Anglo-Swiss miner Xstrata said on Wednesday it was selling its aluminium business to private equity firm Apollo Management for ,15-billion in cash. Xstrata acquired the aluminium business through its purchase of Canadian miner Falconbridge last year and had been conducting a review to decide whether to use it as a platform to build a bigger aluminium operation or sell it.
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has urged his side not to be complacent when they face PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League quarterfinal at Anfield on Wednesday holding a 3-0 lead. Wednesday’s other quarterfinal is far more evenly balanced with Bayern Munich hosting AC Milan after the teams finished last week’s first leg 2-2 in Italy.
Manchester United produced one of the finest performances in 50 years of European competition to destroy AS Roma 7-1 on Tuesday and reach the semifinals of the Champions League for the first time since 2002. It was the biggest victory in a quarterfinal match in either the European Cup or Champions League since Real Madrid beat Sevilla 8-0 in 1957/1958.
British internet users spend an average of two days a month surfing the web aimlessly, or ”wilfing” as the activity has been dubbed, according to a study released on Tuesday.
South Africa’s policy of black economic empowerment (BEE) is flawed and in need of review, the country’s finance minister said in an interview published on Tuesday. Speaking to the Financial Times, Trevor Manuel said that the legislation, clarified two years ago, had been abused.
Marat Safin saved Russia and sent the defending champions into the Davis Cup semifinals. The former top-ranked Russian played for the first time in the best-of-five series on Sunday and beat Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-2 in the deciding match to give the hosts a 3-2 win over France.
Portsmouth held on to beat Manchester United 2-1 on Saturday in the Premier League and help Chelsea move within three points of first place. United defender John O’Shea scored in the 90th minute and teammate Alan Smith nearly added another in injury time, but Portsmouth goalkeeper David James made the tough save.
Germany, Sweden and the United States qualified for the Davis Cup semifinals by winning doubles matches on Saturday, and Russia moved closer to a spot in the last four after taking a 2-1 lead over France. The best-of-five series will be decided on Sunday in the reverse singles matches.
A dentist was barred from his practice when he was found guilty on Thursday of urinating in a surgical sink and using sterilised dental instruments on his ears and nails. Alan Hutchinson, a 51-year-old father of three, was erased from the dental register after a medical tribunal found him to have acted in an inappropriate and unprofessional way.
Sudan’s regime should be punished for failing to implement a peacekeeping plan in Darfur, and the country is making it difficult for aid workers to transport food and medical aid, Britain’s international development secretary said in an interview published on Friday.
AS Roma earned a 2-1 win over 10-man Manchester United in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, and Valencia held host Chelsea to a 1-1 draw. Roma got goals from Rodrigo Taddei and Mirko Vucinic at Stadio Olimpico, where Man United fans fought briefly with police after the first goal.
A leading British supermarket chain was left with egg on its face when it got muddled over the meaning of Easter in an advert to promote chocolate egg sales, the Times reported on Wednesday. Handing out Easter eggs symbolises ”the birth of Jesus”, explained the Somerfield chain in a press release.
Liverpool won their second straight away game in the Champions League, beating PSV Eindhoven 3-0 on Tuesday in the first leg of the quarterfinals. Bayern Munich twice came back with goals from Daniel van Buyten to hold six-time European Cup champions AC Milan to a 2-2 draw.
Britain said on Tuesday the way was open for diplomacy to secure the release of 15 British sailors and marines seized by Iran in the Gulf, but the next 48 hours would be critical. The two countries have been at loggerheads since Iran seized the sailors on March 23 in the northern Gulf, but there have been few tangible signs of progress in the 12-day stand-off.
An intriguing midfield duel is in prospect when Liverpool meet PSV Eindhoven in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on Tuesday. Argentina’s Javier Mascherano, who only joined Liverpool in January after an unhappy introduction to English football at West Ham United, looks set for his European debut, facing off against PSV’s vastly experienced captain, Phillip Cocu.
A Briton lost his appeal on Tuesday against extradition to the United States for allegedly hacking into US defence computers in what has been dubbed the "biggest military hack of all time". Gary McKinnon said he was searching for evidence of UFOs when he hacked into US computers and was not intending to disrupt security.
