Branch-AI/subjects/ai/nlp-scraper/BBC News Test.csv

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1018,qpr keeper day heads for preston queens park rangers keeper chris day is set to join preston on a month s loan.  day has been displaced by the arrival of simon royce  who is in his second month on loan from charlton. qpr have also signed italian generoso rossi. r s manager ian holloway said:  some might say it s a risk as he can t be recalled during that month and simon royce can now be recalled by charlton.  but i have other irons in the fire. i have had a  yes  from a couple of others should i need them.   day s rangers contract expires in the summer. meanwhile  holloway is hoping to complete the signing of middlesbrough defender andy davies - either permanently or again on loan - before saturday s match at ipswich. davies impressed during a recent loan spell at loftus road. holloway is also chasing bristol city midfielder tom doherty.
1319,software watching while you work software that can not only monitor every keystroke and action performed at a pc but also be used as legally binding evidence of wrong-doing has been unveiled.  worries about cyber-crime and sabotage have prompted many employers to consider monitoring employees. the developers behind the system claim it is a break-through in the way data is monitored and stored. but privacy advocates are concerned by the invasive nature of such software.  the system is a joint venture between security firm 3ami and storage specialists bridgehead software. they have joined forces to create a system which can monitor computer activity  store it and retrieve disputed files within minutes. more and more firms are finding themselves in deep water as a result of data misuse. sabotage and data theft are most commonly committed from within an organisation according to the national hi-tech crime unit (nhtcu) a survey conducted on its behalf by nop found evidence that more than 80% of medium and large companies have been victims of some form of cyber-crime. bridgehead software has come up with techniques to prove  to a legal standard  that any stored file on a pc has not been tampered with. ironically the impetus for developing the system came as a result of the freedom of information act  which requires companies to store all data for a certain amount of time.  the storage system has been incorporated into an application developed by security firm 3ami which allows every action on a computer to be logged. potentially it could help employers to follow the trail of stolen files and pinpoint whether they had been emailed to a third party  copied  printed  deleted or saved to cd  floppy disk  memory stick or flash card. other activities the system can monitor include the downloading of pornography  the use of racist or bullying language or the copying of applications for personal use. increasingly organisations that handle sensitive data  such as governments  are using biometric log-ins such as fingerprinting to provide conclusive proof of who was using a particular machine at any given time. privacy advocates are concerned that monitoring at work is not only damaging to employee s privacy but also to the relationship between employers and their staff.  that is not the case   said tim ellsmore  managing director of 3ami.  it is not about replacing dialogue but there are issues that you can talk through but you still need proof   he said.  people need to recognise that you are using a pc as a representative of a company and that employers have a legal requirement to store data   he added.
1138,d arcy injury adds to ireland woe gordon d arcy has been ruled out of the ireland team for saturday s six nations clash against scotland in murrayfield.  like skipper brian o driscoll  d arcy failed to recover from a hamstring injury. the side will now be led by munster lock paul o connell. shane horgan switches from wing to centre where he will be joined by ulster s kevin maggs. girvan dempsey comes into the team to take the right wing spot while gavin duffy is called up to the replacements.   we gave gordon a chance but it didn t work out    said ireland coach eddie o sullivan.   in terms of the risk element  it was a sensible precaution. he should be fine for the next game but we do not want to tempt fate.    maggs  who will win his 67th cap  was the obvious replacement at centre while shane horgan was always likely to be moved from the wing. the only other change to the ireland side from last weekend s win in rome sees wasps flanker johnny o connor replacing denis leamy. o connor will be winning his third cap after making his debut in the victory over south africa last november.  : murphy  dempsey  horgan  maggs  hickie  o gara  stringer  corrigan  byrne  hayes  o kelly  o connell  capt  s easterby  o connor  foley.  : sheahan  horan  o callaghan  miller  g easterby  humphreys  duffy.
459,india s reliance family feud heats up the ongoing public spat between the two heirs of india s biggest conglomerate  reliance group  has spilled over to the board meeting of a leading company within the group.  anil ambani  vice-chairman of india petrochemicals limited (ipcl)  stayed away from a gathering of senior managers on thursday. the move follows a decision earlier this month by anil - the younger brother of reliance group president mukesh ambani - to resign from his post. his resignation was not accepted by his brother  who is also the boss of ipcl. the ipcl board met in mumbai to discuss the company s results for the october-to-december quarter.  it is understood that the board also considered anil s resignation and asked him to reconsider his decision. however  anil s demand that anand jain - another ipcl board member accused by anil of creating a rift in the ambani family - be thrown out  was not met. anil has accused anand jain  a confidant of his brother mukesh  of playing a negative role in the ambani family  and being responsible for the trouble between the brothers. on wednesday  the board of reliance energy  another reliance group company  reaffirmed its faith in anil  who is the company s chief. reliance group acquired the government s 26% stake in ipcl - india s second-largest petrochemicals company - in 2002  as part of the privatisation drive. meanwhile  the group s flagship company  reliance industries  has its board meeting on friday to consider its financial results. mukesh is the company s chairman and anil its deputy  and it is expected that both brothers will come face to face in the meeting. the ambani family controls 48% of the group  which is worth $17bn (£9.1bn; 745bn indian rupees). it was founded by their father  dhiru bhai ambani  who died two years ago.
