The Herald

100,000 Protesters On the Move by Bike, by Train and by Foot They Are Coming to Make Poverty History

THEY are coming by bike. They are coming by train.

Dungavel Will Close During Summit

DUNGAVEL detention centre is to be closed for the duration of the G8 summit over fears for the safety of its staff. The Home Office confirmed last night that the centre for asylum seekers was in the process of being cleared.

New Impression

LOOK AGAIN: More than 30 French Impressionist paintings from Glasgow's civic collections will be shown in a fresh venue today, in their temporary home in Kirkcudbright Town Hall. Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum in Glasgow is closed for a [pounds]27.9m refurbishment, and this has allowed its priceless collection to be moved to Dumfries and Galloway for the summer.

Illegal Immigrants Are Invading the Countryside

THEIR names are exotic, they hail from foreign climes, and they could threaten Scotland's native ecology. Thirteen species of terrestrial and aquatic plants were yesterday added to a legislative hitlist, making it an offence to spread them in the Scottish countryside.

Fund Management Leader in City Battle

ONE of Scotland's biggest fund managers has stepped up its battle with a City rival over allegedly inaccurate statements which it claims could harm its reputation. Senior staff at Aberdeen Asset Management have sent a strongly- worded letter to the chief executive of Close Brothers, which recently acquired the management contracts of three venture capital trusts held by Murray Johnstone, a subsidiary of AAM.

Blair Plan to Calm Eu with Informal Summit Stage Set for Fresh Showdown

TONY Blair is to hold an informal EU summit in an attempt to thrash out differences over the direction of Europe this autumn, he announced yesterday, as Jose Manuel Barroso, commission president, called for fresh compromise. The prime minister launched Britain's presidency of the European Union with the announcement that the European Commission was preparing a pre-talks paper on "the sustainability of the social model in Europe in the light of the changes that are happening all around us today".

Three Years of Calm Waters As Calmac Announces Pay Deal

ONE of the regular features of the holiday season in the Highlands and Islands will be absent for the next three years - the threat of industrial action on Caledonian MacBrayne ferries. CalMac announced yesterday that it has signed a threeand-a-half year, 10.8per cent pay deal with all four main unions, for seagoing and shore-based staff.

Is Nothing Sacred? Now Even Whisky Is a Miracle Drink for Arthritis and Gout

FOR centuries whisky has been known to Scots as the water of life and now scientists have discovered that, when taken in moderation, it really does have health benefits. Researchers at Shizuoka University in Japan believe that one measure of Scotch a day may help prevent the onset of gout and arthritis.

Ssp Criticised for Fundraising Plan

THE Scottish Socialists were accused of crassness yesterday for proposing to swell their coffers by fundraising at the Make Poverty History march and other G8 demonstrations. The latest attack came as the party was still reeling from a ban and financial penalty imposed by the parliamentary standards committee after the protest of four SSP MSPs at Holyrood on Thursday.

Cup Increases Value 100 Times in a Year

A SELLING price of [pounds]4000 for the silver-gilt cup seemed more than fair just 12 months ago. But add a year of specialist research and the name of a famous Dutch creator, and it has now been sold again for [pounds]456,000, or 100 times more, leaving an Edinburgh art-lover just a bit def lated.

Potter Fan to Cast a Spell On the Herald Alice, 13, Beats Off Competition to Cover Launch of Latest Book

MEET The Herald's new star correspondent: Alice Gurney, a 13- year-old Harry Potter fan who has won a competition to report on the launch of JK Rowling's latest episode on the young wizard, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Alice, from Balfron in Stirlingshire, triumphed in our contest to find a young reporter to cover the event.

Benn Harbours High Hopes for G8 Development Secretary Says True Progress Can Be Made Interview

HILARY Benn, secretary of state for international development, is not at all sure that the G8 summit at Gleneagles next week will be a success, but that will not stop him from doing his damnedest to make it so. He dismisses those who criticise Tony Blair for raising expectations and claim that the Gleneagles gathering is merely a talking shop.

Five-Star Hotel Protected by Five Miles of Security Fence

THE leaders of the world's richest countries will meet amid unprecedented security within the confines of a fivemile long fence next week. An aerial picture shows the ring of steel that has been erected around the five-star Gleneagles Hotel where the world leaders will meet.

G8 Countdown4 Days to Go

Although aviation currently accounts for only about 3.5% of total greenhouse gas emissions, it is one of the fastestgrowing sources of such pollutants. Because aviation also has the highest growth rate among modes of transport, emissions from air travel are projected to increase five-fold by 2050. SOURCE Oxfam

Live8 Ready to Take Its Place in History with 5.5bn Audience Final Preparations for Global Music Event

A RECORD-breaking audience of 5.5 billion is expected to experience what is being billed as the biggest music event in history today. As final preparations were made last night for Live8, organisers estimated more than 80per cent of the world's population of 6.5 billion would watch the event.

Trade Unionists Join March

TENS of thousands of trade unionists will join today's Make Poverty History march, with a special message to governments in the West that world poverty will only be tackled by giving people decent jobs. Leaders of some of the 30 UK unions which are members of the Make Poverty History campaign will address today's rally in Edinburgh.

Rethink Over Cairngorms Railway Ban On Walkers Mountain Restrictions Trigger Complaints

ABAN on walkers using a Highland railway is to be reconsidered after thousands of complaints were sent to national park managers. Sightseers who ride the [pounds]19m funicular to the top of Cairn Gorm currently are banned from walking out on to the 4000ft mountain in order to protect its fragile environment. But tourist displeasure has forced the Cairngorm National Park Authority into a rethink.

Martin Hits Top Form in Perfect Hyde Park Warm-Up Review Coldplay Bellahouston Park, Glasgow

WITH his usual endearing mix of hyper-activity, tenacity and soulfulness, Chris Martin leads his faultless band in a spirited performance. Although a sensitive showman, a showman he is none the less, thrusting his body towards his piano, throwing his head back until it looks like it might snap off, throwing it back to within millimetres of his keyboard and stomping his snowy white sneakers onto the stage.

Starter's Orders for Sporting Bonanza Festival of Fun As Special Olympics Come to Glasgow

THE Flame of Hope arrived in Glasgow yesterday to herald the beginning of the seventh British Special Olympics. Over the next seven days, 2500 athletes will compete in 23 sports events at nine venues around Glasgow in the UK's biggest sporting event this year.

More Patients Turn Down Surgery Dates for Holidays

GROWING numbers of Scots are unfit to face medical procedures or turn down appointments for personal reasons such as choosing to go on holiday, statistics show. Almost a third of those on NHS waiting lists for investigation or treatment are now denied guaranteed times because they are on one of a number of categories of availability status code (ASC) - the way in which the health service measures those unable or unwilling to accept appointments.