Alex Ferguson believes that Manchester United’s trip to Chelsea on April 29 will decide the outcome of the Premiership title race after Wayne Rooney’s dazzling display inspired United to a 2-0 victory over Arsenal here at Old Trafford. Having slashed Chelsea’s lead from 18 points to seven since the beginning of March, the veteran United manager is convinced his players can pull off an amazing comeback.
The JSE managed to cling onto its gains by midday on Monday in what traders described as an "unexciting" session. Commodities prices were the main feature on a day that otherwise lacked any market-moving news. By 11.55am, the all-share index had gained 0,19%, while the all-share industrial index declined 0,31%. Resources rose 0,9%, with the gold-mining index gaining 2,66%.
South Africa’s competition tribunal has prohibited the proposed R403,8-million merger between listed retailer and distributor Massmart and sports retail group Moresport. Announcing its decision on Monday, the tribunal said it would hand down its reasons for the refusal in due course.
The city-state that banned chewing gum and regulated the flushing of public toilets is loosening up and reinventing itself as a nightlife hub where all-night drinking and bar-top dancing are no longer taboo. Exchanging its nanny gloves for dancing boots, the city’s freer image is already paying off as leading overseas dance clubs move in to Singapore’s expanding scene.
The South African Chamber of Business (Sacob) says protests, such as those planned by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) in May, can only damage the economy and add to general impoverishment. Sacob was responding to Cosatu’s intention to continue with protest action during four specific days in May.
Tectonic has learnt that the South African Revenue Service (Sars) tender that could see 14 000 Windows machines migrated to Linux has been frozen until Sars wraps up its financial year-end. Sars’s tender for a proof-of-concept for Linux on the desktop has mysteriously disappeared from the taxman’s tender site. It has been learnt from reliable sources that the tender is frozen until Sars completes its tax year-end process.
Argentina clinched a home semifinal tie against Australia after narrowly beating reigning champions Croatia in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in Zagreb on Sunday. The tie went right to the wire but Juan Ignecio Chela kept his nerve over two tie-breaks to beat Sasa Tuksar 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/5) in the deciding rubber.
Fred Couples was tied for the lead and chasing Masters history when he stood above a little 4-foot birdie putt at the second hole. He drew the club back, then propelled it forward. The blade tilted ever so slightly before striking the ball. It never had a chance, skidding past the cup on the right side by a good inch or two — a push, they call it, and a bad one at that.
Zimbabwe opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai on Sunday called on President Robert Mugabe to step down to pave way for a transitional government that should lead to the writing of a new Constitution and fresh elections to be supervised by the international community.
Inter Milan president Giacinto Facchetti on Sunday condemned the group of fans who attacked several of the club’s players at Milan’s Malpensa airport. In the early hours of Sunday morning, around 100 Inter supporters, still angry about their team’s exit from the Champions League on Tuesday, were waiting for the squad as they got off their flight from Ascoli.