There was jubilation among Orkney Rugby Club's squad in Shetland on Sunday, after a crushing victory in the Shetland Times Inter-county Cup.

Orkney beat Shetland 84-3.

A bomb disposal squad destroyed a suspected World War 2 torpedo in Scapa Flow on Saturday.

The torpedo was brought to the surface of Scapa Flow on Thursday and moved to the east side of Cava, with a temporary exclusion zone of half a mile for surface activity, and one mile for sub-surface activity.

Shetland Coastguard and Orkney Harbours are broadcasting warnings to all shipping in the area.

Orkney athlete Nigel Thomson is competing in the World Firefighters Games, which started in Sheffield on Sunday.

Nigel, a firefighter at Kirkwall Airport, represented Great Britain in the final stages of the World Fire and Police Championships in Barcelona last year and earned himself the title of 400m World Fire-Fighter Champion.

Kirkwall lifeboat was called out to tow a boat, which had broken free from its moorings in bad weather on Friday morning, into Tingwall pier.

The Jenagal, with two people on board, was drifting without power at about 8.45 am.

Orkney band The Silver Penguins were this year's headliners at the Glassel Gig, just outside Aberdeen on Saturday.

The band have performed at the all-day music festival twice before, and are back in the top spot this year by popular demand.

A gig spokesman said: "The Silver Penguins went down fantastically well in 2001 and 2002. Their particular blend of "Orcajun" magic is just right for the huge crowd of folk who just want to party at Glassel."

Penguins Brian Cromarty and Douglas Montgomery will also perform on as the due Saltfishforty.

Click here for Glassel Gig website

Three people were rescued in hurricane force winds today, after a yacht from London began dragging its anchor east of Hunda Sound, off Burray.

The Longhope lifeboat was launched for "the extremely dangerous rescue" in gales gusting up to Force 12.

The lifeboat eventually got a line on board the Dasher and towed it to Longhope.

An exhibition of new work by acclaimed North Ronaldsay sculptor Ian Scott was unveiled in Stromness on Friday night.

Uncast features new work by the sculptor, bringing together a group of recent plaster sculptures with a new series of oil paintings of North Ronaldsay.

A selection of work spanning four decades, including drawings, paintings, busts and maquettes, will also be shown among Mr Scott's latest projects.

The Pier Arts Centre exhibition opens to the public today, Saturday, and runs until October 8.

A 37-year-old man was transferred to Balfour Hospital on Thursday night after falling from a bank at Carness, St Ola.

The man, who is still in hospital, sustained a serious head injury.

Friday's Craigmyle Cup final was postponed due to the weather.

Although the pitch remained playable, the strong winds forecast means the game between Rovers and Hotspurs was postponed.

Friday saw bikers from across the country gathering for a rally in Sandwick this weekend. But the stormy weather hampered their travel.

Because of travel disruptions, only 40 or so had made it to Orkney on Friday, the remainder hoping to make it across on, Saturday.

The Orcadian sells 10,942 copies each week, according to official figures released on Thursday.

The circulation figure, which covers the first six months of the year, shows a slight seasonal decrease of two per cent on the same period last year.

The figure was announced in London by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), the officially recognised organisation which checks and verifies newspaper circulation claims.

Click here for Scottish regional newspaper circulation figures

The oil from the fields will be processed in Flotta. Drilling is expected to begin in early 2005 with production expected late 2006.

The announcement was made at a celebration in Aberdeen marking Talisman's tenth anniversary in the UK.

Owner Andrew Banks explained on Wednesday: “Last night as they were closing up after they unloaded at Gills Bay, the locking pins were not taken right off and when they tried to shut the bow visor it bent the locks."

Normal service will resume on Friday afternoon.

Members of the Highlands and Islands Fire Board voted unanimously, on Thursday, to fight for retention of the fire control centre in Inverness.

At the board’s meeting in the council chamber in Kirkwall, deputy firemaster, Tony Munro, outlined the brigade’s case for keeping the Highland capital’s centre, which will be put forward to the Scottish Executive.

Board members fear that lives could be lost if the Scottish Executive’s proposals for a reduction in the number of control centres in Scotland is cut from the present eight, to three, or, possibly, even one.

Orkney surgeon, Ameir Al-Mudhtar, has narrowly escaped being blown up, after part of a hospital in Iraq was destroyed during a missile attack.

Up to eight wards were completely destroyed and four people killed, as Ameir worked in his office within the Baghdad medical complex, less than 100 yards away.

Ameir who has taken an year's sabbatical from NHS Orkney said: "I was very angry and helpless as we had to evacuate the building."

A former islands councillor and the man who was instrumental in setting up Orkney's One Stop Shop have been appointed non-executive members to the board of NHS Orkney.

Fred Groundwater, of Stromness, was employed at the Flotta oil terminal for 19 years, prior to which he was a senior administrative officer with Orkney Islands Council.

