NORTHERN IRELAND
' Short courses' for students
TEENAGERS facing the last two years of compulsory schooling will be able to study new ' short courses' as an alternative to full GCSE ones.
The Northern Ireland Curriculum Council has launched four consultation reports for short courses in art and design, technology and design, drama and music.
They will apply to fourth and fifth-formers, aimed at providing the pupils with more choice and flexibility during the last two years before they can leave school.
The council said the courses would be no more than half a full GCSE course, allowing pupils to concentrate on other subjects they choose.
Plans exist to extend the list of short courses to business studies, geography, history, media studies and home economics.
LISBURN
Hospital scheme
LAGAN Valley Hospital can nearly double its workload with only a slight increase in costs, a public meeting has heard.
Dr Colin Patten, general manager of the Down-Lisburn Unit, said the hospital had geared itself up to deal with more patients.
Its case load can be increased by 45pc with only a 14pc increase in its budget.
Four consultants are being appointed with plans for a further two.
The meeting was called to persuade the Eastern Health Board to retain acute services at the Lagan Valley.
The Board is due to meet later this month to decide on how hospital services in its area will be delivered in future.
BOSTON
Queen's support
THE parents of a boy who suddenly withdrew into a silent world have been sent a message of support from the Queen.
Leslie and Linda Skelhorne, of Runcorn, received the letter wishing them well in their bid to raise cash to send Shaun, five, to the Higashi Institute in Boston.
He left yesterday for the centre for autism after donations reached 25,000.
ISLE OF WIGHT
Back on track
A PAIR of 100-year-old railway carriages have returned to the tracks after years of restoration by Isle of Wight rail buffs.
The carriages were once coupled together on the Merstone to Ventnor West branch line, but were sold to become seaside chalets in 1938.
Now the vehicles have been re-united on the Isle of Wight Steam Railway.
SCOTLAND
Campers burned
TWO Hampshire campers were treated in hospital after their tent was destroyed by fire at a site in Scotland.
The blaze at Bunchrew Park started when Simon Kent, 25, from Fareham, and Joanne Womar, 23, from Portsmouth, were changing the refill of a gas lamp.
They were treated for burns to their hands and arms at Raigmore Hospital, Inverness.
SELBY
Jobs offer
SOME of the women sacked last year during a dispute with a mushroom firm have been offered their jobs back.
About two dozen have been given the chance to return to Middlebrook Mushrooms, Whitley Farm, near Selby, North Yorks, days after they lost their fight to take the firm to a tribunal.
VIETNAM
Flood kills 41
A MONSOON flash flood swept away a bus in northern Vietnam, killing 41 passengers, the state-run radio said.
The official Voice of Vietnam said the bus was fording a rain-swollen stream in Quang Ninh province, east of Hanoi.
Nineteen passengers survived, said the report, monitored in Bangkok.
EGYPT
Policeman murdered
SUSPECTED Muslim extremists shot dead a plainclothes policeman as he left his home near Assiut in southern Egypt, police said.
Police have been among the main targets of Muslim extremists seeking to turn Egypt into an Islamic theocracy and more than 200 people have died in the violence over the past 20 months.
ARIES: Mar 21 to Apr 20
You 'll quickly find ways to solve problems as you 'll be feeling most enterprising.
Excitement surrounds your love life if you are fancy free.
You may find yourself away from home having fun this evening.
Starline number 0891 332 765
TAURUS: Apr 21 to May 21
You 'll find it hard to turn off today and work colleagues will not be any help.
You could find yourself socialising with them later on.
This evening is the best time for visiting.
Starline number 766
GEMINI: Jun 22 to Jul 22
A good day for travelling long or short distances, but you should take care where finances are concerned.
You could find yourself spending more than your allowance for the day's entertainments.
Starline number 767
CANCER: Jun 22 to July 22
You are in an optimistic and generous mood today and other people will be flocking around you.
Try not to splash out too much in a bid to spoil those around you.
Romance is well starred.
Starline number 768
LEO: Jul 23 to Aug 22
A new relationship formed today will be very important to you now and in the future.
This is a great day for weddings and engagements.
If attending a wedding or party of close friends, you should have the time of your life.
Starline number 769
VIRGO: Aug 23 to Sep 23
Try not to draw attention to yourself today  you are not in the best of moods and arguments could ensue.
Care should be taken when dealing with loved ones as a rift could form if you are too argumentative.
Forgive and forget if possible.
Starline number 770
LIBRA: Sep 24 to Oct 23
Time to come out from under a cloud and enjoy yourself.
If you can mix business with pleasure, so much better.
There are some good opportunities for advancement if only you can grab them quickly.
Starline number 771
SCORPIO: Oct 24 to Nov 21
You could be hoping to receive a favour or two from those around you.
But do not push your luck too far.
Those who give can also take  so be careful.
This evening is a good time for friendships and romance, but do not be too intense.
Starline number 772
SAGITTARIUS: Nov 22 to Dec 21
An ideal day for any sort of travel, but especially good for short trips and visits.
Keep on the move wherever possible as there is much to be gained from flitting here and there.
The opposite sex will figure in the evening's entertainments.
Starline number 773
CAPRICORN: Dec 22 to Jan 20
There could be a call from someone you haven't heard from in some time.
Try to make time to see them if they come calling later in the day.
You could learn something to your advantage.
Starline number 774
AQUARIUS: Jan 21 to Feb 19
You are feeling pretty good about yourself and this could result in your forming a new friendship with someone attracted to you.
Do not try to go it alone today  everything you do will be enhanced by the company of another.
Starline number 775
PISCES: Feb 20 to Mar 20
As a romantic you will be glad to hear that today is a great time for making moves in this area.
Try to get out and about whenever possible, making new friends and contacts.
This evening is a time for partying and meeting new people away from your home base.
Starline number 776
Hoover defends transfer of pension millions
HOOVER has defended the controversial transfer of 28m from its pension fund, denying it was being used just to cover losses from the ' free flight ' fiasco.
The giant American-owned company, based in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, confirmed that a 16.8m ' surplus' had been moved to its general fund with 11.2m handed to the Inland Revenue.
But company spokeswoman Caroline Knight said the transfer, planned since 1991 and approved by pension fund trustees, was carried out early this year, two months before an extra 20m was set aside in April to sort out problems caused by the promotion.
Waiting
Thousands of disappointed customers were kept waiting for free tickets to America after buying 100 vacuum cleaners.
The company did not specify exactly how their extra funds would be spent.
' It is not linked with the free flights promotion and will be used in our continuing development of the company. '
added Ms Knight.
Although Hoover's transfer of pension funds was legal, some of the company's 19,000 pensioners voiced concern on BBC TV's ' Watchdog ' programme that ex-workers were not properly consulted.
They fear long-term pension levels could be affected.
MPs on the Parliamentary Committee on Social Security, currently investigating company pensions, are to examine the Hoover move.
Final caution
CUSHENDALL may have slammed Loughguile in the Antrim Hurling championship semi-final but there is not the slightest hint of complacency as they approach Sunday's decider against Ballycastle at Casement Park (3.30).
' Loughguile had some young players on their side in the ' semi ' and perhaps our experience told in the end, ' says a Cushendall spokesman.
Now the 'Dall will look to ' Sambo ' McNaughton, James McNaughton, Alistair McGuile, John Carson and Leonard McKeegan as they prepare to battle against their great north Antrim rivals.
Ballycastle have their share of experienced campaigners but may find that Cushendall are in no mood to relinquish their county title.
Box home for family in protest
A MUM and her three children have moved into a cardboard box to demand ' decent accommodation ' from the Housing Executive.
Londonderry mother Frances McGinley said today she intends to camp outside the Waterloo Street Housing Executive office until she is offered a suitable house.
But the Housing Executive hit back at Ms McGinley's extraordinary protest and her claim that they do not care about her family's plight.
A spokeswoman said Ms McGinley had ' turned down two reasonable offers' of alternative accommodation and had ' exhausted the internal complaints system '.
But Ms McGinley said she had refused to move because the houses offered were ' dirty, uninhabitable and dangerous'.
She said electrical sockets had been ripped out of walls.
Suffering
' There was no way I could move into those houses, especially with the kids.
They are the ones who are really suffering, ' she said.
She also claims she has collected more than 3,000 signatures in support of her protest.
' I have been living in a bed and breakfast for the past 15 months with my kids and me in the one room.
' My protest will go on until they change their minds.
I have been told to fill in a new form to be put on the waiting list but you need a permanent address to fill out one and I haven't got one. '
Decision
A Housing Executive spokeswoman said no final decision had been made about the case.
She said: ' Ms McGinley has exhausted the internal complaints system, and we understand her case is currently being considered by the Ombudsman.
' We will reassess Ms McGinley's case in line with the Ombudsman's findings.
' Ms McGinley has turned down two reasonable offers, which have subsequently been taken up by other tenants.
By David Walmsley
Man jailed for killing his girlfriend
AN alcoholic who admitted killing his five months pregnant girlfriend was jailed for five years today.
Jennifer Trimble (32), died two days after receiving head injuries during a drunken row with the accused Thomas Wightman in February last year.
Belfast Crown Court heard that the couple's six-year relationship had been stormy and that they had hit each other on numerous occasions.
Cuts
A Crown lawyer said police were called to the pair's Donard Street home in Belfast after neighbours heard shouting and fighting.
Officers found Wightman (35), with cuts to his eye.
Ms Trimble was lying unconscious on a settee in the front living room.
She had severe bruises to the face and eyes and her head was wrapped in a towel.
She failed to regain consciousness and died two days later in hospital.
The prosecution said that the two had been out drinking and had started to fight when they came home.
Wightman told police he hit his girlfriend's head against the bathroom door or wall, but said he had not intended to kill her.
Defence lawyer Tony Cinnamond said, however, that Wightman's recollection of the events were hazy due to drink and it could have been that he struck her and her head banged against the wall.
' Almost certainly this was a very unlucky blow for her and for him, ' he said.
The lawyer said the pair had fallen deeply in love and his client was' devastated ' by what had happened.
Case
Passing sentence, Lord Justice MacDermott said: ' The background to this case is one of excessive drinking and violence. '
He told Wightman: ' People simply must not be violent towards each other.
If they are and this kind of tragedy occurs then they must be punished for such behaviour. '
The judge accepted that the accused would be ' tormented ' by this knowledge for the rest of his life.
By Marie Foy
LISBURN
Hospital plan
LAGAN Valley Hospital can nearly double its workload with only a slight increase in costs, a public meeting was told today.
Dr Colin Patten, general manager of the Down-Lisburn Unit, said the hospital had geared itself up to deal with more patients.
Its case load could be increased by 45pc with only a 14pc increase in its budget.
Four consultants are being appointed with plans for a further two.
ENGLAND
Soldiers charged
THREE soldiers based in Northern Ireland have been charged with armed robbery and firearms offences in England.
The soldiers  two aged 20 and the other 19  are members of the 1st battalion Royal Green Jackets who were based at Lisanelly Barracks, Omagh.
BELFAST Patient found
A 69-YEAR-OLD patient at Belfast's Musgrave Park Hospital, who had been missing since Sunday, was found safe and well today in nearby woodlands.
ATHENS
Bomb blasts offices
A BOMB blast damaged the offices of an extreme right-wing political organisation in central Athens today, but no one was injured, police said.
UVF admit murder bid on Protestant
THE UVF have admitted they tried to kill a Protestant man in east Belfast last night.
But, in a call to a Belfast newsroom, the loyalist terror group denied there was any political or sectarian motive for the attack.
Police have discounted a sectarian motive and are pursuing ' a specific line of inquiry. '
The 43-year-old victim was' very seriously ill but stable ' after undergoing emergency surgery in the Royal Victoria Hospital.
Ponytail
He was shot twice in the chest by a lone, unmasked gunman at the front door of his home at Palmerston Park, Holywood Road, at around 9.40pm.
Police have issued a description of the gunman.
He is said to be aged between 29-30, around 6ft tall and of slim build with a thin face, dark eyebrows, narrow eyes and long narrow nose.
He is thought to have a short ponytail and was wearing a black leather jacket and dark denim trousers.
Leading loyalist, Gerry Drumgoole  wounded in an INLA murder bid in the Shankill area yesterday afternoon  was today said to be ' stable ' in hospital.
Mr Drumgoole, who is in his early 30s, was shot once in the stomach by two INLA gunmen as he sat outside his home in Hazelfield Street.
Action
The gunmen continued to fire at the house after he managed to scramble inside and slam the front door shut.
The shooting is seen as retaliatory action following the murders of three Roman Catholic civilians by the UFF and UVF last week.
Mr Drumgoole lost a leg and part of an arm in an under-car IRA booby-trap blast at Dover Street in November 1991.
By Gary Grattan
Road surfacing
WE spend thousands of pounds on road safety, yet the DoE are allowed to go out on the roads and lay a spraying of tar then scatter shovels full of loose stones on top of it.
