The Birmingham Post (England) back issues from July 2008:
Murray plays match of his life.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Andy Murray won the match of his life to take his place in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon last night. The feisty Scot showed grit and guts and some astonishing shots to fight back from two sets down to beat Frenchman Richard Gasquet 5-7 3-6 7-6 (7/3) 6-2 6-4 to earn a ...
Farmland 'is put at risk by flood plans'.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Byline: By Paul Dale Public Affairs Editor Suburban housing estates are being over-protected against flooding at the expense of prime agricultural land, according to a study into emergency planning in the West Midlands. A report by the Institution of Civil Engineers ...
Byrne bemoans scarcity of leaders from ethnic minorities.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... The Minister for the West Midlands yesterday said he was "gob-smacked" by the absence of ethnic minorities among the region's leaders, as he set out his plans for the year ahead. Liam Byrne (Lab Hodge Hill) called for the creation of new universities and a "revolution" in ...
English Heritage may scupper plans to replace NatWest Tower.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Conservation watchdog English Heritage could step into the row over the future of a prominent Birmingham city centre site by asking the Government to include the NatWest Tower in Colmore Row on the statutory list of buildings of architectural importance. Approval to list the ...
Families feel the pain of the crunch.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Families struggling with soaring fuel and food costs are more concerned about their financial future than at any time in 26 years, a poll revealed yesterday. The measure for the UK's economic situation in the last 12 months has also plunged below levels recorded during the last ...
Rugby League star punched drunken fan to the ground.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Rugby League star Iafeta Paleaaesina was yesterday sentenced to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work after being convicted of punching a bus driver to the ground. The 17-stone prop, who plays for Wigan Warriors, left victim James Campbell with a broken jaw after the confrontation ...
Permanent memorial for police hero knifed in Aston.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Byline: By Danielle Dwyer A permanent memorial to a policeman stabbed through the heart as he tried to arrest an offender was unveiled yesterday. Detective Constable Michael Swindells, 44, died on May 21, 2004 after he was stabbed on a canal towpath underneath the M6 ...
Couple expecting Britain's first breast cancer-screened baby.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... A couple are expecting Britain's first baby screened to not have hereditary breast cancer in a move hailed yesterday as "an exciting technological development". They decided to screen her embryos and remove the inherited cancer-causing gene BRCA-1 because the baby's father, his ...
Torrential downpours in 2007 had lasting legacy on West Midlands crop.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Byline: By Richard Postin Last summer it was not only well publicised floods but the effects of the wet summer in broader terms that proved costly to farms in the West Midlands. This was illustrated by the losses experienced by the Coulter Lane Fruit Farm which, ...
Premiership thug sentenced today for latest violent outburst.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Premier League footballer Joey Barton will be sentenced today after pleading guilty to assaulting a former teammate. He punched Ousmane Dabo, a former colleague at Manchester City, knocking him unconscious, and continued to hit him as he lay on the ground. Teammates ...
McKellen to star in The Prisoner.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... ITV confirmed yesterday Sir Ian McKellen and Jim Caviezel will star in the network's remake of 1960s classic cult thriller, The Prisoner. American actor Caviezel will play Number Six while McKellen will appear as Number Two. The original show was filmed in the ...
My age is irrelevant, says the city's youngest head teacher, 32.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Byline: By Shahid Naqvi Education Correspondent Little over a decade ago, he was at school. Today, Stuart Guest is the youngest head teacher in Birmingham. He is in charge of 420 pupils, has a staff of 50 and controls a budget of pounds 1.5 million. And he's seeing ...
Pupil who swore on examination paper scored two marks for it.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Students who write obscenities in their GCSE English exams can still be awarded marks, a chief examiner said yesterday. One pupil, who wrote "f*** off" on an examination paper, was given two points for spelling it correctly, and conveying a meaning. It was marked by ...
You must foot the bill in switch to renewable energy, says minister.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Consumers will have to foot the bill for the multi-billion pound switch to renewable energy, the Government warned last night . Business Secretary John Hutton said pounds 100 billion of private sector investment was needed to finance the change in electricity production. ...
POLITICS: Centre of excellence plans could see services merged.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Byline: By Jonathan Walker Political Editor Plans to concentrate West Midlands hospital services in "centres of excellence" were backed yesterday by Health Minister Lord Darzi. Setting out a 10-year plan for the NHS, Lord Darzi said patients needing emergency ...
POLITICS: Red tape bid cuts little ice with business.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Three years into a cross-government drive to reduce the cost of regulation on businesses, three-quarters of companies expect red tape to increase, according to a report released today. The Government's Better Regulation Executive has set Whitehall departments and regulators the ...
