But the fact that German interest rates are now heading firmly, though slowly, downwards underlines the perilous state of German industry, and raises the big question: when and how does Germany pull out? The economic background to the interest-rate cut can be swiftly sketched. The British are not like the Japanese: we are good at lots of different things, with no apparent connection between them.But that is the nature of Europe's special economic place in the world. Sir Nicholas took the decision after considering transcripts of the trial, the address to the jury by the trial judge, Lord Justice Kelly, and his comments as he passed sentence.Christie claimed she could not remember attacking Mrs McAllister with a butcher's knife as they walked together at Drumkeeragh Forest, near Ballynahinch, Co Down, in March last year.. The 65 million inhabitants of the EC's four poorest countries will not get the windfall paid into their own bank accounts, but they will receive indirectly more EC aid per head than any developing country in Africa or Asia. In the Smoke the other week, I packed in rather too much.

On Monday, the Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, and King Hussein of Jordan signed a declaration in Washington bringing to a formal end the state of war that had existed between the two countries for 46 years. All such agreements between Muslim Arab states and Israel are anathema to a wide range of fundamentalist extremists, whether they call themselves Hizbollah, Islamic Jihad, or by some freshly minted nom de guerre. At the same time, she didn't want to lose the extra daughter she had in me.'I'd lived closely with their family for some years and all our lives were lightly but genuinely intertwined So it was decided that we would remain friends. Between them they gave a broad hint that England's recurring, damaging inability to win matches that really matter could at last be overcome. A BVCA survey showed that 23 per cent of venture backed firms previously had some form of informal investment capital such as funds from business angels.Baronsmead, an independent venture capital house, jumped in ahead of the Chancellor and in the next couple of months will launch a scheme to tap into private investor enthusiasm for unquoted investment. WE SEE the blond hair, the open smile, the charm and the champagne, the trophies and the girls and the patch on his overalls that doesn't advertise fags or petrol but says: Sex is a high performance thing And sometimes that is all we see. This would not mean abandoning the principle of majority consent to any change in Northern Ireland's status. Write us such a story.I always liked things I couldn't understandLIONEL BLUERabbi and broadcasterMy parents wanted me to get out of the East End fast, and the way lay in education.

The Isles of Scilly could be a case study for a unitary authority, with the powers and responsibilities of a county and district council, plus a parish council, and also in charge of water supply. Responsibility for Northern Ireland's water supply was transferred in 1973 from councils to the Northern Ireland Department of Environment, which still retains it. LIKE having predominantly orange Le Creuset cookware in your kitchen, a few Biba originals at the back of the wardrobe is a clear sign of having reached the springtime of your forties. The manager of one of the main jewellery shops says that spending has not decreased: the only difference is that people are buying 'in a more targeted way - they know what they want, they think about it'.Dieter Neumann, a BMW dealer in the city, said that business was down on last year. For parents of children with disabilities, the hard work and constant attention that is needed during the day can be intolerable when it follows a sleepless night.Alison Haydon's son Luke, aged four, has cerebral palsy; he has also suffered from dreadful sleep problems.'Luke was definitely at his worst from about 11 months on,' says Mrs Haydon 'He became epileptic and things rapidly went downhill By the time he was 18 months old he was really bad. And there have been others who have failed to achieve their potential after even swifter starts to their sprinting careers, such as Ade Mafe, an Olympic 200m finalist in 1984 at the age of 18.So what makes Christie - and many other expert observers - so excited about this runner's prospects? 'He's got the right mental attitude,' says Christie, who has roomed with Campbell before European meetings such as last year's Oslo grand prix 'We get on really great. The community would rejoice at two pieces of good news - the award, and the last-minute reprieve of the village's pit.The judges thought that the factory stood out for many reasons. Over there is a British bar, that's a British property agent, up there is a British shop, down here is another British bar.'He explained that about 15 years ago, Brits moved inland to escape the tourist boom which was beginning to hit the coast Santa Barbara became their main inland base.

FOR THE first time after nearly two weeks in Europe, Li Peng, the Chinese Prime Minister, began to feel at home yesterday after arriving in Bucharest for talks with President Ion Iliescu and the Romanian government. However, they and the munitions company Astra were also allegedly involved in talks with American defence companies to manufacture their weapons for export under licence in Britain. Only 1 in 10 of NOP's sample attends branch meetings regularly Most attend seldom, if at all. The potential nanny is unemployed, and instead becomes a burden on the welfare state. IT SEEMS that something as trivial as a hobby does not figure large in the life of Colette Bowe, chief executive of the embryonic Personal Investment Authority. The Prime Minister, it was claimed, had misjudged public feelings about a battle that ended in heavy loss of life.The heritage department said yesterday that after consulting with the Royal British Legion and the Normandy Veterans' Association, it had been agreed that a 'tribute' day would be held on 14 August, not the original date of 3 July.

Finally, it would lay Europeans open to the charge of abandoning those moderates in the Arab world who share Western values of tolerance and democracy.With a similar if much less intense and regionalised struggle being waged in Egypt, it is high time that greater attention was paid to these painful questions.. Most of these terms come from the US where they love that kind of thing; in Britain mumbo-jumbo of this sort only serves to enhance the impression of something that's done with mirrors, more illusion than reality.SO WAS I convinced? Surprisingly I was - almost. These proceedings were not, in truth, appeals against the judgments of the Court of Appeal. But you could be forgiven for concluding that the process is quietly dying, somehow sinking into the winter mud.