This happened to me on the Seven Mile Straight at recently, a lorry coming in the opposite direction in spite of road signs.
It was like a nightmare to sit and listen to the loose stones bouncing off my windscreen and bodywork as the lorry passed me at about 70mph.
It was just like someone machine gunning my car with stones.
Surely in this day and age with so much emphasis on safety it is madness to surface roads like this.
I thought this type of road surfacing went out with the horse and cart.
The DoE tell me in a letter that they are free from indemnity.
What sort of a crazy world is it?
Surely the head of DoE Road Safety and Government should sit down and watch the advert for Autoglass to realise the danger of this.
I 'm left, according to the glass people, with a damaged windscreen and can not do anything about it.
JAMES LUNN
Silverstream Gardens, Belfast 14.
Home front battle
THE Rev. Martin Smyth, MP, has been telling me of a neat little trick pulled by local people to have houses built at Innes Place on the Donegall Road.
The houses will be for people who have to move out of Bentham Drive to make way for a new rail link.
These residents, mostly old people, were determined to stay in the area, and the plan was put forward that they should be re-housed in nearby Innes Place.
' Innes Place had been vacant ground for a long number of years, and the planning people insisted that there never had been houses fronting on to the Donegall Road, ' Mr Smyth explained.
' But the fact is that my own mother and father lived in Innes Place in their first house after they were married.
So we got ourselves an Ordnance Survey map for the year of my birth and were able to prove that houses had indeed existed there, ' he said.
The battle was won, and work has now started on the replacement houses at Innes Place  thanks to an MP's parents and an old map.
Martin Smyth: Boyhood memories
Hotel manager denies death threat plot charge
A 29-YEAR-OLD hotel manager appeared at a special court in Craigavon yesterday on a conspiracy charge.
Eamon Wilson, The Beeches, Portadown, is alleged to have conspired with a person or persons unknown to make a threat to Sean McIvor, making him fear that if it were carried out he would be killed.
A second charge accused him of having between the same dates  July 1 and August 20, 1993  attempted to force Mr McIvor to refrain from giving evidence at the trial of Stephen Wilson.
The court was told by an RUC detective constable that when arrested charged and cautioned Wilson replied to each charge: ' I know nothing about it. '
Wilson was remanded in custody to Belfast Magistrate's Court on September 17.
A defence solicitor said his client would be strenuously denying the charges and that a bail application would be made in the High Court.
Council fury over memorial refusal
A REFUSAL by the Republic's Government to provide funds for a memorial to the 22 people killed in the loyalist bomb attack on Dublin in 1974 has angered the Dublin City Council.
The council asked the Government to erect a memorial next year to mark the 20th anniversary of the atrocity.
However, a letter from the Department of the Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds, stated that it would be ' invidious to single out the victims of this particular atrocity for special official commemoration ' against the background of approximately 3,000 deaths resulting either directly or indirectly from violence in Northern Ireland.
The letter added that while it was a matter for the City Council to determine whether to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the event, ' there are no funds at the disposal of this Department to meet the costs involved '.
The Lord Mayor, Tomas Mac Giolla, said he found the reply from the Taoiseach's Department ' quite horrifying '.
The council passed a motion backing calls by relatives of those killed in the Dublin and Monaghan bombings for an official inquiry.
By Michael Devine
Ethnic warfare
SECTARIANISM has always been one of the prime causes of conflict in Northern Ireland, because religion has been so closely identified with politics.
It turns neighbour against neighbour, breaking down trust in a way that the paramilitary organisations are finding easy to exploit.
On the one side, the IRA would argue that its hands are clean and that its attacks are solely aimed at weakening the British link.
Its targets, however, are as calculated to arouse sectarian feelings as the UDA's or the UVF 's.
Its bombs almost invariably devastate towns and property where Protestants are in the majority and its shootings are directed at members of the security forces, who are mainly Protestant.
In return, there has been a growing incidence of sectarian attacks from the loyalist paramilitaries.
Their first reaction to the bomb in Armagh was to toss petrol bombs into houses in a predominantly Catholic estate, endangering the lives of four families.
Three of last week's four murders, carried out with unbelievable brutality, were clearly intended to spread sectarian terror.
There is no point in arguing who cast the first stone or threw the first bomb, destroying a church hall or a GAA club.
But both communities must recognise the cancerous effect of sectarianism, taken to these extremes.
It conjures up the same emotions that have led to the horrors of ' ethnic cleansing ' in Bosnia, with rival religious and political groups staking out new dividing lines.
Religious leaders spell out their warnings, in countless funeral services, but their words will be wasted without a response from the politicians.
Their fundamental disagreements on how Northern Ireland should be governed, with its two identities, help perpetuate the conditions for sectarian violence.
They must try again and again for a compromise that is fair and honourable.
It is depressing to hear from a leading Unionist, Ken Maginnis, how little faith there is in the talks process, without a fundamental change of attitudes.
Plans for devolution have been exchanged, but have hardly been considered by the other side.
The SDLP seems to be leading the Irish Government and the Ulster Unionists and the DUP are split.
Meanwhile the British Government acts as a neutral observer.
In view of the critical need to provide political alternatives to violence, the talks must be reconvened as soon as possible.
This time, however, there must be a new sense of realism, on all sides.
The sovereign government should accept that even if an overall solution is impossible, at this time, some practical steps can still be taken to tackle the democratic deficit.
Small steps are better than none at all.
One man one vote
JOHN MAJOR heads a deeply unpopular government.
His personal standing is the lowest recorded for a Prime Minister and even the flow of funds from the party faithful is drying up under his faltering leadership.
Against such a background it would appear that Labour, as the alternative party of power, should prosper.
Yet when Labour's prospects are rosiest, it always seems to shoot itself in the foot.
The rumbling row with the unions over ending the block vote is a classic example of its suicidal tendencies.
Party leader John Smith is right to press ahead with his plans to end the official role of the unions in selecting parliamentary candidates, but by allowing open confrontation with the unions to continue simmering he is undermining his good intent.
Union power is a spectre constantly raised by the Tory Party to scare the electorate.
Mr Smith needs to end the public bickering over one-man-one-vote to persuade voters that Labour is in control of its own destiny and not the puppet of the trade unions.
Labour's traditional bedrock of support is among the working classes as exemplified by the trade unions.
It can not sever such connections, but should end the practice of the block vote by which unions wield enormous power in party affairs.
This is a matter which should be finalised swiftly so that the party can move on to formulate appealing economic and social policies.
The Government is in disarray at present but various indicators suggest that the economy may be coming out of recession.
If Labour can not stake its claim to be the future government, it may be by-passed by events and find itself back in the wilderness.
Atkins in drive against pirates
STORMONT Minister Robert Atkins today dealt a crushing blow to thousands of counterfeit and pirate video and audio tapes.
The Minister ceremoniously drove a heavy roller over the illegal tapes which were seized in raids across the province by Trading Standards Officers.
Mr Atkins also viewed a wide range of other counterfeit goods including jeans, sweaters, training shoes, watches, perfumes and even motorcycle helmets.
Problem
' Counterfeiting is a form of theft which hits customers who end up with sub-standard goods, honest traders who can not compete with rivals who market cut-price alternatives and manufacturers of the genuine articles. '
He said the problem had escalated over the past decade.
' It has been estimated that British business is losing up to 1bn a year and that around 100,000 jobs have been lost as a result of this practice. '
Many of the tapes have led to prosecutions, with more than 100 cases reaching the courts.
' Whatever the source of this material I am glad to say that we have been successful in seizing large amounts and bringing those who broke the law to book, ' Mr Atkins said.
By Marie Foy
Labour row over Ulster set to grow
THE furore over Labour ideas for breaking Ulster's political log-jam and efforts to block demands for the party to recruit in the province is expected to intensify this month.
Labour's front-bench team is preparing the ground for the launch of a detailed review of policy options, including shared Ulster sovereignty, before the party's annual conference opens in Brighton on September 27.
The move is certain to fuel the controversy provoked by an earlier leaked document, endorsed by chief Ulster spokesman Kevin McNamara.
' Shoddy '
Resolutions for the conference include specific support for Mr McNamara's stance and condemnation of the ' shoddy deal ' between Ulster Unionists and John Major's Government.
However, the mounting campaign for Labour to lift its ban on recruitment in Northern Ireland is threatening a separate rift at Brighton.
Opposition spokesman Roger Stott today hit condemned a move by Labour's ruling national executive to investigate further the extent of support in the province for a Labour Party organisation.
' I am very angry with the NEC for deciding to do this, especially when they were well aware that our document in July, ' Oranges and Lemons', spelled out why we are against Labour organising, which is party policy. '
Support
The campaign is backed by at least two dozen MPs, including Kate Hoey, Harry Barnes and Nick Raynsford, and its supporters claim growing support within trades union ranks for their cause.
Six resolutions calling on Labour to organise and contest elections in the province have been submitted by local constituency parties in Great Britain for debate at the conference.
By Desmond McCartan, Westminster Correspondent
DUP in boycott of US delegates
THE Ulster Unionists were having urgent talks with the US Consulate in Belfast today before deciding whether to pull out of a meeting with prominent Irish-Americans.
Senior party members were due to meet the American delegation  who arrived in Ireland today on a fact-finding visit  but were reconsidering after it was revealed that the group will meet Sinn Fein.
The DUP has already announced that it will boycott the four-man group when it arrives it Belfast.
It is unlikely the DUP would have agreed to a meeting anyway, as the American delegation is in favour of sending a peace envoy to the province, but a boycott by the Ulster Unionists would be a major blow.
Purpose
The SDLP and Sinn Fein have both accepted invitations for discussions, while the Alliance Party said it had not yet received any formal communication about the visit.
Ulster Unionist secretary Jim Wilson said he would speak to the American Consulate about the purpose of the group's meeting with Sinn Fein and then report back to senior party members.
' I initially agreed to a meeting but that decision has now been put on hold, ' he explained.
' We are not happy that the group is meeting Sinn Fein and will demand an explanation from the Consulate.
' No decision about the meeting will be made until I have had talks with those responsible for organising the group's itinerary, but we are not at all happy with the decision to meet Sinn Fein. '
Excluded
A DUP spokesman said the group had excluded itself from having any say in politics in Northern Ireland by agreeing to meet Sinn Fein.
During their visit the American delegation will meet politicians in Dublin and Belfast, including Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, Foreign Affairs Minister Dick Spring and Stormont Secretary of State Sir Patrick Mayhew.
By Vincent Kearney, Political Correspondent
Smith braves TUC top dog critics
JOHN Smith today faced fresh criticism over Labour's image as he sought to side-step confrontation with trade union barons over his plans for party democracy.
Mr Smith, in his first speech as party leader to 800 TUC delegates in Brighton, was expected to ignore the dispute over the thorny issue of the block vote.
The Labour leader was focusing on the role of the trade unions.
He was stressing the importance of better employment rights, a bigger say for the trades unions and the need for more recruits.
His remarks were designed to ease current tensions between him and union chiefs which have been triggered by his determination to press ahead with his plans for party voting reforms.
But signs of TUC discontent with Labour's lacklustre performance, despite its commanding opinion poll lead over the Tories, emerged in Brighton before he spoke.
John Edmonds, general secretary of the powerful GMB union, said it was important to settle the one member one vote issue before Labour's conference later this month.
Policy
Shadow Chancellor Gordon Brown is reported to be preparing a major economic policy initiative to be unveiled at the Labour conference.
But Mr Edmonds said: ' I believe that we must have some boldness and imagination in our policy.
' After all, at the moment, the Government is expecting unemployment to stay at around 3 million until 1996 and beyond.
This is appalling. '
To suggestions that he was implying that the Labour leadership had not been bold enough so far, Mr Edmonds said: ' There is something of a hangover from the last election at the moment.
Growth
' It's a new situation that we have got to handle and, somehow, we have got to find a way of breaking out of this low growth, and trying to find a way of getting our economy going again.
Mr Edmonds added: ' So we must find a new way of running our society so that people, who want to work, can.
That's top of the agenda.
I hope that Gordon Brown will address it very strongly at the Labour Party conference.
' We've got to find, by debate inside the party, a new way forward on economic affairs. '
He argued: ' We need to borrow our way out of this recession by borrowing for investment. '
By Desmond McCartan, Westminster Correspondent
Blitz on border drug runs
DRUG-BUSTING Customs officers are targeting border areas in the war against smugglers.
Traffickers are using sleepy border lanes to spirit drugs in and out of Northern Ireland.
Now the crack Flexible Anti-Smuggling Teams are closing in on the dealers' ' rat-runs'.
So far this year, drugs officers have made more than 130 seizures  twice the figure for the same time last year.
But Treasury plans to transfer 20 officers away from trapping smugglers to collecting VAT are tying their hands.
