England spinner Graeme Swann has said he cannot wait to face Australia in the Champions Trophy and is confident his side can claim an unlikely victory.
Ricky Ponting’s men sealed a semi-final spot against England by beating Pakistan at the Wanderers today and have been immediately installed as favourites to win Friday’s much-anticipated encounter.
Speaking before Australia’s [...]

India coasted to an easy seven-wicket win over the weakened West Indies in the final group match of the Champions Trophy – one that had no effect on the semi-final line-up and did little to entertain the spectators.
India still had a chance at qualification when they won the toss and put the West Indies in [...]

The son of former health secretary Patricia Hewitt has pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine.
Nicholas Hewitt Birtles, from north London, was charged with possession of the class A drug on September 21st.
The 21-year-old, whose father is a judge, was taken into custody after police stopped a car in London’s Camden Square. He pleaded guilty to [...]

The Formula One Teams’ Association (FOTA) has confirmed it is looking into using KERS beyond the end of the 2009 season.
Earlier in the year, the FOTA member teams came to a voluntary agreement to ditch KERS in 2010, as it deemed the technology to be too expensive in a time when F1 is trying to [...]

Business confidence in the UK waned during September, a survey has said today.
According to the latest Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets Business Barometer, confidence levels fell as weaker sentiment across the manufacturing sector started to "take its toll".
However, Lloyds said the overall trend in confidence remained positive, and the results for September were simply a reminder [...]

A rise in the minimum wage and a ‘fair deal’ promise on tips announced by the business secretary today have been welcomed by trades unions.
Lord Mandelson said new rules will come into effect today to ensure thousands of workers get a fair deal on tips and wages.
The new changes will make it illegal for businesses [...]

Former television chef Keith Floyd has been mourned at a humanist funeral service in Bristol.
The gastronome and writer died of a heart-attack aged 65 earlier this month.
Floyd’s partner Celia Martin – at whose Dorset home he died – as well as his biographer James Steen attended the funeral on Wednesday morning.
The ceremony featured a reading [...]

The Renault F1 team have issued a statement that effectively admits their guilt in the controversial ‘crash-gate’ affair involving Nelson Piquet Jr.
The French team have said they will not dispute allegations that their driver was asked to deliberately crash his car at the 2008 Singapore grand prix in order to benefit his team-mate Fernando Alonso.
As [...]

Barcelona were held to a 0-0 draw by Inter Milan as they began their quest to defend their European title at the San Siro.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Samuel Eto’o both lined up to play against their former sides after swapping clubs over the summer. With a wealth of attacking players on both sides goals were expected, [...]

Arsenal fought back from two goals down to defeat Standard Liege 3-2 in thrilling opening match of their Champions League campaign.
A stunning start by the hosts saw them score twice within the opening four minutes of the match. Nicklas Bendtner added a goal seconds before half-time to give Arsenal hope. Thomas Vermaelen then equalised to [...]