Cricket Cool

Carlos Tevez laid on two goals and scored one as Argentina stunned the world champions Spain 4-1 in a friendly at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires last night. Related Stories Rooney finds a reason to celebrate (almost) Johnson steps into the breach to give Capello breathing room City boys combine to build England future and see off the Swiss Keane makes sure Ireland go top after Andorra scare McManus’s late header rescues Scottish pride

Read the original here: 
International round-up: Tevez consigns world champions to rare defeat

LONDON (Reuters) - The United Nations should help investigate allegations that opposition figures in Bahrain have been tortured in prison in the run-up to next month’s elections, a British lawmaker said on Tuesday.

Here is the original post:
U.N. must probe Bahrain torture allegations - UK lawmaker

LONDON (Reuters) - A violin made from a tree in the garden of Scottish author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s childhood home has been handed over to the University of Edinburgh instrument collection and will be used for special charity concerts throughout Scotland.

Read more:
"Sherlock Holmes violin" goes on show

BELFAST (Reuters) - The British government’s austerity measures could cut Northern Ireland’s power to spend by a quarter and plunge it into a prolonged recession, First Minister Peter Robinson said on Tuesday.

Here is the original post: 
Northern Irish "face recession" due to UK cuts

LONDON (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings PLC said on Tuesday its Group chairman Stephen Green is stepping down to become Minister of State for Trade and Investment.

Read the original here:
HSBC confirms Chairman Green to step down

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s tabloid Sun newspaper launched its own celebrity perfume on Monday to provide readers with the scent of showbiz.

More:
Get the celebrity scent with UK tabloid’s perfume

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. model and actress Jerry Hall is selling several works of art from her private collection, including a portrait by Lucian Freud, as a way of letting go of a past she shared with Rolling Stone Mick Jagger

See the original post here: 
Jerry Hall to auction Freud portrait, Warhol

LONDON (Reuters) - A giant bale of hay has killed a founding member of the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) band after it tumbled down a hill and crashed into his van.

Here is the original post: 
Giant hay bale kills former ELO cellist

LONDON (Reuters) - Maintenance workers on London’s underground rail network went out on strike on Monday at the start of a wave of industrial action which unions say will cripple the system, bringing misery to commuters.

Read the original post:
Tube commuters braced for travel chaos

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron’s communications chief denied on Monday that he encouraged reporters to illegally hack into phone messages in his previous role as a tabloid newspaper editor.

Go here to see the original:
Coulson "happy to speak to police"

LONDON (Reuters) - Public sector job opportunities in IT have fallen markedly since the start of the year, a survey showed Monday, in a sign that the government’s austerity drive is already affecting the labour market.

More:
IT job opportunities slump in public sector

LONDON (Reuters) - As commuters prepared for travel chaos on Monday at the start of a series of strikes on the London Underground, management and unions traded blows over new safety claims.

Excerpt from:
London Tube commuters braced for travel chaos

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - The Dutch painter Corneille, co-founder of the avant-garde Cobra movement, died on Sunday at the age of 88, the Dutch Cobra museum said on Sunday.

Read more here:
Dutch painter and Cobra co-founder Corneille dies

LONDON (Reuters) - Entrepreneur Richard Caring is considering a counter-bid for British cafe and restaurant chain Carluccio’s, British newspaper the Mail on Sunday reported.

Go here to see the original: 
Caring mulls counter-bid for Carluccio’s - report

LONDON (Reuters) - Tim Waterstone, the founder of the UK book retailer that bears his name, is considering a 100 million pound-plus bid to buy the chain from parent company HMV, the Observer newspaper reported on Sunday.

Go here to see the original:
Waterstone founder may take chain back - report

CARDIFF (Reuters) - England play their first Twenty20 international on Sunday since claiming the World Cup in Barbados this year against a backdrop of suspicion and innuendo rather than celebration.

