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LONDON -- When the Mario M. Cuomo Bridge opened late last month in New York State -- a $4 billion structure spanning the Hudson River that replaced the ramshackle Tappan [...]

LONDON -- Britons are used to griping about the rain, but a series of major floods in recent years has prompted some to ask how ready the nation is to [...]

London The new Olympic Stadium rising in East London is the object of desire for two soccer clubs that want to uproot and move in when the 2012 Games are [...]

Unigate's Malton pork processing facility has been adversely impacted by the outbreak of swine fever, with prices remaining high and availability under pressure as a result, it emerged on 25 September 2000. The UK-based group hinted that the Malton site might be closed or sold off. Unigate saw full-year pork profits decline to GB[pound] 15.4mn from GB[pound] 27mn and warned in mid-2000 that to reverse the trend there needed to be a decline in pig prices.

Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries' Mansfield facility could be shut down and the Hartlepool-based Cameron plant sold in a cost cutting move designed to protect itself from a bidder. An internal review set for November 2000 release is expected to state that the UK-based brewer cannot run four breweries, the other two being at Burton-upon-Trent and Wolverhampton. Botts & Co, the private equity business, is offering GB[pound] 5.50 for Wolves. Meanwhile, Wolves posted like-for-like pub sales up by 1.2% in August 2000.

SPX Contech, a US manufacturer of car components, has decided to locate its European headquarters in Welshpool, Powys, after considering sites in Britain and Europe. The headquarters will be housed in a factory to be built by the Welsh Development Agency. The move will means investment of GB[pound] 19mn and the creation of up to 180 jobs by the US group. The site will produce aluminium die-cast components, used in car steering and powertrain units.

A number of independent operators are to introduce ATMs to a variety of locations, as new entrants to the Link cash machine network in the UK. Around 11,000 new ATMs are promised, in locations such as convenience stores, hospitals, petrol stations, bars and nightclubs. A fee of around GB[pound] 1 will be payable for withdrawal, along with a potential second charge from the bank. The new operators, led by Securicor with an investment of GB[pound] 10mn, believe that they can run the machines at a profit, with as few as 600 monthly transactions, compared to 3,000 required by banks. Moneybox, Ambient, Infocash, Hanco and TRM are also involved in the venture, which will bring the Link network to over 40,000 machines by 2002. Securicor claims its ATMs will cost GB[pound] 5,000, and then GB[pound] 5,000 per year, compared with costs of GB[pound] 25,000-30,000 claimed by banks.

UK-based telecoms firm, One-Tel, is in discussions with the five network operators that recently obtained new generation licences as part of its desire to become a mobile virtual network operator. One-Tel's UK and European chief operating officer, Chris Weston, revealed that talks are at the preliminary stages. One-Tel's plan would entail it acquiring airtime on new networks and subsequently reselling via its own brand. One-Tel, which has 900,000 long-distance customers, is confident of success despite the competitive nature of the UK market.

A scheme to construct an oil pipeline between the African states of Chad and Cameroon is expected to receive the backing of the UK government, when the World Bank's executive board votes on funding for the project on 6 June 2000. International development secretary Clare Short will support the proposal, claiming that it will assist the economic development of the two countries. World Bank involvement, meanwhile, will ensure transparency of finances. The body plans to provide US$ 365mn in loans and assistance to the US$ 3.7bn privately managed project. The UK's support comes despite opposition from Greenpeace, which claims the work will destroy rainforests and evict local people, locking the countries in to fossil fuel production. It is thought, however, that the Exxon, Petronas and Chevron-managed scheme could bring in US$ 2bn for Chad and US$ 500mn for Cameroon over 25 years.

Reports have indicated that the UK must increase the size of its airports or face the consequences. Figures indicate that demand will exceed capacity by 18mn people if something is not done. Heathrow promises a fifth terminal, but even this is said to be ineffectual in comparison to the amount of people increasingly using airports. The government has suggested the possibility of regional airports, which may take the strain off Gatwick and Heathrow. Views regarding solutions will be broadcast after the inquiry into Heathrow's terminal five. So far expansion at Luton or Stanstead has been mentioned, and an extra runway at both Gatwick and Heathrow.

