This is gonna be...

According to an RTE travelogue, our friends in Latvia wanted to be the Switzerland of the Baltics, but it all went a bit wrong when one of the big banks collapsed. The country didn't do too badly in its aim to become the new Helvetia, but it made one vital mistake: being astoundingly good at Eurovision. Until last year's display, the previous country to not trouble Eurovision's scorers were ... Switzerland! However, previous winner Marie N is already showing encouraging signs of becoming mediocre in a way that would make Carrie Grant's hair turn pink overnight. Oh.

Block

When in doubt, stall.

[Israeli] security sources said that, bowing to White House pressure, Israel intends to wait until after the US presidential election in November before uprooting the Jewish settlements in Gaza.

The security sources said Sharon recognized the Bush administration's concern that implementing his unilateral pullout plan during the US campaign could cause political problems by fuelling instability in Palestinian areas.

So, not content to break all known human rights standards at home, the junta is more than prepared to see its injustices continue overseas.

For your interest

The top 60 singles sellers in the UK (also part 2).

Statements of the Blatantly Obvious

Iraq war was illegal, says Blix.

Mr Blix, speaking to The Independent, said the Attorney General's legal advice to the Government on the eve of war, giving cover for military action by the US and Britain, had no lawful justification. He said it would have required a second United Nations resolution explicitly authorising the use of force for the invasion of Iraq last March to have been legal.

"I don't buy the argument the war was legalised by the Iraqi violation of earlier resolutions."

Mr Blix demolished the argument advanced by Lord Goldsmith three days before the war began, which stated that resolution 1441 authorised the use of force because it revived earlier UN resolutions passed after the 1991 ceasefire.

Mr Blix said that while it was possible to argue that Iraq had breached the ceasefire by violating UN resolutions adopted since 1991, the "ownership" of the resolutions rested with the entire 15-member Security Council and not with individual states. "It's the Security Council that is party to the ceasefire, not the UK and US individually, and therefore it is the council that has ownership of the ceasefire, in my interpretation."

He said to challenge that interpretation would set a dangerous precedent. "Any individual member could take a view - the Russians could take one view, the Chinese could take another, they could be at war with each other, theoretically," Mr Blix said.

Too many people are in jail, says Woolf.

The Lord Chief Justice, in a speech to lawyers and academics, will call for a rethink on penal policy in an implicit criticism of David Blunkett's efforts to reduce the number of people being jailed. The prison population in England and Wales reached a record 74,453 last month, a rise of 24 per cent since Labour came to power in 1997.

Lord Woolf, the former Gladiator who warned the Government on Wednesday that its plans for immigration reform threatened the rule of law, will train his sights on Mr Blunkshett again when he delivers the annual Mishcon lecture at University College London next month. In a speech entitled: "Do we need a new approach to penal policy?" Britain's senior judge is also expected to question the wisdom of using "quick-fix" initiatives to tackle specific crimes such as street robbery.

He is understood to be concerned that ministers have become too willing to switch resources from one offence to another for short-term political gains. He wants to encourage courts to make greater use of community punishments.

Elsewhere...

In Skopje, the nation mourns late president Boris Tradjovsky... Iraq's historic signing of a constitution turned into a historic failure, after the US-sponsored council failed to reach agreement - the dominant Shi'ites want more of a say... Leader of the free world Mister Tony Blair says that "international terrorism was not defined by Iraq" - too true, it's defined by his puppy Bushy. "Inaction is no longer an option," declared the criminal, which is why I'm calling for his instant removal... The new Russian PM calls for "compact and streamlined" government. At the current rate, everyone in the country will have been PM by October 2009, when Antan Decski will take the reigns and sing to the world... speaking of which, Deutsche Welle talks about finding this year's winner German rep - though after Antan Decski's controversial loss last year, could Scooter carry off the Grand Prix?.. Stop teaching my spawn!...and Pakistan wins the U-19 world cup, beating the West Indies in a one-sided match.

This Is His Fault

Candidate X airs commercials exploiting some crimes against humanity committed in his backyard, while he was taking elementary reading lessons.

"It's a slap in the face of the murders of 3,000 people. It is unconscionable," said Monica Gabrielle, whose husband died in the attacks on the twin towers.

Tom Roger, whose daughter was a flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11, said: "I would be less offended if he showed a picture of himself in front of the Statue of Liberty. But to show the horror of 9/11 in the background, that's just some advertising agency's attempt to grab people by the throat," he told the New York Daily News.

