up. I would shun the limelight completely and didn't really want to be out there. Laughing at it is key; if you can laugh at yourself, you never cease to be amused." THR: These days, a band can sell 40,000 albums and be No. 1 on the Billboard chart. What's your take on how much the economics of music have changed? Adams: "I feel quite sad for the young musicians coming up because they may never get to pay their rent properly. It doesn't matter what the genre; nowadays, it's so much harder than it ever was. You want to get paid for your work and be able to take something home to your family or yourself. I tip my hat to anybody today that can make music and move forward." THR: One Canadian who's seeing international success is Justin Bieber. Adams: "His success is incredible. I wish him lots of strength and hope he can keep his sense of humour about it, too." THR: You were involved in one of the greatest benefit concerts of all time, Live Aid. What do you remember of that day in 1985? Adams: "I had two gigs that day. I opened Live Aid, got blown away by that, and then we got in a plane and flew to the next town, where we had to play a gig that night. So I didn't even get to see the show and hardly got to participate. I had to slot it in among many other things we were doing at the time. Live Aid was possibly the greatest live concert ever. Woodstock would've come close in terms of its breadth, but Live Aid was far more watched." THR: As a result of Live Aid, it has become the norm for musicians to band together for a cause or to aid in relief after a natural disaster. And it seems especially appropriate now, on the heels of the earthquake in Japan. Adams: "It's more rare these days, but it's part of the sense of community among musicians and singers. Like when we did the Prince's Trust in London, it was incredible. Backstage there were so many different people working on songs together, the greats of the record business: Eric Clapton, David Bowie, Jagger, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Mark Knopfler, Tina Turner, Rod Stewart. "You'd have to pinch yourself. So when everybody pulls together like that, things get done. I'm wondering when someone is going to put something together for Japan. I've been thinking about it for a few days now. It would be great if the rock community got together for Japan because Japan has given so much to all the rockers over the years. Everybody has spent time there." THR: You performed on "American Idol" three seasons back. Would you have any interest in judging a singing show like "Idol" or "The X-Factor"? Adams: "I would have a really hard time being on television that long and also being critical of other musicians. I don't really like to criticise people." THR: If you were starting out today, would you take the talent-show route? Adams: "I probably wouldn't get in. Too many spots."

Abramovich spends £25m on 'Stop-Gap' House Mon Mar 21 02:56PM Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has splashed out £25 million on a 'temporary home' while builders redevelop his main £150m residence. The Russian billionaire, who is the 15th-richest person on the planet with a fortune of more than £11 billion, bought the nine-bedroom, 10-bathroom house in Chelsea as work on his main house in Knightsbridge could take up to three years to complete, according to The Independent. The paper also claims that the general public may be able to get a sneaky glimpse of the house in September this year as the property was once part of the original manor house of Chelsea built on the site of Sir Thomas More's garden, which is now owned by the National Trust. In September of this year, the Trust plans to open the neighbouring property's entrance and gardens to the public for two days - which means that visitors will be "able to crane their necks for a rare view of Mr Abramovich's back garden and possibly his taste in interior design", according to the newspaper. Abramovich's temporary digs also contain parking for eight cars, a music room and a separate annexe for domestic staff. The paper also reveals that the house overlooking the Thames has previously been occupied "by such diverse luminaries as the artist Whistler and society fascist Diana Mitford" (no, we haven't heard of them either). The tycoon's property portfolio includes: - Properties in Knightsbridge and Chelsea worth, respectively, £150m and £25m - A chateau at Cap d'Antibes on the French Riviera worth around £15m - Two houses in the exclusive ski resort of Aspen, Colorado - Two houses on the Caribbean island of St Barts - Two mansions near Moscow and a flat in the far eastern Russian province of Chukotka

Premier League - Paper Round: Fergie outsmarts Wenger in starlet chase Mon, 21 Mar 08:46:00 2011 Alex Ferguson has "outsmarted" Arsene Wenger in the battle to sign 17-year-old starlet Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from Southampton, according to Monday's papers. The midfielder - hotly tipped to be football's next big superstar - was at the heart of plenty of transfer speculation in January before eventually deciding to stay with the Saints. But now the Daily Mirror reports that Manchester United will sign him in the summer after putting forward a £10 million package - and telling the player that he will be fast-tracked into the first team at Old Trafford. It seems that the promise of leaping straight into top-level football will apparently swing the deal for United. As for Southampton, their disappointment at not getting a sale-and-loan-back deal will be soothed by the £5m up front and £5m in add-ons. Another player who generated plenty of headlines in the last transfer window was Blackpool skipper Charlie Adam, with Liverpool and Tottenham both trying to sign the 25-year-old. And it seems that neither side have given up hope of landing him, with the Mirror claiming that Kenny Dalglish is dead set on outbidding Spurs in order to bring his fellow Scot to Anfield. Gerard Houllier's position at Aston Villa came under increasing threat at the weekend after his side lost to Midlands rivals Wolves on Saturday - but it seems as if the Frenchman's job is safe for the time being. A "high ranking official from the boardroom" told the Daily Star that the weekend result was "bitterly disappointing... but nothing's changed. We remain committed to the same long-term strategy". Speaking of high-profile arrivals who have disappointed this season, Fernando Torres gets the full treatment in The Sun this morning: "Will he ever score?" asks the paper, before a dismal assessment of how he played on Sunday that focuses on his confidence, fitness, goal threat and teamwork. Their conclusion? "It may be next season before Blues fans see him back to his best. On this evidence he may have to settle for a place on the bench." Just what Nando needs to read after alongside the many headlines calling for the canonisation of David Luiz. And we can't wrap up Paper Round without mentioning the Daily Mail's piece about the relegation battle this morning - not for the article itself, but for the magnificent banner pictured alongside it. The banner in question was held up by a group of Blackpool fans during the draw with Blackburn: "Jesus satisfied 5000 with five loaves and two fish. Ian Holloway has satisfied millions with 11 tangerines!"

