London

A British university has launched a three-year degree course in the hunt for life beyond the planet Earth. The University of Glamorgan this week launched what it said is Britain’s first undergraduate course in astrobiology, the search for extraterrestrial life.

An infamous swimming-pool-based clinch from the much-criticised 1995 film Showgirls received the dubious honour on Wednesday of being named the worst sex scene in the history of cinema. Second place was awarded to Damage, a 1992 European art-house film starring Jeremy Irons.

Under-fire England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson has insisted he still has the support of the players despite the suggestion of rifts within the England squad. Eriksson changed his formation for the embarrassing 1-0 defeat to Northern Ireland earlier this month, with captain David Beckham accommodated in a deep central role.

Planning inspectors are being asked to resolve a dispute over the site of a statue honouring South Africa’s first black president Nelson Mandela in London’s Trafalgar Square. The Greater London Authority, on behalf of the Nelson Mandela Statue Fund, wanted the 2,8m bronze statue to stand on the north terrace of the British capital’s most popular piazza.

A first draft of Beatles song I’m Only Sleeping leads a flurry of pop memorabilia up for grabs at Christie’s in London next week, the auction house said on Thursday. Christie’s is auctioning more than 230 lots of rare recordings, instruments and clothes on Wednesday, with John Lennon’s draft lyrics for I’m Only Sleeping expected to fetch in excess of £200 000.

The governments of Britain and Iraq insisted on Wednesday that recent tension over a British army operation in Basra will not have an adverse effect on relations. Speaking at a joint news conference with British Defence Secretary John Reid, Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari described the events in Basra as ”regrettable”.

Soaring ticket prices, saturation television coverage and stifling tactics are all being blamed for a sharp drop in attendances at English Premiership matches over the first month of the season. Nine of the 17 teams that were in the top flight last season have seen spectator numbers drop in the opening weeks of the current campaign.

Arsenal centre-back Sol Campbell is targeting an England return after marking his Premiership comeback with both goals in a 2-0 victory against Everton on Monday night. ”I want to be in,” he said. ”One of my main goals is to play for England, but also Arsenal. That’s why I’ve been working hard, and I’m getting better and better.”

A man attempting to walk the length of Britain stark naked for a second time was arrested once again — seconds after walking out of jail, police revealed on Monday. So-called "Naked Rambler" Stephen Gough (46) was stopped by officers as he left the gates of Edinburgh’s Saughton prison on Friday.

An elderly couple stranded by the rising tide off the British coast stunned coast guards by not only refusing to be rescued, but hurling abuse at a helicopter crew that attempted to winch them to safety, officials said on Saturday. The unnamed pair were spotted being forced to shelter in a cove on cliffs after the tide came in.

A billion dollars has been plundered from the coffers of Iraq’s defence ministry, seriously affecting the government’s ability to combat the insurgency, London’s Independent newspaper reported on Monday, citing the Iraqi finance minister.

Ron Atkinson, manager of Manchester United when they opened the 1985/86 season with ten victories and still finished fourth after being hit by a string of injuries, sees no one to match Chelsea’s huge world-class squad this season. ”Chelsea have such a big squad that it will take something major to disrupt them,” he said.

British supermodel Kate Moss Friday faced stinging new allegations of drug abuse as cosmetic giants and leading fashion houses were reported to be considering the future of her contracts. The London Times and a string of popular newspapers said the career of the 31-year-old model from Croydon, near London, was now on the line.

Meeting British Prime Minister Tony Blair at a Downing Street reception the day after his heroic innings helped win the Ashes back for England will be a highlight of cricket hero Kevin Pietersen’s career — if only he could remember it, the South African-born batsman revealed on Thursday.

Wayne Rooney’s ejection for sarcastically applauding a referee was a red card waiting to happen. The talented but volatile teenager was sent off playing for Manchester United in a 0-0 Champions League tie at Villarreal on Wednesday. It’s the same sort of petulance he showed playing for England in last week’s stunning 1-0 World Cup qualifying loss to Northern Ireland.

Britain’s government was on Wednesday launching a campaign to publicise its new ”gay marriage” law, which will give same-sex couples many of the same rights as married people. The first such partnerships will be sealed just before Christmas, with pop singer Elton John and his partner set to become one of the first ”married” gay couples.

England’s Ashes win over Australia could be the start of a period of prolonged domination of world cricket, according to victorious skipper Michael Vaughan. He believes the self-belief engendered by this summer’s dramatic contest will accelerate the development of individual players.