Jim Robertson is a former chairman of the Orkney Chamber of Commerce and vice-chairman of Orkney Enterprise.

Both appointments from August 30 run for four years. As health board members it is expected they will contribute about eight hours per week, receiving an annual wage packet of £4,090.

Entitled "A Thousand Missing Years of History", the lecture covers how the sources of so many familiar items and ideas have been obscured from our western histories.

The speaker, Professor Salim Al-Hassani, is a Professor of High Energy Rate Engineering at UMIST, and the author of over 180 specialist papers and books in his field.

Click here for more details

Mr Freemantle presented Dupre Strutt with the award at the Kirkwall lifeboat station on Tuesday.

He also met the crew and paid tribute to the fundraising which is carried out by the local lifeboat guilds.

Two men from south have been reported to the procurator fiscal for swimming in Kirkwall's Peerie Sea.

Kirkwall police received an emergency call, reporting that two boys were "drowning in the water".

The 25-year-old men, one from Edinburgh and one from Stonehaven, were subsequently charged, according to Inspector David Miller.

Crime detection in the Northern Constabulary area has risen by two per cent, according to the police's latest public performance report.

Commenting on the report, which highlights an 86.2 per cent detection rate in Orkney, Chief Constable Ian Latimer thanked not only his police staff, but also the people living in the force's area.

He said: "I would like to thank the public of the Highlands and Islands who continue to assist us as we police their communities."

A week long tribute to the Orcadian film maker Margaret Tait is under way at the Edinburgh Film Festival.

Twenty of her films are featuring in this week's retrospective, including Blue Black Permanent, her only full length feature.

The screenings take place in the Filmhouse, Edinburgh, until Saturday.

Tom Bottomley, from Leeds, England, is aiming to raise £5,000 for Marie Cure Cancer Care by cycling solo from Iceland to Africa - a distance of nearly 3,000 miles - in two months.

After travelling to Kirkwall from Shetland on Saturday, he is due to continue his journey south from Stromness next Tuesday.

Click here for official Iceland to Africa website

A campaign to save the threatened Highlands and Islands Fire Brigade control centre in Inverness will be highlighted at a meeting of the regional fire board in Kirkwall on Thursday.

The move follows a service review, which suggests a single control room for all of Scotland is the most cost effective option. This would see all fire brigade emergency calls handled and co-ordinated in central Scotland.

Opponents of the proposals say that local knowledge is essential, given the varying dialects across the Highlands and Islands, and similarities in place names.

The MV Communicator radio ship arrived in St Margaret's Hope on Tuesday morning.

The vessel left Lowestoft, England, on Saturday, towed by the tug Goliath.

The former pirate radio ship will broadcast 'The Superstation' - a trial commercial radio service for Orkney - from September 1 until the end of November.

The total expansion project is worth almost £1.4 million, with Orkney Enterprise providing £400,000. Orkney Enterprise's commitment includes buying £300,000 of company shares, and providing a development grant.

Ortak's managing director Alistair Gray said: "As with most other jewellery manufacturers, we have seen increased competition in recent years from foreign imports. To compete effectively we have to enhance our product range.

"We have to reposition ourselves as a fashion-led designer of contemporary jewellery, selling and marketing our products to the wider UK market.

Douglas Aitken, 20, made no plea or declaration and was released on bail.

Whalgeo Cairn, Sanday

A new countryside ranger service for Sanday looks set to go ahead following confirmation of a £14,500 grant from Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH).

The service, to be run by the Sanday Development Trust, will create a job for a part-time ranger who will provide a public service including walks and talks.

Trust chairman William Sichel said: "The ranger will have a key role in interpreting the island's flora and fauna and enabling visitors to enjoy Sanday's unique environment to the full."

The SNH grant will help support the service for the next two and a half years.

Minister Ross Finnie (right) with Dr Peter Martin Orkney College's agronomy institute

Ross Finnie, Minister for Environment and Rural Development, began a two-day visit to Orkney on Monday.

Yesterday, the Minister saw the crop research and development work going on at Orkney College as well as the on-line facilities for cattle tracing at the Orkney Auction Mart.

On Stronsay today, he will meet with representatives of the body working to develop the island under the Executive's Initiative at the Edge.

Mr Finnie said: "The Orkney Isles offer tangible examples of what the Executive are doing to support our island communities."

2203 Hatfield & De Havilland Squadron and 795 Harpenden Squadron, both from Herts and Bucks Wing made the trip north for "Orkney 2004 - Northern Exposure".

The expedition will give the cadets the opportunity to develop skills in hiking, cycling, kayaking, orienteering and living under canvas. They will also be swimming, bowling, going out on a jet boat and other activities and sports.

The ban, which covers the area designated Box 019, follows the detection of high levels of amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) toxins in shellfish in the area.