Ex-Premier of Thailand Sells Team in Britain

BANGKOK After 14 high-profile months as owner, Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Thai prime minister, has agreed to sell the Manchester City soccer club to Abu Dhabi United Group, based in the United Arab Emirates. The financial terms were not made public. The sale of Manchester City, a fixture in the English Premier League, has implications not only for soccer but probably also for Thai politics...

Tevez move to United to set transfer record

Manchester United will sign Argentine Carlos Tevez for a British transfer record fee of 32 million pounds, according to newspaper reports on Saturday. The 24-year-old forward, who joined United on an initial two-year loan deal from West Ham United a year ago, is expected to sign a permanent deal shortly. According to reports, United will pay the fee to Media Sports Investment (MSI)...

Anti-terrorism police arrest two men at airport

Two men have been arrested at Manchester Airport on suspicion of terrorism offences, while a third was detained in a nearby town, police said on Friday. The men, who have not been named, were held after a joint operation between Lancashire Constabulary and the Greater Manchester Counter-Terrorism Unit. The third man was arrested in Accrington, Greater Manchester.

Real sell unsettled Robinho to Manchester City

Manchester City confirmed on Monday the signing of Real Madrid's unsettled Brazilian forward Robinho just minutes before the end of the transfer window. The Premier League club said Robinho had signed a four-year contract with the fee believed to be a British record 32.5 million pounds. He had been expected to sign for Chelsea.

Teenager fatally stabbed in Manchester

A murder inquiry was launched after a boy died of a single stab wound, Manchester police said on Saturday. Police were called to a street in the Harpurhey area of the city at about 2.15 a.m. following reports that a teenager had been injured. The boy, who has not been named but is believed to be 16 years old, had been fatally stabbed once. He died on the way to hospital.

British women held for emergency landing in Germany

German police detained two British women on a Greece to Manchester flight after one of them tried to open the plane's cabin door at an altitude of 10,000 metres, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing. Hartmut Scherer, a spokesman for police at Frankfurt International Airport, said the holiday plane flying from Kos to Manchester made the unscheduled landing on Friday after the women...

Three men held by police after anti-terror swoop at airport

Three men were being held today on suspicion of committing terror offences after police swooped on Manchester Airport. Two were arrested at the airport and one in the Accrington area after a joint operation by Lancashire Police and the counter-terrorist unit of Greater Manchester Police. The men are of Asian origin and aged 21, 22 and 23, police said today.

Knife crime Britain claims two more teenage lives as boys aged 16 and 17 are brutally killed

Tributes: Conor Black, 16, was stabbed to death in Harpurhey, Manchester Knife crime claimed another two teenagers lives yesterday as a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old were stabbed to death in separate attacks. The younger victim, Conor Black, died from a single wound to the shoulder outside a house party in Manchester in the early hours of the morning. The 17-year-old, Nilanthan Moorty...

Life on Mars, New York style

The cars are bigger. New York looks even meaner than the squalid-yet-homely Manchester where DCI Sam Tyler first woke up after being mysteriously transported back to 1973. But the sideburns have stayed more or less the same. America got its first taste of Life on Mars last night...

World Briefing | United Nations: U.S. Ambassador Discusses Pakistan Contacts

U.S. Zalmay Khalilzad, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, gave a fuller account on Wednesday of his contacts with Asif Ali Zardari, a potential president of Pakistan and the widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Senior State Department officials expressed irritation last month Mr. Khalilzad had kept in close contact with Mr. Zardari...

Man goes on trial accused of encouraging two boys to flog themselves during Muslim ceremony in Britain

Syed Mustafa Zaidi, 44, is accused of encouraging the boys, aged 15 and 13, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to beat themselves during a traditional Ashura ceremony at a community centre in Levenshulme, Manchester, on January 19. The practice is common among Shia Muslims but allowing children to harm themselves is contrary to British law.

Devout Muslim 'forced boys to flog themselves in religious ceremony'

In a British legal first, Syed Mustafa Zaidi went on trial for child cruelty after allegedly making the pair flagellate themselves with a bladed whip, as part of a ritual that is centuries old. Zaidi, 44, was taking part in the Ashura ceremony, in Manchester, in which Shia Muslims draw blood by flogging themselves with a whip called a zanjeer.

Track cyclists scoop up medals

Britain's track cyclists lived up to their advance billing at the Olympic velodrome, winning medals in all four events on the first two days of competition, including three gold medals. Britain came to Beijing as the team to beat after winning nine golds in 18 events at the track world championships in Manchester in March. But some questioned whether their success could be repeated.

Millions of holidaymakers face bank holiday chaos as airport workers vote to strike

Millions of people face disruption to their holidays after ground staff at some of Britain's busiest airports voted for two 24-hour strikes. Baggage handlers and check-in staff at Gatwick and Stansted will strike on Bank Holiday Monday with a second one four days later. Staff at Manchester...

Former George W Bush press secretary Scott McClellan backs Barack Obama

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