* An article entitled Principles in the Observer:
£250,000: Annual amount Man United's Corporate Social Responsibility scheme (tagline: 'United For a Better World') raises for Unicef's work with children worldwide affected by trafficking, abuse and exploitation.
£1,000,000: Amount Man United will make from their profile-raising trip to Saudi Arabia in January - a nation, say Unicef/Amnesty, with 'a grave trafficking problem affecting tens of thousands of foreign children, with links to organised crime and sexual exploitation.'
Other Saudi news this month: 124 executions so far in 2007; the public lashing last week on charges of sexual promiscuity of a woman who was gang-raped 14 times; plus 'widespread ongoing torture and abuse of non-Muslims and homosexuals'.
Also worth a mention: Saudi's warm relationship with Judaism - a 2004 attempt to ban all Jews from entering the country, since downgraded to the denial of entry visas to anyone with an Israeli stamp in their passport. All of which is testing news for United's January tour party - particularly for the England internationals who played in Tel Aviv in March, for Alex Ferguson, a regular guest of agent Pini Zahavi in Israel, and for United's owners, Malcolm, Joel, Bryan and Avram Glazer.
* Some papers report that Vidic may be freed to play against Bolton next weekend if Serbia's match with Kazakhstan becomes a dead rubber. We reported yesterday that he may miss the game because the Euro 2008 qualifier which has been rescheduled for next Saturday due to snow in Belgrade at the weekend.
Serbia could be knocked out on Wednesday
* Sky:
Coach Marco van Basten announced after Saturday's 1-0 win against Luxembourg, which guaranteed his side's qualification for next summer's finals, that striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, who picked up a hamstring injury, and goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar would leave the squad.
Now in a statement on Sunday, the Dutch football federation said that midfielder Clarence Seedorf was also being allowed to return to his club Milan.
The statement added that goalkeeper Henk Timmer, midfielders Nigel de Jong and Hedwiges Maduro and striker Klaas Jan Huntelaar would join the squad on Monday for the trip to Belarus.
* PA:
'"Back in the squad is Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves after the former Bayern Munich man overcame tendinitis."