France, Italy and Germany — but not Britain — have paid ransoms totalling -million for the freedom of nine hostages abducted in Iraq, The Times of London claimed on Monday. The claims were immediately rejected by the three governments listed by The Times as having ”bought” the release of hostages over the past two years.
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Wayne Rooney’s hopes of being fit in time to play in the World Cup finals have been raised after the England team doctor claimed the forward was making a ”perfect recovery” from a broken metatarsal bone in his right foot. England medic Leif Sward told The Sun newspaper that Rooney’s fracture was healing quickly.
An immigration officer has been suspended following allegations that he offered to help a teenage Zimbabwean claim asylum in Britain in return for sex, The Observer newspaper said on Sunday. The middle-aged man offered to coach the 18-year-old rape victim on how to get through her asylum interview.
American business tycoon Malcolm Glazer, owner of English Premiership giants Manchester United, is back in hospital after suffering a second stroke. The 77-year-old Glazer was only released from the Cleveland Clinic in Florida on April 23 after suffering the initial attack.
The French were voted the world’s most unfriendly nation by a landslide in a British poll published on Saturday. They were also voted the most boring and most ungenerous. A decisive 46% of the 6 000 people surveyed by travellers’ website Where Are You Now said the French were the most unfriendly nation people on the planet, British newspapers reported.
Arsene Wenger hailed Thierry Henry’s decision to stay at Arsenal as more significant for the club’s future than winning the Champions League would have been. Henry signed a new four-year deal at the north London club two days after the Gunners went down 2-1 to Barcelona in the Champions League final.
Thierry Henry has decided to stay at Arsenal and is expected to sign a new four-year contract with the north London football club on Friday, Britain’s Sun newspaper said. ”I hope to stay as long as I can keep running,” the tabloid quoted the club’s 28-year-old captain as saying.
Harry Potter’s stolen flying car has been found after mysteriously disappearing from a film set, British newspapers reported on Friday. The pale blue 1962 Ford Anglia, driven through the air by the boy wizard and sidekick Ron Weasley in the hugely successful Harry Potter films, was in storage on a film set in Cornwall, south-east England, when it was stolen last October.
Governor of the South African Reserve Bank Tito Mboweni has been appointed to a ”committee of eminent persons” to review the finances of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the IMF announced in Washington on Thursday. The fund is facing a long-term shortfall in the financing of its administrative budget as the result of a decline in its level of lending.
Sanath Jayasuriya has seen his chances of a Test recall dented after he was omitted from Sri Lanka’s four-day game against English county Sussex starting on Thursday. The 36-year-old former Sri Lanka captain has made himself available for selection just six weeks after he announced he was quitting Test cricket.
Whoever George Green is, he now has a good excuse for standing up Gwen at Monty’s — 56 years ago. That’s how long it took her handwritten letter to George to reach Trinity College in Cambridge, eastern England, where it arrived the other day, postmarked in London on March 3 1950.
A musical mystery surrounded Britain’s highest mountain, Ben Nevis, on Wednesday after a piano was discovered near its 1 347m summit. The piano was recovered at the weekend by 15 volunteers from the John Muir Trust, a conservation charity that owns the Scottish peak.
A young mother from Nigeria who went to court to get a heart transplant in Britain despite overstaying her visa has died, the Department of Health said on Thursday. Ese Elizabeth Alabi (29), had been denied top priority for a transplant on the free-care-for-all National Health Service allegedly because of tough new rules to discourage ”health tourism”.
The world’s first "theme park" dedicated to sex and relationships is set to open in London’s bustling West End later this summer, its promoters said on Thursday. Amora: The Academy of Sex and Relationships, featuring "high-tech and interactive exhibits together with new media displays," expects up to 600 000 visitors within its first year in the Trocadero Centre at Piccadilly Circus.
Tests have cleared a London hotel restaurant, which Tottenham blamed for a suspected outbreak of food poisoning that affected 10 of its players before a crucial defeat. Health officials said on Tuesday that a virus was the likely cause of the illness that occurred on the eve of Tottenham’s 2-1 loss to West Ham on May 7, the final day of the Premier League season.
A man interviewed live on BBC television after being mistakenly identified as an IT expert spoke on Tuesday about the glitch, which happened when he went to the broadcaster for a job interview. Guy Goma was mistaken for IT expert Guy Kewney at the BBC’s west London offices last week and found himself in a BBC News 24 studio being quizzed on a legal battle.