More here: 
England-Pakistan series opens with air of suspicion

LONDON (Reuters) - A former Labour minister plans legal action after accusing the Metropolitan Police of failing to fully investigate claims of widespread phone hacking by reporters with the News of the World newspaper.

Original post: 
Former minister seeks probe into NoW hacking

LONDON (Reuters) - Liberal Democrat stalwart and former Rochdale MP Sir Cyril Smith has died aged 82, his party said on Friday.

Read more here: 
Larger than life Liberal Cyril Smith dies

LONDON (Reuters) - Fugitive businessman Asil Nadir appeared in court on Friday for the first time since returning to London last month, 17 years after he fled while awaiting trial on fraud and theft charges related to one of Britain’s biggest corporate failures.

Read the original:
Tycoon appears in court 17 years after fleeing Britain

LONDON (Reuters) - Pension obligations of British companies have grown to “unprecedented” levels due to falling yields on government bonds, consultancy Aon warned on Thursday.

Here is the original post:
UK firms’ pension liabilities hit new high - Aon

LONDON (Reuters) - Thousands of workers on London’s underground rail system will start a series of strikes next Monday after talks aimed at ending a dispute over job cuts broke down.

View post: 
London Tube strikes go ahead from Monday

LONDON (Reuters) - God did not create the universe and the “Big Bang” was an inevitable consequence of the laws of physics, the eminent British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking argues in a new book.

See the original post: 
God did not create the universe, says Hawking

LONDON (Reuters) - Ofgem is launching an investigation into whether four of the big gas and power suppliers are mis-selling products to customers, the energy regulator said on Thursday.

See more here:
Utilities probed for mis-selling to households

LONDON (Reuters) - A special constable found guilty of assaulting an off-duty soldier while trying to arrest him was jailed for three years on Wednesday.

The rest is here: 
Special constable jailed for soldier assault

LONDON (Reuters) - Adam Sandler’s new comedy “Grown Ups” has knocked Sylvester Stallone’s latest mercenary action movie off the UK box office top spot after just one week, according to Screen International on Wednesday.

Excerpt from:
Adam Sandler’s "Grown Ups" knocks Stallone off top spot

LONDON (Reuters) - An intact Roman lantern made of bronze, believed by experts to be the only one of its kind in Britain, has been unearthed in a field by a metal-detecting enthusiast.

More:
Rare Roman lantern found in farmer’s field

LONDON (Reuters) - British customs officials said on Tuesday they had had arrested three people as part of an investigation into money laundering.

Original post:
Three arrested in money laundering investigation

LONDON (Reuters) - Nearly half of the UK public has little confidence in local authorities as they face massive budgetary cuts despite being sympathetic to their plight, a poll by Zurich Municipal showed on Monday.

Read the original post: 
Half public not confident in budget-cutting council - poll

LONDON (Reuters) - Mortgage approvals and consumer credit lending rose unexpectedly in July, but total net lending was its weakest since March, Bank of England figures showed on Tuesday.

Read the rest here:
July mortgage approvals rise unexpectedly

LONDON (Reuters) - British consumer confidence unexpectedly improved in August for the first time since February thanks to a more positive view on the economic outlook, a survey showed on Tuesday.

See original here:
Consumer confidence improves in August

LONDON (Reuters) - British house prices suffered their biggest fall since April 2009 this month, declining by 0.3 percent, property data company Hometrack said on Monday in its monthly survey of estate agents and surveyors.

The rest is here: 
August house prices down by most since April 2009 - Hometrack

EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Britain’s top annual comedy prize, the Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Award, went to England’s Russell Kane at an Edinburgh Fringe festival ceremony on Saturday for his show “Smokescreens and Castles.”

More:
Top comedy award goes to English comic

LONDON (Reuters) - Rates of oesophageal cancer in men have risen by 50 percent in Britain in a generation, an increase that is probably being driven in part by growing rates of obesity and poor diet, scientists said on Saturday.

