A videotaped message from the grave by one of the London suicide bombers was broadcast on British television on Thursday as the country braced for the painful first anniversary of the July 7 attacks. Shehzad Tanweer’s statement came as Britain prepared to remember the victims of the bombings, an atrocity that woke the nation.
Britain’s scandal-hit deputy prime minister insisted on Thursday he is not going to resign, despite a growing furore over his links with a United States gambling tycoon bidding to set up a casino in London. John Prescott, who lost much of his credibility in April after owning up to an extra-marital affair, also tried to distance himself from rumours of other flings.
England captain Michael Vaughan has been ruled out of the Ashes tour of Australia after a fourth operation on his right knee, the BBC reported on Thursday. The Yorkshire batsman went under the knife on Monday, still clinging to the hope that he could be fit in time to lead England on the tour, which begins in November.
Britain absorbed far more money from sub-Saharan Africa than it gave in aid and debt relief last year, despite pledges to help the region, the charity Christian Aid said on Wednesday. In the 12 months since an annual Group of Eight summit in Scotland last July, the British economy gained a net profit of more than £11-billion ($20,3-billion) from the region.
There’s something batty going on inside the Palace of Westminster, home of Britain’s Parliament, and it’s got nothing to do with political shenanigans.
In a first, the Bat Conservation Trust will deploy inside the gothic-style premises in central London next Monday to determine exactly how many bats live beneath its rafters, towers and gargoyles.
Roger Federer demolished Croatian danger man Mario Ancic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday to move just two wins away from a fourth consecutive Wimbledon title.
The world number one shrugged off two lengthy rain delays to rack up his 46th win in a row on grass against the man who was the last player to beat him here in 2002.
Martina Navratilova has finally decided that, with her 50th birthday just four months away, enough is enough and she will retire this year. ”I just want to move on to my next life,” Navratilova said. Having collected 58 Grand Slam titles in total, she needs one more here to become the most successful Wimbledon competitor of all time.
Maria Sharapova laughed off the appearance of a streaker at Wimbledon on Tuesday but admitted she had been surprised by how long he had been allowed to remain within a few yards of her on centre court. The appearance of a naked young man mid-way through the second set of her quarterfinal had no apparent impact on Sharapova’s game.
When Fred Trueman, who died aged 75 from cancer on Saturday, had Neil Hawke of Australia caught by Colin Cowdrey at The Oval in 1964 to become the first man to take 300 Test wickets, his place in cricket’s record books was assured — but his place in the affections of the sporting public had already been secured.
England fans seeking solace from their World Cup woes are shunning Portugal as a holiday destination after the national squad knocked England out of the tournament, travel agents said on Tuesday. Portugal beat England on penalties after Saturday’s goalless quarterfinal in Gelsenkirchen, causing misery for England supporters.
John Terry is the red-hot favourite to take over the England captaincy, bookmakers said on Monday, after David Beckham quit the role in the wake of his side’s disappointing World Cup campaign. Terry (25 is so far ahead in the betting that some bookmakers have stopped taking bets on the England captaincy.
London’s buses and underground trains will remain vulnerable to terrorist attacks for a long time, the city’s transport chiefs said. Those working to protect the British capital’s transport network "have not found the magic formula any more than Madrid, New York, Tel Aviv or Paris", said Tim O’Toole, managing director of London Underground.
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Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo, criticised for his role in Wayne Rooney’s sending off at the World Cup, won’t be back at Manchester United and can expect payback from the star England striker in the future. Quoting an unnamed source, The Sun newspaper reported on Monday that Rooney threatened to ”split him in two” when the two next meet.
Spain’s Dani Pedrosa of Honda won the British Grand Prix at Donington on Sunday, finishing just under four seconds ahead of seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi and Italian Max Melandri. Pedrosa started on pole but was overtaken by Melandri at the start and sat behind the Italian for 11 laps.
The second week of Wimbledon will be a virtually American-free zone after Andy Roddick and Venus Williams joined Andre Agassi in crashing out before the halfway stage. The unexpectedly early demise of defending champion Williams and Roddick, a beaten finalist in the last two years, left the unheralded Shenay Perry to fly the Stars and Stripes on her own.
Roger Federer was left with a clear run to a fourth successive Wimbledon final on Friday when danger men David Nalbandian and James Blake both crashed out in the third round. Argentinian fourth seed Nalbandian, one of just four men to have beaten Federer since the start of 2005, was dismissed by Spanish 28th seed Fernando Verdasco 7-6 (11/9), 7-6 (11/9), 6-2.