An unexploded World War II bomb brought travel chaos to the River Mersey on Tuesday, leaving almost 250 ferry passengers and crew stranded as navy divers rushed to disarm it, the coastguard said. Traffic was moving through the tunnel, said Craig Sim, watch assistant at Liverpool Coastguard in north-west England.
England captain Andrew Flintoff insisted there was ”no doom and gloom” in the camp after nine dropped catches helped Sri Lanka achieve one of cricket’s great escapes in the first Test. The tourists, following-on, finished on 537-9 after being bowled out for just 192 in reply to England’s first-innings 551-6 declared at Lord’s.
The BBC has admitted it was taken for a ride by a cabbie. The network apologised to its viewers for a studio mix-up that resulted in a cab driver appearing on live television as an expert on internet music downloads. "We interviewed the wrong person," a BBC spokesperson said on Monday while speaking on condition of anonymity in line with company policy.
Germany captain Michael Ballack has signed a three-year deal to play for English champions Chelsea, the club announced on Monday. Ballack, who has signed on a free transfer from Bayern Munich, was set to be unveiled at a Stamford Bridge press conference. The 29-year-old midfielder’s arrival had been confirmed by Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho on Sunday.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi blamed the opposition and the international community for a political crisis that has seen scores killed and jailed since elections a year ago. Meles, in an interview with British newspaper The Times published on Monday, said the opposition was encouraged by mixed signals from the international community.
England finally saw the back of Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene to move to the brink of victory in the first Test at Lord’s on Sunday. At stumps on the fourth day the tourists, following-on, were 381-6 in reply to England’s first-innings 551-6 – a lead of just 22 runs after bad light ended play for the day.
It seems it is not just England supporters who have yet to make up their minds about Sven-Goran Eriksson’s five and a half years in charge of the national team. The owners of Europe’s top clubs appear to share an uncertainty about how to assess exactly how good a job the Swede has done in handling a talented generation of English footballers.
Sick of sky-high prices and lengthy waits for operations, growing numbers of Britons are going under the surgeon’s knife overseas, in destinations like South Africa, India and Eastern Europe. Cheaper operations are enticing more than 10Â 000 Britons per year abroad, some travelling huge distances to factor in some fun in the sun — and still saving on the price of British private sector surgery.
England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson admitted on Sunday that his shock decision to take rookie Theo Walcott to the World Cup surprised his coaching staff so much that they were left speechless. The Swede opted for the 17-year-old Walcott, who has yet to make his debut for Arsenal, above proven talents such as Jermain Defoe, Darren Bent and Shaun Wright-Phillips.
Monty Panesar took two wickets in the final session to maintain England’s grip on the first Test at Lord’s on Saturday and leave Sri Lanka needing a great escape to salvage a draw. Left-arm spinner Panesar combined with wicket-keeper Geraint Jones to get rid of danger-men Upul Tharanga (52) and Kumar Sangakkara (65) in what was the 24-year-old bowler’s home Test debut.
Jose Reina redeemed himself in the most extraordinary fashion with three penalty shoot-out saves to win Liverpool the FA Cup after a classic final encounter with West Ham on Saturday. Liverpool required a last-minute equaliser from man-of-the-match Steven Gerrard to take an exhilarating contest into extra-time with the sides tied at 3-3.
Sajid Mahmood marked his debut by taking three quick wickets as England powered into a commanding position in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s on Friday. At stumps on the second day, Sri Lanka had collapsed to 91-6, still a huge 460 behind England’s first-innings 551-6 declared and needing a further 261 to avoid the follow-on target of 352.
Kevin Pietersen equalled his best Test score as England built an imposing first-innings total of 551-6 declared, their highest against Sri Lanka, on the second day of the first Test at Lord’s on Friday. Pietersen made 158 and put on 173 with Paul Collingwood (57).
Marcus Trescothick marked his return to international cricket with a hundred as England established a promising position on the first day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s. At stumps, England were 318-3, after a day where extraordinary off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, in his first Test at Lord’s, had been the main brake on their progress.
Marcus Trescothick eased himself back into international cricket with an unbeaten 95 as England coasted through the second session of the first day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s on Thursday without losing a wicket. At tea, England were 199-1 with Alastair Cook, in his first Test in England, 44 not out in the opening encounter of a three-match series.
Families of the victims of last year’s London bombings criticised the government on Thursday for failing to see the attack coming, as two reports into the bloody events of July 7 were made public. Many relatives of the 52 people killed by four suicide bombers were scathing about the reports and demanded a full public inquiry.