Robbie Williams has announced a European stadium tour – to seal his place “in pop history”.
Williams, 38, said it was “legacy time” and he was going to put on a tour of “great magnitude while I still can”.
He said he had been “lethargic” with his last couple of albums but the birth of his daughter and his reunion with Take That had re-invigorated him.
“The rumours are true. I’m getting Robbie Williams back together again”, the Angels star joked.
The tour – his first full tour for more than six years – kicks off in Manchester next June before travelling to Glasgow and London’s Wembley Stadium. X Factor star Olly Murs (on right in picture) will be supporting Williams on the 15-date tour. (PA)
Painful spider bite
A grandmother who was taken to hospital after being bitten by a garden spider has described the pain she suffered as being “worse than childbirth”.
Jean Stirziker, 69, had to undergo treatment on her hand at Blackpool Victoria Hospital after she was nipped by the tiny arthropod which was hiding in her gardening glove.
She told the Blackpool Gazette: “I was in so much pain I really wanted to rip the skin off my hand.” (PA)
House sign thefts
A Connecticut real estate agent has been charged with stealing a competitor’s for sale signs from the front lawns of area homes.
Police say 54-year-old Robert Toth, of Shelton, was charged with third-degree larceny and first-degree criminal trespass. Toth owns American Home Realty in Trumbull.
Police say US Asset Realty owner Jihad Shaheer complained in September that his signs had been stolen from more than a half-dozen sites in Bridgeport and from the front of two homes in Stratford. (PA)
Social network stress
Connecting with a large number of social groups online can increase stress levels, according to a new report.
As an individual increases the number of social circles they are linked to online, they become more likely to find social media a source of anxiety, experts found.
The study pointed to “social landmines” which can arise when people become online friends with conflicting social spheres, such as their boss and parents as well as their usual friendship group. (PA)
Police ‘cheated in exams’
Thirteen Philippine policemen have been sacked and more than 350 others placed under investigation for allegedly cheating in written exams.
The National Police Commission said it had invalidated the results of the exams taken last year by 386 people in Zamboanga as so many had put exactly the same wrong answers. The exams were being taken by would-be officers applying to enter the force as well as serving officers seeking promotion.
The cheating was only uncovered recently, and those taking entrance exams had already been commissioned into the force. Thirteen officers have since been sacked and the rest were under investigation and could also be dismissed, said regional police chief Superintendent Napoleon Estilles. (AFP)