Koreas draw: North and South Korea, divided for more than half a century, battled to a diplomatically goalless draw in the East Asia soccer championship yesterday, their first encounter in 12 years. Both sides had one solid chance each during a closely fought match played in near-tropical heat and humidity in a stadium in Chonju used during the 2002 World Cup hosted by South Korea and Japan.

Hanke: Young German striker Mike Hanke has been banned for two matches by FIFA, ruling him out of contention for Germany's first two World Cup finals ties. Hanke, 21, was sent off for clattering into a Mexican defender in the third-place play-off in the Confederations Cup at the end of June. Oliver Bierhoff, German team manager, said he was disappointed. "I think it's excessive to ban a young player for the first two matches of the World Cup for a rash act a year beforehand," he said.

Montero: Uruguay captain Paolo Montero has signed a one-year contract to play for Argentine club San Lorenzo. The 33-year-old, who has won 57 international caps, had spent the last 13 seasons in Italy, firstly with Atalanta and then with Juventus. "I'm grateful for everything that Italy's given me but I've turned down other offers to continue in Europe," Montero said. "After 13 seasons, it's time to come back."

Price rise: Argentina has gone ahead with a controversial plan to raise ticket prices by 40 per cent to cover increased policing costs at soccer matches. The Argentine Football Association (AFA) has announced that the cheapest tickets - the so-called "populares" - for first division games will go up from 10 pesos ($3.50) to 14 pesos ($4.90). The clubs fear the price hikes will cause a sharp drop in attendances, which have risen sharply in the first half of this year.

Cricket: Rain forced play to be drawn to a close after England were all out for 407 in their first innings against Australia on the first day of the second test at Edgbaston yesterday. Scores - England 407 in 79.2 overs (M.Trescothick 90, K. Pietersen 71, A. Flintoff 68) vs Australia.