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England whitewash India 4-0

England sealed a 4-0 series rout of India with an innings and eight-run victory at The Oval as Sachin Tendulkar fell just short of an historic 100th international hundred.

India, who needed 291 runs to make the hosts bat again, frustrated England during a fourth-wicket partnership of 144 between Tendulkar, who made 91, and Amit Mishra.

But when Mishra was out for a Test-best 84, it was the start of a collapse that saw India lose seven wickets for 21 runs on the way to 283 all out as the outplayed tourists suffered a second straight innings defeat.

Off-spinner Graeme Swann, at last presented with a pitch taking turn this series, did the bulk of the damage with six for 106 to the delight of the majority of a sell-out 23,500 crowd.

It was the first time England had swept a four-match series since a 4-0 home whitewash of the West Indies in 2004.

"We had to work pretty hard for that," England captain Andrew Strauss told BBC Radio's Test Match Special.

"When you enforce the follow-on, you're always asking a lot of the bowlers especially on a flat wicket. They stuck at it. To bowl India out for 300 and 283 on that wicket

England's captain Andrew Strauss holds the Reliance ICC Test Mace as he celebrates with teammates. is quite a performance."

Dhoni said: "The problem Tendulkar was 25 not out Meanwhile a delighted was we didn't score over 300 and Mishra eight not out.

Swann was elated at taking once in the series.

England, who'd replaced five or more wickets in a Test "We tried our best but we India at the top of the ICC's innings for the 11th time and didn't get much time together Test Championship table the first since his five for 62 before the series because the with an innings and 242 run against Pakistan at Lord's last players were coming from victory at Edgbaston last time year. the West Indies." out, endured a wicketless "It's been such a long time India resumed Monday's morning session. coming," Swann said. I never fifth and final day on 129 for But Tendulkar, whose thought I'd get another one." three, still 162 runs shy of previous best score this series India, despite three hun- England's first innings 591 for was 56 in the second Test at dreds from Rahul Dravid, six declared featuring man- Trent Bridge, should have rarely posted a competitive of-the-match Ian Bell's Test- been out for 70 when Alastair total in the four Tests and best 235 and Kevin Cook at short leg dropped a captain Mahendra Singh Pietersen's 175. bat-pad catch off Swann.

Man United strike £40 million training-kit deal

Manchester United struck a training-kit sponsorship deal, the Premier League champions saying they believed it was the first such agreement in English football.

United said they had agreed a four-year contract with express and logistics company DHL. While the club did not give exact details, a source with knowledge of the deal said it was worth 40 million pounds.

That is more than the Old Trafford team received in the early 2000s from a shirt agreement with Vodafone although it is less than the 80 million pounds media reports have said their existing shirt deal with insurance brokerage Aon was worth.

United won a record 19th league title last season and their on-field success has been matched by strong commercial revenue figures.

In May, quarterly financial results showed there was a 30 percent rise in commercial revenue compared to the

same period the previous year.

"This deal breaks new ground in the English game," United chief executive David Gill said in a statement.

"We are delighted DHL has chosen to pioneer training kit sponsorship with the club. Their global presence and international standing are a perfect fit for the world's most popular football club."

DHL, part of Deutsche Post AG, will see their logo appear on training kit worn by first, reserve and youth team players.

Chief spokesman Dan Johnson said the Premier League was not aware of any other English clubs having their training kit sponsored but added the national team had a similar deal for the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

United host Tottenham Hotspur later on Monday, seeking to build on last week's 2-1 win over West Bromwich Albion in their league opener.

Spurs win legal battle over 2012 stadium English soccer club Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday won the legal right to challenge a decision to hand the 2012 Olympic stadium to rivals West Ham United after the Games.

The Premier League club had sought a judicial review after the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) awarded West Ham preferred bidder status for the 486 million pound stadium earlier this year.

A High Court judge had turned down an earlier attempt by Tottenham to secure a judicial review, but on Wednesday they successfully applied to Mr Jus-

tice Collins for permission to mount a legal challenge, the Press Association reported.

The decision puts in doubt London’s planned bid to host the 2017 athletics World Championships because Tottenham would take out the running track as part of its development of the stadium.

The judge’s task at this stage was only to decide whether Tottenham has an “arguable” case.

A further hearing with full arguments from all sides will now have to be held.

Tottenham and West Ham United, now in English

soccer’s second tier, both want to move into the venue in Stratford, east London, after next year’s Games.

Lawyers representing Spurs had argued West Ham had been given an unfair economic advantage when local Newham Council agreed to provide a 40 million pound loan to West Ham. In those circumstances, Tottenham argued that the OPLC’s decision to opt for the joint bid by West Ham and Newham - and the government and Mayor of London’s backing for that decision - were “unlawful.”

Talks had been ongoing

between Spurs and the Mayor Boris Johnson and the government over separate plans for a bigger Spurs ground at a site in Northumberland Park, next to their current stadium in north London.

This month’s riots across England, which began in Tottenham, have highlighted the need for regeneration of the area.

The Northumberland Park project would include new houses and shops, as well as a new stadium, and would see public money go into improving local infrastructure such as transport links.

Maria Sharapova of Russia poses with her trophy after she defeated Jelena Jankovic of Serbia during the Western & Southern Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.

23 Spanish Super Cup

Messi double helps Barcelona edge past Real Madrid

BMX riders compete in the final heats of the UCI BMX Supercross World Cup at the Olympic BMX course in Stratford, East London. International BMX riders were competing in the event which is being run as a test event ahead of the London 2012 Olympics.

Oscar hat-trick wins Brazil U-20 World Cup

A hat-trick from Oscar lifted Brazil to a 3-2 extra-time triumph over Portugal in the final of the under-20 World Cup. After opening the scoring in the fifth minute, Oscar struck a second half equalizer that sent the match to extratime after full-time saw the teams deadlocked at 2-2.

Oscar got the winner in the 111th minute, lofting a ball from the right that arched over Portugal keeper Mika and gave Brazil a fifth under20 World Cup title after their runner-up finish two years ago. Although Brazil started

the favorites over a Portuguese team seeking a third under-20 crown, the match was tightly contested throughout.

Oscar broke through in the fifth with a free kick into the corner that caught Mika napping. It was the first goal surrendered by Portugal in the tournament.

Nelson Oliveira set up Portugal’s equalizer with a cross that Alex fired home in the ninth. And Oliveira put Portugal ahead in the 59th, breaking free on the right and running past a defender to

beat Brazil keeper Gabriel with a sharply angled shot.

Brazil’s equalizer came in the 78th minute when Mika blocked a shot by Dudu, only for Oscar to turn and slot the ball home.

The result avenged the result of the 1991 final, when Portugal beat Brazil on penalties. Earlier Saturday, Mexico beat France 3-1 in the thirdplace playoff. Ulises Davila, Jorge Enriquez and Edson Rivera scored for Mexico after Alexandre Lacazette put France ahead in the eighth minute.

Lionel Messi double inspired European and Spanish champions Barcelona to a 3-2 victory over bitter rivals Real Madrid in their Super Cup second leg clash here on Wednesday and a 5-4 aggregate win.

The bad feeling between the two sides boiled over at the end of the match, which saw three players sent off – Marcelo and Mesut Ozil of Real Madrid and Barcelona’s David Villa. Barcelona were far from their best with their players looking rusty and they lacked their usual slick passing, while Real took the game to them.

However, Andres Iniesta put Barcelona ahead with a deft finish before Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th goal in a Real Madrid shirt to equalise.

Messi, though, was the key player as he scored at the end of the first half and again three minutes from the end with French striker Karim Benzema finding the back of the net in between.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola was overcome with emotion. “Words fail me in how to congratulate my players on how they played tonight,” he said.

My heart bleeds to play for Pakistan: Afridi

Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has confessed that he is dying to play for the national team once again.

Speaking on a show on TV, Afridi also made some scathing remarks on the resignation of Waqar Younis as Pakistan team coach after the Zimbabwe tour.

“My heart bleeds to play for Pakistan and I am dying to play for my country. I even wanted to go to Zimbabwe and hopefully at the right time I will make a comeback to the team,” Afridi said. The flamboyant all-rounder announced his retirement from all international cricket in protest in late May after the Pakistan Cricket Board removed him as captain of the national one-day team after a dispute with Waqar on the

West Indies tour which was highly publicized.

Afridi has repeatedly said that he can make a comeback only when better people come into the team management. Interestingly, some cricket analysts point out that since Afridi’s retirement the entire team management of the national side has been changed and indications are now he will return to the team soon. Earlier this month, the board removed Intikhab Alam as manager and also changed assistant coaches Aaqib Javed and Shahid Aslam while on Saturday Waqar announced his resignation due to personal and health reasons insisting he had no complaints against anyone and his decision was not cricket related.

London to bid for 2017 Athletics World Championships London will bid to host the 2017 Athletics World Championships in the Olympic Stadium built for next year’s games.

UK Athletics confirmed it will launch a bid led by Sebastian Coe, the organizing committee chairman for the London Olympics.

The sports body said the bid has the full support of the British government and London Mayor Boris Johnson, and will be submitted to the IAAF by Coe at this year’s worlds in Daegu, South Korea.

British Sports Minister Hugh Robertson said hosting the event “would be a wonderful legacy from London 2012 and help us fulfill a commitment made during the bid.” Other bidders include Budapest, Hungary, and Doha, Qatar. The IAAF is expected to announce the winning bid on Nov. 11.

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Cyber squatter foiling Winehouse charity plan

US socialite Paris Hilton gets a kiss from a young fan while signing autographs during the opening of her boutique ‘Paris Hilton’ in Manila, selling handbags and accessories, at a mall.

Angelina Jolie visits Halo Trust headquarters

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie has used her time in Scotland to visit the global headquarters of a charity which specialises in landmine removal.

She is visiting the country with her partner Brad Pitt as he shoots the film World War Z in various locations.

The pair are long-standing supporters of the Halo Trust's work.

Jolie took the opportunity to visit the trust's headquarters in Thornhill, Dumfriesshire, on Saturday for the first time.

She was given a briefing by senior Halo staff on the current landmine problem and heard about the kind of work they are doing.

She said: "It was a privi-

lege to visit the Halo headquarters and meet their committed staff.

"In the aftermath of war, Halo's mine-clearing efforts are fundamental to a safe return and community building."

The Jolie-Pitt Foundation has provided "hundreds of thousands of pounds" worth of financial support to Halo, funding humanitarian mine clearance teams in Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Kosovo and Afghanistan.

Guy Willoughby, cofounder and director of the trust, said: "It was a great opportunity for us to talk through the projects and also plan our demining priorities for the future - identifying which communities in different countries are most in need of our support."

Halo is one of the world's oldest and largest humanitarian landmine clearance organisations and tackles the problem of landmines and other explosive remnants of war.

Other celebrity supporters have included Prince Harry and his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales.

Bono to join the billionaire club U2 rocker Bono is reportedly set to become a billionaire thanks to h\is shares in social networking site Facebook, reported the website Spicezee.

The 51-year-old singer`s investment company Elevation Partners, which he co-founded with former Apple boss Fred Anderson, spent a huge USD210 million buying up shares in the world`s top social networking site in 2009 - and the gamble has paid off, reported a website.

After Facebook was valued at a USD 65 billion earlier this week, Bono`s portion of the company has been boosted to USD 975 million.

U2 are already one of the world`s highest-earning groups, pulling in more than USD 736 million on their recent 360 Tour.

Tracey Emin installs neon art in Downing Street A neon artwork sign reading "More Passion" has been installed in No 10 Downing Street by artist Tracey Emin.

The 48-year-old artist installed it last week after being invited by Prime Minister David Cameron to create a work of art last year.

