Five hundred people who work for Royal Sun Alliance in Bristol have been told their jobs are to go by 2010.

BBC: UK jobs tracker

She is an experienced yachts-woman, having raced with Tracey Edwards on her Jules Verne attempt in 1997 aboard Royal Sun Alliance.

BBC: Richards heads round globe

The announcement came as insurer Royal Sun Alliance announced it was closing a site in Bristol with the loss of 500 jobs.

BBC: Bank group Lloyds axes 985 staff

Will it be big, stand-alone (mostly) boxes by EMC, pure networking schemes like Network Appliance or hybrids from the new Hitachi Data Systems and Sun alliance?

FORBES: CLASS STARS: 1995-2000

It was born of a merger in 1996 between Royal Insurance and Sun Alliance, but the two soon discovered how hard it is to streamline a merged insurance company.

ECONOMIST: Financial mergers

But sources say Sun and the alliance, staffed by both Sun and Netscape employees, are in the process of working out a licensing deal for the Netscape technology.

CNN: Sun/Netscape Alliance brings directory ties

However the Wales Tourism Alliance reported a last-minute boost in bookings as the sun came out last week.

BBC: Fears over long-term flood impact on tourism