Premier League - Did Evans deserve his RED CARD ? Mon, 21 Mar 09:51:00 2011 Manchester United's Jonny Evans was controversially sent off against Bolton - but did the defender deserve to go? Referee Andre Marriner showed a straight card after the Northern Irishman went in for a 50-50 challenge 30 yards from the United goal. Evans went in with his studs up and caught Stuart Holden hard, splitting the American's knee open and forcing him to be taken off on a stretcher. He is expected to miss up to six months through injury. United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said: "The referee has seen the player have a bad injury. "Both players went for the same ball, with their feet raised, and Jonny caught the lad. "Once you raise your feet you are putting yourself in a dangerous area. It was unfortunate but we cannot complain." Evans now faces a three-match suspension, which comes at the worst possible time for United who have a defensive personnel crisis with Rio Ferdinand, Nemanja Vidic, John O'Shea, Rafael and Wes Brown all missing on Saturday. United fans aggrieved at the sending-off could point to the studs-up challenge by Jamie Carragher on Nani that left the winger with a large gash in his shin, and for which the Liverpool defender was only yellow-carded. Eurosport

Going looks good for Fergie-Jose Final Fri Mar 18 01:30PM Sir Alex Ferguson was at Cheltenham on Friday, watching his horse What A Friend in action. His nag may be the Wolves of the Gold Cup, but Fergie appears to be enjoying the opportunity to play the owner, mixing with race men, swapping tips, getting away from the fraught soap opera that is the Premier League. How thrilled he must have been, then, to see a growing knot of pressmen gathering at the one entrance to the owners' bar where he was calming his pre-race nerves. The Sky cameras were there, the radio mics, the reporters' notebooks, all seeking comment not on the going (good to soft), not on the condition of the favourite (belting, apparently) but on the Champions League draw. United against Chelsea in the quarter final: it's the Gold Cup of football ties, like Kauto Star against Denman. Except with less sentient participants. Dismayed as he may have been by the sight of all those pressmen Fergie could not, as he walked up to the owners' enclosure, disguise the fact the draw has been kinder to him than it might. Sure, he has a quarter against Carlo Ancelotti's side, who will be no pushovers. But with the second leg at home, it cannot hold greater fears than he has overcome in the past in this competition. And better than that, thanks to the simultaneous semi draw, he knows this: he will avoid the real threats, Barcelona or Real Madrid, until obliged to meet one or other at Wembley in the final. No, the manager who has been most stymied by the draw is Fergie's fellow racing enthusiast, Harry Redknapp. What a route now opens up ahead of Tottenham. A club that has never competed in the Champions League before this season now has to dispose of the grandest of all opponents to reach a semi-final against the current darlings. It is enough to make a man twitch. But imagine if Harry was to do it. To steer their way past Milan, then Madrid, then Barca before a possible meeting at Wembley with United, Chelsea, Inter or Shalke: if there was ever demonstration of the old cliche about having to meet the big teams at some point in a knock-out, this is it. And what a way to announce his credentials. What a glorious sequence that would be for Redknapp, one that would finally seal the rapid elevation he has made this season from jokey outsider to proper, grown-up, serious manager. There is just one obstacle in the way of such unfettered romance. And it wears a fancy suit, favours designer stubble and can fluently swear at the match official in half a dozen European languages. Jose Mourinho is precisely not the sort of opponent Redknapp needs right now. The wily Portu-geezer has an astonishing European record, winning the big gong with two different outfits. He is not going to let a small matter like Spurs block his progress to success with a third. The problem for Redknapp is that Mourinho will find a way to out-fox him. True, the blanket defence that brought him such success with Porto and Inter is probably not available to him with Real, going so completely against the club's sense of itself as it does. But still, he will already be working on ways to block the flow to Luka Modric, combat the aerial threat of Peter Crouch, man-mark Gareth Bale. Given the depth of his resources, there is not much Redknapp can spring on him by way of surprise; he will find a way to counter whatever Spurs throw at him. Plus, Mourinho has been blessed by the re-emergence of Karim Benzema. The Frenchman seemed to be on his way out of the club but three months ago. Now, after destroying Lyon in the last round, he looks the kind of player everyone thought he might become five years ago. As Redknapp has done with Bale and Michael Dawson, Mourinho has produced from his own ranks a player that others had missed. All the evidence suggests - never mind how joyful it would be to see Spurs progress, how refreshing to see an English manager take his place at Europe's top table - it will be Mourinho obliged to solve the Barcelona conundrum in the semis. Indeed, this is how I see things progressing, with the semis of Madrid against Barca and United against Inter, leading to a final between United and, after confounding every wider opinion by out-witting their Spanish rivals, Madrid. Fergie against Mourinho, the master against his successor: it has got to be that, hasn't it?