Excise officers in the Republic are co-operating with their colleagues in Northern Ireland to halt the trade.
Caches
In the last three months alone, Customs and Excise officials have netted large caches of drugs on their way to and from the province.
In June, Ecstasy worth 4,000 was seized on a bus at a checkpoint outside Londonderry In July, drugs with a street value of 10,000 were recovered in Newry And last month, a ' substantial ' quantity of Ecstasy, LSD and amphetamines was found in a car at Culmore, Co Londonderry.
Ecstasy tablets now change hands for 20 a time.
Survey
And a recent survey showed one-in-four Newry teenagers  some as young as 15  have dabbled with drugs.
The Southern Health Board poll also found that more than half the 1,300 questioned had been offered illegal drugs or solvents.
By Martin Hill
COALISLAND
Rifle found
AN AKM rifle has been discovered by police during a search of an empty farm in Tyrone.
The weapon and an empty magazine were found yesterday, hidden beneath bales of hay in a shed on the farm on the Annaghmore Road, Coalisland.
ARMAGH
Exam boost
ARMAGH Language Centre, based at the local College of Further Education, is offering an intensive two-day course in GCSE English language, to help students get through this vital subject either in their November resits or in the examination next June.
Spokesman Alan Smith says the course will be conducted by teachers of the subject who are also experienced examiners having been with NISEAC for several years.
ARMAGH
Car-parts theft
THIEVES smashed a window at an Armagh car components firm to steal 2,000 worth of equipment.
They took drills, angle grinders, and socket sets from Car and Commercial Components at Lisbofin Road, Blackwatertown.
Police are investigating.
DARKLEY
Cheques alert
POLICE have warned traders to be on the alert after two cheque books were stolen from the office of Crossfire Trust at Darkley, near Keady.
The cheques are drawn on the Ulster Bank.
COOKSTOWN
Street scheme
A MAJOR environmental scheme is to be carried out on Cookstown's main street  the longest and widest in Ireland.
The Department of the Environment, which is undertaking the work, is to hold consultations with the local district council before the plans are finalised.
DUNGANNON
Signpost call
A DUNGANNON councillor last night called for the erection of name plates on roads in the district.
Derek Irwin said Dungannon is the only district council area in Northern Ireland that does not have its roads clearly signposted.
for dessie
PLANS to restrict the brands of contraceptive Pill available on the NHS could result in more unwanted pregnancies and lead some women to pay up to 135 a year to protect themselves, a magazine claimed today.
Company magazine backs a campaign and petition to keep all brands of the Pill available free on prescription in its latest issue.
It claims many of the 3m British women receiving contraceptives on the National Health Service will not want to take older, cheaper types just because they remain available free.
Oral contraceptives are one of 10 types of drug to join the Limited List by the end of this year.
Doctors will only be able to prescribe those brands on the list.
' It is likely that women will be prescribed less expensive, older pills, ' Company claimed.
' These often have high hormone levels causing side effects including weight gain, bloating and nausea, ' the magazine adds.
Ruth Grigg of the Family Planning Association, said: ' The temptation for women who have their Pills changed will be just not to bother with contraception at all or to use something that's less effective. '
Buying some of the more popular brands privately was likely to cost women from 81 to 135 a year, it found.
And switching brands need not save NHS money in the long term, the magazine argued.
Extra costs for abortions or maternity care would more than outweigh the savings.
Aid team goes on mercy mission
A GROUP of Northern Ireland people are today finalising preparations for a mercy mission to Romania.
David Dunbar and his team from Aid Unlimited are setting off on September 15 with a 12-ton lorry packed with vital supplies for orphanages in Arad, Tamisura, and Tackash.
The team of nine volunteers are busy packing the gifts of food, clothes, toiletries and medical supplies, but David says they still need more.
Conditions
Robert Jones, who will be driving the lorry, is a veteran of mercy runs to eastern Europe  this is his thirteenth mission  said: ' Conditions in Romania are still bad.
' Inflation is rife, currently running at about 700pc.
Dessie Jordan, like David an Ulsterbus driver, praising the staff at Glengormley Health centre, for their work co-ordinating donations, added: ' This trip is only made possible by the help of a lot of people  our volunteers, Stena Sealink, and all those who have supported us with donations. '
If you would like to donate food or toiletries to Aid Unlimited you can do so at Glengormley Health Centre, or phone David Dunbar on Belfast 849737, or Dessie Jordan on Belfast 718267.
Lockerbie accused hire Scottish lawyer
THE two Libyans accused of the Lockerbie bombing have hired a Scottish lawyer who plans to fly out to meet them later this month.
Edinburgh solicitor Alistair Duff, confirmed last night he had been approached by a Libyan lawyer who visited Scotland in August.
He was now acting for the two men accused of bombing the Pan Am jumbo jet in 1988 with the loss of 270 lives.
He said he planned to fly to Libya with leading Scottish defence QC Lord Macaulay to meet the accused men.
Assurances
It emerged on Sunday that the Foreign Office had given Libya a list of detailed assurances covering the conditions in which the two men would be held in Scotland while awaiting trial.
A reliable source told the Press Association that Government representatives had a meeting with Libyan officials at which these assurances were repeated.
Libya faces tougher UN sanctions from October 1 for refusing to hand over the men.
Mr Duff said he had been approached by Libyan lawyer Dr Ibrahim Legwell, whom he had met on August 4 in Edinburgh.
In mid-August there was a further meeting in Brussels, involving himself and Lord Macaulay.
' Not impressed '
Earlier yesterday, Dr Legwell said in Tripoli he was' not impressed ' when he visited Scotland last month to investigate conditions under which his clients might be tried.
' It's not a matter of promises or assurances.
The British have to end their predetermined belief that the suspects are guilty, ' he told Associated Press.
Anger at ' tactless public '
SHORTLY after Aisling Rodgers was born a woman approached her parents and accused them of pouring scalding water over the baby.
She didn't know that Aisling had been born with a severe ' port wine stain '.
That groundless remark still rankles with Aisling's father Martin eight years later.
' That woman did not know about such birthmarks.
Others still display similar ignorance.
They stare at Aisling or say don't touch that mark or you will catch it. '
Initially doctors were unable to offer any treatment, but Martin and his wife Teresa, from Londonderry, did their own research and found a support group in England.
Trips
Through them contact was made with a Swiss doctor.
' He told us that a new laser, a pulsed dye device similar to the one now installed at the Ulster Hospital, could reduce the birthmarks by up to 90pc in some cases.
' We signed up for treatment with him when Aisling was about three and made ten trips to Geneva.
She was given concentrated treatment over each weekend.
' Money for the trips came partly from ourselves and our families, but also from fund raising by Aisling's school and the general public.
Air miles donated covered four return flights.
' It was very expensive, with each session costing 150, but the benefits were enormous.
Aisling's condition is quite severe but the doctor was able to give her a discernible lip-line and reduce the depth of staining on her face by up to 20pc.
Treatment
' We decided to suspend treatment for a while but have been put on the waiting list at the Ulster.
Unfortunately Aisling has had to have eye operations after developing glaucoma and this has prevented treatment resuming.
' She has borne the treatment well but some days does feel self-conscious.
She will say to us' please stop those people staring at me '.
' Sadly there is not enough public information about this condition and this can lead to people reacting tactlessly on occasion. '
Killer's wife to divorce him
THE wife of killer Michael Sams has called him a ' lying bastard ' and said she was divorcing him after he revealed the full extent of his crimes.
Teena, Sams' third wife, also rejected newspaper suggestions that she was offering to sell a book written by him about his killing of teenage prostitute Julie Dart and abduction of estate agent Stephanie Slater.
Mrs Sams (44) from Birmingham, said: ' I do not normally swear but he has driven me to it.
He is a lying bastard and he has just used me and wiped the floor with me.
I expect he is going to die in prison and he deserves it for what he has done. '
Mrs Scargill arrested
THE wife of miners' leader Arthur Scargill was among six women arrested outside the Conservative Central Office in central London yesterday.
Anne Scargill and the others were held at Rochester Row police station for obstruction and other public order offences, said a Scotland yard spokesman.
No charges had been brought.
The women, supporters of Women Against Pit Closures, had set up a heavily-smoking brazier outside the office's main entrance.
Robinson abroad
The Republic's President Mary Robinson is to make state visits to New Zealand and India this month.
In between the trips, Mrs Robinson, who will be accompanied by her husband Nick will go on a private visit to Hong Kong.
Change urged in treatment of suspects
AMERICAN Congressman Robert Menendez has called for change in the way suspects are treated in Northern Ireland.
He claimed they were questioned in ' terror-ridden institutions like Castlereagh ', while the authorities still remained opposed to reforms such as allowing video and audio-recording of interrogations.
Mr Menendez, from New Jersey, was on a six-day visit to examine the legal system.
Trial
He had hoped to see the opening of the ' Ballymurphy Seven ' trial, which involves alleged attacks on security forces, but said the trial date had been postponed.
He met the local Voice of the Innocent group, which represents relatives of the seven men.
The Congressman also said he had talks with SDLP chairman Mark Durkan, Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams, and met Unionist members at a dinner hosted by the American consul-general.
He welcomed the European Commission on Human Rights' ruling that the case of the three IRA members killed by the SAS in Gibraltar was good enough to go the European Court.
By David Watson
Dublin's border bill ' a distortion '
ULSTER Unionist security spokesman Ken Maginnis has accused the Dublin Government of ' deliberately distorting ' the true cost of border security.
In an address to Young Unionists, the Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP slammed SDLP and Eire politicians who claimed it cost a million pounds each day to secure the border.
' The reality is that even if 1,000 soldiers (as detailed in the Dail Defence Estimates) are stationed along the border, they are not ' extra ' troops but normally enlisted men and women who would, irrespective of terrorism, still have to be budgeted for, ' he maintained.
Mr Maginnis claimed the only extra costs, which could be directly attributed to the terrorist campaign, were weekly allowances of 44.58 for officers and 39.01 for NCOs and privates.
Bombs
' If one averages this out at around 41 per soldier per week for 1,000 troops the annual cost works out at a mere 2.1m  a long way short of the 365m claimed for propaganda purposes. '
He alleged the ' deliberate distortion ' was employed to deflect attention from the Dublin Government's ' ambivalent attitude to terrorism '.
' It would give a better idea of the effectiveness of co-operation if the public had a chance to look at the frequency with which bombs are transported into Northern Ireland in vehicles stolen in the Republic.
' The one which detonated at Lisnaskea in my constituency just a few days ago was one of many stolen in Dublin a few days previously, ' said Mr Maginnis.
Women
A new campaign to enlist women in the fight against terrorism along the border has been launched in the Republic.
The drive to recruit female members to the Republic's Reserve Defence Forces got underway last night at the Military post in Castleblayney.
A number of female applicants have already applied for service, and they will be given special weapon training and share in other duties along with male members of the Irish Army Reserve.
Ken Maginnis: No ' extra ' troops.
By Gary Grattan, Security Correspondent
Love rival ' showdown '
Love rival had ear bitten off
A WEST Belfast man bit off the ear of his wife's former lover in a ' crime of passion ' showdown, a court heard today.
Desmond McAteer was given a two year suspended prison sentence at the city's Crown Court when he admitted attacking his rival involved in the love triangle with his wife.
McAteer (35), of Norglen Road, Turf Lodge, who is now reconciled with his wife, admitted causing grievous bodily harm to her ' philandering ' lover last October.
And the court was told that the victim's ear could have been saved  but he failed to take it with him to the hospital.
Showdown
The showdown between the two love rivals happened in the early hours of the morning, when the victim was woken by someone banging on his door.
He opened the door to find a woman who asked him to speak to McAteer's wife, Philomena, who was in his garden.
He refused, saying he wanted nothing more to do with her.
McAteer appeared and attacked the man, knocking him down.
When he got to his feet again McAteer grabbed him and bit half his ear off.
The lawyer told the court the injured party went to hospital where he was told his ear could have been sewn back on if he had brought it with him, but it was not found until the next day.
Assaults
Defence counsel said the assault was' a crime of passion ', which had arisen out of McAteer's ongoing marital difficulties and was' not assisted in any way by the philandering of the injured party '.
He said McAteer had already served a six month prison sentence for two assaults on his wife, and in his view, this was part of the same situation.
The lawyer said the father of four was now reconciled with his wife and searching for a job.
Judge John Petrie said although the offence was very serious he felt it would be unjust to jail McAteer again as he had already served a sentence in connection with this ongoing dispute.
By Rosie Cowan
' Gib ' case: European blow to UK
A EUROPEAN ruling today pushed Britain closer to being placed in the dock over the killing by SAS soldiers in Gibraltar of three IRA terrorists.
The European Commission on Human Rights ruled that there was a case for the Government to answer.
It decided that the relatives' case against the Government was good enough to go before the European Court of Human Rights, and the commission will launch its own inquiries.
