(Reuters) - Acquiring Sprint Nextel is so important to Dish Network Corp that founder Charlie Ergen said he could consider selling the company altogether if he loses a bidding war with SoftBank Corp.

Ergen also proposed a number of other possible outcomes on Dish's quarterly conference call where he fought back against SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son's criticisms of the Dish bid.

The executive said he could take on a bidding partner or sell some non-core Dish assets to pay down debt if a bidding war with SoftBank becomes too pricey. Dish made a $25.5 billion counter bid last month for Sprint against SoftBank's October agreement to pay $20.1 billion for 70 percent of Sprint.

"If we're unsuccessful with Sprint, obviously we have a lot of options." Ergen said. "It could include selling spectrum. It could include selling the whole company. It could include partnering with somebody else in the wireless business."

However the billionaire maverick who has a reputation for tough deal-making said that above all else, he wants to buy Sprint, the No. 3 U.S. mobile service provider.

"Our preference is Sprint. That's our focus," he told analysts and reporters on the conference call.

Dish wants to expand into wireless services as growth is slowing in its satellite TV business, which faces tough competition from cable, telecom and Internet video providers as well as satellite TV rival DirecTV.

So a combination of Dish with DirecTV, would be much less attractive than a Sprint deal, Ergen told analysts in response to a question about the possibility of a DirecTV deal.

"While there would be a lot of synergy and it would be bigger, it would be the same company," Ergen said adding that such a company would eventually need to be transformed "because the video business is mature and ultimately will go into decline."

Ergen did not say who could partner with Dish if it needed more financing than it could raise alone to win Sprint.

If it loses Sprint, Dish could partner with another operator such as No. 4 U.S. mobile service provider T-Mobile US to help develop its wireless service.

But Ergen said Sprint would be a much better option than T-Mobile US because of its size and the amount of spectrum Sprint owns through its majority owned venture Clearwire Corp.

In response to Son's warning to Sprint shareholders that a Dish deal would load down Sprint with too much debt, Ergen argued that he could reduce debt leverage in a few years or even sell assets if it needed to pay back debt sooner.

Another criticism about Dish's bid for Sprint was the fact that it has not yet made a firm commitment to raise the $9.3 billion financing it needs to buy Sprint, which formed a special committee of independent directors to review the Dish offer.

After telling analysts that Sprint has not yet let Dish look at its books, Ergen vowed to make a firm financing commitment only when it is the last obstacle preventing him from gaining access to Sprint's books.

"The firm commitment does have a cost to us," Ergen said adding that he doesn't want to incur those costs unless Sprint is seriously considering his bid. "Our bid is contingent on the fact that we get to do due diligence."

Janco Partners analyst Gerard Hallaren said Ergen's comments "puts pressure on the special committee to explain its view."

"Like many, we believe Dish has made a superior offer for Sprint than has SoftBank. The risk is that Sprint's board will favor an offer that preserve's at least some of their positions even if it jeopardizes shareholder wealth," Hallaren said.

SUBSCRIBER WEAKNESS

Wunderlich Securities analyst Matthew Harrigan saw Ergen's laying out of all his options as the strongest indicator so far of the extent of his determination to buy Sprint.

"It certain seems like both sides feel it's a huge strategic priority this deal gets done," Harrigan said.

The conference call came after Dish reported its quarterly earnings. In the first quarter, it added a net 36,000 subscribers, down from 104,000 a year earlier. Analysts had expected 68,000, according to StreetAccount.

Net profit fell to $215.6 million, or 47 cents per share, in the first-quarter from $360.3 million, or 80 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue dropped marginally to $3.56 billion, mainly due to a weak performance of its Blockbuster video rental business, which Dish bought in a bankruptcy auction in 2011.

Blockbuster revenue fell 46 percent to $180.3 million, mainly because Dish sold the British unit of the video rental company to private equity firm Gordon Brothers Europe.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of 53 cents per share on revenue of $3.61 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of the Englewood, Colorado-based company closed down 81 cents or 2 percent at $38.80 on Nasdaq.

(Reporting By Sinead Carew and Liana B. Baker. Additional reporting by Lehar Maan in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian and Chris Reese)

When the incident occurred, law enforcement officials from both our Tribe and the county conducted an investigation, and subsequently filed charges of terrorist threat and criminal trespassing. As a Tribe, our concerns about the Oklahoma man only grew as we learned he had prior felony charges. Charges against him are still pending in this case in Alabama.

