CAMEROON ATHLETES GO MISSING AT LONDON OLYMPICS?
LONDON, United Kingdom - Seven athletes from Cameroon's delegation to the London Olympics have gone missing, the country's head of mission said Tuesday.The missing athletes include five male boxers, a female footballer and a male swimmer, Paul Ekane Edingue, said David Ojong, Cameroon's head of mission to London 2012.
Ojong said the missing boxers, named as Thomas Essomba, Christian Donfack Adjoufack, Yhyacinthe Abdon Mewoli, Serge Ambomo and Blaise Yepmou Mendouo, had not been seen since Monday.
- Footballer Drusille Ngako, who was one of the team's reserve players, went missing on July 26, he said.
- The Cameroonian delegation approached the London Games organizers, LOCOG, and the High Commission of Cameroon in London as soon as they became aware of the missing athletes, Ojong said.
- Nothing has been heard from the athletes since they went missing, he said, but their compatriots "hope and believe" the athletes will rejoin the group before they return to Cameroon.
- UK authorities say athletes visiting the United Kingdom for the Games are free to come and go as they please from the Olympic village, where visiting delegations are housed.
- Athletes and team officials have been allowed to seek permission to enter and remain in the United Kingdom without a visa from March 30 to November 8. Their right to be in the country ends on November 8.
The UK Home Office, which is responsible for border security, declined to comment on the missing athletes.The director of protocol at the Cameroonian Ministry for External Relations in Yaounde also declined to comment.
Cameroon, a west African nation of more than 20 million people, sent more than 30 athletes to the London Games but has yet to win a medal. It is not clear whether the missing athletes plan to seek asylum in the United Kingdom.
KERALA'S SNAKE BOAT LIKELY TO MAKE WAVES ON THE THAMES RIVER
A snake boat in a river in Kerala. Tourism promotion authorities are trying to send a snake boat for the 
Olympics pageant trial on the Thames in London.
Olympics pageant trial on the Thames in London.Thiruvananthapuram, India - Kerala's famed snake boats attract thousands to the annual boat race in the Punnamada backwaters. One of the over 100-feet-long (33.3 metres) boats may take to the waters of the Thames River as part of a trial run of the inaugural ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics.
The huge boat, which is unique to Kerala, along with around 120 oarsmen would be showcased on June 9 at an event to be attended by the British queen.
Source: Gulfnews
The huge boat, which is unique to Kerala, along with around 120 oarsmen would be showcased on June 9 at an event to be attended by the British queen.
- The proposal to include the snake boat in the ceremony along with boats from other parts of the world was mooted by Keraleeyam, a cultural organisation that has members in the state and across the globe, including Britain, said state Sports Minister M. Vijayakumar.
- "It would be a trial run with important dignitaries like the British queen witnessing the event. They approached us and we decided to do our bit. We have been told by those coordinating the event in London that the first round of sanctions have come from the British government," Vijayakumar said. But there are some stumbling blocks like the logistics involved in shipping the boat and the oarsmen apart from the required funds.
- "The state government has in principle decided to lend its support and the sports, industry and tourism ministries have decided to bear a portion of the cost. We have sent a letter to the union tourism minister to help us in this endeavour. They have the resources and we have requested that the event be included under the Incredible India [tourism] campaign. We are now waiting to hear from them," Vijayakumar said.
- Organisers working towards the event here say it would cost more than Rs5 million (Dh413,320) to ship the snake boat from here to London. "A snake boat now costs more than Rs3 million and since it would cost close to Rs5 million to transport it, we have decided that we will gift this snake boat to Britain after the trial run is over," the sports minister added.
VISITORS GEOFLAGS SINCE AUGUST 26, 2009
