In Ratsada, Phuket, a homemade explosive disguised as a large garland detonated in a residential garden last Friday afternoon, June 13, causing minor injuries to two individuals. Police are currently searching for a group of teenagers suspected of planting the device. The incident was reported to the Phuket police at approximately 5.35pm. Officers from the …
The story Phuket garden blast injures two, teens suspected of planting bomb as seen on Thaiger News.
SIR ALEX FERGUSON brutally labelled an England cult hero as one of the most “disappointing signings” of his Manchester United career.
The midfielder was marked as the man to replace long-serving skipper Roy Keane after an award-winning performance during the 2006 World Cup.
During his 27 years at Old Trafford the Scot signed football geniuses like Cristiano Ronaldo and Eric Cantona.
He also picked up Keane, Nemanja Vidic and Park Ji-Sung who perhaps fell into the ‘signed for their mindset’ category.
But as well as several superstar signings, Fergie was also responsible for a few spectacular flops.
And the now-83-year-old revealed that two-time Champions League winner Owen Hargreaves fell into the ‘underwhelming’ category.
Hargreaves joined United from Bayern Munich in 2007, having built a reputation as one of nation’s best midfielders, especially after winning England’s Player of the World Cup in 2006.
And his career at Old Trafford started well, winning the Premier League and Champions League double in his first season.
Fans will also remember him scoring a penalty against Chelsea in the European final in Moscow, but Ferguson doesn’t recall his time so fondly.
Despite Hargreaves’ early success in a United shirt, Ferguson looked back on his decision to sign him with regret.
Join SUN CLUB for the Man Utd Files every Thursday plus
in-depth coverage and exclusives from Old Trafford
In his autobiography ‘Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In’, the Scot claimed he had had doubts over Hargreaves from the start.
Ferguson wrote: “We started to put together a bid for him. But I studied his playing record and felt a tinge of doubt.
“I didn’t feel a strong vibe about him. David Gill worked hard on the deal with Bayern.
“I met Owen’s agent at the World Cup final in Berlin. Nice man, a lawyer. I told him we could develop Hargreaves at United.
“It turned out to be a disaster. Owen had no confidence in himself whatsoever.
“He didn’t show nearly enough determination to overcome his physical difficulties, for my liking.
“I saw him opt for the easy choice too often in terms of training. He was one of the most disappointing signings of my career.”
It turned out to be a disaster.
Sir Alex Ferguson
Things quickly went downhill in 2008, with a recurring patellar tendinitis problem virtually ending Hargreaves’ career.
He would make just five more appearances for United after his debut season, before joining Manchester City for one, injury-ravaged campaign in 2011.
Hargreaves, who won four Bundesliga titles in 218 games for Bayern Munich, scored just two goals in 38 appearances for the Red Devils.
The former midfielder now works as a pundit to TNT Sports.
A POPULAR British retailer which has returned to the high street after collapsing into administration is set to open more shops.
Shirtmaker T.M. Lewin is gearing up to open more stores in London, Manchester and Edinburgh after staging a dramatic comeback.
The retailer recently opened its first new store in the capital since 2020, when it fell into administration and shut all of its 66 branches.
The site in Bow Lane, City of London, stocks a range of formal shirts, office-wear and a new Clerkenwell Jacket.
But it is now eyeing up further locations across the UK in an expansion drive.
Dan Ferris, T.M. Lewin’s managing director, told The Times, which first reported news of the additional openings: “A big part of our three-year plan is to expand the real estate very quickly.
“We’re looking for another couple this year, and thereafter it’ll just be about opening as many additional outlets as we can.”
T.M Lewin was founded by Thomas Mayes Lewin and Geoffrey James Lewin in London in 1898, and supplied the RAF and Army with uniforms during the First World War.
The company made its shirts in Southend, Essex until the late 1980s, when production moved overseas.
However, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic led to the retailer falling into administration in 2020 and going online-only.
The administration process led to the closure of T.M. Lewin’s 66 branches.
In 2022, the business was forced to call in administrators for a second time as shoppers shifted to working from home.
T.M. Lewin is not the first retailer to stage a comeback in recent years despite a challenging economic backdrop.
The Centre for Retail Research said more than 13,000 stores, the equivalent of 37 each day, shut their doors for good in 2024.
This was after more than 10,400 stores closed permanently in 2023, the centre said.
However, some retailers have been bucking the closure trend and opening stores across the UK.
Others have been making major comebacks after going bust too.
Cath Kidston opened up a brand new store last October, after going into administration in June 2023.
Meanwhile, earlier this year ASOS revealed plans to relaunch a Topshop website.
The two names have joined a host of other brands that have announced they will make some form of return.
Toys R Us, Cath Kidston and M&Co all said last year they would be making a comeback after previously falling into administration.
Major brand Wilko is already back on the high street after closing 400 stores in 2023.
Its new owners, CDS Superstores, have opened branches across the UK.
The British Retail Consortium has predicted that the Treasury's hike to employer NICs will cost the retail sector £2.3billion.
Research by the British Chambers of Commerce shows that more than half of companies plan to raise prices by early April.
A survey of more than 4,800 firms found that 55% expect prices to increase in the next three months, up from 39% in a similar poll conducted in the latter half of 2024.
Three-quarters of companies cited the cost of employing people as their primary financial pressure.
The Centre for Retail Research (CRR) has also warned that around 17,350 retail sites are expected to shut down this year.
It comes on the back of a tough 2024 when 13,000 shops closed their doors for good, already a 28% increase on the previous year.
Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the CRR said: “The results for 2024 show that although the outcomes for store closures overall were not as poor as in either 2020 or 2022, they are still disconcerting, with worse set to come in 2025.”
Professor Bamfield has also warned of a bleak outlook for 2025, predicting that as many as 202,000 jobs could be lost in the sector.
“By increasing both the costs of running stores and the costs on each consumer’s household it is highly likely that we will see retail job losses eclipse the height of the pandemic in 2020.”
