In an interview with BBC Wales, Mr Pugh said the assembly government wanted "to build a consensus on the Welsh language...which is why we've decided to do this in a one-stage process rather than two".

BBC: NEWS | UK | Wales | Delay to abolish language board

In the second stage, lactic-acid molecules are linked into long chains, or polymers, in chemical-reaction vessels, to produce PLA. What Dr Lee and his colleagues have succeeded in doing, as they report in Biotechnology and Bioengineering, is to produce PLA directly, in a one-stage process, in bacteria.

ECONOMIST: Synthetic biology

That led to him designing the apes seen in the Dawn of Man sequence of 2001: A Space Odyssey, a laborious two-year process that at one stage saw comedian Ronnie Corbett participate in make-up tests.

BBC: Star Wars make-up artist Stuart Freeborn dies aged 98

One by one, the main players in the peace process have exited the main political stage, from SDLP leader John Hume to Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble to US President Bill Clinton to prime ministers Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern.

BBC: Gerry Adams great survivor of Irish politics

However, this may simply reflect the government's desire not to give away one of its key bargaining chips in the Ulster peace process at too early a stage.

ECONOMIST: A truce has been reached in the battle over defence cuts

One U.K. newspaper's sources said the sale process is still at an early stage, and added that Virgin is likely to face competition for control of Bally from private equity buyers, other health club chains and from property investors.

FORBES: Branson To Muscle In On U.S. Gym Chain?

In the process, Parliament has been misled and one of Africa's forgotten conflicts is centre-stage.

BBC: News Online