Miscellany

CATCH UP ON THE WEEK

SUNDAY

Sudan's government accused neighbouring Chad of starting violence in Sudan's capital, Khartoum. Chad denied any involvement in the attacks but Sudan broke off diplomatic relations.

MONDAY

A massive 7.9-magnitude earthquake shook central China. Tens of thousands were left buried in rubble and heavy rains hampered rescue efforts. As many as 50,000 were feared dead.

TUESDAY

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh arrived in Turkey for the first state visit in 37 years. Ankara hoped the Queen's visit would give Turkey's EU application a timely boost.

WEDNESDAY

Rangers' Uefa Cup dreams were crushed as they were beaten 2-0 by Zenit St Petersburg in Manchester. A minority of Rangers fans were involved in violent clashes with police.

THURSDAY

Burmese authorities expelled foreign aid workers and sealed off the cyclone disaster zone from the outside world. The move came after the Red Cross reported that the death toll could reach 127,990.

FRIDAY

The House of Commons lost its High Court battle against a decision to force disclosure of MPs' expenses. The Commons had challenged the Information Tribunal's "unlawfully intrusive" demand that a detailed breakdown of second-home allowances must be given. It also failed to overturn the decision that MPs' addresses could be published.

GOOD WEEK

Sex And The City

The film, starring Kim Cattrall, left, isn't even on general release yet, but the public's anticipation reached fever pitch last week when hundreds of screaming fans greeted the four stars at the London premiere in Leicester Square. Another glamorous trip down the red carpet in Berlin followed.

BAD WEEK

The BBC

Just days after admitting they withheld £106,000 in charity money, the corporation has been branded as heartless after threatening court action against a fan who created knitted designs of Doctor Who monsters. The fan was approached after she published the designs for Ood and Adipose on the internet.

WHAT THE PAPERS SAID

... about Gordon Brown's fightback policies

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

The slate of new measures, many of them lifted quite shamelessly from Conservative Party policy documents, will in reality have little impact on the squeeze already being experienced in households across the country. This no longer feels like the New Labour that placed such store by fiscal responsibility. It feels like Old Labour in the bad old days of the seventies.

THE TIMES

The measures outlined have the feel of a laundry list about them and a laundry list is not enough to inspire depressed MPs or convince voters that in 2010 they should allow Labour a fourth term. Brown can only fill his empty whole by articulating a clear and compelling sense of direction based on a serious body of political ideas.

DAILY RECORD

There is much to welcome – but neither his Bills nor his tax breaks will rebuild Brown's reputation on their own next year, the all-important year before an election. He must do more to help hard-pressed families.

THE SUN

Brown said he cancelled last autumn's election because he wanted to set out his vision for Britain. Yesterday we saw it. And there was much to welcome.

BEST OF THE BLOGS

How does she keep going? How does Wendy Alexander get up in the morning and go to work?

It must hurt. It must hurt like hell. It must take considerable courage to keep on keeping on. If it were me, I would long ago have said "stuff this" and told them where they could stick their leadership of the Labour Party.

Holyrood Chronicles, http://holyroodchronicles.blogspot.com/

I was halfway through my chicken caesar salad when suddenly the lights started to flicker, dark clouds obscured the sun, a wind started howling, a black crow squawked and flew into the air and a young baby started crying. For none other than Paul Staines (aka blogger Guido Fawkes) had entered the restaurant. "Don't look into his eyes!" I whispered urgently to Iain as he rose to say hello. But it was too late…

And Another Thing (Tom Harris MP], http://tomcharris.wordpress.com/

We had a visit from mother-in-law last week and decided to take her to the Treshnish Isles and see a puffin close up. The weather was fantastic – the puffins had arrived and were going through their mating ritual, bit of beak kissing. They are lovely little birds and make the strangest noise, almost like a low throb of a boat engine.

Wild Freckle, BBC Island Blogging, www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/islandblogging/

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

"They come to the rehearsals. But they're sort of over it. They like to skateboard around."

Madonna on her children's view of her music career

"A natural disaster is turning into a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions, in significant part because of the malign neglect of the regime."

Foreign Secretary David Miliband on Burma

"It is impossible for anyone outside the Labour Party – and I think most people in it – to take the Labour Party seriously after the last few days."

SNP leader Alex Salmond on Wendy Alexander's changing view of an independence referendum

"It's going to be very, very expensive, but it will be worth every penny."

John Cleese, who is currently divorcing his third wife

"I'm a terrible actress. Everyone thinks I'm only friends with Tom (Cruise] and Katie (Holmes] to be in a movie but it's not true."

Victoria Beckham, who said she turned down a role in Sex And The City: The Movie

"What I didn't know was that he had a temper and ego you could build a house on."

Cherie Blair on Alastair Campbell

"No, I am getting on with the job.

Gordon Brown on whether he considered resignation as Prime Minister

RIP: TOMMY BURNS

December 16, 1956 – May 15, 2008

It is the measure of Tommy Burns that he earned the epitaph: "As a person he was top of the league when it comes to being a man." So said friend and boss Gordon Strachan, whose tear-stained face summed up the wave of sympathy at the death from cancer of one of Scotland's favourite footballing sons at the age of 51. The PM, managerial rivals and players alike praised the flame-haired Celtic stalwart as a player, but most of they lauded his human qualities.

THE WEEK ON THE WEB

Here's the fascinating history behind dozens of classic songs, from Johnny Cash's 'A Boy Named Sue' to 'Ziggy Stardust' by David Bowie. Perfect ammunition for the next time you get cornered by the pub bore.

www.songfacts.com/

See the delicious moment when US presidential hopeful Barack Obama called a female TV news reporter "Sweetie". Let's see him try that with Jackie Bird.

www.viralvideochart.com/youtube/sweetie?id>Juy9NwI8_i0

Here are dozens of bloodcurdlingly bonkers urban myths, from murderous asylum escapees to insect infestation. Just don't look in the wardrobe!

www.snopes.com/

TABLOID TALK

It really was a bargain. Hunting around the famous Barras Market in Glasgow 30 years ago the shopper paid 10 shillings, 50p in modern coinage, for a painting of a winter's scene. Now, it is set to sell for £50,000 at auction after the owner realised he had a Cornelius Krieghoff – Chopping Logs Outside A Snow Covered Cabin. The owner, who wants to remain anonymous, only realised his good fortune when he started researching the work and had it valued. Philip Gregory, a spokesman for auctioneers Lyon & Turnbull, said: "These things just don't happen very often; it's a real Antiques Roadshow find."