David Beckham left out for football reasons off GB squad
Stuart Pearce says his decision not to pick David Beckham in his Team GB squad for London 2012 was made purely for football reasons, and stressed he would not pick any player based on sentiment.
Pearce has named his 18-man squad, leaving out Beckham as expected.
"Form plays a big part and I don't think there is a manager around who picks on sentiment," he said.
"I have to be comfortable when I have made decisions based solely on football grounds alone, nothing else."
Pearce also ruled out any possibility of using Beckham in a coaching capacity, although the British Olympic Association (BOA) has been in touch with the Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder's representatives about a possible Games role.
"We only have seven passes [for backroom staff]. We have no passes for that," added Pearce.
"The players have to be prepared to come through the door on form alone and that happens to be the case with staffing too. They have their role to play."
BOA chef de mission Andy Hunt said it would be "fantastic" to have Beckham involved in some capacity.
He said: "We'd be delighted and honoured to have David Beckham related to Team GB more broadly.
"That would be fantastic. I've made contact with his representatives over the weekend and we'll see how that moves forward."
It had long been anticipated that Beckham would be included as one of the three overage players in the squad following his prominent role in promoting London 2012.
But Pearce instead opted for Craig Bellamy, Ryan Giggs and Micah Richards - three players the England Under-21 manager believes will give Team GB their best chance of winning a medal.
Pearce said he made it clear when he was appointed that he would only pick players based on merit, and would not have taken the job if he was not in full control over squad selection.
Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters beaten at Wimbledon
Top seed Maria Sharapova and Kim Clijsters were knocked out of Wimbledon in straight sets in the fourth round.
Sharapova had been bidding to become the first player since Serena Williams in 2002 to win the French Open-Wimbledon double in the same year.
But the Russian world number one was beaten 6-4 6-3 by German 15th seed Sabine Lisicki on a chilly Court One.
Clijsters, due to retire after the US Open later this year, lost 6-1 6-1 to German eighth seed Angelique Kerber.
Lisicki, 22, secured victory with her third match point, an ace on her second serve, and will face her compatriot Kerber in the quarter-finals.
Lisicki broke Sharapova's serve three times in the first set and, following a rain delay, once early in the second to clinch victory by the same score she lost to the Russian in last year's semi-finals.
"It's unbelievable. I've beaten Maria Sharapova for the first time," Lisicki told BBC Sport. "I just went for my shots from the first point on.
"She is a fighter but I am a fighter too. I fought to the last point. The last game was tough but I fought it out.
"I'm getting better with each match. This is my favourite tournament. I love it here."
The Russian completed a career Grand Slam by winning at Roland Garros last month, but will lose her number one ranking to either Victoria Azarenka or Agnieszka Radwanska when the new list comes out on Monday.
Sharapova said: "She [Lisicki] did many things better than I did and you have to hand it to her. She played very well. I could have done things differently but not on this particular day."
Clijsters , who has won four Grand Slams but never reached a Wimbledon final, struggled to get her serve into gear and committed a string of unforced errors.
The Belgian survived two match points at 5-0 down in the second set but Eastbourne finalist Kerber soon served out for a comprehensive victory.
Clijsters, who made her Wimbledon debut as a 16-year-old and was a semi-finalist in 2003 and 2006, said the fact it was her last match at the Championships had not entered her thoughts.
"I just had the feeling that there was absolutely nothing I could have done to have won that match," said the former world number one.
"My opponent was better on every level. That was all I was thinking about."
The 29-year-old will play in the Olympics at Wimbledon and then the US Open before retiring for the second and final time, having previously taken two years out to start a family.
"I know that every time I've played here I've given my best, and that's the only thing that I can do," she added.
"I'll never say that I didn't work hard enough or I didn't practise hard enough. I don't think I'll feel sorry about anything when I leave."
In the two other matches in this half of the draw, Polish third seed Radwanska beat Italian qualifier Camila Giorgi 6-2 6-3 and will face 17th seed Maria Kirilenko in the quarter-finals.
Russia's Kirilenko broke twice in the final set to win 6-1 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 in two hours and 20 minutes against China's Shuai Peng.
Pena Nieto Wins Mexican Presidential Election
Exit polls in Mexico's presidential election show Enrique Pena Nieto winning by a wide margin.
The polls put Pena Nieto far ahead of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador of the left-wing Party of the Democratic Revolution, and Josefina Vazquez Mota, who hopes to become Mexico's first female president.
