Azerbaijan’s Baku joins six-city race for 2020 Games

Azerbaijan’s Baku became the sixth and final city to join the race to host the 2020 Summer Olympics, the International Olympic Committee said in a statement as the deadline for applications expired today.

Tokyo (Japan), Madrid (Spain), Istanbul (Turkey), Rome (Italy) and Doha (Qatar) had already confirmed their applications for the world’s biggest multi-sports event.

The IOC will elect the winning bid at its 2013 session in Buenos Aires, Argentina after drawing up a shortlist in May next year.

Tokyo and Madrid lost out to Rio de Janeiro in the race to host the 2016 Games, while Baku also put in a bid but failed to make the shortlist.

 

Cancer-fighting virus shown to target tumors alone

Researchers have shown for the first time that a single intravenous infusion of a genetically engineered virus can home in on cancer, killing tumor cells in patients without harming healthy tissue.

Scientists have been intrigued for decades with the idea of using viruses to alert the immune system to seek and destroy cancerous cells. That interest has taken off in recent years as advances in genetic engineering allow them to customize viruses that target tumors.

The field received a boost in January when biotech giant Amgen Inc agreed to pay up to $1 billion for BioVex, the developer of experimental cancer-fighting virus OncoVex. But the only “oncolytic virus” so far approved by a regulatory agency is for treatment of head and neck cancer in China.

In a study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday, scientists at institutions including the University of Ottawa and privately held biotech company Jennerex Inc said a small, early-stage trial of experimental viral therapy JX-594 found that it consistently infected tumors with only minimal and temporary side effects.

The experimental virus will next be tested in a mid-stage trial of patients with liver cancer.

“With chemotherapy you get drastic side effects,” said Dr. John Bell, chief scientific officer at Jennerex and senior scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. “Patients on this treatment only had 24-hour flu symptoms, and nothing after that.”

The trial, which involved 23 patients with various types of advanced cancer, was designed to assess the safety of JX-594. It also found that six of the eight patients given the two highest doses saw their tumors stabilize or shrink.

Seven patients in that group, or 87 percent, had evidence of viral replication in their tumors, but not in normal tissues.

Dr. Bell said the next step is a Phase 2b trial of the viral therapy in 120 patients with primary liver cancer, known as hepatocellular carcinoma.

He said earlier trials of JX-594 showed really strong activity in liver cancer. Since some kinds of liver cancer are caused by viruses — like hepatitis B — the theory is that those tumor cells may be more susceptible to a second virus.

JX-594 is derived from a strain of the virus once commonly used to vaccinate children against smallpox.

“We know it is pretty safe,” Dr. Bell said, noting that genetic information needed for the virus to mutate has been deleted from JX-594.

He also said that because the Jennerex virus can be given intravenously, spreading throughout the body, it may hold promise for limiting the ability of cancer cells to metastasize and spread.

Other viral cancer therapies are also progressing in clinical trials, but they either require direct injection into the tumor or accompany chemotherapy. Results from a Phase 3 melanoma trial of Amgen’s OncoVex, which is directly injected into tumors, are expected next year.

Oncolytics Biotech Inc is conducting a pivotal trial of its experimental virus, Reolysin, in combination with chemotherapy for patients with head and neck cancer.

“We are all competing against standard of care,” said Matt Coffey, chief operating officer at Oncolytics Biotech.

Jennerex is primarily funded by investors from Canada and South Korea. European rights to JX-594 have been licensed to Transgene. Other regional licenses are held by Lee’s Pharmaceutical Ltd for China and Green Cross Corp for South Korea. Jennerex has not licensed rights in the United States or Japan.

 

Computers to pinpoint wild weather forecasts

 

BComputer simulations of the weather workings of the entire planet will be able to make forecasts to within a few kilometers accuracy, helping predict the effects of deadly weather systems.

But the world may have to wait 20 to 40 years’ for such accurate information on weather events like El Nino as computer capacity grows, a senior British scientist said Thursday.