The UK cruise company, P&O, has launched its latest new liner, a 76,000 ton, 270-metre, 14-deck super liner. The ship, costing GB[pound] 200mn, is the biggest ever built and is to be named by the Princess Royal on 27 April 2000 in Southampton. It has the capacity to carry 1,874 passengers, 850 crew and comes with three swimming pools, a gym, health and beauty centre, sauna and business centre. There are: five lounges, 12 bars, five restaurants, shops, a cinema, theatre and concert hall. The Aurora is to set sail on 1 May 2000 for its maiden voyage to the Mediterranean.

Marconi (formerly GEC), manufacturer of Internet and telecommunications switching equipment and broadband optical networks, is to invest GB[pound] 40mn in a new research centre at Cambridge University. The centre will focus on the research of new internet-based technologies, such as the development of secure networks that are hacker-resistant and wap mobile phone technology able to download music, film and high-speed data. Marconi is to provide GB[pound] 10mn to build the research facilities, GB[pound] 18mn to fund the programme, inclusive of 200 scientists, and GB[pound] 12mn for laboratory staff. The six-year programme is the largest business collaboration with any UK university. Other investors in Cambridge include: BP-Amoco, Unilever, Zeneca, Rolls-Royce, AT&T and Microsoft.

Daks Simpson has announced the closure of its two textile facilities in Scotland, Larkhall and Polbeth, as a result of losing a supply contract with Marks & Spencer (M&S). More than 600 jobs will be axed at the two plants. The decision by the UK retailer to purchase more supplies oversees has resulted in the loss of a total of 6,800 jobs.

UK-based mobile phone group, Orange, opened its new call centre in North Tyneside on 6 March 2000 with a pledge to give former workers at the erstwhile Siemens semiconductor facility priority on the 500 new jobs being offered. Orange revealed that the GB[pound] 10.6mn operation would be a multi-media facility as opposed to the normal voice-only operation.

The UK water company Anglian Water, has announced that it will expand the services available on its Internet site. The company said that it will start selling gas and electricity to its customers and offer other services such as insurance, domestic appliance purchasing and mapping services on a national basis as well as the Anglian region. The move is seen as a bid to reduce the impact of the 10% price reduction required by Ofwat the UK water regulator.

UK-based Red Star Parcels, which has been facing difficulties since its takeover by Lynx, has announced that it is to close 60 collection points, or one third of its UK network. The business was originally sold by British Rail for just GB[pound] 1, following a decline in point-to-point rail services. Demand levels have, however, remained low, meaning that some points have become uneconomic to maintain. The company will have 120 remaining points, meaning that some customers will have to travel in excess of 100 miles if they wish to send goods by rail, from places such as Aberystwyth to Swansea, and Dumfries to Carlisle.

Corus may relocate certain facilities owing to the UK pound's strength, joint chief executive, Fokko van Duyne, revealed on 8 February 2000. The Anglo-Dutch group was created from the integration of British Steel and Hoogovens in 1999 and has four integrated steel facilities in the UK, at Redcar, Scunthorpe, Port Talbot and Llanwern. The Llanwern facility, with strip output of 3mn tonnes per year, is regarded by industry sources as the most at risk from closure, partly because its sister facility at Port Talbot produces the same amount but has a deep water harbour in its favour.

Portsmouth city council has cleared an 11km monorail system which will be funded by private investment. The system is the first for a UK inner city and will connect the centre of Portsmouth with the docks. The system is expected to handle as many as 3,500 passengers at its busiest times and will cost GB[pound] 2.5mn per km.

The oldest underground station in the UK, London Bridge that was built in 1836, is to receive a GB[pound] 400mn revamp, announced Railtrack 11 January 2000. The revamp that is due to start in 2002 and be completed by 2006 allows for an increase in passenger numbers of 38mn a year from 27mn a year.

New buildings in Britain in 2000, such as the Tate Modern gallery, are examined in detail.

