Man Utd v Schalke 04 (agg 2 - 0)
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney will sit out Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg against Schalke 04 with a tight hamstring.
Holding a 2-0 first-leg lead and with the crunch Premier League game against Chelsea scheduled for Sunday, boss Sir Alex Ferguson will shuffle his side.
Dimitar Berbatov is likely, therefore, to start up front, possibly alongside Michael Owen in a two-pronged attack.
Fabio da Silva will miss out, however, as he is suffering from a knock.
The Brazilian picked up the injury in Sunday's 1-0 defeat by Arsenal, a match that has ensured this weekend's Premier League match against Chelsea at Old Trafford could prove to be the key in this season's title race.
United are three points clear of the Blues with three matches left in the season but defeat on Sunday would see them leapfrogged at the top of the Premier League and playing catch up in their final two games of the season - Blackburn away and Blackpool at home.
With that in mind, it is thought Ferguson will rest a number of key stars against German outfit Schalke on Wednesday.
The Red Devils outplayed Schalke in the first leg last week, emerging 2-0 victors.
And with Anders Lindegaard and Darren Fletcher available again after a knee ligament injury and virus respectively, the likes of first choice keeper Edwin van der Sar and Michael Carrick could sit out the tie as United aim to reach the 28 May final.
"Darren [Fletcher] will play part of the game," Ferguson said on Tuesday. "He has shown great improvement from the reserve game last week and his weight is back to normal.
"It is just that issue of game time and a little bit more strengthening."
And speaking after the weekend defeat by Arsenal, the Scot said: "We have a big week ahead.
"Wednesday is a European semi-final second leg and... we will regroup and freshen it up. I will make some changes without question. I will bring Paul Scholes back in, Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen.
"We'll need to do that but I will probably keep my experienced players at the back.
"We are in as good a position as you could ever wish for at the start of the season - semi-final of the European Cup, second leg, two-goal lead and go into a home game on Sunday level on goal difference [and with a three-point advantage]."
Ferguson was keen, however, to warn his side against complacency, adding: "We have to be favourites for the title, if only because we are three points ahead.
"But that can evaporate quite quickly and we have a big job to do. As I said last week, the drama is not finished."
Schalke players, meanwhile, were forced to endure a two-hour delay as a result of visa issues on Tuesday before flying to England for the Old Trafford tie.
Five of their players, including Peruvian Jefferson Farfan, Brazilian Edu and Japanese Atsuto Uchida, had not been issued the relevant paperwork as non-EU passport holders.
The Germans are hoping to have Benedikt Hoewedes fit after a stomach muscle injury, and Klass-Jan Huntelaar following a two-month break because of a damaged medial knee ligament.
Schalke boss Ralf Rangnick is hoping his team's quarter-final first-leg victory over Inter Milan, which they won 5-2, will provide sufficient inspiration against the three-time European champions at Old Trafford.
"In football you can get the chance so we will see what happens," he said. "When we played in Milan against Inter people didn't give us much hope either.
"I think we have to be well organised in the first 10 minutes and then we have to take our chances when they're presented, even if there are just two minutes left.
"You think of Manchester United and the Champions League win when they came back to win 2-1."
Barcelona lead Real Madrid 2-0 from the first leg in the other Champions League semi-final.
Sony hires detectives after gamers lose personal data
Sony has hired investigators after a breach of security, in which the personal data of more than 100 million online game users was compromised.
Cyber-security detectives from Guidance Software and Data Forte, among others, have been brought on board, said Sony.
The Playstation Network and Sony Online Entertainment have been taken offline.
Information including names, addresses and potentially even credit card numbers was stolen in the attack.
Officials from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said they were looking into the breach of data, which might include some credit card numbers.
Last week, Sony said the personal details of 77 million Playstation users may have been stolen by hackers.
On Tuesday, it said a further 25 million gamers had their personal details stolen because of a security breach.
The company said credit card details and other personal information had been taken from an "outdated database".
The new attack went beyond users of Playstation hardware, affecting PC and Facebook gamers.
Sony said direct debit information for about 10,700 customers in Austria, Spain, the Netherlands and Germany was stolen.
It also said credit or debit card details of some 12,700 non-US customers were compromised.
India raises interest rates again to tackle inflation
India's central bank has raised its key interest rate for the ninth time in 15 months in an attempt to curb inflation.
The Reserve Bank of India raised the rate at which it lends to commercial banks to 7.25% from 6.75%, a bigger increase than had been expected.