“If we step forward 20 to 40 years into the future of climate science, it is conceivable we can have climate models down to a scale of a few kilometers’ resolution,” Alan Thorpe, director general of the UK-based European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), told reporters.

“That would add a huge amount of information to this variability question.”

A climate model is a computer-based version of the Earth’s climate system, based on physics and complex equations. Such models can be used for weather forecasting, understanding the climate and projecting climate change.

A model with a very fine resolution could produce more accurate results but this depends on computer capacity.

Thorpe said some climate models are now nearing a resolution of 100 km, compared to around 300 km 10 to 15 years ago.

“We are running global weather picture models at a 16 km resolution already so we have the science and the models to reduce the problem of high resolution but we need the computer power to do it,” Thorpe said.

It would cost up to 200 million pounds to buy a top-end super computer, he added, which is around 7 percent of the UK’s yearly science budget of 3 billion pounds.

“The impact of climate change needs to be seen as sufficiently important to society to devote this level of resource to it,” Thorpe said.

Some experts warn that some of the most devastating impacts of climate change could be felt before and during the period 2030 to 2050.

Some climate models have been criticized for not being accurate enough or not predicting extreme events far enough into the future.

Thorpe said ECMWF scientists are doing a lot of research into so-called tipping points, when there is a rapid change in the climate which is irreversible or which would take a long time to reverse.

“Inevitably, those are the aspects of the system we have to worry about most because they are not linear behavior. How many of those there are is still an open question,” he added.

“If we devoted the whole of the science budget to these questions we could make more rapid progress but we are doing a lot of research on these areas.”

Some tipping points are seen happening in the coming decades, such as the loss of summer Arctic sea ice or the loss of the Amazon rainforest.

 

Australia PM vows not to quit amid leadership speculation

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard vowed on Friday to battle on as leader of her unpopular government, dismissing media reports that some of her own lawmakers had lost faith in her after a fresh policy setback this week.

Gillard, her face pale and drawn after what is emerging as one of her worst weeks in politics, appeared in a TV interview to fend off leadership speculation after a court on Wednesday rejected her plan to send asylum-seekers to Malaysia.

“I’m not going anywhere. I have too much to do,” Gillard told Sky TV, barely a year after the ruling Labour Party had sacked her predecessor, Kevin Rudd, in a late-night coup.

Asked if she had been approached about stepping down, she replied: “No.”

The media reports of growing discontent over Gillard, whose opinion poll ratings are now worse than when she toppled Rudd, prompted senior government lawmakers to come out publicly on Friday in support of their embattled prime minister.

The reports also became a talking point in financial markets where investors are turning their mind to an eventual change of government, wondering about the implications for planned taxes on carbon emissions and iron ore and coal mining profits, as well as a $38 billion national broadband project.

“The government has clearly had some unpopular policies and there is a general view that maybe either a change in prime minister or government would be viewed as a positive thing,” said Su-Lin Ong, senior economist with RBC Capital Markets.

“It could be modestly positive for the Aussie (dollar).”

Newspapers had reported that senior government figures felt she had lost her authority after the High Court ruled as invalid Gillard’s attempt to neutralise the politically damaging issue of asylum-seekers by sending them to Malaysia.

Opinion polls show Gillard and Labour, which relies on independent and Green MPs to stay in power, would easily lose office if an election were held now.

However, the next election is not due for another two years and Gillard’s independent and Green supporters are showing no sign of abandoning her government.

“I’m not going anywhere, I’m the best person to do this job and I’ll continue to do it,” Gillard told an earlier radio interview where had also been questioned about her grip on the Labour party.

Gillard’s minority government relies on three independents and a Green for its one-seat majority. But their support could no longer be guaranteed if Gillard were to be replaced, meaning a change of leader could end Labor’s hold on power.

One of the independents, Tony Windsor, said on Friday that Gillard was doing a good job in parliament at a difficult time.

