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The Chelsea striker was forced off the pitch with an injury to his elbow during the first half of a warm-up game against Japan in Sion, Switzerland.

L'Equipe reported on its website that he was immediately taken to hospital for scans, after which he confirmed he would play no part in the upcoming tournament in South Africa.

"It's an elbow injury but we don't know how bad it is, we (are going) straight to the hospital," said Ivory Coast coach Sven-Goran Eriksson. "I think we should get an answer before we leave."

"If it's serious, it's very worrying, he is our captain, one of the best strikers in the world."

Asked if he was concerned the injury could rule Drogba out of the World Cup which begins next Friday, he added: "Yes, I'm worried, of course I am."

The Elephants' star player went down under a heavy challenge from Japan defender Tulio after 15 minutes which left him spread-eagled on the pitch.

After rising groggily to his feet, the Chelsea forward hobbled off and was replaced by Seydou Doumbia.

His absence disorientated Ivory Coast but Japan were unable to take advantage and they slumped to a fourth successive defeat, 2-0, after losses to Serbia, South Korea and England.

Playing only their second game under Eriksson, the African side added the second with nine minutes to play through defender Kolo Toure.

The Africans face Brazil, Portugal and North Korea in their World Cup group, while Japan will take on Cameroon, Denmark and the Netherlands.

Eurosport / Reuters

Nigeria’s Super Eagles arrived in South Africa Wednesday morning for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Nigeria will open their campaign in Johannesburg against Argentina on 12 June before playing Greece in Mangaung/ Bloemfontein on 17 June. They will then finish off their Group Matches against Korea Republic in Durban on 22 June.

“It is with great pleasure that we welcome Nigeria to South Africa for the World Cup as the first of the African teams, besides Bafana Bafana, to arrive in the country. As giants of African football I am sure they will do the continent proud at the World Cup,” said Chief Executive Officer of the South Africa 2010 Organizing Committee, Dr Danny Jordaan.

“First of all, I feel very privileged to be here and to be part of this World Cup; the first World Cup in Africa. We are looking forward to what we hope will be a good tournament. The few weeks (since I took over) have been wonderful for me – the players attitudes have been great. We have had great preparations,” said Nigeria’s coach, Lars Lagerback.

“We have a very tough group, the quality of the opposition is very good and what I know is that all the teams want to win. But the Super Eagles are ready to take on the world’s best. We know there are high expectations, especially from our fans. If we give our 100%, we can beat any team. But I am happy with everything so far,” continued Lagerback.


Credit: OC
Myjoyonline.com/Ghana

Johannesburg - The Hawks arrested four people implicated in a 419 scam at the weekend after they allegedly held a US woman hostage for nearly a month, an official said on Monday.

"Police believe the four lured the US citizen with a promise that she had won $1.06m (R8m)," Hawks spokesperson Musa Zondi said.

The gang started scamming her last year and fleeced $60 000 from her between April and July.

"After July, the communication went cold until they approached her again in April this year."

She was told to come to South Africa in person to claim her prize and bring $2 000.

Taken hostage

"She duly came and on arrival on April 15 they took her hostage from the airport and kept her in a house Albertsdal, Alberton for well over a month. She was fed once a day while in captivity."

The woman managed to free herself on May 22 after breaking the window of the room where she was kept hostage.

She sought help from the neighbours who contacted the police.

"Intensive investigations were conducted by the Johannesburg Hawks unit working alongside crime intelligence colleagues," said Zondi.

The four people - three Nigerians and a South African woman - were arrested on Saturday.

They were due to appear in the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court on Monday.

The US woman has since returned home.

SAPA

South African officials are on Tuesday scrambling to try to confirm a report that a former Saudi colonel has been arrested in Iraq for plotting with al-Qaeda to launch terror attacks against the World Cup.

Intellligence ministry spokesman Brian Dube said that the ministry had noted the report and was trying to establish the details.

"We have always said that we are ready for any security problems at the World Cup and we are confident of our (security) plan but we are not lowering our guard. We are saying we are expecting anything from anywhere."

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation is also trying to confirm the report.

A Saudi specialist in the government said that there were many Saudis operating in Iraq as the country was very sympathetic to the Sunni minority there. Many of the insurgents in Iraq were Saudis.

"It is a source of great concern that someone has been arrested for plotting against the Fifa World Cup. This is very, very serious and we are going to have to establish the full facts. "


This breaking news flash was supplied exclusively to iol.co.za by the news desk at our sister title, The Star.

Today (6 May 2010), nearly six years later, South Africa’s first democratic President, Madiba, again laid his hands on the Trophy at Johannesburg’s Nelson Mandela Foundation just 35 days before kick-off of Africa’s first FIFA World Cup. Madiba is the symbol of this new democratic South Africa. For us there was no way that the Trophy would arrive in the country and not be brought first to Mandela

A major US TV network has aired videos showing Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Nigerian accused of trying to blow up a US airliner, training to carry out attacks.

The videos, produced by al-Qaeda in Yemen and obtained by a Yemeni journalist working for ABC News, show Abdulmutallab and others in firing practice and taking aim at a Jewish star, a British flag and the letters UN, ABC television reported on Monday.

The footage "also includes an apparent martyrdom statement in Arabic from the 23-year-old Nigerian justifying his actions against 'the Jews and the Christians and their agents'", the network said in a statement.

After i watched the footage for many times . I can't help but wonder the authencity of the video .


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zenEMePcmko  .




In this still young millennium American soldiers have also deployed in the hundreds of thousands to new bases and conflict and post-conflict zones in Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Colombia, Djibouti, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Mali, the Philippines, Romania, Uganda and Uzbekistan.

In 2010 they will be sent abroad in even larger numbers to man airbases and missile sites, supervise and participate in counterinsurgency operations throughout the world against disparate rebel groups, many of them secular, and wage combat operations in South Asia and elsewhere. They will be stationed on warships and submarines equipped with cruise and long-range nuclear missiles and with aircraft carrier strike groups prowling the world's seas and oceans.

They will construct and expand bases from Europe to Central and South Asia, Africa to South America, the Middle East to Oceania. With the exception of Guam and Vicenza in Italy, where the Pentagon is massively expanding existing installations, all the facilities in question are in nations and even regions of the world where the U.S. military has never before ensconced itself. Practically all the new encampments will be forward bases used for operations "down range," generally to the east and south of NATO-dominated Europe. 

U.S. military personnel will be assigned to the new Global Strike Command and for expanded patrols and war games in the Arctic Circle. They will serve under the Missile Defense Agency to consolidate a worldwide interceptor missile network that will facilitate a nuclear first strike capability and will extend that system into space, the final frontier in the drive to achieve military full spectrum dominance.

American troops will continue to fan out to most all parts of the world. Everywhere, that is, except to their own nation's borders.