The Herald

Hughes Beats Opik to Become Libdem President

SIMON Hughes, former Liberal Democrat candidate for London mayor, was yesterday elected president of the party. The MP for North Southwark and Bermondsey beat his rival, Lembit Opik, by 24,333 votes to 10,002.

Ssp Plans for Alternative Holyrood Opening Party

THE Queen will not be invited, but she may just be able to hear the festivities from her garden. The Scottish Socialist Party unveiled its plans yesterday for a republican alternative to the royal opening of Holyrood next month, centred on the signing of a new declaration of Scottish independence.

Blair Sets Out His Seven Key Challenges; General Election Policy Priorities Outlined

TONY Blair yesterday set out the seven key challenges which the government will focus on "relentlessly" between now and the next general election, expected to be held next May. The prime minister, speaking to staff in the Labour party's London headquarters, made clear he would pursue a New Labour agenda without any hang-ups about private-sector provision of public services or the expansion of personal responsibility.

Radical Idea Puts Words in Actors' Mouths; 7:84 Is Speaking Up for Society's Mute Poor in a New Play. By Neil Cooper

The nurses and teachers Lorenzo Mele interviewed for Private Agenda may not have wanted to have their names revealed, but they've been given a voice. Private Agenda is 7:84 Scotland Theatre Company's latest take on having "a good night out", the phrase instigated by company founder John McGrath, whereby old-time entertainment and radical thought were joined at the hip. Here, however, Mele, whose first production this is as artistic director, introduces a form of documentary theatre, which has...

The Last Thing You Want to Talk About

How scared are you of dying? That's the cheery subject of this week's column. With death, taxation and disaster for the Scottish football team the only certainties in life, the understandable human tendency is to not only to try to hold the grim reaper at bay, but to avoid all talk of terminal things. Except jokes, of course. Ye laugh, for ye mon daurna cry. At the end of the day - now there's a phrase - there's no escaping your date with destiny. A Persian parable puts it thus: a rich Persia...

Can Jack Get It Right As He Faces Up to Risky Choices?

The place to be this week was the dining room at Bute House, where Jack McConnell's cabinet met in his official residence and talked choices. On the table was (pounds) 21.3bn this year. Within three years, that will rise to (pounds) 25.5bn - more even than Lord Black could contemplate for his wife's handbags, private jet and summer drinks expenses. The scale of money flooding into Scottish Executive coffers is a) staggering, and b) the last time for a generation, and probably a few generation...

Holiday Flight in Airport Emergency Landing

ALMOST 150 passengers and crew on a holiday flight from Glasgow to Malta were last night at the centre of a full-scale alert after their plane suffered a suspected punctured tyre on take-off. The airport's major incident procedures were triggered after the crew of the Air Malta flight KM197 radioed for help shortly after taking off at 7.36pm.

Stepfather Guilty of Baby Murder

AN illegal immigrant was yesterday found guilty of murdering his eight-month-old stepson. Kyle Mutch was so badly beaten by Mohammad Ullah, 25, that his injuries were likened to those of someone who had been in a car crash.

'We Will Kill Your Children'; Russian School Siege Threat of 50 Lives for Every Raider Who Dies

HUNDREDS of children were under threat of death last night after attackers wearing suicide bomb belts stormed a Russian school and seized about 300 hostages. Pupils were lined up against the windows to prevent an assault by security services on the school near the border with Chechnya.

Support Staff in Teaching Posts; Unprecedented 120 Vacancies Across City Primary Schools

GLASGOW City Council is using learning support teachers and pre- five nursery teachers as an emergency measure to plug 120 gaps in its primary school classrooms - an unprecedented level of vacancies at the start of a school year. The city's education department is trying to recruit teachers to fill the posts across its 197 primary schools.

Police to Say Sorry for Being Rude

RUDE police officers are to be asked to apologise to members of the public in an attempt to increase public confidence in the service. The controversial move has been backed by Scotland's most senior officer.

Connery's Name in Lights

Islanders Fear Contract Switch May Threaten Air Services

ISLANDERS in Orkney and Shetland expressed fears last night after it emerged that Loganair seems likely to lose the (pounds) 40m contract to operate air ambulances in Scotland. Loganair has not given up hope, but has already warned that if it loses the ambulance contract, there will be an inevitable impact on the economics of the inter-island passenger services in both Orkney and Shetland, where it employs 17 staff.

Ipod Generation: The Technology Is New but the Top 20 Chart Is Old Hat; Five-Year-Old Single Heads Choice for Digital Downloads

IT was hailed as the moment that would redefine the music industry. As Radio 1 prepared to reveal the first official download chart last night, insiders were bracing themselves. Which act would emerge as the most popular of the virtual jukebox? Who would be the first idols of the iPod generation?

Intimate Tv Portrait Paints Campbeltown As 'Ghost Town with Little to Offer the Young'

IT was billed as an intimate portrait of small town life, but it was a little too intimate for the people who live there. Campbeltown, a 50-minute documentary screened on BBC2, has provoked a storm of protest across the Mull of Kintyre after it followed the lives of four disillusioned teenagers.

Why Farmed Salmon May Be Short On Beneficial Fatty Acids

THE health benefits of eating oily fish seem to depend on what the fish are fed, and adding vegetable oil to feed pellets appears to dilute the powerful effect, according to research. Oily fish such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines and herring are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, the healthy fat that scientists believe helps cholesterol, lowers unhealthy try-glicerides and slows the growth of plaque, protecting the heart from disease.

Face of the Day : Mary Cheney

MARY CHENEY Famous for? What used to be her private life. Used to be? The vice- president's 35-year-old daughter is a lesbian. The president, along with a majority of the Republican party, is pushing for an amendment to the constitution that would ban same-sex marriage. As such, Ms Cheney, who usually stays firmly behind the scenes, has had her private life made public.

Cheney Ready to Attack Kerry While Protest Arrests Rise

DICK Cheney last night was preparing to raise the temperature at the Republican convention with an attack on John Kerry, the presidential challenger, for his "confusion of conviction". Thousands of people formed a symbolic unemployment line from Wall Street to the Madison Square Garden convention site to highlight the jobs lost under George W Bush as protests continued on the third day of the gathering and the number of arrests headed towards 1500.

The Speech That Billions Will Watch

BY now, the speech president George W Bush will deliver tonight to the Republican convention in New York will be in its umpteenth draft, every I dotted, every T crossed, and the buzz phrases burnished. Just as the team behind John Kerry did on the eve of his big speech in Boston, Bush aides are trying to play down the significance of the address, arguing that the forthcoming televised debates will be of greater importance in shaping voters' views.

Scientists Nose Ahead in Battle with Midge

THE midge may finally have met its match. American scientists claim to have unlocked the key to an insect's ability to zone in on humans, a discovery which could lead to highly- effective repellents. Researchers at Rockefeller University have identified the gene determining whether an insect can smell. Insects navigate by smell to find food, mates, and - in the case of midges - humans to bite.