Man Utd celebrate Premier League title win

Manchester United sealed a third successive Premier League title by getting the point they needed against Arsenal – but the Old Trafford celebrations only started after an afternoon gripped by tension.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side knew a draw would ensure they equalled Liverpool’s long-time record of 18 titles, but Arsenal ensured they did not earn their prize without a fight.

Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas both wasted opportunities to drag the title race into its final week and leave United with more work to do at Hull City on the last day of the season as nerves jangled in the closing stages.

But United’s defence, so often the bedrock of their success this season, delivered another clean sheet when Ferguson needed it most and Old Trafford erupted in ecstasy at the final whistle as an 11th Premier League success was confirmed.

Wayne Rooney missed United’s best chance with a first-half header, and there was an intriguing cameo when Old Trafford voiced its resounding disapproval when the popular Carlos Tevez was substituted in what could prove to be his final home appearance.

But nothing could overshadow United’s achievement – or the joy of players, fans and management – as the presentations were made after the final whistle with club captain Gary Neville lifting the Barclays Premier League trophy.

United saw off a stirring challenge from an improving Liverpool this season to once again set the standards their rivals must meet, despite a stumble when defeats against Rafael Benitez’s side and Fulham threatened to undermine their challenge.

And as so often during this campaign, United got the result they needed when not at their most fluent, with the industry of Darren Fletcher and the defensive solidity of Nemanja Vidic taking centre stage as Arsenal kept Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo on the margins.

United’s squad were introduced individually as the presentations began, but the biggest ovation of all was reserved for Ferguson, whose hunger, drive and desire have again been the inspiration for this triumph.

And as the pyrotechnics flashed around Old Trafford, Ferguson could start the preparations for further glory as he attempts to make United the first club to successfully defend the Champions League when they meet Barcelona in the final in Rome.

Tevez’s spectacular equaliser at Wigan earned him a starting place ahead of Dimitar Berbatov – with Ferguson clearly unmoved by continued speculation surrounding the Argentine’s future.

Andrey Arshavin was restored to Arsenal’s side after illness, and he saw plenty of possession in a first 45 minutes that saw Arsene Wenger’s side acquit themselves far better than when the pressure was on in the recent Champions League semi-final against United.

Eurovision final gets under way

The grand final of the Eurovision Song Contest is taking place in Moscow, with 25 countries aiming for glory.

The UK will be represented by Jade Ewen, who is singing Andrew Lloyd Webber’s song It’s My Time.

Norway’s singer and violinist Alexander Rybak is the bookmakers’ favourite to win, closely followed by Greece, Turkey, Azerbaijan and the UK.

Graham Norton is making his debut as commentator for the BBC, replacing Sir Terry Wogan, who bowed out last year.

Speaking in the Russian capital, Norton revealed that he had spoken to his predecessor, who commentated on every Eurovision final from 1980.

“Terry rang me to wish me good luck,” said the TV presenter. “He advised me to resist having a drink until the fifth song,” he added.

Andrew Lloyd Webber, who will play the piano for Ewen during her performance, said: “I really do believe that Jade is one of the greatest talents I have had the privilege of working with.”

He has downplayed the UK’s chances of winning, but bookmakers and song contest pundits are confident that the country’s last place in 2008 will not be repeated.

The UK will be among five countries who pre-qualified for the final and whose acts have not yet been seen.

France – represented by renowned singer Patricia Kaas, Spain and host nation Russia are among them.

Germany’s entry features US cabaret artist Dita Von Teese, who used to be married to rock star Marilyn Manson.

Other countries faring well in the odds include Malta, whose representative Chiara has competed in two previous occasions.

For the first time, voting in the final will be split between televoting and panels of musical experts, which is thought may reduce the incidence of predictable and neighbourly votes.

The panels, which made their decisions based on Friday’s dress rehearsal, were expected to look for song quality and musical performance over dance routines and props.

Coverage of the Eurovision Song Contest in the UK begins at 2000 BST on BBC One.

Wolverine

Wolverine is a fictional character, a superhero that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character first appeared in Incredible Hulk #180 (October 1974) and was created by writer Len Wein and Marvel art director John Romita Sr., who designed the character, and was first drawn for publication by Herb Trimpe. Wolverine later joined the X-Men’s “All New, All Different” roster in Giant-Size X-Men #1 (May 1975). X-Men writer Chris Claremont played a significant role in the character’s subsequent development as well as artist/writer John Byrne, who insisted on making the character older than the other X-Men. Artist Frank Miller collaborated with Claremont and helped to revise the character with a four-part eponymous limited series from September to December 1982 in which Wolverine’s catch phrase, “I’m the best there is at what I do, but what I do isn’t very nice,” debuted.

