ICC confirm Test Championship postponed until 2017 at earliest November 14, 2011 ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat has confirmed the inaugural Test Championship, due to be staged in England in 2013, will not take place until 2017 at the earliest. The rise of Twenty20 has coincided with a significant drop in Test match attendances around the world and Lorgat had previously championed the competition as a way [...]
Ground-to-air missiles readied for London 2012, says minister November 14, 2011 GROUND-TO-AIR missiles will be used to protect London during next summer’s Olympic Games if deemed necessary, defence secretary Philip Hammond said yesterday, amid increased concerns over security. Hammond disclosed the measures in the House of Commons, where he faced questions about the level of provisions made for London 2012 in light of suggestions that the [...]
Trapattoni warns Ireland to guard against wounded Estonia November 14, 2011 REPUBLIC of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has warned his players not to take qualification for their first major tournament in a decade for granted. Ireland take a commanding 4-0 lead into the second leg of their play-off against Estonia tonight in Dublin, with a place at Euro 2012 seemingly assured. But Trapattoni said: “I have [...]
Venky’s: Rovers not for sale November 14, 2011 FOOTBALL: Blackburn Rovers’ owners Venky’s have insisted the club is not for sale. The Premier League strugglers had been linked with a potential takeover by Middle East oil giant Qatar Petroleum. Co-owner Venkatesh Rao said: “It’s not true and nothing is going to happen like that. We’ve had no offer and we’re not interested. We’re [...]
NBA season in major doubt November 14, 2011 BASKETBALL: The NBA Players’ Association has turned down the league’s new offer for a collective bargaining agreement, casting doubt over the entire season. The NBA had requested an even split of basketball-related income and a 72-game season beginning on 15 December. But the NBAPA’s Billy Hunter said it would cease collective bargaining discussions and would [...]
Play-off joy for Spaniard November 14, 2011 GOLF: Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano won the storm-delayed Singapore Open at the second play-off hole yesterday. The 31-year-old sank a nine-foot birdie putt on the par-five 18th to defeat Juvic Pagunsan of the Philippines. Lightning had forced the players off the course in an event that had been shortened to 54 holes due to the adverse [...]
BHP Billiton to spend $4.5bn on shale gas November 14, 2011 BHP Billiton plans to spend around $4.5bn (£2.8bn) on developing shale gas in 2012 following two acquisitions this year, the head of the global miner’s petroleum business said yesterday. The miner spent nearly $17bn buying shale gas producer Petrohawk Energy and shale gas assets from Chesapeake Energy earlier this year. It is targeting US shale [...]
Rusal profits rise as cost cutting measures kick in November 14, 2011 RUSSIAN aluminium giant Rusal said yesterday its profits had risen in the third quarter – triggered in part by massive cost cutting, including the freezing of bonuses for top executives. The company, which listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange in January last year, said profits reached $432m (£271m) despite a fall in aluminium prices. [...]
Lonmin beats forecasts but warns on 2012 November 14, 2011 LONMIN beat expectations with a 59 per cent jump in full-year earnings, even though a strike at its Karee operations drove up unit costs and forced the miner to cut its output target. The world’s third biggest platinum producer said demand next year would be softer than had been forecast, prompting it to change previous [...]
Merlin target hit yet banks face criticism November 14, 2011 UK BANKS are on track to meet their lending targets set by Project Merlin, the Bank of England confirmed yesterday, but critics attacked the figures as meaningless, with some business groups calling for more credit to stimulate growth. Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Santander made £57.4bn available to businesses in the UK in the third [...]
