Wayne Rooney gets 2-year driving ban after pleading guilty to drunk driving

Former England captain Wayne Rooney pleaded guilty to drunk driving on Monday, leading to a court imposing a two-year driving ban and ordering him to perform 100 hours of unpaid community work.

The Everton striker was stopped by police outside Manchester on Sept 1 while driving someone else's car. Rooney was three times above the legal limit for driving with alcohol in the body, the hearing at Stockport Magistrates' Court was informed as the 31-year-old player entered his guilty plea.

"Following today's court hearing I want publicly to apologize for my unforgivable lack of judgment in driving while over the legal limit. It was completely wrong," Rooney said in a statement.

"I have already said sorry to my family, my manager and chairman and everyone at Everton FC. Now I want to apologize to all the fans and everyone else who has followed and supported me throughout my career."

A breathalyzer test showed Rooney's alcohol level was 104 micrograms in 100 milliliters of breath. The driving limit in England and Wales is 35 micrograms per 100 milliliters of breath.
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Flights resume at Islamabad airport after 38-hour internet disruption

Flight operations at Islamabad's Benazir Bhutto International Airport were restored on Sunday after a 38-hour-long disruption caused by a fault in international submarine internet cable systems, which has since been repaired.

Internet services have been restored across the country after a 38-hour-long disruption caused by a fault in the India-Middle East-Western Europe (I-ME-WE) submarine cable that caused consumers and businesses across Pakistan to experience major internet disruptions, with many customers complaining of slow browsing speeds, a Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) representative said.

The disruption in the India-Middle East-Western Europe submarine cable prevented airport officials confirming flight schedules and ticket bookings, as a result of which at least eight flights domestic and international flights were cancelled earlier today, Dawn news quoted airport officials as saying.

Many domestic and international flights were cancelled. Flights to Medina, Manchester and Karachi have also been cancelled.PI-211, which was scheduled to reach Islamabad from Dubai, was cancelled as well. Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight, which was to reach Jeddah from Karachi were cancelled.

Pakistan Telecommunications Limited (PTCL) stated the company has successfully arranged for additional bandwidth through our international cable systems & partners.

The loss of these three submarine cables leaves Pakistan relying on SEA-ME-WE 3, SEA-ME-WE 5 and the AAE-1 submarine cables, out of which SEA-ME-WE 3 operates in a limited capacity.
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Manchester airport terminal evacuated over suspicious bag

Passengers at the Manchester airport were evacuated on Wednesday after a suspicious bag was discovered at a terminal.

Officials tweeted that Terminal 3 was cleared as a precaution amid investigations after "a potential issue with a bag", the Metro daily reported.

A Manchester Airport spokesman confirmed the evacuation. "Due to a potential issue with a bag in Terminal 3, a precautionary evacuation is taking place."

A passenger tweeted: "They seem to be taking people off planes on buses. Total confusion here."

It is the second time in less than 24 hours that an evacuation had been carried out at the Manchester airport. Terminal 1 was evacuated earlier when water poured through the roof.

This followed similar evacuation at London Heathrow's Terminal 3 and London Euston station due to fire alerts

(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Manchester Arena attack: 'No defeat, no pity', city unites against bomber

Thousands of Manchester residents gathered in the centre of the northern English city on Tuesday in a show of defiance against a suspected suicide bomber who killed 22 people, including children, in an attack at a crowded concert hall.

The vigil, held in warm evening sunshine in front of the Town Hall, drew representatives of different religions who, one by one, condemned Monday evening's bombing, which ripped through a crowd leaving a show by US singer Ariana Grande.

Members of the city's Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Sikh communities said they wanted to show that Manchester, while shocked, would not be cowed.

"It was incredibly emotional ... for us especially as Muslim citizens," said Muhammad Khursheed, an imam of a mosque in the Manchester suburb of Hulme. "We will stand together in spite of oppression, terrorism. A strong, powerful message today."

British police on Tuesday identified the suicide bomber as 22-year-old Salman Abedi but gave no further details. US security officials, citing British intelligence officials, said Abedi was born in Manchester to Libyan parents.

After speeches by officials, people attending the vigil gathered in small groups to talk among themselves. Some students took turns to hug a woman dressed in a burka.

"Together. Unified," Daniel Liptrott, a 45 year-old businessman said when asked how the vigil made him feel. "A single act of terrorism isn't going to break that."

After a moment of silence, when many wept, the crowd broke into repeated chants of "Manchester, Manchester."

A placard read: "Hate will never tear us apart", alluding to the song "Love will tear us apart" by Joy Division, one of Manchester's best known music groups.

Fans of the city's rival soccer teams Manchester United and Manchester City stood together at the protest.

A local poet, Tony Walsh, read a poem from the steps of the Town Hall to the crowd which drew loud cheers and applause.

"There's hard times again in these streets of our city, but we won't take defeat and we don't want your pity, because this is the place where we stand strong together with a smile on our face, Mancunians forever," Walsh said.
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