Publicly, this individual has worked diligently to have his actions against us portrayed as those of a martyr and political activist. However, his prior criminal record, his refusal to respect our property rights, his belligerent behavior toward our Tribal members and employees, and his complete disregard for the truth surrounding our Hickory Ground land clearly call into question both his veracity and motivation.

Additionally, while maintaining his publicly defiant stance in the media, this individual has sent numerous messages to our Tribal leaders pleading that the charges against him be dropped noting that an additional felony conviction would only enhance the sentence imposed against him. These are actions of a man who we consider duplicitous, dangerous and potentially destructive.

Like all citizens of Alabama and the United States, we have the right to restrict access to those who would trespass on our property. We will continue to exercise these rights and maintain the safety and security of our lands.

Below is a short summary of facts surrounding our development in Wetumpka. We would encourage the attorney "representing" the Muskogee Nation in Alabama to take time to understand both the history and the laws pertaining to Hickory Ground before making further public statements about our property.

Facts About the Tribe's Wetumpka Property and Its Development

1. Many years ago the Poarch and Muskogee Creek Tribes were separated by historical events. Today, we are separate sovereign nations with completely separate lands.

2. We have continually lived on our Alabama Tribal lands and survived centuries of poverty.

3. Our Wetumpka property is a small portion of what had been a large Indian town called Hickory Ground. The land had been farmed and developed by others for centuries. When it came up for sale, we saw a way to regain some of our historical lands, protect our ancestors and history, and provide for our people and our communities.

4. We asked the Muskogee Nation to join with us in applying for a grant to buy the property. They didn't respond.

5. If we had known then what we know now, we may have done things differently. However, we cannot rewrite history.

6. We did not know that our Wetumpka property encompassed the Ceremonial Grounds for the town until 5 years after we had started developing the site. There has been NO development on the Ceremonial Grounds.

7. The Ceremonial Grounds are protected and we have memorialized and preserved the remains found on our land.

8. This property is Poarch land, and we know best how to protect and preserve our culture while providing for our community. It is inappropriate and divisive for one sovereign nation to try to control the lands of another sovereign.

About the Poarch Band of Creek Indians The Poarch Band of Creek Indians is the only federally recognized Indian Tribe in the state of Alabama, operating as a sovereign nation with its own system of government and bylaws. The Tribe operates a variety of economic enterprises, which employ hundreds of area residents. Poarch Creek Indian Gaming manages three gaming facilities in Alabama, including: Wind Creek Casino & Hotel in Atmore; Creek Casino in Wetumpka; and, Creek Casino in Montgomery. The Poarch Band of Creek Indians is an active partner in the state of Alabama, contributing to economic, educational, social and cultural projects benefiting both tribal members and residents of these local communities and neighboring towns.

SOURCE Poarch Band of Creek Indians

The ad was developed by African-American hip-hop artist Tyler the Creator and shows a battered white woman on crutches trying to pick out her assailant from a police lineup featuring five African-American men and a goat.

As she scans the lineup, the goat threatens her: "Keep ya mouth shut," "snitches get stitches, fool" and "I'ma get outta here I'ma do you up."

The woman eventually runs out, yelling that she can't "do it" - go through with the identification.

The white police officer then takes a sip of Mountain Dew, saying, "She's just gotta do it."

"Dew It" is the soft drink's slogan.

Dr Boyce Watkins, a social commentator and author, called it "arguably the most racist commercial in history." Another blog, Daily Kos, called it "flagrantly racist" and "misogynistic."

"We apologize for this video and take full responsibility," said a PepsiCo spokeswoman in an emailed statement.

She said PepsiCo removed the ad from its online channels and that Tyler was removing it from his as well. A link could be still be found at press time.

PepsiCo did not pull an earlier commercial that showed the goat, called Felicia, attacking the woman after tasting a Mountain Dew at a restaurant. The woman was the goat's server.

(Reporting by Martinne Geller in New York; editing by Jilian Mincer and Prudence Crowther)

Here he was, perhaps the most popular player in the NFL, in New York as a member of the Jets and maybe the biggest thing to hit Broadway since Joe Namath himself.

There were billboards outside the Lincoln Tunnel in New Jersey welcoming Tebow, and sandwiches named after him at Manhattan delis. He also had a legion of fans who followed him because of his strong Christian beliefs, and in New York, he would be able to take advantage of countless media and marketing opportunities.

And then, it all went terribly wrong.

Or, more like it, the whole idea was completely flawed from the start. For Tebow. And for the Jets.

