Birmingham Post

Spotlight On Nhs Pounds 20m Rescue Loan

Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt yesterday said she was "flabbergasted" to learn a Midland council is offering to lend pounds 20 million to a cashstrapped hospital. The loan, believed to be the first of its kind, could pave the way for council taxpayers footing the bill for bailing out debt- ridden hospitals, it was claimed last night.

Bishop Takes City by Storm

Bore Is New Chief of Hospital Trust

Sir Albert Bore, leader of Birmingham City Council's opposition Labour group, has been appointed chairman of the city's top- performing hospital trust. The 60-year-old former city leader, who ran the council for five years, will take over the role at the University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB) vacated by John Charlton, next month.

Brum's Abseiling, Belly Dancing Oaps Unveiled

Residents at Birmingham's first pounds 37 million purpose-built retirement village will be able to try their hand at abseiling, bellydancing and computer skills, along with a wide range of other leisure opportunities. Plans showing the layout of the New Oscott village will go on display for the first time next week.

Site Targets Sex Offenders

A sex offender who worked as a children's entertainer in Birmingham as he fled police was named yesterday on a new website dedicated to catching Britain's most wanted paedophiles. Alex Dalgleish vanished after completing a jail sentence for unlawful sex with a teenage girl in 2001.

Police On Trail of Train Wreckers

Police have released four CCTV images of youths they wish to trace in connection with a pounds 100,000 wrecking spree on board a train in Coventry. British Transport Police have appealed for public help to identify the youths, who were captured on security cameras inside a carriage at a train depot.

Crackdown On Tv Junk Food Ads Looks Like Pleasing Nobody

Proposed new curbs on junk-food commercials yesterday drew criticism from a broad range of parties. TV stations reacted with dismay at the potential loss of revenue, with terrestrial channel Five predicting a "bleak" future for non- BBC children's shows made in the UK.

Desperately Seeking . . .

I am looking for relatives of a missing in action soldier from Birmingham. Sapper Bernard E Turton who served with the 9th Airborne Company Royal Engineers at Arnhem is missing since 22 April 1945, it is known that he was taken POW.

New Bishop On Hopes for Birmingham ; the Inauguration Took Place Yesterday of the New Bishop of Birmingham. Before the Ceremony, the Rt Rev David Urquhart Spoke to Chief Reporter Paul Dale About His Ambitions

It didn't take the Bishop of Birmingham long to realise the importance of diplomacy in his new role, particularly when it comes to the partisan nature of the city's footballing allegiances. David Urquhart, a keen sports fan who captained Rugby School at rugby and was a mountaineer in his youth, has already been to watch the Blues at St Andrew's.

Why Early Visit to Pub Makes Perfect Christian Sense

Perched on a bar stool, nursing a large cup of tea, James Mason is staring up at a screen in a city centre pub, popular with Birmingham's movers and shakers. It's 11am and a handful people are also supping steaming brews, instead of the landlord's finest ales, at the Old Joint Stock, opposite St Philip's Cathedral.

Surgery for Two After Gun Robbery

Two shopkeepers are to undergo surgery for facial injuries after being shot at their premises, police said yesterday. The men, aged 20 and 27, were blasted with a ball bearing or pellet gun on Thursday night in the Lozells area of Birmingham.

Happy Landings for Bia's Double Triplets

These new arrivals at Birmingham International Airport had mothers Vickie Gilkes and Therese Trueman on cloud nine. The double set of triplets - three boys and three girls -had a happy landing to the two long serving members of staff.

Eggs Not Linked to Salmonella - Police

Food safety watchdogs have ruled out a connection between the alleged mislabel-ling of eggs at a Worcestershire packaging company and salmonella poisoning. Last month officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and West Mercia Police carried out a raid at Heart of England Eggs in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, on October 18.

Newtown Suspect Released

A suspect being quizzed by police over the fatal shooting of a man in Newtown earlier this week was released without charge yesterday. Police arrested a 25-year-old man on suspicion of murder after Meschack Tesfa Bernard-Brown was gunned down in Melbourne Avenue, Newtown on Monday.

Employers Targeted in Immigration Curb

Employers are to be targeted in a new Border and Immigration Bill designed to cut illegal immigration, Home Office Minister Liam Byrne said last night. Measures making it easier to punish businesses who take on illegal immigrants will be at the heart of the proposals, said Mr Byrne (Lab Hodge Hill).

Time for Optimism and Change, Says Pm

The Prime Minister put knowledge at the centre of the country's economic future in a speech to business leaders. Tony Blair was addressing the North East Economic Forum, where he told them it was "time for optimism" for the region's prospects.

Blair in Partnership Appeal to Iran and Syria

Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday sent out an appeal to Iran and Syria to become partners of the West in the search for peace in the Middle East. Mr Blair rejected as "completely absurd" any sugestion that his readiness to work with two countries until recently described by the US as part of the "axis of evil" amounted to "appeasement".

'Nonsensical' Crime Figures Condemned

A large number of offences may be taken out of the Government's violent crime figures after a cross-party report yesterday condemned the current system as "nonsensical". The major report on the future of crime statistics in England and Wales said it "flew in the face of common sense" to class offences which lead to no physical injury as violent crimes.

Probation Chief Attacks Reid

A probation chief launched an unprecedented attack on Home Secretary John Reid yesterday after the politician made a speech criticising the handling of offenders. Chairman of the Probation Boards Association (PBA) John Raine accused Mr Reid of distorting the truth and causing "widespread consternation and resentment" across the service.

News Digest: Mp Stands Down

The Liberal Democrat MP for Hereford will stand down at the next election. Paul Keetch, the former party defence spokesman, who was elected in 1997, said he made his decision before the last election.