More:
Oesophageal cancer rates rise steeply in men

LONDON (Reuters) - The head of the BBC made an impassioned defence of the state broadcaster on Friday, following years of mounting criticism from rivals and politicians accusing it of being too large and too arrogant.

Go here to read the rest: 
BBC boss defends it from critics, rivals

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Steelmaker Corus, owned by India’s Tata Steel, said it had reached an agreement with Thailand’s SSI over the potential $500 million sale of its mothballed Teesside plant.

Original post:
Corus and SSI agree scope of $500 million Teesside sale

LONDON (Reuters) - Planners have given London 2012 Olympic organisers permission to build a temporary water polo centre with an inflatable roof.

The rest is here:
Water polo venue for London 2012 to get inflatable roof

LONDON (Reuters) - British Airways apologised to passengers after an emergency message warning they were about to crash into the sea was played by mistake.

Read more here:
"We’re about to crash," BA passengers told in error

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s biggest defence industry trade body urged the government on Friday to clarify who will pay for a new nuclear deterrent, voicing fears that its high cost could hit orders for other military equipment.

Original post: 
UK defence industry asks who will pay for nuclear deterrent

LONDON (Reuters) - Use of weight-loss surgery has increased 10-fold in hospitals in England since 2000 and those who have gastric bands fitted can reduce their risk of early death and cut health service costs, scientists said on Friday.

Excerpt from: 
Surgery for obesity increases 10-fold in England

LONDON (Reuters) - The government has declared war on the profusion of unnecessary road traffic signs, railings and advertising boards, saying they blight towns’ English character.

View post:
Britain being "overrun" by street signs

Lionel Messi has told Liverpool they must allow his Argentina team-mate Javier Mascherano to join him at Barcelona. Related Stories Bent calls on Sunderland to strengthen front line Arsenal will make experience tell on return to Rovers, says Arshavin Aston Villa deny Heskey is moving to Leicester Mascherano actions ‘tantamount to treason’ says Taylor McLeish dismisses Birmingham financial concerns

Excerpt from:
Messi urges Liverpool to release Mascherano

LONDON (Reuters) - A Wiltshire beekeeper said on Wednesday he may have discovered a strain of honey bee immune to a parasite that has been gradually wiping out populations of the vital insect worldwide.

Go here to see the original: 
Bee industry abuzz with mite resistant breed

LONDON (Reuters) - The Pension Protection Fund (PPF), which pays corporate pensions when companies go bust, plans to create a funding buffer to help reassure members it can cope with the threat posed by longer life expectancies.

See the original post: 
Pension lifeboat to boost funding target

LONDON (Reuters) - Former Happy Mondays dancer Bez was jailed for four weeks on Wednesday for assaulting his ex-girlfriend during a row over money.

See the original post: 
Ex-Happy Mondays dancer Bez jailed for assault

LONDON (Reuters) - The government unveiled a new look passport on Wednesday after it was redesigned to include strengthened security features and iconic images from across the nation.

See more here: 
White cliffs to feature on new UK passport

LONDON (Reuters) - A man who worked for the Secret Intelligence Service MI6 has been found murdered at a flat near the agency’s headquarters, media said on Wednesday.

Read more here: 
MI6 worker found murdered in London

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s coalition government’s June budget will hit the poor hardest, the Institute of Fiscal Studies said on Wednesday, directly contradicting finance minister George Osborne’s assertion that his plans are progressive.

Read the original post:
IFS says June budget will hit poor hardest

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister David Cameron’s wife Samantha has given birth to a baby girl, his office said.

Go here to see the original: 
Samantha Cameron gives birth to baby girl

LONDON (Reuters) - Singer George Michael admitted on Tuesday that he had been under the influence of cannabis when he crashed his car into a north London shop in July.

Read the original here: 
George Michael admits drug-drive charge

BANGALORE (Reuters) - UK pawnbroker H&T Group posted a 71 percent jump in profit as it bought more gold from those who sold off the metal amid surging prices, and forecast full year above the top end of market expectations.

