City news in 250 words: Monday 23 August

MANCHESTER WILL HOST Fifa inspectors this week as they assess England’s chances of hosting the 2018 World Cup. England are presently favourites ahead of Russia. The winners will be revealed on 2 December. The inspectors will also visitLondon, Manchester, Sunderland and Newcastle. They’re a secretive bunch with no interviews being offered to the press. Presumably they have to draw the line somewhere even if they can’t tell if the ball has crossed it.

PRIDE IS BACK. Manchester's annual lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) festival will be running from 27-30 August. It’s one of the largest events of its type in the UK and supports local HIV and LGBT communities through fundraising activities. In 2009 the festival raised £135,000 for charity. The event will, of course, host the famous Parade, a carnival procession through the streets – Saturday 28 August, 1pm starting at the south end of Deansgate.

SUNDAY SAW A MEMORIAL service for the 25th anniversary of the Manchester airport fire disaster when fifty-five people were killed. A British Airtours plane burst into flames on the runway at Manchester Airport in August 1985. Flames spread from one of the aircraft's engines to the cabin. Subsequently airplane manufacturing practice was amended to help prevent such disasters.

POLICE REPORTS have revealed a startling vodka theft in Warrington. Masked thieves armed with knives nabbed five lorry-loads of the vodka from the G&J Greenall warehouse on Saturday morning. Police are appealing for information from anyone who has been offered large quantities of vodka.

Out of the window weather forecast: Some of us came on a bike in ten minutes of sunshine. We'll probably have to invest in some bike capes to go home - nasty, ugly clouds.