The whole incident lasted only five minutes - 'but it felt like for

The whole incident lasted only five minutes - 'but it felt like for ever'.Such incidents are infrequent, Mr Thompson stresses - verbal abuse is more common. Val Thorens, scene of a tragic avalanche in November and, at 2,300m, Europe's highest resort, could claim 1.5m, while lowly Chamonix at just over 1,000m, was practically bare.Fitting in with this pattern, Avoriaz had 60cm at its village altitude of 1,800m, and 1.3m at its modest top height of about 2,300m.Resorts further south in the French Alps were not quite so well off - Les Deux Alpes, for example, had only 35cm at the resort altitude of 1,650m, and 2.3m on its 'upper' slopes, which would normally mean at glacier level.In Switzerland, the higher resorts are in the south and east of the country, and are more sheltered from westerly weather than the high resorts of France. Child carers, on the other hand, referred more to being elected into the role. I have got to show the world that Mark Richardson is back.'The Paris Bercy stadium on Sunday night would be a good start.

Seventy per cent of bus services are now in private hands, and London Buses, which represents 20 per cent of the entire market, is due to be sold off later this year. The privatisation bandwagon started rolling in 1985, when the Transport Act provided for the deregulation of bus services.First in the queue was the National Bus Company, which ran non-municipal services in England and Wales. The other declared candidate, Sir Leon Brittan, as Britain's senior Commissioner, will be on the island, but not seated at the table. Running through the rest of the two days will be one general theme - the future construction of Europe as the Union gears up to revise the Maastricht treaty in 1996. If you had been propelled from election defeat to the padded chair in Brussels without even passing 'Go', you can imagine the fuss there would have been: Bill Cash jumping up and down, the tabloids locked into their election mode of hating Kinnock There would have been no peace. 'They are worried about their own public opinion and Euro-sceptics, but as they are in the chair they have to take in what we all say.'A British diplomat confirmed the real disagreement was to come when the presidency put the conclusions of the summit in writing 'They won't be hurrying out of there,' he said. BRITAIN's second-biggest building society, Nationwide, has introduced tough new lending restrictions that will squeeze out buyers struggling to become homeowners for the first time, and hit existing owners caught in the debt trap. Book return flights to Rio with Journey Latin America (081-747 8315) from pounds 468 via Lisbon with Air Portugal or pounds 567 direct with Varig; with British Airways (081-897 4000) from pounds 986 PEX return; or with Trailfinders (071-938 3366) from pounds 484 Sao Paulo is one of the other main international airports.

For the Palestinians in southern Lebanon - most of them sympathisers of the two Islamic groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad - know full well that Yasser Arafat, the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, has endorsed the talks. For instance, there has been a general shift from asset management to index-tracking, with a corresponding emphasis on maximising shareholder value.The assets of pension funds have risen so much that they no longer have the flexibility to dispose of their holdings. Forget the bouquet, get right to the effect, preferably at 13 degrees proof and up. 'The traditional way of getting to them is through advertisements in business publications such as the Economist, which can cost around pounds 20,000.

Barking out the vocals in that trademark black-voiced whine, with a bleary-eyed hangdog look - like Zero Mostel or Tom and Jerry's bulldog on a bad day - Rebennack is a deeply serious artist saddled with a repertoire that makes people want to have fun. So why should we both have to pick up the bills?But although I am a soft touch, I am not that soft There are worthy causes which I cannot help. Now that so many Russian players are in other countries it is important to take the chance of showing up well on television.' Salenko did not refer to his contract with Valencia, but a safe bet is that he had it mind.RUSSIA (5-4-1): Cherchesov (Dynamo Dresden); Nikiforov, Ternavsky, Khlestov (all Spartak Moscow), Tetradze (Dynamo Moscow), Onopko; Karpin (both Spartak Moscow), Korneyev (Espanol), Tsymbalar, Ledyakhov (both Spartak Moscow); Salenko (Valencia). A NEW movement is stirring in the grassroots of Turkish politics. They naturally looked at the MiG-29s they had inherited from the former East German Air Force. Some can be bought for as little as pounds 75; others for as much as pounds 650.For those prepared to pay an extra pounds 520, the London undertaker T Cribb & Sons offers a nineteenth-century hearse drawn by black Friesian horses, driven by a coachman.If the funeral is more than 300 miles outside London it is likely to cost more, as the horses will need an overnight stay.John Harris of Cribb, a family firm, said too much emphasis had been put on itemised bills 'You cannot give people a shopping list.

The Takeover Panel has agreed to waive rules that would require Mr Morton to make a takeover bid if his stake tops 30 per cent.. But as Downing Street's warning that the Government would do 'whatever is necessary' to protect the pound proved unnecessary, opposition parties seized on a 1 per cent rise in the volume of imports as proof of a sick economy.Billions of pounds were wiped off the value of London shares as the stock market contemplated the effect of higher interest rates on companies, consumers and the economy.The markets were also buffeted by news that Britain's trade unexpectedly slid deeper into the red last month to pounds 1.13bn. Recent research shows a clear preference for a bigger portion size. The People In The Playground, a diary of eight terms in a Hampshire primary school, records skipping, kiss chase, and all the old rhymes to go with them.