in early April 2006. However, they were soon overtaken by Portsmouth, whose victory over Wigan Athletic on 29 April left Birmingham mathematically unable to match their points total and therefore relegated.

Although Bruce had the largest transfer budget in the division made available to him, Birmingham made a slow start to the 2006–07 season in the Championship and, after a 1–0 defeat at home to Norwich City, the team's fifth consecutive match without a win, there were calls from fans and local journalists for the manager to be sacked. Bruce publicly accepted responsibility for the team's poor run and admitted that he feared for his job, but the team responded with a 1–0 victory over Derby County, and then recorded a further five consecutive league victories to be jointMexico's 'New Generation' kingpin busted in Brazil

Brazilian federal police on Dec. 28 announced the arrest of José González Valencia, one of the top leaders of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG)—the criminal machine that in recent years has risen to challenge the Sinaloa Cartel for control of Mexico's narco trade. Valencia, known as "Chepa" or "El Camarón" (The Shrimp), was arrested at Aquiraz, a resort near the coastal city of Fortaleza, where he was spending the Christmas holidays with his family. Authorities said Valencia had been living in Bolivia for two years after fleeing Mexico, and had entered Brazil as a tourist on a Bolivian passport.