Manchester United have the money, the problem is persuading stars to come

Ed Woodward is ready to splash the cash  Photo: PA

The stage has been set for Manchester United’s biggest summer spending spree, after they announced record revenues that could make them the first club to break the half-billion-pound barrier.

The threat of another silverware-starved season failed to halt United’s relentless march towards overhauling Real Madrid as football’s most profitable team, as they remained on course to earn £500 million in a single year.

Following quarterly financial results that showed United made £133.8 million – up 26.6 per cent year on year – in the three months to Dec 31, chief executive Ed Woodward hinted at money being made available for “world-class” signings at the end of the season.

With the club also boasting a year-on-year surge in their cash balance from £37 million to £121.6 million and with their share of the first tranche of an £8.3 billion Premier League television deal to come, it appeared that failure to qualify for the Champions League would be the only barrier to success in the transfer market this summer.

Providing they do finish in the top four, the odds of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar or Gareth Bale ending up at Old Trafford could depend solely on the whim of whoever is manager.

In a conference call with investors to discuss the quarterly figures, Woodward made no mention of the possible departure of Louis van Gaal and arrival of Jose Mourinho, for what could be a mouth-watering renewal of his rivalry with the incoming Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola.

But he made it clear whoever was in charge would be under “pressure” to sign top players, fuelled by what he described in the financial results as “our strong commitment to investing in our squad”.

Responding to a question about why Leicester City were leading the Premier League with a team who cost just £22 million – more than 10 times less than fifth-placed United spent last summer – Woodward said: “Some players are bought by other clubs with an eye to them developing into something special in a few years’ time, whereas there’s a bit more pressure perhaps on some of the bigger clubs to bring in players that are going to be hitting the ground running and top players, verging on world-class, almost immediately.

“So there is a slightly different market, perhaps, in which people are buying.”

Woodward admitted the rise of China as a footballing powerhouse could impact upon United’s recruitment plans, but after declaring the club to be the biggest on the country’s social media network, Weibo, added: “If nothing else, it’s another useful market if we’re looking to sell any players.”

He was similarly bullish about the future of United’s academy, the standard of which has recently been compared unfavourably to City’s state-of-the-art facility. In what appeared a thinly veiled swipe at the number of young players blooded by City, Woodward revealed that a “root-and-branch” review of United’s own academy was complete, which could see a new director announced in the coming days. “The academy continues to be at the heart of the club. Giving youth a chance is part of our philosophy, part of our DNA,” he said.

“Our key competitive advantages are still very strong. The two ones I would call out are an unmatched record of player development compared to any other team, in particular in England. And, secondly, the runway we deliver of first-team opportunities to those players coming through. Again, very different to some of our competitors.”

Woodward’s assertion in the financial results that “success on the pitch” was United’s “No 1 priority” did not stop him being congratulated during the conference call about their commercial success, which provided a boost to its dwindling share price on the New York Stock Exchange.

Highlights from the quarter were identified as the renewal of the club’s partnership with Thomas Cook, a new contract with Cable and Wireless Communications and licensing deals with New Era and Heroes.

Also cited was the impact of United’s £750 million kit deal with Adidas, which began this season.

It all added up to commercial revenues for the period of £66.1 million, up 42.5 per cent year on year. Broadcasting revenues were also up 31.3 per cent to £37.3 million.

That should help United easily weather whatever commitment they end up making to reduce ticket prices next season, with Woodward confirming moves were afoot by all Premier League clubs to “deliver something more to away fans”.

“We had the away-fan initiative last year and, obviously, there are discussions happening,” he added.

Although Woodward avoided a grilling about the possible arrival of Mourinho, he was unable to keep the former Chelsea manager out of the news altogether.

Speaking on ITV’s This Morning programme, Frank Lampard gave his former manager a ringing endorsement.

Asked whether Mourinho might end up at United, he said: “I think it’s a possibility. If Louis van Gaal goes – which I think he’s said he’s going to leave at the end of the season at the latest – I think Mourinho’s the type of manager that will certainly come into their thinking.

“He could certainly handle a club like that, that’s what he’s about.”

Lamar Odom makes first public appearance, joins Kanye at event

Lamar Odom has made a "milestone" step in his recovery.

The former NBA star attended Kanye West's Yeezy Season 3 fashion show and album release party at Madison Square Garden in New York today with estranged wife Khloe Kardashian, marking Odom's first public appearance since he was hospitalized after being found unconscious at a brothel in Nevada last October.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Kris Jennerexplained why Odom wanted to attend West's fashion show, and why this is such a major step in his recovery.

