City news in 250 words

A DEVOUT MUSLIM has been convicted of child cruelty which involved two boys beating themselves with bladed zanjeer whips. Syed Mustafa Zaidi, 44, justified the actions as 'part of our religion.' Both of the boys received multiple lacerations to their backs and admitted they didn't want to perform the ceremony under duress or with the bladed whip.

THE TRAINING and Development Agency for Schools is to move it's 300 staff to Manchester in 2010. The agency will have their new base at Piccadilly Gate - the former Rail House building on Store Street, next to Piccadilly station. The building will also be home to Highways Agency civil servants and the Government Office for the North West.

THE UNITED Reformed Church on Stockport Road, Levenshulme has received nearly half a million pounds’ funding by the lottery. The money will be used to transform the building and preseve the 19th century spire. Church leader Ed Cox told the BBC: "Levenshulme has needed this kind of investment for years and we are now on the brink of something very special. The building needed so much work that we were never going to achieve this through traditional fund raising.”

MANCHESTER UNITED have flown out to Monaco ahead of Friday night’s Super Cup clash with Zenit St Petersburg. Darren Fletcher spoke to ManUtd.com. He said: “The excitement levels are the same each year, but I think they'll be even more so this time because we're defending champions.” The match kicks off on Friday night at 7.45pm.