IRA unit
Danny McCann, Mairead Farrell and Sean Savage were shot dead after the SAS was called into Gibraltar in 1988 to help police there round up a suspected IRA unit thought to be preparing an attack on British troops.
The Government will have to defend itself at an international legal inquiry against allegations that the SAS operated a shoot-to-kill policy.
Before the decision, Ministers hoped that the arguments over the killings would not be re-opened.
Lawyers for the relatives have spent the last two years arguing that the Government breached Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which guarantees the ' right to life '.
Niall Farrell, whose sister was killed in Gibraltar, said: ' We are pleased that an independent international investigation is to take place.
' Any investigation that will honestly look at the facts must find that Article 2 was violated.
' Worried '
' I would think the British Government must be very worried at this moment, because they have an awful lot to hide.
The decision to have the three executed was taken at the very top by a Cabinet sub-committee. '
Solicitor Barra McGrory said today's ruling was achieved against a background of Government immunity certificates being issued.
' It will probably open up the whole issue again, ' he commented.
' This is probably the most spectacular of all those cases and should attract international attention. '
Lawful
The decision means that the 25-member commission will now start its own inquiry into the Gibraltar case.
When it completes it, perhaps within a year, reports will be sent to the relatives and the Government.
The Government argued before the commission last Friday that the killings were lawful  a view already expressed at a British inquest into the deaths.
Reaction  p8
Mairead Farrell: Shot dead.
By David Watson
Court pays tribute to judge
Lord Justice Higgins, who died last week on the eve of his swearing in as a Lord Justice of Appeal, was described today as a ' judge of great integrity, great courage and great humanity. '
The tribute was paid by the Lord Chief Justice, Sir Brian Hutton, on the first day of the new term in the High Court.
Judges, barristers, solicitors and court officials packed into court to hear Sir Brian say that Lord Justice Higgins (66) ' made a very important and distinguished contribution to the upholding of the rule of law in this troubled province.
Target
' He was a target of terrorist attacks on a number of occasions, some on his home.
But, with the support of his devoted wife and family he continued with his judicial work with unflinching courage and with complete impartiality. '
Alan Comerton, QC, speaking on behalf of the Bar of Northern Ireland, referred to the late judge's ' hatred for cant and deception of any kind. '
He said: ' There was no fudging in the Higgins court.
Woe betide the witness or counsel who did not appear to be fully candid '.
Funeral
Tight security surrounded the funeral of Lord Justice Higgins in Holywood yesterday.
The Secretary of State, Sir Patrick Mayhew; RUC Chief Constable, Sir Hugh Annesley and leading members of the Northern Ireland judiciary, were among 1,000 mourners at the Requiem Mass at St Colmcille's Church yesterday.
The Lord Chief Justice, Sir Brian Hutton, and his predecessor, Lord Lowry, joined colleagues Lord Justice Kelly, Lord Justice McDermott, Lord Justice Murray and Mr Justices Nicholson, Shiel, Kerr, Campbell and McCollum for the service.
Judges, QCs and other members of the legal profession were also represented while the Republic's Chief Justice, Tom Finlay, and Attorney General, Harry Whelehan, were also present.
St Colmcille's Church is still being repaired after an arson attack, and Mass was held in the adjoining parochial hall, which was packed to overflowing.
Brother
Several hundred mourners had to stand in the grounds where the service, conducted by the judge's brother, Monsignor Laurence Higgins, was relayed outside by loudspeakers.
Lord Justice Higgins' widow, Bridget, daughters, Mary, Lucy and Cait, and sons John and Matthew, led the cortege as it left the church for burial at Milltown Cemetery in Magherafelt.
Lord Justice Higgins: Described as a man with great respect for others.
Paying respects: Sir Patrick Mayhew was among those at the funeral of Lord Justice Higgins.
' Gib ' case soldiers' acted properly '
THE Government, faced with another long-running saga on the killing of three IRA terrorists by the SAS in Gibraltar, insisted today that the soldiers acted properly.
Ministers had hoped that arguments over the killings would not be re-opened, but maintained they were not embarrassed by the European Commission on Human Rights' ruling that there was a case to be answered.
Propaganda
According to one Whitehall source, if present trends continue, the case could take up to six years before a final decision is delivered.
The revived investigation about the circumstances of the 1988 shootings of Danny McCann, Mairead Farrell and Sean Savage could provide a new propaganda weapon for republican sympathisers.
But the Foreign Office said: ' The decision in no way implies guilt.
There is no apportioning of blame. '
A spokesman added: ' The Government's case is quite clear.
The decision has nothing to do with the merits of the case which Her Majesty's Government will defend in due course.
' The killings were duly lawful and the defence acting for us will be making that point. '
Lawyers will continue to base their defence on the grounds that the shootings were lawful.
Ken Maginnis, Ulster Unionist security spokesman, said: ' When action taken by the security services against dangerous and committed terrorists assumes an importance above and beyond that which affects the lives of innocent citizens, then the whole status and credibility of both the Commission and European Court is brought into disrepute. '
Murder
He said the Commission had rejected a case brought by the late Upper Bann MP, Harold McCusker, and Edith Elliott, regarding the IRA's murder of her husband, George, at Ballybay, Co Monaghan.
It also rejected a case against the Republic, when brothers Michael and Christopher McGimpsey of the UUP had tackled its territorial claim to Northern Ireland.
Ken Maginnis: Attack on Commission
By David Watson and Desmond McCartan
Runaway tells of Blackpool's lure
RUNAWAY teenager Nicola Rogers told today why she headed for the bright lights of Blackpool after leaving her home 100 miles away four days ago.
Sitting up in her hospital bed in the Lancashire resort's Victoria Hospital, Nicola told staff that she was trying to make her money go further by making for the seaside town.
Unwell
A nationwide hunt for 13-year-old Nicola, who disappeared from her Staffordshire home on Thursday, ended late last night after she dialled 999 from a promenade call-box and told the ambulance service she was feeling unwell.
She had a tearful reunion with her parents, Alan and Audrey, who stayed at the hospital overnight.
She was undergoing what were described as routine tests.
Gerald Wildish, the unit general manager of the Victoria Hospital said after chatting to the teenager in her hospital bed today: ' She thought Blackpool would be probably somewhat livelier and possibly safer and cheaper than other resorts.
' She thought she would get more for her money and she felt it was a more friendly environment than perhaps Liverpool or somewhere like that. '
Mr Wildish discounted reports that Nicola, from Biddulph, Staffs, might have been suffering from the effects of laced drinks.
However, asked whether she might have taken drugs he said: ' I would have to say ' no comment '. '
Nicola's parents stayed at her bedside until 2.30am before snatching a few hours' sleep in a room at the hospital.
Tests
Mr Wildish said the tests Nicola was undergoing were ' routine and nothing we would not give to anyone else in similar circumstances'.
He said Nicola had not yet talked of her reasons for running away from her farmhouse home near Biddulph, Staffordshire.
However, she said she had travelled on trains and buses to the Lancashire resort.
When she arrived at the hospital she was distressed, but not unkempt.
Mr Wildish said: ' I wouldn't have thought she had been sleeping rough. '
Doctors were expected to decide in the next few hours whether Nicola would be allowed home today.
Mr Wildish said she had been chatting cheerfully and was full of beans and looking forward to going home.
' She is still in bed but smiling profusely she has a lovely pair of eyes. '
After snatching a few hours sleep, the teenager breakfasted on cornflakes as she talked to her relieved parents, who sent a message of thanks to all those who had helped in the search.
By Press Association
Major faces battle over tax hike threat
JOHN Major today battled against a double dose of post-holiday blues over the threat of a tax hike and a grassroots revolt against VAT on domestic fuel.
Mr Major, about to return to Number 10 after his Portuguese holiday, was urged to take a firm grip over Cabinet trouble-makers, when it meets on Thursday for the first time since July.
Fighting
And the Prime Minister, due to meet local Tory activists during a regional tour this week, is fighting off growing party unrest over the Budget VAT levy.
But sources say that Ministers are studying a possible package to extend the compensation scheme for VAT which is planned for pensioners and families with young children.
Some Tory MPs are also hoping that Chancellor Kenneth Clarke will decide to limit the VAT levy to just 8pc and ditch the second stage rise to 17.5pc.
Squabble
The continuing squabble among Ministers over whether to raise taxes or cut public spending in November to tackle the budget deficit has triggered a new outburst of Tory in-fighting.
But, although pre-Budget issues will not be on the Cabinet agenda on Thursday, the signs are that the dissenters  Social Security Secretary Peter Lilley, Welsh Secretary John Redwood and Chief Secretary Michael Portillo  will step up their battle against any fresh tax rises.
Frivolous
Mr Major's allies today laughed off suggestions that right-wing Tory MP and Euro-sceptic Teresa Gorman has emerged as a possible ' stalking horse ' for a frivolous but potentially-damaging challenge to his leadership in the autumn.
The bickering prompted former Tory Premier Sir Edward Heath to urge Mr Major to dismiss all the rebels who either want ' to bring him down ', or are not prepared to stay loyal to Government policy.
Sir Edward, speaking in a London Weekend TV interview, said: ' He has got to say to them: ' you go along with the policy of the Government or you quietly resign or retire '. '
He said Mr Major should not be afraid to raise direct taxation if that was needed.
By Desmond McCartan Westminster Correspondent
Police appeal in boy's road death
POLICE today appealed for witnesses after a four-year-old boy was killed in a road accident in Co Antrim.
Nathan Michael Crean, of Gobrana Road, Glenavy, was riding his bicycle outside his home at 3.45pm yesterday when he was involved in a collision with a Renault 19 car.
Police in Lurgan want anyone who witnessed the accident to contact them on 0762-325144.
Young pioneers design a Danish experience
THIRTEEN Northern Ireland graduates have landed in Denmark to spend six weeks working with some of the world's most respected names in craft and design.
The group come from a range of disciplines  ceramics, jewellery, fibre arts, silversmithing, product design, paper and glass making  and will be examining world-renowned Danish design.
They are pioneers on a new course  Eurocraft  run by the Northern Ireland Small Business Institute (NISBI) and Craftworks  to bring craft and design closer to us all and improve job prospects for young designers.
One of the group is Lindy Rush, a fashion and textiles graduate from the University of Ulster.
Earlier this year she travelled with fellow group member Peter Willis, a weaver, to Guatemala on an Oxfam project.
Now she is looking forward to a valuable contrasting experience in Denmark.
Vibrancy
' My placement is with a textile designer called Hanne Vedel whose work is quite different to mine, ' says Linda.
' Design in Denmark tends to be quite minimalist, so it will be a real change from vibrancy and colours.
' I 'm very interested to see how workshops are run out there and I have a lot of questions on both the design and financial sides. '
Sharon Ross-Giverson is the programme's co-ordinator on the Copenhagen side.
Originally from Belfast, she has worked in the Danish capital for four years.
' This is an excellent opportunity for the group, ' she says.
' We have many speakers laid on to discuss Danish craft workshops and the benefits of working on individual pieces as opposed to mass production.
' We will also discuss how to sell yourself as a crafts person, run exhibitions, and negotiate with galleries and we will combine the business side with visits to various exhibitions and museums.
Design is part of the Danish lifestyle  in ordinary homes here there is very little that is bad or trashy. '
The course aims to bridge a gap identified by a report for the Arts Council of NI, which concluded that crafts have as yet untapped potential for the local economy, with a discrepancy between young people who train successfully and those ending up in business.
Denmark was chosen for placements because of its status as a leader in world-wide craft and design.
' In Denmark, design is a part of day to day living, whereas here it is not integral, ' says Maureen Jordan of NISBI.
' People in the craft sector have a duty to raise awareness about young designers and opportunities they have. '
Roll-on Denmark: Weavers  Lindy Rush and Peter Willis with a sample of their work Picture by Brian McMullan
By Claire McGahan
DUNDONALD
Formal launch
THE Ulster Hospital at Dundonald hopes to formally launch its controversial cardiac taxi service in the near future.
The taxi service is used to ferry a doctor and nurse cardiac team to patients with acute chest pain or symptoms suggesting a heart attack.
The team assesses the patient and contacts the Ulster's cardiac ward where staff can order an urgent ambulance.
The service was introduced in March on a six-month trial basis and replaced the hospital's cardiac ambulance.
A hospital spokesman said ' The service is currently under review and it is hoped to have an official launch of the scheme in about a month if the review is favourable. '
He said that early reports indicated that the service was' working quite well '.
LISBURN
Hypocrisy claim
ALDERMAN Ivan Davis has claimed the Cook Report television programme has confirmed the absurdity and hypocrisy of both Sinn Fein and the Government.
The former mayor of Lisburn said: ' Where else in the world would those dedicated to the destruction of democracy and to terror, seen by the blood of innocent people, be allowed by the Government to abuse the electoral process in order to advance their vile cause '.
