American businessman Malcolm Glazer launched a formal £790,3-million (R9,1-billion) takeover bid for Manchester United on Thursday after raising his stake to nearly 57% in the world’s richest soccer club. There is strong opposition to a Glazer takeover from the fan-based group Shareholders United.
Journalists and broadcasting workers at the British Broadcasting Corporation will strike for three days starting later this month over plans to cut 3 780 jobs across the organisation, union officials said on Thursday. Workers from three trade unions will walk out on May 23, May 31 and June 1.
Technology hit the headlines for the wrong reasons again last week, as a gang of British software pirates who characterised themselves as latter-day Robin Hoods found themselves in jail. When four of the pirates from the international group known as DrinkorDie were jailed for a total of seven-and-a-half years, many focused on the man who got the toughest sentence — a ”City banker”.
Dutch master Dennis Bergkamp staked his claim for one final contract as the Gunners demolished Everton 7-0 at Highbury in London on Wednesday. His sublime hand in scoring one and creating three Gunners goals may be enough to convince boss Arsene Wenger he deserves an extended spell.
Stunt shows such as Jackass, where presenters hurt themselves, have inspired British teenagers to slap people in the street and film it on their cellphones. The craze, known as ”happy slapping”, has spread across Britain over the past six months, with youngsters recording their attacks and posting them on the internet.
British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) journalists and technical workers have voted to strike in protest at thousands of job cuts, union officials said on Wednesday. The BBC now faces the threat of a walkout at TV and radio stations across the country later this month and the possible disruption of some programmes.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair faced a closed-door meeting with his restive Labour Party on Wednesday during his first real confrontation with lawmakers who have called for him to resign after Labour’s majority was slashed in last week’s election.
For more than a century, teams of donkeys have carried tourists down the beach at Blackpool, one of Britain’s top tourist destinations. But only now are they to get a compulsory lunch break. A wide-ranging "employment rights" charter for donkeys was announced on Wednesday.
In an unusual first for the art world, a London auction house announced on Wednesday it will sell a series of abstract paintings by a chimpanzee, Congo, once feted as the "Cezanne of the ape world". Congo became famous in the late 1950s when his swirling works were exhibited in London.
The United Kingdom’s defence ministry on Monday defended a decision to pay for an ex-servicewoman to train to be an erotic "pole dancer", arguing it has a duty to help former troops return to civilian life. Stephanie Hulme received £2 290 (about R26 600) to train as a pole dancer, newspaper reports said.
The most expensive soup in Britain is the star dish on the menu of an upmarket Chinese restaurant in London — at a mere £108 (R1 150) a bowl. Called "Buddha Jumps over the Wall", the shark’s-fin soup is made with whole abalone, Japanese flower mushroom, sea cucumber, dried scallops, chicken, ham, pork and ginseng.
Formula one’s five leading manufacturers appear to be headed for a showdown with motor racing’s world governing body after announcing plans on Monday to form their own organisation and throw out the FIA’s international court of appeal. The five are unhappy that the current appeals panel is linked to the governing body.
An Angolan girl of eight was repeatedly tortured and almost killed after being accused by another child of being a witch, a British court was told on Monday, in a case prosecutors described as ”incredible”. The girl was put in a laundry bag and was about to be thrown into a river when one of her tormentors managed to stop the others.
Britain’s Prince Harry was a ”weak” student at school whose final work for an art examination was completed by a member of staff, a former teacher alleged on Monday. Sarah Forsyth told an employment tribunal that she wrote virtually all the accompanying text for an art project submitted to external examiners by the prince, now 20.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair was on Monday beginning perhaps the most crucial week of his political life as he put the finishing touches to a third-term government amid talk of a possible challenge to his leadership. On Wednesday, Blair is scheduled to make a crucial speech before Labour Party members.
World oil prices rose on Monday as traders worried about possible supply shortages amid anticipated higher levels of demand for gasoline ahead of the peak driving season in the United States, dealers said. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in June, rose to ,97 per barrel in electronic deals.
Love doesn’t come cheap in Britain, where the typical date costs £200 (R2 290), according to a survey of some of the nation’s 8,6-million "singletons". On average, the single British man or woman goes out on a date five times a year, with the Welsh the keenest date hunters.
