Former champion Nigel Mansell has hailed Lewis Hamilton as the Formula One driver to beat while rejecting comparisons between the 23-year-old Briton and golfer Tiger Woods. ”Lewis is the man to beat,” said Mansell, who took his title after winning the 1992 season-opener in South Africa.
Oil prices extended a week-long slide on Thursday, briefly tumbling below a barrel for the first time in two weeks amid growing concerns an economic slowdown in top consumer the United States would cut global energy demand. US crude settled down 70 cents to ,84 a barrel after falling as low as ,65 earlier in the session
A British cash machine became a big hit this week after it started paying out twice as much money as it should. The ATM, outside a supermarket in they city of Hull in northern England, began spewing out double the money on Tuesday afternoon and continued doing so for several hours.
People with a genetic variation that slows down HIV may also be causing a mutation to the Aids syndrome that makes it less potent if transmitted to others, South African researchers said on Friday. The human immunodeficiency virus that causes Aids attacks immune system cells
One of Britain’s best-known children’s book series, Enid Blyton’s Famous Five, has been turned into a 21st-century cartoon — to a mixed reception from purists. The ”lashings” of ginger beer and cream buns have gone, replaced with cellphones, laptops, iPods and pizza.
British actor Paul Scofield, famed for his Oscar-winning portrayal in A Man For All Seasons, has died aged 86 of leukaemia, his agent said on March 20. Agent Rosalind Chatto said Scofield died peacefully at a hospital near his home in southern England.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a first-half double to send Manchester United clear at the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 win over struggling Bolton at Old Trafford on Wednesday. A strike from 12 yards and a long-range free-kick took Ronaldo’s goal tally for the season to 33 and left the champions three points clear of Arsenal.
The accountancy firm that looks after children’s entertainers the Wiggles is not an obvious place to search for the Holy Grail, but that’s where the trail led on Tuesday night. It started with a simple quest — what on earth is a large advertisment headlined ”The Ancient & Noble Order of The Knights Templar” doing in the Daily Telegraph?
In an effort to get around the big rise in oil prices, thousands of motorists have taken to running their cars on supermarket-bought vegetable oil and it’s all perfectly legal. Plenty of owners of cars with older diesel engines can run their car on vegetable oil — either mixed in with ordinary diesel or entirely on such oils.
British film director Anthony Minghella, who won an Oscar for The English Patient, died in a London hospital on Tuesday after a short illness, his agent said. He was 54. Minghella died from complications following surgery last week for cancer of the tonsils and neck, agent Leslee Dart said.
Newcastle United drew a scrappy Premier League relegation clash 1-1 at Birmingham City on Monday leaving coach Kevin Keegan still without a win in eight league matches since returning to the club. James McFadden opened the scoring for the home side with a well taken goal after muscling Abdoulaye Faye out of his way.
A triumphant Heather Mills said on Monday she had secured the future for herself and her daughter with a court awarding her a £24,3-million (about R398,5-million) settlement in her divorce from former Beatle Paul McCartney. ”I’m so, so happy with this,” Mills said at an impromptu news conference.
Wales coach Warren Gatland will take his strongest available side to South Africa for two Tests against the world champions in June after guiding his team to the Six Nations grand slam in his first season in charge. In recent years, Six Nations sides have rested leading players when travelling to the Southern Hemisphere in the off-season.
Global stocks fell and the dollar tumbled on Monday as a fire sale of Bear Stearns and an emergency Federal Reserve cut of a key lending rate sparked fears that a worldwide credit crisis will claim more casualties. European shares sank more than 3%, following a sell-off in Asia where Japan’s leading indexes shed more than 3,5%.
Everton lost ground in the race for a Champions League place on Sunday when they lost 1-0 to struggling Fulham at Craven Cottage, a ground where the Merseysiders have not mustered a point in 42 years. Fulham, second-last in the standings but now only three points from safety, won a scrappy game in the 67th minute.
All hail the Six Nations, the tournament that never ceases to surprise and fascinate. Having scraped one victory last season and gone home from the World Cup early, Wales looked to be continuing their downward spiral when they trailed England 19-6 with 20 minutes remaining of their opening match on February 2.
