1. Armstrong to Face Doping Charges
The Wall Street Journal June 13, 2012
The U.S. agency that polices drug use in sports has informed Lance Armstrong that it intends to bring formal doping charges against him, in an action that could ultimately cost the retired cycling champion all seven of his Tour de France titles.
In a 15-page letter reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, or USADA, told Mr. Armstrong and others that it spoke with "numerous riders, team personnel and others" who "will testify based on personal knowledge" of Mr. Armstrong's alleged doping.
The letter, which paints a picture of a wide-ranging conspiracy by a succession of the country's top cycling teams over a period of years, comes just months after federal prosecutors closed a two-year investigation into Mr. Armstrong's U.S. Postal Service-sponsored cycling team without bringing charges.
As a result of the USADA action, triathlon authorities suspended Mr. Armstrong from competing. The athlete, who focused on the sport after retiring from cycling in 2011, can't compete in triathlons until the charges are resolved.
In a statement, Mr. Armstrong said, "I have been notified that USADA, an organization largely funded by taxpayer dollars but governed only by self-written rules, intends to again dredge up discredited allegations dating back more than 16 years to prevent me from competing as a triathlete and try and strip me of the seven Tour de France victories I earned."
Mr. Armstrong added, "I have never doped."
2. Greece's super-rich maintain lavish lifestyles and low profiles
Guardian June 13, 2012
Since the outbreak of the Greek crisis, the country's moneyed class has been notable mainly by its absence
Locals fear the island of Spetses is at risk of becoming a 'club for the rich'. Photograph: THE TRAVEL LIBRARY / Rex Feature
Nearly three years into their country's worst crisis in modern times, life goes on as normal for Greece's super-rich. As the sun sets, oligarchs, shipowners, singers and media stars gather at the Poseidonion hotel on the island of Spetses opposite the little bay. They tuck into a menu that includes pasticcio laced with foie gras. Among them is a middle-aged man in a T-shirt proclaiming: "More is less".
Three days before Greeks cast their ballots in a make-or-break election, their country could not be more divided. Here there is no talk of the pain of crisis – the only topic of conversation elsewhere in Greek society. The destitution and despair of Athens is a world away – and for many quite clearly it is best kept that way.
Greek shipowners, who have gained from their profits being tax-free and who control at least 15% of the world's merchant freight, have also remained low-key. With their wealth offshore and highly secretive, the estimated 900 families who run the sector have the largest fleet in the world. As Athens' biggest foreign currency earner after tourism, the industry remitted more than $175bn (£112bn) to the country in untaxed earnings over the past decade. Greece's debt currently stands at €280bn.
An estimated €8bn flowed out of the Greek banking system in May as speculation over the country's possible exit from the Eurozone mounted. Another €4bn was reported to have been withdrawn in the last two weeks – on top of an estimated €20bn since the start of the crisis in late 2009. Stories of rich Greeks sending their wives and best friends on "shopping missions" to remove secret hoards kept in banks in Switzerland and Cyprus are legion.
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