LONDON: Paul the octopus, the oracle of the World Cup in South Africa, has become an official ambassador for England`s bid to host the tournament in 2018, organisers said Friday.Paul, who was hatched in England but has spent the last two years in an aquarium in western Germany, joins

London: Celebrities David and Victoria Beckham have made 14 of their 50 employees redundant around the world after a horrified accountant warned: “You’re pouring money down the drain,” the Sun newspaper reported on Friday.Celebrity footballer David Beckham and his wife Victoria ride

NEW DELHI: Telecom giant Bharti Airtel was on Friday named as the sponsor for all international cricket played in India after offering to pay 700,000 dollars per match, India`s cricket board said.The three-year deal covers all Test, one-day and Twenty20 matches, and with India scheduled

SYDNEY: Paceman Doug Bollinger says skipper Ricky Ponting`s claim that Australia could sweep this year`s Ashes series 5-0 has not heaped extra pressure on the team to beat England, reports said Friday.Ponting`s belief that routing England was "absolutely possible" riled the England team

MONTREAL: Reigning US Open champion Kim Clijsters cruised into the quarter-finals of the two million-dollar WTA Montreal Cup on Thursday by defeating Estonia`s Kaia Kanepi 6-2, 6-1.The Belgian fifth seed, who won her third title of the year last week at Cincinnati, took just 55 minutes to

SYDNEY: Opening batsman Simon Katich said Friday Australia still has weaknesses in its batting three months ahead of the Ashes Test opener with England.Australian batting collapses at the second Lord`s Test and the fifth Oval Test lost Ricky Ponting`s team the Ashes urn last year, and

LONDON: William Gallas, the former Arsenal captain who is now a free agent, has reportedly agreed terms to join the Gunners` north London rivals Tottenham.The 33-year-old French defender is due to undergo a medical on Friday after agreeing to cross from the Emirates to White Hart Lane,

MASON: World number one Rafa Nadal battled back to defeat Frenchman Julien Benneteau 5-7 7-6 6-2 at the Cincinnati Masters Thursday while Andy Murray needed a final set tiebreak to beat Latvia`s Ernests Gulbis.Third seed Roger Federer, coming off a runner-up finish in Toronto last week,

LONDON: Joe Cole`s undistinguished start to his Liverpool career continued on Thursday when he missed a penalty during his side`s 1-0 victory over Turkish club Trabzonspor in the Europa League playoff round first leg.On a night featuring 35 ties littered with some of the biggest names in

BERLIN: Germany Six out of ten Germans think Philipp Lahm should keep the captain`s armband for Germany`s national side, rather than see Michael Ballack regain the captaincy. German sports agency SID, an AFP subsidiary, authorised a poll which saw 60.3 percent of those surveyed say

PORTO ALEGRE: Internacional of Brazil won South America’s Libertadores Cup for the second time when they beat Guadalajara of Mexico 3-2 in the second leg of the final at the Beira Rio on Wednesday. Inter, also champions in 2006, won 5-3 on aggregate after a 2-1 first-leg victory on

SYDNEY: Brazilian striker Ricardinho on Thursday signed for two-time Australian A-League champions Melbourne Victory. Ricardinho, 26, penned a two-year contract shortly after arriving in Melbourne on Thursday and was introduced to his new teammates at training. The forward played with

ZURICH: Nadezha Ostapchuk of Belarus was on Wednesday crowned the women`s shot put champion of the season after dominating the penultimate Diamond League event. Ostapchuk, the European champion, was never tested at the makeshift shot put arena rigged up at Zurich`s main train station,

SYDNEY: Former Australia coach John Buchanan`s move to help England prepare for this year`s Ashes series in Australia may be scuppered by a cash crunch caused by London`s 2012 Olympics, reports said on Thursday. Buchanan, 57, helped England in a consultancy role last year as Andrew

LONDON: Vuvuzelas, the plastic horns that provided the soundtrack for the World Cup in South Africa, have blared their way into a dictionary containing the latest in the English language, published Thursday. The deafening trumpets are one new entry in the latest edition of the Oxford

PARIS: German powerhouses Werder Bremen made light of the sale of midfield star Mesut Ozil as they walloped Italian side Sampdoria 3-1 in their Champions League play-off first leg clash on Wednesday. Goals by Clemens Fritz, captain Torsten Frings and Claudio Pizzaro will have eased some

LONDON: David Beckham urged English football fans Thursday to show their support for the country`s bid for the 2018 or 2022 World Cup by getting involved in events aimed at impressing a FIFA inspection team. The LA Galaxy midfielder threw his weight behind "Back the Bid Week", which will

MONTREAL: Reigning US Open champion Kim Clijsters and 2009 US Open runner-up Caroline Wozniacki, the world number two, advanced to the third round of the two million-dollar WTA Montreal Cup on Wednesday. Belgian fifth seed Clijsters outlasted 101st-ranked US qualifier Bethanie

IRVINE: Michael Phelps held on for a "painful" victory in the 200m butterfly at the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships on Wednesday, holding off Nick D`Arcy with the fastest time in the world this year. "That was painful," said the 14-time Olympic gold medallist, who has been battling

CINCINNATI: Top-ranked Rafael Nadal, third-ranked Serbian Novak Djokovic and British number four Andy Murray all won on Wednesday to reach the third round of the three million-dollar ATP Cincinnati Masters. Murray, coming off a victory in Toronto last week, beat France`s Jeremy Chardy