How to fold a T-Shirt in TWO Seconds Step 1: Lay it flat Lay the T-shirt so that it is completely flat and is side on to you Step 2: Pinch one Draw an imaginary line with your finger across the middle of the T-shirt, stopping short of the edge. Pinch the T-shirt between your thumb and forefinger of your left hand at this point, making sure that you have gripped the front and back of the T-shirt fabric. Step 3: Pinch two With your other draw a line directly up the T-shirt and pinch the T-shirt on the shoulder seam of the T-shirt directly above this point again making sure that you have gripped the front and back of the T-shirt fabric. Step 4: Pinch three Bring Pinch 2 down behind your hand and pinch T-shirt at the bottom directly beneath the two pinches and pinch the bottom along with your original pinch, again making sure that you have gripped the front and back of the T-shirt fabric. You should now have the top and bottom of the shirt pinched between the thumb and forefinger of your right hand - your hands should be crossed Step 5: The flick Keeping a firm pinch with both hands uncross your hands. Bring Pinch 1, in your left hand up and away. You should now have the T-shirt Hanging down from your two hands, shake out the creases. Step 6: The flop and fold Lower the T-shirt, sleeve first back onto your flat surface, creating a fold on the T-shirt that is symmetrical with the line between your original two pinches, then bring the T-shirt down flat.

Singapore's SUSHI Restaurants say may replace Japanese Imports By Eveline Danubrata | Reuters – Thu, Mar 17, 2011 2:44 PM SINGAPORE (Reuters) - As worries grow about radiation from an earthquake-damaged nuclear plant in Japan entering the food chain, restaurants in Singapore are considering importing sushi, sashimi and other Japanese ingredients from elsewhere. Customers are flocking as usual to the dozens of sushi bars and upscale Japanese restaurants in Singapore, which have a large number of Japanese expatriates and afficionados of the cuisine, but news that food imports from Japan will be tested for radiation has caused concern. "At present we do not foresee an issue, but if the situation in Japan continues to drag on with no improvement, then in a couple of months we would have to look for alternative sources of supplies," said a spokeswoman for sushi chain Sakae Holdings. South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines have said they will test Japanese food imports for radiation. No cases of contaminated food have yet been reported. Sakae Holdings said it imports about three-quarter of its supplies, including seafood and sauces, from Japan, but has suppliers in different parts of the country. The killer March 11 earthquake in Japan damaged nuclear reactors in the northeast, with reports of local radiation leaks at a plant 240 km (150 miles) north of Tokyo. "We will be looking for seafood either through local suppliers or countries like Australia," the spokeswoman said. Japan Foods Holding, which also operates a chain of restaurants in Singapore, said most of its food imports came from the western and southern parts of Japan, which have not been affected. But spokeswoman Keiko Nakamura said a shortage of power and gas in Japan might affect the cost of materials and transport charges. In 2010, Japan exported about 170 billion yen worth of seafood, almost half of its total food exports. Asian nations took up about two-thirds of the shipments. Anastasia Goh, a spokeswoman for Singapore restaurant chain Shin Kushiya, said there has been no drop in the number of customers partly due to public confidence in the Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), which monitors food safety in the city state. "Everyone knows that the supplies into Singapore are very tightly controlled by AVA," she said, adding that Shin Kushiya is looking at getting supplies such as sashimi and noodles from other countries like the United States and Europe. AVA said on Wednesday that so far laboratory results show no radioactive contamination has been detected in imported Japanese produce. It said in a previously released statement that the impact of the earthquake on Singapore's food supply is minimal. "In 2010, seafood imported from Japan constituted less than 2 percent of our total seafood imports by quantity. The import of other food products from Japan is negligible (less than 0.5 percent)." Reporting by Eveline Danubrata; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan

Premier League - Chelsea's Brazilians sink City Sun, 20 Mar 18:02:00 2011 Late goals from Brazilians David Luiz and Ramires saw Chelsea grind out a 2-0 victory over Manchester City at Stamford Bridge. While £50m man Fernando Torres, preferred to both Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka up front, fired another blank, it was their other big January signing Luiz who broke the game open with a 79th minute header. Ramires then clinched the points with a super solo effort in stoppage time as Chelsea jumped above City into third place. It was Luiz who was the real star, as he also won the free-kick that led to the opening goal and produced a masterful display at the back in a superb individual performance. Up until that moment though it had looked like a well organised Manchester City side would pick up a handy point in their bid for Champions League football despite being without their star man, Carlos Tevez, who failed a pre-match fitness test. However, they now risk being caught by Tottenham for fourth spot for the second successive season, with Harry Redknapp's side only four points behind them with a game in hand. Chelsea can still harbour outside thoughts of a crack at the title. They are nine points behind leaders Manchester United but still have to play Sir Alex Ferguson's men and have a game in hand. The first-half was played at breakneck speed which made it reasonably entertaining fare even if chances were at a premium. It was City who started the brighter and they had a decent effort after only six minutes when Yaya Toure drilled a decent low drive towards goal only for Petr Cech to get down quickly to push it away. However, Chelsea soon started to get on top but struggled to create chances against a suffocating City backline marshalled superbly by Vincent Kompany. The Belgian blocked an effort from Frank Lampard in the 37th minute while Torres's only real chance to shoot was ended by a crushing, but fair tackle, from the imposing Nigel de Jong. Chelsea had a handball shout when the lively Salomon Kalou had a cross blocked by Joleon Lescott, but 0-0 was just about right at the break. The second-half followed a similar pattern, Chelsea on top, but City coping. Florent Malouda fired straight at Joe Hart after good work from Torres and Kalou; a Branislav Ivanovic header was blocked by Kompany; but it was mere bits and pieces stuff as a draw looked inevitable. However, then Luiz found himself inexplicably down the left wing in an attacking position and won a free-kick near the corner flag. Drogba, on at this stage for Torres, whipped in a superb free-kick and Luiz got his unmistakeable mop on the ball to head into the corner for the opener. So settled into their gear of containment were City that they struggled to react to going behind, and they never really threatened an equaliser even with bad-boy Mario Balotelli being brought on to try and end a troubled week on a redemptive high. Instead it was Chelsea who got the second in fine style as Ramies picked up the ball around 40 yards out; he then skipped past Aleksandar Kolarov and Lescott before ending his mazy run by smashing the ball past Hart to clinch all three points. Seán Fay / Eurosport

