People were out in force at the weekend for the annual Bag the Bruck cleanup campaign.

Volunteers were on the beaches around the county fighting to clear the rubbish that gets washed up throughout the year.

Over 45 sites were tackled this year including road verges and loch sides.

March saw a three per cent rise in passengers using Kirkwall Airport over the same period last year.

March 2004 saw 9,335 passengers use the airport, compared to 9,011 in 2003.

The 12 month running totals covering April 2003 to March 2004 show a two per cent increase in passenger numbers with 113,675 in 2003/04 compared to 111,445 in 2002/03.

Birsay's St Magnus Church hosted the premiere of a new musical piece as part of Friday's annual St Magnus Day service.

Gemma McGregor's "The Boy Magnus", performed by the seven members of the Orkney Boys' Chorus, is written from the perspective of a 12-year-old Magnus, seeing the events that will determine his fate.

A report is being submitted to the procurator fiscal after a road accident on Thursday morning which saw a motorcyclist injured and taken to Balfour Hospital.

The collision between the motorbike and the Vauxhall Corsa happened at 11am at the junction of Ayre Road and Pickaquoy Road outside Mills Filling Station.

The motorcyclist was taken to the Balfour Hospital for minor injuries, but it is believed she will be kept in overnight for observation.

A report is being submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.

Orkney's Lord Lieutenant's plans for a house for his retirement were refused by islands councillors on Thursday.

Four letters of objection were received to Mr George Marwick's plans for a substantial two storey house in the former orchard of Smoogro House, Orphir.

One of the objectors was present at the meeting and said: "I am surprised that a man of Mr Marwick's standing in the community would ask the planning committee to bend so many rules."

The application was refused because it was was outwith Orkney's Local Plan policy.

The Orkney and Shetland Touring Company (OSTC) intend berthing a cruise ship at the Pole Star Pier in Stromness to provide additional visitor accommodation. But negotiations with Orkney Islands Council remain incomplete, with the company still awaiting the "Right to Berth" terms.

OSTC director Kathleen Hogarth said:" We have been in discussion with our major customers and we cannot confirm to them that we have a product to sell for 2005. They have now passed the point in their planning schedules where they need to take programme content decisions."

Director of Harbours Nigel Mills said a report had been received that oil was affecting a fish farm in the area, but it seemed that although there was a small amount of oil in the water, it had not come from the Elegance.

Captain Mills said investigations would continue to find out where the oil had come from.

Archive story: Elegance sinks in Stronsay Firth

As a result all pony and riding club events in the county have been cancelled for at least two weeks until the all-clear is given.

The case involves a pony brought to Orkney but tests for strangles came up negative at the time.

NorthLink is to relaunch its online booking system to allow passengers to arrange travel on the Internet.

The previous online booking system has been out of action for some time but the new system promises to make the process easier, faster and more secure than before.

As part of the relaunch, Northern Isles residents will be re-issued with customer ID numbers and passwords which, when entered during the booking process, will automatically entitle passengers to the 30 per cent islander discount.

A 16-year-old girl is recovering in hospital after a 40ft fall from cliffs at the west side of Scapa beach.

Karen Craigie fell about 4.45pm on Tuesday after losing her footing when a bird swooped at her. After the emergency services were alerted, and with the assistance of the Stromness lifeboat, the casualty was taken to Balfour Hospital.

Miss Craigie was to be transferred to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary for treatment to a serious arm injury.

Orkney MP Alistair Carmichael has called on the Government to publish a leaked report that suggests that 1,600 rural post offices should be closed.

The report by Postcomm, the postal service regulator, was completed in 2003 and handed to the Department of Trade and Industry for consideration. A response has not yet been made.

Mr Carmichael urged the report's publication, saying that the Post Offices in the Northern Isles could not wait indefinitely to know if the Government is going to continue their support.

Orkney and Shetland's ferry services did not improve when NorthLink took the reins 18 months ago.

That was the overall result of The Orcadian Online's most recent poll, which ended on Tuesday morning.

Of the 844 votes cast, 41 per cent said the service had improved under NorthLink while 56 per cent said it had not. Three percent of voters said there had been no difference.

A parliamentary motion tabled by Orkney MP Alistair Carmichael seeking justice for a Scottish man on death row in the USA has secured the backing of 150 MPs.

Mr Carmichael has called on Prime Minister Tony Blair to make "direct and robust representations" on behalf of Kenny Richey - the man who has been on death row for 17 years.

Richey was sentenced to death after being convicted of arson and the aggravated murder of a two-year-old girl in 1986. But supporters now claim that evidence discovered since his conviction proves he is innocent.

Archive story: Orkney MP visits Ohio death row inmate

A driver escaped without injury after ending up in a field near Weyland Farm on Monday night.

According to police the one vehicle accident at 6.35pm occurred when the driver lost control at a corner and the car left the road.

Police inquiries are continuing.

His Farewell to Stromness was placed at number 76 in Classical FM's Hall of Fame - a considerable climb from its position of 290 last year.

The computer could not be restarted, so the programme returned to the national network. Northern Isles editor John Fergusson said the fault had been traced to a UPS (Uninterrupted power supply) unit which had now been isolated.

An engineer would be in Orkney tomorrow to check the unit and the separate line fault which took the BBC transmitter off the air a short time later.

Alistair Carmichael has been unanimously re-elected by Orkney and Shetland's Liberal Democrats as prospective parliamentary candidate at the next general election.

Speaking after the result Mr Carmichael said: "It has been a huge honour to represent the people of Orkney and Shetland and Westminster over the last few years."

"My priority for the Northern Isles has been to promote the distinctive needs and wishes of our communities wherever possible."

Alan Moar's aerial view of Stromness.

A new website from a Caithness based pilot is providing Orcadians with views of the country from a dramatically different angle.

Alan Moar's site contains over 500 aerial photos of Scotland, most of which have been taken over the past few years. The section dedicated to Orkney contains more than 100 images, including Kirkwall, Stromness, Hoy and the north isles.

The site address is www.alanmoar.flyer.co.uk

NHS Orkney is one of only four health boards in the country to have banned smoking in its premises.

A survey has revealed that of the 17 health authorities in Scotland, only Orkney, Shetland, Fife and Forth Valley have banned smoking in their buildings.

However, only Forth Valley have banned smoking anywhere within hospital grounds.

The OIC council chamber will be the venue for the new Citizenship Ceremonies required by immigrants to the UK.

Councillors at Tuesday's meeting of the OIC's policy and resources committee heard that there will be approximately four successful applicants for British Citizenship in any one year - although the number is expected to fluctuate.

OIC officials recommended that the council chamber be the principal venue for citizenship ceremonies in the county, with other venues in the isles used if thought appropriate.

A teddy bear from Bear Island in Canada arrived in Orkney on Saturday for a "visit" to help raise funds for Crossroads Orkney.

Hudson Bear visited the Highland Park distillery first, before spending the rest of the summer at a variety of Orkney hotels.

Raffle tickets are being sold all summer to raise cash for the voluntary organisation, which offers a respite care service for carers.

The OIC’s roads department are in discussions with colleagues in education in a bid to prioritise areas for the reduced speed limits outside schools.

A spokesman from the roads department explained that cash had been made available from the Scottish Executive over the next three years to implement the measures.