Firefighter Tommy Fee called the adverts "sick", adding: "The image of firefighters at Ground Zero should not be used for this stuff, for politics."

The intended message of the adverts is "steady leadership in times of change". To stirring music, the sad loser tells viewers: "I know exactly what we need to do to make the world more free and peaceitudinous."

In other news, Jerry Springboard is to relaunch his political career, by running for mayor of Cincinnati. Springboard is best known for his analysis of the last UK general election on C5's Greed.

No, It's His Fault

Attorney General: There was no automaticity, says today's Indytab. Resolution 1441 didn't give Tony Blair the legal figleaf he needed to unilaterally invade Iraq. Reports the diminuative paper:

After pressure from military chiefs, the Attorney General published a short summary of his legal opinion on 17 March, three days before the war began. The 358-word summary gave a rough outline of the case for military action, stating that UN resolution 1441 authorised the use of force because it revived earlier resolutions passed at the end of the Gulf War in 1991. No further UN resolutions were needed, the summary suggested.

But on the same day that the summary was published, Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, wrote a little-noticed letter to the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, including what he described as a paper which gave more detail. The paper makes the point that earlier UN resolutions 687 and 687 from the Gulf War allowed force to be used against Iraq. The advice goes on to state that UN resolution 1441 warned of "serious consequences" if Iraq failed to comply with its disarmament obligations.

In a passage that in effect agrees with arguments made at the time by critics such as France and Russia, the Foreign Office paper adds: "It is important to stress that SCR 1441 did not revive the 678 authorisation immediately upon its adoption. There was no 'automaticity'. The resolution afforded Iraq a final opportunity to comply and it provided for any failure by Iraq to be 'considered' by the Security Council." The paper goes on to argue that the lack of automatic force of 1441 "does not mean that no further action can be taken without a new resolution" of the Security Council.

Taking the Mick

Ali Campbell's tour of working men's clubs with his hilarious one-man show UB40, PM, badly needs a support act. So he's getting one, simply red. Yep, Ali will be supported by Mick Hucknall, author of such incisive hits as Holding Back The Ears and A New Flame and Fairground, except that nicks the beat from Give It Up.

Good news

It's a crying shame that the Indytab doesn't appear on the Newseum collection of front pages, because some of the paper's designs are classics. Today's was a prime example, stopping me on entry to the local supermarket with a montage of other paper's headlines, and its own tag:

Here's an immigration story you are unlikely to read in other newspapers, and don't hear too often from the Government

They are of all colours, all backgrounds and from all points of the globe. Some came for love, some for money, some for a better life, but they are all working for one purpose ­ to keep the NHS going.

Home Office figures show that 44,443 healthcare staff from countries outside the European Union were issued with work permits last year, a 27-fold increase on the number in 1993.

They fill every role in the health service from doctors and nurses to pharmacists, radiographers and occupational therapists. They go where British professionals are reluctant to work ­ traffic-choked inner cities and grimy housing estates ­ and they perform the essential caring tasks that their British counterparts are reluctant to take on...

The efforts of these overseas staff counter the charge that immigration is imposing an unacceptable burden on our most valued institutions.

As the Home Secretary, David Blunkshett, tightens the screws on asylum-seekers and raises the bar to entry by citizens of the expanded EU, the British Medical Association said yesterday that foreign health workers were the lifeblood of the NHS. "These overseas medics have a vital role to play. It takes 10 years to train a GP and 15 years to train a consultant, so even though the Government is pouring money into recruitment now the effects will not be seen for many years," a spokeswoman said.

Some sections of the press have honed their xenophobia with allegations of "health tourism" against foreign visitors bent on exploiting the NHS. They have mounted a sustained attack on immigration, with campaigns against "benefit tourists" and asylum-seekers who allegedly jump council house waiting lists.

The sensitive issue of immigration ­ and asylum in particular ­ is proving to be a minefield for ministers to negotiate. This was demonstrated last night when the Government suffered a backbench revolt over its plans to stop welfare payments to failed asylum-seekers. Twenty-eight Labour MPs backed an attempt to scrap the plans, but the move failed when it was voted down by 444 to 82.

While ministers have been eager to hail their own efforts to tackle the asylum issue, they have been less keen to trumpet the success of the growing army of immigrants who perform an invaluable role in the health service.