“TICK, TICK, TICK”

Melbourne’s Herald Sun newspaper said some Labour figures, who were not named, were suggesting former prime minister Rudd could be drafted back to the leadership, with Defence Minister Stephen Smith as his deputy.

Under the headline “Tick, Tick, Tick,” suggesting time was running out for Gillard, the paper said other Labour figures believed Smith could be the next leader.

The Australian newspaper on Friday said factional leaders were not contemplating a leadership change, although some wanted a cabinet reshuffle to help lift government support.

Both the Herald Sun and The Australian belong to media group News Corp, which government and Greens politicians have accused of running campaigns against government policies.

The Australian Financial Review said former Queensland state premier Peter Beattie was considering running for a seat in national parliament to try to help lift Labor’s support in his state, where polls show government backing to be a record low 23 percent and where the party could lose all but one seat.

Trade Minister Craig Emerson also strongly supported Gillard on Friday, despite the government’s policy on asylum seekers being in disarray.

“I think she is a fantastic leader,” Emerson said.

Former defence minister Joel Fitzgibbon, a leader of the Labour Party’s powerful right faction, said Gillard had the full support of the Labour Party’s caucus.

“She will lead the party to the next election. She is doing a good job in very tough circumstances,” Fitzgibbon said.

Gillard toppled Rudd last year after he sank in the opinion polls, with an election on the horizon.

But she suffered a voter backlash at elections she called last August, but held on to power by forging agreements with the independents and Greens.

 

Gaddafi defiant as world frees Libya funds

Muammar Gaddafi urged his supporters to fight on as world leaders freed up billions of dollars to help Libya’s new rulers rebuild a nation torn by 42 years of one-man rule and six months of civil war.

“Let it be a long battle. We will fight from place to place, from town to town, from valley to valley, from mountain to mountain,” Gaddafi said in a message relayed by satellite TV on the anniversary of the coup that brought him to power in 1969.

“If Libya goes up in flames, who will be able to govern it? Let it burn,” he said, speaking from hiding.

In further comments broadcast later, he vowed to prevent oil exports, in the kind of threat that stirs fears of an Iraq-style insurgency: “You will not be able to pump oil for the sake of your own people. We will not allow this to happen,” Gaddafi said. “Be ready for a war of gangs and urban warfare.”

Amid conflicting reports of where the 69-year-old fugitive might be, a commander in the forces of the new ruling council said he had fled to a desert town south of the capital, one of several tribal bastions still holding out.

Seeking to avoid more bloodshed, opposition forces also extended by a week a deadline for Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte, on the coast, to surrender.

Meeting the National Transitional Council in Paris at the invitation of France and Britain, prime backers of the Libyan uprising which followed other Arab Spring revolts, Western powers said Gaddafi was still a threat, but handed the NTC $15 billion of his foreign assets to start the job of rebuilding.

“We have committed to unblock funds from the Libya of the past to finance the development of the Libya of the future,” French President Nicolas Sarkozy told a news conference.

“The world bet on the Libyans and the Libyans showed their courage and made their dream real,” Mahmoud Jibril, the prime minister in the interim government, said as NATO air forces maintained support for NTC fighters on the frontlines in Libya.

CLINTON: “WE WILL BE WATCHING”

A history of tribal, ethnic and regional friction as well as divisions during the rebellion have created a wariness about the ability of the new leaders to introduce the stable democracy that is the declared goal for the potentially oil-rich nation of six million.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said U.N. sanctions should be lifted in a responsible way and the National Transition Council (NTC) should be given Libya’s U.N. seat.

She said in Paris: “The work does not end with the end of an oppressive regime. Winning a war offers no guarantee of winning the peace that follows.”

“We will be watching and supporting Libya’s leaders as they keep their stated commitments to conduct an inclusive transition, act under the rule of law and protect vulnerable populations,” she added, pledging to continue military support and calling on Gaddafi and his entourage to give themselves up.

Clinton also urged the new leaders to work with those who once supported Gaddafi — something the prime minister in the ousted government, al-Baghdadi Ali al-Mahmoudi, said he was also doing, according to a report by al-Arabiya television.

