Monday, 11 July 2010
The World Cup day that was
11 July: Fan nearly makes it to the trophy Madiba makes it to closing ceremony, briefly; Fan tries to steal trophy; Spanish artists beat Dutch thugs 1-0 in extra time; Referee Howard Webb dishes out 14 yellow cards; Germany’s Thomas Mueller wins the Golden Boot award.
10 July: The refs weren’t so bad after all Dressing room journalist let off with fine; German fan given suspended sentence for plane craziness; Germany beat Uruguay 3-2, win bronze; Referees score 96% in World Cup test; Johan Cruyff may be Dutch, but he supports Spanish soccer.
9 July: The vuvu is haram UAE issues vuvuzela fatwa; Paul the psychic octopus spawns menagerie of clones; World Cup closing concert takes place; Robben doesn’t mind ugly football – as long as the Dutch win; “Pick me, pick me!” Torres pleads.
While you were sleeping
As many as 64 people may have died in two, or perhaps three, separate explosions in Kampala at restaurants packed by crowds watching the World Cup final. Police immediately blamed Somali terror group al-Shebab, and believe the attacks were carried out by suicide bombers. Reports, including the actual number of bodies recovered, were still confused early Monday morning. BBC, New Vision
Spain erupted into the biggest celebrations the country has seen in a generation, with people dancing in the streets in every city and just about every town. Ambulance services in Madrid reported treating several people who fainted from the heat, but no other incidents. AFP, AP
In World Cup tournament awards, Uruguayan Diego Forlán received the the Golden Ball as most valuable player, German Thomas Mueller received the Gold Boot as best striker (and was also named the best young player) and Spain’s Iker Casillas received the Golden Glove for best goalkeeper. AP, AFP
Colombian commandos killed 12 rebels they say were bodyguards of Farc leader Guillermo Sáenz (who also goes by the name Alfonso Cano), as well as Magaly Grannobles (AKA Marleny Rondon), a legendary Farc commander and close confidant of Sáenz. Latin American Herald Tribune, BBC
The Guatemalan navy captured a home-made submarine it says contained five metric tons of cocaine on its way to the United States. Reuters
Japan‘s ruling Democratic Party lost its majority in the upper house of Parliament in elections yesterday, making prime minister Naoto Kan if not a lame duck, then a severely hobbled one. A hostile Parliament is expected to make it difficult for Kan to reduce public debt, which in turn imperils his promised revitalisation of the economy Chosun Ilbo, Bloomberg
The population of Easter Island briefly doubled as an estimated 4,000 tourists pitched up to watch a total solar eclipse, and in Tahiti crowds briefly turned away from the World Cup final to see the start of the phenomenon. Radio New Zealand, BBC
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