UK holidaymakers on trips to the US can expect a favourable exchange rate for a while yet, experts predict. After a volatile year on the currency markets, traders believe the dollar is unlikely to recover its strength against major currencies during 2005
REFLECTING on arguably the most turbulent year in his footballing career, David Hodgson believes Darlington became a victim of their own success in 2004. It was 12 months ago that Hodgson let in the New Year with Quakers crippled with debt and struggling
TRADITIONAL New Year festivities around the world were overshadowed by grief as millions remembered the plight of the Asian tsunami disaster. Prayers and tears for the dead - now totalling 150,000, according to the United Nations - replaced traditional
ANOTHER DUDE reverts to hurdles at Catterick this afternoon having twice hit the deck lately with a brace of bone-jarring falls over fences. After such an unhappy experience, trainer Howard Johnson is sensibly giving his horse a confidence-booster by
LABOUR'S North-East MPs have topped 100 rebellions against Prime Minister Tony Blair as research suggests that backbenchers are growing more restless and ready to revolt. The region's MPs voted against their own government on 101 occasions between the
BOXING Day may be a movable feast. Some, including the wise men of Radio 4 and of the Oxford English Dictionary, argue that it doesn't always fall on December 26 but on the first working day after Christmas, on which gifts - Christmas boxes - were given
QUAKERS manager David Hodgson has abandoned his dream of developing the club's former Feethams ground into a community sports centre. Mr Hodgson told The Northern Echo that his plan for Darlington Football Club's former stadium had "gone out of the window
ROB Andrew is backing Newcastle Falcons centre Jamie Noon to press his England claims over the next few weeks. With Mike Tindall and Will Greenwood both struggling to be fit for the start of the Six Nations Championship, Noon has a good chance of playing
The London market finished the year on a low note yesterday, but still managed to end 2004 above the key 4,800 barrier. Steel and oil stocks dragged the FTSE 100 Index down 5.8 to 4814.3 amid signs of slackening demand for steel in China. That put an
The era of cheap oil is over. That was the message from experts and industry insiders after the price of a barrel of Brent crude rose to a record $51.94 in October. Traders who had paid close to $10 a barrel for oil towards the end of the 1990s questioned
ROWERS George Rock and Nigel Morris are fundraising to help them achieve a world record. The brothers-in-law from Ingleby Barwick, Teesside, together with crewmates Rob Munslow and Steve Dawson, aim to break the 55-day world record for a 2,000 mile crossing
GRAEME Souness last night revealed that Jean-Alain Boumsong is joining Newcastle vowing to become the best centre-half in the Premiership. The France international, who spent yesterday on Tyneside passing his medical, has become Newcastle's second winter
HAVING had far too many days to contemplate the crumbling attractions of festive viewing, I can say that 2004 will be remembered as the year of the Christmas Pudding space hoppers. Yes, the music of these constant commercials for BBC1 became irritating
Another TV year gone, so it's out with the old and in with the new - and the endless repeats. As 2004 sinks slowly in the west, In The Picture presses the pause button to reflect on the winners, losers and hopeless cases on the small screen in the past
SUCH was the weight of water displaced by the tsunami that the earth wobbled a couple of inches on its axis, causing our day to become a couple of a millionths of a second shorter. Such was the energy of the quake - equivalent to about 9,500 Hiroshima
FROM Bolton to recovering Bali, the travel industry is ready for lift-off in 2005, taking more money out of Britain and bringing more back in - through tourists arriving from abroad - than ever before. Mintel's Family Holidays Survey revealed that UK
A CHARITY website sabotaged by computer hackers is operating again. The website belonging to Saltburn Animal Rescue Association (Sara), in east Cleveland, was attacked before Christmas. Details of animals wanting a new home were scrambled and the www.s-a-r-a
A HOSPICE is urging people to add a charitable act to their new year resolutions. St Teresa's Hospice, Darlington, has been providing care for terminally-ill people for more than 18 years. Its various services include a six-bed in-patient unit at its
A SPORTS venue that was the subject of a bitter ownership row four years ago, leaving locals fearing it could close, is now a thriving enterprise and looking forward to a bright future. Sedgefield Racecourse, in County Durham, was taken over by Northern