1020,boro suffer morrison injury blow middlesbrough midfielder james morrison has been ruled out for up to eight weeks after an operation on tuesday.  the 18-year-old  who has played in 13 of the club s last 14 games  had surgery to repair a double hernia. a club spokesman confirmed:  it is a bilateral sportsman s hernia  which was operated on yesterday.  morrison was sent for scans after being substituted at half-time during boro s 2-1 uefa cup win over graz ak in which he scored the equaliser. his injury is the latest blow for the teessiders  who have been without gaizka mendieta  george boateng and mark viduka for extended periods. meanwhile  the kick-off time for boro s uefa cup match at sporting lisbon on 17 march has been brought forward from 2115 gmt to 1945 gmt.
51,lewsey puzzle over disallowed try england s josh lewsey has claimed he was denied a late try in his side s six nations loss to ireland.  the wasps wing insisted he grounded the ball when he was bundled over the line and said referee jonathan kaplan had made a wrong decision.  i m positive i touched the ball down over the line   lewsey told bbc sport.  it certainly wasn t a turnover.  i was driven over and i put the ball on the ground. the whistle went and i let go of the ball.  lewsey added:  one of the irish players scooped it back after the whistle and to our surprise the referee then gave a turnover.  as far as i m concerned  that incident and mark cueto s effort from charlie hodgson s cross-field kick that led to what looked like a good try were the two key elements in the game.   cueto was also puzzled as to why his try had been disallowed by kaplan.  i don t think i could have been offside for  without a doubt  i was behind the ball   said the sale player.  the move was a planned technique  it was not off the cuff. we rehearse it time and time again.  i wouldn t say we were robbed  some decisions go with you and some go against you. today they went against us and that s tough at international level.
2025,blair blasts tory spending plans tony blair has launched an attack on conservative spending plans  saying they are a  ludicrous improbability .  the prime minister has told a labour party gathering that the tory policies would cause economic failure. tory leader michael howard has said his party would cut £35bn in  wasteful  spending to allow £4bn in tax cuts. on saturday  tory shadow home secretary david davis said the tories would fund the cuts by removing  inefficiencies  which had  burgeoned  under labour. in his speech  mr blair contrasted a reformed labour party  which had learned to occupy the political centre ground  with a hidebound tory party  which he said would turn the clock back with spending cuts. mr blair said:  the conservative tax and spending proposals would put at risk  both britain s hard-won economic stability - the lowest mortgages  inflation  unemployment  for decades - and the key investment in public services.   i believe that the tory plans are as plain a call to return to the past as it s possible to imagine   he said.  it s a recipe for exactly the same boom and bust economics and cuts in public services that were their hallmark in 18 years of conservative government.  mr blair added:  they  the conservatives have learned nothing.  by contrast  he said  new labour had listened to its electorate and changed.  mr blair went on to list his government s achievements and to issue a rallying call to the party.  so now we have a choice  we can defend this record and we can build on it and go on and fulfil the promise or give up and go back. and i say we have to fight.  in response  david davis said the tories would make cuts  such as removing regional assemblies  but would bring in more police officers and match labour s spending on health and education.  everybody knows  having lived through this government the last seven years  that they faced lots of stealth tactics  lots of increases in taxes  but no improvement in public services   he said. mr davis said labour had been responsible for  huge waste  huge overspending  not on the frontline at all but on bureaucracy .  the public face a choice between more waste and more taxes with this government  less waste and lower taxes with a tory government   he concluded.  gordon brown has addressed the conference behind closed doors. the chancellor said the conservatives  plans would see some £50bn in spending cuts by 2011  which the tories deny. mr brown also issued call for party unity and warn of the dangers of allowing themselves to be  distracted or diverted . according to an advance text released by officials  he told delegates:  we must all show the strength and unity of purpose to take the long-term decisions necessary to meet them.   mr brown warned that the tories were planning  the biggest cuts ever in the history of any election manifesto . meanwhile  tory shadow chancellor oliver letwin accused mr blair of  misrepresenting  the party s proposals and questioned how labour would fund its own plans.  he still cannot accept the simple truth  which is that we will spend more on what matters to people - schools  hospitals and police - and that we will offer value for money and lower taxes   mr letwin said.  once again mr blair and his chancellor have failed to answer the question that lies at the heart of this election - which taxes will they put up to fill the £8bn shortfall in their plans