EMI Group unveiled a groundbreaking deal on Monday that will allow computer company Apple to sell the record company’s songs online free from copy-protection software. The agreement means that customers of Apple’s iTunes store will soon be able to play downloaded songs by the Rolling Stones, Norah Jones, Coldplay and other top-selling artists free of copying restrictions.
Manchester United, riding high at the top of the English Premiership, will be hoping to maintain their push for another treble when they travel to Italy to play Roma in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on Wednesday. Still involved in the FA Cup at home, United fans are already dreaming of a repeat of 1999, when they won the League, FA Cup and Champions League.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced on Thursday the creation of a new national security department to fight terrorism as part of a radical overhaul of the beleaguered Interior Ministry. Under the plan announced by Blair in a written statement to Parliament, the ministry known as the Home Office will be split into two departments.
Italy moved back into the chase for a spot at next year’s European Championship, beating Scotland 2-0 on Wednesday as England also played themselves back into contention by downing Andorra 3-0. England’s win, however, will do little to ease the pressure on coach Steve McClaren, who had been winless in five straight games before facing a team with only one competitive victory.
South Africa’s central bank governor has criticised the 2005 takeover by Barclays of South African retail bank Absa, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni called the British bank’s stewardship of Absa ”discouraging”, the newspaper said.
Chelsea have banned three of their fans after they were caught throwing celery during the team’s FA Cup win at Tottenham Hotspur, the Premier League champions said Tuesday. Two of them were arrested for throwing celery during the quarterfinal replay on March 19, while a third was spotted throwing the vegetable and later identified.
Faye Turney, the female British sailor who Iran said on Wednesday it will release shortly, says she always understood the risks she was taking when she joined the armed services. The 26-year-old gave a series of interviews to British media in the days before she and 14 other sailors and marines were seized in the Gulf last Friday.
Iran’s detention of British sailors and marines was unacceptable and illegal and further diplomatic pressure is needed on Tehran to secure their immediate release, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Wednesday. ”There is no justification whatsoever. It is completely unacceptable, wrong and illegal,” he said.
Two historians lost another legal battle in British courts on Wednesday over claims that author Dan Brown plagiarised their ideas for his blockbuster novel The Da Vinci Code. Three of Britain’s senior judges dismissed the appeal by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh against an earlier high court ruling that also rejected their claims.
Britain’s advertising watchdog on Wednesday ordered Tourism Australia to pull down its posters promoting the country in an "irreverent" Australian fashion because they contain mild swearing. The Advertising Standards Authority told the tourism agency to remove the lot and not to use swear words again in future posters.
Sri Lanka off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan has been named as the leading cricketer in the world for 2006 by the 144th edition of the Wisden Almanack, the sport’s bible, which will be published on Wednesday. Muralitharan, who played 11 Tests last year, taking 90 wickets, is the fourth player to pick up the award since it was inaugurated.
The English Football Association (FA) on Tuesday offered its support to embattled national coach Steve McClaren. McClaren, who replaced Sven Goran-Eriksson after the World Cup, is under fire after England’s poor start to the European Championship qualifying campaign.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Tuesday warned Iran that efforts to secure the release of 15 sailors would enter a ”different phase” if diplomatic efforts failed. Britain has sought to keep up pressure on Iran, which has rejected growing international calls for their release.
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The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday told online video-sharing group YouTube to remove World Cup clips claiming copyright infringement. ICC Development, the body’s commercial arm, have gone after YouTube to protect the rights of broadcast and sponsorship partners.
A new initiative was launched this week to fight human trafficking globally. ”This is the largest initiative ever launched of this sort,” said the executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria Costa, in an interview. ”It is meant to create a framework for the other disjointed initiatives which have taken place so far.”
Britain kept up pressure on Zimbabwe on Monday, saying it would work to isolate an increasingly vulnerable President Robert Mugabe and calling on African nations to confront him. Mugabe’s government has been widely condemned for violently suppressing a March 11 rally in which scores of Mugabe opponents were arrested.