Cinema Advertising Assn. figures point to a 20% rise in cinema-going in the first quarter of 1998, with average weekly admissions at their highest level since 1972, yet independent and arthouse cinemas are being squeezed out by the multiplexes. Around 60 of the UK's specialist film theatres have closed in the last three years. Sight and Sound editor Nick James explains that there is a reluctance to help the independent cinema because of the notion that it smacks of elitism. However many people yearn for an alternative to the multiplexes with their bored robotic staff and solid diet of Hollywood films.

British theatre should not be allowed to ossify into an archaic ritual, but encouraged to develop and re-invent itself as the 21st century approaches. Ticket prices should be kept low and mandatory funding of drama students introduced to encourage new talent. Theatre companies should operate on the principle of high productivity and each theatre should be given a style and policy of its own. Companies should stage a mixture of new and classic work and build on the public appetite for drama mounted in buildings that are not purpose-built.

Many actors regard friends' evenings, in which they are invited to meet the generally small but dedicated groups of enthusiasts who raise funds for Britain's provincial theatres, as a chore. However the Alexandra Club Theatre Society (ACTS), whose purpose is mostly fundraising for the Birmingham Alexandra, uses friends' evenings to attract new members. ACTS board member Peter Reynish explains that older stars can always be relied upon to attend friends' evenings. Actors would much prefer not to make small talk with strangers after a show but are aware that it is their bread and butter.

Many of the UK's regional theatres are struggling to survive in the face of cuts in funding from rate-capped local authorities as well as from the Government. The recession has meant less income from drinks and ice-cream sales as well as lower ticket sales and the proposed 5 million pound sterling cut in Government support for the arts in 1994-95 will be sufficient to cause the demise of some regional theatres. Regional theatres have traditionally provided a training ground for actors, playwrights, directors and designers, but funding shortages mean that fewer new plays are being commissioned.

Development of the east Thames corridor, a 30-mile length of land east of London along both sides of the River Thames, has been proposed by environment secretary Michael Howard. The proposal should lead to an additional 100,000 new jobs and new houses within 15 years, transforming this area of high unemployment and high contamination. It would also much reduce the pressure for development in the densely populated areas west of London. The area for development is around 4,000 hectares, nearly a fifth of which is heavily contaminated by now departed heavy industry. Flood defences will also have to be arranged.

The work of the National Trust in preserving buildings in Britain is examined in detail.

Developments in British architecture in 2000 are examined in detail with examples.

Philip Hedley, artistic director of the Theatre Royal, Stratford East, London, England, has warned that 2 3 of Britain's regional repertory theatres are in trouble because of cuts in Government funding and a decline in box-office revenue. Theatres conceal their problems for as long as possible in order not to destroy confidence but regional repertory theatres are said to have a joint deficit totalling the Arts Council's entire annual drama budget. Artistic directors' contracts are not being renewed as theatres abandon home-grown productions and buy in touring productions instead.

The British Library project, described by the Government as the largest cultural investment of the 20th century, has become a byword for incompetence and corruption and a symbol of Britain's failure to build architecturally daring cultural monuments. The project has been beset by constant problems since building began in 1978. France has left Britain far behind in building daring cultural monuments, a likely factor in the uncharacteristic government decision to allocate 1.6 billion pounds sterling of lottery money to the building of 12 monuments to commemorate the millennium.

David Mellor, the National Heritage Secretary is believed to be considering a proposal to build a new opera house for London, England, on the South Bank. The 2,000 seater house would cost 1 million pounds sterling and would house both the Royal Opera and English National Opera. Until now Britain has lacked a purpose built opera house, and the new Glyndebourne, to be opened in 1994, will be the first. A new house in London would be a welcome addition and would demonstrate Britain's commitment to artistic excellence and civic pride.

A member of the Reichmann family, responsible for the failed Canary Wharf development in London's docklands, said it was 'too good for the British' and he was right inasmuch as the recession and insistence by the government on private financing contributed to its crash. The need for the banks to provide 400 million pounds sterling for the Jubilee Line extension was the main factor in the collapse. Many have argued it was the wrong building in the wrong location.