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Star Trek

Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment series and media franchise. The Star Trek fictional universe created by Gene Roddenberry is the setting of six television series including the original 1966 Star Trek, in addition to ten feature films with an eleventh completed to be released on May 8, 2009. The franchise also extends to dozens of computer and video games, hundreds of novels and instances of fan fiction, several fan-created video productions, as well as a themed attraction in Las Vegas. Beginning with the original TV series and continuing with the subsequent films and series, the franchise has created a cult phenomenon and has spawned many pop culture references.

James Bond

James Bond 007 is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. The character has also been used in the longest running and most financially successful English language film franchise to date, starting in 1962 with Dr. No.

After Fleming’s death in 1964, subsequent James Bond novels were written by Kingsley Amis (as Robert Markham), John Pearson, John Gardner, Raymond Benson and Sebastian Faulks. Moreover, Christopher Wood novelised two screenplays, Charlie Higson wrote a series on a young James Bond while other writers have authored unofficial versions of the character.

There have been 22 films in the EON Productions series to date, the most recent of which, Quantum of Solace, was released on 31 October 2008 (UK). In addition there has been an American television adaptation and two independent feature productions. Apart from movies and television, James Bond has also been adapted for many other media, including radio plays, comic strips and video games.

The EON Productions films are generally termed as “official” films originating with the purchase of the James Bond film rights by producer Harry Saltzman in the late 1950s.

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Madness

Madness are an English pop/ska band from Camden Town, London, that formed in 1976. As of 2009, the band have continued to perform with their most recognised lineup of seven members, although their lineup has varied slightly over the years. They were one of the most prominent bands of the late-1970s 2 Tone ska revival.

Madness achieved most of their success in the 1980s. Both Madness and UB40 spent 214 weeks on the UK singles charts over the course of the decade, holding the record for most weeks spent by a group in the 1980s UK singles charts. However, Madness achieved this in a shorter time period (1980-1986).

Star Wars

Star Wars is an epic space opera franchise initially conceived by George Lucas. The first film in the franchise was simply titled Star Wars, but later had the subtitle Episode IV: A New Hope added to distinguish it from its sequels and prequels. It was originally released on May 25, 1977 by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, spawning two immediate sequels released in three-year intervals. Sixteen years after the release of the trilogy’s final film, the first in a new prequel trilogy of films was released, again released in three-year intervals, with the final film released on May 19, 2005.

As of 2008, the overall box office revenue generated by the six Star Wars films has totalled approximately $4.3 billion, making it the third-highest grossing film series. Behind only the James Bond and Harry Potter films.

The Star Wars franchise has spawned other media including books, television series, video games, and comic books. These supplements to the film trilogies comprise the Star Wars Expanded Universe, and have resulted in significant development of the series’ fictional universe. These media kept the franchise going in the interim between the film trilogies. In 2008, Star Wars: The Clone Wars was released to theaters as the first ever worldwide theatrical Star Wars film outside of the main trilogies. It was the franchise’s first animated film, and was intended as an introduction to the Expanded Universe series of the same name, a 3D CGI animated series based on a 2003 animated 2D series, also of the same name.

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UK combat operations end in Iraq

A ceremony has been held in Basra to mark the official end of the six-year British military mission in Iraq.

UK combat operations ended as 20th Armoured Brigade took part in a flag-lowering ceremony with a US brigade.

In London, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said a new chapter in relations between the two countries had begun.

Earlier, a memorial service attended by Defence Secretary John Hutton took place in Basra for the 179 UK personnel who have died during the conflict.

The focus was a memorial wall featuring the names of the 234 UK and foreign troops and civilians who lost their lives under British command in Iraq.

Radio 1 Big Weekend

BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend is the first major British music festival of the year and always attracts big UK and worldwide artists. So if you want to see the new names who’ll dominate the summer’s festivals, this is the place.

This year BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend will take place at Lydiard Park, Swindon on Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 May. With live music across four stages, music and activities from the two-day event will be covered on: Radio 1, BBC Three on TV, on the Red Button, on BBC Mobile and here on the Big Weekend website.

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