Other powers, notably Russia and China, have been slower to warm to Gaddafi’s enemies but attended the Paris conference as international competition warms up for a share of contracts in rebuilding Libya and in exploiting its big oil and gas reserves.

Russia recognized the NTC as Libya’s government Thursday.

“GADDAFI IN BANI WALID”

Abdel Majid Mlegta, coordinator of the Tripoli military operations room for the NTC, told Reuters “someone we trust” had said Gaddafi fled to Bani Walid, 150 km (95 miles) southeast of the capital, three days after Tripoli fell. With him were his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, all three of them facing international war crimes charges.

An Algerian newspaper said Gaddafi was in the border town of Ghadamis and phoned Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to appeal for refuge. Bouteflika did not take the call, though Algeria has taken in Gaddafi’s wife and three of his children.

Mlegta said Gaddafi was planning a fightback from Bani Walid and appeals to notables in the town to hand over Gaddafi had gone unanswered. He ruled out attacking the town because of tribal ties shared by its residents and many NTC fighters.

Independent reports from Sirte and Bani Walid have not been available with communications cut. NTC commanders say residents are running low on supplies but many remain loyal to Gaddafi.

Mohammed Zawawi, an NTC spokesman in the eastern city of Benghazi, said extending a deadline for surrender until next Saturday would save lives.

“We’re not in a rush to get in to Sirte,” he said. “We’re not going to lose casualties for it.”

In the desert east of Bani Walid, a Reuters correspondent saw columns of anti-Gaddafi forces on patrol but found fighters unready to mount an offensive yet.

“Right now we are waiting. Everyone is ready to fight. Sirte will be liberated first, then Bani Walid,” said fighter Ibrahim Obaidr.

 

What is Arsenal’s future?

It is a bit early to single out Manchester rivals United and City as the only title contenders this season, but it appears highly likely that Arsenal will not be among the chasing pack now headed by the new-look Liverpool and Chelsea.

What is more, the 8-2 hammering the Gunners suffered at Old Trafford suggests that Arsene Wenger’s side might even struggle to finish in the top six, unless the Frenchman can swiftly turn around their fortunes.

Crippled by early injuries to some regular starters and even more so by the departure of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri, Arsenal were so off the pace for most of the match that their fans will want to forget as soon as possible.

With the team’s vertebrae boiling down to inconsistent and injury-prone Dutch striker Robin Van Persie, Wenger faces a mammoth task of rebuilding his side which is now a far cry from the 2003-4 Invincibles who won the league title without losing a match and stretched their unbeaten record to 49 games the following season.

Ironically, that remarkable run ended in a 2-0 defeat by United at Old Trafford and signaled a decline which seems to have culminated in Sunday’s humiliation.

The 2005 FA Cup is the only silverware Arsenal have managed since and adding a fourth league title to his trophy cabinet always looked unlikely for Wenger after the Gunners swapped the intimidating atmosphere of dilapidated Highbury for their glittering new palace, the Emirates Stadium, in 2006.

Several pundits have suggested that the seven-year drought and lack of financial muscle to compete with Arsenal’s rivals should have prompted Wenger to step down at the end last season, or the board to show him the door after 15 years in charge.

That would have at least spared Wenger the anguish of watching his once mighty team getting torn to bits by Alex Ferguson’s young lions.

But, would Arsenal benefit in the long term with Wenger gone? Would a panic replacement fill the void that would surely be left behind a manager whose football philosophy transformed Arsenal from a drab, mid-table side to perennial and high-scoring title contenders?

Had he ordered his troops to thwart United with a cagey, defensive performance akin to Arsenal before his era, Wenger might have at least limited the damage.

However, that would have contravened the Frenchman’s basic principle of nurturing the attacking and entertaining football which should remain Arsenal’s legacy after he leaves.

Building a new stadium might well have shredded Arsenal’s ability to compete with their rivals for major trophies in England and Europe for some time, but should the club’s board, owners and increasingly disgruntled fans not have been aware that you cannot have your cake and eat it?