1479,former ni minister scott dies former northern ireland minister sir nicholas scott has died at a london hospice  his family has announced.  the former conservative mp for kensington and chelsea  died after a long illness diagnosed as alzheimer s. the 71-year-old served in northern ireland from 1981 to 1987 during the premiership of margaret thatcher. as a northern ireland minister he dealt with education and later security where he rode out the mass ira escape from the maze in 1983.  in education  he encountered criticism over school closures and the future of the catholic training colleges. he also merged the new university of ulster and the ulster polytechnic to create the university of ulster. sir nicholas was a strong defender of the anglo-irish agreement and was held in esteem in dublin government and sdlp circles. but he experienced hostility from unionists some of whom dubbed him  minister of discord . after leaving northern ireland in a reshuffle  he became a uk disability minister. sir nicholas was replaced as the member for kensington and chelsea by the flamboyant alan clark  after being deselected by his constituency in december 1996. his deselection followed a series of scandals including being found slumped in the street by police during the tory party conference in bournemouth and taken back to his hotel.  sir nicholas claimed strong painkillers he was taking for a back problem had reacted badly with a small amount of alcohol. after his sacking  he bitterly said that despite the support of cabinet ministers and tory backbenchers  the eurosceptics in his constituency were  absolutely determined to get rid of me . his colourful career also included a very public disagreement with daughter victoria over civil rights for the disabled. sir nicholas admitted he misled mps when he denied his department had been involved in wrecking tactics designed to kill the disability bill in 1994. victoria  a lobbyist for disabled rights  denounced her father s actions and heaped insult on injury when she joined the calls for him to resign. he joined the backbenches two months later.
27,career honour for actor dicaprio actor leonardo dicaprio s  exceptional career  has been honoured at the santa barbara international film festival.  the star was presented with the award by martin scorsese  who directed him in oscar-nominated movie the aviator.  it s a lifetime achievement award  which is completely and utterly surreal  given i m only 30 years old   dicaprio said.  but what has it been  almost 17 years now. i ve done quite a few films.  a retrospective of his movies was shown.   what s really exciting  for me  is that this is what i really love doing   he added.  it s what i want to do for the rest of my life.  dicaprio began his movie career in horror film critters 3  before moving onto roles in the basketball diaries  romeo and juliet  titanic and gangs of new york. the achievement award was created to commemorate the california festival s 20th anniversary and coincided with dicaprio s portrayal of millionaire howard hughes in the aviator.  veteran actress jane russell  who starred in hughes  1943 film the outlaw  said was impressed by dicaprio s quest for authenticity when he previously discussed the role with her.  i was very happy that (dicaprio) came and cared to come up and find out what (hughes) was really like   she said. the aviator has taken pole position in this year s oscars race with 11 nominations  including nominations for best film  best actor for dicaprio and best director for scorsese.
397,tsunami  to hit sri lanka banks  sri lanka s banks face hard times following december s tsunami disaster  officials have warned.  the sri lanka banks association said the waves which killed more than 30 000 people also washed away huge amounts of property which was securing loans. according to its estimate  as much as 13.6% of the loans made by private banks to clients in the disaster zone has been written off or damaged. state-owned lenders may be even worse hit  it said.  the association estimates that the private banking sector has 25bn rupees ($250m; £135m) of loans outstanding in the disaster zone. on one hand  banks are dealing with the death of their customers  along with damaged or destroyed collateral. on the other  most are extending cheap loans for rebuilding and recovery  as well as giving their clients more time to repay existing borrowing. the combination means a revenue shortfall during 2005  slba chairman - and commercial bank managing director - al gooneratne told a news conference.  most banks have given moratoriums and will not be collecting interest  at least in this quarter   he said. in the public sector  more than one in ten of the state-owned people s bank s customers in the south of sri lanka were affected  a bank spokesman told reuters. he estimated the bank s loss at 3bn rupees.
1644,us economy still growing says fed most areas of the us saw their economy continue to expand in december and early january  the us federal reserve said in its latest beige book report.  of the 12 us regions it identifies for the study  11 showed stronger economic growth  with only the cleveland area falling behind with a  mixed  rating. consumer spending was higher in december than november  and festive sales were also up on 2003. the employment picture also improved  the fed said.   labour markets firmed in a number of districts  but wage pressures generally remained modest   the beige book said.  several districts reported higher prices for building materials and manufacturing inputs  but most reported steady or only slightly higher overall price levels.  the report added that residential real estate activity remained strong and that commercial real estate activity strengthened in most districts.  office leasing was especially brisk in washington dc  and new york city  two of the nation s strongest commercial markets   the fed said.
