Daily Post

The Final Countdown ; with Just 60 Days Until 2008, a Clarion Call Goes Out to Liverpool's Business Community Today: You Have a Part to Play in Making Capital of Culture Year a Global Hit

THE biggest-ever summit of Liverpool's top decision makers will today issue a "call to arms" to guarantee 2008 is a worldwide success. With just 60 days to go before the city is crowned European Capital of Culture, 300 of Liverpool's most influential people will converge on Fact in Wood Street to be told Liverpool is under starter's orders for the biggest year of its life.

Handshake On the Road to Irish Reconciliation ; Face-to-Face 14 Years After Bomb Blast

IT WAS a sight that would have seemed impossible only a few years ago. Colin Parry, whose 12-year-old son Tim died as a result of an IRA bomb attack in Warrington in March 1993, last night shook hands with Gerry Adams, the man who was most closely identified with the terrorist movement. But, in a further hopeful sign that the violence and division which dogged Northern Ireland for decades is being replaced by reconciliation, the two were able to put the past behind them and share a public pla...

Man Is Cleared After 10 Years' Jail

A COACH party tour guide who was sentenced to an 18-year jail termafter being convicted involvement in a pounds 6 million drug smuggling plot was yesterday cleared at London's Appeal Court. Aleading judge acted after hearing of prosecution failures to disclose potentially crucial evidence at the trial of travel company owner, Trevor Anthony Haskayne, now 67.

A Dream Come True

Police Want Strict Parking Controls for Liverpool Fans ; Anfield Report Special Day Two

ILLEGALLY parked cars should be towed away from streets around Liverpool FC's new pounds 400m stadiumto prevent the Anfield area being gridlocked on match days. That is the new demand from Merseyside Police in response to the club's revised plans for a new ground that could eventually hold 76,000 fans.

Walk-in City Clinic to Help Fight Rise in Sexual Health Problems

A NEW sexual health clinic is being opened to combat a huge rise in infections in Liverpool. The walk-in clinic on the first floor of the NHS centre on Great Charlotte Street will be a one-stop shop for sexual health services, including contraception, disease testing and treatment for some of the most common infections.

Fifth Man Held Over Leonardo Robbery

A MAN will appear in court today in connection with the theft of a Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece worth up to pounds 40m. The Madonna with the Yarnwinder was taken from Drumlanrig Castle, near Thornhill, Dumfries and Galloway, in August 2003.

New Ground Expected to Strengthen Lfc's Hold On Top of Anfield Jobs League

LIVERPOOL FC is the largest employer in the Anfield area, with 256 staff on its payroll. They work in the offices, ticket offices, club shop, museumas well as in the grounds maintenance section. The number also includes playing and coaching staff. On match days, a further 1,400 part-time workers are employed as stewards, ground marshals and catering staff.

Trains Delayed

TRAIN services were disrupted last night after fears that a man might throwhimself off a bridge at Fazakerley station. The disruption lasted for around 45 minutes while British Transport Police attempted to talk the man, in his 20s, down.

130ft Iconic Tower to Be Mersey's 'Gateway'

AN ICONIC tower, twice as high as the Angel of the North, is set to become the new gateway of the River Mersey. It will replace the old radar tower that has guided shipping into the Port of Liverpool since the 1980s.

Man, 47, in Court Accused of Killing

A MERSEYSIDE man accused of murdering a man whose body was found in Tranmere appeared at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday. Daniel Breaks, 47, is charged with the murder of Simon Sutton, whose body was found wrapped in a carpet in an alley in Tranmere on April 16.

Ramsay Hits Back After Bad Review

CELEBRITY chef Gordon Ramsay attacks food critics and offers to provide the canapes at their funerals free of charge. The chef and TV star, whose New York restaurant Gordon Ramsay at the London was criticised in a New York Times review, says he is "sick to death of being judged by individuals who know less about food than I do".

Friends United in Grief to Mourn Bus Collision Boy ; Floral Tributes Left at Scene As Dozens Remember 'Dids'

THE teenage friends of a Liverpool schoolboy who watched in horror as he was knocked down by a bus last night paid tribute to the "outgoing" 15-year-old, who had dreamt of one day owning a restaurant. Dozens of Daniel Baxendale's friends gathered at the scene of Tuesday night's tragic accident in Mather Avenue to unite in grief and remember the friend nicknamed Dids who they said "had such a cheeky smile".

'A Candle to Light Your Way Daniel, Shine for Your Family'

LAST night tributes were left on website Gone Too Soon to Daniel Baxendale. One wrote: "A candle to light your way Daniel. Look for my Chris up there, he will guide you.

Watchdog Bans Sale of 'Wine' That Isn't

THE UK's wine watchdog has banned the sale of a low alcohol drink in a row over manufacturing rules. Sovio, a Chilean distilled "wine" which contains just 8% alcohol, has been removed from wine lists on the orders of the Wine Standards Branch of the Food Standards Agency (FSA), which believes it can't be classed as a genuine "wine".

Press has Treated Me Like Diana, Says Mills

HEATHER Mills McCartney claimed she was close to suicide, compared herself to Princess Diana and the McCanns, and accused Sir Paul McCartney of stalling on their divorce settlement in dramatic TV interviews yesterday. The estranged wife of Sir Paul, 65, pledged to campaign to change the press laws, and said she had received death threats and wondered whether she might be "revered" like Linda McCartney if the "death threats came true".

Firework Terror in Off-Licence Attack

A BABY escaped serious injury after a man in Halloween fancy dress set off an industrial-style firework in an off-licence, said police. The man, who was wearing a skeleton mask, exploded a firework containing up to 200 rockets inside the shop in Tonge Moor Road, Bolton.

Garden Festival Site Plan 'Key in City's Revival' ; Outline of Restoration

REDEVELOPMENT of Liverpool's former International Garden Festival site is a key project in the city's renaissance, the man behind the new park plan insisted yesterday. Peter Swift, landscape architect for developers Langtree McLean, outlined the vision for the restoring the flagship Chinese and Japanese gardens, and improving the southern grasslands and Priory Wood.

Hospice Plans

BUILDING work has begun on a pounds 2.37m hospice to provide specialist care for people with terminal illnesses in Aintree. An official turfcutting ceremony will take place at the site on November 10 with local MPs Peter Kilfoyle, George Howarth and Joe Benton.

Brosnan Quizzed Over Assault

JAMES BOND star Pierce Brosnan is being investigated in connection with the alleged assault of a photographer in Malibu. Brosnan, 54, was not arrested or detained over the incident which happened outside a Mexican restaurant in Malibu on Friday night, Los Angeles County sheriff 's officials said.