 

Premier League transfer spending on the rise

English Premier League clubs spent some 485 million pounds in the summer transfer window, a 33 percent rise on last year, according to analysis published by advisory firm Deloitte on Thursday.

The figures showed that Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and United all exceeded 50 million pounds of transfer spending, accounting for around 66 percent of the total.

“This summer’s spending is largely focussed amongst the top end Premier League clubs most strongly competing for domestic and European success and the consequent financial rewards,” commented Deloitte’s Dan Jones in a statement.

“The football authorities’ encouragement for home grown players has contributed towards the increased scale of fees for the transfer of young English talent this summer,” he added.

“The resurgence of transfer spending is also apparent in other top European leagues. Despite domestic difficulties delaying the start of their seasons, transfer spending is considerably up amongst clubs in Serie A and La Liga.”

Manchester City, the world’s richest club owned by Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour, have spent about 76 million pounds with Argentina striker Sergio Aguero and French forward Samir Nasri their two biggest signings in the window which closed on Wednesday.

Deloitte said clubs had spent around 165 million pounds, or 34 percent of their total outlay, on English players.

Transfer fees to foreign clubs were some 205 million pounds, down 25 percent on the same period in the previous year.

“Compared to the top leagues in other countries, the Premier League generates significantly more revenue and continues to redistribute significant financial value to overseas clubs through the player transfer market,” the Deloitte statement said.

“Clubs in Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, France and Italy have particularly benefitted this summer.”

Gross transfer spending by top division clubs in Italy, Spain and France was also higher than the same period last year. German clubs spent at a similar level to 2010.

“As in England, in order to meet UEFA’s break-even requirements, clubs will need an appropriate balance of revenue generation against these expenditures,” said Jones.

European soccer body UEFA has issued rules, to be phased in over the next two seasons, to stop reckless spending on wages and transfer fees.

Under the requirements, spending cannot exceed revenue from TV rights, gate receipts, competition prize money and sponsorship. Clubs who break the rule face expulsion from European competition.

 

Arsenal and Spurs in thick of transfer deadline dealings

  North London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, who have both made poor starts to the season, were the busiest clubs on a typically frenetic last day of dealing before the close of the English transfer window at 2200 GMT (11:00 p.m. BST) on Wednesday.

Arsenal, with one point from their opening three games and reeling from their 8-2 defeat at Manchester United on Sunday, agreed terms with Werder Bremen’s Germany international defender Per Mertesacker on Wednesday.

They also signed Brazilian defender Andre Santos from Fenerbahce and were reported to be trying to sign Israeli international Yossi Benayoun from Chelsea, possibly on loan.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, widely criticised by his club’s fans for not investing in the team following the recent departures of defender Gael Clichy, midfielder Cesc Fabregas and forward Samir Nasri, also signed South Korea captain Park Chu-young from Monaco on Tuesday.

Tottenham, who lost their opening two games to Manchester United 3-0 and Manchester City 5-1, appeared to have resisted Chelsea’s latest efforts to prise Croatian Luka Modric from White Hart Lane despite a reported offer of 35 million pounds plus striker Florent Malouda.

“He is staying here one million per cent,” Spurs manager Harry Redknapp told Sky Sports News, but there was plenty of other movement at the club.

Spurs finalised England midfielder Scott Parker’s move from West Ham United, with former England winger David Bentley going in the opposite direction on a season-long loan.

Honduras captain Wilson Palacios and England striker Peter Crouch were also close to leaving Spurs and signing for Stoke City, while Spurs’ Scotland defender Alan Hutton and England midfielder Jermaine Jenas were linked with moves to Aston Villa.

Another former England midfielder, Joe Cole, who had been linked to a move to Villa, instead signed for Lille on loan for the rest of the season.

Cole, one of the brightest and most gifted midfielders of recent years, made only 11 starts for Liverpool after moving there from Chelsea in July 2010 and has not played in any of their early matches this season.