Kuyt Penalty leads to Liverpool win over Sunderland AFP – by Jason Mellor Jason Mellor – Sun Mar 20, 12:13 pm ET SUNDERLAND (AFP) – Liverpool kept alive their hopes of qualifying for Europe with a controversial 2-0 Premier League win over 10-man Sunderland on Sunday. Kenny Dalglish's sixth placed side need to catch fifth placed Tottenham to avoid missing out on a place in Europe and they were given a helping hand by the officials at the Stadium of Light. Referee Kevin Friend and his linesman played an important part in the win, with a hotly-disputed decision allowing Dirk Kuyt to break the deadlock with a penalty before Luis Suarez sealed the victory. Friend made his error when he allowed the linesman to persuade him to give a penalty for John Mensah's challenge on Jay Spearing even though he had initially given a free-kick. Replays showed the tackle was outside the area but Kuyt scored the penalty to set Liverpool on the way, while Friend sent off Sunderland defender Mensah late in the match for a professional foul on Suarez. The early stages were notable only for Sunderland's injury problems - Sulley Muntari and Kieran Richardson both limped off injured and Phil Bardsley might have followed if it had not meant using their last substitute already - until Friend intervened. On Liverpool's last trip to the Stadium of Light, Sunderland's winning goal went in off a discarded beachball. This time the Reds got lucky. Faced with a routine long ball, Ghana captain Mensah made a mess of chesting it down and allowed Spearing to pounce onto the loose ball. The midfielder was heading for the penalty area when Mensah brought him down. Friend stood on the spot outside the area where he thought the foul had taken place, but linesman Billy Smallwood disagreed, signaling for a penalty. Although television replays proved Friend correct, he was persuaded by the linesman and Kuyt drilled the penalty to Simon Mignolet's left. Mensah had escaped with a booking, but received a red card after 82 minutes for a professional foul on Suarez. The Belgian goalkeeper's first save of note came after 37 minutes when he stretched to keep out Suarez's effort from a brilliant Spearing pass. Until then Andy Carroll had been Sunderland's only real concern. The former Newcastle United forward was his usual dominant self in the air, and although he discomforted the home defenders on his Premier League debut, his side had little to show for it until he forced substitute Lee Cattermole to cleared off the line at a 51st-minute corner. Mignolet made a great diving save from Spearing in the 74th minute, but was badly beaten at his near post minutes later. Suarez beat Cattermole, then the goalkeeper, from a near impossible angle. Asamoah Gyan was fortunate to escape a red card for poking Martin Skrtel's nose but seconds later his international team-mate Mensah was dismissed for pulling down Uruguay forward Suarez as he bore down on goal. Sunderland were poor throughout and it was not until the 86th minute that Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Reina was forced into a save, keeping out Cattermole's long-range effort.

