London, Feb 7: A top security expert has warned that Al-Qaida chiefs are plotting to bring “terror to the people” with a wave of Irish Republican Army (IRA)-style attacks in the UK.

An ex-Royal Marines weapons instructor, who is working with secret service spooks to stem the fresh menace, said that the extremists are planning to wreak havoc at Tube stations and shopping centres using home-made coffee jar bombs once favoured by the Republican hardliners.

London, Feb. 7 : British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has admitted for the first time that his predecessor Tony Blair had struck a secret deal with him to take over as premier.

Before Brown’s interview with ITV1, neither has ever admitted before that the secret deal actually existed.

“It is really explosive stuff - neither Brown nor Blair has ever gone on the record about their famous deal which dogged them for years. But Brown is absolutely clear to Piers that a deal was done. Brown was expecting Blair to hand over to him far earlier than he did,” News of the World quoted an ITV1 insider, as saying.

London, Feb. 7 : British actress Joanna Lumley has re-launched her campaign for Gurkhas'' rights by demanding the Gordon Brown Government to allow retired Gurkha soldiers to enter Britain without paying visa fees.

Lumley has written to British Home Secretary Alan Johnson urging him to waive the 400 pounds entry visa fee for 178 Gurkhas who were previously blocked entry to Britain, The Telegraph reports.

Lumley''s previous high-profile interventions on behalf of the Gurkhas forced the Government into a series of embarrassing U-turns.

Stoke City (UK), Feb. 7 : A Blackburn Rovers fan, who was critically injured during a Premier League match between his club and Stoke City on Saturday, has died in hospital.

Police said the Blackburn Rovers supporter was found unconscious in a stand at Stoke''s Britannia Stadium. They said he was treated at the scene for a head injury and cardiac arrest, then rushed to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire.

A spokesman said the 30-year-old man was pronounced dead at 1.55 a. m. local time this morning, and added that the circumstances leading to his death is under investigation.

The Telegraph quoted club sources as saying that there would be no further comment until the investigations are completed. (ANI)

London, Feb 7 : Nadine Dorries, MP for Mid Bedfordshire, who lived on benefits in a council flat for a TV show, was caught hiding cash in her bra.

The controversial MP was sent to stay with jobless sisters Rena and Renisha Spaine at the two-bed flat they share with their eight kids.

The social experiment by a Channel 4 reality television show was designed to help MPs understand how poorer sections of society live, reports the Telegraph.

On the show, the leaders are asked to survive for a week while spending no more than 64.30 pounds - a week''s job seekers'' allowance.

London, Feb 7 : Scientists in the U. S. say a vaccine that masquerades as chikungunya virus might work against the mosquito-borne disease.

There is no known vaccine or treatment for the disease, which has infected millions of people in Africa and Asia and can cause debilitating pain and, in extreme cases, death.

Gary Nabel of the US National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and his research team put genes that code for the virus''s protein coat into cultured human cells.

The proteins assembled themselves into virus-like particles (VLPs), which mimic the virus but aren''t infectious.

London, Feb 7: Former England cricketer Graham Gooch has said that left-handed batsman Alastair Cook must put scoring runs before captaincy as he leads the team to Bangladesh.

Cook has endured a difficult time with the bat in recent months and has been given the added pressure of captaining the side in the absence of Andrew Strauss.

Gooch, who watched Cook develop into one of the country’s most accomplished opening batsmen during their time together at Essex,” said: “Cook’s priority is to score runs, then the captaincy comes after that.”

London, Feb. 7 : If David Cameron wins the UK General Election, he will have one glamorous incentive with the keys to 10 Downing Street, as Carla Bruni may join Nicolas Sarkozy in greeting the Conservative leader.

The French ambassador has disclosed that Nicolas Sarkozy is to visit London shortly after the expected polling day amid rumours that he will be accompanied by his alluring wife, Carla Bruni.

“The president is going to come for the anniversary of De Gaulle''s appeal in June,” The Telegraph quoted French Ambassador Maurice Gourdault-Montagne, as saying.

London, Feb. 7 : After his disagreements with Milan-based Internazionale over lack of transfer funds, Jose Mourinho is set to pay the 5.5million pound buy-out clause in his contract this summer and return to the Premier League.

“The club and I signed a very objective contract until 2012, because we want to work together. But there is a cancellation clause that Inter will pay me if they want my departure and another that I will pay Inter if I want to leave,” News of the World quoted Mourinho, as saying.

Inter won Serie A in his first year and they are currently preparing for a Champions League knockout clash with Mourinho’s former club Chelsea this month.

London, Feb 7: Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is reportedly keeping an eye on AC Milan’s David Beckham after the star midfielder hinted at his desire of returning to Old Trafford.

