UFO Info Week-End

But partly I of course also see that it is Social Democratic

“But, partly, I, of course, also see that it is Social Democratic colleagues who are supporting their colleague Klima.”. The swirl of scandal sweeping through German politics has claimed its first victim from Chancellor Gerhard Schröder’s Social Democrat Party. “When the information flow works and the real facts are known, the excitement is limited and this is seen as a relatively normal change from centre-left to centre-right, as is customary in a democracy.”Benita Ferrero-Waldner, foreign ministry state secretary in the outgoing administration, said much of the criticism came from Social Democratic allies of Mr Klima, who is still acting as chancellor.”I think the reactions are partly exaggerated,” the People’s Party politician said. On Wednesday they had rushed through the difficult topic of law and order and reported agreement on life-long monitoring of convicted paedophiles.The People’s Party general secretary, Maria Rauch-Kallat, said foreign criticism was not always well-informed.”We take criticism from other countries very seriously,” she told a news conference. “Instead of this unjustified dramatisation and advance defamation, real democrats should give the Freedom Party a chance,” Mr Westenthaler pleaded.”We want to rebut the present criticism from abroad and make clear by our actions that the Freedom Party has both feet planted within the basic democratic consensus in Austria,” he said.Meanwhile, the negotiations between the two parties continued with the third session yesterday devoted to budgetary matters. She is tipped to become Minister for Social Affairs.While haggling over the posts, both parties busied themselves with a PR-offensive to tell the world that Mr Haider had been unfairly demonised. Wolfgang Schüssel, the People’s Party leader, told the Council of Europe in Strasbourg that foreign criticism of Mr Haider’s party was over the top and promised that a centre right coalition would remain open to Europe.This view was echoed by Peter Westenthaler, the general secretary of Mr Haider’s party.

Mr Haider turned 50 on Wednesday.Even in his absence, though, the ghost of Mr Haider hovers over the proceedings in Vienna. True to his habit of keeping his own lieutenants guessing about his intentions, he has yet to deal out the cards to his top team.All that appears certain is that Mr Haider will not participate in the government. It is rumoured, however, that his sister, Ursula Haubner, will keep the family flag flying in cabinet. His attempts to form a government with the People’s Party were scuppered last week by personal arguments and the present administration’s failure to balance the budget. That seems to leave no alternative to a government including Mr Haider’s party, but Austria’s head of state has so far refused to accept that. He is also unwilling to dissolve the present crippled parliament, for fear that new elections would only increase Mr Haider’s vote tally, thus strengthening his hand.To avoid inflaming passions even further, Mr Haider was keeping out of the limelight.

He has retired for the moment to his provincial power base in Carinthia, ostensibly to prepare for this weekend’s birthday celebrations. Mr Klestil said he would wait until next week before deciding on what he called “further steps”. Mr Klima had been trying to form a coalition of some kind since the elections on 3 October, which catapulted Mr Haider’s party to second place inparliament.The Freedom Party finished a mere 415 votes ahead of the conservative People’s Party, with both capturing 52 seats each in parliament.Mr Klima’s Social Democrats finished first, but well short of a majority. Jörg Haider’s Austria Freedom Party and his new-found conservative allies raced to form a government yesterday, bypassing the head of state who, faced with an international outcry, was still refusing to sanction the coalition.
The outgoing Social Democrat chancellor, Viktor Klima, officially told President Thomas Klestil that he had given up on attempts to remain in office. Jörg Haider’s Austria Freedom Party and his new-found conservative allies raced to form a government yesterday, bypassing the head of state who, faced with an international outcry, was still refusing to sanction the coalition. The couple had originally planned to marry on 12 January, but 20 minutes before the service, Mr Croft collapsed in agony with back pain and was taken to hospital where tests showed that the cancer had spread all over his body.Mrs Croft’s mother, Kerry Vernon, said the couple had been waiting for a decision on treatment before they went away: “They have a pile of letters waiting for them at home and one of them could be the letter offering them treatment I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”. A newly married couple are preparing to fly back to Britain to see if the woman can start trying for a baby using her dying husband’s frozen sperm.
Terri and Peter Croft, from Gillingham, Kent, married in Florida a week ago, but Mr Croft is thought to have just days to live.

He was diagnosed with testicular cancer in March 1997, just a month after the couple met, and was advised to have some sperm frozen before starting chemotherapy treatment. A newly married couple are preparing to fly back to Britain to see if the woman can start trying for a baby using her dying husband’s frozen sperm. The jury in the Harold Shipman murder trial was tonight sent home for the weekend without returning any verdicts in the case. The jury in the Harold Shipman murder trial was tonight sent home for the weekend without returning any verdicts in the case.
The seven men and five women have now spent more than 28 hours deliberating since first retiring at Preston Crown Court on Monday morning.The trial judge, Mr Justice Forbes told them it had been a “long and very tiring and very demanding week” and said that the time had been reached when they should go home and return afresh on Monday morning.Shipman, 54, a family doctor of Roe Cross Green, Mottram, near Hyde, Greater Manchester, denies murdering 15 women patients with heroin injections between March 1995 and June 1998 and forging the £386,000 will of one of them.. More cash for the beleaguered £758 million Millennium Dome is to be agreed today by ministers. More cash for the beleaguered £758 million Millennium Dome is to be agreed today by ministers.
Dome organisers, hit by far lower-than-expected attendances, are understood to be seeking a £60 million loan from the Millennium Commission.Although no formal application for more money has been made to the commission, the subject of cash for the Dome was on the agenda of its regular meeting today.The Prime Minister’s Office has confirmed that the meeting, chaired by Culture Secretary Chris Smith, will agree in principle authorising extra money should it be required.”When the commission’s grant of £449 million to the Dome was agreed in 1997, the mechanism was put in place that if (Dome organisers) the New Millennium Experience Company needed an extra grant, the commission could give it without prejudicing any other fund project,” said a Millennium Commission spokeswoman today.Crowds at the Dome at Greenwich, south London, are understood to be well down on NMEC’s break-even figure, although the company refuses to comment on attendance levels.NMEC also made no comment today on any planned application to the commission for more money.Lord Falconer, minister with responsibility for the Dome, said on Thursday night that extra cash could be needed.”The Dome will deliver within its lifetime budget of £758 million,” he said, but added: “I cannot rule out the fact that it may need at some stage a short-term cash flow boost in order to get it to the end of the year.”Others present at today’s meeting included former Tory deputy prime minister Michael Heseltine and Labour Cabinet “enforcer” Mo Mowlam.NMEC needs 12 million visitors during 2000 to break even – an average of just under 33,000 a day.The company is banking on attendances picking up during school holidays and during the summer when evening opening will operate and as many as 50,000 visitors could attend in one day..