Digest of the week's news

Published on Friday 11 April 2003 01:00

This is our summary of the major stories of the week ending 11th April. War once again dominates as first Basra, then Baghdad fell to coalition forces. Gordon Brown delivered his budget on Wednesday to a less than enthusiastic response and in sport, Celtic could only manage a draw at home to Boavista in the first leg of the UEFA Cup semi final.

UK AND WORLD NEWS

Saddam toppled in Baghdad

US troops rolled into central Baghdad on Wednesday after meeting surprisingly little resistance. Then, as a small crowd gathered to celebrate the downfall of the Baath party regime, the marines helped Iraqi citizens destroy the most significant statue of Saddam in the Iraqi capital.

Read the full story here.

Black Watch leads way in to Basra

Hundreds of British tanks and thousands of soldiers streamed into Basra at the weekend, encountering only sporadic resistance from Iraqi militia and an increasingly friendly welcome from civilians. The speed of the thrust into Iraq’s second city, spearheaded by the Black Watch, convinced US military commanders that the end of the Iraqi regime was only a matter of hours away.

Read the full story here.

Three guilty of bombing campaign

Three members of a Real IRA cell have been convicted of plotting a campaign of terror in Britain. They had planned a series of so-called spectaculars during 2001, which saw two bombs explode in London and one in Birmingham. Anti-terrorism officials warned that, despite public attention focusing on Islamic fundamentalism, Irish republican terror groups posed an immediate threat to the UK.

Read the full story here.

SCOTLAND

Half of Labour voters desert party - survey

Half of the people who voted Labour in 1999 will not vote for the party in the Scottish election on 1 May, according to an in-depth survey of 1,600 voters across Scotland. However, the SNP are failing to pick up these disaffected voters.

Read the full story here.

Hedgehogs avoid trappers and the spotlight

Amid much controversy, a great deal of sniping and a wealth of claims and counter-claims, time was finally up for the Western Isles hedgehogs. Or it would have been, if any had been found. The deadline for the start of the controversial and much-hyped hedgehog cull passed shortly after 9pm on Monday as darkness descended on North Uist, but it appeared that most of the beasts were in hiding.

Read the full story here.

President thanks Scottish forces

In a message timed to coincide with Tartan Day, George Bush delivered a message of support to Scottish service personnel fighting in Iraq yesterday. In a signed letter sent to The Scotsman from the White House, the president of the United States said he and his country were "deeply grateful" for their contribution to the liberation of Iraq.

Read the full story here.

BUSINESS

Chancellor's message is upstaged by war

As the world’s attention was gripped by the spectacular television pictures broadcast from the centre of Baghdad, Gordon Brown was obliged to stand in a musty House of Commons and deliver his seventh Budget. It was a decidedly lacklustre performance by the Chancellor.

Read the full story here.

Tesco store growth to create 1,350 jobs

Supermarket group Tesco plans to create 1,350 jobs in Scotland in the next year via five new planned stores, and bust through the circa-600 million level of produce and products supplied by 120 Scottish companies in recent years.

Read the full story here.

Profits fall to lowest on record

Profitability among Scottish companies has fallen to its lowest level on record. Experian, the credit ratings agency, found that the average return on capital among leading companies across the industrial economy in Scotland fell from 7.32 per cent in the year to last June to 6.62 per cent in the 12 months to September 2002.

Read the full story here.

SPORT

Celtic miss their big chance

Celtic will have to deliver a performance in Oporto on Thursday week that eclipses even their work in Liverpool if they are to achieve their ambition of reaching the UEFA Cup final. The Parkhead side managed a score draw, conceding the lead through an own goal by Joos Valgaeren, forcing an equaliser through Henrik Larsson and suffering the ultimate bad omen when the Swede failed to convert a penalty kick.

Read the full story here.

Real live up to their legend

The legend of Real Madrid awoke once more with a 3-1 victory over Manchester United which strongly hints at the Spanish aristocrats bringing the season to a close at Old Trafford, where the Champions League final is scheduled to be held.

Read the full story here.

SRU backs winning French bid

France have won the right to host the 2007 Rugby World Cup, defeating a rival bid from England by a crushing margin of 18 votes to three. The result means that three pool matches will be held in Scotland, with an equivalent number to be scheduled in Wales and Ireland. Wales will also host a quarter-final.

Read the full story here.

HERE ARE THE STORIES YOU FOUND MOST INTERESTING

Bagpipes play as Black Watch takes Basra

Lieutenant William Colquhoun had unpacked his bagpipes and sat on the turret of his Warrior waiting for the order to advance. As he began to play, the sound of Scotland the Brave drifted across the bridge towards the city, competing with the clatter of rotor blades as four Cobra helicopters raced in to join the attack on Basra.

Read the full story here.

'Scary' nudes hard to bare

Artist Peter Mann never guessed the storm he would stir up when he decided to bare far more than his soul for his latest work of art. After a series of vandal attacks on his city art shop forced him to put shutters over the windows, the 37-year-old painter could not stand to leave the shop front looking bare when he left at night. So he decided to decorate the shutters with a series of nudes, including a portrait of himself naked.

Read the full story here.

Knife-Thrower Hits Assistant – on Live TV

Viewers watched in horror as a knife-throwing stunt went wrong on live TV. Circus performer Jayde Hanson – who set a world knife-throwing record only days ago – left his assistant with a gashed scalp after a blade hit her.

Read the full story here.