Europe’s largest street party got under way on Sunday as festivities began in the narrow streets of London’s Notting Hill with an estimated 300Â 000 visitors coming to enjoy the first day of the annual carnival. Children and adults in elaborate costumes, many decked out with multi-coloured feathers and large wings, paraded along the carnival’s three-and-a-half mile route in west London to the sound of whistles, steel drums, and Caribbean music.
Middlesbrough scored twice in the final 10 minutes and rallied to beat Chelsea 2-1 on Wednesday, leaving Manchester United alone at the top of the English Premier League standings. Two-time defending champions Chelsea led on a 16th-minute goal from Andriy Shevchenko before Emanuel Pogatetz equalised and substitute Mark Viduka scored in injury time to win it for Middlesbrough.
Four-time European champions Ajax were ousted from the European Champions League qualifying on Wednesday, scoring an own-goal in their 2-0 loss at home to FC Copenhagen. Ajax had a 2-1 lead heading into the second leg of their third-round qualifying match at the Amsterdam Arena, but fell behind when Michael Silberbauer scored in the 59th minute.
Satellite navigation (satnav) systems may be the latest ”must have” car gadgets but London’s cab drivers, who have to pass the world’s toughest taxi exam, are not impressed. While hundreds of thousands of the high-tech guidance systems are sold in Britain every year most cabbies in London prefer to rely on their own brain power.
Pakistan tour manager Zaheer Abbas confirmed on Wednesday the team’s upcoming one-day series against England will go ahead after a disciplinary hearing involving captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was postponed. Inzamam faces charges of ball-tampering and bringing cricket into disrepute.
Britain’s housing boom may be a blessing for homeowners, but with prices trebling in a decade, first-time buyers are being forced to dream up increasingly complex arrangements to get a foot on the property ladder. Would-be buyers are asking parents for financial help, buying with friends or agreeing to buy just a share in their future home.
Iran’s standing in the Middle East has been bolstered by United States President George Bush’s ”war on terror” and its power will continue to grow unless stability is restored to its neighbours, a top think tank said on Tuesday. Seeing a regional political void opening, Iran had moved swiftly to fill it, it said, and now has a level of influence which cannot be ignored.
It’s a dilemma for a dedicated environmental activist: your friend is getting married in Australia, you’re in Britain, what do you do? Travel overland to avoid carbon emissions from aircraft, of course. Barbara "Babs" Haddrill (28) is doing just that, undertaking a six-week trip from mid-Wales to Brisbane by train, bus and boat.
Pakistan captain Inzamam ul-Haq issued a stark warning to cricket chiefs on Tuesday: Clear me of ball tampering or the tour of England is finished. The star batsman faces an International Cricket Council disciplinary hearing in London on Friday for his part in the events that saw Pakistan forfeit the fourth Test against England at The Oval on Sunday.
Eleven people have been charged in connection with a suspected plot to blow up airliners over the Atlantic, British officials said on Monday. Peter Clarke, head of London police’s anti-terrorist branch, said police had seized bomb-making equipment and ”martyrdom videos” during intensive searches.
Smoking scenes in Tom and Jerry cartoons are now banned in Britain, following a viewer’s complaint to the government agency that polices the airwaves. In one episode of the classic United States cartoon series, Tom is seen smoking a roll-up cigarette in a bid to impress a female cat.
Chelsea began their title defence with a 3-0 victory over Manchester City on Sunday, and Wayne Rooney scored twice to lead Manchester United over Fulham 5-1 in the English Premier League. ”We played very good, better than we could believe after such a difficult [pre-season] period,” Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said.
The fourth and final Test between England and Pakistan at The Oval was sensationally abandoned on Sunday after an ugly row over ball tampering. The decision that Pakistan should forfeit the game in such circumstances was unprecedented in the 129-year-history of Test cricket.
Inspired by a Monty Python sketch, a charity fund-raiser in London with an odd-ball sense of humour submitted himself on Saturday to being slapped in the face with a couple of wet fish. Ben Fillmore (24) turned up as promised at high noon to be publicly humiliated with two fresh Scottish rainbow trout at the hands of student Lucy Berry (23).
Reading overturned a two-goal deficit on Saturday and beat Middlesbrough 3-2 in their first-ever English Premiership match on the opening day of the season. Sheffield United were denied a victory over Liverpool, and Arsenal needed an equaliser from Gilberto Silva six minutes from the end to capture a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa.
