Scots face weakened Aussies as tourists ban six for drink session November 18, 2013 AUSTRALIA rugby coach Ewan McKenzie admits his team will be vulnerable against Scotland on Saturday after six players were banned and nine more warned for taking part in a drinking session. In the latest alcohol-related storm to hit the Wallabies, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Nick Cummins, Liam Gill, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Benn Robinson and Paddy Ryan were yesterday [...]
France on the brink of exit November 18, 2013 FRANCE will miss their first international tournament finals since 1994 if they fail to overturn a 2-0 deficit against Ukraine in their World Cup qualifying play-off second leg in Paris tonight. Elsewhere, a first-leg goal from Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo gives Portugal a 1-0 advantage when they travel to Sweden tonight. Iceland are 90 [...]
Golf Comment: That was greatest performance, tee to green, that I’ve ever seen November 18, 2013 HENRIK Stenson’s win on Sunday was not just the culmination of an extraordinary run of form; it was the greatest performance in a tournament, tee to green, that I have ever witnessed. From Thursday to Sunday, the Swede was sublime. He set a new course record of 25 under par, hit 68 out of 72 [...]
Prior training display boosts Ashes hopes November 18, 2013 ENGLAND injury doubt Matt Prior boosted hopes that he will be fit for this week’s first Ashes Test against Australia with a fluent and unimpeded display in training yesterday. The experienced wicketkeeper-batsman is battling to prove he is over a calf tear suffered earlier in the tour and that kept him out of the final [...]
New accusations from Armstrong rubbished November 18, 2013 CYCLING: Claims from disgraced Lance Armstrong that the ex-president of the sport’s world governing body helped cover up a positive drugs test in 1999, have been questioned by the International Olympic Committee. Armstrong says Hein Verbruggen of the International Cycling Union wanted him to avoid a ban to protect cycling’s integrity. But an IOC statement [...]
West Ham told to reconsider Orient groundshare November 18, 2013 FOOTBALL: The House of Lord’s Committee on Games Legacy have urged West Ham to renew talks with Leyton Orient over a possible groundshare of the Olympic Stadium, a report published yesterday revealed. The report, entitled Keeping the Flame Alive, read: “We urge those concerned to think further on how the two most local football clubs [...]
Calls grow for tax cut policies November 18, 2013 CALLS for tax cuts are building as the British economy finally starts to recover from years of stagnation, with politicians and business groups arguing that the time is now right to trim back the tax system. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said yesterday morning that he wants to push the coalition government’s income tax cuts [...]
Directors’ pay rises as recovery gathers steam November 18, 2013 THE ECONOMIC recovery is feeding through to directors’ pay, as top bosses bounce back from the crisis with rising share awards, according to figures out today from Income Data Services (IDS). Other workers in the City are also feeling the revival – with recruiters Morgan McKinley seeing the number of financial services staff looking for [...]
Co-op Bank’s ex-chairman exposed as crystal methodist November 18, 2013 THE CO-OP Bank’s former chairman was yesterday suspended from his position as a Methodist minister after being exposed buying crystal meth and cocaine. Reverend Paul Flowers chaired the self-styled ethical lender until June this year when he resigned as the bank’s £1.5bn capital hole became clear. He appeared before the Treasury Committee of MPs last [...]
UK’s zombie firms taking a bite out of productivity November 18, 2013 THOUSANDS of heavily indebted firms are holding back the UK’s recovery, kept above water by historically low interest rates, according to a new report published today. According to research by the Adam Smith Institute, a Westminster think tank, 108,000 so-called zombie businesses across the country are only able to service the interest on their debt, [...]
