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maltatoday WEDNESDAY 17 JANUARY 2018 Sport 23 MOTORSPORTS Answers to the MaltaToday crossword will be published next Wednesday WEATHER: Fine becoming partly cloudy, and with a chance of an isolated shower in the evening and overnight VISIBILITY: Good WIND: West Northwest force 5 to 6 locally force 6 to 7 becoming force 6 to 7 locally force 7 to 8 and veering Northwest overnight SEA: Rough Swell: Mainly low North Northwest becoming West to Southwest A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 White to play and mate in four moves A B C D E F G H 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Last week's solution Sudoku rules are extremely easy: Fill all empty squares so that the numbers 1 to 9 appear once in each row, column and 9x9 box. WINDY 17 º C /11 º C UV INDEX: 2 Today's Weather Chess Sudoku Pursuits Across 1. Blood clots in the veins (10) 8. Motion picture (5) 9. Newly married woman (5) 10. Microbe (4) 12. Stinging plant (6) 14. Delicate in meaning (6) 17. Reflected sound (4) 21. Highways (5) 22. Move slowly (5) 23. Water line (5,5) Down 2. Hang suspended in the air (5) 3. Baking chamber (4) 4. Christian writings (5) 5. Quick (5) 6. Surrey village (5) 7. Complacent (4) 11. Encountered (3) 13. Golfers mound (3) 14. Dry stalks (5) 15. Animal (5) 16. Intense light beam (5) 18. Long for (5) 19. Lubricates (4) 20. Land measure (4) Rxd4 Ba7 Na8# ... Nd6 Bxd8# (Qd8#) ... Nd8 Bxd8# (Qd8#) Plan for joint Olympics team with North gets icy reception in South Korea WHILE Seoul forges ahead with plans to use the upcoming Winter Olympics to showcase inter-Korean unity, some South Korean athletes are "furious" at proposals to form joint teams with North Koreans, highlight- ing a broader lack of enthusiasm for some of the government's peace-making plans. Officials from both countries are still engaged in talks over ex- actly how the North will partic- ipate in next month's games in Pyeongchang. But the backlash may trip up Seoul's plans to use the sporting event to improve bilateral ties after a year of high tensions over Pyongyang's nu- clear and missile programmes. South Korea's women's ice hockey team was the first to be singled out for possible integra- tion with North Koreans, with Sports Minister Do Jong-hwan saying the government would ask Olympic organisers to ex- pand the team's roster from 23 to more than 30. That came as a shock to team members, who had just returned to South Ko- rea last Friday after training in the United States for the past three weeks, a senior official with the Korea Ice Hockey As- sociation said. "They were just furious and found the idea absurd," the of- ficial told Reuters on condition of anonymity. "We are utterly speechless that the government just picked us out of blue and asked us to play with total stran- gers at the Olympics." The proposal has also sparked an outcry from thousands of South Koreans, who have signed online petitions asking the presidential Blue House to drop the idea. "I cannot help but think the government is abusing its power to make political gains from the Olympics," said one comment on the petition. "Taking roster spots from South Korean ath- letes who have put so much ef- fort for the Olympics - a dream stage for all South Korean ath- letes - for the North Koreans is not fair at all." More than 70 percent of South Koreans oppose forming a joint team with the North, accord- ing to a Jan. 11 survey released by the office of the South's Na- tional Assembly Speaker and television network SBS. More than 80 percent, however, said they welcomed the North's par- ticipation in general. A spokesmen for the Blue House referred questions to the ministries involved in the talks with North Korea. The sports ministry said it was discussing the matter with the International Olympic Com- mittee to "minimise any disad- vantage" for the South Korean team. "We will also be taking the public opinion into considera- tion prior to making the final decision," a ministry official told Reuters. The unification ministry declined to comment. The public backlash under- scores how North Korea diplo- macy, which has often come in the form of one-sided assistance from Seoul, remains a source of bitter division and contention within South Korea. The two countries are still technically at war because the 1950-53 Ko- rean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. Liberal President Moon Jae-in wants to revive ties with North Korea that froze under nearly a decade of conservative rule in the South. His administra- tion has proposed the two Ko- reas make a show of unity at the Games, marching together at the opening and closing cere- monies and competing together as one nation. But South Korea's ice hockey association hasn't heard much from the politicians spearhead- ing those plans, other than be- ing told by the sports ministry to "get prepared," the senior of- ficial said. "Honestly, we have no idea what's going on. Frankly, I do not know what they meant by to 'get prepared' since we do not have any channels to talk to the North Korean team," the official said. Among the issues to be worked out are the roster, game strategies and the appointment of a head coach to lead the joint team. "None of these crucial and ba- sic issues have been discussed at all. And the South Korean team's first tournament in the Olympics is only three weeks away," the official said. "Can you believe this? None of this makes any sense." The association did not make athletes available for interviews, saying they were in the final round of training before their first game on Feb. 10.