Gilberto spared Arsenal a nightmare housewarming at their new Emirates Stadium on Saturday as his dramatic late goal secured a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa in their English Premiership opener. Villa had seemed intent on marking the new arena’s competitive debut with a shock win.
England’s Stephen Harmison insisted he has no major concerns about his form heading into the Ashes series against Australia despite a faltering display in the fourth and final Test against Pakistan in London at The Oval. The spearhead fast-bowler, who is suffering from a back injury, had a wretched day on Friday.
Mohammad Yousuf’s third century of the series left Pakistan in command of the fourth and final Test at The Oval in London on Friday. When bad light forced an early close on the second day, Pakistan were 336 for three, a first-innings lead of 163, with Yousuf 115 not out and captain Inzamam-ul-Haq unbeaten on two.
Newcastle boss Rob Andrew was on Friday named as England’s first director of elite rugby. The former England flyhalf was chosen over some high-profile candidates including England’s World Cup-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward. The position was created following the Rugby Football Union’s review of this year’s Six Nations where England finished a lowly fourth.
Mohammad Asif marked his return to Test cricket with four wickets as Pakistan salvaged some pride on the first day of the fourth and final Test against England at The Oval on Thursday. His 4-56 in 19 overs was instrumental in England being bowled out for a meagre 173.
England striker Michael Owen may be out all season after a severe knee injury sustained at the World Cup, his Newcastle United manager Glenn Roeder told the BBC on Thursday. ”It’s a long-term injury. I don’t know if he’ll play again this season,” Roeder said.
A 50-year-old man is believed to have died from the rare anthrax disease, British health officials said on Wednesday, in the first apparent case in Scotland in nearly 20 years. The man, who lived in the Scottish Borders region, died on July 8 after a short illness and laboratory tests have shown that the disease is likely to have been the cause of death, health officials said.
Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes were both banned on Tuesday for three matches by the Football Association after losing claims for wrongful dismissal during a pre-season friendly against Porto in Amsterdam on August 4. The bans will start from Wednesday August 23.
Prince Harry, third in line to the British throne, appeared on Tuesday in a front-page newspaper photograph apparently kissing a woman on the cheek and grabbing her breast at a recent summer party in London. The Sun said Harry’s girlfriend, South African Chelsy Davy (20), was overseas while he enjoyed his evening at a nightclub in London.
Bookmakers have dubbed David Mitchell’s Black Swan Green as the favourite among 19 novels to be longlisted for the 2006 Man Booker Prize on Monday. Mitchell, shortlisted for the literature award in 2004, is joined on the list by three former winners, including South African novelist Nadine Gordimer.
World oil prices slipped lower on Tuesday as a fragile truce between Israel and Lebanon entered its second day. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, slid 18 cents to ,35 per barrel in electronic deals before the official opening of the United States market.
Another United States National Football League team owner — and American billionaire — is set to take over an English soccer club. Randy Lerner, who owns the Cleveland Browns, put in a £62,6-million bid on Monday to buy Aston Villa, one of the oldest clubs in English soccer.
British authorities have thwarted ”at least four major plots” since the deadly July 7 bombings last year, home secretary John Reid told BBC television on Sunday. Reid said that all four plots would have led to significant loss of life, and added that ”up to two dozen” terror investigations were currently being pursued.
United Kingdom Muslim groups said on Saturday that the UK’s policies on Iraq and Lebanon were fuelling militancy, as Pakistan said it had arrested a UK al-Qaeda member over an alleged plot to blow up transatlantic airliners. A court gave UK police more time to question 22 of the 24 suspects arrested in swoops on Thursday.
David Beckham was left out of new England coach Steve McClaren’s first England squad on Friday, raising speculation that his international career could be over. Beckham, who quit as captain after England’s quarterfinal exit from the World Cup in July, did not feature in McClaren’s list of 25 for next Wednesday’s home friendly against Greece.
The United Kingdom named 19 people on Friday suspected of a plot to blow up transatlantic airliners and ordered their assets frozen, a day after police said they had foiled ”murder on an unimaginable scale”. United States officials said suspected suicide bombers were just days from simultaneous attacks on up to 10 aircraft flying from Britain to the US.
An alleged plot to blow up United States-bound aircraft from Britain bears all the hallmarks of al-Qaeda and may have been inspired by a similar conspiracy a decade ago, officials and analysts said on Thursday. Robert Mueller, head of the US FBI, said the reported plan had ”the earmarks of an al-Qaeda plot”.