City News in 250 Words: Friday October 21

THE STONE Roses sold out their three 2012 dates at Heaton Park in Manchester in just 68 minutes today. The reformed band sold 220,000 tickets as phone lines struggled to cope with demand from fans. Sales for the dates are expected to net the band more than £10m. A world tour will follow and the band has not ruled out making a new album together in the future.

A WOMAN abducted and killed in Afghanistan has been awarded with a posthumous outstanding alumna award by the University of Manchester. The parents of Linda Norgrove, who was killed after her kidnap rescue attempt went wrong, were at their daughter’s former university to accept the award.

 PLANS to cut £23m from the Greater Manchester Fire Service’s budget will mean slower service and fewer firefighters, according to the region’s fire chief. He told the BBC there was nothing the service could do to absorb the proposed cost saving measures without it affecting front line services. The cuts were suggested as part of the government’s Spending Review.

MANCHESTER United’s owners are making plans to watch the derby this weekend before jetting off to Wembley to watch their other team in action, just over two hours later. The Glazer family have been criticised for prioritising United over their other sports investment, NFL franchise the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so they are considering using their private helicopter to make the dash from Manchester to London, using the Old Trafford car park as a makeshift helipad.