It will be cheaper to make love in Britain from Saturday thanks to a reduction in sales tax on condoms announced by the Treasury on Friday. Value-added tax on condoms and other non-prescription contraceptive products will be 5%, rather than the standard 17,5%, "leading to immediate reductions in the prices paid by consumers", it said in a statement.
Lleyton Hewitt breathed a huge sigh of relief on Friday after keeping his Wimbledon campaign alive by completing a marathon five-set victory over South Korea’s Lee Hyung-Taik. In total, the Australian was on court for five minutes short of four hours — far from ideal preparation for Saturday’s third-round meeting with Belgian Olivier Rochus.
It has all the ingredients for a classic match-up. Two of the biggest names in tennis. The ageing former champion playing in his final Wimbledon versus the young dynamo trying to make his breakthrough on grass. The bald, pigeon-toed American versus the long-maned, biceps-bulging Spaniard.
Andre Agassi and Maria Sharapova showed why they have the right to call themselves Wimbledon champions as they cruised into the last 32 of the men’s and women’s singles on Thursday. Veteran showman Agassi, taking his final bow at the All England Club, looked far less rusty than he had done in a laboured first-round win over Boris Pashanski.
Last week, the Virtual Global Taskforce, formed by police agencies around the world, secured its first conviction in the United Kingdom. Lee Costi, a 21-year-old student from Surrey, was found guilty of raping two underage girls and sentenced to nine years in prison. He was caught after a Nottinghamshire mother alerted police to online conversations he was having with her 14-year-old daughter.
A 31-year-old woman who wounded a British soldier with her stiletto heel after he tried to break up a row was ordered on Wednesday to pay him £170 in compensation. Mark McCay (23) was taken to hospital with a bloody cut after he was hit on the head by Lisa Ashworth’s shoe in the early hours of July 1 2004.
With a punnet of strawberries in one hand and a glass of Pimms in the other, tennis-mad tourists from as far away as Japan, China and even Australia are out in force at Wimbledon this week. The foreign supporters, who also include a strong United States contingent, cheer on their fellow countrymen and women, while soaking up the atmosphere.
Maria Sharapova and Venus Williams cruised through to the Wimbledon second round on Wednesday with such ease that their argument for equal prize money was left looking decidedly unconvincing. Russian pin-up Sharapova, the 2004 champion, took only 51 minutes to see off Israeli veteran Anna Smashnova 6-2, 6-0.
Margaret Beckett, Britain’s first female Foreign Secretary, revealed on Wednesday that she uttered a rather undiplomatic swear word when Prime Minister Tony Blair offered her the job last month. Pressed on whether the word began with "f" or "s", she admitted it was an "f".
Martina Hingis breezed to victory on Tuesday in her first match back at Wimbledon, five years after her last appearance here and nine years on since the Swiss star won the title as a 16-year-old. Despite the 6-2, 6-2 margin, the 12th seed was made to work hard by Ukrainian Olga Savchuk in the rain-disrupted match, which was carried over from Monday.
Roger Federer’s bid for a fourth successive Wimbledon title got off to a whirlwind start on Monday only to be stalled by the fickle London weather. Only 35 minutes of play were possible on centre court while none of the 64 scheduled first-round matches were completed.
Author JK Rowling said two characters will die in the last instalment of her boy wizard series, and she hinted Harry Potter might not survive either. ”I have never been tempted to kill him off before the final because I’ve always planned seven books, and I want to finish on seven books,” Rowling said in an interview on Monday.
A British man arrested in Morocco in connection with Britain’s biggest-ever cash robbery is a well-known cage fighter with his own website, police said on Monday. Lee ”Lightning” Murray (26) from Sidcup in south London was detained in the Moroccan capital Rabat on Sunday over the daring heist four months ago at a Securitas warehouse in Tonbridge.
Venus Williams admitted on Sunday that it will be a strange experience when she opens her title defence at Wimbledon this year without sister Serena by her side. Serena is absent with a knee injury and has played just four matches since last year’s US Open, three of them at the Australian Open in January.
Roger Federer insisted on Sunday that a fourth successive title rather than breaking records is motivating him ahead of Wimbledon. Swiss ace Federer (24) can become only the third player in the open era to win Wimbledon four times in a row if he triumphs again at the All England club championships, which start on Monday.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair is to try to push poverty reduction back onto the group of eight (G8) agenda in a speech on Monday, warning it will take "hard work for years to come" to tackle extreme poverty in Africa. Blair was expected to restate his commitment to the aims set out last year at the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland.