News for Monday: May 8th, 2000

Diana website squatters targeted(BBC News)

The Princess of Wales' brother Earl Spencer is trying to stop unscrupulous internet entrepreneurs cashing in on websites associated with his sister's name.
Several sites have been set up using domain names connected with Diana to try to take advantage of her huge public following.
Earl Spencer is working with the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund to reclaim about 100 domain names associated with the princess.
The Earl successfully shut down one site which was advertising overpriced tickets to Althorp - Diana's family home - and then not delivering them to people who had paid for them.
Pornographic

The Earl's spokeswoman said: "We realised this site had downloaded pages from the official site and was hoodwinking people."
The domain - www.princess-of-wales.co.uk - has now been put up for sale for at least £300,000
A spokesman for the memorial fund said it had had considerable success in closing down sites that featured pornographic images and pictures of the crash in which Diana died.
"We want to prevent people who are making a financial gain from the princess' name or who are tarnishing her memory," she said.
Registering a domain name which could arguably belong to someone else is known as cyber-squatting and is becoming a prevalent menace in the online world.
Manchester United and the BBC are among a number of organisations which have resorted to legal action to protect their brands.
A new US law to be introduced on domain name rights aims to help people reclaim names to which they can show a legitimate right.
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Balcony scene to highlight centenary (UK Times)
BY ALAN HAMILTON

QUEEN ELIZABETH the Queen Mother is to celebrate her 100th birthday on August 4 with a poignant reminder of the war years by making an appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.
Her wave from the balcony, accompanied by King George VI, her daughters and Winston Churchill on VE-Day 1945, is one of the most enduring images of the end of the Second World War in Europe. In 1995, the Queen Mother repeated the performance, to the accompaniment of Dame Vera Lynn singing in the courtyard below, to mark the 50th anniversary of victory.
The balcony scene, preceded by a carriage drive from Clarence House, the Queen Mother's London home, is being considered by Palace officials as a highlight of her centenary. They believe the occasion requires a gesture beyond the Queen Mother's regular birthday appearance and walkabout outside her home.
The Palace is reluctant to make firm announcements at this stage. Officials are conscious of the Queen Mother's frailty, although all present indications are that she is in good health. Last Saturday she appeared at Sandown Park to present the Whitbread Gold Cup.
But celebrations will begin long before August. On June 21, during Ascot Week, the Queen is planning a reception and dance in the restored state apartments of Windsor Castle to mark the centenary as well as the 70th birthday of her sister, Princess Margaret (August 21), the 50th birthday of her daughter, the Princess Royal (August 15) and the 40th birthday of her son the Duke of York (February 19), all of which fall this year.
The day is also the 18th birthday of her grandson Prince William, but as he will be committed to his A levels at Eton, he is expected to be given his own party at a later date.
On July 11, Dr George Carey, the Archbishop of Canterbury, will preach at a service of thanksgiving attended by the Queen Mother in St Paul's Cathedral. A week later she will be guest of honour at a pageant on Horse Guards to celebrate her life. Major-General Evelyn Webb-Carter, General Officer Commanding Army London District which is masterminding the display, said it would be the biggest parade ever seen on Horse Guards, scene of the annual Trooping the Colour. It would involve 7,000 performers, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and a massed choir of more than 1,000, joined by military massed and mounted bands.
Representatives of more than 300 charities and associations supported by the Queen Mother will also be taking part. Promised participants include Chelsea Pensioners, veteran Battle of Britain fighter pilots, massed livery companies, vintage vehicles, camels, Aberdeen Angus bulls and several of the Queen Mother's racehorses.
The tribute will be non-profit-making, funded by donations from participating organisations and other sponsors. Most of the 12,000 seats available will be reserved for the organisations taking part, but a small number will be made available to the public.
A similar pageant was staged for the Queen Mother's 90th birthday, with 300 floats parading on Horse Guards, but organisers promise that the 100th birthday event will be even bigger.
The Queen Mother's centenary has already been recognised, from a somewhat unexpected quarter. Earlier this year the Russian city of Volgograd, formerly Stalingrad, declared her an honorary citizen in memory of one of the greatest and costliest battles of the Second World War.
In 1943 her husband, King George VI, presented the city with a ceremonial sword in recognition of the casualties and suffering of its civilians, and of the Red Army, in the conflict which finally destroyed Nazi designs on the Soviet Union and turned the tide of the war.
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Anarchists target the Queen in their 'biggest action yet'(UK Times)
BY ADAM SHERWIN

ANARCHISTS involved in the May Day riots in London plan to direct their next protest at the Queen and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
Scotland Yard is "taking seriously" threats from a group called the Movement Against the Monarchy which has called a mass demonstration outside Buckingham Palace on June 3. At least 2,000 protesters are expected to gather. The action has been timed to mark the anniversary of the Queen's Coronation in 1953.
The same organisation is planning a second protest at Clarence House on August 4, when the Queen Mother celebrates her 100th birthday. The movement, which uses a guillotine as its symbol, is also planning a demonstration at the opening of the new Bankside Tate in London on Thursday.
Steve Edwards, a member of the movement who has been arrested 33 times, said: "June 3 will be our biggest action yet."
A Palace spokesman said: "We are aware of this proposed protest." The protest group was formed by former members of the anarchist group Class War in 1997.
It has emerged that anarchists from at least 12 countries had been involved in the May Day riots. Among the 98 arrested were a Spaniard, four Italians and representatives of several Turkish organisations.

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