United Kingdom

Got the winter blues? British people wanting to take a "sickie" — a day off work — are more than likely to choose the first Monday in February, according to a study by television channel Sky Travel. Barbara Gibbon, general manager of Sky Travel, said: "It is clear that an increasing number of employees feel completely justified in taking a cheeky day off sick."

The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council reached surprising agreement on Tuesday that Iran should be hauled before that powerful body over its disputed nuclear programme. China and Russia signed on to a statement that calls on the UN nuclear watchdog to transfer the Iran dossier to the Security Council.

Critics tore into a British police force that erected placards in "trendy" SMS-style patois in what was slammed as a "bizarre" attempt to get hip with the kids, a newspaper reported on Saturday. Avon and Somerset Police plastered baffling messages across rough estates in Bristol, south-west England.

Ruud van Nistelrooy and Louis Saha scored to overcome a stand-out effort by goalkeeper Brad Friedel on Wednesday, enabling Manchester United to beat Blackburn Rovers 2-1 and reach the English League Cup final against upstart Wigan Athletic. Van Nistelrooy and Saha’s goals advanced the Reds on a 3-2 aggregate score.

Sven-Goran Eriksson on Wednesday hit back at those who claim he has not been worth his money. The England head coach will step down after the World Cup in Germany, two years before his contract is due to expire. But the Swede warned that the Football Association will have to pay his successor a similar salary to his own earnings.

The Football Association (FA) Premier League, which represents the 20 clubs in England’s top-flight division, said on Tuesday it is to launch an inquiry into financial procedures in player transfers since January 2004. The decision comes soon after allegations of transfer bungs from Luton boss Mike Newell and QPR coach Ian Holloway.

Scotland’s national dish, haggis, has become the latest foodstuff to be targeted as part of a drive to combat growing levels of obesity among British children, prompting outrage among producers. According to health officials in Scotland, the delicacy contains too much fat and salt and should only be given to youngsters once a week.

Anton Ferdinand and Yossi Benayoun scored first-half goals and West Ham beat Fulham 2-1 on Monday night, ending a four-match home losing streak. The victory moved West Ham past Manchester City into ninth place in the English Premier League with 32 points, two behind eighth-place Blackburn Rovers.

Rescue workers tried on Saturday to save a northern bottle-nosed whale that swam up the River Thames past Big Ben and other London landmarks, the first such sighting of the endangered species since records began nearly a century ago. Amazed onlookers crowded the Thames riverbanks on Friday.

No one is particularly surprised that a stressful day at work raises blood pressure, but a new study in Britain suggests that on-the-job tension also can lead to heart disease and diabetes. A study of more than 10 000 British civil servants over a 14-year period has found a possible biological explanation for why workplace stress adversely effects health.

Geraldine McCaughrean’s sequel to the Peter Pan classic will be published this autumn, but the only information available about it now is its title — Peter Pan in Scarlet. The book by the award-winning children’s author promises readers ”high adventure, dramatic tensions and all the swashbuckling, danger and derring-do they can handle”.

British opposition parties demanded answers from the government on Thursday after a leaked memo suggested uncertainty about the exact number of United States ”rendition” flights allowed to use British airspace. A Foreign Office memo to Downing Street suggests the US Central Intelligence Agency may have operated more flights than the two already confirmed by London.

British police were keeping tight-lipped on Wednesday over an alleged plot by fathers’ rights extremists to kidnap Prime Minister Tony Blair’s five-year-old son, Leo. The plan, apparently in its early stages, was revealed by The Sun newspaper and confirmed by police sources to the BBC.