Beckham smells sweet, says Ronaldo

Compiled by A. Kathirasen
New Straits Times
06-30-2002
Beckham smells sweet, says Ronaldo
Byline: Compiled by A. Kathirasen
Edition: New Sunday Times; 2*
Section: World
Column: Global wanderings

FORGET about how skillful England's fooball captain David Beckham is with a ball. Forget that he's married to the sexy Posh Spice.

Listen to what ace striker Ronaldo has to say about the England captain. Beckham, he says, is handsome and smells nice.
Ronaldo and Beckham swapped shirts after Brazil beat England in the World Cup quarter finals.

In an interview by Rede Globo Television, Ronaldo said: "When you swap shirts after the match you expect it to smell bad, because of the sweat. But Beckham's smelled really nice."

Ronaldo said Beckham was the talk of the Brazilian team after their match.

What did they specifically talk about Beckham. The Brazilian players were impressed by his beauty.

Ronaldo said: "Right after the game ended everyone was saying that Beckham is really handsome."

Barmy insurance

MANY football fans take the game seriously. This seriousness can take many forms. In England, more than 200 fans took out insurance against being mentally scarred if England were to lose in the World Cup.

Computer firm worker Paul Hucker, 31, of Cambs, was one of them. He paid STG105 (RM590) for an Internet policy that will shell out STG100,000 if he becomes mentally scarred.

However, Hucker will have to undergo a series of psychological tests and be certified as having been mentally scarred before he can be paid.

The Sun quote Hucker, a father of three, as saying: "Following England over the years I have been put through the mill emotionally. I have a family to provide for and I am scared that one day I will finally be pushed over the edge - especially if there is a penalty shoot-out."

It quotes a spokesman for insurance company Ultraviolet as saying: "It sounds a bit off the wall, but it is a serious issue. We have sold some 200 of these policies."

Strong Putin site

HACKERS like to prove they are good. They cannot resist a challenge. And so it is not surprising that hackers have tried to break into Russian President Vladimir Putin's new Internet website.

In fact, the Kremlim says some 100 hackers tried to break in during the first 24 hours of its existence.

But none has yet succeeded.

Now, after three months, the Kremlin is confident that www.president.kremlin.ru site is almost hacker-proof.

The site contains copies of Putin's speeches, new laws and tidbits of presidential news. There are also photographs of Putin with his family.

Unruly behaviour

IN Hyderabad, India, police have filed a case against Congress Member of the Legislative Assembly D. Nagender for allegedly threatening the principal of Nizam College, P. Uma Maheshwara Reddy, for refusing to entertain his recommendation for a degree admission.

The Times of India reports that Nagender would be charged with criminal intimidation and obstructing a government servant from doing his duty.

Reddy lodged a police report alleging that Nagender had barged into his room and threatened him with dire consequences for refusing to give priority to a candidate recommended by Nagender.

The legislator, apparently, also used expletives.

Nagender denied the allegations, saying he merely asked Reddy why the youth was not given admission.

No marital bliss

SADOMASOCHISTIC sex is grounds for a divorce. So ruled Italy's highest appeals court in granting a divorce to a wealthy woman.

She had claimed that that her husband was responsible for the break-up of their marriage. His excessive demands for sadomasochistic sex had left her psychologically and physically bruised, she claimed.

Reuters reports that the decision overturned a lower court ruling which had said the wealthy couple were equally responsible for the divorce since, while she had to put up with his sexual predilictions, he had to suffer her arguing and plate throwing.

After hearing evidence from psycho-analysts who treated the woman for a nervous breakdown during the marriage, the higher court ruled the man should have been more sympathetic to his wife and not insisted that she join in his sexual games.

Somethin' sheepy

SOMETHING was not right. A flock of sheep in a semi-urban area in Redwood City? Drivers slowed down to gawk. Some wondered if someone was making a movie.

This was no movie. The sheep had been brought there for a purpose. They were there to munch away the grass and shrubs around a major water pipeline to retard the progress of wildfires.

The logic was simple: Eat it before it can burn. Wildfires have taken a toll in several states in the US and with this in mind, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission had hired the goats, to eat their way through dense brush and grass.

In recent years, goats have become an important form of fire prevention, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

Last year, San Francisco hired goats to work near Twin Peaks and Glen Canyon in the Glen Park neigh-bourhood.

The paper quotes commission official Jane Herman as saying:

"The goats won't be able to do the job alone, but combined with mowing and weed whackers, we think this will be highly effective.

"Their little legs take them where no man or mower can go. If it works like we think it will, we expect to expand this to our watershed areas along Crystal Springs Reservoir and other areas."

The owner of the goats, Goats-R-Us, will be paid US$20,000 (RM76,000) for clearing 12ha of land.

Another commission official, Beverly Hennessey, says: "This is a very natural way to address a very serious problem. It is vastly safer than using herbicides, as well as controlled burns, which have been known to get out of hand."

Croc karma

CALL it karma. A 28-year-old Panamanian accused of killing a judge escaped from prison and was swimming across a river to get as far away as possible when he was eaten by a crocodile.

According to Reuters, Oswaldo Matinez was eaten alive by the crocodile as he tried to swim across the River Terraba in southern Costa Rica.

Accused of murdering judge Harmodio Mariscal during a failed robbery in Panama City, Martinez was captured a few weeks later by police after he fled to neighbouring Costa Rica.

(Copyright 2002)