Europe Intelligence Wire articles from January 2009

Europe Intelligence Wire archives from January 2009

Robson comes up short in junior final.
January 31, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Britain's Laura Robson was beaten in the junior final of the Australian Open, losing 6-3, 6-1 against Ksenia Pervak, who is far more experienced at this level and nearly three years older. Robson had admitted to...

NEC to cut 20,000 jobs.
January 31, 2009... (From vnunet) Japanese electronics giant NEC has become the latest company to announce massive job cuts. The company revealed on Friday that it would be forced to undertake a major restructuring in which roughly 20,000 jobs will be...

HP to offer zero per cent financing.
January 31, 2009... (From vnunet) HP is offering a new pricing program aimed at cash-strapped business. The company has rolled out a new promotion which promises zero per cent financing on hardware purchases for small and medium-sized businesses. ...

Big security hole punched in Windows 7.
January 31, 2009... (From vnunet) A security researcher is warning of a possible security hole in the latest beta version of Windows 7. Researcher Long Zheng has posted both a description and a proof of concept for an issue which could allow an attacker...

Workers 'putting own jobs at risk'.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Lucy Richardson HUNDREDS of North-East workers who staged a wildcat walkout in a dispute over foreign labour are putting their own jobs at risk, bosses warned last night. Moves to bring in...

Drink-driver jailed over 90mph pursuit.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Bruce Unwin A YOUNG drink-driver led police on a high-speed late-night pursuit along mainly rural roads. Christopher Thomas Armstrong reached 90mph at times during the chase, which began in a...

Students hedging their best.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) STUDENTS have been learning traditional hedgelaying as part of a college course. Environmental conservation students from East Durham College have been working on hedgerows across the North-East. ...

Family of mystery RAF hero traced.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Graeme Hetherington THE mystery surrounding a picture of a war hero that was displayed in a headteacher's office 50 years ago has been solved. The portrait of Flight Lieutenant JW Ward was one of...

Pupils sample country life.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) YOUNGSTERS were given a taste of life on a farm when they met some chicks and milked Buttercup, a life-size model dairy cow. Farmers David Hugill and Trevor Hodgson visited Archibald Primary School, in...

Appeals mean more trees will be cut down.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Carly Hopper VILLAGERS are up in arms after a "council mess up" meant two protected trees were chopped down. Residents in Middleton St George, near Darlington, claim they lost their privacy when...

Teesdale Talk - 70 years on and the same football fouls.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: JIM McTAGGART I'VE often been asked if papers ever make up news on quiet days. Not that I know of. But Tommy Todd, regarded as the wiliest poacher ever in Teesdale, once tried it tomake money. ...

Investment of GBP100m should be 'welcomed'.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Chris Fay A COUNCIL has rejected claims that open spaces being transferred to a private landlord in a GBP100m housing deal could be used for development. Sedgefield Borough Council hopes to...

Arranging flowers is blooming lovely.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) FLORAL displays across the country will mark the golden anniversary of the National Association of Flower Arrangement Societies. As part of Golden Fanfare Week, Northallerton and District Flower Club members...

At your service - Morning glory.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Mike Amos David Lambert has been vicar at St Mark's, Marske, for more than 20 years. The column attends one of his last services before his retirement MORNING service starts with a Taize chant,...

Roman road is under threat.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) RAMBLERS, residents and horse riders have launched a campaign to save an ancient bridleway threatened by development. Patches Lane is thought to date back to Roman times and for centuries was a droving route...

Hear all sides.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) WASTED BREATH? ARE Darlington Borough Council's Talking Together consultation events a good way to consult with residents, or are they a cynical ploy to hoodwink us? We were told that, among other things, the...

Call for bus station in a central location.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Jim Entwistle JOSTLED by impatient shoppers and choked by diesel fumes, Darlington's bus passengers need an indoor terminal, according to an opposition councillor. Conservative group councillor...

In the picture - Wholly Moses.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Steve Pratt THE new Doctor Who has been talking about his enjoyable time in a brothel. Fans of the show needn't worry, Matt Smith's trip to the sleazier side of London isn't part of his job as...

Exceedingly well red. . .
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) ONLOOKERS watched in awe last night as Yo rk Minster was transformed by light. The iconic building was bathed in red, for one night only, by the British Heart Foundation to launch its Red for Heart campaign....

Theatre Show of Polish.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Viv Hardwick A theatre company decided to find out if Brits could become economic migrants in Poland ANestimated 600,000 Poles have come to the UK since 2004 to join a community which, in the 1950s,...

Vikings' net invasion.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Edited by Peta King THE Vikings have put aside their swords and battleaxes and are using the internet as they plan their next invasion of Britain. Tickets for the annual Jorvik Viking Festival, in...