Ferguson had seen Beckham in the recent Milan derby against Inter, and now will fly to Italy on Friday night for a Champions League spying mission – labeling him “a Manchester United great.”

The pair will be reunited this month when the Red Devils take on AC Milan in the Champions League.

London, Feb 7 : It may soon be possible to transform communication among speakers of the world’s 6,000-plus languages – all thanks to Google which is developing software for the first phone capable of translating foreign languages instantly.

A basic system will be ready in couple of years, as Google is building on existing technologies in voice recognition and automatic translation, reports The Times.

An automatic system for translating text on computers has already been created by the giant.

London, Feb 7 : Tennis superstar Serena Williams desperately wants to have kids with her rapper/actor boyfriend Common.

However, Williams is not sure if she’ll be a responsible mother as she once accidentally left her pet pooch behind after a training session on the tennis court, reports The Daily Star.

She says, "I would love to have a baby... But I have two little dogs I take care of and they''re so cute, but sometimes I forget them. One time I was in the locker room... I was busy and I left and I was in the car driving home and I was like, ''Oops!'' I definitely don''t need any kids because I forgot my dog."

London, Feb. 7 : Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has found an unlikely fan in Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti, who has termed the England star as the “best footballer in the world”.

“Manchester are using Rooney very well right now. He improves his quality with every game and I am surprised his level never drops. Instead he always improves his performance,” News of the World quoted Ancelotti, as saying.

“It''s not just good for United but also the national team. To have him in this condition is important for the World Cup. At this moment he is the best in the world,” he added.

London, February 7 : Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are reportedly due to pour cold water on break up rumours by putting up a ‘still together show’ at the upcoming Academy Awards.

The couple is allegedly tired of the reports of an imminent split and wants to put an end to them with the massive PR exercise.

“Brad and Angie will take their time to smile, hold hands and pose for the cameras as if they were teenage sweethearts. They want to prove that far from being over, their relationship is rock solid,” the Daily Star quoted a source close to them as saying.

London, February 7 : Prince Harry was said to have become a gay pin-up after pictures of him showing off his six-pack emerged online.

The 25-year-old royal was said to be one of Google’s most searched-for male celebrities with his washboard stomach and strawberry-blond good looks as contributing factors.

“Red hair is getting very, very trendy in the gay scene,” the Daily Express quoted QX magazine as saying.

Harry previously added more male admirers to his list when he kissed a fan in exchange for a beer last November.

London, Feb. 7 : New England skipper Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic have been paying secret visits to a specialist sports clinic to save their Manchester United careers.

According to The News of The World, the defensive duo have been making regular trips to the Blackberry Clinic in Milton Keynes.

Ferdinand has a mystery back injury, while Vidic has been struggling with a calf problem and has not played for the club since December 30.

The pair has been travelling to Milton Keynes together by train for weeks.

United turned to the Buckinghamshire clinic for help after club physios struggled to find a solution to Ferdinand''s long- standing back problem.

London, Feb. 7 : In a bid to participate in the largest military offensive against the Taliban since the Afghanistan invasion in 2001, 4,000 British troops have begun preparing alongside Americans and Afghan troops.

The strike force will storm into some of the most dangerous areas of central Helmand in a series of daring raids, the start date of which is being kept secret.

The offensive, aimed to “break the back” of the Taliban, will dwarf last summer’s Operation Panther’s Claw in which 10 British soldiers were killed and more than 100 injured.

Senior British officers have warned the public to “steel itself” as the casualties could be the highest of any operation in the eight-year war.

London, Feb. 7 : England coach Fabio Capello expressed concern over John Terry’s personal life and asked him to “get help” when he was fired as the three lions’ skipper.

News of the World quoted sources, as saying that Terry, who came under fire after his affair with team-mate Wayne Bridge''s ex-girlfriend became public, is refusing to come to terms with the fact he is responsible for one of the biggest scandals in the history of the national team.

Capello, who has been appalled by his behaviour in recent months, urged the disgraced skipper to seek professional guidance when they met on Friday, they added.

London, Feb 07 : Indian-origin couple’s 1-million-pound house in Britain got trashed in their absence during the weekend, after their 16-year-old son advertised a party on Facebook.

Raj and Nishi Shukla’s home in Kingston got destructed when almost 100 gatecrashers dropped in following the information provided by their son, Aneesh, of a get-together through the social networking site.

During the night six police cars and two ambulances were called to control the rioting revellers.

Neighbours revealed that they even saw partygoers urinate out of the windows.

London, Feb 7 : Anne Hathaway has revealed that she refused to play the lead role in the upcoming ‘Alice in Wonderland’ movie - because she was tired of her ‘pretty girl’ image.

The 27-year-old actress was asked to star as Alice in the Tim Burton-directed film but opted to play the White Queen instead – because she had previously played a pretty protagonist in ‘The Princess Diaries’ movies which launched her career.