Denmark midfielder Christian Poulsen also left Liverpool, joining French club Evian on a one-year deal. Like Cole, he joined the Reds last year, but made only 12 appearances for the club.

While they were leaving Anfield, Uruguay defender Sebastian Coates joined from Montevideo club Nacional on a long-term deal to become the club’s sixth signing of the summer.

Promoted Queens Park Rangers, who have already signed 10 players during the transfer window, could increase that number.

After securing the signing of Newcastle’s Joey Barton last week, QPR were linked with moves for Spurs defender Sebastien Bassong, Manchester City’s Shaun Wright-Phillips and Sunderland defender Anton Ferdinand.

One intriguing deal finalised was former England midfielder Owen Hargreaves, released by Manchester United at the end of last season after an injury-blighted career at Old Trafford, moving to Manchester City.

City confirmed on their website (www.mcfc.co.uk) that he had signed a one-year deal and would train with his new team mates on Thursday.

 

United and City humiliate North London’s finest

 

Manchester United and Manchester City left their tortured opponents and the Premier League in no doubt they are the teams to beat this season after hugely confident demolitions of Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Champions United battered a depleted Arsenal 8-2 at Old Trafford with Wayne Rooney hitting a hat-trick and rampant City striker Edin Dzeko scored four in a 5-1 away rout of a shell-shocked Spurs.

The Manchester duo stormed to the top of the table with their third wins out of three after Chelsea and Liverpool, now two points back, had hit the summit Saturday.

In contrast, beleaguered Arsenal lie 17th and Spurs, who have only played two games, sit bottom after failing to win in the league this season.

“I think that we played a really good game against a Tottenham side that I think is a fantastic team,” Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini told Sky Sports.

“I was sure that Dzeko this year could score lots of goals. I’m disappointed only for the goal we conceded.

“The season is very very long but it was important that we started the season well. The next game will be hard because everyone will think we can score three or four goals.”

United carved a largely inexperienced Arsenal side apart from the start and it was no surprise when England’s Danny Welbeck, who later went off with a hamstring injury, took advantage of poor defending to head in Anderson’s scooped pass.

Goalkeeper David De Gea, who has suffered wobbly moments in his fledgling United career, made amends with a penalty save from Robin van Persie midway through the first half and his smile was broader when Ashley Young curled in a beauty.

Rooney bent home a perfect free kick as Arsenal keeper Wojciech Szczesny’s goading backfired but De Gea made another slip on halftime when Theo Walcott’s shot went in through his legs.

JENKINSON DISMISSED

Another delightful Rooney special and a Nani chip followed after the break before Park Ji-sung and Van Persie traded strikes.

Defender Carl Jenkinson became the third Arsenal player in three league matches to be sent off and Rooney completed his treble with a late penalty before winger Young finished off the remarkable rout with another fine goal.

“The performance today was incredible,” said Rooney, who reached the milestone of 152 United goals.

“We’ve got a lot of free kick takers at the club…and we’ve been working on it quite a bit. Every time we play Arsenal we have a go at them and try to score goals.”

While United manager Alex Ferguson decided to stick with the youthful side which beat Spurs 3-0 Monday and leave regulars Rio Ferdinand and Javier Hernandez on the bench, Mancini made changes such is the depth in his expensively-assembled squad.

Debutant Samir Nasri, who quit Arsenal along with Cesc Fabregas to leave troubled Arsene Wenger scrambling for players late on in the transfer window, was the architect of the first two City goals with Dzeko expertly converting his crosses.

The Bosnia forward, anonymous last term after a big move from VfL Wolfsburg, sealed his hat-trick from close range after the break before strike partner Sergio Aguero scored a clever fourth and Younes Kaboul pulled one back.

Spurs, beaten to a Champions League spot by the visitors last term, had decent chances but the gulf in class was clear.

Chelsea target Luka Modric was booed by his own Spurs fans after his transfer request and their mood darkened further when Dzeko bent in his brilliant fourth in injury time.