The sign hangs outside the Terracotta Room, on the first floor of the prime minister's official residence.

Emin has donated the work to the Government Art Collection.

The artist was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1999 for her infamous unmade bed, and is known for similarly candid pieces such as a tent containing the names of all the people she has slept with.

Her neon light installations usually spell out heartfelt messages. In February, she said she would be installing the neon in a newer room and on plastic, rather than screwed to the wall, as it was a listed building.

Amy Winehouse's father Mitch said his plans to set up a charity in his late daughter's name had been frustrated by a cyber squatter who had stolen the organization's intended address on the internet.

Mitch, a former taxi driver who launched his own musical career on the back of Amy Winehouse's success, plans to set up a foundation to help young people suffering from substance abuse, and has already received donations from the public.

Winehouse, a chart-topping singer whose album "Back to Black" helped her win five Grammy awards and international fame, was found dead in her London home on July 23 aged 27. She had a long history of drug and alcohol abuse.

"Instead of concentrating on allocating funding, I am having to send cheques back cos (because) we don't haven't got bank ac (account) in that name," Mitch Winehouse wrote on micro blogging site Twitter.

"We all have to bombard the tabloids websites to put pressure on this dick head who stole our foundation

name.

"Our solicitors are all over this, but it takes time. Meanwhile we can't get on with foundation."

According to the Guardian newspaper, the internet address Amywinehousefoundation.org.uk was registered to a "sghuk" who bought it on August 16.

Amywinehousefoundation.com had also been purchased, and amywinehousefoundation.or g was registered by someone on July 31 2011.

According to Mitch Winehouse, one of the cyber squatters thwarting his plans

Kim Kardashian's wedding reception cut short

Socialite Kim Kardashian's wedding celebrations were cut short after the neighbours complained to the police of loud music.

"Around midnight DJ Cassidy, who had been spinning for an hour, was ordered to shut down because the neighbours were complaining about the volume of the music. The neighbours didn't come over, but they called the police," showbizspy quoted a source as saying. "Kim took the news OK and seemed relaxed about it, but her sister Khloe was pretty upset," the source added. The evening festivities, held in a huge marquee erected in the garden of a private residence, had started with singer Robin Thicke introducing the couple and leading them in their first

dance. Kim and her basketball player husband Kris Humpheries got married Saturday in Montecito, California. The celebrity guests at the reception included Lindsay Lohan, Eva Longoria, Mel B, Venus and Serena Williams, Avril Lavigne and Demi Lovato.

George Michael returns to stage, announces split Pop star George Michael returned to the stage late on Monday for an emotional performance at the opulent Prague State Opera where he announced his split from long-term partner Kenny Goss.

The former Wham! singer took the sellout crowd through a range of covers and rare performances of songs during the first of 195 concerts on his "Symphonica" tour -his first since leaving jail last October after serving a month for crashing his car while on drugs.

Michael clearly enjoyed himself during his first outing with the Czech National Symphony behind him, though he showed some nerves at times in the 123-year old opera house.

"I don't know what to do," he joked to the crowd early in the show.

The 48-year-old, wearing his trademark sunglasses and donning a dark suit, also paid tribute to the late Amy Winehouse and came close to tears before diving into a melancholy cover of her "Love is a Losing Game."

allegedly contacted his daughter's ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil.

Fielder-Civil and Winehouse were married between 2007 and 2009, but their families bickered publicly about the influence the couple had over each other during a tumultuous relationship.

Fielder-Civil was jailed in 2008 after pleading guilty to attacking a pub landlord and then trying to cover it up.

Since his daughter's death, Mitch Winehouse has urged politicians to do more to help young people struggling with drug and alcohol addiction.

Paris, Charlie top list of unpopular, untrustworthy celebs Paris Hilton and Charlie Sheen have topped the list of the most unpopular and least trusted personalities in America.

According to a poll, it was found that Hilton, 30, and 45-year-old Sheen were deemed most likely to damage the reputation of any brand they chose to endorse.

Of the 100 celebrities in the list, Hilton attracted maximum criticism with 60 percent respondents reacting against her, Sheen finishing close with 52 percent respondents expressing an unfavourable opinion of him.

Coming to trustworthiness, the two again fared badly, with Sheen being considered marginally more dishonest than the actress with an extra one percent of the 2012 respondents against the actor, stating they were less likely to even buy a product endorsed by Sheen.

Britney Spears, 29, Mel Gibson, 55 and 35-year-old Tiger Woods, who lost several major endorsements after his 2009 sex scandal, also fared badly in the poll from which politicians were deliberately excluded.

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Paris Hilton – 60pc Charlie Sheen – 52pc Britney Spears / Kanye West – 45pc Arnold Schwarzenegger – 44pc 6 Tiger Woods – 42pc 7 Kim Kardashian – 38pc 8 Mel Gibson – 33pc 9 Donald Trump – 31pc 10 LeBron James – 29pc 5

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26 Preity Zinta scared of talking to men!

Megan Fox back with her ample curves!

After sporting a shockingly skinny frame, Megan Fox has returned to a fuller figure. According to the Sun, Fox showed off a fuller figure, in a black vest and hot pants on the Los Angeles set of her upcoming flick ‘This Is Forty.’

The Hollywood pin-up girl looked smoulderingly hot with more flesh on her enviable body. Fox, who made teenage heart skip a beat in ‘Transformers,’ is looking forward to resurrect her career with Judd Apatow’s flick.

Lady Gaga’s designer sister Lady Gaga’s little sister is to create the costumes for a new off-Broadway show.

The ‘Born This Way’ singer’s 19-year-old sibling Natali Germanotta – who is currently studying fashion design at legendary New York fashion school Parsons – is to design the outfits for ‘Simon Says’, which is about three strangers who meet at a seance.

Last year, Natali interned at Allison Parris helping backstage at its fall/winter 2010 show, where she impressed with her work ethic and style.

Allison told WWD: “Natali has an edgier sense of style like her sister. Initially when she went to the Grammys a few years ago, she wore one of our little lace trapeze dresses, but she styled it up with leather and hardware.

She is so nice and so easy to work with. She is such a great girl.” Gaga, 25, recently revealed she feels famous because of her style.

Kate Winslet escapes fire at Branson holiday home

Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet was among the guests who escaped unhurt from a fire which swept through Richard Branson's Caribbean holiday retreat overnight, the billionaire said on Monday.

Branson said the blaze was caused by a lightning strike on The Great House

on Necker Island, and that the building was completely destroyed.

Branson, his wife Joan and son Sam were staying in a nearby property, but among those who fled the affected building were 35year-old Winslet, her boyfriend and family, Branson's mother Eve and his daughter Holly.

"Around 20 people were in the house and they all managed to get out and they are all fine," Branson said in comments released to the British media.

"We had a really bad tropical storm with winds up to 90 miles per hour. A big lightning storm came around 4 a.m. and hit the house.

I’m obnoxious: Anne Hathaway Anne Hathaway thinks she is “so obnoxious”. The ‘One Day’ actress admits she has a bad habit of “interrupting everybody” and not letting people finish their sentences when she is having conversations with them.

She told Interview magazine: “I’m so bad. I interrupt everybody. I’m so obnoxious. Pardon. I just get really excited when I talkand especially when I talk to people who are fun to talk to-and I jump in at the end of every sentence and nobody ever gets to finish a thought.”

In the wake of her break-up with businessman Ness Wadia followed by fresh linkups with cricketers and corporates, actress Preity Zinta is feeling “dull” about her personal life and is “scared” of talking to men, Zee News reports.

“Right now I am balancing my professional life only.

I don`t have a personal life. I have stopped talking to anybody because I am scared that I might get linked with them. Now I have stopped talking to men... I tell them go away please... bring your wife along with you,” Preity said.

When asked about how she feels about it, the bubbly actress said, “yeah... absolutely dull”.

Preity and the Bombay Dyeing heir broke up in 2009.

As of now the duo share only a professional relationship as partners of their IPL team, Kings X1 Punjab. In the recent past, rumours had it that Preity had gone on a secret date with her former team

player and Australian fastbowler Brett Lee at a nightspot in Mumbai.

According to the Bollywood grapevine, the 36-yearold actress was also cosying up to cricketer Yuvraj Singh.

Her name was also linked with New York-based hotelier Vikram Chatwal.

New writer wins oldest book prize Debut novelist Tatjani Soli has been announced as the winner of Britain's oldest book prize.

The James Tait Black Memorial awards are given to one work of fiction and one work of biography each year.

Theatre critic Hilary Spurling claimed the biography prize for her book Burying the Bones: Pearl Buck in China.

American author Tatjani Soli won the fiction prize for her first novel The Lotus Eaters, which is set in the final days of the Vietnam War. Previous winners include Ian McEwan, Cormac McCarthy and A S Byatt.

The winners of the prizes - awarded annually by the University of Edinburgh were announced at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

They are the only major British book awards judged by scholars and students of literature.

Also shortlisted for the

£10,000 fiction prize this year were debut novelists Julie Orringer and Michael Nath, and acclaimed writer David Mitchell.

The biography shortlist included studies of Henry Ford by Greg Grandin, of EM Forster by Wendy Moffat and an autobiography by renowned Scottish author Alisdair Gray.

The James Tait Black Prizes were founded in 1919

by Janet Coats, the widow of publisher James Tait Black, to commemorate her husband's love of books.

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World’s most decadent hotel closes after a century

Every room has a story, most of them memorable and few of them printable. Dylan Thomas drank himself to death in 205, playwright Arthur Miller got over his break-up with Marilyn Monroe in 614 and Bob Dylan stayed up for days in 211 ‘writin’ Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands’.

Sid Vicious claimed he couldn’t remember stabbing his girlfriend, Nancy Spun-

gen, to death in 100. But singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen never forgot what he got up to with Janis Joplin in 415.

In fact, none of us will, because he wrote a song about it called Chelsea Hotel #2 (and later regretted his indiscretion).

Surely no other single building can lay claim to so much creativity, destruction and sheer scandal as the

Chelsea Hotel in New York.

For decades it was a byword for Bohemian eccentricity and hell raising excess, an imposing but squalid sanctuary for writers and artists too penniless or troublesome to live anywhere else.

Jack Kerouac wrote his Beat Generation bible On The Road there, in one drug-fuelled, three-week marathon.

Arthur C Clarke wrote 2001: A Space Odyssey there, too,

Believe TV ‘exploited’ viewers Vulnerable viewers could have been “exploited” by a religious television channel which told them they could cure serious illnesses including cancer with olive oil soap and Ribena, according to communications watchdog Ofcom, MSN News reports.

A report found Believe TV was in breach of the broadcasting code. It cited the example of two programmes featuring televangelist Paul Lewis, which were shown in December 2010.

‘2012’ documentary will reveal Mayan secrets

The photo shows a part of Mitzi Perdue’s egg art collectionin New York. Perdue started out decorating chicken eggs, before moving on to goose eggs and then ostrich eggs.

Mother of 10 to get a job in 3 yrs A mother-of-ten who demanded charity to help raise her family after saying her £600-a-week benefit handouts were not enough has said she plans to go back to work – but not for three years.

Moira Pearce, 34, insists she will go back to employment as a hairdresser when her youngest daughter, aged one, reaches school age. In an interview on ITV’s This Morning, the jobless mother, who lives with partner Mark Austin, 19, said she was ‘entitled’ to her state handout to raise her family.

She said: ‘I’m not a money grabber - I get benefits what I’m entitled to and that is all I

get. ‘At the end of the day I am who I am. People don’t know me. They can judge me...but they don’t know me.’

When pressed by host Eamonn Holmes on whether she will be doing anything to support herself in the future she said: ‘I’d love to go to work. I’d love to.

