Weaver's News Spin

May 1999

A review of events and their interpretation. 

The Ongoing War in Yugoslavia (1st) After a propaganda visit from Jesse Jackson, President Milosevic frees three US soldiers. He sees this as a way to shore up his position by appearing to act in a humanitarian way. (3rd) NATO drops graphite flakes that short-circuit electricity supplies to Belgrade. This is a clear way to punish and reward Belgrade, as the damage doesn't take too long to repair. (4th) A top NATO general claims the allies made mistakes early in the offensive. Klaus Naummann says that the failure to use lots of force early on could lead to more casualties in the long run. (6th) The G7 and Russia agree a peace plan that would stop the NATO bombing and allow refugees to return home. Differences remain over what to do if and when the Serbs pull out. (8th) The Chinese embassy in Belgrade is hit by a NATO rocket. Three people are killed. China fumes, calls an emergency meeting of the UN security council, and calls it an act of barbarity. NATO calls it an intelligence failure, as if we hadn't worked that out already. China encourages demonstrations in large cities, and the stoning and effective imprisonment of diplomats in the US and UK embassies in Beijing, which could be a case of sauces for goose and gander. (13th) NATO forces hit a Kosovar village, killing around 100 of 500 refugees. NATO insists it's a valid military target, and suspects the refugees were there only as a human shield; Yugoslavia denies everything. There's a growing movement to call a halt to the failing campaign after almost eight weeks. (16th) NATO admits that human shields are causing them problems. In an admission that Milosevic's tactics are succeeding, the Westerners say that they're having trouble avoiding inflicting civilian casualties.

 

Bombing Britain (1st) A third person dies as a result of a bombing at a gay pub in Soho. (2nd) One man is charged with the three bombings and three murders. He'll appear in court tomorrow. Police say that he has no links with the right-wing groups that have claimed responsibility for the bombings, lending credence to the lone bomber theory, rather than the more scary active terrorist cell.

 

Court Dates (6th) Mohamad Fayed, the boss of Harrods, is denied British citizenship. He'd already been turned down in 1995. Fayed's representative claims that his breaking into a safe deposit box, and admitting paying money to encourage MPs to ask questions, would be overlooked by any sane interior ministry. (7th) The producers of Jenny Jones, an American talk show, are found culpable in the death of one of their guests. Scott Amadure's estate will benefit by $25m after he was killed by his crush, Jonathan Schmitz. Schmitz is serving jail time; Warner is making Friends. (11th) Dr Charles Moore is acquited of manslaughter after prescribing a lethal dose of painkillers to a dying man. The jury found that his prime motivation was to relieve the man's pain, and that hastening his death was an incidental side-effect.

 

Local Elections (7th) Scotland's Parliament has no overall majority. Labour take 56 of the 129 seats, ten short of an overall majority. Their likely coalition partners are the Liberal Democrats, the fourth largest party, with 17 members. The independence-minded Scottish Nationalists fall short of their expected showing, with 35 members, while the Conservatives win 18 seats, all from the regional list system. There's also an independent - a deselected Labour MP - a Scottish Socialist, and a Green party member. The Welsh Assembly is also without a clear leader. Labour are the largest party, with 28 of the 60 seats, but are three short of the majority. Again, they're expected to work with the fourth-placed Lib Dems, who have 6 seats. Plaid Cymru, the Party of Wales, score an unexpected 17 seats, with five wins in supposedly safe Labour areas. The Conservatives take 9 seats. A slight return to the Conservatives in English local government elections. The party regains 1200 seats, but lost over 2000 when they were last fought in 1995. They're back in power in 26 councils. Labour lose their most traditional stronghold, Sheffield, to the Lib Dems - this setback comes a year after losing Liverpool. (14th) Deals are now in place in both Wales and Scotland. Well, there's actually no deal in Wales: Labour will attempt to govern as a minority government, making ad hoc deals. The Scottish Liberal Democrats sign up to support Labour in that Parliament. (15th) There's a new deadline for Ulster devolution. It's June 30, and is instantly accepted by the nationalist parties Sinn Fein and SDLP. Unionists are more reticent.