Ten-Man United move five points clear in Premiership By Steve Griffiths | AFP News – Sun, Mar 20, 2011 4:24 AM SGT Ten-man Manchester United moved five points clear at the top of the Premier League as Dimitar Berbatov's late goal clinched a 1-0 win over Bolton on Saturday. Title rivals Arsenal, meanwhile, had to settle for a 2-2 draw at West Bromwich Albion. With Sir Alex Ferguson watching from the stands as the United boss served the first of his five-match touchline ban, his side's hopes of breaking down an obdurate Bolton defence suffered a blow in the second half when centre-back Jonny Evans was shown a straight red card by referee Andre Marriner for a dangerous tackle on Stuart Holden. But the leaders produced another of their regular late rallies and Bulgarian forward Berbatov came off the bench to bag the 88th-minute winner after Bolton goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen spilled Nani's shot. Ferguson said: "You've got to admire the character of the players. The fans were fantastic, but the players take great credit. "They have come through a tough programme and deserve all the credit they get." That dramatic late intervention increased United's lead thanks to Arsenal's latest stumble at the Hawthorns. Arsene Wenger's side have already lost the League Cup final and crashed out of the Champions League and FA Cup in the last month and now even a win in their game in hand on United would leave them two points off the top. The second-placed Gunners suffered a nightmare start as Steven Reid headed Albion into the lead with a third-minute header from Chris Brunt's corner. A shambolic piece of goalkeeping from Manuel Almunia allowed Roy Hodgson's team to double their lead in the 58th minute, with Peter Odemwingie rolling the ball into an empty net after the Spaniard had charged from his line. Andrei Arshavin gave Arsenal a lifeline with a stunning strike in the 70th minute and Robin van Persie claimed the equaliser eight minutes later when he converted as he challenged Abdoulaye Meite. "It was a game where we needed to show lots of character and resilience in a football match which was played on a rugby pitch," Wenger said. "It was more about character than football. We made a massive mistake on the second goal and you cannot afford to do that. But we have shown we are ready to fight." Elsewhere, Aston Villa boss Gerard Houllier endured a miserable end to a depressing week as Wolves won 1-0 at Villa Park. Villa defenders Richard Dunne and James Collins were fined this week for criticising Houllier's coaching staff in a restaurant row. Neither player featured here, while Villa fans unfurled a banner demanding Houllier's sacking. Matt Jarvis piled on the misery for Houllier when he fired third-bottom Wolves ahead with a stunning volley in the 38th minute. At Ewood Park, Blackburn battled back from two goals down to a salvage a 2-2 draw against local rivals Blackpool. Charlie Adam put Blackpool 2-0 up with a controversial penalty and a stunning free-kick, but Christopher Samba reduced the deficit just after half-time and Junior Hoillett hit the equaliser in the 90th minute. League Cup winners Birmingham crashed into the relegation zone after losing 2-1 at bottom-of-the-table Wigan. Alex McLeish's team opened the scoring in the sixth minute when defender Liam Ridgewell smashed in, but on-loan Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley equalised before Maynor Figueroa struck a 90th-minute winner. Stoke cruised to a 4-0 victory over Newcastle at the Britannia Stadium, with the goals scored by Jonathan Walters, Jermaine Pennant, Danny Higginbotham and Ricardo Fuller. Everton won their mid-table battle with Fulham as goals from Seamus Coleman and Louis Saha sealed a 2-1 victory at Goodison Park. Fulham midfielder Clint Dempsey got one back in the 62nd minute but David Moyes' men held on. In the day's early kick-off, West Ham rode their luck to escape with a 0-0 draw against London rivals Tottenham that moved them out of the bottom three. Avram Grant's side gave a gritty display at White Hart Lane, but they needed some good fortune to avoid defeat as Tottenham hit the woodwork three times through Michael Dawson, Aaron Lennon and Gareth Bale.

'SHOTGUN' !!! Cisco Officer’s GUN goes off in MRT toilet By Ewen Boey | SingaporeScene – Sun, Mar 20, 2011 1:30 PM SGT An auxiliary police officer is believed to have fired his gun by accident while on duty at Bukit Gombak MRT station on Saturday. The incident occurred between 6.30pm and 7pm in the staff toilet of the MRT station and no one was injured, reported The Straits Times. The 28-year-old Certis Cisco officer was on assignment at the station. It is usual for auxiliary police officers to be deployed in areas for duties such as the safe transportation of money to and from ATMs and banks. A police spokesman confirmed that they received a call around 7pm regarding an incident of an accidental discharge of a firearm at the station by an auxiliary police officer. When contacted, a Certis Cisco spokesman declined to comment as police investigations are under way. This is not the first time a service weapon has been fired. From 2000 to last year, more than 20 cases were reported in the media about police or auxiliary police officers firing their weapons. Of these, 10 were suicides and four were accidental discharges. In 1999, a Cisco constable misfired his revolver while trying to free it when it got stuck in a chair he was sitting in. Veteran investigator Jeffery Ang, who spent 27 years in the police force, told the same paper that all firearms will have safety measures such as a safety catch or a double-action trigger, which makes it difficult to fire off a round. In addition, there is a flap on pistol holsters to prevent the accidental drawing of the weapon. "It is quite difficult to misfire a weapon if all safety procedures have been followed," said the former Criminal Investigation Department officer. "For this to happen, there must be a lapse somewhere." There are over 40,000 auxiliary police officers in Singapore today from Certis Cisco, Aetos Security Management and SIngapore Airport Terminal Services Security Services.

4,000 Thais still MISSING in Japan By Pongphon Sarnsamak and Nantida Puangthong in Bangkok/The Nation (Thailand) | ANN – Sat, Mar 19, 2011 4:00 PM SGT Bangkok (The Nation-Thailand/ANN) - Thai authorities are still unable to locate about 4,000 of its citizens who were living in northeastern Japan when the massive earthquake and tsunami hit the country last week. Problems with communication systems there have made it hard to check their whereabouts. "Of 5,000 Thais there, we have found only 1,000," foreign affairs ministry spokesman Thani Thongphakdi said. He said all those contacted were safe. Thani also said the number of Thais living in the area could in fact be much higher than 4,000 because at least 6,000 Thais were believed to be living in Japan illegally. "But we would like to help them too," Thani said. However, he also pointed out that some Thais might have left Japan without telling the Thai embassy. Thani said a C130 plane from Thailand arrived in Japan last night to deliver relief items - including those from the Friends in Need of ("Pa") Volunteers Foundation - to disaster victims. Another plane carrying relif items will land in Japan on Saturday (March 19). After the deliveries, the planes will carry about 240 Thais back to Thailand. Currently, Thais are advised to defer nonessential trips to Japan. Because the disasters have caused a radiation leak from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the Office of Atoms for Peace (OAP) is offering free tests for radioactive exposure to people arriving from Japan. The tests are available at Suvarnabhumi Airport and OAP headquarters in Bangkok. Public Health Ministry permanent secretary Dr Paijit Warachit said about 80 of 400 people coming from Japan had sought medical advice at the airport. Twenty-seven people planning travel to Japan have asked for medical advice regarding taking potassium iodide, he said. Despite the radiation threat, not every Thai has rushed to return to the homeland. Five Thai monks at Pak Nam Temple in Tokyo intended to stay there to offer moral support to the remaining Thais in the country. The temple, which is just 10 minutes from Narita Airport, has been a centre for distribution of food and relief items. Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya Friday donated 2 million baht (US$66,100) and blankets to disaster victims in Japan via the foreign affairs ministry. Thais and private companies have raised funds for people hit by Japan's disasters too. Meanwhile, the Public Health Ministry is preparing to send a team of psychologists to help shaken Thais there. The ministry's deputy permanent secretary, Dr Narong Sahamethapat, said a team of psychiatrists and medical workers would travel to Japan on Saturday. He added that a team of doctors, that travelled to Japan to provide medical assistance to 30 Thai people living within 55 kilometres of Fukushima nuclear plant, was now safe from radiation contamination.

