Britain and the United States are privately planning to withdraw most of their forces from Iraq by early next year, according to a secret memo written by John Reid, the United Kingdom defence secretary. Under the plans, Britain will cut the number of its troops from the present 8 500 to 3 000 by the middle of next year.
More and more people will cycle into London this week as the fear of being caught in a terrorist attack on public transport overrides concerns of being knocked off their bike by a car, experts say. Sales of bikes — from fold-away models to multi-gear machines — have rocketed at cycle shops across the capital since last Thursday.
Londoners were gritting their teeth for the return to work on Monday even as police searched crumpled underground train wreckage for clues to track the terror bombers, spurred by fear of a new attack. The police said 49 bodies have been hauled out of the four blast sites, and said they hoped to find no more.
Juan Pablo Montoya soaked up the pressure of championship leader Fernando Alonso to secure victory in the British Grand Prix at Silverstone on Sunday and claim his first success for the McLaren team. The McLaren driver beat home series leader Alonso of Spain in a Renault, while Finn Kimi Raikkonen was third.
Bunches of flowers and an array of candles sat above London’s ”Underground Zero” site on Sunday, where deep beneath the earth the twisted wreckage of a train lay buried with up to 20 bodies still onboard.
Police have lifted a cordon around Birmingham city centre after about 20Â 000 people were evacuated overnight amid bomb fears in Britain’s second city, though a top officer virtually ruled out links to London’s terror attacks. Bomb-squad officers carried out four controlled explosions on a bus.
Three bombs that spread carnage in packed London underground trains exploded almost simultaneously at 8.50am local time, police said on Saturday, revealing a chillingly precise attack by suspected al-Qaeda fanatics. Meanwhile, a group linked to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network has claimed responsibility for the blasts.
Michael Schumacher admitted in Silverstone on Friday that the British Grand Prix could see his Ferrari team repeat the disappointing performance they suffered in last weekend’s French Grand Prix. The Magny-Cours race saw him finish more than one minute behind the winning Renault of championship leader Fernando Alonso in the race.
An Islamic leader warned in a Portuguese newspaper interview 15 months ago that a London-based group, al-Qaeda Europe, was on the verge of a major attack. Meanwhile, police in London searched for clues to the attackers as the city’s mayor vowed it will bounce back from carnage that left at least 50 dead.
Two South Africans were among the 700 people injured in Thursday’s bomb blasts in London, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Friday. More than 50 people were killed in the attacks, London police said on Friday.
The death toll from the bomb attacks on the London transport system has risen to 52, Australian Prime Minister John Howard said on Friday. The Australia leader’s remarks point to a far higher toll than the latest official British estimate of 37. He did not say where the information came from.
Four blasts tore through London’s transport system during the morning rush hour in a choreographed series of terrorist attacks. Police said at least 37 people were killed, 21 near King’s Cross station, and the ambulance service said it had treated around 350 people, with more than 40 of those in a serious condition.
The stock market in London tumbled on Thursday after deadly blasts on London’s transport network which British Prime Minister Tony Blair said were the work of terrorists. London’s FTSE 100 index of leading shares closed down 1,38% to 5Â 158,30 points after falling more than 3% in the immediate aftermath of the explosions.
London’s entire underground railway network was closed down on Thursday after a series of explosions that caused a ”large number of casualties” and at least 33 deaths, police said. An explosion ripped through a double-decker bus just minutes after blasts rocked the underground. British Home Secretary Charles Clarke said there had been ”terrible injuries” in the attacks.
Explosions rocked the London subway and a double-decker bus on Thursday, causing at least two deaths, injuring scores of riders and sending victims fleeing from blast sites. British Prime Minister Tony Blair called the explosions a "series of terrorist attacks". A group calling itself "The Secret Organisation of al-Qaeda in Europe" has claimed responsibility for the blasts in a web statement, reports said.
Steven Gerrard changed his mind and made his peace with Champions League winners Liverpool on Wednesday. If he signs a new deal on Friday and plays when Liverpool begin their defence against Welsh champion Total Network Solutions next Wednesday, then Chelsea and Real Madrid may as well put away their chequebooks.