MERSEYSIDE
Boys take LSD
FIVE young boys spent the night in hospital after an experiment with the hallucinogenic drug LSD.
The boys, one aged just seven, two eight, and the others 11 and 13, said they found the tablets while out playing near their homes in Huyton, Merseyside, and took one each.
An ambulance was called and the boys were taken to nearby Whiston Hospital, where they were detained overnight for treatment for the after-effects of the drug.
Police say a paediatrician at the hospital gave the boys medication to make them vomit, and they were kept in hospital overnight for observation.
Prison riot leaves trail of vandalism
RIOTING prisoners burned and vandalised their jail today in an orgy of destruction which one witness estimated caused up to 40m of damage.
At the height of the violence in the early hours of the morning at Wymott jail in Leyland, Lancashire, about 400 rioters had seized control and were smashing up the jail.
The prison governor decided for safety reasons to withdraw night staff and hundreds of police officers, with re-enforcements from the neighbouring Greater Manchester and Merseyside forces, ringed the jail.
As day dawned a thick pall of acrid smoke hung over the riot-torn prison which was surrounded by an army of police, fire and ambulance officers.
Soon after hundreds of prisoners began surrendering, many thought to have been driven out by smoke.
The prison department said that by 9.30am the vast majority of prisoners had surrendered and by 11.15 the remaining handful of inmates had given themselves up.
Derek Lewis, prison service director general, said Wymott was now stable and the governor and staff were in control.
More than 300 specially trained prison officers, backed by the same number of police officers, were at the prison to restore full order, he said.
Home Secretary Michael Howard was being kept informed.
Serious fires in one wing and the engineering workshops had been brought under control, said Mr Lewis.
A prison department spokeswoman was unable to confirm whether anyone had been hurt.
No boltholes
THE issue of extradition has been a long-running sore in Anglo-Irish relationships.
Many people, in Northern Ireland and in Britain, have doubted the will of the authorities in the Republic to hand over wanted republican terrorists who have fled to the south.
Critics point out the nit-picking thoroughness which legal authorities in the Republic so often bring to bear on extradition requests.
They argue that if the same rigour was applied to drafting proper legislation the problem of bringing suspects to trial could be eliminated.
Now the Dublin Government is promising to bring in the toughest extradition legislation in the EC.
A Bill extending the grounds on which terrorist suspects can be handed over is to be presented to the Dail early in the next session.
It will not come a moment too soon.
The existing law is riddled with loopholes and anomalies.
At present only automatic weapons are covered.
This is to be widened to include all firearms.
Possession, not just use, of firearms and explosives will be extraditable offences.
The repugnant ' political offence ' defence will apply no longer to all crimes involving the use of violence or the threat of violence.
A new watertight extradition arrangement between Ireland and the UK is not only legally necessary, but is also a political imperative.
Terrorists must be certain that there are no safe bolt-holes which will allow them to escape the law.
By sealing off its border in legal terms, the Republic can improve simultaneously its image and tighten the screws on the gunmen and bombers.
Clinton slams Britain
THE Belfast Telegraph today obtained a copy of a letter from US President Bill Clinton to a former Congressman who arrives in Ireland tomorrow to campaign for a peace envoy to be sent to the province.
In the letter, the President supports the envoy proposal, pledges to take a more active role in helping to end the violence and criticises the role of the British Government.
It was sent to Democrat Bruce Morrison, who is head of a group of four Irish Americans who will meet political leaders in Dublin and Belfast during a three day visit this week.
Colleague
A former law school colleague of Mr Clinton and a prominent member of the Irish-American lobby, Mr Morrison will report directly to the President on his findings.
He is a keen supporter of the envoy option, which the President backed during his election campaign and his recommendations will be viewed as highly influential.
Policy
In the letter obtained by the Belfast Telegraph, Mr Clinton sets out his policy towards Northern Ireland.
' I believe the appointment of a US special envoy to Northern Ireland could be a catalyst in the effort to secure a lasting peace, ' Mr Clinton wrote.
' We believe that the British Government must do more to oppose the job discrimination that has created unemployment levels two and a half times higher for Catholic workers than Protestant workers.
' There can be no lasting settlement in Northern Ireland until such discrimination is ended.
Safeguards
' We also believe that the British Government must establish more effective safeguards against the wanton use of lethal force and against further collusion between the security forces and Protestant paramilitary groups. '
During their visit the Irish-American group will meet political leaders in Dublin, including Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, Foreign Affairs Minister Dick Spring.
In Belfast he will meet Northern Ireland Secretary of State Sir Patrick Mayhew and representatives of all political parties, including Sinn Fein.
The fact-finding visit comes in the aftermath of an upsurge in loyalist violence and comments by Albert Reynolds that the violence underlined the urgent need for inter-party talks to be resumed.
Bill Clinton: Letter on Ulster.
By Vincent Kearney, Political Correspondent
Soldier crushed by jeep
A GERMAN soldier has been killed during a military exercise in Wiltshire.
The man, who has not been named, was a passenger in a German army Jeep which was taking part in a NATO exercise on Salisbury Plain.
The vehicle hit a rut in the road near Market Lavington and overturned.
The driver was also injured.
Crash teenager critical
A TEENAGE cyclist is fighting for his life in hospital after his bike was in collision with a car in Leicester.
Brian Langston, 14, of Beaumont Leys, is in a critical condition in the intensive care unit at Nottingham's Queens Medical Centre.
The 18-year-old driver of the car was unhurt, but his 15-year-old girl passenger suffered facial bruising.
Reward in poacher hunt
A 200 reward is being offered for information leading to the conviction of salmon or sea trout poachers on the River Annan in Dumfriesshire.
The offer is being made by the river's Fishing Improvements Association.
Recent poaching incidents have led to stepping up of bailiff patrols and the setting up of a hotline by the River Annan's Salmon Fishery Board.
Armed attack on cabbie
A TAXI driver was robbed at gunpoint after taking two men on a 15-mile trip from Melton Mowbray to Leicester.
One of the men pulled out a handgun and the other produced a knife when the taxi arrived in Apollo Close, St Matthews.
Cash was handed to the men both described as white and aged between 30 and 35.
Minister digs in
ENVIRONMENT Minister Sir George Young was taking the wheel of a JCB digger to launch work on a new 6 million wholesale fruit and vegetable market in Nottingham today.
When complete the market on Meadow Lane will provide work for 250 people.
It will replace the former market at Sneinton which is to be cleared to make way for new business units creating 550 new jobs.
Cat tortured
A TEARFUL Gwent schoolboy has been left heartbroken by thugs who tortured his pet Siamese cat to death.
Dean Morris's family say he has hardly stopped crying since the body of his cat Buffy, two, was found.
Buffy had been strangled, shot and burned.
Dean, 11, of Trevethin, Pontypool, is said by his father, John, to be ' absolutely devastated '.
Council faces badger fight
ENVIRONMENT Secretary John Gummer may be called in to save a family of badgers at Berwick.
If Northumberland County Council approves a plan for waste tipping near their home, animal lovers will appeal to the Minister to overturn the decision.
Planners will be told at a meeting debating the move that waste dumping 250 yards from the setts will cause the badgers no harm.
Fear is stalking streets: Hendron
SECURITY Minister Sir John Wheeler was warned today not to introduce internment to combat the recent wave of terror.
Alliance leader John Alderdice held emergency talks with the security chief at Stormont on the recent spate of murders and sectarian attacks.
And afterwards he revealed he had told Sir John not to implement internment.
The Alliance leader said: ' We feel internment, as happened last time, would be counter-productive.
It would create major polarisation in the community.
' Recruits'
' Our information is that there is no problem for paramilitaries to get new recruits. '
Dr Alderdice spent more than an hour with the Stormont Minister, along with party colleagues Eileen Bell and Seamus Close.
Sir John later had talks with an SDLP delegation, also on the worsening security situation.
Speaking before the meeting, West Belfast MP Dr Joe Hendron called for an increase in intelligence operations on loyalist paramilitaries.
Attacks
The lunchtime talks followed four killings in the last week by loyalist death squads in Belfast and four petrol-bomb attacks on Catholic families in Armagh last night.
Dr Hendron said: ' The UDA was only proscribed a year ago, therefore intelligence operations could be better in that community. '
The West Belfast MP attended the funeral of shopkeeper Michael Edwards, shot dead by loyalist gunmen on Friday, before travelling to Stormont for the crisis talks.
Thousands of people are living in fear of their lives in the wake of the Belfast shootings, according to the SDLP MP.
' Fear '
He said: ' There is great fear in both Catholic and Protestant areas at the moment.
A great fear is stalking our streets.
' Wives are worried about their husbands and parents are worried about their sons.
I would ask both communities to throw out the gunmen from their midst.
' People are staying indoors but these doors can be smashed down with a hammer.
All decent people in both communities want it to stop. '
The West Belfast MP said the Stormont discussions were not designed to criticise the police, but rather to relate to the Minister the fear felt in the city.
Dr Hendron said it was time for political talks to be re-activated.
He said: ' It's diabolical that the politicians are not coming together.
There should be no pre-conditions of any kind. '
The SDLP delegation which went to Stormont included councillors Alasdair McDonnell, Alex Attwood, Dorita Field and Martin Morgan.
By Mark Simpson
Self-build plane pilot killed at airshow
TRAGIC pilot Ken McWhinney died at the controls of the plane he lovingly built with his own hands.
Mr McWhinney (55), of Drumhark Road, Comber, died instantly when his single-engined Pulsar plunged to the ground in front of horrified spectators.
The popular butcher was taking part in the annual rally of the Spanish Point Flying Club in Co Clare yesterday.
A doctor rushed to the crash scene but was unable to save the stricken pilot.
Survived
No-one else was on-board and there were no other injuries among the spectators.
Mr McWhinney is survived by his wife Shirley, sons David, Barrie and Kevin and daughter Donna.
The shutters stayed down today at his shop in Bridge Street in the Co Down town.
Spanish Point club spokesman, Joe Flynn, said: ' Ken taxied for take-off around 4 o'clock and then climbed to about 200ft.
' But then he turned left and dived into the ground. '
' He built the aircraft himself  it was a type known as a Pulsar.
' Everyone flocked round it when he landed. '
Mr McWhinney was a member of the Ulster Flying Club and a popular figure among the province's fliers.
He kept a four-seat US-made Mooney aircraft at Newtownards airstrip, as well as the two-seat Pulsar.
Chief instructor Ron Barr said Mr McWhinney had been a member for at least six or seven years.
Donations
He said: ' Ken was returning home when the crash happened.
He took off into a pretty strong cross-wind but that's about all I know.
' He built the Pulsar himself.
He made a beautiful job of it, it was a really nice machine and he was talking about making another one.
' I can say without a shadow of a doubt that he was one of the most popular people in the club, very straight and down the middle. '
Mr McWhinney's family has asked for donations in lieu of flowers to be made to the club's runway repair fund.
Gardai investigating the crash took statements from some of the dozens of spectators at yesterday's gala.
Popular flyer: Ken Mawhinney
By Martin Hill
Rottweiler is shot dead after vicious attack
POLICE shot dead a vicious Rottweiler dog after it attacked them in north Belfast.
An RUC patrol was called to Glencairn Park after the Rottweiler killed a small dog last night.
An elderly man, who was walking his pet, collapsed when he tried to beat off the Rottweiler.
A police spokesman said that officers, attacked by the animal, had to fire several rounds to kill it.
Great strength
The USPCA said today it was investigating a theory that the Rottweiler was a guard dog.
' It would appear the dog got out in some way, ' a spokesman said.
' These dogs are not as strong as the pit bull terrier but they have immense strength all the same.
' We are trying to confirm at the moment a suggestion that the dog had been kept for security purposes.
Good condition
' The dog was in very good body condition.
It would have been in an excitable state and therefore would have been very dangerous.
' Things could have got worse.
In the circumstances we feel the police had no alternative but to shoot it.
' It is unusual that police took such action, but by law they are fully covered to do that. '
By Nigel Gould
Seven killed as crash vehicles hit Post Office
Seven people, including a mother and child, were killed when a lorry and van crashed and then ploughed into a Post Office today.
The accident partially demolished the Post Office shop and two houses in Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire.
' Three bodies have been taken to the mortuary and there are four more at the scene, ' said a West Yorkshire Ambulance Service spokeswoman.
She added that a mother and child, thought to be inside the shop at the time, were among the dead.
Three other women and two men  believed to be the drivers of the vehicles  were also killed.
Council junket anger
THE LOCAL government auditor was today asked to take action in the latest row over city council ' junkets. '
Sinn Fein councillor Mairtin O'Muilleoir has called on the auditor, Jack Bailie, to prevent unionist councillors going to France for the dedication of an Orange Order memorial at Thiepval at ratepayers' expense.
