Iraqi pleas sway FIFA

Iraqi pleas sway FIFA	30.05.2008

Share this article:

05/30/2008		Celtic star stakes his claim
STILL on a high from helping Celtic to their third straight Scottish Premier League championship, striker Scott McDonald says he is determined to use the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, starting with Sunday`s match against Iraq in Brisbane, to secure his place in Australia`s starting line-up

05/30/2008		Iraq fans cheer lifted ban
IRAQIS have celebrated after FIFA lifted the threat of a 12-month ban, clearing the way for the Asian champions to play their World Cup qualifier against Australia in Brisbane on Sunday

05/30/2008		Gretna relegated to third division
GRETNA have been relegated to the Scottish third division after they were unable to guarantee they could fulfill their fixtures next season

05/30/2008		French medallist banned
WORLD athletics championships 1500m bronze medallist Bouchra Ghezielle has been handed a 3?-year suspension by the French athletics federation, for failing a dope test for banned blood-booster EPO

Poll ad blitz begins

A $50 million ad blitz is about to bombard your TV, take over your street and invade your browser, and there`s still six weeks until polling day.

Search for more stories on this topic on Newstext, our news archive service. Click here

Video

Watch this Video NOW!

Signature scream

FEAR, terror or sudden death, the scream is pure Hollywood.

Latest videos

Colour blindness

Deadly trend
Drivers of silver and black cars are more likely to have an accident

You deserve a Gold Credit CardNo annual Card fee for the first year plus the privileges you deserve.

$50 Bonus Prepaid CreditBuy Prepaid Online at Virgin Mobile and get $50 bonus Prepaid Credit.

Visit Business SenseFor the latest business news, managerial insights & more.

0% finance at Saab. Valid only until Dec 31. Book your test drive today.

Tools

Thai cave flooded after heavy rain
Six tourists, two guides drown
17-year-old survives by clinging to cave ceiling

SIX European tourists and their two Thai guides died when a flash flood engulfed a cave they were exploring in southern Thailand, officials said today.

The holidaymakers were trekking with their guides yesterday in Kao Sok National Park when heavy rain caused a stream in the cave to rise suddenly.

A 17-year-old woman survived and was rescued today, district official Sitichai Thaicharoen said, but eight bodies were pulled from the water.

"We can identify the bodies now. There was a 10-year-old German boy... an Englishman, a Swiss man and three Swiss women," he said.

"The survivor is an Englishwoman. She is so far fine. She was able to climb up to the roof of the cave, that is why she survived. She has been sent to a provincial hospital for treatment."

Local television channels showed images of rescuers carrying body bags from a boat overnight and laying them out on the shore.

A Swiss diplomat in Thailand formally identified four of the victims - a man, a woman and two girls (minors) - as Swiss citizens, the foreign ministry in Bern said today.

Diplomats were working with Thai authorities to find out where the four had come from and could not confirm they were a family, ministry spokesman Johann Aeschlimann said.

The national park is in the province of Surat Thani, 645 km south of Bangkok.

Its large lake, thick rainforest, limestone cliffs and numerous caves make it a popular destination for trekkers, with more than 20,000 tourists visiting last year, according to a local tourism website.

Thailand`s tourism industry took another recent hit when 54 foreigners and 36 Thais died in a plane crash on the resort island of Phuket last month.

Eight dead in Thai cave flooding 10/15/2007