I’ve got another three years and I will be going back to work hopefully when my daughter goes to school. ‘So I’ve got no reason not to go to work.’ Pearce has to look after Kayleigh, 17, Jamie, 16, Chloe, 13, Tyler, 10, Shania, six, Blade, five, Shonna, four, Candice, three, Shardonnaie, two and Maxy-Jane, one.

The Mexican government is releasing state-held secrets about the end of the Mayan calendar to the makers of a documentary, “Revelations of the Mayans 2012 and Beyond,” TheWrap has learned.

The information — protected for 80 years — is expected to reveal Mayan beliefs in future catastrophes and wisdom characterised as “shocking,” producer Raul Julia-Levy, son of actor Raul Julia, told TheWrap.p.

The end of the Mayan calendar in December 2012 has long given rise to theories and speculation about the end of the world.

training his telescope not into space but at the apartment windows opposite.

And composer George Kleinsinger kept a tank of piranhas by his piano so he could dip his fingers into the water to bring him to his senses whenever he felt drowsy.

From writers such as Mark Twain, Tennessee Williams and Eugene O’Neill, through the hippies

and on to the nihilist punks of the 1970s and beyond, ‘the Chelsea’ has more than lived up to its understated description of itself as a ‘rest stop for rare individuals’.

According to Arthur Miller, you could get high just by standing in one of the hotel lifts and inhaling the marijuana fumes. Now, however, the hotel faces what its residents and fans fear is its final curtain.

Oxford English Dictionary propelled into the Facebook age!

Retweet, sexting and cyberbullying may be meaningless to some but they are among a host of new entries appearing in the Concise Oxford English Dictionary for the first time, reported the Daily Mail.

But its new centenary edition also shows then Britons in 1911 thought the words neon, petticoat, and ‘indecent dance’ the Cancan all deserved similar recognition.

The brand-new dictionary contains more than 240,000 words, phrases and definitions, reflecting language used widely in the UK today.

Retweet - to repost or forward a message on Twitter, sexting - the sending of sexually explicit photographs or messages via a mobile phone, and woot - used in electronic communication to express elation enthusiasm or triumph, all make the book.

Also fashionable Jeggings - tight-fitting stretch

trousers for women and the mankini - a brief one-piece bathing garment for men with a T-back, made famous by comedy character Borat, are also in.

But the 1911 limited-edition dictionary offers a glimpse into a world where exciting new words included ‘marconigram’ - a message sent by Marconi’s wireless telegraphy system; ‘kinematograph’ - an apparatus producing motion pictures; and ‘biplane’ - a twowinged aeroplane.

But it has emerged that new technology and social trends also played a major part in the creation of the first edition in 1911, and some words were considered just as racy, the report said. The 1911 edition cost 3 shillings 6 pence, had 1,041 pages and included 38,000 words.

The 2011 edition costs 25pounds, had 1,682 pages and includes 66,500 words.

Truck gets stuck, hanging out of thirdstorey window Dangling precariously from a third-floor window, this smashed truck looks like a prop in the dramatic finale of an action movie blockbuster. Sadly for the driver, however, there was no Hollywood budget to cover the damages.

Incredible photographs have emerged showing the crash, caused by a 16-ton saltspreading truck being rammed from inside a third story Sanitation Department repair shop in Queens, New York, into - and through - the outside wall.

Driver Robert Legall, who has worked at the Sanitation Department for 10 years, screamed for help as he dangled in his vehicle in mid-air but thankfully managed to escape unharmed.

Paris airport tests virtual staff An airport in France is experimenting with “virtual” boarding agents in a bid to jazz up its terminals with 21st century staff who always smile, don’t need breaks and never go on strike, MSN News reports.

The pilot project at Paris’ Orly airport began last month, and has so far been met with a mix of amusement and surprise by travellers, who frequently try to touch and speak with the strikingly life-like video images that greet them and direct them to their boarding gate.

School bans skirts as hemlines rise Aschool concerned about rising hemlines has become the latest to ban girls from wearing skirts, MSN News reports.

Northgate High School in Ipswich has removed skirts from its approved uniform list to stop students coming to lessons in “inappropriate attire”.

It is the third school in the town to introduce such a ban.

Lorenzo Quinn's 'Hand of God' sculpture is positioned on Park Lane in Mayfair in London. The 4 metre, 400kg aluminium work is also on display at The State Hermitage Museum, Russia. Hand of God forms part of Lorenzo Quinn's 2011 worldwide public art programme which includes The State Hermitage Museum, Russia; La Biennale di Scultura, Rome; and the 54th International Art Exhibition, Venice Biennale.

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Funeral of Birmingham martyrs, Pak HC pays tribute to families for peace keeping role

The funeral prayers of three Pakistani origin young men who lost their lives in riots last week took place at Sommerfield Park.

Thousands of mourners attended the funeral. Pakistan High Commissioner to UK Wajid Shamsul Hasan attended the funeral and conveyed to the families of martyrs condolences and paid tributes on behalf of the people of Pakistan, the President and the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

He was accompanied by Mrs. Zarina Wajid Hasan and high officials of the High Commission and Pakistan Consulate in Birmingham.

The three young men Haroon Jehan, Shehzad Ali and Abdul Musawir were ran over by a car while protecting the community in the wake of riots in Birmingham last week.

Tariq Jehan, father of Shaheed Haroon Jehan had made a historic appeal to the young people to remain calm and peaceful in that hour of distress. An act that saved the UK from conflict has been widely acknowledged in the Britain and world over.

In his address to the mourners today Jehan reiterated this stance and asked the Muslim youth to follow Islamic teachings of peace and forgiveness.

He said that it was due to sacrifice of these three young men that the peace prevailed in Brimingham, as they embraced shahadat while protecting the community.

High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan while paying rich tributes to the

A-Levels: Mum who's bringing up baby ... and making the grade Natasha Duffy didn’t let the demands of being a new mum stop her chalking up a series of top A-level results.

The single mum, from Urmston, is heading for Manchester Metropolitan University after earning an A* in psychology, A in sociology and B in English literature.

The 20-year-old said after leaving Urmston Grammar School with good GCSEs at 16 she started work in customer care before becoming pregnant with Isabelle.

She said: "I always wanted to go back to college and when I became pregnant I realised that I was going to have to sort things out – so I decided to take my A-levels.

It kind of made me grow up and face the fact that I couldn’t carry on the way I had been. It’s made me realise what I want for my future.

"Isabelle was only six months old when I started,

but the college helped and that made it easier. I’m really pleased and I’m so shocked about the A*, I wasn’t expecting it."

Natasha will take a degree in English and sociology starting in September and Isabelle, now two, will go into childcare while she is at lectures. "I’ll get a support grant for 80 per cent of the costs and I’ll have to earn the

money to find the rest but it’ll be worth it," she said.

"I know it will be hard when everyone is out partying but I’m sure I’ll cope. It’s not ideal obviously but I’m really looking forward to meeting new friends as well as starting the course.

"I knew it would be hard to work my way up in a job so having a degree will help me a lot."

Lord Coe finds his notorious roots

(Top) Pakistani High Commissioner Wajid Shamsul Hasan laying wreath on the coffins of Pakistani origin people on behalf of the President, Prime Minister and people of Pakistan during funeral in Summerfield Park. (Above) Ghazanfer Ali, father of Shehzad Ali, and Abdul Musawir who lost their lives during riots during the funeral ceremony of his sons at Summerfield Park. martyrs and their families said they deserved plaudits for exceptional dispensation of patience and reasoning at the moment of extremes of

grief and desperation.

He said “your patience saved this country from the crises, you are our heroes and will always be respected”.

Lord Coe has spoken of his ‘horror’ at finding out he is descended from a philandering Jamaican slave owner who fathered an illegitimate child with one of his workers.

The 2012 Olympics chief made the shocking discovery as he took part in the BBC television programme Who Do You Think You Are. After tracing his lineage back seven generations Lord Coe was left aghast at the discovery he is related to the salacious 18th century sugar baron George Hyde Park. Hyde Park, who had plantations in the parish of Trelawny home to triple Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt, owned 297 slaves. Coe, himself a double Olympic gold medallist, cringed at the revelation that Hyde Park fathered a total of six illegitimate children.

29

Salford council chief 'wanted me out', claims sacked children's boss Jill Baker

Workers of a local NGO in Badin rescuing the flood affected people.

Engineers urge more investment in air capture Britain needs to invest more in innovative geo-engineering technologies to absorb carbon dioxide from the air and help tackle climate change, the London-based Institution of Mechanical Engineers.

Geo-engineering solutions such as air capture are relatively undeveloped, but some hope they will eventually help to counter-balance rising carbon dioxide emissions.

The group, which repre-

sents over 95,000 mechanical engineers, wants the government to do more detailed work into establishing the cost of air capture technology and demonstrate how feasible it would be, it said in a statement.

Air capture, such as socalled artificial trees, would work by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using a chemical process based on sodium hydroxide.

Prototype machines could re-

semble huge telescopes or even giant fly-swats.

The institution claims artificial trees could be up to a thousand times more efficient than natural trees.

"Governments and businesses need to prioritise funding in these technologies to make them happen quickly and on a big enough scale to make a difference," said Tim Fox, head of energy and environment at the institution.

A children's services boss who was sacked following a toddler’s death told a tribunal that the town hall’s chief executive ‘wanted her out’.

Jill Baker was in charge of schools and social work in Salford before she was dismissed for gross misconduct in December 2009.

Her dismissal followed the death of two-year-old Demi Leigh Mahon, who was murdered by her babysitter in July 2008.

Mrs Baker, who is suing the council for unfair and wrongful dismissal, said in evidence at the hearing that the ‘word on the corridor’ at the council was that chief executive Barbara Spicer wanted her dismissed.

Sean Jones, acting for the town hall, asked Mrs Baker why the council’s deputy chief executive Kevin Brady had said that getting progress in her department was ‘like pulling teeth’.

The tribunal heard Mr Brady said that at a time when it was vital to make improvements to the service: “We had to push really hard

to get Jill and her team to understand the seriousness of what we were taking on.”

Mrs Baker told the tribunal: “I accept that he said that. The word on the corridor was that Barbara Spicer wanted me out. His line manager was Barbara Spicer.

“He had to decide whose side he was on. He knew which side his bread was buttered. It would be foolish to support me in this case because he knew it was the chief executive or it was me.

“That is not a balanced view.”

She accepted she had a specific concern about the quality of the service in 2006.

She said she ‘cared passionately’ about the service and wanted to improve it.

When asked what she had done to focus on whether risk assessments for children were of high or low quality, she replied: “As that became more of an issue, I got more involved going to team meetings with frontline staff about these issues and talking to the managers to ensure they knew what I expected of them.”

Psychic loses police harassment court claim A psychic who claimed he was being harassed by police officers after being sacked by the force has had his case thrown out of court.

Alan Power, 64, was briefly employed by Greater Manchester Police training special constables – but was sacked in October 2008 after bosses learned he had tried to involve officers in psychic research.

Managers said his interests in the psychic field were ‘not compatible’ with his employment at GMP. He attempted to sue the force for unfair dismissal but his case was rejected by the Civil Appeal Court in London. In his latest court appearance at a Manchester employment tribunal, Mr Power claimed he was being harassed and victimised by three officers from GMP. He said the harassment was in relation to a High Court libel action he was fighting over an email in which he alleges he was libelled by a senior GMP officer.

30 Is Facebook "required reading?"

Nest is a unique project for Orphans in pakistan , images taken during a charity event by Nest in which Lord Nazir Ahmed, Nouman Ijaz, Cllr Afzal Khan and many other community figures with around 400 people participated

Councils pay £230,000 for United, City victory parades Town hall chiefs splashed out more than £230,000 on victory parades for City and United.

