Britain's army will have to provide extra troops to police Olympic venues as a private security firm cannot supply enough trained staff, while a watchdog warned on Thursday that border staff are under-trained.

Responding to media reports that the military had been asked to provide up to 3,500 extra personnel, the country's Interior Ministry acknowledged Wednesday that it had intervened "by revising the level of military support" for the summer games which open late this month.

Russia's track and field athletics chief Valentin Balakhnichev said Tuesday he had high hopes for his country's chances of winning medals at the London Olympics which start on July 27.

Unveiling the country's athletics squad, Balakhnichev said that results from last week's national athletics championships in Cheboksary boosted his optimism ahead of the Olympics.

Kuwaiti businessman Fawaz al-Hasawi announced on Tuesday he had bought two-time European Cup winners Nottingham Forest.

Al-Hasawi, a member of one of Kuwait's richest families and who resigned as president of Kuwaiti club Qadsia earlier this year, had been linked with the sleeping English giant earlier in the summer.

Argentinian football legend Diego Maradona was sacked as coach of United Arab Emirates side Al Wasl just over a year after he was appointed to the job, the club announced on Tuesday.

The 51-year-old - who was appointed in May 2011 after he had lost his job the previous year as Argentina national coach - had looked to be in a precarious position after failing to win a trophy last season.

Mahmoud Sarsak, a Palestinian footballer who staged a hunger strike of nearly three months while in an Israeli jail, was freed on Tuesday and returned to the Gaza Strip.

An AFP journalist saw the 25-year-old enter the Palestinian territory in a Red Cross ambulance to be greeted by hundreds of people, including relatives, who waved Palestinian flags and pictures of other prisoners.

The United Nations agreed Tuesday to mediate between South and North Korea with the aim of forming a unified team for some events at the 2015 World University Games, organizers said.

Wilfried Lemke, the special U.N. adviser on sports for development and peace, signed a cooperation agreement with the Universiade organizing committee in the southwestern city of Gwangju.

Australian Mark Webber on Tuesday ended speculation about his future by signing a new one-year contract with Red Bull Racing for 2013.

Webber, who claimed the ninth victory of his Formula One career on Sunday in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, had been linked with a move to Ferrari.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers admits he will consider sending Andy Carroll out on loan next season if he doesn't feel the England striker can fit into his Anfield revolution.

Carroll has endured a disappointing 18-month spell with the Reds since his club record £35 million transfer from Newcastle in January 2011 and recent reports suggest Italian giants AC Milan are interested in signing him on loan.

Residents of a London apartment tower are going to court in a bid to stop their rooftop being used as a missile base during the Olympic Games.

The British military plans to deploy surface-to-air missiles at six sites around London as part of security measures for the July 27-Aug. 12 games.

Andy Murray vowed to come back stronger than ever after a heartbreaking four-set Wimbledon final defeat against Roger Federer left the distraught Scot crying tears of frustration on Center Court.

Murray had hoped to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936, but his dreams were dashed as Federer recovered from a slow start to claim the seventh All England Club title of his magnificent career.