Majority
' The fact that the council is now prepared to take part in a trip to Thiepval organised by a sectarian organisation such as the Orange Order will be an added cause of concern to nationalist ratepayers in the city, ' he said.
' If they all voted to go to Disneyland would ratepayers be expected to cough up for that too? '
Despite opposition from the SDLP, Alliance and Sinn Fein, unionist councillors voted to send the Lord Mayor, Reg Empey and his deputy to the September 12 ceremony honouring Orangemen who died in two world wars and other conflicts.
Mr Empey today said he would be unable to attend because of a prior engagement, but he defended the use of ratepayers' money to fund the trip and described SDLP opposition as' hypocritical '.
Sacrifice
In his letter to the auditor, councillor O Muilleoir said the council had ' worn a path to the travel agents' door ' with trips to Thiepval and other war sites including: June-July 1988 six council representatives (all unionist) toured Somme battle sites for one week June-July 1989, a week long visit to France by four unionists cost 1,984
June 1991, 11 council representatives, seven of them unionist, attended the Somme anniversary pilgrimage November 1991 two representatives returned for a four day visit Mr Bailie was not available for comment.
By Mary Kelly
UCAN calls on Amnesty to act
AMNESTY International has been asked to investigate ' ethnic cleansing ' against Protestants in Ulster, it was revealed today.
The international civil rights group was called in by a province-wide body of Protestant community leaders, the Ulster Community Action Network (UCAN).
It was sent a dossier detailing incidents which UCAN claims provides evidence of a campaign to drive Protestants from areas along the border and in Belfast.
UCAN said Amnesty has written back to ask for further details.
' Ethnic '
UCAN member Jimmy Creighton said: ' We decided to call in Amnesty to highlight the plight of Protestant communities across the province. '
Mr Creighton, a community leader in Glencairn, north Belfast, said that loyalist paramilitaries had no problem recruiting in the atrocious conditions in some Protestant areas.
Amnesty International was not immediately available for comment.
By Darwin Templeton
A fitting change
FITTED bedrooms are on the increase in Northern Ireland homes, though they account so far for only a small proportion of the very large bedroom furniture market.
This is in sharp contrast to other countries on the continent such as France where up to 80 pc of homes have fitted bedroom furniture.
Smaller
This recent trend can be largely attributed, said a spokeswoman from Sliderobes, to the type of house being built today where rooms tend to be smaller and more awkwardly shaped.
In these situations, fitted bedroom furniture triumphs over free standing as it's custom-built, utilizing every available inch of space, from floor to ceiling and it can be made to fit any bedroom, no matter what its shape.
Fitted wardrobes with sliding doors can offer a further advantage as unlike standard fitting which has hinged and bifold doors, the sliding doors don't encroach at all, into any of the bedroom space.
Where space is particularly limited sliding mirrored doors prove very popular as they automatically create an illusion of spaciousness in even the smallest of rooms.
Mirrored doors have always been popular.
However they are not to everyone's tastes.
As a result of demand, the variety of door styles has been expanded greatly to include a wide range of wood effect panels, some very beautiful wood veneers, wallpapered panels and for those who wish to achieve total co-ordination in their chosen decor  the fabric covered panel.
Fitted bedroom furniture is particularly popular around the 35 years of age group.
Sloping solution: That awkward sloping ceiling normally presents a problem, but there is a solution in these Sliderobes fitted wardrobes.
Anger over 999 number plate
AN ambulance service has been criticised after spending 120 on a personalised number plate for the first of six American Chevrolet ambulances due to go into operation in Tyne and Wear and Northumberland.
The registration is L999 NAS.
Newcastle Central Labour MP Jim Cousins said the move by Northumbria Ambulance Service, an NHS Trust, was unacceptable when the organisation was asking the public to support fund-raising efforts.
NAS chief executive Laurie Caple said: ' This expenditure is set against money raised in the private sector from sponsorship and our various income generation activities. '
' Business as usual ' in bombed churches
TEN loss adjusters are still assessing the extent of the damage caused by last week's 1,000lb blast.
Despite the destruction, church services went ahead at the weekend in five churches in Armagh as workmen continued to clear up after the IRA bomb attack on the courthouse.
Mall Presbyterian Church, the worst damaged, was declared structurally safe for the congregation to return.
Teams of workers cleared debris from smashed windows and damage to the ceiling.
Among windows destroyed was one in memory of post office official Billy Elliott, murdered by the IRA in the early 70s.
Worshippers yesterday included Strangford MP John Taylor, an elder in the congregation.
Damage at the ancient Armagh Royal School is also more serious than first thought.
It is now estimated at around 5000,000.
Sixth-formers and prep pupils returned this morning.
But a question mark still hangs over when the remaining 550 pupils can return.
Pupils at Armstrong Primary School were back at their desks this morning.
The secondary school hopes to resume on Wednesday.
Waiting list plan slammed
PLANS by a health authority to publish the names of consultants with long waiting lists have come under attack.
Shadow Health Secretary David Blunkett said the move by West Midlands Regional Health Authority is a ' fruitless exercise, ' and warned it would confuse patients.
The authority is to highlight the names of surgeons and hospitals and their waiting lists in the Express and Star, Wolverhampton, on Thursday, as part of an overall strategy to ensure the public gets speedy treatment.
Information
An authority spokesman said: ' We are not being judgmental about this, but we do feel it is important information and people have a right to know. '
But Mr Blunkett said patients had no way of knowing why some consultants had longer queues for treatment.
' It is the GP who recommends the patient to the consultant and the particular department to attend.
Patients will have no way of telling whether the waiting list is a reflection of high quality and status, or that the consultant is doing a lot of outside non-NHS work.
' There are a number of problems with this and it uses NHS money in a quite fruitless way. '
' Unfair '
The British Medical Association, representing more than 80,000 doctors and surgeons, also attacked the move.
A spokesman said: ' It is a pointless exercise and we think this' leaguetableitis' is no way health care should be measured.
' It is unfair on the public because they can not know why some waiting lists are longer than others. '
BELFAST
Jammed crane blocks traffic
A CRANE caused traffic chaos in Belfast yesterday when it got stuck under a bridge.
The crane was too high to pass under a new bridge being built at Middlepass Street as part of the new road and rail link.
Police said two lanes of traffic were blocked on the nearby Queen Elizabeth Bridge.
LONDON
New Euro-bishop
A JUDO black belt is to be the Church of England's next Bishop of Europe.
The Rt Rev John Hind, the Bishop of Horsham, succeeds the Rt Rev John Satterthwaite, who is retiring.
The 48-year-old bishop, who, as well as being a judo expert is also a keen squash player, has a long-standing interest in languages and has worked to strengthen links with other Churches in Europe.
RUSSIA
Pope's ' green ' plea
POPE John Paul II has issued an appeal for environmental renewal during his first trip to the former Soviet Union, where land, air and water were spoiled by decades of Communist rule.
' The Earth is man's homeland, ' the Pope said during a morning Mass in Lithuania's second-largest city, Kaunas.
Lithuanian leaders have clashed repeatedly with Russia over their demands for billions of dollars in compensation for the mess left behind by former Soviet troops.
LONDON
Old beef ' OK '
BEEF up to six years old which has been sold to British shoppers is' 100pc okay ', Food Minister Nicholas Soames has insisted.
The meat, which is part of the EC's deep-frozen beef mountain, had been bought at low prices by food-processing firms.
Despite calls for the meat to be destroyed, Mr Soames said: ' I am completely content there is no health risk whatever involved. '
He said there was no risk whatever from ' mad cow ' disease from the intervention beef or any other sold in the UK.
ABERDEEN
Oil jobs threat
OIL-company Amerada Hess is said to be about to announce job losses at its Aberdeen HQ within the next few weeks.
AH says it has been forced into a big cost-cutting exercise because of the effect of Petroleum Revenue Tax changes, announced in the last Budget.
SCOTLAND
Mast battle truce
A TRUCE has been called in a battle between Stone Age defenders and an electronics consortium, Hutchison Microtel.
About a dozen protesters, including Labour MP Tam Dalyell, turned out yesterday to defend a 5,000-year-old burial ground from developers who want to put up a radio mast for mobile phones.
The demonstrators were prepared to lie down in front of trucks carrying concrete for the foundations of the mast, at Cairn Papple, near Bathgate, in West Lothian.
However, the trucks failed to appear and they learned that talks will be held today with the telecommunications consortium.
DOVER
Boost for ferries
FERRY companies' efforts to boost passenger levels before the official opening of the Channel Tunnel next May appear to be paying off, according to new figures.
P&amp;O European Ferries has operated record-breaking runs on its Dover-Calais service, Sealink has had good increases on all its UK routes and Sally Line passenger numbers from Ramsgate to Dunkirk in the first six months of the year are well up.
' I CAME into politics to help ensure that the freedom of opportunities given to my generation would be extended more widely.
I have to conclude that my work has been a failure ' Labour MP Clare Short.
' BEHIND the sweet smiles and air-kiss embraces, fashion can be a real bitch.
To the outside world everything may look fine and dandy, what goes on behinds the scenes is a very different matter '  Fashion expert Iain R Webb.
' IT IS time trade union leaders realised that what they perceive as power merely prolongs their political impotence and deprives their members of a telling voice in the corridor of power.
The sight of union leaders holding up cards carrying hundreds of thousands of votes is seen as ridiculous, outdated and undemocratic '  Gavin Laird, general secretary of the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union.
' WHAT surprises me now is not that my generation had so little sex in the 1950s, but that, given the circumstances, we had any at all '  Sir Peter Hall.
MP and police in security row
THE RUC and West Belfast MP Dr Joe Hendron clashed today over the level of effort by the security forces to combat loyalist terrorism.
The SDLP MP questioned the police's commitment to the task, but the RUC hit back with a staunch defence of their security policy.
The row centred on a statement by Dr Hendron in the wake of a meeting yesterday with Security Minister Sir John Wheeler.
The emergency talks came in response to four loyalist murders in Belfast last week.
Dr Hendron said: ' Of course we support police in their work against both sets of paramilitaries.
However, we told Sir John that at times there does not seem to be the same will on behalf of the RUC to combat loyalist terrorism.
' There is not the same level of security force presence in loyalist areas.
There is not the same number of police checkpoints in loyalist areas. '
The RUC rejected these claims within hours.
A spokesman said: ' Terrorism is terrorism and the RUC makes no distinction in vigorously pursuing those responsible.
Deployed
' The record of arrests and seizures clearly demonstrates the impartiality and determination of the police.
The resources of the police are deployed in all areas. '
In a direct reference to the West Belfast MP, the spokesman added: ' Dr Hendron may well recall that in recent months the RUC presence in loyalist areas has produced complaints of police harassment. '
The West Belfast MP is also concerned about alleged links between members of the security forces and loyalist terrorists.
He said: ' In the past there has been the perception of collusion between the RUC and loyalist paramilitaries.
The Brian Nelson affair and the other cases have shown that it is often more than a perception.
In many ways this has destroyed nationalist confidence in the RUC. '
Cheek
Dr Hendron also hit out at some unionist politicians who, he claimed, condemned loyalist violence ' with a tongue in their cheek '.
SDLP and Alliance delegations both had talks with the Stormont security chief yesterday.
Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams described the meetings as' little more than a PR exercise '.
By Mark Simpson
Kennedy's in tune with a hit
PETER Kennedy's tongue-in-cheek shot at his latest creation, ' The Widow or Bust ', has come off with a bang at the Arts Theatre this week.
Regrettably, last night's audience was a meagre one, but what they got was impressive, to say the least.
No one can challenge Peter Kennedy for lack of courage.
Frankly, few societies would have tackled even the choreography of this week's presentation, not to speak of the rest.
Here is a show where the young people on stage obviously enjoy themselves.
There are co-ordinated and intricate tap sequences, and a bit of soft shoe shuffle at one point also got the full treatment.
Puzzle
Somehow, behind all the mayhem and confusion of rehearsal for ' The Merry Widow ' there are some fine solo and choral works, and the final ' Vilia ', well sung by Seodhna Quigley as Sonia, the opera singer, was a touch of the real thing.
It is always a puzzle with Peter Kennedy, just how does he find time for the volume of work he produces.
This time he's the author of book, music and lyrics, though he is undoubtedly well guided in this instance by arranger Eric Boyd, and there is some very fine music indeed.
Some of this was real foot-stomping stuff, notably ' A Hell of a Show ', and there was lots of fire and effort put into the catchy ' Harmony and Diction '.
Leading names appearing again and very impressive too were Angela Harding, Jenny McIlwrath and Paddy Jenkins, with some fine singing by Lynne McAllister in ' Let it Happen '.
Following on ' Grease ' and ' Little Shop of Horrors', Peter Kennedy's latest offering is a refreshing break with the traditional shape of shows.