Tebow was waived Monday morning, the end of an embarrassingly unsuccessful one-season experiment in New York that produced more hype and headlines than production on the field. And it all ended quietly, with a three-paragraph news release.

"Unfortunately," coach Rex Ryan said in a statement, "things did not work out the way we all had hoped."

It also left Tebow's football future very much in doubt.

A year after he threw a TD pass to win a playoff game in overtime for Denver, the Heisman Trophy winner with two college national titles at Florida and a nationwide following may have suited up for the last time.

Tebow took to Twitter a few hours after being waived, citing a bible verse: "Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding," Tebow wrote, "in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

No NFL team has made a pitch to get him. The only nibble so far came from the Montreal Alouettes. They hold his rights in the Canadian Football League and said he could come compete for a job as a backup.

"Had this happened back in February, he might have had a chance to at least participate in free agency," said 2002 NFL MVP quarterback Rich Gannon, now an analyst for CBS Sports and SiriusXM NFL Radio. "I don't think there would have been a strong market for him, but at least he would've had that opportunity."

Gannon added that it's an even tougher situation for Tebow now because more than 20 quarterbacks were either drafted or signed as undrafted free agents in the last few days.

"Look, it's a two-way street, though," Gannon said. "It's a business. The Jets were trying to find somebody, a dance partner. Sometimes that goes into the draft and teams are calling around. I'm sure the Jets were trying to shop Tebow, and I'm sure they kept getting denied."

This is the same guy who led the Broncos to the postseason in 2011, but became expendable when Denver signed Peyton Manning as a free agent. The popular backup quarterback was acquired by the Jets in March 2012 for a fourth-round draft pick and $1.5 million in salary. He was introduced at the Jets' facility to plenty of fanfare at a lavish news conference, with Tebow repeatedly saying he was "excited" to be in New York.

It turned out to be one of the few high points in Tebow's stay with the Jets. Along with his shirtless jog from the practice field in the rain during training camp, of course.

The Jets never figured out a way to use Tebow effectively, and he never forced the issue by being a good enough player in practice to make Ryan and his coaches put him on the field more in games.

"If he were to happen to call me, I would say, 'Look, you're starting over,'" former NFL GM Ted Sundquist said. "Tim Tebow needs to redefine who Tim Tebow is, in my opinion. He's no longer a first-round quarterback."

Even recently retired Jets special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff labeled the way the team used Tebow an "absolute mess."

It all cost Tebow his job, along with former general manager Mike Tannenbaum and former offensive coordinator Tony Sparano both fired in part because of their roles in what was one of the NFL's messiest quarterback situations in recent memory. It also seriously clouds Tebow's NFL future, which might be extended only, in some people's opinion, if he considers a position change.

"I don't see any team giving him a chance because teams don't want to deal with the following that comes with Tebow," ESPN analyst and former NFL offensive lineman Damien Woody said. "Maybe Canada."

Added Gannon: "I don't know. He's just in a bad spot."

Tebow was brought to New York to be a dynamic addition to the offense, a complement to Mark Sanchez and a merchandising touchdown for the Jets. Instead, he attempted just eight passes for 39 yards and rushed 32 times for 102 yards and stunningly had no touchdowns.

Through it all, Tebow tried to hide his frustration, but acknowledged late in the season that things didn't turn out quite how he expected in New York.

"I think it's fair to say," Tebow said, "that I'm a little disappointed."

It's an amazing fall for a player whose No. 15 Broncos jersey ranked second in national sales to Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers in 2011.

"He seems like a great kid," Sundquist said, "and it seems like he could bring some positives to a club if he can just bury this whole thing about him being in your quarterback mix and just let him be No. 39 on your roster, one of your back-end guys who can go somewhere and help you win."

The Jets and new general manager John Idzik drafted former West Virginia star Geno Smith in the second round of the NFL draft Friday, giving New York six quarterbacks on its roster and creating uncertainty about Sanchez's future as well.

Tebow, who dropped about 15 pounds in the last few months, arrived at the team's facility in Florham Park, N.J., early Monday and was told he had been cut.

"Tim is an extremely hard worker, evident by the shape he came back in this offseason," Ryan said. "We wish him the best moving forward."

But, where to next for Tebow?

The Jacksonville Jaguars have already ruled themselves out of giving Tebow a happy homecoming. But maybe the Chicago Bears, whose new head coach Marc Trestman tutored Tebow before the NFL draft in 2010, could give him a look as their backup.