Read the original here:
H&T Group shines on gold buy, sees brighter days ahead

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s City regulator slapped a $3.51 million fine on the UK branch of Zurich Insurance for data security failings after the loss of a tape in South Africa containing details on 46,000 insurance customers.

Go here to read the rest: 
FSA fines Zurich UK $3.5 million over lost data tape

LONDON (Reuters) - UK housebuilder Persimmon unveiled a 70 million pound writeback and the resumption dividends as the chief executive said there may be a dent in the crucial autumn selling season until the government’s October spending review.

View original here:
Persimmon restores dividends, warns on early autumn sales

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s healthcare cost agency NICE rejected Roche’s drug Avastin for advanced bowel cancer again on Tuesday, saying it was too expensive, despite a fresh price deal offered by the manufacturer.

The rest is here:
Roche’s Avastin again spurned by cost body

LONDON (Reuters) - UK oil explorer Cairn Energy said it had struck gas in Greenland with the first well to be drilled in the Arctic territory in a decade.

View original here: 
Cairn Energy finds gas in Greenland

LONDON (Reuters) - Major oil and gas leaks offshore Britain grew 39 percent last year and serious injuries also rose sharply, the safety watchdog said on Tuesday, warning companies to improve their safety standards.

Read the original here: 
Oil and gas industry warned over rising leaks

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s tax authority will introduce reverse value-added tax (VAT) charges relating to carbon emissions trading from November 1, replacing a zero tax rate implemented last year to prevent fraud.

Here is the original post:
UK to launch reverse VAT charges for CO2 trading

LONDON (Reuters) - A new reality TV show, which will film two people — one disfigured, the other attractive — living together in a house full of mirrors, has been branded a “freak show” by critics.

See more here: 
Channel 4 reality show branded "freak show"

LONDON (Reuters) - British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline said on Monday it had started final trials of its new vaccine to prevent shingles, one of the most significant products in its pipeline.

Read the rest here:
Glaxo starts final clinical trial of shingles vaccine

BANGALORE (Reuters) - British marine services provider James Fisher and Sons Plc posted a 4 percent rise in first-half pretax profit, driven by growth in its specialist technical unit, and raised its interim dividend by 5 percent.

Continued here: 
James Fisher profit up; raises interim dividend

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s largest quoted housing landlord Grainger is eying expansion of its home equity release business after striking a 50:50 joint venture with real estate fund manager Moorfield.

View original post here: 
Grainger unveils residential property JV

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Irish building materials group Kingspan said on Monday it would resume paying an interim dividend after reporting a 9 percent rise in first-half operating profit, defying expectations for a 10 percent fall.

Read the original post:
Ireland’s Kingspan resumes dividend; profit climbs

Roy Hodgson has, temporarily at least, won his battle to keep Javier Mascherano on Merseyside after Internazionale dramatically called off their pursuit of the Argentina captain.

See the rest here: 
Mascherano set to stay at Anfield but Juventus sign Aquilani on loan

LONDON (Reuters) - Paul the oracle octopus has become an ambassador for England’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup, officials said on Friday.

Read the rest here:
Oracle octopus gets behind England’s 2018 World Cup bid

LONDON (Reuters) - Crystal Palace, who came close to folding earlier this year, came out of administration on Friday and can begin signing players, the English Championship (second division) club’s administrator confirmed.

See more here:
Crystal Palace come out of administration

LONDON (Reuters) - A BBC journalist has been charged with wasting police time over claims he made earlier this year that he had killed a former lover who was dying from AIDS.

See the rest here:
BBC man to be prosecuted over "lover killing"

LONDON (Reuters) - The government said Friday it was considering withdrawing benefits from those with drug or alcohol problems who refused to seek treatment.

Go here to read the rest: 
Government mulls stopping addicts’ benefits

THREDBO, Australia (Reuters) - As Europeans strip off and head to the beach, many Australians are wrapping up for a trip to the snowfields, ready to brace the cold — and some of the most expensive piste prices in the world.