Council bosses in Manchester and Trafford have revealed the sums they spent on managing the thousands of people who took to the streets to watch the processions at the end of last season.

And the figures show that twice as much was spent on United’s parade than City’s.

Both clubs were celebrating after City lifted the FA Cup, their first major silverware since 1976, and United won an unprecedented 19th Premier League title.

Manchester council revealed it spent £74,750 on the Blues’ parade, on May 23, and £78,500 on the Reds’ procession a week later.

It said costs included traffic management, barriers, route stewards, first aid facilities, toilets and the clean-up operation.

Trafford town hall bosses also had to dip into their reserves, because United’s parade ventured onto its territory. It spent £78,500 on the parade, money which it said ‘provided a safe environment for the many thousands along the route’.

The three figures make a total of £231,750.

That included the building of a temporary platform, from which selected dignitaries, including the mayor, watched the action.

United’s parade – on a bank holiday, which may have forced up costs – set off from the bottom of Deans-

gate before stopping outside Old Trafford and ending at Stretford Mall.

Despite torrential rain, thousands witnessed a jovial Sir Alex Ferguson in party mood with the rest of his drenched squad.

City left Manchester town hall and ended their parade with a homecoming at The Etihad Stadium.

Thousands turned out to honour their heroes before the big send-off ended with a fireworks spectacular over the Beswick night sky.

Police launched operations for both parades from their Sedgley Park base. They declined to reveal how much the operation cost, although it is thought their bill was paid for by each club and the councils.

Salford council hires £200k gypsy support group A town hall has hired experts to speak to gypsies and travellers – at a cost of more than £200,000.

Salford council has re-employed a church group to provide a specialist liaison service with the travelling community. It hopes the move will help boost health, wealth and employment among gypsies and travellers, including people on the Duchy Road site featured on My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding.

Councillors fear gypsy girls are being allowed to leave school early to get married.

Figures show gypsy and traveller children are ‘distinctly’ behind their peers at

school, according to the council.

Town hall bosses believe hiring the group – using a government grant designed to support vulnerable people – will improve literacy and numeracy levels, as well as the numbers of gypsy and traveller teenagers getting five good GCSEs. It also hopes to combat poverty and ill health among the community and ensure they are treated fairly.

Housing boss Coun Peter Connor, who signed off the move, said: "The council commissions this liaison service from an independent provider so that gypsies and travellers’ have support when staying in the city.

British youngsters are ditching Dickens, Shakespeare and Keats for Facebook and Twitter, with one in six failing to read a single book in a month, according to a survey.

The poll, which questioned 18,141 children aged eight to 17, also showed less than half of youngsters choose to read a book outside of class at least once a month.

Instead, children's exposure to the written word arises mostly from sending messages via texting, emails, and social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

The poll was carried out for British charity the National Literacy Trust. "Getting these children reading and helping them to love reading is the way to turn their lives around and give them new opportunities and aspirations," said Trust Director Jonathan Douglas in a statement.

Older pupils were "considerably more likely" to say they have not read any book in the past month than their younger counterparts, the survey showed.

The trends it highlighted could have significant consequences for the children as they enter adulthood.

31

Pakistani Flag Raised outside the Rochdale Town Hall on the 64th Indepdendence Day of Pakistan Pakistani flag was raised outside the Town Hall, by Ghulam Rasul Shahzad OBE accompanied and supported

by The Mayor Councillor Alan Godson, Mayoress, Simon Danczuk, Member of Parliament for Rochdale, Jim Dobbins, Member of Parliament for Heywood and Middlteton, Councillors, leaders and members of the Pakistani community, outside the Town Hall, Rochdale.

Ghulam Rasul Shahzad OBE recited verses of the holy Qur'an, welcomed everyone and gave a brief history of the independence of Pakistan on 14 Aughts, 1947.

He said about a million people gave their lives to create Pakistan on the map of the world. Pakistan and overseas Pakistanis have made progress in all walks of life both in Pakistan and abroad.

He thanked the people of Rochdale, Rochdale Council, Police, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Services, organisations for supporting the flag raising for the last 20 years and also the twinning of Rochdale with Sahiwal - a town in Pakistan.

He said Rochdale is our and our future generations homeland. We should be proud of having the Pakistani heritage but we should also work hard with all communities in Rochdale to make Rochdale a better, more prosperous and safer place for everyone.

He said we are one com-

( From left to Right ) Councillor Ashley Dearnley, Leader of the Conservative Party in Rochdale, Simon Danzcuk, Member of Parliament for Rochdale, Mayor of Rochdale Councillor Alan Godson, Razia Shamim MBE, Ghulam Rasul Shahzad OBE (holding the string before raising the flag) Councillor Sultan Ali and Jim Dobbins, Member of Parliament for Middleton and Heywood. munity but have diversity has never taken part in the Rochdale. He said he always amongst us. He thanked ceremony before but was supported the twinning beeveryone to attend and make very pleased to join to raise tween Rochdale and Sahiwal it a successful day. the Pakistani Flag on the In- and would continue to do so.

The Mayor of Rochdale, depedence Day of Pakistan.

He said he was thankful Councillor Alan Godson, said Simon Danzcuk, Member to Ghulam Rasul Shahzad for he was very pleased to be in- of Parliament for Rochdale organising the flag raising for vited to attend the flag rais- said that he had been to Pak- the last many years and inviting on the 64th Independence istan and have supported the ing people from all commuDay of Pakistan. He said he Pakistani community in nities.

16-year-old girl died after 'drugs overdose' A teenage girl who died after taking a suspected drug overdose in a park has been named as Serena Harding.

The 16-year-old, from Warrington, was found unconscious at Reddish Vale Country Park in Stockport.

Four men and one woman have been arrested after Serena was discovered unconscious at Reddish Vale Country Park in Stockport.

Ambulance crews were called to the scene at 9.20pm on Sunday.

They are understood to have been alerted by one of Serena's friends, who had frantically called from their mobile phone.

When they got to the scene, Serena was struggling to breathe and is understood to have suffered a heart attack.

Paramedics had to call the fire service to cut the park's gates open so they could take her to hospital.

Desperate attempts to resuscitate her were made at

the scene and in the ambulance but she died a short time later at Stepping Hill hospital.

Four men - two aged 19, one aged 20 and one aged 18 - and a 25-year-old woman were later arrested on suspicion of supplying a controlled drug. They remained in custody this morning.

Serena was found close to a bench underneath a railway viaduct at the 160-hectare beauty spot.

Forensic officers were at the scene, which has been cordoned off.

Chief Inspector Mark Hussey from Stockport Police said: "The full circumstances of the teenager's death have not yet been established, however, we believe she may have taken a controlled substance. At this stage, we are unsure what substance she may have taken and we are awaiting results from further tests to see whether she died as a result of taking this substance.

'You did a fantastic job': Prince Harry praises emergency crews

Manchester riots: Mum-of-two jailed for wearing looted pair of shorts is freed on appeal

The London Honey Festival is a celebration of London Honey, from across the capital as far as Croydon to Bexley, Tottenham to Ruislip, King's Cross to the Royal Festival Hall.

A young mum jailed for handling a pair of shorts stolen after the riots has become the first person in the country to be freed after appealing a sentence linked to the disorder.

Ursula Nevin, 24, of North Lonsdale Street, Stretford, has been dramatically freed, a week after she was jailed for five months after admitting handling stolen goods at Manchester Magistrates Court.

The mum-of-two had slept through the riots, but the day after had tried on and decided to keep a pair of shorts her house-mate Gemma Corbett, also 24,

looted from the Vans store in the Northern Quarter.

This afternoon at Manchester Crown Court appeal hearing, Judge Andrew Gilbart QC said Ms Nevin's stiff sentence had been ‘wrong in principle’ because she had not been at the scene of the disturbances.

Ordering Ms Nevin – who has two sons aged one and five – to do 75 hours unpaid work instead, the judge said she must have felt she had been ‘trapped in a circle of hell’.

Opening the case, Michael Morley said Ms Nevin – who has no previous convictions had the ‘misfortune’ to have Gemma Corbett as a lodger.

United, City and FC United help kick off new youth services City and United will be among around 50 organisations laying on activities for teenagers in a shake-up of the way youth services are provided.

Football clubs, music projects and charities will all deliver services for 13 to 19-year-olds in Manchester after the council decided to stop being a direct provider.

The Blues’ City in the Community, the Manchester United Foundation and FC United are among groups appointed to take over from the council.

Organisations, which also include youth groups, arts and religious societies, chari-

ties, sports groups and local radio stations, have been given a share of a £2m town hall commissioning fund for youth activities.

The council gave up its role as a direct provider of youth services as part of £170m cuts over two years.

The move will save the city £9m. Now the £2m fund has been used to commission ‘high quality’ activities.

The new youth service providers, which will deliver workshops, outreach and skills programmes and sports including boxing, cycling and football on 20-month contracts, were chosen by a panel.

This included officials plus 19-year-old Becci Tighe, from Clayton, and 21-yearold Ashley Macfarlane, from Moss Side, both of whom work with the council’s Children’s Rights service for kids in care.

Ashley said: "Because I’m still quite young and can remember being a youth, I was thinking about the stuff young people would like to do and would benefit from.

There was nothing to do when I was a child and it’s very easy for young people to fall into the wrong path when they’ve not got skills or aspirations.

"There were certain peo-

ple who helped me choose the right path and its about putting youths in contact with those sorts of people."

Becci added: "It was important the organisations include a wide range of young people and that they provide something interesting and fun to do to keep them going back."

Coun Mike Amesbury, the council’s executive member for culture and leisure, said: "We have had to move away from a universal service but this is targeted at those young people who are most in need and furthest away from the labour market."

Prince Harry went walkabout on the precinct in Salford, and spoke of his "shock and outrage" at the violence suffered by police during last week's riots in the city.

The prince, who has served in war-torn Afghanistan and is now training to become an Apache helicopter pilot, heard how riot police had to retreat in the face of rocks and bricks raining down from hundreds of rioters.

He toured battle-scarred Salford Precinct to see the boarded-up shops that were looted and torched during the mayhem.

Local police chiefs said their officers faced "ferocious" levels of violence which was "organised and orchestrated" by criminal gangs.

Prince Harry dropped in at Pendleton police station, on the edge of the precinct, to speak to 39 officers injured in the trouble and swapped stories about army colleagues who had also been injured in the line of duty.

Pc Andy Sheridan said: "Harry was very shocked. He said he had seen pictures and footage on Google and was shocked and outraged by what he had seen."

The officer, based at Salford, said to Prince Harry: "In 20 years of policing, last Tuesday was the most frightening thing I've ever encoun-

tered."

Prince Harry replied: "I think it's fantastic what you guys have done to keep a lid on it. It seems really quiet out there in Salford now."

The 26-year-old royal, who took a day out from helicopter training with the Army Air Corps at Wattisham Airfield in Suffolk to travel to Salford, told the officers: "You all did a fantastic job on the night and it's great to see Manchester and Salford back on its feet.

"As an army officer I really respect the work you guys do and I can't praise your bravery high enough."

Salford neighbourhood officer Pc Stu Mulqueeney said: "I was really glad it was him who came to visit because he's probably the most grounded royal and he has been in some pretty hostile situations himself."

The prince was mobbed by well-wishers, kept at bay by police officers, after leaving the police station to go on a sometimes chaotic walkabout at the precinct over the road.

Ismail Patel, 43, told the prince how one of his shops was ransacked and torched, causing £90,000 of damage.

Mr Patel, owner of a second shop on the precinct which escaped damage, said Prince Harry "basically felt sorry for what happened.