This is the other picture ­ of an NHS dependent on the commitment and labour of people who were not born here. Most go into the NHS, but some are recruited by the private and voluntary sectors. The vast majority are nurses: more than 27,000 were recruited in 2003...

Ministers banned recruitment from the hardest-hit countries in 2001 but struck deals with others, including the Philippines and India, which had a surfeit of staff. But private recruitment agencies have evaded the ban and Britain continues to hire staff from some of the poorest countries in the world. Of the top 25 countries from which Britain recruited last year, 15 are on the banned list...

As the story noted, the Commons yesterday voted in favour of a string of inhumane and inhuman measures; if they survive scrutiny in the Lords (and that's not a given), they will shame Britain and everything she stood for.

Taking their ball home

The Conservative party has withdrawn support for the Butler inquiry. Michael Howard's action follows news that the group will concentrate on structures, systems and processes rather than the actions of individuals. The Butler report was going to be a figleaf covering Tony Blair's misuse of intelligence to falsely bolster an unsustainable case for war, but now it looks likely to become nothing more than a steaming pile of opprobrium to be heaped on the soon to be former prime minister when the report comes out.

The planet's hottest hits...

...remembered. RTE will launch RTE Radio 1 on 252 on March 17, allowing the corporation the summer to service the aging 567 transmitter. It will also cease broadcasting RTE Radio 2 on 612 during April, allowing the neighbouring 603 frequency to be used for a powerhouse AM station for south west England again.

The Broadcasting House Anne Winterton Jokes Of The Week

1) Anne Winterton was going to play the title role in The Passion Of Christ, but they withdrew the whip.

2) Anne Winterton is a fine upstanding human being.

3) She was born with a silver foot in her mouth.

4) The situation appears to be a complete mess, and it's time the prime minister went in and sorted it all out.

5) Anne, why don't you go to the movies, and strike up a rousing chorus of Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life..?

War goes bang

"We thought it was illegal" said military chiefs, but then the Attorney General said it was all OK, so off we went. Such is the gist of today's Obs piece.

Goldsmith [the AG] was forced hastily to redraft his legal advice to Tony Blair to give an 'unequivocal' assurance to the armed forces that the conflict would not be illegal... Goldsmith also wrote to Blair at the end of January voicing concerns that the war might be illegal without a second resolution from the United Nations...

His initial advice was 'tightened' up only days before the conflict began after concerns were raised by Sir Michael Boyce, the then Chief of Defence Staff, who told senior ministers of his worries. It is believed that Boyce demanded an unequivocal statement that the invasion of Iraq was lawful. It is understood that it was only after seeing Goldsmith's final legal advice, given days before the outbreak of war, that Boyce gave his approval.

Commentator Andrew Rawnsley calls the bluff of the soon to be former prime minister:

The trouble for Mr Blair is that the person who has most exposed the operations of the intelligence services to 'this type of public questioning and scrutiny' stares him in the face each time he looks in a mirror. The Prime Minister 'put them in the firing line', to borrow one of his phrases at his news conference, when he used intelligence material to sell the case that Saddam was a threat. They have been 'dragged through the mud over the past few months' - to borrow another of his phrases - because of the publication of the dossiers in the run-up to the conflict. It was the unprecedented public use of intelligence material, followed by the growing evidence that crucial elements of it were wrong, that has opened up the intelligence services to debate and demands for more accountability.

Chicken Noodles All Round

CNN Europe has a new schedule from tomorrow. Here's a compare and contrast.

0500 CNN Today (was Biznews)
0800 Business Central
0900 Larry King (rpt)
1000 World News
1030 World Sport
1100 Business International
1200 World News Asia (was World News, World Report)
1300 World News
1330 World Report (was World Sport)
1400 World News Asia (was Business International)
1500 World News
1530 World Sport (rpt)
1600 Your World Today
1930 World Business Today
2000 World News Europe
2030 World Business Today
2100 World News Europe
2130 World Sport (was Business)
2200 Business International (was Insight, World Sport)
2300 Insight (was Newsbiz Today until 0130)
2330 World Sport (rpt)
0000 CNN Today (0130 was World Sport)
0200 Larry King
0300 Newsnight
0400 Insight (rpt) (was World News)
0430 World Report (rpt) (was Insight)

