A LITTLE over two years ago Bill Gates sat down and tried to figure where to go next. He'd pretty much sewn up the market for computer operating systems. His office software was pretty much the world standard. Ditto, Internet Explorer. Even back then,
BUSINESSES are queuing up to get a foothold in the North-East's self-styled party capital, according to surveyors. Newcastle has undergone a renaissance in recent years and the city's Quayside has seen redevelopment that has made it the place to be for
HARTLEPOOL United boss Chris Turner saw his side make it five pre-season games without defeat - and then revealed he is ready to turn his attentions to making his side an even meaner outfit. After wins over Billingham Town and Brann Bergen and draws with
POLICE in Darlington were celebrating last night after a one-man crime wave was jailed after confessing to 261 crimes. Teesside Crown Court heard that Paul Ponsford, 25, of Greenbank Road, Darlington, told detectives he was trying to wipe the slate clean
The "futuristic" church of St James, Hardwick, was dedicated in 1966, part of its £17,000 cost met by a weekly collection from 500 families on the Stockton housing estate. Next to it, like a giant tailfin, stands a 67ft pre-cast concrete cross, lowered
PLANNERS insist work on Darlington FC's new stadium has not broken guidelines, following complaints about late-night work. Concern was expressed after the laying of concrete at the £20m ground went on into the night last week. Jan Mazurk, of the Neasham
FOR a man who has achieved and earned so much, Sir Paul McCartney is by all accounts a down-to-earth, sincere, and kind man. Heather Mills, his new fiancee, is clearly a woman of great courage and substance. They make a lovely couple and were a picture
THOUSANDS of offshore workers stand to share in a £100m windfall - after a landmark Court of Appeal ruling yesterday on the definition of a ship. The judgement means all oil rig workers will now be classed as seafarers and will not be liable to pay tax
CONTROVERSIAL plans for a housing estate, considered by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, are advancing. The development at Middleton-St-George, which is on the site of the former Durham Tube works, was referred to Mr Prescott for final approval earlier
A PARANOID schizophrenic yesterday admitted sending letter bombs to firms across the region because he thought they had links with animal cruelty. Glynn Harding sent a series of home-made explosive devices to addresses across the North, injuring several
NORTH-EAST pubs group Pubmaster vowed to battle on last night, after yet another rebuff in its bid for Wolverhampton and Dudley Brewery (W&DB). The Hartlepool group said fewer than one in 20 shareholders had accepted its £450m offer for the company
Letters from The Northern Echo HEALTH AN open letter to Health Secretary Alan Milburn, Darlington MP: My husband, Joe Burnside, received a life-saving heart transplant 21 years ago in Harefield Hospital, west London. Now the powers that be want to close
GENETICALLY-modified mice are to be used by North-East scientists looking for ways of fighting a newly-discovered human disease. Scientists at Newcastle University have known about the disease for more than 15 years, but were only able to identify the
AS A 16-year-old lad from South Shields, I signed on as mess-boy with the Southern Venturer whale factory ship operating from the port of North Shields. At that time in my home town, it was every young seaman's dream to become a whaler, where, in relative
SUNDERLAND fans will find themselves in new surroundings this season if they sit in the North Stand Upper at the Stadium of Light. The stand, that seats 6,000 people, has been given an overhaul at a cost of nearly £1million, meaning a refreshing new range
PLANS to bring 200 asylum seekers to Hartlepool are to be re-examined. The move comes after the town's MP, Peter Mandelson, held talks on Thursday night with Lord Rooker, the asylum and immigration minister. The deal had been pushed through without consultation
THE major consolation for Durham on another day of toil at Lord's was that they were not embarrassed by their two former colleagues. Mike Roseberry made nought and Robin Weston 13, only for two former Durham University students to share a damaging left-handed
NEW homes are needed for abandoned dogs which are living on the canine equivalent of death row. Holycross Farm kennels, in Haswell, east Durham, has a contract with Hartlepool Borough Council to take in stray and abandoned dogs. After nine days, the dogs
SIX people were lucky to escape without serious injuries after a smash between two cars on Saturday evening in which one vehicle burst into flames. The most serious injury sustained in the accident was a broken leg, suffered by the driver of the Ford
THE developer behind Darlington FC's new £20m 25,000-seater stadium is spreading news of its success throughout the UK. County Durham group Hall Construction is circulating a glossy colour brochure to professional football and rugby clubs across the country
Hanging baskets are now coming to their peak of perfection. Plants established at the end of May are filling baskets with colour. While everything appears to be in order, great care must be taken from now onwards to ensure their continued success. By
A HALF-FINISHED hotel complex has been sold by a developer fed up with the problems surrounding the building. Mirage Hotel and Leisure wants to sell the partially-completed hotel complex at Teesside Airport. Planning permission for the 80,000sq ft health
Q My employer is paying me full pay for the first six months of my sickness and half-pay for the next six months. When can I claim Incapacity Benefit (IB) and Disability Living Allowance (DLA)? A You claim IB after 28 weeks of Statutory Sick Pay from
A HOLIDAYMAKER who broke his back in a fall from an apartment balcony died because he was neglected by Greek hospital staff, a coroner decided yesterday. North Durham Coroner Andrew Tweddle told relatives of Christopher John Rochester, 24, that he was
Newspaper publisher Trinity Mirror said yesterday that conditions in the advertising market remained volatile, as it announced a ten per cent dip in first-half profits - and a round of job cuts. The media sector has been hit by a slowdown in advertising
Growth in the British economy has slowed to its lowest level since 1998, official figures suggested yesterday. Business leaders warned that the economy was stalling and the figures spelled "desperately bad news" for the UK. The gross domestic product
A piper accompanied 500 workers at Scarborough coach building firm Plaxton as they left for the last time yesterday. The North Yorkshire firm was faced with total closure in May when Transbus International, Plaxton's parent company, said it was switching
A man has died on a railway line after being struck by a train. The accident happened at 5.30am on Saturday at Relly Mill, just south of Durham City. The man was pronounced dead at the scene and has not yet been identified. The line was closed for several
CASH-HIT local authority leaders are having to spend almost £1m to settle a long-running row over care home fees. The dispute had plunged the future of more than 3,000 elderly people into doubt, with claims that private nursing and residential homes could
WASHINGTON Envelopes has spent £3m on machinery it says makes its plant one of the most modern in Europe. The company, on the Hertburn Industrial Estate in Washington, Wearside, employs 140 people and is one of the top six envelope manufacturers in the
