Scottish sheep farmers have been warned that a delay in Brussels has held up 19m in aid payments following the recent foot-and-mouth outbreak. Last month, Mr Lochhead announced a 25m aid package to compensate farmers for the effects of the foot-and-mouth outbreak in England. The minister said the original aim had been to provide payments by mid-November but the EC had insisted on further details to meet the rules on state aid. He voiced disappointment at the delay but said the money should...

Only the top 20 markets in the country would qualify, and a newspaper's parent company could not own one of the four highest-rated TV stations in the market. In 2003, when the FCC previously attempted to loosen media ownership restrictions, the commission proposed dropping the ban completely in all markets. Martin proposed a partial lifting of the newspaper-broadcaster cross-ownership ban that would allow media companies to own a newspaper and a television station in a single market under...

Last month the Swiss party that goes by the same name got more votes than any party in that country since 1919, with the help of a campaign that included imagery such as a flock of white sheep kicking a black sheep off a Swiss flag. The incomparable bungling that resulted in illegal immigrants being hired among other things to police border security would surely be parody if it were not prosaic reality. In America, that Hobbesian pit of bigotry and general fascistic nastiness, overtly...

The political drama "Lions for Lambs," essentially an art-house project, adopted a blockbuster strategy by opening in 45 foreign markets and North America during the weekend. Although Cruise is the big name and the film marks the first release from United Artists since he and business partner Paula Wagner took control of the dormant studio a year ago, UA executives are billing it as a Robert Redford vehicle, since the Hollywood veteran directed and co-stars. Although Cruise is the big name...

Llamas, rabbits, sheep, a goat, a pig, a chicken and a duck were also on hand at the market to allow children and adults to interact with the types of animals they could purchase to be sent to families in need. This was the third year the church hosted the market, which raises funds for Heifer International, an organization that provides impoverished families worldwide with livestock to raise for profit and food. As children gathered around the two ewes, the Taylors explained the thick...