The Best and the Worst of the British Press
L O N D O N , July 5, 2001 -- An elated Tim Henman graced the front pages of nearly every newspaper in Britain this morning, as the U.K. celebrates the tennis ace's victory in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
"Tiger Tim" advanced to the semi-finals on his home turf for the third time in his career and has boosted British hopes that he might become the nation's first Wimbledon singles champion in 65 years.
Henman bested Swiss 19-year-old Roger Federer 7-5, 7-6. 2-6, 7-6 before an adoring home crowd Wednesday. Henman will face Croatia's Goran Ivanisevic in the semi-finals, while American Andre Agassi will play Australia's Patrick Rafter in the other semi-final match-up.
Mechanical Sex Sorter
The Times joins several of its broadsheet brethren this morning in reporting a story from across the pond. The paper examines an announcement made by American scientists Wednesday that nearly 200 couples have had babies whose sex was determined prior to birth for purely social reasons.
Doctors at a U.S. clinic have employed a "sex-sorting" machine, using it on the father's sperm to raise the odds of determining the sex of a baby. The machine increases the odds of being able to select the sex of a child to an astonishing 92 percent for girls and 72 percent for boys. Fertility experts, however, have raised some concerns about the morality and safety of the procedure.
No Controversy, But Still Worth It
The Independent runs a large picture of a tartan-clad Madonna, being held aloft by back-up singers in gas masks, on its front page today, to mark the first of six London shows. A lengthy story inside the paper reports scalped tickets were selling for as much as $1,000. But, Madonna fans said it was worth it.
The paper noted that this concert lacked much of the controversy that has surrounded previous Madonna tours. As the Independent muses, there were "no crucifixes, no pointy bras, and little in the way of self-gratification, at least in the sexual sense."
A Sacrifice for the Score
A former professional goalkeeper has managed to turn victory into defeat, winning a $30,000 court settlement for injuries he suffered when he dived to make a save and was burned by the lime used to mark the penalty spot, The Sun reports this morning.
Former Manchester City keeper Andy Dibble, now 36, was scorched down his right side from shoulder to hip while playing for a Welsh team at the time. Dibble spent two weeks in the hospital following the incident and was transferred to a special burns unit to undergo skin grafts. Dibble, who has continued to play professionally told The Sun, "I have a permanent scar on my chest. I look like a car crash victim."
Dubious 'Treasure'
And, The Daily Mail reveals this morning just how close the D-Day invasion came to be being a disaster. The entire mission was apparently put in jeopardy by the fate of a top spy's dog.
According to intelligence files, Nathalie Sergueiew, codename "Treasure," was a high-strung MI5 double agent who was invaluable in feeding false information to her German "masters." But, less than a month before D-Day, Treasure threatened to blow the lid on the allies plans. Her motive?
Revenge for the death of her dog Frisson who died while she was apart from him. But "Treasure" came around in the end and stuck to the plan — convincing the Germans that the invasion would occur near Calais rather than Normandy.