"Kanye invited him to come, and it's a big deal for him to be able to come," Jenner said. "I'm excited. For him to have this, you know, this is a milestone for him to be able to travel. So, baby steps. But this is a big one. This is a huge step for him."

Jenner revealed that Odom was particularly interested in traveling to New York to attend the fashion show because West had been "instrumental" in his recovery.

"I think it's a great thing for him to be with the family and come out and do something that we're all a part of, and he really wanted to support Kanye," Jenner said. "He really wanted to be here for him, because Kanye was very instrumental in part of his recovery."

"Kanye would go to the hospital and play him music and that's what he really, really responded to," she continued. "He was amazing. Lamar started rapping again before he could talk. Isn't that wild?"

Odom was released from the hospital last month, and Khloe recently revealed that he was walking and talking again, calling his recovery "literally a miracle."

Jenner stated that Khloe has also been an asset in Odom's recovery, saying that she "nursed him right back."

"Every one of my kids really, really amazed me at their strength and at the way they were so selfless about just dropping everything," Jenner said.

Indonesia Warns Messaging Apps to Drop Same-Sex Emoticons

Human Rights Watch on Friday urged Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to protect gay and lesbian rights, a day after his government told instant messaging apps to remove stickers featuring same-sex couples in the latest high-profile attempt to discourage visible homosexuality in the socially conservative country.

In a letter to the president, the New York-based group said the government should publicly condemn officials who make "grossly discriminatory remarks" against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. People of such sexualities are commonly known by the abbreviation LGBT.

"President Jokowi should urgently condemn anti-LGBT remarks by officials before such rhetoric opens the door to more abuses," said Graeme Reid, LGBT rights director at Human Rights Watch. "The president has long championed pluralism and diversity. This is an opportunity to demonstrate his commitment."

The government move against instant messaging apps comes after a social media backlash against the popular smartphone messaging app Line for having stickers, which are an elaborate type of emoticon, with gay themes in its online store.

But the coordinating minister for politics, law and security Luhut Pandjaitan told reporters Friday that society should not respond to differences among people with discrimination, social exclusion or violence.

LGBT people "are citizens who have the right to be protected in this dignified nation," Pandjaitan said. "Don't be quick to judge people, we must reflect on ourselves first because we cannot guarantee it will not happen to your children and grandchildren in the future."

Homosexuality is not illegal in Indonesia, but is a sensitive issue in the Muslim-majority nation of more than 250 million people. Official responses range from calls for tolerance to outright condemnation. At the same time, most of Indonesian society, which follows a moderate form of Islam, is tolerant, with gay and transsexual entertainers often appearing on television shows.

Information and Communication Ministry spokesman Ismail Cawidu said Thursday that social media and messaging platforms should drop stickers expressing support for the LGBT community.

"Social media must respect the culture and local wisdom of the country where they have large numbers of users," he said.

Line on Wednesday said it had removed all LGBT-related stickers from its local store after receiving complaints from Indonesian users. Twitter and Facebook had exploded with criticism of Line and its competitor WhatsApp for containing gay content.

Ismail said the government would tell WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook, to do the same as Line.

Last month, Research, Technology and Higher Education Minister Muhammad Nasir said openly gay students should be banned from the University of Indonesia's campuses. His statements followed controversy over news a sexuality research center planned to offer counselling services for students.

Nasir's statement sparked debate in Indonesia for weeks, with objections from human rights groups but support from the Indonesian Ulema Council, an influential board of Muslims clerics.

Gay rights advocate King Oey urged the government to respect international treaties signed by Indonesia protecting the rights of minorities and women.

"Gays and lesbians are not illegal in Indonesia," Oey said. "We urge people who are concerned with human rights to not sit by silently."

In 2014, lawmakers in Aceh, a conservative Indonesian province, passed a law that punishes gay sex by public caning and subjects non-Muslims to the region's strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.

And in October 2015, Sharia, or Islamic law, police in Aceh arrested a pair of young women for "hugging in public."

With abc NEWS

Nigerian Suicide Bomber Gets Cold Feet, Refuses to Kill

Strapped with a booby-trapped vest and sent by the extremist Boko Haram group to kill as many people as possible, the young teenage girl tore off the explosives and fled as soon as she was out of sight of her handlers.

Her two companions, however, completed their grisly mission and walked into a crowd of hundreds at Dikwa refugee camp in northeast Nigeria and blew themselves up, killing 58 people.

Later found by local self-defense forces, the girl's tearful account is one of the first indications that at least some of the child bombers used by Boko Haram are aware that they are about to die and kill others.

