Sudden death

In the limelight

SALZBURG: Exasperated by fans relieving themselves anywhere they pleased after having one too many beers, host city Salzburg has installed brighter lightbulbs in streetlamps around the old town fan zone to shine a light on those trespassing supporters. The streets are also being patrolled regularly to catch any potential offenders. — AFP

Peppered up

SEXBIERUM: The Dutch team’s gleaming start has had unintended consequences for a tasty vegetable. A producer of orange bellpeppers in Sexbierum, in the northeast of the Netherlands, saw his sales triple following the Oranjes’s 3-0 win against reigning world champions Italy on Monday. His 100,000 peppers are expected to sell in a jiffy. — AFP

Animal instinct

CHEMNITZ: Two out of two, so far. Animals at Chemnitz Zoo in Germany have been given the task of predicting the national team’s fortunes during Euro 2008 and so far they have been correct both times. Presented with pieces of food representing the two opposing teams, porcupine Leon picked the German Zwieback cracker, accurately foreseeing Germany’s win against Poland in their first match. For the second game, the snow fox chose the Croatian chick and Germany went on to lose to Bilic’s men. Now Ballack and Co are in for a tough run on Monday: Tamarin monkey Baileys picked the Austrian raisins. — AFP

Natural doping

VIENNA: Breathing winning. A method developed by a Japanese doctor apparently allows people to breathe in 30 per cent more oxygen and improve their concentration by 40 per cent. An Austrian specialist has already offered his services to teach the method to Josef Hickersberger’s Austrian side for free, to help them on their way to the quarter-finals. — AFP