Onthe beach.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Edited by Peta King THERE'S no need to pay family fortunes for your holiday this year if you head to Blackpool's first five-star self-catering accommodation, The Beach House. Located on the...

Holming in on girls getting sporting chance.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) FORMER Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes visited the North-East yesterday to back a sports partnership changing the lifestyles of hundreds of teenage girls. The double gold medallist spent a day learning...

Court punishes angry dad who abused teacher.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Graeme Hetherington AN irate father stormed into a classroom and threatened a teacher for sending his daughter home from school in disgrace, a court heard. Simon Walsh shouted and swore at Irshad...

Woman woke to find sex attacker naked by bed.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Neil Hunter AN intruder who sexually assaulted a woman in her bed was yesterday given an extended sentence after a judge ruled he was a danger to the public. Charles Anderson was branded a...

Has Bill got brews for you. . .
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) A FORMER brewery technician is now proudly serving three of the beers he spent 30 years helping to produce. Bill Calvert has gone behind the bar as manager at the Copt Hill, a landmark watering hole in...

Doctors'fears dismissed at opening of health centre.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Barry Nelson HEALTH Secretary Alan Johnson opened the region's first polyclinic yesterday, dismissing criticism by leading doctors as "perverse". Mr Johnson toured the Resolution Health Centre,...

Sex offender claims cash for no cell toilet.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Mark Tallentire A SERIAL paedophile who raped a teenage boy has provoked outrage by demanding thousands of pounds in compensation because his prison cell does not have a toilet. David Williams...

Pester power helps Ian to quiz victory.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) THE winner of the NorthEast toughest trivia quiz is a 50-year-old civil servant. And this year's Superbrain certainly was tough. Winner Ian Dodds topped the lot by getting 285 points out of a possible 300....

Shop staff help charity deliver a wake-up call.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) CUSTOMERS got a shock when they visited their local Co-op store and found the staff in pyjamas and dressing gowns. However, helped by a huge alarm clock, it was all part of the store's wake-up call about...

Bellamy delighted after woods saved for village.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Gavin Havery A COMMUNITY woodland has been saved from development after a campaign backed by Dr David Bellamy. People who live near Watling Wood, in Leadgate, near Consett, opposed plans to...

City move looms as Given rejects Joe's six-year deal.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Scott Wilson JOE KINNEAR reluctantly gave Shay Given permission to speak with Manchester City yesterday, but only after the Newcastle United goalkeeper had been offered a new six-year contract to keep...

Loyalty the only option for Jones.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Scott Wilson WITH players the length and breadth of the country trying to engineer a move in the final 48 hours of the transfer window, it's easy to assume that loyalty is utterly alien to modern-day...

Ben-Haim blow but Cats offload Diouf.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Paul Fraser SUNDERLAND'S search for a new defender suffered a severe blow last night when a move for Manchester City's Tal Ben-Haim broke down at the 11th hour. The setback leaves Ricky Sbragia...

Sbragia savours memory of '99 derby.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Scott Wilson THIS might be his first TyneWear derby as Sunderland manager, but Ricky Sbragia knows all about the joy of beating Newcastle United in their own backyard. Sbragia was on the bench in...

Taylor wants to atone for defeat.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Paul Fraser STEVEN TAYLOR wants to help Newcastle United put a season of struggle at St James' Park behind them by gaining revenge for the October defeat to Sunderland that left him mentally scarred....

Nolan relishing chance to play at a new level.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Paul Fraser ALMOST ten years after impressing as a teenager on trial at Bolton, Kevin Nolan completed a move away from his first professional club yesterday to be greeted with a text message from a...

Pools face a test of character, says boss.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Nick Loughlin CHRIS Turner appreciates his players' mental strength and character will be tested as much as their fitness in the coming days. A week after facing West Ham in the FA Cup, Pools are...

Jones likely to replace Turnbull for Rovers visit.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Scott Wilson GARETH SOUTHGATE is poised to restore Brad Jones to Middlesbrough's starting line-up for this afternoon's relegation battle with Blackburn. Jones has not made a single Premier League...

Concerns over fee may end Boro's interest in Harper.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Scott Wilson MIDDLESBROUGH are ready to call off their pursuit of James Harper after Reading demanded an increased upfront fee for the midfielder. Boro officials have been in discussions with...

Quakers' promotion bid faces double test.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Craig Stoddart DARLINGTONmanager Dave Penney says preparation has been key this week as his side look forward to two crucial games inside three days. Today's match at fifthplaced Dagenham &...

Saturday Spotlight - How Donegal boy became a Geordie hero.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Andy Richardson Shay Given's spell in the North-East is about to come to an end. After stints at both Sunderland and Newcastle, Andy Richardson looks back on the impact the shot-stopper has made IN...