Drivers born under the signs of Libra, Cancer, Pisces, Taurus and Capricorn are least likely to keep their cars clean, according to a survey that explores the astrological roots of motoring cleanliness. Those born under Aquarius, Aries, Scorpio and Leo wash their cars weekly, Sagittarius and Gemini every two weeks, and Virgo every month.
Arsenal defeated Liverpool 3-1 at Highbury on Sunday to send Everton into the Champions League and end the Anfield giants’ hopes of clinching fourth place in the Premiership. Now Liverpool, who face AC Milan in this season’s Champions League final in Istanbul on May 25, must win the title and then hope UEFA have a change of heart and allow them to defend their crown.
There’s no more paddling, and a team of wardens in red waterproof jackets will keep the public in check. The Princess Diana Memorial Fountain in London’s Hyde Park reopened on Friday after a four-month refit with stricter rules and improved drainage and footpaths that should finally put an end to its problems, park officials said.
Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Labour Party on Friday won an absolute majority of parliamentary seats in Britain’s general election, passing the necessary 324-seat mark for the 646-member House of Commons. The result means Blair has won a historic third consecutive term in office for his party, although the final majority is expected to be well down on that achieved in the last election in 2001.
Details for one of Britain’s biggest rallies against poverty were released on Tuesday, as organisers stressed that the event involving up to 200 000 demonstrators before the G8 summit in Edinburgh would not be hijacked by radical anti-capitalists.
The stakes are high for British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Thursday’s election, as a loss or narrow win by his Labour Party may end his career, while a triumph will define him as one of Britain’s political masters. Arch-rival Michael Howard also faces a defining moment, the experts predicted on Thursday.
The fashion-conscious owner of a burgled clothes shop said on Wednesday he helped to catch the man who robbed him after spotting the thief dressed in a criminally uncouth mix of stolen trousers and tops. "I couldn’t believe that this guy was wearing all the pinched stuff," said Neil Primett, who owns the Planet Clothing store in Bedford.
Chelsea’s League Cup win and first Premiership title in 50 years are only the foundations for greater success at Stamford Bridge, manager Jose Mourinho claimed on Thursday. ”I know what the club want for the future and we want the same,” the 42-year-old said after signing a fresh five-year contract.
A century from Jacques Kallis in Antigua was enough to return him to the top of the LG International Cricket Council Test rankings ahead of Brian Lara, at the end of the series between West Indies and South Africa in the Caribbean. Competition at the top of the batting rankings has never been fiercer.
A British five-year-old boy got a nasty surprise when a 60cm snake slithered out of his breakfast-cereal box, his mother said on Wednesday. Jordan Willett, from Dawley, Shropshire, in England’s West Midlands, discovered the non-venomous reptile in his box of Golden Puffs on Monday.
Energy giant Royal Dutch/Shell on Tuesday announced a long-term deal with Libya to explore for gas in the North African country. The deal follows an agreement between Shell and the Libyan government 13 months ago to establish a long-term strategic partnership following the state’s return from an international wilderness.
"It’s election fever!" yells Captain Beany, the bright orange superhero hoping to be Britain’s first elected baked bean. For many, Britain’s general election campaign has been downright dull. But the man once voted Britain’s fourth-best eccentric is putting a stop to all that by standing for Parliament.
Liverpool held hosts Chelsea to a goalless draw in the all-English Champions League semifinal first leg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday. The Reds will be delighted to go into the second leg on May 3 unscathed but Chelsea will be undaunted by the task of winning 1-0 at Anfield for a second time this season.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho insists a calm, collected approach will assure the Londoners victory over Liverpool in the Champions League semifinal first leg on Wednesday. ”The key will be for us to not panic,” said the Portuguese, who has a chance of a league and Champions League double in his first year in charge.
Rafael Benitez believes Liverpool can achieve the impossible and see off Chelsea in the Champions League semifinals despite losing to Jose Mourinho’s men three times already this season. The first instalment of the all Premiership clash takes place at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday with Benitez promising Liverpool would be at their European best rather than their domestic worst.