263,digital uk driven by net and tv the uk s adoption of digital tv and broadband has helped make it the fourth most digitally-savvy nation in europe  according a report by jupiter research.  but the uk still lags in terms of broadband speeds compared to others. the most digitally sophisticated europeans  in terms of use of digital goods such as mobiles  tv  net and cameras  are the scandinavians. about 14 million households in the uk  60%  have digital tv  according to the communications regulator ofcom. the least digital of the european nations was greece  in 17th position  according to the digital life index.  scandinavian countries sweden  denmark and norway came out top in the report  but there were some differences in technology trends.  the european digital life index demonstrates that digital lifestyles are common today  but across europe there is no single digital lifestyle   said nate elliott  jupiter analyst.  consumers adopt different digital products and services in different countries.   although there are differences between different european nations  the gap between them is closing  the report concluded. the trend for gadgets and technologies  such as digital video recorders (dvr)  broadband  and video-on-demand will continue across europe  he added. more than six million uk households now have broadband net. by the middle of 2005  it is estimated that 50% of all uk net users will be on broadband. cable company ntl is trialling faster adsl (asymmetric digital subscriber line) broadband technology using adsl2+ which can give speeds of 18mbps compared to current speeds which are usually around 1mbps or 2mbps. bt is set to trial the technology later in the year. super-fast broadband will be necessary to the delivery of services such as high-definition tv (hdtv) and video-on-demand  already very popular in france and other european countries.  a separate survey by gmipoll last week found that  globally  people s appetite for technology and gadgets continues unabated. the poll of 20 000 people in 20 countries found that 59% wanted more technology.  the computer was the  must-have  gadget for most people (75%). the tv took second place (67%)  while the mobile was ranked in third position with 54%. digital cameras were the most popular choice of gadget for 2005  said the survey  with nearly 40% choosing this over wireless  home printing and dvr technologies. however  only 25% of britons said a digital camera would be their top gadget purchase of the year. almost a quarter  22%  said they would be buying some sort of wireless device. forty-four percent said they would be buying something  other . this might include digital music players  or gaming devices. the nintendo ds  sony s psp and gizmondo all hit the shops in 2005  and the first of the next generation of games consoles  xbox 2  is set to launch later this year. jupiter research s index is calculated using 40 different variables across net users  digital tv adoption  wireless and mobile  online activity  and digital devices.
765,blunkett tells of love and pain david blunkett has spoken of his love for married publisher kimberly quinn for the first time.  the home secretary described how it affected his friends and personal life  but said he was a great believer in personal responsibility. mr blunkett is taking legal action to gain access to mrs quinn s two-year-old son. she denies he is mr blunkett s. the interview with bbc radio sheffield was made before allegations he fast-tracked a visa for mrs quinn s nanny. the allegations  which he has denied  are being investigated by sir alan budd. mr blunkett talked about how he fell in love - but that she resisted his desire to go public.  in an apparent reference to his court action to gain access to her son  he says he was a great believer in responsibility and consequences  even when they were painful. mr blunkett told bbc radio sheffield:  i fell in love with someone and they wouldn t go public and things started to go very badly wrong in the summer  and then the news of the world picked up the story.  i tried for three years to make something work.  i haven t spoken about it and i don t intend to. even in the biography that s being written about me i ve ensured that there s as little as possible.  bbc political correspondent carole walker said the timing of the broadcast was unlikely to help his efforts to show that he is concentrating on getting on with the job of home secretary. shadow home secretary david davis says mr blunkett should quit if he is found to have influenced the visa process even indirectly.  reports have claimed mr blunkett chaired a meeting to discuss delays in the visa system after he learned of nanny leoncia casalme s wait. the home office has said it would be up to sir alan s inquiry to decide if any such meeting was relevant. home office minister fiona mactaggart said she hoped mr blunkett would survive in his job.  i work with him every day and i have always been surprised by how focused he is on the job in hand  on working to deal with things   she said. she told bbc one s breakfast with frost programme:  he is just really down for the job and i hope he does (survive).
2134,ibm puts cash behind linux push ibm is spending $100m (£52m) over the next three years beefing up its commitment to linux software.  the cash injection will be used to help its customers use linux on every type of device from handheld computers and phones right up to powerful servers. ibm said the money will fund a variety of technical  research and marketing initiatives to boost linux use. ibm said it had taken the step in response to greater customer demand for the open source software.  in 2004 ibm said it had seen double digit growth in the number of customers using linux to help staff work together more closely. the money will be used to help this push towards greater collaboration and will add linux-based elements to ibm s workplace software. workplace is a suite of programs and tools that allow workers to get at core business applications no matter what device they use to connect to corporate networks. one of the main focuses of the initiative will be to make it easier to use linux-based desktop computers and mobile devices with workplace. even before ibm announced this latest spending boost it was one of the biggest advocates of the open source way of working. in 2001 it put $300m into a three-year linux program and has produced linux versions of many of its programs. linux and the open source software movement are based on the premise that developers should be free to tinker with the core components of software programs. they reason that more open scrutiny of software produces better programs and fuels innovation.