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Please dun GO...??? Premier League - Papers: Juve eye Berba swoop Sat, 19 Mar 02:22:00 2011 Serie A giants Juventus are plotting a raid on Manchester United for fed-up striker Dimitar Berbatov. The Bulgarian hitman, who is United's top scorer with season with 20 goals, has become frustrated at increasingly being overlooked in favour of Javier Hernandez. Berbatov watched from the bench as Hernandez struck a brace in Tuesday's Champions League win over Marseille and his unhappiness has not gone unnoticed in Italy. Juve, along with Genoa, have spoken to Berba's agent and, with the player's contract due to expire in 2012, the pair are willing to pay £9 million for his services. (The Sun) Passing Berbatov on his way out this summer could be Jack Rodwell, with reports having linked the Everton midfielder to United for some time now. But Toffees boss David Moyes has rubbished such talk, saying his club are not vulnerable to poachers like United. Alex Ferguson wants Rodwell but Moyes said: "We are not vulnerable. I have heard the stories about Jack and they are a load of rubbish. "We have a great working relationship with Manchester United. The chairman (Bill Kenwright) has a great relationship with David Gill and I have with Sir Alex. "To say that a deal is already done for Jack is completely untrue and I don't know where those stories have come from." (Daily Mail) Meanwhile, Moyes is monitoring Kieron Dyer's loan spell at Ipswich, with a pay-as-you-play deal in the offing should the injury-prone West Ham midfielder impress at Portman Road. (Daily Mail) Chelsea have slapped a £10m price tag on defender Jose Bosingwa's head - a price potential suitors Juventus cannot afford. The Old Lady are instead set to go for a cheaper option in £5m Hoffenheim right-back Andreas Beck, meaning Chelsea will have to wait before they can offload the Portuguese. (Daily Mail) Stoke and Blackburn have rekindled their interest in Wigan winger Charles N'Zogbia. The Frenchman is keen to quit the DW Stadium at the end of the season and, although Sunderland and Newcastle are favourites to slug it out for his signature, the Potters and Rovers have re-joined the race. Liverpool are also interested in N'Zogbia, who will cost around £9m. (Daily Mail) And finally, Newcastle will run the rule over Australian youngster Mustafa Amini. The 17-year-old is one of Australia's brightest hopes and the Central Coast Mariners' midfielder will spend some time on trial at St James' in a bid to win a deal with the Premier League club. (Daily Mail) Eurosport

Wait LONG-LONG...!!! Ancelotti dreams of Wembley Glory Sat, 19 Mar 07:54:42 2011 Carlo Ancelotti insists Chelsea are not obsessed by winning the Champions League - but just dream of doing so. Chelsea will face Manchester United in the quarter-finals and the Italian has warned his players that only by winning the tournament outright will they avenge their 2008 final defeat in Moscow. Tottenham meanwhile have a hugely glamorous tie against Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid. Ancelotti said: "It's not an obsession to win the Champions League - it's a dream, and I agree with Mourinho on that. We have to play a quarter-final and then we'll see if we deserve to be in the semi-final. Last year it was a really bad moment, losing to Inter. Now it's not an obsession to win it, it's a dream." He added: "I don't have to have revenge against United - I was not there. For my players, I don't think it's a good motivation, revenge. It should be fantastic motivation to look forward in the future. "We have four games to reach the final in London. If Chelsea reached the final there, we'd have good revenge for 2008 - not against United." The victors will face either holders Inter Milan or Schalke of Germany for a place in the final at Wembley on May 28. United have not won at Stamford Bridge since 2002, and were defeated earlier this month in a stormy encounter that has ended up with Sir Alex Ferguson incurring a five-match touchline ban. United striker Javier Hernandez, who scored both goals against Marseille on Tuesday, said: "We play in the same league and it is going to be tough. "Stamford Bridge is a nice stadium and it makes it a little bit like a league game. But if there is an advantage, it is that we are at home in the second game." For Spurs, they will have another of Harry Redknapp's "greatest days" to savour - and with the prospect of Barcelona - who take on Shakhtar Donetsk - lying in wait in the semi-finals if Tottenham achieve yet another improbable victory in Europe this season. Redknapp said: "It's a fantastic draw. What a game to look forward to against one of the greatest clubs in world football. You have to look forward to games like this. These are the great days in your life and great days in Tottenham's history."