"She said she was scared because she knew she would kill people. But she was also frightened of going against the instructions of the men who brought her to the camp," said Modu Awami, a self-defense fighter who helped question the girl.

She was among thousands held captive for months by the extremists, according to Algoni Lawan, a spokesman for the Ngala local government area that has many residents at the camp and who is privy to information about her interrogation by security forces.

"She confessed to our security operatives that she was worried if she went ahead and carried out the attack that she might kill her own father, who she knew was in the camp," he told the AP on Thursday.

The girl tried to persuade her companions to abandon the mission, he said, "but she said she could not convince the two others to change their minds."

Her story was corroborated when she led soldiers to the unexploded vest, Awami said Thursday, speaking by phone from the refugee camp, which holds 50,000 people who have fled Boko Haram's Islamic uprising.

The girl is in custody and has given officials information about other planned bombings that has helped them increase security at the camp, said Satomi Ahmed, chairman of the Borno State Emergency Management Agency.

The United States on Thursday strongly condemned the bombings. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the U.S. remains committed to assisting those afflicted by the conflict and supports efforts to provide greater protection for civilians and the regional fight against terrorism.

Boko Haram's 6-year-old Islamic insurgency has killed 20,000 people, made 2.5 million homeless and spread across Nigeria's borders.

The extremists have kidnapped thousands of people and the increasing number of suicide bombings by girls and children have raised fears they are turning some captives into weapons. An army bomb disposal expert has told the AP that some suicide bombs are detonated remotely, so the carriers may not have control over when the bomb goes off.

Even two days later, it's difficult to say exactly how many people died at Dikwa because there were corpses and body parts everywhere, including in the cooking pots, Awami said.

"Women, children, men and aged persons all died," he said. "I cannot say the exact number as some cannot be counted because the bodies were all mangled."

The latest atrocity blamed on Boko Haram extremists was committed against people who had been driven from the homes by the insurgents and had spent a year across the border in Cameroon.

Some 12,000 of them had only returned to Nigeria in January when soldiers declared the area safe. The scene of the killings is 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the border with Cameroon and 85 kilometers (53 miles) northeast of Maiduguri, the biggest city in the northeast and birthplace of Boko Haram.

Such attacks make it difficult for the government to persuade people to return home. The extremists have also razed homes and businesses, destroyed wells and boreholes and stolen livestock and seed grains that farmers need to start their life again.

Associated Press

Mentally disabled Canadian man who went missing in 1986 and hurt his head was found after he recalled his lost identity

                                                           NORTH AMERICAN MISSING PERSONS NETWORK

Edgar Latulip was 21 when he vanished from his Ontario home.

A mentally disabled Canadian man who went missing in 1986 and hurt his head was found after he recalled his lost identity, reports revealed Thursday.

Edgar Latulip vanished from his family’s Kitchener, Ontario home when he was 21 years old, possibly taking a bus to the nearby Niagara Falls area, accordingto the North American Missing Persons Network. He was discovered three decades later in the Canadian border town of St. Catherines.

“I had hopes that he was out there somewhere,” Waterloo Regional Police Detective Constable Duane Gingerich told the Waterloo Region Record. “For us as investigators, this is great, this is awesome. It's satisfying because most of these cases don't turn out this way. You expect the worst when a person is missing for that period of time.”

Latulip’s mom told the local newspaper in a 2014 feature she thought he may have committed suicide and said she had given up hope of ever seeing him again. Yet DNA tests confirmed a 50-year-old man in a group home who said he’s Latulip is indeed the long-missing man.

“What had occurred was a head injury, shortly after arriving in St. Catherines a number of years ago. And so, effectively, he forgot who he was,” Gingerich told CTV News.

Latulip, whose developmental delays give him the mental capacity of a 12-year-old, started remembering his identity in sessions with a social worker last month. Police hadn’t found a trace of Latulip since a reported sighting in the town of Hamilton between Kitchener and St. Catherines in 1993.

“Pieces of his memory started coming back. Then the social worker found something on the Internet that led them to believe this was something more,” Constable Philip Gavin of the Niagara Regional Police told the Record,

Lusia Dion of Ontario’s Missing Adults wrote in a Facebook post that the story is “nothing short of amazing.”

Latulip’s case reinforces that “locating the missing is more likely when we recognize that everyone can help in the search for the missing,” she said.

“It can mean sitting with a friend who is dealing with a missing loved one to show your support. It may mean passing along a resource guidebook that you found online. (Respectful) conversations about the missing can lead to an amazing number of eyes helping in the search.”