Manchester United will take a giant stride towards retaining their Premier League title if they beat Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on Saturday. United’s lead at the top was cut to two points by Chelsea after the Blues won 1-0 away to Everton on Thursday.
Oil set a record above a barrel on Thursday as a drop in United States gasoline inventories raised concern of tighter supply and a weak dollar boosted investor demand for commodities. A US government report on Wednesday showed a surprise drop in crude inventories and a larger-than-expected decline in stocks of petrol.
Thomson Reuters launched on the London stock market on Thursday, creating the world’s biggest provider of financial data to trading floors, overtaking United States rival Bloomberg. Thomson Reuters was formed after Canada’s Thomson Corporation bought British-based media and information group Reuters for £8,7-billion in a deal completed on Thursday.
The price of New York oil on Wednesday struck an historic peak at $114,95 on news that United States energy inventories tumbled last week and as the US currency hit an all-time low against the euro, traders said. Later on Wednesday, New York’s main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, stood at $114,37 a barrel, up 58 cents on Tuesday’s close.
Oil struck a new record high above a barrel on Wednesday, buoyed by the weak dollar, inflows of speculative money and long-term constraints on supply. US crude was 53 cents higher at ,32 a barrel by 9.43am GMT, just below a fresh peak of ,41. Wednesday’s price is more than three times the average price of 2002, when oil’s rally began.
Excitement about the potential of Brazil as a massive new source of oil and gas intensified on Tuesday after a senior Energy Ministry official declared that the newly found Carioca field could have 33-billion barrels in place — leading to expressions of surprise and scepticism from industry experts.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Tuesday embraced one of Tony Blair’s most controversial legacies when he cast himself as the leader best placed to bring Europe and the United States together after the bitter divisions over Iraq. As he prepared to fly to the US, Brown lavished praise on US leaders across the spectrum.
Oil set new record highs above a barrel on Tuesday as investors sought to hedge against a battered dollar. United States crude rose by ,80 to ,56 a barrel at 2.05pm GMT, after touching a record high of ,93. London Brent crude was up by ,91 at ,75, after a record high of ,85.
Chelsea boss Avram Grant refused to concede defeat to Manchester United in the English Premier League title race, insisting his players still believed they could win it. He admitted the Blues simply had to win Thursday’s clash at fifth-placed Everton, otherwise United could seal the title.
Asian stocks tumbled on Monday followed by losses across European and United States markets on concern over company earnings and increasing gloom about prospects for the global economy, analysts said. Wall Street stocks opened lower as Wachovia bank, one of America’s largest retail banking groups, announced a net loss of $350-million.
Manager Alex Ferguson wants Manchester United to clinch the Premier League crown at title rivals Chelsea on April 26. United all but ended Arsenal’s hopes by beating Arsene Wenger’s men 2-1 at Old Trafford on Sunday, moving nine points clear of the Gunners with four matches left.
Kenyan Martin Lel retained his London Marathon title in a fantastic men’s race on Sunday when the first three broke the course record and the first six finishers recorded personal bests. In the women’s race, German Irina Mikitenko won her first major marathon title on only her second outing over the distance.
Owen Hargreaves was Manchester United’s unlikely goal-scoring hero as the English Premier League leaders came from behind to see-off title challengers Arsenal 2-1 at Old Trafford in London on Sunday. Earlier on Sunday, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard scored in a 3-1 win over Blackburn Rovers at Anfield.
Britain has offered to host peace talks on the strife-torn Sudanese region of Darfur under proposals put forward by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, his office said on Sunday. Details of the offer were released as activists in 30 countries prepared to hold a global day of action on Sunday to mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the conflict.
World oil demand will rise much less than expected in 2008 because of slower economic growth in the United States and other industrialised countries, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Friday. The IEA, adviser to industrialised countries, also pointed to a drop in oil inventories.
South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis was on Wednesday named as the Leading Cricketer in the World for 2007 by the 2008 edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, cricket’s major annual reference work. He became the fifth recipient of the award, introduced in 2004.
China became the world’s biggest producer of gold last year, overtaking South Africa, which held top spot for 100 years, independent precious-metals consultancy GFMS said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the price of gold was on course to reach a record high of $1 100 an ounce in 2008, the group added in its latest annual <i>Gold Survey</i>.