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Number of student start-ups soars

A saleswoman walks inside a Hermes showroom in Mumbai. Despite India's rapidly growing wealth, international luxury retailers are struggling with business in Asia's third largest economy. The Indian luxury market is expected to grow at an average of 5 to 10 percent between now and 2013, compared with a robust 25 to 30 percent forecast for China, according to consulting and research firm Bain & Co.

Asia lacks social benefits despite growth: ADB

Most Asian economies have not done enough to provide good jobs and adequate social benefits for their people, despite rapid economic growth over 20 years, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said.

Poor social provision and the tensions it often produces could hamper the region’s long-term growth prospects, said the Manila-based lender, urging countries to tap their high savings to improve social safety nets.

Asia grew an average 6.4 percent per year between 1990 and 2008, much faster than the rest of the world, including developed countries in the OECD, which expanded by an average 1.8 percent in the same period.

The growth has led to a higher number of Asians

Moody's cuts Japan's debt rating Rating agency Moody's has cut Japan's long-term sovereign debt rating, citing concerns about the size of the country's deficit and borrowing levels.

The rating was cut to Aa3 from Aa2, though Moody's also said the country's outlook was stable.

Japan, the world's thirdlargest economy, has the highest public-debt level amongst developed economies.

The 2009 global financial crisis, and this year's earthquake and tsunami have increased the pressure on its finances.

finding jobs and 150 million people being hauled out of poverty, the ADB said. But job creation and poverty reduction have been very uneven across the region, it said.

“Asia continues its high and resilient growth of the last two decades, but behind this rosy picture, we have to remember that progress is uneven,” ADB chief economist Changyong Rhee told reporters in Singapore.

“Poverty still remains high in many low-income countries... Asia is far behind in terms of quality employment,” he said.

“We have done a lot, but on the other end, there is much room for us to improve... We are still in a situation with low quality public services,” said Rhee.

“This kind of divergence

in income inequality and non-income indicators can lead to some social tension and it may hamper the growth prospects of the region in the longer term.”

ADB, Asia’s version of the World Bank, said the region remains home to most of the world’s poor with more than 40 percent of most developing countries’ populations living below the poverty threshold of two dollars a day.

Most of the jobs created in Asia are low-wage manufacturing positions, it said.

Many workers are in the informal sector, which means they are exposed to greater risks, have no contracts and are not covered by non-wage benefits such as pensions, severance pay and health insurance.

UBS axes 3,500 jobs in cost-cutting push

Switzerland’s biggest bank UBS AG is to axe 3,500 jobs to shave 2 billion Swiss francs ($2.5 billion) off annual costs as it joins rival investment banks in reversing the postcrisis hiring binge and preparing for a tough few years.

UBS said almost half the cuts would be in investment banking. It had already said it would cut jobs when it posted weak second quarter profits last month as its underperforming fixed income business weighed.

Like rival Credit Suisse Group AG, UBS has been grappling with rising regulatory costs and a red-hot Swiss franc, which are eating into profits.

“The cost cutting is an admission of defeat. UBS overhired after its near-collapse in early 2009, but was unable to win back market share,” said Kepler Capital Markets analyst Dirk Becker.

Banks are slimming down as weak investment trading this year looks set to continue, leaving many carrying high costs after hiring aggressively in 2009 and early 2010 when trading income surged following the financial crisis.

“Since UBS announced their 2 billion franc cost saving initiative, the economic environment has deteriorated even further, making these plans seem inadequate,” Helvea analyst Peter Thorne said.

More students are turning their backs on the “bleak” UK job market and setting up as entrepreneurs.

That is according to online business marketplace PeoplePerHour.com, which has released new data, based on the sign-up rate on its website.

The rate of student signups over the last three months was 89% higher that it was over the same period last year.

The majority of these new members have admitted that the toughest job market in a generation is forcing them to create their own employment opportunities, by launching their own initiatives or setting up as freelancers.

London and the south east were the most common source of student registrations, with 56% coming from this area. The Midlands and Yorkshire, although significantly lower, recorded the second highest membership levels – delivering 11% and 8% of new sign-ups respectively.

Furthermore, PeoplePerHour.com’s research, which comes on the eve of the government’s announcement of the Labour Market Statistics tomorrow, revealed that these independent enterprise

initiatives are paying off. Figures from the website show a year on year increase of 101% in earnings by student members in the last three months.

The student entrepreneurs include 21-year old Sarah, who set up her marketing company before graduating from Lancaster University. Determined to generate an income for herself and her two young sons, she says: “I have around 16 clients at the moment ranging from small micro businesses to large multinational companies. I am expanding fast and have taken on new national and international clients.”

Xenios Thrasyvoulou, founder of PeoplePer our. com said: “The jobs market today isn’t creating enough new jobs for this year’s crop of students and it looks set to get worse with a bleak economic outlook. Yet rather than giving up or taking a year out abroad, students are working harder to create their own opportunities.

“Our research shows that more students are joining PeoplePerHour.com to set up their own businesses, looking for work and creating work for others. The class of 2011 may well go down in history as the most entrepreneurial class yet."

Riots highlight importance of business insurance Small retail and catering businesses have been rushing to cover their assets following the UK riots.

That is according to the business insurance broker Simply Business, which saw a 100% rise in requests for insurance quotes following the unrest – leading to the highest number ever quoted by the company in a single day.

The figures suggest that many firms were compelled to renew or increase their level of insurance cover, after the British Retail Consortium estimated that the riots will cost retailers “at the very least tens of millions of pounds.”

The largest increase in quotes came from off license owners, with a 2,800% weekon-week rise in requests. This was followed by mobile phone outlets and grocers, with a 1,400% increase and sports shops, which saw a 900% rise in quotes – a reflection of the types of retailers worst affected by the violence.

Similarly, the greatest regional swell in quotes came from the cities most targeted by rioters. London delivered a 298% week-on-week rise and Birmingham’s county, the West Midlands, saw a 137% rise in requests.

Govt creates 13 new enterprise zones The government has announced the creation of 13 new enterprise zones, in the hope of creating 30,000 new jobs over the next four years.

The new zones, which include Warrington, Gosport, Hereford and Yarmouth, will benefit from tax breaks worth more than £150m over the next four years, as well as super-fast broadband, reduced planning constraints and, potentially, enhanced capital allowances.

These benefits are intended to encourage new start-ups within each zone, while encouraging existing companies from elsewhere to move into them.

The 13 new sites take the total number of enterprise zones across Britain to 24.

Earlier this year the government announced an initial wave of 11 zones, covering major cities such as Manchester, Liverpool and Birmingham.

Announcing the second wave, prime minister David Cameron expressed hope that the new zones would become “trailblazers for growth, jobs and prosperity,” adding: "We are determined to do everything we can to make Britain the best place in the world to start and grow a business.

An artisan is busy in preparing clay pots at his workshop in Quetta, Pakistan

33

Pakistan Woman cop gets international award

A Pakistani police officer, currently serving a U.N. peace operation, has received the 2011 International Female Police Peacekeeper Award in recognition of her outstanding performance.

Shahzadi Gulfam, who holds the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, is the first Pakistani woman officer to receive the prestigious award.

At present, she is deployed in the United Nations Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) as the U.N. Police (UNPOL) Team Leader posted in the Timor-Leste National Police (PNTL) Vulnerable Persons Unit (VPU)in Dili, the capital.

Shahzadi Gulfam was selected for the award by the United Nations Police Division in the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI), Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), and the International Association of Women Police (IAWP) International Scholarship Committee.

She joined the Punjab Police in March 1985. During her career of over two decades, she performed equally well at the national and international levels, according to an UNPOL press release.

She was the first Pakistani woman to be deployed in the UN Mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1997, and subsequently served in UN Missions in Kosovo in 1999 and TimorLeste in 2007.

“Shahzadi Gulfam has shown enthusiasm, diligence and zeal in her work with the Vulnerable Persons Unit in Dili,” UNMIT Police Commissioner Luis Carillho said. “Sadly in post-conflict Timor-Leste domestic violence is a common crime and victims often find it difficult to file complaints,” she said, adding that “despite these difficulties Officer Gulfam has played an exceptional role in supporting and protecting vulnerable persons”.

A student delivers her speech on occasion of “All Karachi Bilingual Declamation Contest 2011” organized by Muslim Youth Forum held at Arts Council in Karachi.

UN envoy slams Israel’s plan for new housing in E. Jerusalem A senior UN envoy called Israel’s reported plan to develop new housing units in East Jerusalem a ‘provocative action” that undermines international efforts to foster peace talks between it and the Palestinians.

Voicing alarm, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry noted that the Quartet, the diplomatic group comprising the UN, the European Union, Russia and the United States that seeks a peace based on two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side, already condemned the plan when its initial planning stage was announced last year.

“If confirmed, this provocative action undermines ongoing efforts by the international community to bring the parties back to ne-

gotiations,” he said in a statement after Israel today announced the plans to develop new units in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians want as capital of their future State, including 1,600 units in Ramat Shlomo.

Israel’s refusal last September to extend a 10-month freeze on settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory prompted the Palestinians to withdraw from direct talks with the Israelis.

Despite repeated calls by the international community to resume negotiations, the peace process has been in a deadlock since then. East Jerusalem was captured by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967, when it also occupied the West Bank and Gaza, which the Palestinians seek as constituent parts of their State.

Queen and Obama help boost Irish tourism

Numbers of tourists visiting Ireland rose more than 15 percent in the second quarter from a year ago, data showed, as high-profile visits by the Queen and U.S. President Barack Obama helped paint the country in a positive light.

Ireland's popularity as a holiday destination has dropped in recent years as price increases driven by a property boom put off costconscious travellers.

A subsequent financial crash also put the country in the headlines for all the wrong reasons in 2009 and 2010.

Figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed that nearly 1.8 million people visited Ireland from April to June of this year, with an eight percent increase in visitors from its most important tourist market, the UK. The Queen made an historic visit in May followed within days by a one-day trip

by Obama, triggering a wave of overseas interest.

The jump in visitors in April to June was also helped by a fall-off in travellers in the same period of 2010, when a volcanic ash cloud in Iceland closed airports across Europe.

"Anecdotal reports from our industry partners around ... Ireland confirm a more positive picture overall than this time last year," said Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland.

"However, we know that distribution of visitors is uneven, with some areas performing better than others.

The current outlook for North America, mainland Europe and emerging markets is positive for the coming months.

"The economic situation in Britain remains fragile and we are keeping the market under close review."

Ireland's government, anxious to stoke economic growth, has cut sales tax for restaurants and hotels to help tourism.

Britain’s Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge arrive at the Summerfield Community Centre in the Winson Green area, Birmingham.

34

Hypertension study prompts new diagnosis guidance

Members of Inter-Peace Council protesting against insulting Guru Garnath in Indian Punjab, outside Lahore Press Club.

Notting Hill Carnival police numbers increased

The number of police officers on patrol during the Notting Hill Carnival has been increased following a review.

A total of 5,500 officers will patrol the area on Sunday, while 6,500 will take to the streets on Monday.

This increase on the 2009 and 2010 levels follows a review of the police's operation for the carnival in the wake of this month's riots.

There will also be more than 4,000 officers elsewhere in London in addition to those normally on duty.

About one million people are due to visit the carnival over the two days.

More than 35 arrests have been made in pre-emptive police strikes to avoid the carnival weekends seeing a re-

peat of recent rioting.

Scotland Yard Commander Steve Rodhouse vowed to deal robustly with troublemakers as he said intelligence suggested a small minority were planning trouble.

The police chief said he was "really confident" he had the resources at his disposal to protect the event on Sunday and Monday.

"We realise that carnival will be taking place this year in unusual and exceptional circumstances," Mr Rodhouse told reporters.

"Our intelligence picture is still being developed as we approach the weekend and it will be kept under review right up to and indeed during the carnival itself."