Perhaps the San Diego Chargers would take a chance on him, adding to the circus-like atmosphere they'll likely have because they drafted Manti Te'o. New coach Mike McCoy was Tebow's offensive coordinator in Denver during the 2011 season, when the quarterback took over the offense and led the Broncos to comeback after comeback.

What about Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots? They're no strangers to turning discarded players Wes Welker, Danny Woodhead, even Randy Moss into big-time playmakers, and it would give Belichick another chance to tweak the Jets.

Then, there's always the Canadian Football League, but whether Tebow would even be open to a move north of the U.S. border is uncertain.

"If you can find a club that's mature enough to handle it as an organization, then you're going to find the right spot for him," Sundquist said. "What I mean by that is all the media mania and that sort of thing. The club says, 'Look, this is the reason we're bringing him on. We feel he can bring X, Y, Z and A, B, C to the table.' Explain it to Tim, explain it to the media, explain it to your fan base and explain it to your organization."

Organizing for Action, athat advocates for President Obamas policies,on April 25. It is a compilation, for the most part, of Republicans talking dismissively about climate change. One clip shows Rep. John Boehner, who was minority leader at the time, downplaying the environmental harm caused by carbon dioxide noting that it is emitted by humans exhaling and cows doing what they do. We corrected some of the misstatements Boehner made in that 2009 TV interview in a piece titled .

But the Democratic video goes too far in its text and images when it says, Number of House members who voted in 2011 that climate change was a hoax: 240. That is immediately followed by a video clip of GOP Rep. Paul Broun calling climate change a hoax in a floor speech which implies that Broun was speaking on the 2011 legislation mentioned in the video.

We asked OFA about that 2011 vote. We were referred to an April 6, 2011, vote on a Democratic amendment to a GOP-backed bill that would have prohibited the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases. The amendment, which was defeated , did not use the word hoax. Broun did not speak on the amendmentduring the debate, and, in fact, none of the Republicans who spoke againstitcalled climate change a hoax.

Also, not all of the240 who votedagainst it were Republicans; three were Democrats.

Theof the amendment, which was sponsored by Rep. Henry Waxman of California, reads: Congress accepts the scientific findings of the Environmental Protection Agency that climate change is occurring, is caused largely by human activities, and poses significant risks for public health and welfare.

The underlying bill H.R. 910, was the Republican response to anthat greenhousegases are a public health threat, which cleared the way for the agency for the first time toregulate carbon dioxide and other gases that contribute to global climate change. The official House Republican position on the bill was that climate change should be addressed by Congress, not the EPA. In , the Republican leadership said: H.R. 910 would prevent the ever expanding EPA regulations of stationary sources and return climate change policymaking responsibility to Congress.

In other words, the Republicans did not want to approve an amendment accepting the EPA findings on climate change, because they did not want to give the EPA congressional approval to regulate greenhouse gases. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner expressed that concern in his , when he said the amendment gives theproxy to the EPA to make determinations that will have vast impact onour economy without going through the usual legislative process. Hesaid this is not a debate on the underlying science of climate change.

Sensenbrenner was one of two Republicans who spoke against the amendment during a brief debate. The other, then-Rep. Robert Dold, said: I believe in science. I also know that the Earth has been warming for some time. I believe that human activity is also playing a role. But Dold said he was not willing to only accept the scientific findings of the EPA.

Broun did not speak on the amendment. The clip in the video of him calling climate change a hoax came from a floor speech .

Lets be clear: Broun is off base. when GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum called climate change a hoax, climate scientists overwhelmingly agree that global warming is real and human activities are making it worse. A paper published byin 2010 found that 97 percent to 98 percent of climate researchers most actively publishing in the field agreed with thefinding in 2007 that human activity is very likely the cause of most of theobserved increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20thcentury.

But OFA, too, is off base in saying that every House member who opposed the Waxman amendment in 2011 voted that climate change was a hoax.

In fact, four of the Republicans who voted against the Waxman amendment in2011 voted for Waxmans climate change legislation in 2009 that wouldhave created a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gases thatcontribute to global warming. (Waxmans bill , and it would not have passed without eight Republican votes, since 44 Democrats voted against it.)

In supporting Waxmans cap-and-trade bill in 2009,of climate change and the need to address it.

While not a unanimous outlook, the concerns and warnings about the impacts of global climate disruption are the predominant views of the scientific community, Smith said.

