Star Vainikolo’s relief as GBH charge is dropped September 29, 2009 ENGLAND winger Lesley Vainikolo has admitted his relief after charges of causing grievous bodily harm were dropped yesterday. The former rugby league star, 30, was accused of punching Jake Aliker outside a Bath nightclub in the early hours of 26 October 2008. But a jury failed to reach a verdict at the Gloucester player’s trial [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING September 24, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES DNO AIMS TO SAVE KURDISH VENTUREShares in DNO International, the Norwegian oil company, plunged more than 45 per cent on Thursday as trading resumed in the stock for the first time since Kurdish authorities threatened to cancel its licence to export oil from Iraq. Helge Eide, chief executive of DNO, told the Financial [...]
Neutec trio to face court September 22, 2009 A FORMERfinance director and two lawyers involved with the takeover of Neutec Pharma by Swiss rival Novartis are facing a Crown Court trial over eight counts of insider dealing. Peter Andrew King, Michael McFall and Andrew Rimmington face a total of up to 56 years in prison if found guilty of wrongdoing. They had contested [...]
RUGBY UNION IN BRIEF September 7, 2009 Bath trio fail in ban appealsFORMER Bath co-captains Michael Lipman and Alex Crockett yesterday failed in their attempt to have their nine-month bans for missed drugs tests overturned. The pair were suspended for failing to undertake tests when Bath launched an investigation into allegations of misconduct by a number of players. Both have since resigned [...]
Interserve boosted by outsourcing August 11, 2009 SHARES in building maintenance firm Interserve rose yesterday after it reported an 18.7 per cent rise in first-half profit and said economic pressures would further boost public and private sector outsourcing. The firm, which cleans Britain’s crown courts and maintains government buildings, posted a pre-tax profit of £40m, up 18.7 per cent year-on-year, on sales [...]
Virgin knew of price fixing July 13, 2009 VIRGIN ATLANTIC chief executive Steve Ridgway admitted yesterday he was aware his airline had conspired to fix the price of fuel surcharges between July 2004 and April 2006 with rival British Airways (BA). Ridgway said in a statement: “Although I did not have any direct contact with BA in relation to passenger fuel surcharges I [...]
Home hero Murray all set for tilt at history June 22, 2009 ANDY MURRAY begins his quest today to become the first British man to win the Wimbledon singles title since Fred Perry in 1936 – and the Scot says he is ready. The 22-year-old starts the tournament as second favourite behind five-time winner Roger Federer, following the withdrawal of reigning champion Rafael Nadal. World No3 Murray’s [...]
Ace Murray crowned king of Queen’s to end 71-year wait June 14, 2009 ANDY MURRAY was last night facing up to the wave of expectancy that will come his way after etching his name in British tennis history yesterday. The 22-year-old Scot completed a stylish 7-5, 6-4 victory over American James Blake to claim a first grass-court success at the Aegon Championship and become the first home-grown champion [...]
CITY TRADER OFFERS GAMBLERS A FLUTTER ON A LOTTERY OF HIS LIFE June 10, 2009 REMEMBER the man who, last year, decided to mend his broken heart after a divorce by selling his entire life on eBay, house, car, job and all? Well, one enterprising City boy has decided to go one better – he’s started a competition for entrants to “win a new life”, and stands to make millions [...]
DRUG SMUGGLER LEWIS GETS 13 YEARS May 20, 2009 FORMER England all-rounder Chris Lewis has been jailed for 13 years after being found guilty of smuggling cocaine with a street value of over £140,000 into Britain. Croydon Crown Court heard how the 41-year-old hid the drug in liquid form in tins of fruit and vegetable juice when arriving at Gatwick Airport from a trip [...]