Thousands show their support for city after Manchester riots

Thousands of proud Mancunians poured into the city centre to reclaim it from the looters.

Shoppers took advantage of free travel on the entire Metrolink network as they flocked to the shops – giving traders affected by the riots a much needed boost.

Hundreds of people took part in the so-called ‘Manchester Moment’ in Market Street – waving ‘I Love MCR’ posters and singing along to the Madness hit It Must Be Love as a brass band played Elsewhere, in Piccadilly Gardens, children and grown-ups enjoyed a Punch and Judy show – part of a host of free entertainment laid on by city chiefs.

Coun Pat Karney, the council’s city centre spokesman who led the Market Street event, told the crowd that Manchester was back in business.

He told the M.E.N.: "We are overwhelmed with the response from the Manchester

public. Today is a real turning point for businesses in the city centre that were affected by the riots."

He said early indications were that trade – which fell by a fifth in the aftermath of the riots – was nearly back to normal.

Hundreds in Market Street taking part in the 'Manchester Moment', displaying their 'I Love MCR' posters Thousands of proud Mancunians poured into the city centre to reclaim it from the looters.

Shoppers took advantage of free travel on the entire Metrolink network as they flocked to the shops – giving traders affected by the riots a much needed boost.

Hundreds of people took part in the so-called ‘Manchester Moment’ in Market Street – waving ‘I Love MCR’ posters and singing along to the Madness hit It Must Be Love as a brass band played - shown in the video below.

Taking repeated blood pressure readings over a 24-hour period rather than a oneoff measurement in the clinic is the most cost-effective way of deciding who should be prescribed drugs for hypertension, according to a study published Wednesday.

The findings in favour of so-called ambulatory blood pressure monitoring were immediately adopted by Britain’s health costs watchdog, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), in new guidelines on how to diagnose and when to treat high blood pressure.

Bryan Williams, a professor of medicine at the Leicester University and chair of the NICE guideline development group, said the change would affect the treatment of millions of people in Britain and was “a step-change that is likely to be replicated across the world.”

An estimated 1 billion people around the world have high blood pressure, or hypertension, which is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death globally. If it is left untreated, high blood pressure can cause strokes, heart attacks, heart failure and organ damage, including kidney failure

and vision problems.

Those diagnosed with hypertension are often prescribed one of many bloodpressure lowering drugs such as Novartis’s Lotensin or generic benazepril, candesartan, sold as Atacand by AstraZeneca and Takeda, or Novartis’ Diovan, known generically as valsartan.

Patients are often prescribed the drugs for many years if not the rest of their lives.

“Ambulatory monitoring allows better targeting of blood pressure treatment to those who will receive most benefit,” said Richard McManus of Britain’s Birmingham University, who led a study published in The Lancet medical journal which prompted the NICE guideline change.

“It is cost saving in the long term as well as more effective, and so will be good for patients and doctors alike.”

Diagnosis of hypertension has traditionally been based on blood-pressure measurements in the clinic, but studies have found that home and ambulatory measurements are better indicators of who will suffer heart problems and strokes.

UK to buy 14 Boeing Chinook helicopters Britain has ordered 14 new Chinook helicopters made by Boeing in a deal worth 1 billion pounds, the defence ministry said in a statement.

Britain has made heavy use of Chinooks to transport its soldiers in Afghanistan.

The new contract will bring Britain's number of Chinooks to 60 and includes development, manufacture and the first five years of support to the new helicopters.

After a review, the government announced last October an 8 percent real-terms cut in the 34 billion pound defence budget to curb the country's huge budget deficit by 2015.

The government recently committed to a 1 per cent a year realterm increase in the defence ministry's equipment and support budget from 2015.

Three of the new helicopters will be ready for deployment in early 2015 and all 14 will be fully operational by early 2017, the ministry said.

35

Manmohan asks rivals to help end anti-graft fast

Wives of Indian policemen, hold candles and torches as they walk during a march in support of social activist Anna Hazare in Mumbai.

Regulators to require minimum derivatives data Banks must report a minimum set of data on their derivatives trades from the end of next year to help regulators monitor financial stability and spot abuses, a draft plan from market supervisors and central bankers said on Wednesday.

Regulators want a full picture of the $600 trillion off-exchange derivatives market at all times by requiring banks to provide transaction details to repositories.

Supervisors were alarmed during the financial crisis when they were not able to quickly see who was exposed to U.S. bank Lehman Brothers when it collapsed in September 2008, which hampered their policy response.

The Group of 20 leading economies (G20) called in 2009 for derivatives to be centrally cleared and transactions reported to repositories by the end of 2012.

Several repositories have already been set up for different types of derivatives, such

as the Trade Information Warehouse for credit default swaps and the Equity Derivatives Reporting Repository, both run by U.S. DTCC. The Committee on Payment and Settlement Systems (CPSS) of central bankers and the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) want lenders to report trades according to global minimum requirements from the end of 2012.

Current formats are based on voluntary agreements with banks and regulators want a consistent set of information.

“The proposed requirements and data formats will apply to both market participants reporting to trade repositories and to trade repositories reporting to the public and to regulators,” the CPSS-IOSCO report said.

“The report also finds that certain information currently not supported by TRs would be helpful in assessing systemic risk and financial stability,” it added.

Learco Chindamo: Head teacher killer cleared of robbery The killer of headmaster Philip Lawrence has been found not guilty of a street robbery.

Learco Chindamo, 31, was cleared of targeting David Sexton in Camden, north London, in November.

Blackfriars Crown Court heard he was accused of robbing Mr Sexton at a cash machine outside a Sainsbury’s store in Chalk Farm Road.

Chindamo was convicted of murdering Mr Lawrence outside St George’s School in Maida Vale, north west London, in 1995.Gregory Jananto and Saeed Akhtar, both 32, were also found not guilty of robbery.

Prosecutors claimed Chindamo had bragged about his murder conviction to intimidate Mr Sexton into handing over money.

They said he had asked Mr Sexton, “do you remember about the head teacher in Maida Vale?”, as he had ordered him to hand over his money.

But the defence said Mr Sexton had branded Chindamo a killer, mocking him and his two friends.

In 1996 Chindamo was ordered to serve at least 12 years in jail for fatally stabbing Mr Lawrence, 48, outside the gates of the school.

He was freed in July 2010.

Ex minister got prisoners to paint her house Two prisoners who were supposed to be doing community work found themselves invited into a former government minister’s home to do a spot of decorating.

Jacqui Smith, the former home secretary, said the pair had been at a loose end so she had put them to work in her family home. She made a contribution to a local charity which helps prisoners in return for the labour.

“On one day, when actually they didn’t have anything else on, they did come to my house and do three hours’ worth of painting, for which me and my husband made a donation to the community group,” Smith said during a programme she was presenting on radio station LBC. “Offenders should work on projects which help the whole community. The scheme has been suspended while a full internal investigation is undertaken,” a prison service spokeswoman said.

Smith faced embarrassment as a minister after using public money to pay for adult films watched by her husband. She resigned from the Labour government in June 2009 and lost her seat in parliament last year

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his political rivals joined forces Wednesday to appeal to social activist Anna Hazare to call off his anti-corruption hunger strike, now in its second week.

But a spokesman for the ailing 74-year-old campaigner said he was holding fast to his demands, and would only terminate his fast if the government agreed to table his own tough version of an anti-corruption law.

"Then Anna will end his hunger strike," Arvind Kejriwal told reporters.

The joint call followed a meeting in which Singh sought help from all political parties to end the standoff, after nationwide support for Hazare caught the government on the back foot following a string of graft scandals.

"We have unanimously appealed to Anna Hazare to end his fast," Sitaram Yechury, leader of the Communist Party of India, told reporters after the all-party meeting in New Delhi.

The parties said in a statement they had agreed the final version of the proposed bill should provide "for a strong and effective Lokpal

(anti-corruption ombudsman) which is supported by a broad national consensus".

Hazare, who has not eaten since August 16, has said the version tabled by the government is too weak.

Singh had Tuesday offered a number of concessions that were also rejected by the activist's team, which sought a guarantee that the full parliament would debate his version of the legislation.

"Nobody can accept such demands — parliament is sacrosanct," said the Communist Party's Yechury.

However, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters that the all-party meeting decided that Hazare's proposed version of the anti-graft bill "would also be taken into account" in drafting the law.

Hazare is staging his protest, now in its ninth day, in a large open-air venue in Delhi where tens of thousands of flag-waving supporters have gathered each day to cheer on the man who has become a symbol of national dissent.

"I have just lost six kilos (13 pounds). There are concerns over my kidney. But I am deriving strength from all

of you," Hazare said in a speech from his stage set above the crowd earlier in the day.

Hazare is holding his fast in front of a giant photograph of India's independence icon Mahatma Gandhi, and says his protest represents a "second freedom struggle".

His anti-corruption drive has brought people onto the streets of cities across the country, calling for an end to the culture of corruption that permeates all levels of Indian society.

The breadth and depth of support for the campaign has shaken Singh's Congress-led government, whose own anti-corruption credentials have been tainted by a succession of multi-billion-dollar scandals.

With Hazare only drinking water and refusing all food, there are mounting fears for his health among the team of doctors who constantly monitor his vital signs.

"We recommended last night that for safety reasons he should be admitted to hospital... but he refused to move," the head of the medical team, Naresh Trehan, told reporters.

Prisons can cope with UK riots inmates: minister Prisons Minister Crispin Blunt has said the disturbances in English cities earlier this month were a "one-off" event.

Mr Blunt said the justice system could cope in the short-term and there would be no long-term effect on the prison population.

Last Friday the prison population hit a new record largely driven by the riots.

Mr Blunt was speaking at the launch of the government's new community service regime.

Since the riots, the prison population has gone up by more than 1,000, hitting a record of almost 87,000 last week.

As of Tuesday, there were 797 suspects on remand, almost two-thirds of all those to have so far come before the courts.

Prisons chiefs have devised contingency plans in case they run out of space.

In his first interview since the disturbances, the prisons

minister said that he was completely confident the system could cope and that the jail population would be back to where it was before the trouble within six months.

"We are completely confident that the prison system and justice system are going to be able to cope with what the police are producing for us," he told the BBC. "This is an exceptional event. There will be a one-off increase in prison numbers as people serve their sentences.

"What we have to do is make sure there are prison places for those sent to prison

by the courts and we will continue to do that regardless of how many people are sent to prison."

His comments to the BBC came as he promoted the Ministry of Justice's previously-announced plan to make more use of community-based sentences for some offenders.

Mr Blunt confirmed that from next year unemployed offenders doing unpaid work - known as community payback - will be made to do it full-time rather than spread out over many months.

Under the current arrangements, offenders can work as little as six hours a week on manual labour projects such as cleaning up graffiti.

The scheme aims to force offenders to work a minimum of 28 hours over four days with the fifth spent looking for a job. Ministers say the punishment will also be delivered more immediately after sentence.

Deputy PM wants Lockerbie bomber back in jail

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said on Wednesday he would like to see convicted Lockerbie bomber Abdel Basset al-Megrahi put back in jail after the overthow of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Many U.S. politicians and victims’ relatives are pressing for Megrahi’s extradition to the United States following his release on compassionate grounds two years ago.

[ID:nN1E77M169] In all, 189

of the 270 dead in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing were American citizens.

“My personal view is that I would like to see al Megrahi behind bars, because whatever you think he was convicted in a court of law for one of the most atrocious terrorist acts this country has ever seen,” Clegg told Sky TV. Megrahi was convicted in 2001 of playing a “significant part in planning and perpe-

trating” the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over the Scottish border town of Lockerbie.

He was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum jail term of 27 years but he returned to Libya in August 2009 after being freed from a Scottish jail on the grounds he was suffering from terminal prostate cancer.