Michael Ballack put Chelsea on course for another Champions League semifinal collision with Liverpool as his goal set up a 2-0 win over Fenerbahce in Tuesday’s quarterfinal, second leg. Ballack’s first-half header was followed by a late Frank Lampard strike at Stamford Bridge to send Avram Grant’s side through 3-2 on aggregate.
Gerhard Zandberg’s South African swimming contingent was caught up in the chaos at Terminal 5 at London’s Heathrow airport in London, which caused the swimmers to miss their connection flight to Manchester. The terminal opened recently only to descend into disorder as its baggage-handling system broke down.
Monty Python legend John Cleese is to offer his services as a speechwriter to Barack Obama if he wins the Democratic nomination to become United States president, he told a British newspaper on Tuesday. The British comedian, who lives in California, told the Western Daily Press that his jokes could help the Illinois senator get into the White House.
Princess Diana and her lover, Dodi al-Fayed, were unlawfully killed by the grossly negligent driving of chauffeur Henri Paul and paparazzi photographers pursuing their limousine into a Paris road tunnel in 1997. The jury, which had spent almost six months listening to more than 250 witnesses from around the world, reached their majority decision on Monday.
Wayne Rooney scored an equaliser as Manchester United hit back for a 2-2 draw at Middlesbrough on Sunday, which left them three points clear in the Premier League. After second-place Chelsea’s 2-0 victory at Manchester City on Saturday, the Red Devils needed to win at the Riverside and took a 10th-minute lead through Cristiano Ronaldo.
Workers in Britain are "safer" to greet colleagues of the opposite sex with a handshake than a kiss, a common greeting in other parts of Europe, a study released on Friday said. A survey was conducted among 1 200 workers by recruitment firm Office Angels.
Cardiff City booked a place in the FA Cup final for the first time in 81 years as Joe Ledley’s goal clinched a 1-0 semifinal win over Barnsley on Sunday. Cardiff-born Ledley’s first-half volley at Wembley was enough to set up a final clash against Portsmouth on May 17.
The Beijing torch relay was conceived as ”a journey of harmony”. But there was precious little unity on display in London on Sunday as the most powerful symbol of the Olympic movement completed a troubled and occasionally violent passage across the capital.
One of the world’s most distinguished physicists has scrutinised some science-fiction concepts, such as teleportation and forcefields, and is convinced that they can become reality. Professor Michio Kaku, of City University in New York, believes invisibility cloaks and teleÂpathy could be possible this century.
Cardiff City booked a place in the FA Cup final for the first time in 81 years as Joe Ledley’s goal clinched a 1-0 semifinal win over Barnsley on Sunday. Ledley’s first-half volley at Wembley was enough to set up a final clash against Portsmouth on May 17 and make Cardiff the first Championship club to reach English football’s domestic showpiece since Millwall in 2004.
British police battled to keep pro-Tibet protesters away from the Beijing Olympics flame, making 30 arrests as the torch went on a high security tour of London on Sunday. Police on bikes and running alongside the flame escorted each member of the relay.
After nearly two weeks of baggage chaos and hundreds of cancelled flights, London Heathrow airport was hit by bad weather on Sunday, which forced British Airways (BA) to cancel 114 flights. Two runways at Heathrow were briefly closed for de-icing as snow fell in London and air-traffic control reduced the number of take-off and landing slots.
Anti-China protesters draped in Tibetan flags disrupted the Olympic torch relay through London on Sunday, billed as a journey of harmony and peace. Scores of Chinese officials in blue suits and British police on foot and bicycles guarded the celebrities and athletes carrying the torch, but demonstrators repeatedly broke through their security cordon.
Portsmouth reached the FA Cup final for the first time in 69 years on Saturday when a 54th-minute goal from Nwankwo Kanu gave them a 1-0 semifinal win over West Bromwich Albion at Wembley Stadium. Portsmouth will now play either Cardiff City or Barnsley, who meet in an all-Championship semifinal on Sunday, in the final at Wembley on May 17.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is to meet South African President Thabo Mbeki later on Saturday for talks on the situation in Zimbabwe, Brown’s office said. Mbeki is in Britain to attend a conference of centre-left leaders in Watford near London. The two leaders were expected to meet in private on the sidelines of the conference.