IAEA: Japan halts Sale of Fukushima Area Food Products By Fredrik Dahl | Reuters – 1 hour 19 minutes ago VIENNA (Reuters) - Japan confirmed the presence of radioactive iodine contamination in food products from near a crippled nuclear plant and ordered a halt to the sale of such products from the area, the U.N. nuclear body said on Saturday. In what it called another "critical" measure to counter the contamination of food products, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Japanese authorities on March 16 recommended that people leaving the area should ingest stable iodine. Taken as pills or syrup, stable iodine can be used to help protect against thyroid cancer in the case of radioactive exposure in a nuclear accident. "Though radioactive iodine has a short half-life of about 8 days and decays naturally within a matter of weeks, there is a short-term risk to human health if radioactive iodine in food is absorbed into the human body," the IAEA said in a statement. Japan's top government spokesman earlier on Satursday said tests detected radiation above the national safety level in spinach and milk produced near the Fukushima nuclear plant. It was the first known case of contamination since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that touched off the crisis. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said radiation levels in milk from a Fukushima farm about 30 km (18 miles) from the plant, and spinach grown in Ibaraki, a neighbouring prefecture, exceeded limits set by the government. He said these higher radiation levels still posed no risk to human health. But the IAEA said radioactive iodine if ingested "can accumulate in and cause damage to the thyroid. Children and young people are particularly at risk of thyroid damage due to the ingestion of radioactive iodine." (Reporting by Fredrik Dahl; editing by David Cowell)

Opinions split on Nuclear Energy for S’pore By Angela Lim | What’s buzzing? – Thu, Mar 17, 2011 5:45 PM SGT In light of the disturbing developments in Japan after last week's tragic earthquake, we asked Singaporeans what they thought of the government's decision to consider building a nuclear plant in the country. Out of 267 responses to our question posted on Yahoo! Answers, it appears opinions are split on the issue. On one hand, many Singaporeans cite the current nuclear situation in Japan as proof of the dangers of harnessing nuclear energy. User Edwin Cheng was among those who protested the building of nuclear plants here. He wrote, "No way. It is like putting a bomb at your own door step. We do not have vast lands or space to escape and for the nuclear fallout to clear if there is any disaster." Another concerned user, SomeH0w, agreed, saying, "Singapore is a small country with a large population. If we were to have a radiation leak, we will be badly affected." Leora Xiphos questioned the dangers involved, asking, "Would you rather take the risk of having more energy and be more self-sustainable, in exchange for the safety of Singaporeans, or just forget about building the nuclear plant and focus on keeping Singaporeans safe and sound?" On the other hand, some Singaporeans see the harnessing of nuclear power as a viable option for Singapore. User Luke79 thinks nuclear energy might be worth the risks. He said, "Nuclear might be the answer to the next generation's hope... Natural resources are depleting as we speak." "There is risk in everything we do. Sometimes it's a small price to pay for the benefits you might get," he said. Others like giginotgigi are similarly optimistic. She said, "Yes, there will be no problems if the design is properly done and strict monitoring on the plants and the companies running that plant." Some Singaporeans, however, raised the possibility of other alternatives to nuclear energy. The Patriot said, "That depends on whether Singapore feels that other low carbon forms of energy can not be used." He cited solar and wind power as alternative energy sources that Singapore could consider investing in. Another user, Legendary_Slacker added, "The issue isn't about whether or not Singapore can afford to have a nuclear power plant, but more of whether it is good for the environment or humans in the long term, and how it is going to be "safely" disposed of and stored."

20 S’poreans in Quake-hit Sendai: We’re not leaving By Ewen Boey | What’s buzzing? – Sat, Mar 19, 2011 11:55 AM SGT Twenty Singaporeans are still in Sendai, Japan, which is located 90 kilometres from the troubled Fukushima nuclear power reactors. This is despite advice by Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), which called for all Singaporeans currently in Fukushima and Miyagi prefectures to leave immediately. The evacuation advice was also extended to the neighbouring prefectures such as Yamagata and Niigata, as well as in the Kanto region (Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa, Saitama, Gunma, Ibaraki, Tochigi) -- that Singaporeans should consider leaving if there is no pressing reason to remain there. A Singaporean in her early 30s who only wanted to be known as "Mary" told Channel NewsAsia that she is not worried as Sendai is not within the 20-kilometre exclusion zone established by Japanese authorities. The Singapore Embassy has been in constant touch with her. "They call me every day, at least once a day,(asking) 'Are you ok? Have you got food? Do you have the same address? Are you home now? Do you wish to leave? Do you wish for us to arrange something for you?'" The public school English teacher added that the people in Sendai were calm and high radiation levels were not an immediate threat. Mary admitted that she has been in constant contact with her family and friends, who are worried about her safety, but she wants to remain in Sendai because of her work. "Most people have been saying, 'come home', and I'm saying 'I'm not coming home'. I would tell them 'it's ok, the media is exaggerating it'. I don't see anything to run away from. For many people, (they) like to play safe... when you're unsure, just move. But I've got work here," she said. "The Japanese government is very conservative in their warnings. I think it's the international media who are more skeptical and more worried," she said. The Singapore Embassy in Tokyo has been helping Singaporeans living within a 100km radius from the nuclear plants to move to safe locations. MFA has also advised Singaporeans in Japan to pay close attention to and heed instructions of the Japanese government. Meanwhile, a shipment of supplies, weighing 60 tonnes, was scheduled to have been sent to Miyagi Prefecture early Saturday. The supplies consisted of blankets, mattresses, bottled water, water containers and foodstuff made up of contributions from the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) and the Singapore Red Cross Society. A backlog at Narita airport caused the aid shipment from Singapore to be delayed over the past few days. The SAF's contribution is worth about S$300,000. Further shipments from the SAF, the Singapore Red Cross Society and Mercy Relief will be despatched over the next few days.