Scottish authorities said at the time of his release he was only expected to live for an-

other three months.

Megrahi recently passed the second anniversary of his release. He appeared last month at a rally in support of Gaddafi, sitting in a wheelchair at a tribal meeting in Tripoli.

The release strained traditionally strong ties between Britain and the United States, with some U.S. politicians asking whether it had been designed to help oil giant BP secure contracts in Libya.

36 Cheetham Labour party select a new candidate for the next election Cheetham Labour Party have recently gone through a selection process to select the Labour candidate for the local election next year.

A total of 10 candidates from various back grounds were shortlisted. Sitting councillor Martin Pagel who had health problems for many years faced a tough competition, Basit Mahmood withdrew in the interest of unity within the Asian candidates and this was very much appreciated by the community.

There was a healthy democratic competition especially between Martin Pagel, Tahir Rafiq and Shoukat Ali. Different members had lined up in favour of their candidates. A number of community members were also active to get a single candidate between Tahir Rafiq and Shoukat Ali. This was not possible.

The selection meeting had a good turn out with 46 members attending. Shoukat Ali

got 33 votes, giving him an over whelming majority, and was selected in the first around. Martin Pagel got 6 votes, Tahir Rafir also got 6, Benson Osawa got one vote and the remainder candidates got no Vote, All party members pledged their full support to the winning candidate for the coming election.

Shoukat Ali thanked all the members for taking part

in the selection process and for selecting him. He promised to work hard for the coming election together with all the members to deliver another big win in Cheetham. He pledged to work very closely as a strong team with Councillor Afzal khan and Naeem Ul Hassan.

Councillor Afzal Khan and councillor Naeem ul Hassan also congratulated Shoukat Ali and said “Shoukat is a

strong candidate, who has been living in Cheetham Hill for 30 years. He knows the issues of our community and has a strong track record of serving the community.

Shoukat will make an excellent councillor for our area.”

Local Mp Graham Stringer, European MEP Arlen McCarthy both welcomed the selection of Shoukat Ali and pledged their support.

Illuminated manuscripts light up medieval monarchs

Journalists freed from Rixos Hotel pose for a picture upon their arrival to Corinthia Hotel in the Libyan capital Tripoli. Some 30 mostly foreign journalists who had been held against their will in Tripoli's Rixos Hotel by guards loyal to Libya's strongman Moamer Kadhafi were freed.

No change to Norwegian police to question ticket sales for UK blogger on attacks Paralympics Norwegian police said on nied knowing the admitted

London 2012 bosses are sticking with the system that caused such chaos with the Olympic Games when Paralympic tickets go on sale next month.

Two million tickets for the Paralympic Games will be made available for three weeks from September 9.

But despite criticism and complaints over the manner in which Olympic tickets were sold, the London organising committee, Locog, have ruled out a first-come, firstserved system.

A spokesperson told Sky News: “We believe that the application system is a fairer system than first come, first served.

“The system we use will make sure everyone has an equal chance of getting a ticket, whether they apply at the start or the end of the sales window.”

Wednesday they would interview a right-wing British blogger as they continue looking into whether antiIslam zealot Anders Behring Breivik had help in the bomb and shooting attack that killed 77 people on July 22.

“He called us,” police prosecutor Christian Hatlo told Reuters, referring to Paul Ray, a former leader of the anti-immigrant English Defence League and host of a website that publishes antiIslamic ideas.

In his 1,500-page manifesto, Breivik described an unnamed Englishman as a source of inspiration, and many news organisations have sought out Ray for comment.

From his base in Malta, Ray has repeatedly denounced the attack and de-

killer, before deciding to travel to Norway to try to clear his name.

“For four weeks this has hung over my head like a black cloud, but I have heard nothing from the police,” he told Norwegian newspaper VG. “I therefore decided to act myself.”

Hatlo said Ray was “not a suspect” and said the police would decide after the questioning was complete whether to make any comment about it.

“We wanted to interview him because he is made out to be a mentor of Breivik in the manifesto,” said Hatlo.

As a witness, he said, Ray is “in the same category” as an anti-Islamic Norwegian blogger known as “Fjordman” who was interviewed and released earlier this month.

Flecks of gold and vibrant swirls of royal blue grace the pages of illuminated royal manuscripts at the British Library in London, which will shortly go on show to the public.

The 150 manuscripts in the exhibition represent the most stunning pieces from the library’s collection, the largest group of medieval manuscripts in Britain and one of the most important in the world.

“The manuscripts contain tens of thousands of the best medieval decorative and figurative paintings, which are as vivid as they were when they were first painted,” said Scot McKendrick, head of history and classical studies at the British Library.

The richly-coloured exhibition will span the period between the eighth and 16th century, displaying images that have remained encased within the tomes for hundreds of years, protected from light and dirt.

The artefacts range from the depiction of the lineage of English kings across five metres of parchment scrolls to a dynamic illustration of Alexander the Great slaying dragons.

And a 13th century map

by Matthew Paris, one of the foremost English historians of the Middle Ages, plots the pilgrimage route from London through France and Italy to Jerusalem, finishing with a map of the Holy Land featuring crusaders’ castles, churches, and even a camel.

“When we selected the manuscripts to go on display, we tried to pick those which were visually very strong and had a very strong art element,” Kathleen Doyle, curator of illuminated manuscripts at the British Library, said.

American Muslims on guard after 9/11

Muslims in Sterling, Virginia have marked every anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 with a solemn prayer service for the victims and heightened vigilance against potential hate crimes.

A high degree of integration has not shielded American Muslims from being tarred with the same brush as the Al-Qaeda radicals who carried out the attacks.

Ten years after the attacks, Islamophobia remains a potent force in American political discourse, and threatens innocent citizens with discrimination and sometimes violence.

"At least at the 10th anniversary, we as all Americans can be at least comforted that (Al-Qaeda leader) Osama bin Laden is gone," said Rizwan Jaka, a director of the Adams Centre, one of the largest mosques and Muslim community centers in the Washington area.

The American Muslim community "welcomed" bin Laden's death and was "relieved justice was served for the victims," Jaka said.

"It was an attack against

all Americans, American Muslims were killed in the attacks, all the communities were attacked that day," he told AFP. Yet even as the Muslim community reaffirms its commitment to fight and condemn terrorism, it must also seek heightened police protection.

"We have to be careful," Jaka explained.

The insults, the acts of vandalism and the harassment of Muslims sparked by the attacks remain a constant threat.

The number of "hate crimes" reported against Muslims jumped to 481 in 2001 from just 28 a year earlier, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. By 2006, that number had shrunk to 150 and has hovered at around 100 per year ever since.

Simply trying to build a new mosque can also get a community -- or even the country -- up in arms.

An Islamic center planned near Ground Zero in New York became a major issue in November's mid-term election and a Pew poll found

37

Pakistan warns US on aid cuts Evacuations as

Girls look the dresses displayed during an Eid exhibition at a local hotel in Islamabad.

London riots: Tenants sent eviction warning letters Dozens of letters have been sent to council tenants in south London warning they could face eviction if convicted over recent rioting in the city.

Southwark Council has written to 35 tenants where they or a member of their household have been charged over the disorder earlier this month.

It said anyone convicted of riot-related offences would be in breach of their tenancy agreement.

The council said any application to evict would be considered case by case.

Trouble first flared in Tottenham, north London, on 6 August following a peaceful protest over the fatal police shooting of Mark Duggan.

Over the following days riots and looting spread across England.

More than 120 businesses in Southwark were targeted during the widespread disorder, with Walworth Road and Rye Lane in Peckham particularly badly hit.

Earlier this month, Prime Minister David Cameron said

people who “loot and pillage their own community” should be evicted from council houses.

Southwark councillor Ian Wingfield said: “The vast majority of our social housing tenants are hard working and law abiding people who respect their neighbours and local communities.

“Unfortunately, a minority were involved in the riots and inexcusable acts of violence and looting on our streets.

“We want to send a clear message to these individuals that if they are convicted there are serious consequences to their actions which for some could result in their eventual eviction.”

The council said it had begun carrying out face-toface visits to those identified as part of this process to ensure any possible enforcement action, if applied at all, was proportionate.

Wandsworth Council in south London was the first council to serve an eviction notice over the riots.

Biden praises Japan’s courage after tsunami

US Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday praised Japan’s courage and resolve as he visited its tsunami-shattered coast, where American forces helped with a large-scale relief effort.

Biden, near the end of an Asia tour, is the top-ranking American official to travel to the region where the March 11 earthquake and tsunami claimed more than 20,000 lives and sparked the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

“I am honoured and truly humbled to have an opportunity to visit this place, to see so much devastation and tragedy,” said Biden, speaking at the airport of Sendai, one of the cities hit hardest by the disaster.

He said that Japan’s response to what he called “this God-awful tragedy” had “demonstrated for the world to see so much heroism, courage and resolve and selflessness”.

“I came to express not only my commitment to say, ‘We will do whatever we can to help,’ but to tell you how much the president, how much I, how much the American people admire your character.”

Walking through the devastated landscape, Biden saw a house that was reduced to a shell amid knocked-down pine trees and debris. He laid white flowers on a pile of boulders before observing a moment’s silence.

President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday said that any cut in the US assistance would not only impact Pakistan’s existing economic conditions but would also send a negative signal to the public about commitment of the US government towards the people of Pakistan when they are suffering heavily in economic terms due to unparalleled toll of war against terror.

The president was talking to a US delegation comprising Senator Carl Levin, Senator Jeff Merkley, Senator Jeanne Shaheen and other senior officials, including that of the US embassy in Islamabad during a meeting at Presidency on Tuesday.

Discussing some recent developments, the president said that Pakistan was concerned about the reports of proposed slash in US assistance for the country.

He said that Pakistan shared common objectives with the United States in the

region and was ready to work with international community for reconciliation and peace in Afghanistan.

He said both the countries needed to avoid all actions that send negative signal and prove to be counter-productive in a bid to forge a collaborative and comprehensive partnership.

Emphasising the need to avoid all such legislations and uncalled for moves, the president hoped that all such steps would be avoided.

From the Pakistan side, Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar, General Secretary M Salman Faruqui, Senator Syeda Sughra Imam, Acting Foreign Secretary Dr Alamgir Babar and Spokesperson to the President Farhatullah Babar attended the meeting.

Matters relating to Pak-US bilateral relations, war against terror and regional situation were discussed in the meeting.

rare quake rattles eastern US seaboard

One of the strongest earthquakes to strike the US east coast in decades rattled offices on Tuesday in downtown Washington and caused anxious evacuations from skyscrapers as far away as New York.

The Pentagon, the US Capitol and monuments in the nation’s capital were all evacuated after the 5.9-magnitude quake, which was shallow with its epicenter, only a kilometer underground.

The disruption to cell phone services in the hour after the quake added to the sense of fear in a country preparing to mark the 10th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

38

Manchester’s A Level pass rates have stayed above the national average

Manchester’s A Level pass rates have stayed above the national average as results announced, Thursday 18 August, underlining continued progress.

The proportion of A* and A grades achieved is higher than the national average at 31.4 per cent – 4.1 per cent higher than the national figure of 27 per cent, and up two per cent on last year’s Manchester total of 29 per cent.

The overall pass rate (A* to E) remained at 99 per cent, which is 1.1 per cent higher than the national figure of 98 per cent.

Councillor Afzal Khan, Executive Member for Children’s Services at Manchester City Council, said: “This year’s A Level results show that Manchester schools continue to make strong

progress.

“The results are a credit to the city and a testament to the hard work of pupils and teachers alike and show the real face of Manchester’s hard working young people, many of whom have combined their studies with making a positive contribution to their communities.”