A Pena Nieto win brings the Institutional Revolutionary Party back into power. The PRI ruled Mexico for 71 years until 2000. Its critics blamed the PRI's long hold on power on corruption, electoral fraud and repression. But the party has been bolstered recently by voter fatigue from economic stagnation and a wave of lawlessness that have plagued Mexico under the conservative National Action Party, or PAN.
A large part of that lawlessness has stemmed from the country's drug violence. Since President Felipe Calderon deployed the military against Mexico's drug cartels in 2006, more than 50,000 people have been killed.
The three main candidates have signed an agreement in which they pledged to accept the results of Sunday's presidential election. The agreement also called on Mexicans to respect the result of the election, despite political disagreements.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
Japan's Ozawa and 51 lawmakers resign from ruling party
Japanese power-broker Ichiro Ozawa has resigned from the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, along with 51 other lawmakers.
The exodus, which has been expected for some time, still leaves the DPJ with a majority in the lower house of parliament.
However, the move is a blow to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, with Mr Ozawa expected to form his own party.
Mr Ozawa said he was unhappy with the sales tax hike passed a week ago.
The prime minister says doubling sales tax from 5% to 10% by 2015 is key to cutting Japan's high public debt and funding rising welfare costs.
Mr Ozawa, who voted against the bill, has been leading the charge against Mr Noda over the hike.
If 54 or more lawmakers had followed him out of the DPJ, Mr Noda would have lost his majority in the lower house, forcing him to call early polls.
Voters in Senegal Pick a Parliament
Voters in Senegal went to the polls Sunday to pick a new parliament.
Newly-elected President Macky Sall needs a majority of supporters to get approval for his legislative agenda, which includes job creation and bringing down food prices.
Witnesses say voter turnout Sunday was low. Results are expected in several days.
President Sall defeated long-time leader Abdoulaye Wade in March in an election marked by violence and controversy over whether Mr. Wade was entitled to run for a third term.
Iran Acknowledges Sanctions have Become Severe
Iran has acknowledged that Western sanctions over its controversial nuclear program have reached their toughest level, as the European Union begins a total ban on Iranian oil imports.
In remarks published Sunday by Iranian state media, Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said Western powers unfairly have imposed what he called the “most severe” sanctions on Iran to date. He appealed to the Iranian people to help the government fight the impact of those measures.
The EU ban on Iranian oil took full effect on Sunday, after being implemented gradually since the start of this year. The 27-nation bloc also began enforcing a ban on European insurance for Iranian oil shipments to other nations.
The Obama administration welcomed the European moves, which came several days after it tightened U.S. sanctions against foreign companies doing business with Iran. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the EU sanctions are a “substantial additional commitment” to a diplomatic strategy of forcing Iran to choose between isolation or meeting its international obligations.
Iran has been enriching uranium for what it calls a civilian energy and medical research program, in defiance of several U.N. Security Council resolutions. Western powers that backed those resolutions want Iran to stop enrichment activities that they fear could be used to make nuclear weapons.
Carney said Iran still “has an opportunity” to pursue substantive negotiations to resolve the issue. He said that opportunity begins with expert-level talks in Istanbul on Tuesday. Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany failed to reach any breakthroughs in three rounds of high-level negotiations held earlier this year.
Other Iranian officials tried to reassure the public that they are working to ease the impact of the latest Western sanctions. Iranian central bank governor Mahmud Bahmani said the government has plans to counter the sanctions and has enough foreign currency to meet Iran's import needs.
Oil Minister Rostam Ghasemi said he does not see the sanctions as a problem because Iran has faced similar measures for years and “nothing happened,” as he put it. He said Iran already has found new buyers to replace EU nations who imported Iranian oil. The EU previously bought about 18 percent of Iran's oil exports, which are the main source of that nation's revenue.
In another sign of Iranian defiance toward the West, an Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander said his forces will begin three days of missile tests on Monday — with missiles being fired at desert targets made to resemble enemy air bases in the region. Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh warned that Iranian missiles would “obliterate” Israel if that country attacks Iran.
Israel sees a nuclear armed Iran as a threat to its existence and says it could take military action to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon capability. The United States refuses to rule out military action to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb.
17 Killed in Attacks on Kenya Churches
Kenyan police say gunmen attacked two churches in the eastern town of Garissa Sunday, killing 17 people and wounding at least 40.