POLITICS: Scrap regional offices abroad, says Duncan.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... A network of offices to promote West Midlands industry overseas would be scrapped under a Conservative government, the shadow Trade Secretary has pledged. Alan Duncan said it was "baffling" to foreign business leaders when the West Midlands set up offices in Germany and America ...
POLITICS: Race relations and child obesity head council concerns.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... West Midlands councils have named improving race relations and cutting child obesity as top priorities - ahead of improving school results and keeping streets clean. They pledged to cut child poverty, build more homes and reduce congestion. Councils were asked to ...
POLITICS: 'Labour has lost identity by stealing from Tories'.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Voters no longer know what the Labour Party stands for because it has stolen too many policies from the Conservatives, a Labour backbencher has claimed. Wolverhampton MP Ken Purchase, who has announced plans to leave the Commons at the next election, launched a scathing ...
Eco-town opponents take their protest to Parliament.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Midlands campaigners joined hundreds of protesters outside Parliament yesterday to voice opposition to Government plans to build eco-towns. The protesters, from across the country, accused the Government of building "rural ghettos of the future" and failing to consult local ...
Crunch prompts many to leave credit card alone.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Consumers are managing to meet their day-today living costs without having to resort to using credit cards, a payments body said yesterday. Apacs said there had been no sudden spike in credit card usage during the first five months of the year, with credit card spending rising ...
Prince leading green agenda as Duchy's income rises to pounds 16m.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Byline: By Tony Jones The Prince of Wales's private income rose by seven per cent to more pounds 16 million last year, Clarence House accounts showed yesterday. The money generated by the Duchy of Cornwall - the landed estate given to the heir to the throne - ...
'Feisty' Bishop of Bangor loses battle with cancer; CHURCH.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... The Bishop of Bangor died yesterday after an 18-month battle with cancer. The Rt Rev Anthony Crockett, aged 62, (above) had continued to work throughout his illness, even performing confirmations in the chapel at Ysbyty Gwynedd, the hospital where he died. The ...
Hoax 999 call ends with death of woman driver; ACCIDENT.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... A woman died and her 10-year-old daughter was seriously injured when a fire engine was in a crash with a car, police said yesterday. South Yorkshire Police said the incident happened in Sheffield yesterday evening as the appliance was on its way to reports of a fi re A ...
Squatters move in to take over Ratty's house; PROPERTY.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... A house on which Ratty's home in The Wind In The Willows was reputedly based has been taken over by squatters. Recent goings-on at pounds 2 million Coombe End Farmhouse, near Goring-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, bear a curious resemblance to when the weasels, ferrets and stoats took ...
Turtles back in the swim after British rescue; ENVIRONMENT.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Two rare loggerhead turtles rescued off the UK coast were successfully returned to the wild in Gran Canaria, marine experts announced yesterday The turtles, named James and Dink, have undergone five months of rehabilitation at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Newquay, ...
FSA man who oversaw Northern Rock debacle gets pounds 612,000 pay-off.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... The City chief in charge of supervising Northern Rock at the time of its collapse left the Financial Services Authority (FSA) with a pounds 612,000 pay-off, it emerged yesterday. Clive Briault stepped down as managing director of the FSA's retail banking division in April "by ...
Lloyds TSB granting debit cards directly to 11-year-old customers.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... A bank is sending children debit cards without parents' consent, it was reported yesterday. Lloyds TSB mails the cards to children as young as 11, enabling them to purchase goods on the internet without an adult's knowledge. A father reportedly complained to the bank ...
'Fiercely proud' Para was an inspiration to regimental colleagues.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... A "fiercely proud" soldier who died while serving in Afghanistan was remembered yesterday as an "inspiration" to others. Lance Corporal James Bateman, of Colchester, Essex, was killed by enemy fire while on a routine foot patrol in Helmand Province on June 12. ...
Killer driver is jailed for eight years.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... An unqualified driver who killed a young mother in an horrific crash after trying to outrun police was jailed for eight years yesterday. Wolverhampton Crown Court heard Paul Jones ploughed into Leanne Moore in the early hours of Mothering Sunday at more than twice the speed ...
Skip man wakes to cheat death in back of bin lorry.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... A man had a "very lucky escape" yesterday when he was almost crushed in a bin lorry after falling asleep in a skip in Birmingham. The man, who has not been named but is believed to be of Eastern European origin, awoke to find himself in the back of the lorry shortly after 5am. ...
Bloodshed escalates to second worst Afghan month.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... June was a devastating month for British troops in Afghanistan with the second highest death toll since operations began in November 2001. The death of a soldier from The Royal Regiment of Scotland in a mine explosion on Saturday took fatalities this month to 13. It ...
15 foreign killers are deported.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... More than a dozen killers and nearly 140 sex offenders have been deported since the start of the year, the Home Office said today. Immigration Minister Liam Byrne (Birmingham Hodge Hill) revealed the figures as part of an update on the number of foreign criminals removed. ...