At Parrs Wood High School in Didsbury, almost 80 per cent of all grades achieved were A* to C, with 25 per cent of grades A* to A. Seventeen students achieved at least three A/A* grades with three students going to Cambridge: Isabelle Bowen, Grace McKelvey and Nicola Wood, the latter achieving a clean sweep of four A*s.

Other success stories include Umair Gondal, originally from Pakistan, who attained three As in Maths,

Strauss-Kahn sexual assault case dismissed, appealed

A New York judge dropped all criminal sexual assault charges against ex-IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Tuesday after prosecutors lost faith in the credibility of his accuser.

But the formal end of the case awaited the outcome of a last-ditch emergency appeal.

New York State Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus accepted the prosecutors' request for dismissal of all charges. The move left the man once seen as the leading contender to be the next president of France close to freedom and the chance to try to rebuild his tarnished political career.

The former head of the International Monetary Fund appeared in court with his wife Anne Sinclair by his side and the pair left the hearing smiling, amid a throng of media.

He later issued a statement saying his life in recent months had been a "nightmare" and that he looked for-

ward to life returning to more normal times.

Strauss-Kahn was not yet free to return to France, after New York State Supreme Court Justice Michael Obus stayed his dismissal of the case for an emergency appeal.

A lawyer for the accuser, hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo, had requested a special prosecutor to continue the criminal case. Earlier on Tuesday, Obus dismissed the request.

But Diallo's lawyers appealed that decision. Obus said the appeals court would rule on that later on Tuesday, meaning Strauss-Kahn must await that verdict before he is free to return to France.

Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney's office on Monday outlined how they lost faith in the accuser, hotel maid Nafissatou Diallo, a 32-year-old immigrant from Guinea who alleged StraussKahn attacked her in his luxury hotel suite and forced her to perform oral sex.

Liverpool start global footprint in India

English Premier League club Liverpool launched their first soccer academy in India on Wednesday and said the club would have similar “footprints” in every continent by 2014.

“We want to have footprints in every continent in the next three years,” Steve Turner, head of Liverpool FC International Football Academy, told reporters after signing a contract to set up the Indian academy on the outskirts of Delhi.

Turner and former Liverpool striker Ian Rush will also travel to China to explore similar opportunities.

“China is next and we are also in discussions for potential partnerships in South

America, United States, Canada, Vietnam and also Malaysia,” Turner added.

Asked why Liverpool chose India, one of the world’s fastest growing economies, Turner said; “We are trying to connect with our fans and the football academy is a vehicle.”

European clubs have been keen to tap the Asian market, a growing trend underlined by Manchester United’s plans of a $1 billion initial public offering (IPO) in Singapore by the end of the year.

Former England and Liverpool midfielder Steve McMahon will be head coach of the Indian academy which is named after him.

Physics and Chemistry despite English being his third language and Steven Jackson, who combined achieving an A and two Bs with setting up the school’s Duke of Edinburgh award scheme which saw 30 pupils gain silver awards.

A number of pupils also took part in the Vitalise scheme, which involved them giving up a week of their holidays to work voluntarily in a respite care centre for adults with learning and physical disabilities.

Headteacher Andrew Shakos said: “Parrs Wood staff and governors are proud of all our students who have consistently been great ambassadors for Parrs Wood School and excellent role models for younger pupils. They are a credit to the school, their families and the community.”

Record A-levels trigger rush for university places

Sixth-form students face a scramble for university places in the final year before tuition fees rise after another record set of A-level results.

The pass rate rose for the 29th successive year to hit 97.8 percent, while around one in 12 exams achieved the top A* grade, officials said on Thursday.

The level of pupils securing an A grade held steady at 27 percent, the same as last year, the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) said.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said the positive results were in stark contrast to the rioting that some young people took part in across England last week.

"The last 10 days has seen huge public debate about the appalling behaviour of a tiny minority of young people," he said in a statement.

"Today, however, we can all celebrate the success of the

hundreds of thousands of students who have worked hard and are collecting their well-earned results."

There was a 7.4 percent rise in the numbers sitting a maths A-level and broadly similar increases across the sciences. Modern languages including Spanish, French and German all saw declines.

"The increase in the number of students taking maths and the sciences suggest that young people are listening to the repeated calls from industry for more people to study the STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) subjects," said JCQ Director Jim Sinclair.

The University and College Admissions Service (UCAS) estimates that nearly 400,000 students have already secured a university place, while 185,000 will have to find a course in the clearing system.

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Forbes names Merkel world’s Forced marriages: Bristol area sees ‘significant rise’ The number of people in- ficult to provide specific fig- found out he was due to get report had highlighted Brismost powerful woman volved in forced marriages ures” as each case was married. tol as having “very high lev-

Forbes magazine Wednesday named German Chancellor Angela Merkel the world’s most powerful woman, calling her the “undisputed” leader of the European Union and head of its only “real global economy.”

Merkel, who has topped the list of the world’s 100 most powerful women in all but one of the years since she became chancellor in November 2005, beat out US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and, in 3rd place, Dilma Rousseff, who became Brazil’s first woman president on January 1 2011.

“German Chancellor Angela Merkel is head of the one real global economy in Europe and is the ‘undisputed’ leader of the EU,” Forbes said.

“Although overseeing a booming economy and

falling unemployment, she contends with a weakening support base and crisis in the eurozone, where Germany is often in the unenviable position of bailing out its weaker neighbors.

“She is out to stabilize EU debt and keep the 17-member euro zone unified.”

It was Merkel’s fifth time at the top of the list.

‘Neet’ youths figure at second-quarter high

The proportion of 18 to 24-year-olds in England not in employment, education or training (Neet) has risen to 18.4%, official figures suggest.

The figure from the Department for Education is the highest for the second quarter since 2006, and is up from 16.3% last year. Nearly a million (979,000) 16 to 24-year-olds were Neet between April and June this year, the figures show.

The government said it was boosting apprenticeships and 16 to 18 education.

Neets figures fluctuate during the academic year, peaking in the third quarter as school, college and university courses end. But this year’s 18 to 24 figures are the highest for the second quarter since comparable data was first published in 2006; the previous was 17.6% in 2008.

in the Bristol area has risen “significantly”, police have said.

Avon and Somerset Police said there had been a noticeable rise in forced marriages over the past five years.

They said young people were often taken abroad in the summer and not “missed” until September.

Det Ch Insp Dave McCallum said only the “tip of the iceberg” was known and the scale of the problem was “not fully recognised” in the city.

The force said it was “dif-

recorded differently depending on the circumstances.

But Det Ch Insp McCallum said he had dealt with cases in which marriage was used to “address the perceived moral decline” of behaviour and sexual victimisation and assault were common in such arrangements.

As well as young women, men have also been targeted in the region.

Ali, 20, not his real name, believed he was going on holiday to Pakistan when he

Cheaper iPhone may be in pipeline Apple may be about to launch a cheaper version of its iPhone 4 as it seeks to compete with Nokia and Microsoft in markets such as China.

According to the Reuters news agency, Apple is in talks with Chinese mobile operators and the handset could be launched within weeks. To date Apple has targeted the premium end of the mobile phone market.

However, some industry watchers are sceptical about claims of an “emerging markets” version.

“It is more likely that Apple will price down its existing model when it releases its next flagship product,” said Ben Wood, an analyst with CCS Insight.

The lower specification model would, according to Reuters, feature 8GB of internal storage, as opposed to 16GB or 32GB on the current iPhone 4.

Apple is widely expected to launch the iPhone 5 this autumn. Speculation about its design and features is driving frantic discussion on blogs and news sites such as Macrumors.com.

Among the theories gaining traction is the introduction of a bigger touchscreen, redesigned antenna and an 8-megapixel camera.

Mr Wood believes that the idea of targeting different models at different markets made some sense.

“I ran downstairs, grabbed my passport and tried to do a runner, but because I’d never been there before I didn’t know where I was running to.

“It was a bit of a family dishonour, they were practically beating me up. I was put under house arrest or guard, anywhere I went.

“At the time I was thinking am I going to get out of this alive?”

Kalsum Bashir, from the Bristol Muslim Women’s Network, said a government

els of forced marriage incidents”.

“So much pressure is exerted on young men and women, the family honour and the fear of being ostracised and alienated from the family, so if you’re very young and you’re being forced into a marriage, what’s the alternative?

“There does need to be a lot more preventative work.”

Anyone with concerns about forced marriages is urged to phone 0845 456 7000.

We should pay more tax: French millionaires

Some of the richest people in France have asked to pay more tax, as President Nicolas Sarkozy prepares to outline new measures to improve the nation’s balance sheet.

L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, the head of Air France and the boss of oil giant Total are among those who have signed a petition calling for a “special contribution” from the wealthy.

“When the public finance deficit and the prospects of a worsening state debt threaten the future of France and Europe and when the government is asking everybody for solidarity, it seems necessary for us to contribute,” the signatories said.

It follows an announce-

ment from US billionaire Warren Buffett that he should be paying higher taxes in an effort to cut the US deficit.

Mr Sarkozy is understood to be planning to end some tax exemptions that benefit the wealthy as he tries to raise up to 10 billion euros in extra revenue in the 2012 budget.

It follows a rocky few weeks on European stock markets that have highlighted concerns over French public finances.

Weak second-quarter economic growth, together with Standard & Poor’s US credit rating downgrade have convinced the French government it needs to act more urgently to protect its AAA rating.

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Libya's new masters offer reward for Gaddafi's head

L

England whitewash India 4-0 England sealed a 4-0 series rout of India with an innings and eight-run victory at The Oval as Sachin Tendulkar fell just short of an historic 100th international hundred. page 22

Pakistan Woman gets international award A Pakistani police officer, currently serving a U.N. peace operation, has received the 2011 International Female Police Peacekeeper Award in recognition of her outstanding performance.

Shahzadi Gulfam, who holds the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police, is the first Pakistani woman officer to receive the prestigious award. page 33

ibya's new masters offered a million-dollar bounty for the fugitive Muammar Gaddafi, after he urged his men to fight on in battles across parts of the capital.

A day after rebel forces overran his Tripoli headquarters and trashed symbols of his 42-year rule, scattered pockets of loyalist diehards kept the irregular fighters at bay as they hunted Gaddafi and his sons. Rebels also reported fighting deep in the desert and a standoff round Gaddafi's tribal home town.

In Tripoli, rockets and shooting kept two million civilians indoors and gunfire rang out in the center just before midnight on Wednesday. Most were anxious but hopeful the war would soon end, and with it worsening shortages of food, water and medical supplies -- both for hundreds of wounded and for the sick.

"Gaddafi's forces and his accomplices will not stop resisting until Gaddafi is caught or killed," said Mustafa Abdel Jalil, head of the rebels' National Council, who offered amnesty to any of his entourage who killed the fallen strongman and announced a reward worth over $1 million for his capture.

"The end will only come when he's captured, dead or alive," Abdel Jalil said in the eastern rebel stronghold of Benghazi.

A rebel makes victory signs as he stands between the Qatar flag (top L) and the Kingdom of Libya flag in front of Muammar Gaddafi's residence at the Bab al-Aziziyah complex in Tripoli Until then, he said, Gaddafi would not give up easily and could still unleash a "catastrophic event." In a poor-quality audio tape broadcast by satellite overnight, Gaddafi, 69, urged

Libya's tribes to "exterminate traitors, infidels and rats."

There was no clear indication of where Gaddafi is, though his opponents surmised he was still in or around Tripoli after what

Gaddafi himself described as a "tactical" withdrawal from his Bab al-Aziziya compound before it was captured on Tuesday.

But Western leaders and the rebel government-in-

waiting lost no time readying a handover of Libya's substantial foreign assets. Funds will be required to bring relief to war-battered towns and to develop oil reserves that can make Libya rich.