 

Russia In Turmoil (Still) (12th) Russia strengthens its international position by firing Prime Minister Viktor Chernymerdin. He's the third PM to receive Yeltsin's boot in the past fourteen months. The rest of the cabinet is also given its marching orders, while Yeltsgin faces an impeachment vote in the Duma tomorrow. President Yelts' Gin is 94% proof. (15th) The Duma turns down the impeachment articles, with many members spoiling their ballots.

 

Football: Domestic (1st) Manchester United miss a penalty but still manage to go to the top for a day, beating Villa 2-1 with a Beckham Free Kick (tm). Chelsea keep the pressure on at the top, beating Everton 3-1. Liverpool come from 2-0 down to beat Tottenham 3-2. Leeds defeat West Ham 5-1, in a match where the Hammers are reduced to eight men. The Relegation Battle finishes all-square, with Charlton drawing 0-0 against Blackburn. With Southampton looking to pull off their usual escape act - winning 2-1 against Leicester - it looks as if the protagonists at the Valley will be going down together. The Division One play-off race is sent into confusion as Bolton and Wolves draw 1-1, Watford’s winning streak comes to a halt, drawing 2-2 at Barnsley, and Bradford draw 0-0 with Oxford United. Does no-one want to go up? (2nd) Arsenal return to the top of the Premier League after beating Derby 1-0. Birmingham beat Ipswich 1-0 giving Bradford a one-point lead in the automatic promotion hunt. (2nd) Rangers clinch the Scottish championship after beating Celtic 3-0. The match is marred by a number of Celtic supporters invading the pitch and assaulting the ref. (4th) Alex Ferguson signs a three-year contract. The MUN manager will stay at the club until 2002. His previous pledge, to retire at the end of next season, has been conveniently forgotten. (5th) Arsenal take advantage in the League race. They beat local rivals Spurs 3-1, while MUN are held 2-2 by local rivals Liverpool. Chelsea beat Leeds 1-0 to book their place in the European Runners' Up Runners' Up Or Better Cup. (8th) Action and drama across the leagues At Villa Park, Charlton takes the lead three times. Villa equalises three times. Charlton's goalie is sent off. The side scores again. Villa can't respond, leaving Charlton 4-3 winners. Blackburn lose 2-1 against doomed Notts Forest. Southampton beat Wimbledon 2-0, meaning Blackburn must win both their remaining matches, and Charlton need to win their last one. In the Second Division, Wycombe win 1-0 at Lincoln, Oldham are 2-0 winners over Reading. That leaves York, who looked safe two weeks ago, over the trapdoor when it opens after losing 4-0 at Manchester City. After a season propping up the league, Scarborough moved off the foot in midweek. A win will keep them safe, but they can but draw 1-1 against Peterborough. That leaves Carlisle needing to win to stay afloat, a match that's also 1-1. Five minutes into injury time, Carlisle get a corner. Everyone goes up to help, including the goalkeeper. And it's goalie Jimmy Glass who knocks the ball in. Carlisle are 2-1 winners and stay up. (9th) Bradford are up, after winning 3-2 at promotion candidates Wolves. They recover from a 1-0 deficit to book their first season in the top flight for 72 years. Man Utd win a dull, dull 1-0 match at Middlesborough to go level on points and goal difference with Arsenil. MUN are top having scored 16 more goals. (10th) Chelsea finish third in the Premier League after a 2-2 draw at Tottenham. (11th) It's Advantage Man United after Arsenal fall 1-0 at Leeds. (12th) A point gained by a poor MUN side in a 0-0 draw at Blackburn. The Rovers had two great chances in the last ten minutes, but didn't take either. And they're down. MUN go into the final round of matches one point ahead of Arsenil. (16th) Man United Are Champions (Again). They beat Spurs 2-1, with Andy Cole scoring the winner just two minutes after entering the game. Arsenal beat Villa 1-0, a result that leaves West Ham in fifth place. Charlton lose 1-0 at Sheffield Wednesday, putting them into the last relegation slot. Ups and Downs EP: Man Utd champions; Arsenal and Chelsea to the European Cup; Leeds, Spurs and Newcastle to the UEFA cup; Sheffield Wednesday enter the draw for a fair play place. Charlton and Blackburn down. E1: Bradford promoted; Ipswich, Birmingham, Bolton and Watford in the play-offs. Bury and Oxford are relegated. E2: Walsall are up. Man City, Gillingham, Preston and Wigan in the playoffs. Lincoln, Northampton and York are relegated. E3: Cambridge and Cardiff promoted, with Brentford as champs. Scunthorpe, Rotherham, Leyton Orient and Swansea fight for the last promotion spot. Scarborough are relegated SC2: Livingston are champions; East Fife relegated. SC3: Stenhousemuir take the second promotion spot. European (12th) The UEFA Cup Final: Parma beats Marseilles 3-0. The French side was never in it, going two up before half time and killing the match 10 after the break.