297,cage film s third week at us top nicolas cage movie national treasure has topped the us and canada box office for the third week in a row.  national treasure made $17.1m (£8.8m) in ticket sales from friday to sunday  according to studio estimates  taking its total to $110.2m (£56.7m). comedy christmas with the kranks  starring tim allen and jamie lee curtis  was in second place. the polar express entered in third place while jude law film closer made its debut at number six.  oliver stone s big-budget epic alexander  starring colin farrell  followed last week s disappointing sixth-place opening with a slump to seventh place and takings of $4.7m (£2.4m). critics have savaged the three-hour epic  which reportedly cost $150m (£77m) to make. national treasure  which sees cage s character ben gates chase a hidden fortune  has been made by disney studios. it is cage s fourth collaboration with jerry bruckheimer  who is usually noted for his male-orientated action films.
1712,souness backs smith for scotland graeme souness believes walter smith would be the perfect choice to succeed berti vogts as scotland manager.  souness s former assistant at rangers is hot favourite to take over from vogts  who resigned on monday.  walter is most definitely the ideal candidate for that job. he d be perfect for it   souness told bbc sport. the scottish football association has appointed tommy burns as provisional caretaker-boss for the friendly against sweden on 17 november.  he fits the bill because of his knowledge and understanding of the scotland team and football. he is experienced and has been successful.  souness added:  walter is a real football person  as i know from working with him at ibrox.  on top of all that he is a proper human being who would command the instant respect of the players and everyone involved in scottish football.  souness joined sir alex ferguson in backing smith s claims. the scottish football association is about to embark on the search for vogts successor after appointing tommy burns in a caretaker capacity. ferguson said:  he (smith) would be the outstanding candidate as far as i m concerned.  you need somebody who knows what they re doing and walter would bring a wealth of experience to the job.  the man utd boss continued:  i don t know what credentials are needed to do the job but it s a job that needs a lot of experience.  he was my assistant with scotland and here at manchester united and he has also managed glasgow rangers.  he would need to change the whole shape of scottish football and radical changes are needed.  smith was assistant to ferguson at the world cup in mexico in 1986. the former everton and rangers boss has been out of the game since a spell as manchester united assistant last term. bbc sport understands that smith would be willing to discuss taking over if he was approached by the scottish fa.  if he is tempted to take over  it seems almost certain smith s long-time right-hand man archie knox would also play a part in the national team set-up. smith already has the backing of many pundits and fans  including former scotland manager craig brown. brown said:  walter is an outstanding candidate without doubt.  he would be admirable choice. i spoke to him on sunday and i got the impression he would take it. he was asking me about it and i was positive.  other candidates for the job include former scotland midfielders gordon strachan and gary mcallister and vogts  assistant tommy burns.
1631,ukip mep attacked german  empire  a uk independence party mep suggested germany saw the eu as an  empire  and was cheaper than using tanks  a new documentary has revealed. mike nattrass  ukip s deputy leader  made the comments to an audience at a meeting during last september s hartlepool by-election campaign. but challenged on the remark  he denied accusing germany of using the eu as cover for a  4th german reich . he says he was not  german-bashing  but saying peace was the eu s founding aim. the meeting was shown in a bbc 3 film on ex-ukip mep robert kilroy-silk. the former chat show host quit the party earlier this month  calling it a joke.  the documentary showed mr nattrass  apparently talking about the eu  telling the meeting:  the germans are the big losers here but they don t care because to them the project is worthwhile.  it s like an empire for them spreading in all directions away from germany into hungary  into what they call the sudetenland - czechoslovakia  places like that.  so it s cheaper for them to do it this way than roll the tanks in.  on tuesday  he told the bbc news website he did not think the comments were offensive and worked happily with meps of different nationalities in the european parliament. he argued that peace was the only reason for having the  outdated  eu as there was no economic justification. pointing to germany s trade interests as a country in the centre of europe  mr nattrass said:  the fact is that the eu benefits germany but it does not benefit britain.  i m not at all german-bashing. it s the truth.  a ukip spokesman said:  mike has some passionate beliefs and sometimes uses excessively colourful language with which to express them.   the documentary showed some of the tensions between mr kilroy-silk and his fellow meps after ukip took third place in last year s european elections. he denied wanting to be leader until october 2004  when he told bbc one s breakfast with frost programme he aspired to the job. asked by the documentary makers why he had lied about his leadership ambitions  mr kilroy-silk said:  there was one thing i said that i shouldn t have said at the time.  i was trying to be helpful to the party and it was the wrong thing to do  i should have told the truth.  the film also included footage of a row between mr kilroy-silk  mep nigel farage and party leader roger knapman about rumours that he was about to resign the ukip whip in the european parliament. mr kilroy-silk told them he had not left the ukip group - a move he announced shortly after the meeting. he told mr farage:  don t tell lies nigel  now you ve told too many. most of the trouble had been caused by you.  ukip officials claim it was in fact mr kilroy-silk  not mr farage  who briefed newspapers he was leaving the group of meps.  later in unguarded  off-air comments in a television studio  mr kilroy-silk was heard saying he was irritated by  defending some of these right-wing fascist nutters . mr kilroy-silk separately said he had argued against ukip working with such groups which believed homosexuality was a sin. a ukip spokesman said there were more than 40 meps in the same group in the european parliament. they were from a broad spectrum - some right-wing  some left-wing - but with a shared belief in the  unfeasibility of the eu as it is now . he did not defend other groups  religious beliefs but argued it was their right to hold such views - just as mr kilroy-silk had a right to criticise arab states. london ukip mep gerard batten said:  robert has made a variety of comments about ukip and its meps.  there are of course two sides to every story. what robert does not say is that he was offered several positions which would have given him effective control of the party  but not the title of leader.  mr kilroy-silk is to launch his own parry  veritas  in westminster on wednesday.
