Wayne Rooney was once a 12-year-old football fan who wanted to be Michael Owen. But, just seven years on, he will be with Michael Owen as the pair look to continue their flourishing England strike partnership in Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier in Newcastle at St James’ Park against minnows Azerbaijan.
Venus Williams ended her sister Serena’s three-year reign at Key Biscayne on Tuesday with a 6-1, 7-6 (10/8) quarterfinal victory in the WTA Tour tier-one event.
It was the 13th meeting between the sisters and their first since Serena’s triumph in the 2003 Wimbledon final. Venus now trails in their career head-to-head 7-6.
Tiger Woods and Ernie Els once again duelled to a golfing play-off draw in Florida on Tuesday as darkness halted the Tavistock Cup match between crosstown rival golf clubs Lake Nona and host Isleworth. The annual showdown was declared an 8,5-8,5 draw, bringing back memories of 16 months earlier at the 2003 Presidents Cup in South Africa.
Roger Federer recovered from a wobble 24 hours earlier when he missed a chance for a straight-sets win, but made sure mistakes were not repeated on Tuesday as he reached the quarterfinals of the ,5-million Miami Masters. The world number one was joined in the last eight by six-time winner Andre Agassi, the evergreen ninth seed.
<img src="http://www.mg.co.za/ContentImages/199502/Zim_icon.GIF" align=left>Zimbabwe police on Tuesday arrested six youths for distributing fake flyers calling for an opposition boycott of elections in what an activist said may have been a ruling-party tactic to deter voters. "Boycott polls: we are not participating because Zanu-PF have failed to implement the SADC [Southern African Development Community] protocol," read the sheets.
Amid a backdrop of buoyant consumer and government spending, higher international commodity prices, lower inflation and stable interest rates in 2004, the South African Reserve Bank quarterly bulletin reviewing macroeconomic activity in 2004 paints a very positive picture of an economy experiencing accelerating growth.
The government will continue to consult with business and labour to overcome unemployment and increase investment in spite of a threat by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) to strike against unemployment and the strong rand. Cosatu has warned of a ”job-loss bloodbath”.
Listed sugar, aluminium and property development group Tongaat-Hulett is expected to accelerate its earnings growth in 2005 through both incremental growth and investment opportunities, after posting a turnaround in 2004.
Angola grappled on Tuesday to contain a deadly outbreak of the Ebola-like Marburg virus, which has claimed a record toll of 126 according to doctors and officials in the field, but the government said the number of dead is lower. Health officials in the field said 126 have died but the government said the fatalities number 117.
A South African shark expert has condemned as ”sensational” foreign media coverage of a recent attack by a great white shark during a shark-diving excursion. ”One must not lose track of the fact that shark diving is an adrenaline sport,” said Mariette Hopley, chairperson of the Great White Shark Protection Foundation.