Fenby injury setback for high-flying Blaydon.
January 31, 2009... (From The Northern Echo) Byline: Tim Wellock BLAYDON will fly to Cornwall this morning without top try scorer Andrew Fenby, who has a suspected broken foot, while lock Sean Tomes has gone to Newport on loan. Fenby is awaiting...

Foreign Secretary Statement on the Conflict in Sri Lanka.
January 31, 2009... (From Government News Network) ] FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH OFFICE 31 January 2009 Foreign Secretary Statement on the Conflict in Sri Lanka Commenting on the Sri Lankan government's recent announcement the Foreign Secretary, David...

From the archive: Christopher Lloyd on cutting back.
January 31, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Large camellia bushes benefit from a hard cut-back in spring. Photograph: justinbader /Flickr/ Some rights reserved Losing control of the vegetation in your garden often brings on a feeling of...

Imaginary city.
January 31, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Some thoughts about the near future of where I live... A huge city is crawling from the wreckage of recession. It is offered a choice between two versions of what happens to it next. One of these comes from...

Beyond the bounds of religion.
January 31, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) Obama is offering a hand of friendship to the Middle East and the wider Muslim world. This week he marked this new relationship, based in "mutual respect", by dispatching George Mitchell as his special envoy to...

Me, the weekend and you.
January 31, 2009... (From Guardian Unlimited) If you detected a faint ready meal flavour to yesterday's posts, that's because they were all assembled between 5.30 and 7.30 in the morning and launched automatically while I was out and about all day, having a...

Karen Overbury homemaker editor.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) IT seemed such a good idea at the time. Sticking to a budget. Christmas had brought a rather steep credit card bill, so something had to be done. And then the other half started to play - sorry, work - with his new...

bargain of the week.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) THE classic Georgian facade of this property belies its ancient roots. Farne View House, Holy Island, Northumberland, is believed to stand on the footings of a previous building which housed the monks from the...

Lindsay makes grand designs for future.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) Byline: Liz Lamb A STUDENT from the North East has won the first-ever fashion apprenticeship with the prestigious Italian fashion label MaxMara. Lindsay Marsh, 22, from Heaton, Newcastle, beat 189 other...

Enter the house of true happiness.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) Byline: Karen Wilson AFTER 18 happy years in their luxurious home, Chris and Angie Elliott have decided to downsize and build a smaller home. They're ready to make the move as their children Vikky, 30, and...

'We need to pull together.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) Byline: Rob Pattinson TODAY The Journal launches a new campaign to support the North East through the global financial crisis. We believe the best chance of recovery for the region lies in pulling together and...

Our food campaign is a Taste of what's to come.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) IT'S exactly a year since The Journal first urged people to think local for the sake of their health - and the region's economy. The aim of the Taste North East England campaign was - and still is - simple: to get...

PRIME MINISTER GIVES US HIS BACKING.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) PRIME Minister Gordon Brown last night praised The Journal for launching the Think North East First campaign to help get the region through "tough times". "It is great to see The Journal supporting its readers and...

Spending power helps thousands to keep jobs.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) THE value of tourism to the region has grown by almost a third in five years. According to research by regional development agency One North East, the holiday trade was worth pounds 3.9bn to the local economy...

Tourism can be the home win we need.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) Byline: Rob Pattinson TOURISM can lead the region out of the recession if it is supported with homegrown holidaymakers. That is the claim from tourism bosses who want North East families to plan a "stay at...

World Economic.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) CALL-WAITING Gordon Brown was embarrassed when his opening remarks to the World Economic Forum were interrupted by his own mobile phone. The Prime Minister broke off from his demands for a resumption of lending when he...

Car workers' fears as production stops.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) Byline: Jamie Grierson THOUSANDS of workers left Honda's UK factory for a four-month sabbatical last night as the company embarked on one of the longest breaks in production in Britain's industrial history. ...

Derby day drama warning.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) Byline: Adam Jupp THE region is gearing up for one of the most significant Tyne-Wear derbies in decades. Sunderland will travel to St James's Park to play Newcastle United tomorrow, with just three points...

The Journal: We should all think before we spend.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) THE scale of the current economic crisis is such that many of us, understandably, feel a little bit helpless. After all, if the finest minds in global economics can't predict when the recession might end, let alone...

The Journal: Time to cut the limit.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) IT'S hardly surprising the new Government initiative to encourage drivers to cut their speed has not been well received in Brancepeth, Durham. Calls there for the speed limit to be cut to 30mph have been ignored -...

Letter: Slighted region must vote with off-switch.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) Byline: BRIAN NICHOLLS WITHOUT saying "I told you so", when Ofcom was being set up nearly six years ago I disclosed in the business pages of The Journal that two of the watchdog's early moves would be: to free...

