The Herald

Doctor Attacks Health Board Over Lack of Consultation On Hospital's Future

A SENIOR consultant clashed with health board officials during a stormy meeting at Greenock town hall last night, over their plans to downgrade a major hospital. Iain Morrice, clinical director of surgery at Inverclyde Royal Hospital, was applauded by a 500-strong crowd after expressing concerns over proposals which could lead to the hospital losing all acute in-patient services.

Edinburgh Film Festival to Have Own Home with Five Cinemas

PLANS for a (pounds) 20m Filmhouse with outside screens showing clips to passers-by at Festival Square in Edinburgh were unveiled yesterday. Richard Murphy, the award-winning Edinburgh architect, has drawn up the feasibility study plans.

Man Killed Baby Stepson After Losing His Temper, Court Told

A MAN murdered his baby stepson in an act of "gross violence" after losing his temper, a court was told yesterday. Mark Stewart, advocate-depute told the jury at the High Court in Forfar that Mohammad Ullah made the "murderous attack" on Kyle Mutch after becoming frustrated because the boy was unwell.

Modernisation That Sent Mail Service Back to Dark Ages; Glasgow Delivery Record Is Worst in Britain; Background

REDUCING mail deliveries to just once a day was never going to be popular. It was sold by Royal Mail as part of a "massive modernisation programme", but the first performance figures for the whole of the UK are less than promising: the postal service missed all its delivery targets for the three months to June.

Street Where Postman Only Rings Once

DUNGOYNE Street in Glasgow does not, to be honest, possess the most fashionable post code in the city. Tucked behind Maryhill Road, towards the Summerston end, it is a quiet street of around 30 well-kept terraced houses, home to a mix of elderly couples and young families.

Surgeons' Chief Claims Sacking Development Director Was His Only Option

THE chief executive of Scotland's Royal College of Surgeons claimed yesterday he was forced to sack the director in charge of its fundraising because she failed to meet targets for ambitious new projects. James Foster, 55, told an employment tribunal in Edinburgh, that he had to dismiss Judy Kay, 54, from her (pounds) 61,000-a-year job as director of development after the college was forced to shelve plans for a (pounds) 6m development to modernise training facilities for surgeons.

Founder Member of the Iona Community Dies Aged 91

ONE of Iona's last links with its spiritual past ended this week with the death of the Rev Uist Macdonald, aged 91. He was the only surviving member of the original Iona Community, the radical Christian collective whose arrival on the island breathed new life into Scottish faith.

Lord Black Used Publishing Firm to 'Loot' (Pounds) 220m for His Lavish Lifestyle; Disgraced Media Baron 'Colluded' with His Associates to Raid Profits Over Seven Years

LORD Black, the disgraced media baron, conspired in the "looting" of more than (pounds) 220m from the publishing company he used to run in order to fund his and his wife's lavish lifestyle, a damning report claimed last night. A lengthy internal investigation at Hollinger International, which recently sold the Daily Telegraph, concluded that Lord Black of Crossharbour, its former chief executive, colluded with associates to run a "corporate kleptocracy", raiding the publishing house of virtua...

From Hard-Drinking Party Animal to American President; This Week, George Bush has Taken His Campaign for Re-Election to New York and He has One Sure Thing On His Side - Faith. Douglas Fraser, Scottish Political Editor, Traces the Roots of Bush's Religion

'He feels God is talking to him," says one of the Texas evangelists to whom George W Bush turned when seeking guidance on his White House ambitions. "One of the impetuses for him considering running for president was biblical teaching." If you want to understand the American president, there are two things to keep in mind: first, you have to understand Midland, the small, wealthy oil town of like-minded businessmen; the other is his personal walk with Jesus. That faith is beyond question. He ...

The Buy Word

Splashing out Hello! magazine may soon be replacing Marks & Spencer as the place for parents to find new clothes for their children. In a survey of 500 parents, 14% admitted that the clothes they buy are influenced by what celebrities such as Madonna and the Beckhams buy their children.

