Could deadly Ebola virus reach Britain?

As the deadly virus claims its first victim in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country which has close links with the UK, experts warn British doctors to look for the signs

 The World Health Organisation says Ebola is one of the most virulent viral diseases known to humankind, causing death in 50 to 90 percent of all clinically ill cases

Ebola has killed 672 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone since it was first diagnosed in February and more than 1,000 others have been infected by the virus. On Friday, a Liberian man who had travelled to the Nigerian capital Lagos died for the disease, heightening concerns international air travel could speed up its spread.

The Government’s Public Health England on Monday sent letters to British doctors telling them to watch for anyone with strange illnesses who have recently travelled in West Africa.

Cambridge University’s Dr Peter Walsh, a lecturer in archaeology and anthropology and Ebola expert, said: “It’s possible someone infected will fly to Heathrow having infected other people sitting next to them or by using the toilet.

Ebola outbreak: Search continues for those who may have come into contact with victim

Medical professionals seek individuals who may have come into contact with Patrick Sawyer when he travelled by plane before his death

      Ebola victim Patrick Sawyer and his wife 

Medical professionals are trying to trace an unknown number of passengers and flight attendants who may have come into contact with an American citizen who died of Ebola.

No new cases have been recorded, but fears mount about the spread of the disease after fellow passengers from the two flights he took travelled on to other cities in Nigeria.Patrick Sawyer, a consultant to the Liberian finance ministry, flew between Liberia and Nigeria while he was contagious last week.He died five days after arriving in Lagos, where he had been quarantined.

Since the outbreak of the disease in February, 670 people in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia have died from Ebola.
Nigerian authorities have so far identified 59 people who came into contact with Sawyer, and 20 of them have been tested for Ebola.Authorities are relying on “contact tracing” whereby medical professionals monitor anyone who came into contact with Mr Sawyer, as well as anyone they may have subsequently had contact with.

Three female suicide bombers kill scores in Nigeria

Wearing traditional northern Nigerian dresses and long Muslim headscarves, three women in the last week have detonated suicide bombs in the city of Kano

       Members of the bomb squad inspect a petrol station after the bombing in Kano, Nigeria

A woman blew herself up at a petrol station in northern Nigeria on Monday, killing three people in one of three suicide bombings by females in Kano in two days.The woman was in line with other women, all wearing traditional northern Nigerian dresses and long Muslim headscarves, waiting to buy kerosene for cooking when she set off the bomb, said Tijjani Isa, an attendant at the station.

"I was nearby the queue when I heard a heavy loud (noise)," he said. "And immediately saw people running while others went down." The suicide bombing was one of five attacks in Kano in two days, said police spokesman Musa Magaji Majia.

Mourinho desperates to sell Fernando Torres

Stamford Bridge club may be forced to sell goalkeeper Petr Cech if they cannot find buyer for cut-price Spanish flop 

                        Torres (left) will be going if a buyer can be found after the return of Drogba

Jose Mourinho has admitted that he will have to get rid of one of his foreign players as Chelsea desperately try to find a buyer for Fernando Torres.The return of Didier Drogba means Chelsea’s anticipated first-team squad has one too many foreign players under Premier League and Champions League rules relating to the home-grown quota.

Clubs can only name 17 foreign players over the age of 21 in their official 25-man squads and Chelsea have 18 overseas stars who are realistically vying for those places.Mourinho, the Chelsea manager, wants to offload £50 million flop Torres, but clubs are being put off by the £20 million asking price and the Spaniard’s £175,000-a-week wages.Chelsea hope that Atlético Madrid may take Torres back, while Monaco are understood to have looked at his situation in case Radamel Falcao leaves.

Louis van Gaal's focus on technique and tactics changes mindset of Manchester United's players

Under the charismatic Dutchman the change in attitude among the squad has been remarkable

At one stage of last season, the difficulties experienced by Manchester United under David Moyes led to a joke doing the rounds that it was because the headmaster – Sir Alex Ferguson – had been replaced by a supply teacher.
It was a harsh appraisal of Moyes, but results and performances did little to help the Scot confound his critics and United's downward spiral ultimately led to the inevitable dismissal of the former Everton manager.
One inescapable conclusion of the Moyes reign was that the players never really bought into the manager's methods.
He did not challenge them enough, they became restless and, like any unruly classroom led by a supply teacher, the players lost interest and performances deteriorated as a result.
But under Louis van Gaal, the change in attitude among the squad has been remarkable.
If Moyes was a supply teacher, Van Gaal is the university professor accustomed to dealing with the very best and making them even better.