City news in 250 words

OLYMPIC CHAMPION USAIN BOLT will run a 150m race at the Great Manchester Run in May.

Nicknamed ‘Lightning Bolt’, Usain, who scooped three medals in the Bejing Games last summer will train alongside Cristiano Ronaldo in preparation. He said: “I am very excited to compete for my first time in Manchester, my first time in a 150m race and my first time in a street race.”

MAN WHO “DIDN’T KNOW LOWRY FROM ADAM” has been jailed indefinitely after he stole £1.7m worth of the artist’s work from the home of local art dealer, Ivan Aird. Casey Miller, from Denton, was picked out at an identity parade after he was spotted during the robbery by Mr Aird’s wife. Police are still tracking down the whereabouts of the paintings.

SIR ALAN SUGAR has confirmed that Manchester will feature as the location to an episode in the fifth series of the hit show ‘The Apprentice’. But is it a back-handed compliment for the city? The business mogul has scaled down the budget for the show in the face of the current recession. “When we called them first thing in the morning, they brought their passports with them, but they ended up in Liverpool and Manchester.”

MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY will receive a massive £3.5m boost to fund research into the origins of the solar system. The grant, from the Science and Technology Funding Council, will be used to develop instruments to analyse pieces of dust of gas from stars before the sun was born.

This 'n' that wisdom*: Excuses are easily found - but the wise man looks for reasons

*Taken from the free calendar available at This 'n' That, Soap Street, Northern Quarter. Those curry meisters are so very very sagacious.