942,cheaper chip for mobiles a mobile phone chip which combines a modem and a computer processor on one bit of silicon instead of two could make phones cheaper and more powerful.  the specially-designed chip  developed by texas instruments  could drive down the cost of making mobiles capable of 3d gaming and 30-frame-a-second video. currently  rich multimedia features tend to be on more expensive handsets. the technology  omap-vox  is being tested by firms in europe and asia and could appear by the end of the year. texas  which makes computer chips for more than half the world s mobile phones  said it was keen to make multimedia functions like video and gaming more affordable.  we re going to drive them down into meat-and-potatoes phones that have the largest market share   said doug rasor  a marketing vice president at texas. the chip also uses much less power than conventional chips  said texas  which means less strain on mobile battery life.  more than 50 million people own a mobile in the uk  but mobile operators are keen to encourage people to move onto more sophisticated handsets that can do more. texas is keen to cash in on the third generation (3g) of mobile technology  which offers high-speed networks for video streaming and other multimedia functions. but it faces stiff competition from the likes of intel which is also looking to provide better chips for high-end mobiles.  competition to get people using 3g mobiles will grow in the next year as almost all of the uk s operators have now launched third generation networks. a recent survey by sony ericsson predicted that the number of 3g handsets sold in 2005 would double from 2004 to account for 10% of all phones sold. many consumers are still to be convinced though. a further recent survey said that only 4% of mobile owners were thinking of upgrading to 3g phones. many said they were confused about the different ways to pay for phones and the vast array of features most have onboard.  but there will be continued demand for better chips as the industry continues to develop new standards and future networks. earlier in january  ntt docomo and vodafone joined forces to develop the next generation of high-speed networks  known as  super 3g   intended to be 10 times faster than 3g services. the first stage of development is to be completed by 2007  but no date has been set for a commercial launch the newly-designed omap-vox chip set was announced ahead of the start of a major mobile industry conference  3gsm  which takes place in cannes  france this week.
1549,usher leads soul train shortlist chart-topping r&b star usher is leading the field at this year s soul train awards  with five nominations.  the singer  whose album confessions has sold close to eight million copies in the us alone  is already in the running for eight grammy awards. newcomer ciara - who recently beat elvis presley to the uk number one spot - has four nominations  while alicia keys has three. the soul train awards ceremony will take place in hollywood on 28 february.  usher has already swept the board at the american music awards with four titles  including two best album awards. his soul train nominations include best male r&b-soul album and best male r&b-soul single for confessions part ii. usher s work with rappers ludacris & lil jon won him nominations for best r&b-soul or rap music video and best r&b-soul or rap dance cut for the song yeah!  while his duet with keys  my boo  earned the pair a nod for best r&b-soul single. keys  album the diary of alicia keys was also up for best r&b-soul album by a female. her song if i ain t got you received a best single nomination in the female r&b-soul category. newcomer ciara s four nominations include best female r&b-soul album and best r&b-soul or rap by a new artist. beyonce  prince  destiny s child  jill scott and new edition all received two nominations each. the soul train music awards  which started 18 years ago  celebrates artists in r&b  hip-hop  rap and gospel music.
516,india to deport bollywood actress india has ordered the deportation of iranian-born model and actress negar khan to norway after saying she was working illegally on her visa.  khan has had raunchy roles in music videos and bollywood films over the past two years. the distressed actress told media she was being driven straight to the airport after a routine appointment at the bombay immigration office. immigration officials said she had been warned about her visa last year.  khan told an indian news channel on her mobile phone:  they are not even letting me go home to get my bags. i have no clothes or money on me.  they did not give me any notice. i don t know why they are taking me away like this. there is nothing wrong with my visa. it says i work here... they are not allowing me to even call a lawyer.  bipin bihari  deputy police chief in bombay  said khan was being sent back to norway  from which she holds a passport  on the first available flight.  she was on a visitor s visa but she has engaged in several commercial ventures   he said.  we issued notices last year  in view of which she had gone back to norway  but she has returned again this year to work.  one of khan s biggest successes was the steamy hindi song chadti jawani (rising youth). khan was involved in controversy when topless photos alleged to be of her appeared in a norwegian magazine.