Weekend features:
The Music Room Fr 2300 Sa 1130, 1930, Su 0300, 1630, 2230 (Fr 2200 moves +1h, Su 1330 +3h, 2130 +1h)
The Daily Show Sa 0030, Su 0030 (was Sa 2330, Su 2330, both move -23h)
International Correspondents Sa 0130, 0830, 2230, Su 0630, 1430, 2030 (Sa 0030 +1h, 1330 gone, Su 0030 +2h)
Diplomatic Licence Sa 0400, 0730, 1430, Su 0830, Mo 0330 (Sa 0430 -1/2h, Mo 0430 -1h)
World Business This Week Sa 0630, 1830, Su 1230 (Su 0430 +8h)
People In The News / Global Office / Inside the Middle East / Other Special Report Sa 1230, 2030, Su 1130 (Su 1630 replaced by Sa 1230)
Design 360 Sa 1630, Su 0130, 1930 (Su 0130 is new)
Inside Africa Sa 1730, Su 0730 (no change)
Global Challenges Su 0330, 2100 (0330 is new)

The biggest changes? Europe now gets a block from Asia around midday, with less emphasis on business news at 1430 when Wall Street opens. It's not clear where the 0000 transmission of CNNT originates, Newsbiz was an Asian production. Newsnight and Larry King are US productions. World Report now runs seven days a week at a fixed time. The evening sports desk moves into the heart of primetime - if CNN competed on viewing figures, this would be a huge ratings grabber, as European league and cup matches will finish in the half hour from 2130.

The Daily Show's move a day earlier is apparently at the request of the show's many German fans. I couldn't make this up. The London-based IC loses one of its seven showings, the US-based Diplo stays at five. Extra slots for Design and Global, but in the deep recesses of Sunday overnights.

Chart-tastic

Wes is on holiday. Yay for Scott Mills.

Week six at the top for Young Katie Melua, holding off a strong challenge by deeply-discounted jazz act Young Jamie Cullum, rising from 7 to 2. The Black Eyed Peas hold at 3, Outkast reaches another new peak from 6 to 4, displacing Snow Patrol one place to 5. Lemar returns to the top ten at 9, one place ahead of Norah Jones' "Come Away With Me." Strong climbs for Blink 182 (28-15), Alicia Keys (22-18), Damien Rice (38-19), Coldplay (30-25), and Sparky (37-27).

New entries from the Stands All Years Leaving (17), Speedway's Save Yourself (24), American Recordings IV - The Man Comes Around for Johnny Cash at 30, and the Stills Logic Will Break Your Heart at 37. Slumps for Franz Ferdinand (2-7), Bunty (9-12), Daniel Bedingplant (15-21), Incubus (18-32) and Maroon 5 (29-39).

On the singles side, Peter Andre rides the minor success on IBES by taking Mysterious Girl to the top slot. The record previously made number 2 in 1996, behind the Fugees' Killing Me Softly. With the followups "Flava" and "I Feel You" both going to the top, Andre now has the slowest hat-trick of number one releases. While signing copies of this single, Mr Andre received a tax demand for £180,000. Wheeeeeee! Jamelia has the highest position of her career, as Thank You enters at 2, while Pestside take strides up the all-time list as Obvious enters at 3. The group released one single under rules limiting it to 10 minutes; it clocked in at 11 minutes 3 seconds. Busted slip from the top to 4, LMC one place to 5.

At one time, Outkast should have released The Way You Move this week. They're very pleased to hold down the number 6 position this week. However, it's not TWYM, that's been put on ice until April, because the impossibly popular Hey Ya holds at 6 for the third straight week, the fourth in total, and no less than 16 weeks after it first debuted. The longest run in recent top 40 history is Leann Rimes' 30 week spread for How Do I Live during most of 1998.

Top ten entries for boreband Vs's Love You Like Mad, Lemar's Another Day and 29 New Pence's If I Can't. Pop Idle flops Sam and Mark take one of the biggest slumps on record, going 1-2-13, landing one place ahead of Kelly Llorenna covering Sonia's This Time I Know It's For Real. There's a concept I never thought I'd see, a Sonia cover... The other long stayer, Katie Melua, slips 3 to 19 in her 13th week.

Credible new entries for Placebo's English Summer Rain and Elbow's Not A Job just outside the 20, lining up alongside JX and Love Inc. The Bizarre Entry Of The Week belongs to Bernie Nolan, one part of the original Irish singing sensation, now having her first solo hit. Macushla, it's called, which must be Irish for "Just leave it on the shelf, love, it's pants." And from the Fallen Mighty file, remember Space? They're back with Suburban Rock 'n' Roll, a new entry at Number 67. G'night!

older writing...