Smith quoted from athat concluded the scientific understanding of climate change is now sufficiently clear to begin taking steps to prepare for climate change and to slow it. Smith then added, With this in mind, I will continue to gather as much data as I can in order to fully assess the best and most accurate scientific opinion and identify the most reasonable, balanced government response to address environmental issues and concerns.

As Smiths comments suggest, there is a range of opinion on global warming and how to address it. There are those, such as Broun, who say climate change is a hoax. There are others, including Dold, who say climate change is occurring and humans do play a role, but question how much human activities contribute to it. There are still others who believe climate change is happening and that humans are mostly to blame, but who are concerned that unilateral actions by the U.S. will not do enough good to outweigh the impact on the economy.

In Smiths case, he thought the Waxman cap-and-trade bill in 2009 was a balanced government response, but two years later, he voted against the Waxman amendment. Does that make Smith a climate denier, as OFA puts it? We dont think so.

Organizing for Action would have been correct to say that 237Republicans opposed an amendment accepting thescientificfindings of the Environmental Protection Agency that climatechange isoccurring and caused largely by humans. But thats not thesamething as calling climate change a hoax.

Eugene Kiely

The fourth-seeded Wolverines (31-7) are back in the final for the first time in 20 years, when a brash group better known as the Fab Five was the talk of college basketball.

Top-seeded Louisville (34-5) is trying to bring its first title back to the state of Kentucky's "other" school since 1986. Sitting on the bench with the Cardinals is sophomore guard Kevin Ware, the team's inspiration since snapping his tibia in the regional final last weekend.

Cardinals coach Rick Pitino is working the sideline hours after being named to the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame.

Pitino is trying to become the first coach to lead two programs to national championships. He took Kentucky to the title in 1996.

Smith, the Louisville team leader who Pitino has nicknamed "Russdiculous" for some of his wild and wildly effective antics on the court, scores 18.9 points a game for the Cardinals during the season but has picked up the scoring in the tournament, averaging 25 in the five Louisville wins.

The Cardinals are playing without their main reserve, Ware, who broke his leg in the regional final against Duke. Needing a pickup without Ware, reserve swingman Luke Hancock scored 20 points in the 72-68 win over Wichita State. And rarely used walk-on Tim Henderson made two key 3-pointers during the comeback.

"The other night, we were not going to play in the championship game unless a walk-on steps up and makes a play to give us momentum," Pitino said in a pregame interview.

Chris Webber, who infamously called a timeout the Wolverines didn't have at the end of Michigan's 77-71 loss to North Carolina in the 1993 final, has had very little to do with his alma mater in recent years, but was on hand at the Georgia Dome to watch Monday's game.

In the program's first Final Four game since then, Michigan topped Syracuse 61-56 on Saturday despite an off night from Burke, who finished with only seven points on 1-for-8 shooting.

Burke, a sophomore, seriously considered leaving for the NBA after last season but decided he had unfinished business left in Ann Arbor. He picked up the AP Player of the Year award, among others, and is now one victory away from the ultimate prize in college hoops.

Before leaving the locker room, Michigan coach John Beilein gave his team a pep talk: "You play with poise, play with confidence, you do all those things today and we're going to have one heck of a celebration," he said.

Monday night's game is the final act in what has been an ugly season overall in college hoops, with scoring at its lowest (67.49 points per team) since 1951-52 and shooting at its worst (43.3 percent) since 1964-65. The 131.2-points-per-game average during March Madness is the lowest since the 3-point line was brought to the game in 1987.

By John Mehaffey

LONDON, March 29 (Reuters) - Unprecedented levels of skill, intensity and endurance have transformed global sport into spectacular mass entertainment and handsomely rewarded its leading exponents.

Now that the euphoria of last year's acclaimed London Olympics has dissipated, however, a spate of troubling stories in the first quarter of 2013 show an altogether darker and more disturbing side to a glamorous, multi-billion-dollar industry.

In January, American cyclist Lance Armstrong admitted in a television interview that he had doped before each of his record seven Tour de France victories.

His confession after years of denial followed the United States Anti-Doping Agency's (USADA) decision to strip him of the title and accuse him of being at the centre of the "most sophisticated, professionalised and successful doping programme that sport has ever seen".

A report from Australia's top criminal intelligence unit linked doping in sport with money-laundering and match-fixing after a year-long investigation. Six leading rugby league clubs, from one of the country's four football codes in a sports-obsessed nation, confirmed they were under scrutiny.

And Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, on trial in Madrid for allegedly running a doping ring in cycling, said in his opening testimony that he also had clients in soccer, tennis, athletics and boxing.