Despite a series of rate rises, March inflation hit 8.9% as Asia's third-largest economy continued its growth.
High oil, food and other commodity prices have frustrated the central bank's attempts to curb inflation.
"High inflation is inimical to sustained growth as it harms investment by creating uncertainty," the Reserve Bank said in a statement. "Current elevated rates of inflation pose significant risks to future growth."
The bank said it expected economic growth to slow to around 8% in the current fiscal year, down from 8.6% in the previous year.
This should help to ease inflation, but the bank said that it still expected the rate to average 6% this year.
Swiss freeze $1bn in Gaddafi, Mubarak, Ben Ali assets
Switzerland says it has frozen nearly $1bn worth of assets linked to Libya's Muammar Gaddafi and the deposed leaders of Egypt and Tunisia.
Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey said some 830m Swiss francs (£580m; $960m) had been discovered.
Of that, the largest proportion - 410m SFr - was linked to former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his circle, the minister said.
Another 360m SFr was believed to belong to Col Gaddafi's regime.
A further 60m SFr was tied to former Tunisian leader Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and his associates.
Property and cash
Ms Calmy-Rey revealed the amounts at a conference in Tunisia, where she is on a three-day visit, foreign ministry spokesman Lars Knuchel said.
"These amounts are frozen in Switzerland following blocking orders by the Swiss government related to potentially illegal assets in Switzerland," she said.
"It is not just money, there are real estate assets," she added.
Switzerland initially ordered the Ben Ali and Mubarak assets frozen after they were toppled in popular uprisings in January and February.
The assets of Col Gaddafi and his associates were blocked in February after he cracked down on opposition protests.
However, it is only now that the Swiss authorities have revealed details of the assets they have located and secured.
The new governments in Tunisia and Egypt have contacted Switzerland seeking to reclaim the funds, he said.
But neither country had yet given enough evidence that the money had been obtained illegally for Switzerland to release it.
There had been no such discussions with Libya, where Col Gaddafi remains in control of much of the country despite a popular rebellion.
Avon net rises sharply on Latin America strength
Raising prices and selling more products in Latin America, its largest market, helped cosmetics seller Avon Products Inc more than triple its first-quarter profit, the company said yesterday.
Avon’s net income and revenue beat expectations, and the company’s stock rose more than six per cent by midday. Investors were reassured that two large markets for Avon showed signs of recovery after struggling for several quarters, although Avon said work remains. “We are squarely focused on restoring growth in Brazil and Russia in the second half,” CEO Andrea Jung said. Revenue also rose fast in other areas, particularly Turkey and South Africa, and Citi Investment Research analyst Wendy Nicholson said the year is off to a strong start.
All told, more than 80 per cent of Avon’s quarterly revenue came from outside the US and Canada. But its North America revenue–excluding Mexico—fell two per cent for the quarter. The company said it would have fallen ten per cent if Avon hadn’t bought jewelry direct seller Silpada. Avon, based in New York, makes more than 40 per cent of its revenue in Latin America, where a 16 per cent sales increase helped the company’s total revenue rise seven per cent to $2.63 billion, beating analysts’ average expectation for $2.59 billion. Mexico and Venezuela were particularly strong in Latin America, helped by growth in independent sellers.
Excluding the effect of a weaker dollar, Avon’s total revenue rose four per cent. Its net income was $143.6 million, or 33 cents per share, for the quarter that ended March 31, up from $42.5 million, or ten cents per share, a year earlier. AP
LIAT advises of new St. Lucia tax for travellers
LIAT wishes to advise its customers and the public in general that, effective May 1, 2011, the St. Lucia Air and Seaports Authority has introduced a new tax of US$35.00 known as “Airport Development Charge” which is to be collected by all airlines.
All customers departing St. Lucia, including those making connections in St. Lucia will see the new US$35 tax reflected in the cost of their ticket.
With the addition of the new US$35 “Airport Development Tax” by the St. Lucia Air and Seaports Authority, taxes and charges paid on LIAT tickets may in some instances represent more than 50 per cent of the ticket price.
Vybz Kartel denied Uk Visa
Vybz Kartel was denied a visa by the United Kingdom Embassy in Jamaica, therefore all his European shows were subsequently cancelled. Kartel was schedule to perform in Holland, France and Germany
A statement was issused by one of the promotors the cancelled show , reads
"Due to the fact that the artist “Vybz Kartel” did not receive his passport from the UK Embassy in Jamaica, he won’t be in Europe again this week! We will try and reschedule his tour for June, 2011, when he will be touring both the UK and Europe. We are very sorry for this massive disappointment, and inconvenience to all dance hall fans, and most importantly, “Vybz Kartel” fans."
