City news in 250 words

THE GRAVESTONE of former Joy Division singer, Ian Curtis, has been stolen from a Macclesfield cemetery. The stone, which was taken sometime between Tuesday and Wednesday, is marked with the inscription: 'Ian Curtis 18 - 5 - 80 Love Will Tear Us Apart.' The singer hanged himself in his Macclesfield home in 1980. Police are appealing for anyone with information on the whereabouts of the gravestone to contact them.

MANCHESTER PUB AND CLUB NETWORK has criticised the council for the management of the Uefa cup final in May between Rangers and Zenit St Petersburg. The network of pub and club owners provide a voice for the city in the shaping of policies regarding the management of premises in Manchester. The pub and club network described the day as a very unprofessional and badly managed council-run event.

CYCLISTS across Greater Manchester are to get new cycle routes and secure storage at railway stations as part of the £3 billion Transport Innovation Fund package for the city. There is set to be 200km of new cycle lanes, 2,500 new secure cycle parking spaces at 250 new locations and a bike hire scheme which will see a rental fleet of 4,000 bicycles available.

MANCHESTER CITY has signed Brazilian striker Jo from CSKA Moscow on a four year deal. The 21-year-old is Mark Hughes' first signing as City manager and comes with a record of 44 goals in 77 games for CSKA. Hughes told www.mcfc.co.uk: "He’s a young man with a big future.”