Fuentes, who said outside the court this month that he might be willing to co-operate with anti-doping authorities, is appearing in court almost seven years after steroids and blood bags were seized in an investigation code-named Operation Puerto.

"The same people who are trafficking in steroids and encouraging athletes to cheat by doping are the ones who are engaged in illegal betting," said World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) director general David Howman.

"This is essentially money-laundering, bribery and corruption in relation to match-fixing and spot-fixing."

BLACK MARKETS

At a WADA media symposium in London in February, Howman said at least 25 percent of international sport was controlled by the underworld.

"The black markets supply a lot of pharmaceutical products before they are out on the white market," he said. "That's run by the criminal underworld, so a lot of the pharmaceutical stuff comes out in that way."

Rob Koehler, the director of education and programme development at WADA, told an anti-doping conference in London this month the drugs problem in sport reflected the problems of society as a whole.

"We are always trying to push the limit," he said. "Adults are cheating. Students are cheating, in fact they think they are smart if they don't get caught."

Koehler said one percent of the population as a whole was rich while the middle class was shrinking and the lower class growing. The position was similar in sport.

"Top athletes are making millions, some athletes make a modest living, most barely get by," he said. "But what some athletes used to make in their career they are now making in one year."

Doping's black heartland has traditionally been in the speed and strength sports of track and field, weightlifting and cycling.

But it has also become increasingly apparent that the nature of ball sports, which rely on a unique set of skills peculiar to their disciplines, has changed.

Baseball, with its explosion of home runs in the 1990s, is an obvious example and this year slugger Barry Bonds, the record holder for home runs, and pitcher Roger Clemens, a seven-times Cy Young winner, were not elected to the Hall of Fame.

WIDESPREAD DOPING

The pair, appearing on the ballot for the first time after waiting five years following their retirements, were linked with performance-enhancing drugs in the Mitchell report which detailed widespread doping in the sport.

Baseball is similar in nature to Twenty20 cricket, where strength as well as technique is necessary to repeatedly clear the boundaries. Rugby union players, who used to be a mixture of the big and the powerful and the small and the speedy, are now uniformly bulked up.

Tennis, as the five-set marathons now common in the men's game demonstrate, demands sustained power and endurance to an extent once unimaginable.

Even golfers, as the modern breed of players headed by Tiger Woods demonstrates, are now athletes working out in the gym as well as frequenting the driving range.

In England, the Football Association reacted to concerns expressed by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger about the possible use of EPO by announcing it would bring in testing for the blood booster, which was introduced into cycling in the 1990s.

"We have had some players come to us at Arsenal from other clubs abroad and their red blood cell count has been abnormally high. That kind of thing makes you wonder," Wenger said.

Wenger also called for blood testing in soccer, adding: "I don't think we do enough. It is very difficult for me to believe that you have 740 players in the World Cup and you come out with zero problems."

Roger Federer, a 17-times grand-slam tennis champion, also called for the introduction of biological passports, pioneered in cycling and subsequently introduced in athletics, which track changes in a competitor's blood profile which could be caused only by doping.

"A blood passport will be necessary as some substances can't be discovered right now but might in the future, and that risk of discovery can chase cheats away," the Swiss said.

"But there also should be more blood tests and out-of- competition controls in tennis."

WADA and its president John Fahey, whose six-year term ends this year, have never been busier and he told the London symposium there was no sign the bad news would end any time soon.

"As long as there is sporting competition there will be athletes who choose to cheat, and consequently a need to lead the fight against this global threat to sport's integrity," Fahey said.

"And, if the last eight months are anything to go by, that need is increasing in its urgency rather than receding." (Editing by Clare Fallon)

PARIS (Reuters) - France's Francois Hollande said he was undeterred by a first year in power marked by economic slowdown and a record slump in his personal popularity, arguing his 5-year presidency would achieve results over time.

In comments to correspondents from Reuters and Agence France Presse a week before the anniversary of his May 2012 election win over Nicolas Sarkozy, Hollande shrugged off polls showing his popularity rating around 25 percent, after the sharpest fall for any president in over half a century.

"I'm aware how serious the situation is. It's a president's duty to stay the course and to look beyond today's squalls. It's called perseverance," Hollande said.

"People can criticize my decisions, think I am on the wrong track or have not taken the right route, but if there is one thing I am sure of it's that I have taken major decisions for France - many more in 10 months than were taken in 10 years."

Hollande, France's first Socialist president since Francois Mitterrand, is squeezed between a business sector clamoring for lower taxes and labor costs, euro zone partners pressing for budget cuts and households hostile to austerity measures.

