United Kingdom

Britain launched a £5-million fund on Wednesday to fight Muslim extremism at grassroots levels, calling it a "battle for hearts and minds". The need to counter Islamist militants was underlined by last week’s arrest of nine suspects in anti-terror raids in Birmingham, to foil an alleged "Iraq-style" kidnap and beheading plot.

Cultural critics poured scorn on Tuesday on decisions by two major London museums to devote shows to celebrities Kylie Minogue and Kate Moss, charging they were chasing crowds, not quality. The Victoria and Albert Museum’s Kylie: The Exhibition opens on Thursday.

English Premier League soccer club Liverpool have agreed to be taken over by United States sports tycoons George Gillett and Tom Hicks for £174-million. Gillett and Hicks, through their Kop Football vehicle, said on Tuesday they would pay £5 000 per Liverpool share and the total value of the deal, including debt, was £219-million.

Two people were hurt on Tuesday when a suspected letter bomb exploded at a business centre in Berkshire, southern England, police said. ”Emergency services are dealing with a small explosion at a company in Oaklands Business Centre, Wokingham,” they added in a statement.

A British newspaper published transcripts on Tuesday of what it said was a cockpit video recording from a United States warplane at the centre of an inquest into ”friendly fire” in Iraq in which a British soldier was killed. The Sun said the tape revealed the pilots, realising they had hit a British convoy, said ”God dammit” and ”We’re in jail, dude”.

Manchester United kept its six-point lead in the English Premier League by beating Tottenham 4-0 on Sunday despite playing the final minutes without goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who broke his nose when hit by a knee. Cristiano Ronaldo scored with a penalty kick, Nemanja Vidic added a goal with a header, Paul Scholes tapped in from close range and Ryan Giggs beat goalkeeper Paul Robinson.

Prime Minister Tony Blair vowed on Friday not to quit before British police finished a political funding investigation, despite growing alarm in his Labour party over the damage the probe is inflicting on the government. Blair, questioned by police for a second time about the case last Friday, voiced hope the investigation would end soon.

British police have questioned Prime Minister Tony Blair for a second time in an investigation into political party funding that has cast a shadow over his final months in office. Blair’s official spokesperson said on Thursday the prime minister had been questioned as a witness last Friday at his Downing Street office. Labour Party politicians said they did not expect the inquiry to force Blair from office sooner than planned.

The latest Harry Potter book will be published around the world on July 21, British author JK Rowling’s publishers announced on Thursday. <i>Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows</i> is the seventh and final instalment of the boy wizard’s adventures and follows his last year at Hogwarts, the school for witches and wizards.

Anti-Semitic attacks reached record levels in Britain last year and peaked during the conflict in Lebanon, a study showed on Thursday. Race-hate incidents — ranging from death threats to physical assault — rose by more than 30% to almost 600. ”These are the worst figures we have had in the 23 years since we have been monitoring it,” said Mark Gardner of the Community Security Trust.

Liverpool increased West Ham’s relegation worries with a 2-0 win in the English Premier League on Tuesday. Dirk Kuyt and Peter Crouch scored at Upton Park to move to 49 points — eight points behind league leaders Manchester United and two points behind Chelsea, who both play on Wednesday.

British police carried out a major nationwide anti-terrorism operation on Wednesday, arresting eight people in a series of dawn raids which media reports said had thwarted a significant planned attack. Detectives said the people were arrested at addresses across the city of Birmingham on ”suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism”.

Jonny Wilkinson will not look back in anger when the injury ravaged flyhalf pulls on an England shirt for the first time in more than three years on Saturday. Wlkinson’s return will be a poignant moment for a player who has spent more time on the treatment table than a rugby pitch since drop-kicking the winning goal in the 2003 World Cup final.

Flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson, who has not played for England since drop-kicking the winning goal in the 2003 Rugby World Cup final, was selected on Monday for Saturday’s Calcutta Cup match against Scotland at Twickenham. Wilkinson has been sidelined by a succession of unrelated injuries but made an immediate impression after taking the field for Newcastle on Saturday.

A report compiled by hundreds of the world’s top climate scientists will paint a bleak picture of climate change and say that evidence of the negative human impact on the environment is ”widespread”, the Independent reported on Monday.

Dedicated fans of English football club Plymouth Argyle can now literally die for their team after being given the opportunity to be buried in a coffin painted in the club’s green-and-white colours. A local undertaker is offering followers of the second-tier Championship team a new service where they can choose their own Argyle-themed funeral.