MONTE CARLO, Monaco (AP) – Usain Bolt’s 100-meter world record was ratified on Monday by the International Association of Athletics Federations.

The Jamaican sprinter ran the 100 in 9.72 seconds on May 31 in New York, breaking Asafa Powell’s previous mark of 9.74.

Bolt intends to compete in both the 100 and 200 at the Beijing Olympics, which open Friday. Powell will also be running in the 100, along with world champion Tyson Gay.

The IAAF also ratified Dayron Robles’ 110m hurdles record and Dire Tune’s one-hour record.

Robles set his record of 12.87 seconds on June 12 in Ostrava, Czech Republic. The Cuban broke the previous record of 12.88, which had been held by Chinese sprinter Liu Xiang.

On the same day as Robles, Tune ran 18,517 meters in one hour to break Tegla Loroupe’s record of 18,340.

- CNN -

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) — Real Madrid’s Dutch international striker Ruud van Nistelrooy has announced his retirement from international football.

   Van Nistelrooy, 32, informed coach Bert van Marwijk that he wanted to concentrate fully on his role with the Spanish champions.

“Given the physical effort you need to perform at this level, I had to make a choice,” he said in a statement released by the Dutch Football Association on Monday.

“The combination of Real Madrid’s competitions — cup and Champions League games — on the one hand and the Netherlands team on the other, would be too heavy a burden for me.”

Van Nistelrooy made his first appearance for the Netherlands in 1998 at the age of 22 and went on to play in 64 games, scoring 33 goals.

Van Marwijk, who replaced Marco van Basten as Dutch coach after the Euro 2008 finals, said he “regretted” Van Nistelrooy’s decision but respected it.

The Dutch took the finals by storm, beating world champions Italy and World Cup runners-up France in the group stages, before bowing out to Russia in the quarterfinals — a match in which Van Nistelrooy scored.

“I had a very fine tournament with my country and I look back at that with a good feeling,” added van Nistelrooy. “It was not a decision I took lightly.”

Van Nistelrooy joined Madrid from Manchester United in 2006 and has helped the club win the Primera Liga title in each of the last two seasons.

CNN.

Aug 4, 08 9:10pm 

Seorang pemain bola sepak Perlis hari ini memfailkan saman dan menuntut ganti rugi sebanyak RM1 juta terhadap akhbar Kosmo berhubung siasatan kes rasuah membabitkan para pemain bola sepak negeri itu oleh Badan Pencegah Rasuah (BPR), Mei lalu.

Yusri Che Lah menamakan dua wartawan harian itu Zainal Azhar Mohamed dan Hafizudin Mohd Safar sebagai defendan pertama dan kedua, manakala pengarang Kosmo sebagai defendan ketiga dan akhbar itu sebagai defendan keempat.

Menurut laporan Bernama, writ saman itu difailkan oleh peguam pemain itu Jamil Mohamed Shafie petang tadi di Mahkamah Tinggi Kangar.

Pemain bola sepak itu selaku plaintif turut hadir.

Dalam pernyataan tuntutannya, Yusri berkata pada 15 Mei lalu, Kosmo menyiarkan berita beserta fotonya yang menggambarkan beliau seolah-olah terbabit dalam kegiatan rasuah.

Penyiaran berita serta gambar itu menjatuhkan maruahnya serta keluarga apatah lagi dengan kedudukannya sebagai pemain bola sepak profesional di Perlis dan terkenal.

Plaintif mendakwa bahawa kegiatan hariannya bersama keluarga terpaksa dihadkan kerana dicemuh oleh jiran dan masyarakat, lapor agensi berita itu lagi.

Beliau menuntut ganti rugi berjumlah RM1 juta termasuk ganti rugi teruk dan teladan dan faedah sebanyak lapan peratus setahun dari tarikh penyiaran berita itu sehingga penyelesaian sepenuhnya kes itu di mahkamah.