2215,bush budget seeks deep cutbacks president bush has presented his 2006 budget  cutting domestic spending in a bid to lower a record deficit projected to peak at $427bn (£230bn) this year.  the $2.58 trillion (£1.38 trillion) budget submitted to congress affects 150 domestic programmes from farming to the environment  education and health. but foreign aid is due to rise by 10%  with more money to treat hiv/aids and reward economic and political reform. military spending is also set to rise by 4.8%  to reach $419.3bn. the budget does not include the cost of running military operations in iraq and afghanistan  for which the administration is expected to seek an extra $80bn from congress later this year.  congress will spend several months debating george w bush s proposal.  the state department s planned budget would rise to just under $23bn - a fraction of the defence department s request - including almost $6bn to assist us allies in the  war on terror . however  the administration is keen to highlight its global effort to tackle hiv/aids  the bbc s jonathan beale reports  and planned spending would almost double to $3bn  with much of that money going to african nations. mr bush also wants to increase the amount given to poorer countries through his millennium challenge corporation. the scheme has been set up to reward developing countries that embrace what the us considers to be good governance and sound policies. yet mr bush s proposed spending of $3bn on that project is well below his initial promise of $5bn.  a key spending line missing from proposals is the cost of funding the administration s proposed radical overhaul of social security  the pensions programme on which many americans rely for their retirement income.  some experts believe this could require borrowing of up to $4.5 trillion over a 20-year period. neither does the budget include any cash to purchase crude oil for the us emergency petroleum stockpile. concern over the level of the reserve  created in 1970s  has led to rises in oil prices over the past year. the bush administration will instead continue to fill the reserve by taking oil - rather than cash - from energy companies that drill under federal leases.  the outline proposes reductions in budgets at 12 out of 23 government agencies including cuts of 9.6% at agriculture and 5.6% at the environmental protection agency. the spending plan for the year beginning 1 october is banking on a healthy us economy to boost government income by 6.1% to $2.18 trillion. spending is forecast to grow by 3.5% to $2.57 trillion. but the budget is still the tightest yet under mr bush s presidency.  in order to sustain our economic expansion  we must continue pro-growth policies and enforce even greater spending restraint across federal government   mr bush said in his budget message to congress. mr bush has promised to halve the us s massive budget deficit within five years. the deficit  partly the result of massive tax cuts early in mr bush s presidency  has been a key factor in pushing the us dollar lower. the independent congressional budget office estimates that the shortfall could shrink to little more than $200bn by 2009  returning to the surpluses seen in the late 1990s by 2012. but its estimates depend on the tax cuts not being made permanent  in line with the promise when they were passed that they would  sunset   or disappear  in 2010. most republicans  however  want them to stay in place. and the figures also rely on the  social security trust fund  - the money set aside to cover the swelling costs of retirement pensions - being offset against the main budget deficit.
531,labour s core support takes stock tony blair has told labour supporters he s  back  and still hungry for the job of prime minister - but does that sum up the mood at the party s spring conference in gateshead    the electorate are keener on the government than some labour party members   is the dry assessment of graham lane  leader of the labour group on newham council. the problem  according to mr lane  is not continuing divisions over iraq  foundation hospitals or tuition fees  or even voter apathy  but mr blair himself.  i have a new slogan. vote blair  get brown. that s what i am telling people on the doorstep. don t worry  he will be gone soon.  his friend  saxon spence  leader of devon county labour group  lays the blame for any lack of campaigning zeal on one issue above all others.  you cannot underestimate the impact of the war in iraq. we lost people from our local party who had some key roles.   but the two friends were fired up by gordon brown s speech on saturday  with its appeal to core labour values on social justice  health and education.   there was real passion. i think we have all felt a little jaded  but it reminded us why we joined the party in the first place   said mrs spence.  if he hadn t have walked off the stage  they would still be clapping   added mr lane. but for every brownite at the spring conference there was an equally ardent fan of mr blair. stephen douglas  26  from wales  said after the pm s speech on sunday:  i think it was a bit of a turning point  given the roasting he has had on some issues. the guy still has it.   tony martin  of burnley  said:  he is the first leader who has won us two terms. this bloke has delivered for us.  malcolm shipley  of shipley  said it was  as if he is coming round to the right approach again . katrina bull  a prospective parliamentary candidate said mr blair had shown he could rouse the party s grassroots:  i think if every voter was able to spend time in a room with tony  the way we have today  we will have no problem with turnout.  she had just emerged from a q&a session  in which mr blair - tieless and supremely at ease - answered questions posed via the party s website.  a party of councillors from nottingham agreed that there was nothing wrong with mr blair s leadership - and they were adamant that the campaigning strength of the party in their city was as strong as ever. iraq  they insisted  would not be a factor for most voters.  