' Widow Or Bust ' is generally good crack and I found myself giving way to a bit of foot tapping from time to time.
This one is well worth a visit.
By Louis MCConnell
Man <w
type="VVD" lemma="admit">admitted RC's murder  court told
A 29-year-old north Belfast man admitted the murder of a Roman Catholic voluntary worker, Belfast Crown Court heard.
Self-confessed UVF man William Lindsay, of Mount Vernon Park, pleaded guilty to killing 25-year-old Peter McTasney at his Bawnmore Park home on February 24, 1991.
Lindsay also admitted having a shotgun, revolver and ammunition on the same date; UVF membership; two conspiracies to murder; three hijackings and receiving firearms training illegally.
Co-accused
But his co-accused, Robert Henry (24), of Rathmore Drive, Rathcoole, denies murdering Mr McTasney and possession of firearms at the time of the shooting.
Henry admitted the joint charges of conspiracy to murder people in the New Mossley estate on August 18, 1991, and September 16, 1991; possession of firearms and hijacking a car on each of those dates, and UVF membership.
Sentencing
Lindsay admitted another hijacking on February 24, 1991, and receiving firearms training illegally between October 1, 1990 and August 27, 1991.
Lindsay will be sentenced when Henry's trial is complete.
Crash train driver on drinking charge
THE driver of a train which smashed into a station will appear in court next month charged with having excess alcohol in his blood while in charge of it.
Graham Barnes (36) of Dover, Kent, was also charged last night with endangering the safety of persons on the railway.
British Transport police said he was released on bail to appear before Maidstone magistrates in Kent on October 15.
The crash happened yesterday morning when the goods train left the rails as it entered Maidstone East station.
The driver, the only person on the train, was treated in hospital for shock.
LONDON Bid to catch City terrorists on video
POLICE have unveiled a scheme to use private security cameras in an effort to combat bomb outrages in the City of London, a move decided after the April 1992 IRA bombing of the Baltic Exchange, which killed three and injured 80.
The scheme will co-ordinate the gathering of information by police from a number of monitoring points.
HEREFORD
Firefighters killed
TWO firemen died in a blaze at a poultry factory yesterday.
Two other people were taken to hospital, one suffering from burns to the hands and the other from heat exhaustion and breathing difficulties after the fire at the Sun Valley works in Grandstand Road, Hereford.
Around 100 people were evacuated from their homes and other premises in the area around the burning factory.
BRITAIN
Premium hike warning
HOUSEHOLDERS face home contents insurance premium rises of up to 78pc, according to a survey published today by the Labour Party.
A study of nine top insurance companies shows the average family will have to pay 19pc more this year and highlights wide variations in quoted premiums with homeowners being able to save themselves hundreds of pounds by shopping around.
NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
BR slaps ban on nudes
A BAN has been slapped on an art exhibition due to be staged in railway station because it featured photographs of a full-frontal nude man and woman.
The plan for a six-week display in a buffet at Newcastle upon Tyne's Central Station was derailed after a duty manager looked at the pictures by a French photographer at a preview.
A British Rail spokeswoman said the manager was' unhappy about the exhibition and considered that certain photographs were not suitable for the general public to view '.
TV deadlock
TV chiefs are no nearer reaching a decision on the future of ITN's News At Ten, despite a meeting of all 15 independent television station heads yesterday.
' The council is still considering all the available research but no conclusions have yet been reached, ' an ITV spokeswoman said tonight.
Porters fired
More than 100 porters who help carry the luggage of VIP passengers at Heathrow airport were sacked after going on strike demanding the right to be represented by a union.
The porters, known as' Skycaps', staged a 24-hour walkout on Sunday to try to persuade their employers to recognise the Transport and General Workers Union.
Trial told of fatal beating
A MAN has gone on trial for the murder of a security guard clubbed to death while patrolling a Craigavon housing estate.
William Winning (21) was attacked as he walked through the Edenbeg estate in the early hours of February 25 last year.
In the dock at Craigavon Crown Court was Brendan Campbell (22), from Edenbeg, who denies the murder.
Opening the case yesterday, a Crown lawyer told the jury that Mr Winning was employed by the Housing Executive to protect property from vandals.
' Around 3am, he was walking along the back of some houses.
Unknown to him, two people were waiting for him, ' the lawyer said.
' They were masked and armed with deadly weapons.
He (Mr Winning) was set upon and he was given a merciless beating, which caused the injuries from which he subsequently died. '
Life-support
Mr Winning was put on a life-support machine, but died the following day in hospital.
The prosecution said: ' It is the Crown case that the accused was one of the two persons who lay in wait for this unfortunate young man and that he participated in, observed and encouraged the assault on the deceased. '
He told the jury the victim suffered ' horrible injuries' due to the ' ferocity of the blows being rained on him '.
Owen Ruddy, who lives near the scene of the crime, described how he was woken from his sleep by the noise.
' I became aware of a disturbance at the back of my house.
There was some type of commotion, noises and thumping on the fence. '
Voices
The witness told the court he also heard voices.
' It was of somebody who seemed to be in distress, ' he said.
From his bedroom window, he could see two figures beating at something with what seemed to be a bar or club.
Mr Ruddy said he did not know what the two were doing.
The attack went on for up to five minutes before the two attackers made off on foot.
At hearing.
By Marie Foy
Man's house targeted by arson attackers
ATTACKERS have tried to burn a man out of his Lisburn home.
The man returned to his house at Lemington Place at 10.30pm yesterday to find flammable liquid had been poured through his letter box.
An attempt had been made to set it alight but no damage was caused.
It was the second night running that homes in the Co Antrim town have been targeted.
On Sunday three people had a narrow escape when flammable liquid was poured into a house at Grove Street at 11.15pm.
And two families in Legar Hill Park in Armagh were burned out of their homes after the outlawed Red Hand Commando group hurled firebombs into them.
Devices were also thrown at two other houses in the estate but caused only minor damage.
AIDS epidemic affecting more women: expert
WOMEN are now becoming infected with the HIV virus at the worldwide rate of two a minute as the AIDS epidemic gathers pace, an international expert claimed today.
Medical experts in Edinburgh were told that more than 13 million women will have been infected by the year 2000, of whom nearly a third will by then have died.
Sombre
In a sombre forecast, a World Health Organisation official claimed AIDS was still in its early stages.
Even if all new infections were stopped in their tracks now, total AIDS cases would still quadruple by the year 2000 and women are being affected ' enormously ', said Dr Michael Merson, executive director of the WHO global programme on AIDS.
He told an international AIDS conference in Edinburgh that almost half of newly-infected adults were women.
' This means that the number of women acquiring HIV per year can not be counted in the thousands, or even the hundreds of thousands, ' he said.
' More than one million women will be infected in 1993.
' By the year 2000, over 13 million women will have been affected, and about four million of them will have died. '
As infections increased in women, so did infections in their babies.
So far, these totalled about one million, of whom more than half had already developed AIDS, Dr Merson told an international conference on HIV in children and mothers, to be opened tomorrow by the Princess of Wales.
The WHO estimates more than 14 million worldwide have become infected with HIV, but less than one fifth have gone on to develop AIDS and fewer still have died suggesting the world is still in the early stages of the epidemic, said Dr Merson.
Last year in the USA, AIDS cases in women were nearly 10pc higher than a year ago, and AIDS was now the leading cause of death in nine leading US cities for women of childbearing age.
Given the average 10-year-lag between HIV and the development of AIDS, today's AIDS figures revealed the trend of a decade ago.
By now, HIV in American women ' must be far more numerous' than AIDS figures showed, and must also be ' far more commonly ' due to sex, he claimed.
Semen
Dr Merson said women were ' biologically vulnerable ', more at risk from sexual intercourse, partly because HIV was more concentrated in semen than vaginal fluid.
Dr Merson called for national programmes to make AIDS prevention ' truly sensitive ' to the needs of women and give them a greater say in the programmes.
Man stuck drill into shop worker's body
A MAN who stuck a drill in a woman's side was guilty of ' outrageous conduct ', a Londonderry Magistrate said yesterday.
Owen O'Donnell (23), appeared at the City's Magistrates Court charged with having the drill in the Strand Road Kentucky Fried Chicken on April 22 of this year.
The court heard that two dozen people were in the fast-food outlet when the defendant came in.
A DPP lawyer said a female member of staff was walking through the shop when she felt something hard stuck in her side.
She thought it was a gun, the lawyer said.
He added: ' The woman was fearful and went scurrying towards other staff ' who discovered O'Donnell was armed with the drill.
Another member of staff recognised the defendant from his schooldays and told him to give himself up.
The police were then called and McDonnell was arrested.
Defence solicitor Seamus Hegarty, said O'Donnell was' totally ashamed ' with himself.
The defence lawyer said O'Donnell ' can't really explain why he was in the restaurant with a drill.
It can only be put down to the ravages of drink '.
Resident Magistrate, Paul Copeland, said O'Donnell was guilty of ' outrageous conduct ' inspired by drink.
' You terrified these people, both the staff and public in this fast-food outlet and you are lucky not to be appearing on a more serious charge '.
The Resident Magistrate said he was tempted to put O'Donnell ' away for a period of time to reflect on what you have done ' but, he said, sentence would be deferred until he had seen probation reports.
Israel and PLO to close deal ' in 24 hours'
ISRAEL and the PLO will seal a deal on mutual recognition within 24 hours, clearing the way for signing an agreement on Palestinian self-rule by September 13, a PLO official in Tunis said today.
' We are on the eve of settling the deal, ' the official, who is close to talks with Israel, told Reuters.
' We are heading quickly toward that.
The next 24 hours will see a political turning point, ' he added.
Agreement
He said PLO leader Yasser Arafat will make a public statement recognising the state of Israel and, immediately afterwards, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin will make a statement recognising the PLO.
Asked what were the chances of signing the self-rule agreement on September 13, as suggested by the United States, the official said: ' More than 50pc. '
Mr Arafat today met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Cairo for talks on the proposed PLO-Israeli peace agreement.
Reporters said Mr Arafat, who arrived in Cairo from Syria yesterday, was accompanied by the PLO's foreign affairs spokesman Farouk Kaddoumi and information chief Yasser Abed-Rabbo.
Egypt's foreign minister Amr Moussa also attended the meeting.
Mr Arafat is canvassing Arab support for the deal on Palestinian self-rule in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, mutual recognition by the PLO and Israel, and immediate Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
And the PLO, Israel and several Arab states are to meet to discuss regional economic development at the World Bank headquarters in Washington on September 20.
The World Bank has unveiled a 4.3 billion dollar economic development plan for the West Bank and Gaza strip covering the next eight to ten years.
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FERMANAGH Accident victim loses fight for life
A 17-YEAR-OLD Fermanagh youth has died in hospital from injuries he received in a road accident more than a week ago.
He was a passenger in a car which crashed into a field off the Derrylin-Ballinaleck Road, near Thompson's Bridge, on August 29.
His name has not yet been released.
LISBURN
Arson bid probe
POLICE in Lisburn are investigating an arson attempt at a house in Lemington Place in the town.
The occupant returned home at 10.30 last night to find flammable liquid had been poured through the letterbox.
Police said an attempt had been made to light it but no damage was caused.
ARMAGH
Student grant backlog
THE Southern Education Board is' working all-out ' to clear a student grant backlog caused by an IRA bomb.
Following blast at its offices at Charlemont Place in Armagh, spokesman Paul Jackson said students should not telephone the board or call for the next two weeks until the backlog of work has been cleared.
Any essential communication should be sent in writing and all letters of acceptance should be sent in as a matter of urgency.
Bombers condemned
BOMBING of property, intimidation and reprisals are unjustified and evil, the SDLP chairman of Armagh Council said last night.
Condemning the loyalist petrol bombing of homes at Legar Hill Park on the edge of the city, Councillor Pat Brannigan described it as a ' despicable act '.
CRAIGAVON
Fury over home closure
ALDLERMAN James McCammick told Craigavon Borough Council last night that it was' scandalous' for the Southern Health and Social Services Board to decide to close Moylinn House residential home.
Councillor Fred Crowe, who proposed that the council support the Friends of Moylinn in their campaign to retain the Craigavon home, said people in their 80s and 90s lived there.
The council also passed a further motion to send a deputation to the Southern Board to express their concern.
Call for tougher security
A FORMER mayor of Craigavon said last night that security in Northern Ireland will have to be stepped up.
Councillor Fred Crowe (UU) was joining in tributes paid to the RUC and Army at Craigavon Borough Council on their success in detecting and dealing with a bomb last month.
NEWRY
Town hall costs soar
THERE is growing concern that the bill for refurbishing Newry Town Hall has risen to 850,000.
Vice-chairman of Newry and Mourne council, Mr Danny Kennedy, said he was worried about the spiralling cost.
The council was told that the cost had gone up by more than 100,000 because of vandalism to the project.