Letter: TV man poacher turned gamekeeper.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) Byline: LYN GRAHAM (Ex Tyne-Tees Television) I HAD to write in after the comments about the "death of local television" expressed by Tom Harvey (The Journal, January 27), which I agree with. But how can The...

Letter: This is how billions are frittered away.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) Byline: MARTIN CALLANAN PAUL Tinnion's sarcasm regarding my criticism of wasteful public spending is misplaced (Voice of the North, January 28). I can provide many examples of how this Labour Government has...

Letter: Why do parties not work together?
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) Byline: KEN BARRIE I AM writing in response to your article headlined "Political row mars council's efforts" (The Journal, January 24). What was it, I wonder, that prevented the Labour Mayor John Harrison and...

Letter: Planet is cooling, not warming.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) Byline: PHILIP WARREN ONE of the tasks President Obama has set himself, is "to roll back the spectre of a warming planet". If he will consult the records of upper air temperatures compiled by the US National...

Letter: Wind turbines akin to old pit heaps.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) Byline: ALAN DIXON THERE is a significant groundswell of public opinion against the erection of wind turbines in Northumberland. However, it is obvious that it is the intention of Government and the British Wind...

Clean coal nurtures jobs and climate.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) Byline: DAVE ANDERSON THE need for a realistic and sustainable energy policy has never been greater. We have all recently seen the erratic fluctuation of fuel prices. Petrol, for example, cost over pounds 1.20 a...

Four sheep butchered and their unborn lambs killed.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) Byline: Neil McKay FARMERS and consumers across the region were urged to be on their guard last night after four sheep were butchered and the bodies of their unborn lambs strewn across a field. The act of...

'It was like a war scene.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) Byline: Tom Wilkinson THE aftermath of an inflatable artwork flipping over and killing two people in a park looked like "a war scene", a firefighter told a jury yesterday. The 50m by 50m Dreamspace sculpture...

Family will plead their case in High Court.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) A FAMILY facing deportation from South Tyneside have been given a date to plead their case at the High Court. Octavius Dean, his wife, Sharma Fardous, and their children, Oliver, 15, and daughter Raima, 10, will...

Students earn waves of approval.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) Byline: Tom Mullen SAVE Our Souls was the theme of a photography exhibition dedicated to a life-saving charity. Photography students from South Tyneside College held an exhibition of images in the art and design...

A touch of the exotic.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) Byline: Clare Jobson I DON'T know about you, but I'm really craving sunshine at the moment. Days are spent dreaming of a holiday to somewhere hot and exotic. Instead we're stuck with the reality of a few more...

Lib Dems take 50th seat in city.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) THE ruling Liberal Democrats have won another seat on Newcastle City Council following a by-election on Thursday. Mitzi Emery secured a narrow 24-vote majority in the Fenham by-election, pipping Labour's Helen...

Quaint and cosy.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) I DEAL for larger families, this large detached property benefits from seven bedrooms. Located within the semi-rural village of Iveston in County Durham, the stone-built home is set over three floors and benefits...

Drug addict had pipe bomb in bedroom.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) WHEN police raided Jamie Eves' house they got much more than they bargained for. They were expecting to find narcotics when they entered the drug addict's home. But they found he had also been making pipe bombs...

ART LOVERS CAN BUILD ON THEIR SKILLS.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) ART lovers can leave their mark at a city gallery and rebuild one of its walls. Waygood Art Boutique is inviting visitors to join in building a wall from miniature bricks within its window. They have been made...

Reliving tragedy of pensioner's suicide.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) Byline: Neil McKay TORTURED by pain and tormented by guilt, death seemed the only option. Crippled since being injured on the last day of the war, and unable to look after his wife, Cuthbert Barr took his own life....

Anger as nightclub allowed to open until 4am.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) AN MP has called on the Government to intervene over a controversial decision by council bosses to allow a nightclub to stay open until 4am. People living in Durham are furious at the decision by the city...

It's your chance to call this monster a few choice names.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) Byline: Tony Henderson Environment Editor A COMPETITION to find a name for a ferocious dinosaur is set to be a roaring success. Staff at the pounds 26m Great North Museum: Hancock which is due to open in Newcastle...

NORTH TODAY: Families helped.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) FAMILIES in the region are being asked to take part in the biggest survey of children's health which launches today. The campaign, How Are the Kids? has been rolled out across the country by the Department of...

NORTH TODAY: Shopkeeper fined.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) A SHOPKEEPER has been fined over pounds 400 for selling counterfeit tobacco products. Davinder Atkar, co-owner of Atkar Wine Store on Chichester Road in South Shields, appeared before South Tyneside Magistrates for...

It's back to square one for Brown.
January 31, 2009... (From The Journal) Byline: PAUL LINFORD FOUR weeks ago, in my annual preview of the political year ahead, I commented that the art of political forecasting was now becoming a good deal harder than predicting the outcomes of sporting...