| Tories demand Salmond quit as MP
Alex Salmond has taken part in just four out of a possible 149 Westminster votes since the Holyrood elections, it was revealed yesterday. The figures were published by the Scottish Conservatives, whose deputy leader Murdo Fraser urged Mr Salmond to resign as MP for Banff and Buchan. The First Minister, who was elected MSP for the neighbouring Gordon constituency in last May's election, has vowed to stay on as an MP until the next General Election, which may not take place until 2010. .
Warm day, cool music
REVELLERS will bask in more summer sun today, with ideal conditions expected for the Big Day Out festival topping off a near-perfect Australia Day weekend. After sweating through temperatures up to 35C in Melbourne on Saturday and 27C yesterday, today's 25C will be perfect for barbecues, beach trips and pool parties everywhere. Up to 45,000 music lovers are expected to pour into Flemington Racecourse today for the Big Day Out festival. With highlights such as recently re-formed US rock activists Rage Against the Machine, Canadian indie band Arcade Fire and Iceland's unique Bjork, it's easy to see why this year's Big Day Out tickets sold out in record time. A spokeswoman for Big Day Out said that crowds were in for an excellent show.
New Tech fan blog: 'Shake and Bake' cooking up great future with ...
For a loose ranking of the top 50 players in north and central Louisiana, visit BleedTechBlue online. We try to find every area standout on our list. If you have a player in mind that is not listed, feel free to comment. We would love your feedback. Jason Jones of Ruston is a 2000 graduate of Louisiana Tech, and an administrator at bleedtechblue.com. .
Boom's winners and losers
Li Kai-jiang, 52, is the best-off member of the group. His wife is in work, his parents have a $150 monthly pension, considered handsome in China's struggle towns. He is drinking a warmish bottle of the local beer for which he has just paid the equivalent of 20c. His cheeks are hollow and he coughs uncontrollably. He worked for a shoe factory for 20 years until it was closed in 1999. "Usually companies just look for people aged 18 to 35," he says. "After that, the only work you can get is as a house cleaner. Even then you have to have good connections. I switch off my TV when I see those cadres talking with their loud voices. We're not opposed to the Communist Party. It's a good party. But its policies are not worked out well at the grassroots level." Says Sun Xiuqin, the woman who runs the shop: "There is a retraining project.
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