LONDON - A British tabloid reported Tuesday that it had been handed documents about security arrangements for the London Olympics that were left on a train by a police officer, the latest in a series of embarrassing mishaps involving British authorities misplacing government documents.
London police confirmed Tuesday that one of its officers lost a bag containing documents Jan. 5 and reported it to his bosses, but downplayed the incident, adding that the papers were not "operationally sensitive."
"Obviously the loss of restricted material is a matter for concern, but we are satisfied that this does not compromise our security operation for the Olympics," police said in a statement.
The incident occurred a few weeks after London police experts managed to smuggle a fake bomb into Olympic Park in a security test.
People are also reading…
• A New Zealand farm lobby group says sheep shearing has the potential to become an Olympic demonstration sport.
The "time has come to elevate shearing's sporting status to the ultimate world stage," the New Zealand Federated Farmers said in a statement, adding the world's top shearers are "athletes who take it to another level."
New Zealand will host the world shearing championships in March.
SOCCER
$2,000 payment to shaman is questioned
BOGOTA, Colombia - Colombia's top prosecutor is questioning why a shaman, or medicine man, was paid $2,000 to keep rain away from the closing ceremony of the Under-20 World Cup.
The attorney general's office opened the investigation Tuesday after the comptroller's office in Bogota questioned cost overruns of more than $1 million - the shaman's charges included.
Anthropologist Ana Marta de Pizarro helped organize the ceremony and says the shaman was justified.
She said: "Had it rained, the event would not have taken place. It didn't rain on the ceremony, it was successful, and I would use him again if I needed to."
Skiing
Ski federation has underwear in a bunch
KITZBUEHEL, Austria - The president of the International Ski Federation has called for a rule change to clarify what athletes are allowed to wear under their race suits, following a dispute over Tina Maze's underwear.
The FIS confiscated Maze's underwear when it was believed it might contain plastic parts that could prevent the body from breathing. The garment passed permeability tests, but the FIS president Gian Franco Kasper said, "It has to be made very clear - if (underwear) is plastified, it is forbidden."
Tommy Lloyd's recruiting chops nationally known | Greg Hansen
