Britain’s Prince Harry will not be sent to serve in Iraq after military commanders decided it would be too dangerous, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said on Wednesday. Harry (22), the third in line to the throne and a junior officer in the army, had been due to be deployed to Basra, in southern Iraq, with his Blues and Royals regiment.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been arrested in a row with police officers over his dog, a police source said on Wednesday. The 44-year-old Portuguese soccer boss was held late on Tuesday after an animal health official and two police officers went to his central London home to remove his dog, the Sun newspaper reported.
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has backed Australia’s decision to call off its tour of Zimbabwe and said the struggling African nation should be ”permanently suspended” from international cricket because of its poor playing standards. The Australia government has banned the country’s cricket team from travelling to Zimbabwe.
Flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson admitted that he was braced for a punishing tour to South Africa as he joined a severely depleted England squad that flew out to Johannesburg on Tuesday. The squad, which includes five World Cup winners, also contains seven uncapped players, including six forwards.
The rate of global software piracy has remained static for three years, but the cost to businesses is rising, the United States Business Software Alliance (BSA) said Tuesday. The BSA survey, conducted by the US-based market-research firm IDC, concludes that for every two dollars spent on legitimate software, one dollar goes to pirates.
Canadian publisher Thomson has agreed to buy Reuters for about £8,7-billion (,2-billion) to create the world’s biggest financial news and data group, the companies said on Tuesday. The deal still needs regulatory clearance and shareholder approval, they said in a joint statement.
The two potential challengers to Gordon Brown for the Labour Party leadership decided on Monday to join forces in a bid to ensure there is a contest to succeed Prime Minister Tony Blair. Left-wing Labour MP Michael Meacher agreed to stand aside in favour of fellow left-winger John McDonnell after both struggled to get the 45 nominations necessary to make it on to the ballot.
British sculptor Antony Gormley on Monday unveiled what he himself described as a ”disorienting” work consisting of a glass box that makes those who enter it disappear in a cloud of mist. The Blind Light installation is the highlight of Gormley’s latest exhibition at the Hayward Gallery in London.
Paul Jewell resigned as manager of Wigan Athletic, the club said on Monday, less than 24 hours after steering them to Premier League survival. Millionaire chairperson Dave Whelan was due to hold a news conference later on Monday when a replacement for the 42-year-old Jewell was expected to be announced.
Britain’s security service MI5 is keen to bring more women on board as it launches a new recruitment campaign this week — the latest stage in a drive to double its size. The domestic spy agency, around 1 800 strong at the time of the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001, has swelled its ranks to more than 3 000.
Manchester United will parade the Premiership trophy to a jubilant Old Trafford on Sunday but manager Alex Ferguson insists it will be business as usual against relegation-threatened West Ham. The Hammers, one of only three teams to have beaten Ferguson’s men this season, need a point to complete a remarkable escape from relegation.
A statue of England’s 1966 World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore was unveiled by his widow at the new Wembley Stadium on Friday. Moore, who died of cancer in 1993 aged 51, is fondly remembered for lifting the trophy when England beat West Germany at the former stadium, which was demolished to make way for the new 90Â 000-seater arena that opened this year.
Outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Friday formally endorsed his Finance Minister, Gordon Brown, to become his successor, saying he would make a ”great prime minister”. ”I’m absolutely delighted to give my full support to Gordon as the next leader of the Labour Party and prime minister and to endorse him fully,” he told reporters.
British Finance Minister Gordon Brown on Friday formally announced his candidacy to succeed Tony Blair as prime minister, a day after Blair announced his resignation. Blair on Friday enthusiastically backed Brown’s bid and United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pledged to maintain strong transatlantic ties.
Michael Ballack has no chance of playing in the FA Cup final for Chelsea while central defender Ricardo Carvalho will almost certainly miss the Wembley showpiece against Manchester United on May 19. ”Carvalho 1%, Ballack 0%,” manager Jose Mourinho told Chelsea’s website on Thursday.
The parents of missing Madeleine McCann say they are trying to stay positive as they enter the seventh day since their three-year-old daughter disappeared from a resort in southern Portugal. Doctors Kate and Gerry McCann thanked the hundreds of police and volunteers searching for the girl, who detectives fear may have been abducted.