AARON HUGHES dismissed talk of a divided dressing room and pointed to his team's midweek performance against Arsenal as evidence that Newcastle are, indeed, United. The Magpies arguably gave their best performance of the season against the Gunners, only
Another TV year gone, so it's out with the old and in with the new - and the endless repeats. As 2004 sinks slowly in the west, In The Picture presses the pause button to reflect on the winners, losers and hopeless cases on the small screen in the past
TRIBUTES have been paid to two of the region's oldest residents, who have died. Christina Yorke, a resident at Denehurst Nursing Home, Ferryhill, County Durham, died just days after her 101st birthday on Christmas Day. She was born Christina Susannah
NORTH-EAST company bosses are being urged to provide more staff training. Funding for the current phase of the eQ8 employer training pilot scheme is available until the end of August. With many courses taking up to six months to complete, employers are
AS MIDDLESBROUGH aim to first foot the New Year by claiming three points at the Riverside Stadium today, manager Steve McClaren is using a past experience from his days with Manchester United to keep the Teessiders on the right track to success. The Red
CONGRATULATIONS are being passed on to a senior figure on Durham University's governing body who featured in the Queen's New Year's Honours. Academic lawyer Anne Galbraith was awarded an OBE in the honours list announced yesterday. Although she works
POLICE are warning homeowners to be on their guard after a bogus gas worker conned his way into a North-East home. The man - who said he wanted to read the gas meter - called at a house on Orchard Estate, Eaglescliffe, near Stockton, on Thursday. He fled
AFTER a record-breaking 12 months for Hartlepool United, Neale Cooper can look forward to 2005 with confidence. Pool ended last season in their highest-ever League position, reaching the Division Two play-offs. And, with this season promising just as
GRAEME Souness last night revealed that Jean-Alain Boumsong is joining Newcastle vowing to become the best centre-half in the Premiership. The France international, who spent yesterday on Tyneside passing his medical, has become Newcastle's second winter
A SUPPORT service for vulnerable people is facing funding cuts of nearly £1m. North Yorkshire Supporting People provides housing-related support to vulnerable people across the county. However, it could see a £957,000 reduction in the Government grant
AS MIDDLESBROUGH aim to first foot the New Year by claiming three points at the Riverside Stadium today, manager Steve McClaren is using a past experience from his days with Manchester United to keep the Teessiders on the right track to success. The Red
FIRE chiefs are backing plans for a smoking ban in a market hit by a devastating blaze six years ago. The £1m fire that seriously damaged Newcastle's Victorian-built Grainger Market is believed to have been started by a discarded cigarette. Next week,
A SUCCESSFUL triathlete has defied all odds by taking up his love of sport again after a horrific cycling accident that left him paralysed. Less than four years ago, sports-mad chemist and businessman Tony Flinn decided to try his hand at the triathlon
While the future of Marks & Spencer dominated City pages in 2004, there was plenty of other corporate activity to keep investors on their toes in the second part of our round-up of the year's business stories. July High Street lender Abbey became
ANTI-SOCIAL behaviour co-ordinator Rob Jones has a major job on his hands - to tackle Darlington's growing problem of youths causing annoyance. Mr Jones has taken up the newly-created, full-time post with Darlington Community Safety Partnership to co-ordinate
ANOTHER DUDE reverts to hurdles at Catterick this afternoon having twice hit the deck lately with a brace of bone-jarring falls over fences. After such an unhappy experience, trainer Howard Johnson is sensibly giving his horse a confidence-booster by
A NORTH-EAST animal charity is celebrating a successful year after re-homing 150 dogs and 200 cats as well as a menagerie of other pets. Over the past 12 months, the National Animal Sanctuaries Support League (NASSL), near Great Burdon, near Darlington
TSUNAMI WE have all been witness to one of those catastrophic events of nature that affect our planet from time to time. It now seems likely that tens of thousands of people have died around the rim of the Indian Ocean from an undersea earthquake at the
SUNDERLAND last night revealed fears that unlucky striker Kevin Kyle is facing up to the worst possible start to 2005 with the news that he may not kick a ball again in the Championship this season. The giant forward has not played since August with a
