Missing Wimbledon hawk returned
LONDON: The highly-trained hawk used to scare pigeons away from the pristine grass courts of Wimbledon was returned to its owners on Sunday after being stolen during the first week of the tennis tournament. Rufus, a Harris Hawk, was off-duty in his cage when he was snatched by thieves late Thursday but is now home after being handed into offices of The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, police said Sunday. Rufus' Twitter account, written by his owners, said: "We can confirm the news is true RUFUS HAS BEEN FOUND safe and well and reunited with family!! Thank you so much for your support £FindRufus." Visitors to the world's most famous tennis tournament often stop to have their picture taken with the four-and-a-half year old, which was reared by the family-run business Avian Environmental Consultants.
Motta endures Euro final nightmare
KIEV: Italy midfielder Thiago Motta on Sunday may have wished he had missed the bus taking the team to the final of Euro 2012 with defending champions Spain after all. The Brazil-born midfielder — who had to run to make the bus as it was leaving the team hotel without him - came on in the 57th minute for Riccardo Montolivo only to suffer a hamstring injury four minutes later. More seriously for the Italians —who were already 2-0 down — was that they faced playing the rest of the match with just 10 men as Motta had been their third and final substitute.
— Compiled from agencies