Oil prices rose on Thursday despite a United States report showing that stocks of gasoline, crude and distillate fuels all rose, as markets worried about violence in Nigeria, Africa’s largest producer and a leading supplier to the US. Gunmen seized four workers in Nigeria’s southern oil region, officials said on Wednesday.
A British civil servant was jailed for six months on Thursday for leaking an "extremely sensitive" memo detailing talks on Iraq between United States President George Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair. Communications officer David Keogh was found guilty at London’s Central Criminal Court on Wednesday.
Chelsea and Manchester United, league champions old and new, produced a strictly mid-table performance on Wednesday in a goalless showdown that came a month too late. The game was downgraded to dead rubber status when United secured the title on Sunday by virtue of Chelsea only drawing 1-1 at Arsenal.
Stylist and fashion guru Isabella Blow, a vibrant and often outrageous presence on the British fashion scene, has died, her husband said. She was 48. Detmar Blow said she died in the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital in western England. News reports said she had recently been diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
The Scottish city of Glasgow was to formalise in a ceremony on Wednesday its bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Hoping to hold the quadrennial games for the first time in its history, Glasgow will face competition from the Nigerian capital, Abuja, which is bidding to become the first African host.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has apologised to Cristiano Ronaldo for comments over his upbringing, the Portuguese winger was quoted as saying on Wednesday. Mourinho reportedly said that Ronaldo was ”ill-educated, disrespectful and immature” after the 22-year-old had said his compatriot could never admit a mistake.
Australia’s Adam Gilchrist did not contravene the rules by using a squash ball in his left glove during the World Cup final, the MCC (Marylebone Cricket Club) said on Tuesday. ”The incident could not be classed either as contravening the law or as breaching the spirit of the game,” said the MCC.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair is presiding over a ”government of the living dead” as his ministers await the sack once he leaves office, the opposition leader scoffed on Wednesday. Conservative chief David Cameron said the government was paralysed while it waited for Blair to quit and his successor to be installed, during rowdy, knockabout exchanges with Blair in Parliament.
Tony Blair is expected to set a date for his resignation as British prime minister when he makes an announcement about his future on Thursday. Blair, who notched up 10 years in power last week, is expected to stay as prime minister and Labour Party leader until a successor can take over at the end of June or early July.
Charlton were relegated from the Premier League after losing 2-0 at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Monday. They follow already-relegated Watford through the trap door to the second division, leaving West Ham United, Wigan Athletic and Sheffield United to scrap it out to avoid joining them.
Canada’s Thomson Corporation is in talks to buy Reuters Group for about £8,8-billion (,6-billion) to create the world’s biggest news and financial data company. Under the terms of the proposed deal Reuters investors would get 352,5 pence in cash and 0,16 Thomson stock for each share, worth 697 pence a share.
Deflated and leg-weary, Chelsea host Premier League champions Manchester United on Wednesday in a dress rehearsal for the FA Cup final on May 19. Chelsea’s hopes of securing a third successive league title ended at the weekend, their pursuit of Alex Ferguson’s side brought to a halt by London rivals Arsenal.
Human rights group Amnesty International accused Russia and China on Tuesday of breaching a United Nations arms embargo by letting weapons into Sudan, where they are used in ”grave violations” of international law. Amnesty said it was ”deeply dismayed” by the flow of arms allowed by China and Russia, both members of the United Nations Security Council.
Newcastle United confirmed on Monday that coach Glenn Roeder has resigned and the club has started the search for his successor. The 51-year-old former defender ended his 15 months in charge on Sunday one day after the 2-0 home loss to Blackburn Rovers in the Premiership, but there was no official confirmation until Monday.
Homeowners near a safari park in Britain have come up with a novel product for scaring away unwanted birds that are nesting on their roofs: the pungent-smelling faeces of lions and tigers. Homeowners are resorting to the measure because animal-protection laws forbid them from removing or damaging nests.
In an era when records, money or the cult of celebrity have driven many athletes to prolong their careers long after they have passed their peak, Kim Clijsters proved there is more to life than being a professional athlete. Not since Swedish great Bjorn Borg turned his back on the sport in 1982 aged just 26 has a top player walked away from tennis at such a young age.