01/07/2007 00:00
TW
0

by Monitor
GORDON Brown took over from Tony Blair as Britain's prime minister and quickly announced a new Cabinet in which some sitting ministers changed their jobs, new names were brought in and several old hands left; Mr Brown decided not to appoint a deputy prime minister to succeed John Prescott. Within 24 hours Mr Blair had moved into a new job, of roving envoy for the Middle East peace process; his appointment got a mixed reception.The US Department of Justice announced an investigation into the UK armament company BAE Systems following allegations of corruption in the multi-million pound contract for the supply of 70 Eurofighters to Saudi Arabia. President Bush had a bad week: his Immigration Bill was defeated for a second time in Congress and he failed to get an extension of Congressional agreement to fasttrack international trade deals. The latter setback seemed likely to spell the end of the already stalled Doha round of trade negotiations. FIFA climbed down from its ban on World Cup games being played in high-altitude countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, Bolicia and Peru.

Bulletin Headlines of the Week l SUNDAY/MONDAY: Traffic Nightmare(Resurfacing on the Via CIntrua led to long delays on a busy summer Saturday). l TUESDAY: Rainbow Coalition Formed(The new Balearic government was made up of six parties with the PSOE socialists in the lead). l WEDNESDAY: Please Stop (A Greenpeasce report blamed Spanish local authorities for the destruction of Spain's Mediterranean coastlines). l THURSDAY: ”Dour, Slightly Dull But A Really Nice Bloke”(A schoolfriend of Gordon Brown, now resident on Majorca, recalls the young man he knew in Scotland). l FRIDAY: New Balearic Leader Named(Francesc Antich of the PSOE socialists is to lead the new coalition government). l SATURDAY: London Horror(A car bomb parked in London's central Haymarket had been made safe after a major police alert).