Chelsea have confirmed that Argentine striker Hernan Crespo will return to Stamford Bridge for the new Premiership season. Crespo had been expected to extend his stay with AC Milan, either on a new year-long loan or permanently, but negotiations between the two clubs broke down.
World oil prices pushed through per barrel again in New York on Wednesday on mounting concerns that two tropical storms could threaten US oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, dealers said. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, rose by 51 cents to ,10 per barrel in electronic deals after earlier hitting ,13.
England midfielder Steven Gerrard insisted on Tuesday he wasn’t to blame after refusing to sign a new contract with Champions League winners Liverpool. He said: ”The past six weeks have been the toughest of my life, and the decision I have come to has been the hardest I have ever had to make.”
British newspapers on Tuesday condemned French President Jacques Chirac as a ”nasty, petty racist creep” and someone who ”has lost his marbles” amid reports saying he scoffed at British food. Chirac reportedly said British cuisine is the worst in the world after Finland’s at a French-German-Russian summit on Sunday in Russia.
International athletes competing in a triathlon in Scotland later this month are to be insured for up to £1-million (R12-million) in case of an attack by Nessie, the legendary Loch Ness monster. An insurance company is providing the cover for more than 100 people who are taking part in the event being staged at Loch Ness.
Chelsea were reported on Tuesday to have lodged a staggering £32-million (R384-million) bid for Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard. Liverpool directors were believed to be trying to convince Gerrard to stay, despite Gerrard’s agent Struan Marshall insisting that contract talks had broken off.
Playwright Christopher Fry, a Christian humanist who helped TS Eliot revive verse drama in the 1940s and wrote a number of epic films including Ben Hur, has died at the age of 97, his son said. Fry died on June 30 in the hospital in Chichester, southern England, Tam Fry said.
English league footballers admit they could have a different girl every night in their celebrity lifestyles. ”It wasn’t as often as a different girl every night, but it could have been,” Scotland striker Frank McAvennie recounts in a new book, Playing Away: The A-Z of Soccer Sex Scandals.
Roger Federer ruthlessly destroyed Lleyton Hewitt in a breathtaking Centre Court semi-final demolition to move just one win away from a third successive Wimbledon title on Friday. The 23-year-old world number one will face either last year’s runner-up Andy Roddick or Thomas Johansson in Sunday’s final.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Lindsay Davenport advanced to her first major final since 2000 on Friday when defeating Amelie Mauresmo in the Wimbledon semi-finals. Her opponent on Saturday will be two-time Wimbledon winner Venus Williams, who advanced on Thursday when she eliminated defending champion Maria Sharapova.
The long-awaited Ashes cricket series hasn’t even begun and already football’s big spenders are starting to dominate the headlines. The big summer sale? Michael Owen, by the look of it. Though the former Liverpool striker has said he wants to stay with Real Madrid, word is that Chelsea is set to attract the him back to the Premiership.
For television, this is the season of repeats. Nowadays the programmers are too canny to flag anything quite so boldly, however. They prefer to tempt the viewer by sticking words such as ”Revisited” or ”Second Helping” on the original title in the hope we’ll spend the whole show saying, ”Have we seen this before?” Sport is much the same.
Wrinkles, receding graying hair and a furrowed brow attest to the difficulties of Tony Blair’s eight years in power. Yet despite a heart operation, back pain and the ever present rumblings of dissent within his governing Labour Party, Blair (52), insists his passion for politics is undiminished.
Lleyton Hewitt aims to shoot down Roger Federer’s reputation as the world’s greatest player in Friday’s Wimbledon semi-final showdown using ammunition supplied by the All England Club. The Australian, the champion in 2002, is furious that he was seeded at three instead of two which would have been in line with his world ranking.
Bob Geldof, the force behind the biggest global music rally to help end poverty in Africa, has been raging against injustice since he burst onto the world stage as a young rock star in the 1970s. Three days ahead of his Live8 concerts, Geldof is one of the world’s most admired advocates for debt cancellation, greater aid and freer trade in Africa.
Maria Sharapova will happily give up the gold by donating a pair of her new tennis shoes flecked with the precious medal to the Wimbledon museum. The teenaged holder, who is defending her title at this edition playing in new clothing — including the shoes — is so well kitted-out that passing along a dress and pair of trainers is absolutely no problem.