Read more here: 
Australian skiers brace for world’s top piste prices

LONDON (Reuters) - Distribution firm Stobart Group said it expected growth in the second half to be boosted by new contracts from drinks company A.G. Barr and new business with grocer Tesco.

View original here:
New contracts driving growth at Stobart Group

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Eating more green leafy vegetables can significantly cut the risk of developing diabetes, scientists said on Friday.

See the original post here:
Green leafy vegetables cut diabetes risk: study

LONDON (Reuters) - Pubs and restaurants group Mitchells & Butlers said it has sold 333 non-core pubs to TDR Capital for 373 million pounds, reflecting its strategy to focus more on food.

Here is the original:
Mitchells & Butlers pub sale nets £373 million

LONDON (Reuters) - The coalition government said on Friday it will introduce temporary bans on legal drugs that could be harmful to users.

View original post here:
Government eyes temporary ban of "legal high" drugs

LONDON (Reuters) - The average petrol price in Britain fell slightly over the past month due mainly to a fall in the benchmark wholesale market, the Automobile Association (AA) said on Friday.

View post:
Petrol and diesel prices dip in mid-August

LONDON (Reuters) - Six works, including a giant Battenberg cake and a huge cockerel, are in the running to win a place on Trafalgar Square’s vacant Fourth Plinth, one of the most high-profile public art commissions in the UK.

Original post:
Cake and cockerel vie for London’s empty plinth

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s air traffic controllers put pilots on alert this week after a vulture which can soar as high as 30,000 feet escaped from her handlers during a display.

Read the original post: 
Pilots on alert for high-flying vulture

LONDON (Reuters) - Engineering and environmental consultant Waterman Group said its full-year profit would be at the lower end of expectations after writing off money owed by clients and paying office leases early.

See more here: 
Waterman hit by concerns over unpaid bills

LONDON (Reuters) - Poundland, Europe’s largest single price discount retailer, posted soaring year profit but warned consumers face a painful squeeze on their finances this winter as public sector cuts and tax rises start to bite.

The rest is here: 
Poundland predicts consumer pain as profits soar

TORONTO (Reuters) - Scientists on Wednesday were set to launch an effort to “virtually raise” the doomed ocean liner Titanic by using 3D video to map the entire wreckage site for the first time.

Read more from the original source: 
Titanic comes to life in 3D

LONDON (Reuters) - A British government minister raised the case of an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning and other human rights concerns with Iran’s ambassador to London on Wednesday, the Foreign Office said.

See more here: 
UK raises human rights concerns with Iran

LONDON (Reuters) - Two 11-year-old boys, convicted of trying to rape an eight-year-old girl near her home last year, were given supervision orders on Wednesday.

Go here to see the original:
Boys, 11, sentenced over attempted rape of girl

LONDON (Reuters) - Bradford council applied to the Home Secretary on Wednesday to ban marches through the city over the upcoming bank holiday weekend, amid fears that protests by a right-wing group and opponents could spill over into violence.

Read the original:
Bradford seeks to ban right-wing and rival march

LONDON (Reuters) - Bank of England policymakers considered the case for both easing and tightening policy this month, before voting eight to one to keep interest rates at a record low of 0.5 percent, minutes showed on Wednesday.

See original here:
BoE voted 8-1 for steady stance in August, Sentance sought hike

LONDON (Reuters) - British oil explorer Cove Energy said it can’t commercially exploit an oil find offshore Mozambique though it would undertake tests to see if other parts of the geological structure could produce sellable oil.

Continued here: 
Cove’s Mozambican oil find is uncommercial

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s trade unions launched an attack on public spending cuts to mark the coalition’s 100th day in office, setting the scene for an autumn battle with the government as it reveals where the axe will fall.