He said he would persevere with measures to restore growth like corporate tax credits aimed at easing headcount costs and a labor reform set to become law in May.

"It's the president who is held to account, and that's quite legitimate. It's up to me to weigh up what I need to do for the country today. To remain in control by being sure of my ideas."

RALLY THE NATION

After his campaign pledges to revive the flagging industrial sector, end a relentless rise in unemployment and meet deficit-cutting targets, Hollande has had to row back on almost all his economic targets, as factory layoffs continue apace.

While he stands by a goal to turn around unemployment by year-end, few believe he can achieve that. Jobless claims rose for the 23rd straight month in March to an all-time high.

Treading a delicate line as he attempts step-by-step reforms that were not part of his election campaign, Hollande said the country should have faith in him.

"The only thing that counts is the results. I have made promises and I will be judged on them," he said. "My hope is to rally the nation and restore confidence. That will take time, but it's my sole objective."

His economic woes aside, Hollande is also suffering from a perception that since he took power France is losing its voice on European policy. His prime minister said this month that France was losing its leadership role.

Foreign investors are watching closely since the government admitted it would need an extra year to reach a European Union budget deficit ceiling of 3 percent of output.

Inside France, where a scandal over an ex-budget minister's secret Swiss bank account has not helped, polls show a slim majority of people would prefer Sarkozy to be president today.

"I realized a long time ago that I would not go far if I let the commentary get to me," Hollande said. "According to what was said about me as a candidate, I had no chance of becoming president."

(Writing by Catherine Bremer; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

BEIJING (Reuters) - Several governments in Asia have ordered tougher screening of air travelers from China in an effort to contain a possible spread of a new strain of bird flu that has killed 23 people in the mainland and infected one visitor from Taiwan.

The H7N9 virus has infected 109 people in China since it was first detected in March. The Geneva-based World Health Organization said it has no evidence so far of sustained transmission between people but added that this strain was more easily transmitted than an earlier, more deadly H5N1 strain that has killed hundreds around the world since 2003.

Taiwan, which reported the first H7N9 case outside of mainland China on Wednesday, said it would test air travelers for bird flu if they displayed suspicious symptoms. The island's first victim, a 53-year-old man who had returned from a visit to China's eastern city of Suzhou days before, was being treated in hospital. He said he had not had any contact with poultry.

Vietnam began screening temperatures of all visitors at its airports, officials said on Thursday, while Japan said it will allow airports and seaports to make "thermographic inspections" of travelers from China starting in May.

Thai Health Minister Pradit Sintawanarong said the country must step up precautions, adding that the health ministry will soon submit a plan to the prime minister to address the problem.

"From our assessment of the situation, there is a chance that the H7N9 virus may spread to Thailand," Sintawanarong said.

The moves came a day after a WHO expert said the H7N9 strain is "one of the most lethal" of its kind. An international team of scientists led by the WHO and the Chinese government said on Wednesday they were no closer to determining whether the virus might become transmissible between people after a five-day investigation in China.

Singapore's health ministry said its healthcare institutions "remain on heightened alert".

TAIWAN AIRLINES TANK

Shares in Taiwan's airlines fell sharply on Thursday after news of the island's first bird flu victim sparked worries that the outbreak could spread and hurt travel.

China Airlines shares shed 2.2 percent, the stock's worst daily loss since April 8. Eva Airways fell 2.4 percent to close at its lowest in about two weeks. Both underperformed the main TAIEX index, which finished flat on Thursday.

However, most Asian airlines said they had not experienced a noticeable change in bookings to China.

Raj Tanta-Nanta, a vice-president for investor relations at Thai Airways International, said the number of passengers to destinations in China had declined slightly but the national carrier had not canceled flights to China.

Thai AirAsia also said it is not trimming flights.

"We're not cancelling flights and that may be because we fly to Yunnan, which has not faced bird flu disease," Chief Executive Tassapon Bijleveld told Reuters.

Still, the current spate of cases has sparked reminders of the impact on travel from SARS, or severe acute respiratory syndrome, which killed 774 people, mostly in China and Hong Kong in 2003.

Japan's Sharp Corp. urged its employees to "take extra precaution" when visiting China, telling them on Monday to avoid contact with birds, wash their hands and wear a mask if they develop cold or flu symptoms.

Many companies across Asia that have operations in China, including India's Tech Mahindra Ltd, said they were evaluating the situation but had not yet placed any restrictions on employees there.

