An American football team from the Bible belt has been prevented from spreading the word of God during a game on Friday. The Birmingham Steeldogs, based in Alabama, had been planning to carry biblical texts on the back of their jerseys for their home game against Louisville Fire, a first in United States sports history.
FC Barcelona won its second straight Spanish league title and 18th overall on Wednesday, claiming the crown when final challenger Valencia was beaten by Mallorca 2-1. Barcelona players began celebrating at halftime of their game at Celta Vigo and went on to toast their success with a 1-0 win courtesy of a 55th-minute goal by Samuel Eto’o.
Australian pace bowler Glenn McGrath intends not to heed the advice of his skipper Ricky Ponting and make his cricket comeback in the Champions Trophy one-day tournament in India in October. McGrath, the most successful Test fast bowler with 542 wickets, has not played a game of cricket since his wife Jane was rediagnosed with cancer on February 3.
Three years into the war that has come to define the legacy of the Bush administration Dick Cheney, the Vice-President, has said he has no regrets about the decision to invade Iraq.
Two German hostages kidnapped in Iraq arrived home on Wednesday as Iraq’s ambassador to Germany claimed a ”load of money” had been paid to secure their release. The claim is likely to provoke fresh debate over whether Western governments should pay for the release of hostages or refuse to negotiate with kidnappers.
The JSE remained in the red at midday on Thursday amid lower commodities prices, but was off its earlier worst levels as the weaker rand limited losses on the local bourse, traders said. By 11.50am the all share index was off 0,24% as resources shed 0,30%, the gold mining index fell 0,88% and the platinum mining index retreated 1,61%.
Where once it was diamonds and other precious raw materials, now Europe is plundering Africa of the jewels in its footballing crown. Africa has long been a human resource pool that Europe has exploited, initially with the slave trade but now also in the football world.
International housewife superstar Dame Edna Everage issued a tongue-in-cheek rebuttal on Thursday of a claim her alter ego and creator punched a photographer. Australian actor Barry Humphries, who has played the purple-haired character since the 1950s, hit out at a freelance celebrity photographer in Sydney on Wednesday.
There were a number of worrying signs across the metals market that suggested that a significant correction was close at hand within the current longer term bull market, technical analysts for JP Morgan wrote on Thursday. "We suggest some profits are booked on any further strength," JP Morgan added.
South African Labour Minister Membathisi Mdladlana is to visit an artisanship skills training centre on Friday as part of his monitoring of service delivery at establishments falling under his department. The ministry said the advent of the Joint Initiative for Priority Skills Acquisition, a skills-empowerment arm of the government’s economic growth plan, had highlighted the importance of artisanship.