“I’m very happy with the race which went largely as I planned. It has been a tough year for me but I had a fine preparation for these world championships. I knew it would be hard with all the best walkers in the world here. Today luck was on my side. This was a good result for me and for race walking.”

“My next goal is to rest, to restore myself psychologically, physically and mentally — mind, body and soul. The last two years have been very exhausting, now is the time to decide what to do next.”

    President Lee expressed his gratitude for the high-profile foreign delegates, saying “Former President Kim was a man who dedicated his whole life to improving inter-Korean ties and bringing forward democratization of the nation,” according to presidential office vice-spokesperson Kim Eun-hye.

    President Lee first had a meeting with Japan’s former House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono, saying he was thankful that the country sent envoys whenever South Korea had events to celebrate or mourn.

    Lee later met with the Chinese delegation led by special envoy of the Chinese government Tang Jiaxuan.

    “Former President Kim was an old friend of China, who contributed much to the development of the China-South Korea relations,” Tang said.

    “It has been decided to hold the funeral at the National Assembly, which is the symbol of democracy and parliamentarianism,” Rep. Park Jie-won of the main opposition Democratic Party said.

    He added that the government and Kim’s family also agreed to set up a public altar there.

    The exact date and the format of the funeral, however, is yet to be decided, according to Park.

    “We have lost a great leader of the nation,” President Lee was quoted as saying by Lee Dong-kwan, spokesman for the presidential office.

 ”The late president’s passion for democratization and unification, not to mention his achievements, will remain in South Koreans’ memories for a long time,” the president said.

    President Lee also said he prayed for the president’s soul and expressed deep condolence for his family.

    Earlier in the day, Kim Dae-jung, who has been hospitalized for pneumonia for more than a month, died at the age of 85 at Seoul’s Severance Hospital.

    “This year has been especially hard for us as we have lost earlier in the year yet another political leader, former President Roh Moo-hyun. We feel as if we have lost both root and spirit of our democracy,” it added.

    The opposition Liberty Forward Party (LFP) also praised Kim for overcoming the political struggles he had to face.

    “The many achievements and footprints that the departed has left will be remembered and appraised by generations to come,” said LFP spokesperson Park Sun-young.

    Earlier in the day, Kim Dae-jung, who has been hospitalized for pneumonia for more than a month, died at the age of 85.

    The ruling Grand National Party (GNP) showed its condolence by saying,” we have lost a great political leader.”

    “Former President Kim dedicated his entire life to democracy, human rights and development of inter-Korean relations,” Yoon Sang-hyun, GNP spokesman, said in a statement.

 ”We express our deepest condolence to Mrs. Lee Hee-ho and the rest of the bereaved family,” Yoon added.

    The GNP called for an executive meeting over the ex-president’s death late Tuesday, during which the GNP lawmakers are to discuss follow-up measures.

    South Korea’s main opposition Democratic Party (DP), on the other hand, said it was saddened by ex-president Kim’s death.

    The groups, including the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), praised Kim for leadership, which enabled the South Korean economy to step out of the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s.

    “Former President Kim left a big mark in the history of democracy, and helped the economy swiftly rebound from the slump during the Asian Financial Crisis by taking a leading role in attracting foreign investment,” the FKI said in a statement.

    “Honoring his devotion to the nation, we, business groups, will further focus on ways to recover from the current economic slump,” it said.

    The Korea Employers Federation (KEF) also expressed “profound condolences”.

Victory, achieved with more than a day to spare, saw England take the five-match series 2-1.

Australia, set what would have been a record fourth innings victory total of 546, were bowled out for 348 with Michael Hussey last man out for 121, when he was caught close in by Alastair Cook off spinner Graeme Swann.

“It’s a special moment. It hasn’t sunk in yet. We had to dig in and fight,” said England skipper Andrew Strauss.

“When we were bad in the series, we were very bad but when we were good we were very good.”

Australia captain Ricky Ponting said: “We gave it all we could, but it wasn’t enough. Full credit to England, they won the crucial moments and deserved to win the series.

“I think this series has shown that Test cricket is alive and well around the world.”

From 327 for five, the end came swiftly with four wickets going down for 16 runs in 32 balls, with fast bowler Stephen Harmison taking three for seven in 13 balls.

It was a remarkable turnaround for England, who’d lost the fourth Test by an innings and 80 runs at Headingley, and had only clung on for a draw in the series opener at Cardiff by a single wicket.

In article for The Mirror, Botham questioned moves by the ECB to curb the chat of fans loyal to the England cricket team.

” It’s called home advantage. What do people expect from the crowd? They are England fans and it is fair to expect them to be with the home team and against the away team. That’s the same everywhere around the world.Each crowd has their own way of going about it. Telling the England fans to keep a lid on their songs and banter is like telling the Indian fans to keep it quiet when Sachin Tendulkar walks out to bat or hits a boundary,” said Botham.

While admitting that a few buffoons could over extend themselves in their raucous behavior, Botham said it was plain and simple rubbish to demand a “sterile atmosphere” on a ground where a Test match is on.

Addressing the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) India-Caribbean Conclave this week, Mishra said the “creation of the chamber is currently in progress”.

“Its name, India-Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Commerce, has already been registered locally and the high commission has started talks with people interested in becoming members,” he said.

Among the other initiatives, the high commission has set up a business facilitation centre which opened last week, and planning a bimonthly magazine that would disseminate information on India and T&T.

“T&T would benefit as the World Bank has predicted that India would have the highest state of growth by 2010, more than China,” Mishra said.