POULTRY IMPORTS BANNED

Some countries tightened screening of poultry imports from China, where some bird samples had tested positive for H7N9.

Vietnam banned poultry imports from China in early April, its agriculture ministry said. The Philippines, which has banned poultry imports from China since 2004, is tightening quarantine measures on all poultry products, said Davinio Catbagan, assistant secretary for livestock at the agriculture department.

Manila has also strengthened measures to prevent the entry of smuggled poultry and other poultry products such as pigeons, Peking ducks and chicken, especially those coming from China, Catbagan said.

"The department had been notified that there are businessmen in the Philippines who illegally imports these products, which may have been contaminated by the highly pathogenic H7N9 virus and are now openly served in five-star hotels and well-known Chinese restaurants in the country," Catbagan said.

(Additional reporting by Pairat Temphairojana, Panarat Thepgumpanat and Manunphattr Dhanananphorn in BANGKOK, Kaori Kaneko and Tim Kelly in TOKYO, Clare Jim in TAIPEI, Kevin Lim in SINGAPORE, Sui-Lee Wee in BEIJING, Rosemarie Francisco in MANILA, Prak Chan Thul in PHNOM PENH, Prashant Mehra and Harichandan Arakali in NEW DELHI, Kazunori Takada in SHANGHAI, Hanoi Newsroom in HANOI, Jonathan Thatcher in JAKARTA, Writing by Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Ken Wills)

PARIS (Reuters) - France's ruling Socialist Party is pressing President Francois Hollande to toughen his stance towards a German counterpart it describes as "self-centered", arguing that Chancellor Angela Merkel's pro-austerity policies are hurting Europe.

The message - spelled out in a 21-page document to be presented at a party brainstorming conference in June - added to growing criticism of Berlin from across the Rhine after Socialist National Assembly speaker Claude Bartolone this week raised the prospect of a "confrontation" with Merkel.

The rhetoric follows a French appeal for an extra year to bring its public deficit below 3 percent of economic output in line with European targets, as rising unemployment keeps Europe's no. 2 economy in the doldrums.

"The friendship between France and Germany is not a friendship between France and the European policy of Chancellor Merkel," read the document, which has been endorsed by the Socialist Party but could still be tweaked before its June meeting on Europe.

Criticizing current European policies as an "unholy alliance between the Thatcherite tone" of Britain's prime minister and the "self-centered instransigence" of Chancellor Merkel, the document urges France to speak out against austerity.

A source in Hollande's office said the document represented only the party, but did not dispute its central message.

"There is a line in the text saying the friendship between France and Germany does not only mean Mrs Merkel's policies," the source said. "Friendship lets us criticize her policies, that's what one needs to understand from this document".

Cooperation between France and Germany has long provided the main motor for decision making in the European Union, but a debt crisis has strained those ties in the past year as ideologically opposed leaders have disagreed on points of economic policy.

"FRIENDLY TENSION" OR JUST TENSION?

Hollande was critical of Merkel's insistence on budget consolidation while he was running for president last year, but has adopted a more conciliatory tone since becoming president.

He often describes France's ties with EU paymaster Germany as defined by "friendly tension" between equal partners.

But Assembly speaker Bartolone, the third most senior member of government, said the friendliness was overstated.

Hollande "calls this 'friendly tension'. For me, it's tension, period, and, if needed, a confrontation," Bartolone told the influential center-left daily Le Monde.

"France must be able to fight against the European Right's point of view ... Austerity alone could condemn the beautiful idea that is Europe rather than save it," he added.

Hollande must rely on a solid Socialist majority in parliament to pass structural reforms this year, including overhauls of the jobless and pension systems. But a small camp of dissidents is growing, threatening his Senate majority.

As many in southern Europe complain that austerity has gone too far, the European Central Bank this week rebuffed suggestions the bloc should ease up, and German Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann called on France to follow the rules.

Yet advocates of easing the pace of austerity, long confined in France to hard-left parliamentarians, gained a nod this week from European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso who noted that austerity no longer had popular support.

France's European Affairs Minister Thierry Repentin told the weekly Journal du Dimanche that Paris was not making any secret of there being a difference of opinion over austerity.

The presidential source said: "This is a very strong document which backs (Hollande's) policies in general: growth, re-launching Europe and solidarity are at the heart of it."

(Additional reporting by Brian Love, Sophie Louet and Nicholas Vinocur; Writing by Nicolas Vinocur; Editing by Catherine Bremer and Mike Collett-White)