The British No 2 from Essex was outplayed, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, by the aggressive Andrei Pavel, ranked 224 places below him at No 312.Bates conceded only five points on his serve in the opening set, three of which were double-faults, and was two sets up after only 49 minutes. Scharping was speaking at a special SPD congress in Halle, only four months before the German elections on 16 October; the SPD did poorly in the European poll and its prospects for unseating Chancellor Kohl are not brilliant. Other posters include a parody of The Gap ads, starring Miss Piggy under the headline 'Pig' and a luscious Miss Piggy reclining in her scanties for 'Pigtoria's Secrets'.(Photograph omitted). Ronnie Lott, however, has, apart from losing a yard of pace, recently joined the New York Jets, which is hardly a stylish thing to do. Mystified doctors at the Royal Brompton National Heart and Lung Hospital in London have been surprised to receive through the post - unsolicited - valid Amex cards with their names embossed on them.Shortly afterwards some of them were even more surprised to receive a pounds 9 monthly bill from Amex - especially those who had snipped the unwanted cards and returned them in disgust.Apparently the cards were ordered by Brompton Enterprises, the commercial arm of the hospital.But what the poor medicos, suddenly confronted with unlimited spending power, are meant to do with them is unclear. There is no hint so far as to whether Mr Lamont's reporting post will be made permanent.The Small Business Bureau is most unhappy with Companies House, the DTI agency where limited liability companies must file their accounts.

The deterioration will undermine the prospect of an out-of-court settlement designed to help 17,000 underwriting members meet pounds 2bn worth of losses that have brought them to the brink of financial ruin.

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Lloyd's is finalising a pounds 1bn offer it intends to make to the underwriting members in the next few days. Others, in the words of an observer, 'think there is a 'China secret', and that if you immerse yourself deeply enough you might discover it. 'Appointments Section' is the posh name given to a job or employment section, to make it sound a bit more exciting than the ordinary job round-up, just as Property sounds a bit better than Houses, and salary sounds better than wages.However, as most of the people who apply for any given post are unlikely to get it, it seems only fairer to call the section a 'Disappointments Section'. In any case, by the way the fresh faces in the audience beamed, at the Oxford Union they haven't heard anything before.'Say super, smashing, great, Jim,' a heckler shouted out.'Super, smashing, great,' Jim countered. Coppell, with tongue jammed very firmly in cheek, replied: 'I've told Paul he can come to us and belch and fart as much as he would like. TWO reformed rebels took the top two places in the women's combined event at the world championships in Morioka, Japan, yesterday.

Mr Benvenuto, 55, received 307 votes at a party assembly against 223 for his only real rival, the Deputy Foreign Minister, Valdo Spini.'I wish him luck - he and his party are going to need it,' said Marco Pannella, leader of the opposition Radical Party.The Socialists, who count the Prime Minister, Giuliano Amato, among their members, form the second-biggest bloc in Italy's four- party ruling coalition. The King of France thinks his sovereignty is being undermined: the Comte de Paris, pretender to the throne, yesterday expressed his worries about the Maastricht treaty and threw his political weight behind the 'no' campaign.The Comte is not alone: the document has sparked a frenetic debate in France about the wisdom of the European project, its future and its past. They are also variously described as ordinary shares or geared income shares. This week it will announce another coup - its proposed A3XX 'super jumbo'.. It grows to at least 4ft and has huge flowers of clear pale yellow tinged with pink.