United Kingdom

Hundreds of children who were booked on a magical trip to visit Father Christmas were left disappointed on Friday as the company behind the tours went into administration. Nortours, a London-based firm which organised so-called Santa Claus tours to Scandinavia and the Baltics, was forced to call in the administrators after suffering from fierce competition in the travel sector.

Wayne Rooney scored twice as Manchester United bounced back from a mini-slump to beat Wigan 4-0 and cut the gap to Premier League leaders Chelsea to nine points on Wednesday. Also, West Ham beat Everton 2-1 for only their third away win since they were promoted this season.

A British man who is fed up with hearing <i>Jingle Bells</i> in October has launched a bitter one-man war on Christmas overkill, sparking a counter-attack that he is behaving like Scrooge. He has created a website aimed at getting Britain to tone down the annual extravaganza of decorations and tired Yuletide songs.

Jose Mourinho is facing more Football Association (FA) sanctions over his use of the word ”cheat” in a post-match television interview following Chelsea’s victory over Wigan at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. Meanwhile, his Manchester United counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson is also facing a less serious FA rap.

Tim Montgomery’s 100m world record was broken earlier this year. Now it’s been wiped completely from the books. The American sprinter was banned for two years on Tuesday in the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative steroid scandal, and all his results, medals and prize money over the past five years were annulled.

Explosions at one of Britain’s largest oil depots jolted an area north of London early on Sunday, hurling balls of fire skyward, shattering windows and blanketing nearby houses with smoke. Police said the blasts appeared to be accidental. Thirty-six people were injured, four seriously, authorities said.

Notorious rock hell-raiser Ozzy Osbourne admitted on Sunday he was a few beers away from mooning Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and cannot fathom why Her Majesty would want to meet the ”tattoed lunatic”. He said former Guns n’ Roses guitarist Slash offered him cash to flash his backside at the Royal Variety Show last month.

John Terry’s second-half header saw reigning champions Chelsea extend their lead at the top of the Premiership to 12 points as the Blues beat Wigan 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in London on Saturday. European kings Liverpool moved up into second place with a 2-0 win over Middlesbrough.

A large explosion shook an area north of London, close to a fuel depot, early on Sunday. Residents in Hemel Hempstead, which is close to Luton airport, north of London, reported a loud boom and some felt their houses shake. The blast was so large it was felt throughout a large part of London and the surrounding area.

A British Santa got the sack and was booted out of his grotto by bouncers for spending too long chatting to children, a newspaper reported on Saturday. It was more ”Go! Go! Go!” than ”Ho! Ho! Ho!” for actor Alan Seymour, who was told to clear off when he refused to stick to a strict 30-second time limit with each Santa-loving child.

Simon Starling, an installation artist who dismantled a shed and rode its pieces down one of Europe’s main rivers before putting it back together again, was named on Monday as the winner of the Turner Prize, Britain’s most controversial art award. ”I don’t like to be thought of as eccentric because that’s not what my work is about,” he told the audience.

Prominent British playwright Harold Pinter, winner of this year’s Nobel prize for literature, has been taken to a London hospital, his agent said on Monday. Pinter’s doctors have already forbidden the 75-year-old from travelling to Stockholm this week to attend a Nobel prize ceremony and banquet because of ill health.

John McEnroe is set to play doubles once again on the main ATP tour next year despite being 46-years-old. McEnroe, currently competing in the Masters event at London’s Royal Albert Hall, is to partner Swedish doubles specialist Jonas Bjorkman in a tournament in San Jose starting on February 13.

Wigan, Blackburn, Manchester United, Middlesbrough and Bolton reached the final eight of England’s League Cup on Wednesday. Manchester United were easy winners over West Brom, leading 2-0 after only 16 minutes on a penalty by Cristiano Ronaldo and another goal from Louis Saha.

Aston Villa was eliminated from the League Cup on Tuesday, losing 3-0 to lower-ranked Doncaster, while Arsenal advanced to the quarterfinals with a 3-0 win over Reading. Doncaster, a League One club sitting 38 places below the Premier League side, reached the quarterfinals of the League Cup for the first time in 30 years.

Chelsea kept winning in the Premier League, beating Portsmouth 2-0 on Saturday for an 11-point edge over second-place Arsenal. Arsenal moved into second place with a 3-0 victory at Highbury behind goals from Francesc Fabregas, Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie.

New Zealand capped a stellar year by beating Scotland 29-10 on Saturday to secure a grand slam of the four British Isles teams. The All Blacks’ clean sweep of England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland on a single tour was only their second in a century. The last was in 1978. Also on Saturday, England scored five tries to nil in beating Samoa 40-3 in a match marred by a late brawl.

Football legend George Best has died in intensive care at a west London hospital, a spokesperson said on Friday. The former Manchester United and Northern Ireland winger (59), whose battle with alcoholism led to a liver transplant in 2002, was taken to hospital on October 1. He had been making daily progress until last week when he suffered a severe setback.

British pop star Elton John will marry his long-time partner David Furnish in a small, private ceremony on December 21, the day civil partnerships between gay couples become legal in Britain. The couple’s parents will be the only witnesses at the ceremony, though it will be followed by a party later in the evening, John said in an interview with British gay lifestyle magazine Attitude.

The All Blacks are heavily favoured to beat Scotland on Saturday in their rugby tour finale and complete a grand slam 27 years after their only previous sweep through the British Isles. ”The grand slam’s only been achieved once before, and when we get to this stage we need to finish the job,” said New Zealand coach Graham Henry.