 

The Cricket World Cup Let the games begin! Group A (14th, ODI 1443) Game 1: Lords: ENG -v- SL. A six from Graeme Hick (73*) wraps up the game in some style. The defending champions had been bowled out for 204, Alan Mullally taking 4/37, Ealham and Austin taking two apiece. Sri Lanka recovered from 65/5, but were brought back from the brink by 57 from Kaluwitharana. Alec Stewart makes 88, in a stand of 125 with Hick for the second wicket. SL 204, Eng 207/2 - Eng win by 8 wkts with 19 balls in hand. (15th, ODI 1444) Game 2: Hove: IND -v- SA India steer themselves with a solid 97 from Ganguly, but a three wicket hall for Klusener. But South Africa overcome the target, helped by 96 from Kallis and 39* from Rhodes. IND 253/5, SA 254/6 - SA win by 4 wkts with 16 balls in hand. (15th, ODI 1445) Game 3: Taunton: ZIM -v- KEN Kenya are restricted to under 230 - Vadher makes a career best 54 - after Johnson takes 4/42. Zimbabwe reach the target with nine overs in hand after Johnson makes 59 in 70 balls. KEN 229/7, ZIM 231/5 - ZIM win by five wickets with 9 overs to spare. Group B (16th, ODI 1446) Game 4: Bristol: PAK -v- WI It's a miserable start for the Windies, as they let a promising position fall to lose by 27 runs. Pakistan came to 42/4 thanks to Walsh's bowling, but Akram's 43 bolstered the total. The Windies struggled despite 77 from Chanderpaul. Keith Athurton was helped from the field after twisting his ankle. Pak 229/8, WI 202 - Pak win by 27 runs with 7 balls remaining (16th, ODI 1447) Game 5: Worcester: SCO -v- AUS Australia complete a close victory over rank outsiders Scotland. The Scots get off to a flying start, hitting the first delivery for 4. Shane Warne takes 3 wickets but a series of no-balls and wides hinders the Aussie cause. Mark Waugh's 67 is the only innings of note, setting up the win single-handedly. Sco 181/7, Aus 182/4 - Aus win by 6 wickets with 5.1 overs in hand.

 

Passages (2nd) Actor Oliver Reed, 74. Reed rose to fame in a string of 60s movies, including Women In Love, Castaway, The Jokers and The Devils. He remained in the public spotlight after appearing blind drunk on a number of television talk shows in the late 80s. He was working on a new Spielberg movie in Malta when taken ill in a bar. (6th) Television presenter Johnny Morris, 82. Morris spent eight enchanting years as television's Hot Chestnut Man, telling stories to children. He's best known as the presenter of Animal Magic, a long-running children's show in which natural history is explained, and animals give voice to their thoughts through Morris' talents. A passing dog commented: "This is so sad." (8th) Film actor Sir Dirk Bogarde, 78. From 1947 Bogarde starred in more than 60 films with huge box office pulling power as a matinee idol. He was popularised by Doctor at Large. He followed this with classics such as A Tale of Two Cities, Death in Venice, The Night Porter and Victim, which was credited with speeding up the decriminalisation of homosexuality. (10th) Foreign Office Minister Derek Fatchett, 57. The member for Leeds Central had become a strong contender for a senior cabinet role in the near future.

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