Missing ‘G’ Leads to World Scrabble Contest Squabble

It’s a “G” thing.

At least that’s what Chollapat Itthi-Aree of Thailand argued this weekend during a match with Ed Martin of England at the 2011 World Scrabble Championships in Warsaw, Poland.

Itthi-Aree, 25, Friday accused Martin of hiding the missing tile and demanded that the tournament’s judges strip-search him in a bathroom. His request was denied and Martin, 35, won the game by a single point.

Martin never made it to the championship match, however. That was won Sunday by Nigel Richards, a New Zealander.

Richards became the first two-time world champion, outscoring Australia’s Andrew Fisher, 476-33, with the 95-point word “omnified.” Richards took home $20,000, according to The New York Daily News.

London’s Sun newspaper said the “G” tile flap was the biggest scandal to hit the competition since a player accused another of swallowing a tile.

More than 100 contestants participated in this year’s championships, which started Wednesday.

In an interview that aired on Eurovision, a British Scrabble official explained why this year’s contest was held in Warsaw.

“Scrabble in Polish is very successful,” he said. “It’s consistently the No. 1 game in Poland and we wanted to celebrate that fact.”

U.S. urges Iran Punishing World Top Saudi Ambassador Murder Plot

The U.S. government urged the international community to take unified action against Iran over Iran's discovery of a plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States. Minister of Foreign Affairs (Secretary) U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton even call this a "dangerous escalation."

Tehran government has denied involvement in the assassination plot. Tehran even accused the United States to engineer the allegations to divert attention from domestic problems the U.S. economy.

Above reveal the plot, U.S. diplomats begin closed-door consultations on the bodies of the United Nations (UN). Clinton was seeking support for tough measures against Iran.

"We urge other countries to join us in denouncing the threat to international peace and security," Clinton said as quoted by AFP news agency on Thursday (13/10/2011).

It said the former U.S. first lady, the plot is a violation of U.S. and international law as well as a dangerous escalation of the use of political violence and terrorism support of the Iranian government.

"Such reckless actions undermine international norms and the international system. Iran must take responsibility for his actions," said the wife of former U.S. President Bill Clinton's.

U.S. President Barack Obama has telephoned Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah for digagalkannya plot the murder.

"The President and King agreed that this plot reflects the violation of fundamental international norms, ethics and law," a statement from the White House.