See the rest here: 
Unions attack spending cuts on government’s 100th day

LONDON (Reuters) - Three people were critically injured when a train struck a vehicle on a level crossing in Suffolk on Tuesday, Network Rail said.

View post:
Three critical after Suffolk train crash

LONDON (Reuters) - Police uncovered more than 6,800 cannabis factories in the last year, a report said on Tuesday, with farms found everywhere from disused cinemas to former banks as the recession led to more vacant buildings.

See the original post: 
Police find cannabis farms in old cinemas and banks

LONDON (Reuters) - Asda, Britain’s No.2 grocer, said the outlook to the end of 2010 remains challenging with UK families facing the lowest amount of disposable income in the final quarter for two years.

Go here to read the rest:
Asda says UK consumer faces income squeeze

LONDON (Reuters) - British social housing and home care provider Mears reported a 42 percent increase in first-half pretax profit and said it was seeing unprecedented levels of opportunity in the public sector.

Originally posted here: 
Mears seeing unprecedented public sector demand

(Reuters) - British public relations and marketing services firm Freshwater UK PLC said its full-year pretax profit would be below market expectations as it was hurt by the government’s policy on the National Health Service (NHS).

Go here to see the original: 
Freshwater warns on FY after NHS cutbacks

LONDON (Reuters) - Airport operator BAA and Unite union have reached a deal to prevent a strike at major airports, officials said on Monday.

See the original post here: 
BAA and Unite reach settlement to avert strike - Acas

LONDON (Reuters) - England bowler Graeme Swann told a police officer who stopped him for drink-driving that he had had to go out to buy screwdrivers to rescue his trapped cat, a court heard on Monday.

View original post here: 
Swann blames cat over drink-drive charge

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. rapper Flo Rida and French DJ David Guetta have reached the number one spot with their song “Club Can’t Handle Me” after a three-week climb up Britain’s singles chart, the Official Charts Company said on Sunday.

More:
Flo Rida and David Guetta top singles chart

LONDON (Reuters) - The next manager of England is likely to be an Englishman, the managing director of the newly -constituted Club England said on Sunday.

See the original post: 
Next England manager likely to be English - FA official

BELFAST (Reuters) - Rioters hurled petrol bombs at police in the Northern Ireland town of Lurgan on Saturday night, close to the scene of an explosion that injured three children hours earlier, police said on Sunday.

Original post:
Night of clashes follows bombing in Northern Ireland town

BELFAST (Reuters) - A small bomb exploded in a rubbish bin in the Northern Ireland town of Lurgan on Saturday, causing minor injuries to three children, police said.

Original post: 
Bomb injures three on tense Northern Ireland parade day

EDINBURGH (Reuters) - The throb and rhythm of Latin America helped launch this year’s Edinburgh International Festival, with a sell-out performance of American composer John Adams’s Nativity oratorio “El Nino.”

Go here to read the rest:
South American rhythm sets beat at Edinburgh fest

EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Simon Callow’s first acting job was as the front end of a horse at the Edinburgh Festival 37 years ago.

Here is the original post:
Shakespeare inspires again at Edinburgh fringe fest

LONDON (Reuters) - British travel firm Sun4U has collapsed, leaving over a thousand holidaymakers stranded abroad.

See original here: 
Travel firm Sun4U collapses, stranding passengers

EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Scotland’s police have their eye on a play on human trafficking staged at the Edinburgh Fringe festival to help spotlight the plight of young foreign women exploited as sex slaves.

Read the original:
Scottish police eye sex slavery play at Fringe

LONDON (Reuters) - Airport operator BAA and the Unite union are to hold talks aimed at averting planned strikes by ground staff, conciliation service Acas said on Friday.

Go here to read the rest:
BAA and union agree to talks in pay dispute - Acas

LONDON (Reuters) - Barclays’ small business arm has refused to sign up to UK lending targets because it could encourage irresponsible lending, the head of the division told the Financial Times on Friday.

See the original post: 
Barclays rejects UK lending targets