In the other Sunday matches, striker Leon Best scored twice in Newcastle United’s 2-1 home win over Fulham and Stoke City’s Ryan Shotton struck late in a 1-0 victory at West Bromwich Albion.

 

Old rivals Barca and Milan drawn together

Holders Barcelona will begin their defence of the Champions League with a home match against AC Milan after the two old rivals were drawn in the same group Thursday.

Last season’s runners-up Manchester United will also face familiar foes in the shape of Benfica, while Barca’s domestic rivals Real Madrid are in a group with fellow former champions Olympique Marseille.

Barca and Milan, who have been European champions 11 times between them and met in the 1994 final with the Italians winning 4-0, will renew their rivalry at the Nou Camp on September 13.

Both should qualify from a Group H which also includes outsiders BATE Borisov of Belarus and Czech champions Viktoria Plzen.

“We know Milan so well and have played so many times and the group is a tough one,” former Barca goalkeeper and now technical director Andoni Zubizarreta told reporters.

“Zlatan Ibrahimovic will enjoy coming back to the Nou Camp with Milan to show us what we are missing — but we cannot under-estimate the other two sides either. We don’t know a lot about them and that is always a dangerous thing.”

Manchester United, beaten by Barca in May’s final, were first of the 32 teams out of the hat and drawn with Benfica, the team they beat in the final to win their first European Cup in 1968, Basel and Romanian debutants Otelul Galati.

Benfica’s name was drawn out by United great Bobby Charlton, who scored against Benfica in the 1968 final.

“We have a long friendship with Benfica and Eusebio and Sir Bobby are great friends,” United chief executive David Gill said.

“We have played Benfica in the Champions League recently and lost to them but it is always special when they come to Old Trafford.”

Gill’s club travel to the Stadium of Light in Lisbon for the opening match on September 14 with the return in Manchester on November 22.

Manchester City, the world’s richest club thanks to owner Sheikh Mansour of Abu Dhabi and playing in the Champions League for the first time, were drawn with four-times European Cup winners Bayern Munich, Villarreal and Napoli.

‘TOUGHEST GROUP’

New boy Sergio Aguero, City’s record 38 million pounds signing, faces a trip to Napoli, the former club of father-in-law Diego Maradona.

“This is the toughest group of the whole draw,” Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes told his club’s website (www.fcbayern.t-home.de). “I know Villarreal and Napoli and they are absolute top teams.

“As for Manchester City … they have boosted their squad and are desperate for European success. We will be challenged in every single game and have to be fully focussed.”

City official Brian Marwood said: “Any two of the four can go through and it’s going to be tough. But our coach (Roberto Mancini) will know all about Napoli from his days in Italy.”

The first game back for City in Europe’s elite competition since their only previous appearance in 1968-69 will be at home to Napoli on September 14.

Villarreal’s Italian striker Giuseppe Rossi, who knows Manchester well from his days at Old Trafford, said on Twitter: “What a group! It’s Champions League, no Mickey Mouse tournament — excited.”

Real Madrid, European champions a record nine times, face perennial opponents Olympique Lyon along with Ajax Amsterdam and Dinamo Zagreb, back in the competition after a 12-year absence.

Trabzonspor, brought in Thursday after the Turkish FA withdrew Fenerbahce because of match-fixing allegations, will play in the same group as 2010 champions Inter Milan, CSKA Moscow and Lille.

Among the top-seeded teams Chelsea face Bayer Leverkusen, Valencia and Genk.

The London club will welcome back former midfielder Michael Ballack when Leverkusen visit Stamford Bridge in their opener on September 13, while new Chelsea signing Juan Mata will come face to face with his old club Valencia later that month.

Belgian club Genk are back in the competition for the first time in almost a decade.

“It’s fantastic for us to be back in the Champions League and we are going to enjoy it no matter what happens,” Genk director Dirk Degraen told Reuters.

“It is not just about the money — it is simply the best competition there is.”

The group stage starts on September 13-14, with the final set for Munich on May 19.