Portugal plan friendly approach to foreign fans

FROM radar-packed warplanes to police snipers guarding stadiums, Portugal is ready for Euro 2004 and whatever security nightmares it may bring.

The nation of 10 million people is prepared for rioting soccer fans, but its worst-case scenario is an attack similar to the March train bombings that killed 191 over the border in Spain.

"We don't have outsized optimism that nothing is going to happen. Something is going to happen," Lieutenant-General Leonel Carvalho, who heads the security committee for Euro 2004 said yesterday.