Trust move attacked
NEWRY and Mourne councillors have condemned an application for trust status by the local Health and Social Services Unit of Management.
Guard dog plea
CHIEF environmental health officer of Newry and Mourne Council, Hugh O'Neill, is to examine a request from Councillor Brendan Curran for the registration of all guard dogs.
AUGHNACLOY
Telephone boost
A NEW telephone exchange is to be built in Aughnacloy.
The facility will be located at Sydney Lane and will provide the area with a computerised service for the first time.
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WHAT are the local MP's doing for the people of Northern Ireland of both sides?
Recently we had the sorry spectacle of some of them voting against the progressive EC Social Chapter which is designed to improve the lot of the employee.
Then we had them voting for the imposition of VAT on heating fuels, a cruel tax on the ordinary person as well as the pensioner.
Do they ever take an interest in the increased prices Ulster people endure on food and other commodities compared to the mainland?
Bread for some unaccountable reason is 35pc above the prices found in places such as Warwick or Maidstone (high price areas themselves).
Petrol is also dearer per litre.
It is a disgrace that politicians here never seem to concern themselves with these problems.
PUZZLED
Derriaghy.
Smith dodges votes issue at TUC
JOHN SMITH today voiced strong support for Britain's trade unions in an effort to sweeten the mood for his planned curb on the power of the block vote in Labour elections.
But Mr Smith, in his first speech as leader to the TUC, deliberately ignored the controversial one-member one-vote issue when he addressed 800 delegates at Brighton.
Instead, amid a trenchant attack on the Government's record, he dwelt on the vital role of trade unions in the fight to restore workers' rights.
Mr Smith spoke of their ' shared ' goal in overturning Tory policies.
Although it was clear that Mr Smith adopted a much warmer tone towards the unions than his predecessor Neil Kinnock, the speech also marked an attempt to ease tension between him and some union barons.
Damage
He told delegates he believed the case for strong trade unions was as compelling now as it was when the TUC first met 125 years ago, ' or ever has been in the history of our country. '
' Indeed, after the damage that successive Tory governments have inflicted on our social and economic fabric, we need as never before strong trade unions to fight for jobs and social justice. '
He went on: ' They are needed because so many people at work simply do not have the power or the resources to achieve these things for themselves. '
The trade unions were insisting that Britain abided by the same social protection rules as other EC countries.
Rights
British workers had the worst employment protection laws, and the UK was the only EC state where there was no legal right to paid annual holidays.
' Pushing wages down, abolishing the rights of employees, and attacking the role of trade unions will not  has not  led to a strong and successful economy. '
John Major's Government failed to understand that ' economic efficiency and social justice go hand in hand. '
Labour proposed a new Charter of Rights, placing all workers on an equal legal footing, the right to protection against unfair dismissal, and access to health and safety protection.
The Charter would give workers the right to join a trade union and union recognition from their employer.
And Mr Smith stressed that Labour's promise of a national minimum wage, which the Tories warned would cost jobs, remained the cornerstone of policy.
By Desmond McCartan Westminster Correspondent
Knife attack on horse
THE USPCA today appealed for help in tracking down the ' sick pervert ' responsible for a knife attack on a horse in Ballynahinch.
Superintendent Francis Fox said he was' disgusted ' by the latest incident  the fourth attack on horses in the province this year.
' We are very concerned at these incidents and we would appeal to anyone with any information to contact us or the police before an animal is killed. '
Police in Downpatrick believe the latest attack happened in the Crabtree area of Ballynahinch sometime between Sunday evening and yesterday afternoon.
Horrific
The horse's owner, Joe Mahood, said he found his horse with several gashes across his legs and stomach.
' There was a six inch gash on his back leg and the skin is lying open.
Another six inch long wound on his stomach is not as deep, but the area is badly swollen and he has another inch deep wound on his front leg where the knife was stuck in. '
Mr Fox said one attack was bad enough, but four in the space of months was' horrific '.
' It is just impossible to understand the sick, perverted mentality of someone who could stab horses in this way, ' he said.
By Marky Kelly
Listening for a concerned voice
WHAT a terrible week.
Four people shot dead by loyalists, other targets on both sides of the divide lucky to survive, and the IRA's scorched earth bombing campaign continuing.
Violence again propelled Northern Ireland into the national news headlines, but it did not seem to make any great impact at Stormont Castle, RUC headquarters at Brooklyn or Army headquarters in Lisburn.
Where were all those people in charge of security policy here.
Did I miss a statement by Secretary of State, Sir Patrick Mayhew, Chief Constable, Sir Hugh Annesley or the GOC Lt Gen Sir John Wilsey?
The nearest we got to an official pronouncement on the recent escalation of terrorism was the inane comment of Security Minister Sir John Wheeler that the IRA was defeated.
Heaven help us if they ever get on a winning streak.
Words of condemnation from our political or security leaders will not solve anything, but they will reassure the public that someone, somewhere is concerned about the attacks on them.
A community which feels that no-one cares naturally turns into itself for reassurance.
That is what is happening in Catholic and Protestant areas of Northern Ireland.
Ordinary people have lost a considerable amount of confidence in the authorities.
The end result is that some believe that retaliation against ' the other side ' is the only protection they have.
Look at the emergence of vigilantes in Britain.
Misguidedly they are taking the law into their own hands because they believe the police are not doing their job properly for whatever reason.
The Government and the forces of law and order have to be seen to be concerned and to be effective.
In our case concern would be a starting point.
IN OUR household as in many others recently there were a few worrying days before the GCSE examination results were published.
It was only then that I properly realised how much pressure there is on children today to succeed academically.
Is it justified?
A 16-year-old English girl committed suicide after failing to get the required grade to guarantee her a place at art college.
The coroner, quite rightly, pointed out that schools do not teach children that in a competitive world some are bound to fail.
The pressure to succeed will increase as schools compete on the exam league tables.
Children will be cannon fodder to boost a school's image.
Surely that is not why we send children to be educated.
Instant recovery
I HAD to report a theft the other day.
And a recovery at the same time.
It was strange to be filling in the two forms at the same time.
But that is what the nice policeman wanted.
What had happened was this.
Ham-fisted thieves had tried to steal a Metro GTi from my driveway.
But in their clumsy efforts to break the steering lock they had broken the steering itself.
The result was the car was found parked half on the footpath just a few yards away.
And I am told that another Metro got similar treatment in Newtownards on that Friday evening.
It was a reminder than none of us is safe from the car thieves.
If you have a ' tasty ' car, lock it away in the garage at night.
Or invest in those lockable posts for the end of the drive.
Too close for comfort
DRIVING too close to the vehicle ahead is still a common tendency on Ulster roads.
I suppose that many of the culprits work on a perverted logic of ' if it stops, then so will I '.
But even the best brakes in the world will not stop you as quickly as hitting something...
For those who care about such things a little bleeper has just come onto the market to enable you to check that you are following the two-second rule that the police recommend.
For example, if the car in front goes under a bridge it should take you two seconds to reach that point.
That is, if you want to stand a chance of stopping before hitting it.
The Ring safestop costs just 3 and can be stuck onto the dash.
It sounds for the requisite two seconds for those of you who don't know the rhyme ' I reckon that's one... '
A more sophisticated approach is being researched by Toyota in Japan.
They are testing sensors which monitor speed and the distance from the car in front.
If you get too close a warning is sounded; if you ignore this, the brakes are applied.
Travellers seek Down site
A GROUP of travelling people who has set up a temporary encampment near the Co Down village of Ardglass have called on the local council to provide a permanent site.
One of the leaders at the site, Dan Flynn, urged Down District Council to provide a permanent site which could be used by travellers visiting the area.
' We would not mind paying for proper wash and water facilities.
A site would be a great help and is badly needed, ' he said.
However, the leader of the DUP group on the council, William Dick, said his party would oppose any attempt to provide a permanent site for travellers.
He claimed this would be a drain on the ratepayer.
' There is no reason why these people can not be integrated within the community and pay their share of rates the same as anyone else.
They can not become a liability and in my view that is what they would become, ' Mr Dick said.
Irish signs help cross cultural barrier
OVER the summer months I have been attending a class to learn Irish sign language and it has given me a new understanding of what hearing people must feel when learning to talk to deaf people.
The British sign language we use here has many similarities to the sign language used in Scotland and England and I have little difficulty in talking to deaf people on the mainland.
But Irish sign language is a different kettle of fish.
It differs from BSL in the same way as Gaelic differs from English.
It is very complex, very grammatical, and the finger spelling is done on one hand.
Many hearing people assume that sign language is the same the world over.
That is not the case, and while it is true that deaf people from different countries can converse with each other better than hearing folk, they all have their own signs and structure.
Difficult
The class I attend is run by James McKernan, who was educated in Dublin and is equally fluent in both BSL and ISL.
James is a good teacher and we have great fun laughing at each other's mistakes.
But the language is so difficult to learn that there are times when I feel completely stupid and understand hearing people's difficulty in learning sign language.
The reason I want to learn ISL is that I often go to Dublin and feel ashamed of my inability to communicate.
Many of the Dublin deaf have a smattering of BSL and can talk to me better than I can talk to them.
But I am completely lost at meetings and need an interpreter.
Last week a party of Dublin deaf were in Belfast and I had the opportunity to put my new skills into use.
My spelling is still very slow, but I was pleased to see how much I was able to follow conversations.
A lot of their signs are based on an initial key letter.
Once you catch that the rest becomes easier.
WE ARE considering starting a home in Belfast for older deaf people and the Dublin deaf were here to advise us and tell us their experiences in the South.
This preliminary meeting will be followed by a weekend seminar at Dublin in October when we will discuss the whole picture of older deaf people in this the EC year of the elderly.
After lunch two mini-buses took us to the Ulster Folk Museum at Cultra and the Dublin deaf were overcome by the beauty of our countryside.
Rapport
One of them is a teacher of deaf children at St Mary's and she loved the old schoolroom at the museum and told me that her class were doing a project on Northern Ireland and she must bring them here to see it all.
There is a wonderful rapport between the deaf people from both North and South which the troubles or the language barrier have never spoiled.
I WAS once interviewed for a radio programme on BBC and was asked how deaf people had fared during the past 20 years.
I told the interviewer that deaf people were a wonderful example of how people of different cultures and a different language could live together in perfect harmony.
If only the hearing world would follow our example!
MAUD Smyth has asked me to thank the Rev Grindle and all who helped to make the memorial service for her brother Thomas, who had died in Canada, so beautiful and moving.
Tom's widow and son flew over for the service and were very appreciative of the many old friends who attended, and for the lovely lunch provided by the ladies of the Kinghan Church.
A READER from Dromore has written to say that the cathedral in her home town installed a loop system after she ' got at ' the minister and vestry about it.
She is now wearing two hearing aids and says the clarity of the sound from the loop system is like a new life.
This lady is 66-years-old and her hearing is gradually getting worse.
But she says the shopkeepers in Dromore are very good and communication is helped by the lip-reading she learned at Mary Mitchell's class.
THE North West deaf association are holding their 15th anniversary dinner dance at the Broomhill Hotel, Derry, on September 18 at 8pm.
Tickets are 15.
By Bob McCullough
Fight is on to keep townlands on the map
ULSTER'S ' forgotten ' townlands are fighting back...
Dungannon District Council has voted to scrap the Post Office addressing system which insists letters must include house numbers and road names.
Instead, councillors unanimously backed a substitute scheme which will use only townland names and the postcode.
Survey
The Federation for Ulster Local Studies hailed the decision as an ' historic victory '  but the Post Office warned it was a ' backward step ' which could hit local mail deliveries.
The federation had asked to meet the council after a local sample survey showed that three out of five school children did not know the name of their townland.
Veteran campaigner Jack Johnston said: ' The survey was a terrible indictment in terms of local heritage and proof that the townlands would eventually fall into disuse.
There seemed real evidence they would be forgotten over time. '
Dungannon is the first of the province's 26 councils to abolish the Post Office scheme.
Fermanagh is linked to the system but uses a different format.
Detrimental
Mr Johnston, who stood on a ' Save Our Townlands' ticket in the council elections of 1977, said: ' It is one of the few powers which councils have left that they can enforce the format for local addresses.
Now we plan to turn our attention to other councils in Co Tyrone.
' I would like to see similar surveys of children in Antrim and Down done.
We have long argued that the Post Office scheme is detrimental to the survival of townland names.
People are led to believe they might not get their mail if they use the townland.
' This is an historic victory, affecting not just the town and the area around it but the entire Clogher valley. '
Proposal
The Post Office said it was' disappointed ' and warned that any change could affect the delivery of mail.
A spokeswoman said: ' We will be in contact with the council to discuss this proposal before it is implemented.
In our view it would be a backward step.
' It could lead to delays in sorting and also problems for the postman, who needs detailed information of addresses. '
Jack Johnston: ' Indictment '
