Lille will be hoping it is a case of third time lucky in Manchester on Wednesday when they attempt to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit in their acrimonious Champions League tie with Manchester United. The French club have failed in two attempts to persuade Uefa to annul the first match on the grounds that the quickly taken free-kick by Ryan Giggs should not have been allowed to stand.
The 50th British soldier to die in Afghanistan was a South African who grew up in the Western Cape. Ross Clark (25) was also a former head boy of Somerset West Private School. Lance Bombardier Clark was with the 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery.
Swiss-based miner Xstrata beat forecasts with a 119% rise in 2006 adjusted net profit, boosted by strong copper and nickel prices, and said on Tuesday the industry outlook remained positive. The London-listed firm, 36% owned by commodities giant Glencore, said it made a net profit of ,89-billion.
South African stocks gained as much as 1,9% on Tuesday after Japan’s Nikkei rebounded from five days of heavy selling and the gold price bounced off a six-week low. The Johannesburg top-40 index of blue-chip stocks gained 1,65% to 22 787,30 points by 7.27am GMT.
Nasa astronaut Lisa Nowak’s bizarre 1 450km road trip to confront a romantic rival may have been sparked when she uncovered steamy e-mails sent to her boyfriend by the other woman. Nowak had collected more than a dozen e-mails sent to her one-time boyfriend, space shuttle pilot Bill Oefelein, including one he received during his shuttle mission.
Sudan’s state news agency said Khartoum would try Ali Kushayb, summoned by the International Criminal Court (ICC) as a suspect for war crimes in the Darfur region. The ICC has described Kushayb as a militia leader but Khartoum says he is a member of the Popular Defence Forces, a section within the Sudanese army.
Old Mutual’s range of smoothed funds has delivered record-breaking returns of between 23,8% and 26,2% in 2006, says Steven Levin, general manager: products at Old Mutual. With year-on-year inflation at 5,8%, these funds have provided above-inflation returns of 18% and more in 2006.
Although South African investors displayed resilience to global market jitters sparked by China when the Shanghai 180 index fell more than 9,25% last Tuesday, the local stock market did not escape the sudden volatility. While the JSE all-share index got off reasonably light, the trouble in China resulted in a double whammy for South Africa.
The body of a seven-year-old girl abducted from her Pretoria home last month was found on Monday with the help from a police investigator who broke the Leigh Matthews kidnap and murder case, said police. The body believed to be that of Sheldean Human was found in a small river in Pretoria West.
At least two South Korean power generators said they aim to buy coal from South Africa despite the distance and costly freight as utilities face delays from regular suppliers. Coal is taking longer to arrive from China, Australia, Indonesia and Russia due to growing domestic demand in those countries.