Manchester United fans opposed to Malcolm Glazer’s takeover have promised to continue protesting a British telecom company after it refused to pull out of its sponsorship deal with the club. Disgruntled fans picketed Vodafone’s annual general meeting in London on Tuesday.
David Beckham’s marketability may be fading. The England captain and Real Madrid star — soccer’s most recognisable player — has been dropped as the advertising face of cellphone giant Vodafone, which announced on Tuesday that it has ended its three-year deal with the 30-year-old Beckham.
Michael Phelps left failure in his wake on Tuesday, winning his first individual gold medal of the 11th World Swimming Championships in the 200m freestyle. Phelps’s roller-coaster opening day at the meet included failing to qualify in the 400m freestyle and winning a 4x100m freestyle relay gold.
The All Blacks will face a much sterner test of their ability against Australia and South Africa in the Tri-Nations than they experienced against the British and Irish Lions, New Zealand coach Graham Henry said on Wednesday. The All Blacks are preparing for their first Tri-Nations match against the Springboks in Cape Town on August 6 before facing the Wallabies in Sydney on August 13.
The South African Airways pay strike is still on, the SAA help desk said on Wednesday following an overnight mediation attempt by the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). Unions and the airline were not immediately available to comment on the outcome of the CCMA mediation session.
Cellular subscription services are fast becoming a headache for South African cellphone users. Advertisement promoting such services are misleading, with at least one advert recently withdrawn by the Advertising Standards Authority, and once subscribed, it can be difficult for users to find out how to unsubscribe.
A driver’s assistant was hit by a bullet and 16 commuters were injured on Wednesday morning when a truck driver committed suicide while driving in Randfontein, Gauteng. West Rand police spokesperson Sergeant Katlego Mogale said witnesses saw a 24-wheeler truck approaching a T-junction at high speed and collide with the packed taxi in Rand Street, Randfontein.
India’s National Aids Control Organisation is asking soft-drink manufacturers to include HIV/Aids awareness messages in their advertisements.
”My mother recently fell ill and, because she doesn’t have medical aid, my sister and I called an ambulance to take her to the Boksburg-Benoni hospital. She was in tremendous pain, vomiting continuously and having difficulty breathing. We were told an ambulance wasn’t available so we drove her there ourselves,” writes Attie van der Westhuizen.
An independent panel headed by two former United States national security advisers on Wednesday said chaos in post-war Iraq was due in part to inadequate post-war planning. Planning for reconstruction should match the serious planning that goes into making war, said the panel headed by Samuel Berger and Brent Scowcroft.