Flying High or a Bit of Turbulence . . . Are the Budget Airlines Still Worth It?; Germaine Greer and Tara Palmer-Tomkinson Probably Aren't Fans so Are Low-Cost Airlines Still Delivering? The Herald Put Them to the Test. By Abigail Wild

Not even a don't-you-know-who-I-am? was going to help Germaine Greer board that flight last week. She didn't have a passport or a driving licence, just a Cambridge University pass. It wouldn't have been so bad if there weren't hundreds of fans waiting in Charlotte Square in Edinburgh to hear the feminist writer give a talk. The advantage of a budget airline, as the description suggests, is cheapness. The question is, are they just too much of a gamble for the consumer? Low-price airlines, so ...

Retail Therapy

TASMIN LUCIA, tv presenter Q. You have a day to shop - where do you go? A. Oooo . . . that's a tricky one. I'm a local Knightsbridge girl, so Harrods and Harvey Nics.

Leonardus Murdani; Indonesian Commander Who Became Folk Hero

General Leonardus Benyamin Murdani, an Indonesian military hero who led the invasions of West Papua and East Timor, has died in hospital following a stroke. He was 74. Murdani, a Roman Catholic from the central Javanese town of Solo, entered the military soon after Indonesia's 1945-49 war of independence against the Dutch.

A Capital Complex

Redrow has registered two "personal bests" with the launch of its first development in the capital and its brand-new housing range in Kilwinning. The housebuilder has also helped pioneer new apartment living in Dunfermline, brought contemporary apartments to Greenock's Esplanade, and is offering split-level living in Hamilton. The company is also running a comprehensive portfolio of quality new homes in Tranent, Brightons, Gartcosh and Cambuslang. Anne Anderson, sales director for Redrow Home...

Experimental, but You'll Know That You've Been Tangoed; Festival Reviews

Tangos - the International Collection The Hub 4/5 As musical collecting goes, the project of the late American pianist, Yvar Mikhashoff, to commission three-minute tangos from more than 150 composers numbers as one of the more eccentric of the twentieth century. His legacy - the International Tango Collection - is an intriguing sequence of miniature works that are not so much true to the spirit of tango as deconstructions of the spirit of the tango and its component elements: rhythmic intensi...

The Diary

Trendspotting TRAINSPOTTING author Irvine Welsh, who has departed Edinburgh to set up home in Dublin with his American fiancee, has already attracted attention in the fair city by wandering around a book launch singing in people's ears and earning a stern telling off for his behaviour from another guest.

Is Selection a Price Worth Paying to Save State Schools?

If Jack McConnell is serious about allowing some Scottish secondary schools to select on the basis of aptitude, then he could find that he is pushing at an open classroom door. I don't believe there is any more support for the "bog standard comprehensive" in Scotland than there is in England. And if selection is the price parents demand for keeping their children in the state sector, then it might be a price worth paying. I for one am fed up being told that my children are being disadvantaged...

Spoiled for Choice; Whatever Your Requirements in a Home, Be It a Luxury Apartment in the City Centre, or a Countryside Cottage, Scotland's Homebuilders Have Something for Everyone

1 BELLWAY - SCOTLAND WEST The Mondriaan (pictured), Shuna Street, Glasgow Overnight queues demonstrated huge interest in the first sales release of this canalside development last month. Bellway took 10 reservations over the first weekend for one and two-bedroom apartments, with prices ranging from (pounds) 125,000 to (pounds) 155,000. Comprising 176 one and two-bedroom apartments as well as three- bedroom town houses, The Mondriaan will provide a new style of living for the west end of Glasg...

Public Smoking Ban Could Be in Force by 2006

JACK McConnell is backing a total smoking ban in all pubs, clubs and workplaces in Scotland, and the Scottish Executive is also looking to set up a so-called "snitchline" for people to report illegal smokers. While an official announcement is not expected until late this year, the first minister left no doubt during a visit to Dublin yesterday that he was keen on a complete ban in one go, rather than a partial or staged approach.

Robertson Called in by Regiments

LORD Robertson, a former UK defence secretary and the outgoing secretary-general of Nato, has been called upon to help arbitrate on the fate of Scotland's threatened infantry regiments. He is likely to chair the last meeting of the council of Scottish colonels before a recommendation on which of the six battalions will be axed goes to Brigadier Robbie Scott-Bowden, the Ministry of Defence director of infantry.