Manchester United’s South African tour was an investment in the club’s future despite losing Saturday’s Vodacom Cup final in a penalty shoot-out against Kaizer Chiefs, Alex Ferguson said. Misses by goalkeeper Ben Foster and midfielder Chris Eagles consigned United to a 4-3 penalty defeat against the Johannesburg-based Chiefs on Saturday.
A new James Bond novel will be published in 2008 to mark the centenary of creator Ian Fleming’s birth, but the identity of the new author is being kept under wraps. Fleming is credited with writing 13 or 14 Bond novels, starting with Casino Royale in 1953 and ending with Octopussy and the Living Daylights in 1966, two years after his death.
Naming a pop group after a judge was always going to have potential legal pitfalls. Spanish pop group Garzon, named after the crusading judge who tried to bring former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet to justice, has had to change its name after Baltasar Garzon himself threatened legal action.
England captain Andrew Flintoff has been ruled out of action for 12 weeks after being told on Saturday that he needs surgery on his injured left ankle. The all-rounder will have the operation next week and will miss the three remaining Test matches against Pakistan and all of the five-match one-day series scheduled for this English summer.
Israel will pursue its war on Hezbollah with more military incursions into south Lebanon but will not unleash a full-scale invasion for the moment, an Israeli army spokesperson said on Saturday. Thousands of Lebanese civilians have fled north fearing Israel will invade and expand an 11-day-old bombardment of Lebanon which has killed 345 people, mostly civilians.
Daniel Carter scored 25 points, atoning for a costly error in the opening minute with a perfect kicking record on Saturday to give New Zealand a 35-17 win over South Africa in a Tri-Nations rugby Test. South Africa’s humiliating 49-0 loss to Australia last weekend faded to dim memory when scrumhalf Fourie du Preez put the Springboks ahead after 20 seconds with a try from his charge down of Carter’s casual clearing kick
The appeals in Italian football’s match-fixing scandal began early on Saturday in a Rome hotel, Italian media reported. A sporting tribunal must decide whether to confirm the relegation of Juventus, Fiorentina and Lazio to the second division for their part in influencing which referees were selected for their matches last season.
You don’t have to be an astronaut anymore to experience walking in space. All you need is -million and the willingness to risk your life. A private Virginia firm that already has sent three super-rich men to the International Space Station for -million each announced on Friday it would offer an even rarer adventure: A stroll outside the space station for an extra -million.
United States marines pushed baby carriages and lifted children into transport boats as Americans desperate to flee the Israeli bombardment of Lebanon lined up near Beirut’s port as a massive evacuation operation picked up speed. Up to 5 000 US citizens were expected to leave on Friday — the largest number in three days.
Microsoft on Friday confirmed rumours it planned to launch an "iPod killer," saying its challenge to Apple Computer’s dominant MP3 player would hit the market this year. Microsoft’s new "music and entertainment project" was called "Zune," the software giant’s general manager of marketing, Chris Stephenson, revealed in a statement.