Olympic athletes to get free healthcare paid for by NHS

OLYMPIC athletes will be able to avail themselves of free dental care, funded through £6m of Olympics money and, controversially, £17 million of NHS money. Organisers stress that athletes will only receive treatment if "immediate and necessary", The Independent reports. But Wendy Turner, a dentist who will work in the polyclinic, says that for athletes who cannot get access to procedures in their own countries, "it is an opportunity for them to get it sorted out". The facility will employ around 80 specialist doctors and as many as 30 physiotherapists. After the Games, it is expected it will be turned over to the NHS for local residents, though much of the state-of-the-art equipment will have been sold.

BAN UKRAINE LEADERS FROM OLYMPICS, SAYS TYMOSHENKO DAUGHTER
Eugenia Tymoshenko, daughter of jailed Ukrainian opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, is calling on David Cameron to bar President Viktor Yanukovych from attending London 2012, The Guardian reports. Eugenia says the current boycott of Euro 2012 football matches by ministers from the UK and other EU countries has been "ineffective". She suggests Downing Street should "withdraw Yanukovych’s invitation", and that the UK should "introduce visa bans" and freeze the UK assets of "illegally enriched" Ukrainian officials. Yulia Tymoshenko, the former Ukraine prime minister, is currently in hospital in the eastern city of Kharkiv after falling ill during a hunger strike. She is serving a seven-year sentence for abuse of office - a case described by western diplomats as "blatantly politically motivated".

BOA FACE MULTIPLE SELECTION LEGAL CHALLENGES
The British Olympic Association (BOA) is facing mounting selection challenges in the run up to the Olympic Games, The Independent reports. Fencer Keith Cook began a legal challenge yesterday, with his lawyer calling the selection procedure "plainly misconceived" and "inept". Aaron Cook, who ranks first in the world at taekwondo, says he may take his appeal to the High Court following his controversial exclusion from the British team in favour of the 59th ranked Lutalo Muhammad. Triathlete Liz Blatchford is also considering legal action, and Tonia Couch will have her appeal heard this week by British Swimming.

OLYMPICS STORY-TELLING WEBSITE LAUNCHED
StoryCloud, an interactive story-telling project for children, was launched yesterday as part of London Festival 2012, The Daily Telegraph reports. Discover Children’s Story Centre, which is creating a free online children’s library as part of its Olympics initiative, says 12 new stories, poems and illustrations have been commissioned. StoryCloud allows children to listen and read along with the stories, and play with digital illustrations. Author Michael Rosen, whose story is the first to be published, says: "How good it is to see this project as part of the Cultural Olympiad." ·