The Herald

Kjeldsen Returns to Scene of First Success

Soren Kjeldsen is returning to form right on cue for his defence of the Diageo Championship at Gleneagles next week, and the slightly built Dane is itching to return. He plans to bring his wife, Charlotte, and baby son Emil, and he will be able to consult his coach, Carnoustie-born Colin Smith, who is Portugal-based but prior to that was in Denmark, where he looked after Kjeldsen from a young age.

Victims Who Are Not in Dispute; While the Nurses Battle with Authorities for Better Pay, It's the Children Who Are Suffering the Most. By Beth Pearson

between baking, painting, learning the days of the week and climbing, Nuala Lynch, aged four, enjoyed seeing her friends the most when she went to Whiteinch nursery in Glasgow's west end. "She would bring me home beautiful works of art most days and baking to share with her brother and sister," says her mother, Maura. "She loved the socialising and she absolutely loves her teacher, Mrs Watson. She still asks if she'll remember her." Nuala hasn't been to nursery school for 14 weeks and, like m...

Shunning Scottish Athletes Is a Practice That Simply Must End

IT'S time to campaign for a fair deal for Scottish athletes, to ensure they are given the same competitive opportunities as their English rivals. Nick Smith retained the CAU Inter-counties 100 metres title yesterday at Bedford with a time of 10.25 seconds, beating world indoor 200m champion Marlon Devonish (10.28) and fellow Scot Gary Carr (10.51). The time was wind-assisted at 2.2 metres per second, but in his semi-final, the Fifer logged a legal 10.28, an Olympic B standard qualifying mark.

'I Am Just a Person, a Human Being. Do Not Expect Too Much'; Face to Face : The Dalai Lama, in Glasgow, Tells Anne Simpson of China's 'Rule of Terror' in Tibet. He Also has a Gentle Reproof for Western Off-the-Peg Buddhists

Paradox surrounds the short, stocky figure robed in maroon, who bows from the waist and steeples his hands in tranquil greeting. A man who is both the spiritual and political leader of his people, he embodies a balancing act which, when attempted by western clerics and politicians, seems endlessly fractious and tricky. And so to the second paradox: His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama is a religious leader who never rails against the dangers of secularism. But the third paradox is perhaps the mo...

The Diary

Stitched up FORMER Scotland rugby captain Andy Nicol gave up playing competitively last year to concentrate on his coaching job at Glasgow, but was tempted out of retirement for a tournament in Dubai last week. He probably wished he hadn't. Andy, who flew back to be the starter at a charity fundraising race at Musselburgh racecourse on Saturday, was sporting a black eye with ballooning eyebrow and half-a-dozen blue stitches in it. "A clash of heads," he was explaining to sympathetic racegoers...

Return of Kilroy-Silk As the Face of Little England

He is suave, silver of hair and tongue, sporting that faintly orange hue which speaks of a life where ultraviolet rays are harnessed indoors between vacations. She is sultry, her face a monument to Britart, a triumph born of many hours before the make-up mask; her big hair made the larger by the wizardry of those salons supplying tresses which have previously had only one careless owner.

Doors Open Up for Golf's New Hero

SCOTTISH golfer Scott Drummond swept up from 435th place in the world rankings yesterday to claim one of the game's biggest prizes, the Volvo PGA championship. The 30-year-old, whose career had been in the doldrums until the weekend with only (pounds) 11,071 in earnings, walked off with a (pounds) 419,779 cheque and shoo-in status for some of the game's most glittering events.

Row Over Ukip-Bnp Link

THE man with the best chance of becoming a Scottish MEP for the UK Independence party was last night embroiled in a row over his links to the British National party. Peter Troy, who heads the UKIP list for next Thursday's Euro election, already has quit a similar position in England after the party ruled he had recruited a BNP activist and paid his UKIP membership fees.

22 Die in Saudi Siege but Killers Escape; Scot Among Al Qaeda Victims

A SCOT was among 22 people killed by al Qaeda gunmen in Saudi Arabia, it emerged last night, as the UK government warned of further attacks in the Gulf kingdom. Al Qaeda claimed responsibility for the slaughter at the weekend of "infidels and Crusaders" in an attempt to destabilise the main Middle East ally of the US and undermine oil supplies.

I Can't Make People Slimmer, Admits Blair

TONY Blair insisted yesterday that it was up to individuals to take responsibility for their own waistlines amid claims that ministers were considering a ban on advertising junk food to children. The prime minister said the government's role in tackling adult obesity was limited.

Libdems Back Smoking Ban in Public Places; Kennedy Speaks Out As Labour Considers Manifesto Move

CHARLES Kennedy, Liberal Democrat leader, yesterday threw his weight behind calls for a ban on smoking in public places across the UK. It follows claims that Labour plans to include such a pledge in its next general election manifesto.

Demolish or Do Up? It's the Classic Problem; Couple Secure Future of Architect's Former Home As Greek Thomson Offices Pulled Down by Council

IT is a tale of two buildings linked by an architectural genius. It is also a story of different approaches to preserving the place of Alexander "Greek" Thomson in the city's architectural heritage.

Stars Glitter for Premiere of New Wizard Film

THE magic of Harry Potter cast a spell on London last night as the stars turned out for the European premiere of the third movie. Hundreds of fans thronged Leicester Square in central London for the latest in the series telling the tale of the young Hogwarts wizard, played by Daniel Radcliffe, with many dressing up as their favourite character.

Grouped Together: The Noisy and the Isolated

THEY range from peace-loving rural isolationists in Fort William to noisy staircase-sharers in Motherwell. Research published today shows nine new social groups have sprung up in British society over the past decade. The survey is by Experian, an information solutions company, which is launching an update of its Mosaic UK consumer classification system, used by retailers, government and local councils.

Lego Builds On Popularity to Become Uk's Favourite Toy

LEGO, the multi-coloured plastic bricks which delight youngsters but can catch out unwary barefoot parents, is today voted the UK's favourite toy. Invented in 1932 by Ole Kirk Christiansen, a Danish carpenter, the pieces of interlocking plastic were rated the best toy in a poll of 1000 adults aged more than 25, a survey by the Cartoon Network found. Christiansen came up with the name Lego by combining "Leg" and "Godt", which is Danish for "play well".

Battle Plan Against Deadly Virus; Uk Draws Up Strategy in Case Mosquito-Borne Illness Arrives

PLANS to protect Britain against the threat of a deadly virus were outlined by the government yesterday. The chances of the mosquito-borne West Nile virus arriving in the UK may be slim but the Department of Health already has started putting contingency measures in place.

Husband and Wife Die in House Blaze

M80 Closed As Elderly Woman Is Airlifted to Hospital After Crash

TWO people died and five others were injured, four seriously, in road accidents in Scotland over the weekend. An elderly woman was airlifted to the Southern General Hospital, Glasgow, yesterday, after suffering serious head injuries in a car crash on the M80 near the city.

Deadlock Remains in Nursery Dispute

NURSERY nurses and Glasgow City Council yesterday remained at loggerheads in their pay dispute. Both sides said they were no closer to a solution and expected industrial action to continue after the end of the bank holiday weekend.

Military Meccano