Win VIP tickets to taste of Birmingham.(Competition/Offers)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Tell us who you think serves Birmingham's best business lunch and you could win a pair of VIP tickets to the Taste of Birmingham event. The city's restaurant scene has never been so good, and to celebrate, over a dozen of the region's finest eating places will be in Cannon Hill ...
INTERNATIONAL: Brown urges African leaders to tell Mugabe to change ways.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Byline: By Laura May Prime Minister Gordon Brown said yesterday he hopes African leaders meeting Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe "will make it absolutely clear there has got to be change" in his country. He said: "I think the message from the whole world is the ...
INTERNATIONAL: Child-killer loses human rights claim over police interrogation.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... A German child-killer yesterday lost his claim that police violated his human rights by threatening him with violence to find his victim's body. Magnus Gaefgen, 33, is serving life for the abduction and murder of an 11-year-old boy in Frankfurt in September 2002. The ...
INTERNATIONAL: Woman suicide bomber gunned down by Sunni guards in Iraq.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Iraqi guards opened fire on a female suicide bomber and triggered her explosives belt before she reached their headquarters, foiling the latest of more than 20 suicide missions by women this year. The bomber was targeting the headquarters of an awakening council - Sunni ...
INTERNATIONAL: How US military top brass underestimated Iraq task; AMERICA.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... A nearly 700-page study released by the US Army found that "in the euphoria of early 2003," US-based commanders prematurely believed their goals in Iraq had been reached and did not send enough troops to handle the occupation President George Bush's statement on May 1, 2003, ...
INTERNATIONAL: 'Frankenstein food' can feed theworld's poor; AMERICA.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Genetic engineering has been used to fortify a staple root crop grown in poorer parts of the world with enough vitamins, minerals and protein to provide a day's worth of nutrition in a single meal. The genetically modified cassava can also resist infection by damaging plant ...
INTERNATIONAL: Lebanese gunman to be swapped for dead troops; ISRAEL.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... The Israeli government has agreed to free a Lebanese gunman convicted in one of the grisliest attacks in the country's history in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers killed by Hezbollah guerrillas. The German-mediated deal was a rare political victory for embattled ...
INTERNATIONAL: Mountain bike race girl mauled by grizzly; ALASKA.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... A 14-year-old girl riding in a mountain bike race was attacked at night by a bear and severely injured, but she was able to make a brief emergency call that eventually resulted in her rescue The girl suffered head, neck, torso and leg wounds. Police ...
Viva Espana as the ruthlessly efficient Germans finally get done; AGENDA.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Byline: RICHARD McCOMB We thought it was all over - but it isn't yet. And for that we must say: "Muchos gracias." For years now, football tournaments have been bedevilled by negative tactics and an obsession with metatarsals and WAGs. It looked like the days of ...
How Welsh miners planted seed of Bevan's NHS vision; AGENDA.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Byline: The National Health Service is 60 this month. In the Arst of a week-long series, Health Correspondent Emma Brady looks at how it evolved from the mining communities of south Wales When Aneurin "Nye" Bevan launched the National Health Service on July 5, 1948, it was a ...
Nobel Prize among the service's achievements; AGENDA.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Some of the milestones which chart the evolution of the NHS, since its launch on July 5, 1948. 1948: Health Secretary Aneurin Bevan opens Park Hospital, Manchester 1952: Prescription charges of a shilling (5p) are introduced and a flat rate of a pound for ordinary ...
Racist, sexist Government breaking its own legislation; AGENDA.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Byline: CHRIS MONCRIEFF We have a Government guilty of the "crimes" which its members constantly instruct us to avoid: racial and sexual discrimination. The new Bill by Harriet Harman, Leader of the Commons, specifically encourages employers to discriminate against ...
The time has come for world to stand up to Mugabe; AGENDA.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Byline: MICHAELCASHMAN I am a born optimist. To the annoyance of friends and family I always try to turn a negative into a positive, a failure into a challenge. But I am beginning to doubt whether there is anything that can be said which is either positive or optimistic about ...
Take your pick - it's a matter of priorities.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Telling councils to choose their priorities for the years ahead is the Government's response to criticism of national targets. Over the past ten years, the inclination of central government has been to order schools, hospitals or local councils to meet a target - perhaps to ...
Flooded plains.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... The second major report into flooding in the space of a week takes an unusually robust view about the ability of the Government and public agencies to protect communities against freak weather. It is impossible to safeguard everyone from events that are likely to become more ...
Off the mark.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... There is a story, possibly apocryphal, of an Oxbridge undergraduate who faced by an exam question seeking his views on a particularly obtuse philosophical conundrum simply wrote one word on the blank paper provided for an answer: "Why?" He passed with flying colours, needless to ...