Hope and Loss in Japan's search for 8,000 Missing By FOSTER KLUG - Associated Press,JAY ALABASTER - Associated Press | AP – Thu, Mar 17, 2011 5:20 AM SGT Line after line, a list on the wall of city hall reveals the dead. Some are named. Others are identified only by a short description. Female. About 50. Peanuts in left chest pocket. Large mole. Seiko watch. Male. 70-80 years old. Wearing an apron that says "Rentacom." One set catches the eye of Hideki Kano, a man who appears to be in his 30s. "I think that's my mom!" he says. He rushes out into the snow, headed for a makeshift morgue. The list in Natori, and others along Japan's northeast coast, will only get longer. Five days after the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami, the official death toll is more than 4,300. More than 8,000 people are still missing, and hundreds of national and international rescue teams are looking for them. In the industrial town of Kamaishi, 70 British firefighters in bright orange uniforms clamber over piles of upturned cars to search a narrow row of pulverized homes. They wear personal radiation detectors amid fears of leaks from damaged nuclear plants far to the south. One woman's body is found wedged beneath a refrigerator in a two-story home pushed onto its side. "Today and tomorrow there is still hope that we will find survivors," says Pete Stevenson, head of the British rescue crews. "We'll just keep on carrying out the searches." Those seeking loved ones have posted hopeful notes in temporary shelters and other public places. They cover the front windows of Natori City Hall, blocking the view inside: "I'm looking for an old man, 75 years old, please call if you find him." "Kento Shibayama is in the health center in front of the public gym." "To Miyuki Nakayama: Everyone in your family is OK! We can't use our mobile phones, so you can't call us, but we're all here. If you can come home, please come! We're praying for you." City officials have posted a list of 5,000 people staying at shelters. Yu Sato, 28, snapped photos of the names. "I'll post them on the Internet so people living far away can check," he says. In Otsuchi town, Reiko Miura conducts her own search. She's looking for a 50-year-old nephew who couldn't flee the tsunami because of a work injury that had phyiscally disabled him. His mother — Miura's sister — asked her to look for her son. But for the 68-year-old woman, it is a struggle just to recognize the neighborhood, now a sea of mud punctuated by tossed cars and mounds of debris. "I'm pretty sure that my family home is here. It was a big house," she says upon reaching a pile of rubble in a location that feels familiar. But there's no sign of her nephew, and she trudges back across the mud, unsure what to tell her sister. The devastation is of such magnitude that it is hard to imagine some of the communities ever being rebuilt. Town after town has been wiped away. Each curve in the road opens onto a new scene of destruction — a van balanced precariously on the railing of a Buddhist temple, a handbag inside an overturned washing machine. Kesen is virtually a ghost town. Miyuki Kanno, who lives a few miles (kilometers) away, rode his bicycle down a mud- and water-choked section of road looking for information about missing relatives. He guessed it would take 20 years for Kesen to come back. "Your hometown is your hometown. They'll rebuild. I don't know if the young people will come back, but they'll rebuild," he says. Farther north in Ofunato, 72-year-old Keiichi Nagai is less sure. He stands on the edge of a huge wasteland that used to be the low-lying part of the city. He shakes his head and repeats, "There's nothing left, there's nothing left." He points at a washed-up fishing boat that he said destroyed his house. All he managed to salvage was a small brown wallet with a hospital card. "There's nothing left of this place," he says. "The population is going to be half what it was. It's scary to live here now. People will think it's dangerous. There's a chance another tsunami will come. I won't live here. Maybe on the hill but not here." Some 430,000 people are in temporary shelters, too worried about daily survival to think of the future. Some 350 in the gym and theater of an Ofunato middle school have fashioned beds from cardboard mats and blankets. Elderly residents huddle around gas heaters, and youths kick a soccer ball on a snow-laced baseball field. Japanese military officers stock vats of water in a parking lot and ferry in bananas, rice balls and miso paste. In Kesennuma, another coastal city, Kayoko Watabe arrives at a shelter after trudging through mud and thick snow. The 58-year-old woman is wearing the same clothes she had on when the tsunami struck. She is staying with relatives who lack electricity, heat and water, and she's come to the shelter — a junior high school — to get food and other necessities. There, she finds survivors living in classrooms. Most lie on the floor, wrapped in blankets. The stench of unflushed urinals fills the hallway. "We've never seen or experienced suffering like this," she says. "All I can think about is where to get food and stay warm." Klug reported from Kesen, Kesennuma and Ofunato, Japan. Associated Press writer David Stringer in Kamaishi, Japan, and AP videojournalist Koji Ueda in Otsuchi, Japan, contributed to this report.