Authorities say the attackers threw grenades and opened fire on worshippers.
The deadliest attack took place at the African Inland Church, where at least 10 people were killed, including two police officers. The second attack took place at a Catholic church.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Police have blamed previous attacks on sympathizers of the Somalia-based Islamic militant group al-Shabab.
James Mwamu, vice president of the East Africa Law Society, told VOA that the time has come for Kenya to deal more “harshly” with terrorism and that it is the responsibility of the government to protect its citizens.
“The Kenyan government needs to take the treat of al-Shabab more seriously than ever because we do not know where they are going to strike out next. And I think that Kenyans are very apprehensive when people go to churches, when they go in places to watch football, when they go into bars, they are no longer free because of these things that are happening. You never know when it is going to happen.”
He said terrorists cannot be allowed to kill innocent civilians who have nothing to do with the situation in Somalia.
Kenya sent troops into Somalia last year to help hunt down al-Shabab militants. The insurgents want to turn Somalia into a strictly Islamic state.
The White House strongly condemned Sunday's attacks and extended deepest condolences to the families of the victims. It said the perpetrators show no respect for human life and dignity and must be brought to justice.
Garissa is about 140 kilometers west of the Somali border. It is also about 80 kilometers southwest of the sprawling Dadaab refugee camp, which houses nearly 500,000 Somali refugees.
Friday, several gunmen at the Dadaab camp killed one Kenyan and kidnapped four foreign aid workers.
Apple 'settles China iPad trademark dispute for $60m'
Apple has agreed to pay $60m (£38m) to Chinese firm Proview to settle a dispute involving rights to the "iPad" name, a court in China has said.
Proview had claimed that it owned the rights to the iPad name in the Chinese market after registering it in 2000.
However, Apple had insisted that it had acquired the worldwide rights for the name in 2009.
A court in Guangdong had asked the two firms to try to reach a settlement.
"The iPad dispute resolution is ended," the Guangdong High People's Court said in a statement.
"Apple Inc. has transferred $60 million to the account of the Guangdong High Court as requested in the mediation letter."
Anbell's barter system goes international
COMPANIES short of cash or seeking new business can barter their goods and services on the Anbell Trade Exchange (ATX), a new cashless trading platform.
What's more, members may access over a 100 companies on the exchange locally, and will be able to trade with thousands more internationally as of today, when accreditation by the International Reciprocal Trading Association (IRTA) kicks in.
Over 100 trade exchanges are operated by the IRTA in over 25 countries.
Bartering enables companies to sell their products and services for credit, which can be used to pay for items offered over the participating exchanges.
"We have moved from a one to one scenario, to one to thousands, and at the same time, new clients are brought to customers," said ATX Chairman Andrew Pairman. "We help them to increase their cash flow, and more importantly, we help them to improve the standard of living for themselves, their staff and their families," he added.
The ATX has been in operation since January, but was officially launched on Friday. Pairman actually used the trade exchange to acquire banners from the National Outdoor Agency for decorations at the event last week.
Advertising, transportation services, hotel accommodation, auto repair, office supplies and magazine subscription are among the over 50 categories of goods and services offered locally.
Members are assigned a trade broker who assists the purchasing member by providing a list of the companies that produce the products or services needed and prices in trade dollars. The broker also lets members know how much credit they have, or debit, if they have bought more than they have sold up to that point.
Not everything can be bartered, such as rent and electricity, but using the exchange also enables members to save cash for these essential items, according to IRTA Executive Director Ron Whitney.
He believes the 14 year-old Universal Currency Clearinghouse (UC) — the online platform for all the trading exchanges — will especially benefit the tourism sector here.
"UC does enormous amount of hotel and hospitality business," said Whitney. "So the Universal Currency platform will do wonders in helping bring new travellers to Jamaica."
LIAT statement on delayed salary payments
The management of LIAT (1974) Ltd has taken note of reports in the regional media regarding the delayed payment of salaries for the month of June 2012.
Corporate Communications Manager Desmond Brown on Thursday confirmed that the Company has commenced the processing of salaries for all employee groups.
He advised that salaries for monthly paid employees are due at the end of the month.
Mr. Brown explained that the Company’s pay cycle varies among the different groups of LIAT employees and that some LIAT staff have already received their June salaries.
He said it is anticipated that all employees will receive their salaries by Tuesday July 3.