Letter: NatWest site has a history of harmony with surroundings.(Letters)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Byline: John Madin Dear Editor, The National Westminster Bank commissioned the design of their bank in Colmore Row in 1970, to meet the requirements for new banking facilities and accommodation for their local and regional staff together with additional office space which could ...
Letter: I fear our new hospital.(Letters)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Byline: Douglas J Wathen Dear Editor, Big is certainly not beautiful - to say nothing of the escalating costs! Having seen the pictures of the new Super Hospital being built in Edgbaston in Birmingham, I can only hope that I will never have to go in there. ...
Letter: The voice of The Public.(Letters)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Byline: A T FOWLER Dear Editor, regarding the Public, West Bromwich, this new controversial and expensive arts centre is about to open. It is to be hoped that it will survive all the criticism which has been heaped on it to prove to be more popular, well used and less a drain on ...
Letter: New plans are just whistling in the wind.(Letters)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Byline: Dr David Hill The latest government decision to spend over pounds 100billion of taxpayer's funds on wind farms shows how the government and their advisers are totally lacking in knowledge and information on renewable energy matters. This decision, fuelled by the ...
REVIEWS: Rewarding collaboration among highs; Patricia Rozario and Mark Bebbington.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Byline: Tardebigge Church Sunday's opening concert in Tardebigge's popular Celebrating English Song series - already in its 5fth year - brought highs and lows in more senses than one. Among the many highs were Four Songs by Ian Venables, the Worcesterbased composer ...
REVIEWS: From ice-lolly sticks and shells to pearl buttons.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... The ideas of sustainability and recycling are reaching into most areas of life these days, so why should jewellery-making be any different? Reclaim, an exhibition now showing at the RBSA's Craft Gallery, offers a cross-section of work by makers from across Britain who plunder ...
REVIEWS: Craft galore.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... The Jewellery Quarter's Arts and Designer Crafts Festival returns for its second year on Saturday. More than 50 craft stalls will be set up in St Paul's Square and outside the Big Peg, with a free bus ferrying visitors around between 10.30am and 4pm. There will be free workshops ...
Culture: Fabric of life through the ages; Visual arts Terry Grimley takes a look at an exhibition depicting the use of fabric throughout history.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Byline: Terry Grimley As the recent Art of Stitch exhibition at the Water Hall served to remind us, if there is one area of art which has traditionally been dominated by women, it's textiles. Its domestic associations are obvious, and the gender identification is ...
Culture: Looking at Thomases' romantic square from a fresh angle; Visual arts Alison Jones hears from the stars of a new film about legendary Welsh poet Dylan Thomas what life is like living on the Edge of Love,.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Byline: Alison Jones "Like rugby and coal, we are sort of raised with Dylan Thomas. From an early age, Under Milk Wood has almost biblical connotations in Wales." Actors are always placed under additional pressure when they asked to portray a real person rather than ...
Quiz of the Day.(Features)
Jul 01, 2008 ... 1. In which part of the human body is the median nerve? 2. Which country won the 1998 soccer World Cup? 3. Which actress in 1987 made her last appearance as Diane on the TV show Cheers? 4. Which is the first book of the Old Testament? 5. The ...
DID YOU KNOW?(Features)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Rome was the first city to reach a population of one million people Any month that starts on a Sunday will have a Friday the 13th in it A light aircraft from Texas accidentally landed on top of another plane that was preparing to take ob. It appeared both pilots ...
ON THIS DAY; July 1.(Features)
Jul 01, 2008 ... 1837: The official compulsory Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths began in England 1945: Deborah Harry, singer/ songwriter with Blondie, whose hits include Maria, Atomic, Heart of Glass and French Kissin' in the USA, is 63 today 1948: The first Oxfam shop opened in Oxford ...
WEB LIFE.(Features)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Today marks the start of World Week of Action for captive Dolphins, which is aimed at highlight the subering of dolphins and whales in captivity. Many British tourists visit whale and dolphin shows while on holiday abroad, and Cetacea Defence is encouraging people to avoid funding animal ...
Word Wizard.(Features)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Here is an unusual word with three definitions, only one of which is correct. Can you identify the right definition? THYRSUS 1) A staff wreathed with ivy, as carried by Bacchus and his ...
Pick of the day.(Features)
Jul 01, 2008 ... Imagine 10.35pm BBC One Alan Yentob travels to Los Angeles to meet acclaimed director, screenwriter and producer ...
POST PEOPLE: Rabjohns' launch party.(News)
Jul 01, 2008 ... More than 80 of the West Midlands' most high-profile businessmen and women gathered in Worcester to celebrate the launch of Rabjohns' newly-refurbished offices. Among those who attended the evening were Worcester Rugby Club, Morgan Motors and Worcestershire County Cricket Club. ...