Vybz Kartel was to perform at Rotterdam Reggae festival, Rockers Rockers Rockers Festival in France, two shows in Germany and a show scheduled today for Livelloundiciottavi in Lecce, Italy, for which he was schedule to perform alongside protégés Popcaan and Shawn Storm.
No statement were issued from Vybz Kartel himself or his mangement team
Grand Jury Clears Waka Flocka Of Drug Charges
Atlanta rapper Waka Flocka has been cleared of serious gang and drug charges earlier today (May 3rd).
TMZ.com reports that a Henry County, Georgia grand jury cleared Waka Flocka of drug charges, after finding there was not enough evidence to convict the rapper.
According to TMZ, Waka had already been cleared of three charges before the case went in front of a grand jury today.
Police raided the Georgia home of Waka Flocka in December of 2010.
Police were looking for evidence of gangs, drugs and have found marijuana and weapons.
The grand jury ultimately tossed out the remaining charges: possession of a controlled substance and possession of less than an ounce of weed.
Waka's mother/manager Debra Antney denied the charges against her son in January of 2011, just a month after the initial raid.
"I bust my ass to keep these guys straight getting they ass out the streets so they can’t do what they are doing to them you understand what I am saying," Antney told AllHipHop.com in protest of the arrest.
Michael Douglas: First Interview Since Treatment
In his first interview since the completion of treatment for Stage IV throat cancer, former superstar resident Michael Douglas discusses his Bermudian mother Diana Douglas (”A lovely lady, super-bright — still pisses me off and does the ‘Sunday Times’ crossword in ink!”), he and wife Catherine Zeta Jones’ decision to relocate to New York (”After almost a decade in Bermuda, the pair returned to New York two years ago, partly because of ‘Wall Street 2′ and Zeta-Jones’ stage performance in ‘A Little Night Music’ and partly to find proper care for their daughter’s dyslexia”) and his long-term prognosis (”Doctors at New York’s Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center have told him there’s an 80 percent cure rate — something he and Zeta-Jones focus on, in contrast to the doom-laden tabloids.”)
Published today [Nov.30], the exclusive “Hollywood Reporter” chat with the actor/producer — conducted after he completed a rigorous round of chemotherapy and radiation treatments — reported Mr. Douglas was optimistic about the future and looking forward to the “third act” of his career – and his life: ”Forget everything you’ve read about Douglas. Forget the horror stories that he has ‘three months to live’, ‘might die before New Year’s Eve’ and that his chances of surviving are now ‘a grim 20 percent’, headlines that have led Hollywood to speculate about his health and future,” said the respected Hollywood trade publication.
“The man is fully alive, alert, deeply intelligent and in person nothing whatsoever like the haggard figure that graces the ‘National Enquirer’ and its kin. He has to sip frequently from a drink to ease the dryness in his mouth, but that distinctive voice is seductive as ever. True, he has lost weight; and true, he seems a bit frail, as if recuperating from a bad cold … But for someone who has just come through chemotherapy and radiation — ‘five days a week’, he notes — he’s in remarkably good shape and spirits.”
One of the last projects Mr. Douglas completed before being diagnosed with cancer this summer was the narration for Bermuda-based futurist Dr. James Martin’s new on-line documentary based on his bestselling book “The Meaning of the 21st Century.”
Raheem DeVaughn Honored By D.C. Mayor For Community Work
Raheem DeVaughn will honored by Washington, D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray, who will present the Grammy-nominated R&B singer with the key to the city on Thursday (May 5th).
DeVaughn is being honored for his commitment to the local community through his efforts to preserve arts for children and teens, in addition to his efforts in fighting HIV/AIDS throughout Washington, D.C.'s local communities.
Mayor Gray will also proclaim May 5th, which happens to the singer's birthday, as "Raheem DeVaughn Day."
"I am humbled and truly honored to be the recipient of The Key To The City and my own day by the District Of Columbia. I am very thankful to Washington, DC for their loyalty and support," Raheem DeVaughn told AllHipHop.com.
Raheem DeVaughn's latest album The Love & War Masterpeace, debuted at #1 on Billboard's R&B Charts.
The album features guest appearances by rappers like Dr. Cornel West, Wale, Bun B. and R&B artists like Jill Scott, Anthony Hamilton and Chrisette Michele.