Britain is preparing to expel hundreds of failed asylum-seekers back to Zimbabwe because the government believes they are at no ”general risk” in their home country. The mass programme of deportations could affect more than 1Â 000 Zimbabweans who have enjoyed protection under a moratorium on deportations.
It is the one moment every man wants to get right — and which London floor-fitter Lefkos Hajji could hardly have got more wrong. The luckless 28-year-old’s dreams of giving his sweetheart, Leanne (26), the ultimate proposal have literally vanished into thin air.
Gold rose to all-time high on Thursday as investor buying speeded up after the dollar sank and oil hovered near lifetime peaks. Gold rose to .70 an ounce before easing to trade at ,60/992,0 at 11.08am GMT, against ,90/982,70 late in New York on Wednesday.
Outspoken former South Africa coach Ray Jennings believes there are better candidates to captain the national side than Graeme Smith, who has led the Proteas in a record-breaking 55 Tests. Jennings has no issue with Smith the batsman, but does have reservations when it comes to him leading the side.
Asian and European stock markets plunged on Thursday as investor sentiment was hammered by resurgent credit concerns, the plunging dollar and record high oil prices, dealers said. Global financial markets were also roiled after a troubled fund backed by United States private equity giant Carlyle said it expected its creditors to seize its remaining assets.
She doesn’t court publicity. She doesn’t flaunt her wealth. She has given millions to charity. JK Rowling has been a model of restraint. In little more than a decade since the first Harry Potter book was published, she has barely put a foot wrong in making the transition from single mother to one of the UK’s richest people.
Oil prices struck a record high of $109,72 per barrel on Tuesday after the dollar hit a fresh all-time low against the euro and amid persistent energy-supply concerns, traders said. New York’s main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, soared to the historic level, beating the previous peak of $108,21, which was set on Monday.
Ethnic minorities and indigenous groups will suffer disproportionately from the effects of climate change, according to a report published on Tuesday. The study by Minority Rights Group International found that even though minorities and indigenous peoples were hardest hit, they were often the last to receive help and relief.
Oil hit a record high of a barrel on Monday, reversing earlier losses as investors sought oil as a hedge against a depressed dollar and inflation. A rush by financial funds into commodities and political tensions are the prime drivers of a rally that has lifted oil’s average to above for the year.
Britain’s FTSE 100 index dipped by mid-session on Monday as concerns of a looming United States recession offset gains in oil shares, HSBC and potential bid target Friend Provident. By 1201pm GMT, the FTSE 100 was down 6,6 points at 5 693,3, well off its day’s high of 5 718,8.
Recession fears following the biggest United States job losses in five years mixed with strains in the credit market on Monday to depress stocks and the dollar and drive investors to search for safety. European shares got off to a poor start and Japan’s benchmark Nikkei index closed at a two-and-a-half year low.
Arsene Wenger backed Arsenal to stay on course for the Premier League title after struggling Wigan held the league leaders to a 0-0 draw at the JJB Stadium on Sunday. Having eliminated holders AC Milan from the Champions League in midweek, Arsenal failed to negotiate an awful playing surface at Wigan that is surely the worst in England’s top division.
Cardiff extended the run of FA Cup upsets on Sunday with a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough, putting the Welsh team in the semifinals of the English competition for the first time since it won in 1927. Peter Whittingham and Roger Johnson scored at Riverside Stadium for Cardiff, the only team from outside England to have won the trophy.
The FA Cup will boast one Premier League side in the last four after Cardiff City continued a weekend of shocks by beating Middlesbrough 2-0 on Sunday. First-half goals from Peter Whittingham and Roger Johnson handed the Championship (second division) side a deserved win at the Riverside.
When the crew of the Greenpeace ship <i>Esperanza</i> pulled in its one-metre net from the surface of the Atlantic about 300km south-east of the Azores last year, it was surprised only by the quantity of what it found. Washing around in the net were nearly 700 minuscule and unidentifiable fragments of plastic, among other litter.
The FA Cup will boast just one Premier League side in the last four after Cardiff City continued a weekend of shocks by beating Middlesbrough 2-0 on Sunday. First-half goals from Peter Whittingham and Roger Johnson handed the Championship (second division) side a deserved win at the Riverside Stadium and a place in the semifinals alongside Barnsley and Portsmouth.