the biggest problem we have got at the moment is that we keep getting all these polls saying we are going to run away with the election.  it might sound great  but it does create this sense of complacency among our own voters and i think that is the greater problem than iraq   said nottingham city councillor brian parbutt. and even mr blair s most vocal critics seemed to agree on one thing - he is a master of the sort of glossy  high-profile campaigning that has become labour s hallmark  epitomised by friday s whistle-stop tour of marginal seats. a group of shop stewards from the swan hunter shipyard  who said they were facing redundancy  could barely suppress their anger at mr blair s failure to  as they saw it  shake off his tory leanings and stand up for manufacturing in the north east.  they were also scathing about the alleged benefits of showpiece projects such as conference venue sage centre  heralded by john prescott and others this weekend as a symbol of labour s success in urban regeneration.   it is no good having the sage or baltic if you haven t got the money for the entrance fee   said terry telford. but when asked about mr blair s bravura performance on friday  the men agreed he was  brilliant . and they would all be out on the doorstep pushing the labour message come election time.  if you are not fired up about the election  then what s the point  there is no complacency as far as i can see in the labour party. we are fired up. we are up for this election   said richie porterhouse. mr telford agreed  but added it was becoming increasingly difficult to think of an answer when people asked  what has labour done for the north east    i have had doors slammed in my face   he said.  every activist i spoke to said they were proud of what they believed labour had achieved in their local communities - the new hospitals and schools  the better life chances for young people. the problem they faced  they said  was converting this local feelgood factor into votes. but they could at least rely on one  secret weapon   as one activist put it - tory leader michael howard.
1541,hodges announces rugby retirement scarlets and usa eagles forward dave hodges has ended his playing career to pursue a coaching role in the states.  the 36-year-old  who has 54 caps  was llanelli s player of the season in 2001/2  but has battled injury for the last two of his seven years at stradey. he tore a pectoral muscle against the ospreys on boxing day  an injury that would have kept him out for the season.  realising i would be unable to play this season  the club and i agreed to end my contract early   said hodges.   it allows me to move back to the us and pursue opportunities there and allows the scarlets to look to the next generation.  the scarlets have begun to rebuild their squad for next season after a disappointing heineken cup campaign  with plenty more signings and departures expected in the coming weeks.  scarlets chief executive stuart gallacher confirmed that 17 of the current squad would be out of contract in the summer.  we have a deliberate policy whereby around half the squad are coming out of contract and they know they won t all be re-signed  it s a chance to invigorate the squad   he said.  i m positive about the future of the scarlets both on and off the field.  gallacher was keen to pay tribute to the role back-five forward hodges has played at stradey park  though.  david has been a highly influential member of our squad for seven years   said gallacher.  he is a real professional and we thank him for the part he has played in our success.  i am sure he has an enormous contribution to make to the development of rugby in the us and we wish him and his family well.  hodges described his years at stradey as  the best time of my life.
1340,latin america sees strong growth latin america s economy grew by 5.5% in 2004  its best performance since 1980  while exports registered their best performance in two decades.  the united nations  economic commission for latin america and the caribbean said the region grew by 5.5% this year. the inter-american development bank (iadb) said regional exports reached $445.1bn (£227bn;331bn euros) in 2004. doubts about the strength of the us recovery and overheating of the chinese economy do however pose risks for 2005. both organisations also warned that high oil prices raise the risk of either inflation or recession.  nevertheless  the economic commission for latin america and the caribbean (eclac) still forecasts growth of 4% for 2005. strong recovery in some countries  such as venezuela and uruguay  boosted the overall performance of the region. eclac also said that the six largest latin american economies (argentina  brazil  chile  colombia  mexico and venezuela) grew by more than 3% for only the second time in 20 years. chinese and us economic strength helped boost exports  as did strong demand for agricultural and mining products. in fact  latin american exports to china grew 34%  to $14bn. higher oil prices also helped boost exports  as mexico and venezuela are important oil exporters. regional blocs as well as free trade agreements with the us contributed to the region s strong performance  the iadb said.
56,vouchers  to cut winter deaths  pensioners are being promised energy savings by the liberal democrats  as snow and cold temperatures continue.  the party says the plans could save the average pensioner £100 every year and cut winter deaths. the government gives £200 for winter fuel to households with people over 60  or £300 where people are over 80. the tories promise to keep the payments. the lib dems would allow people to swap these winter fuel payments for discounts on home insulation. shadow local government secretary ed davey said:  the current scheme has helped some older people  but this new liberal democrat approach will go much further to end the scandal of tens of thousands of old people dying from the winter cold every year.  the vouchers are designed to let pensioners choose from a list of approved energy supplies who would compete for business by offering discounts on home insulation schemes. the plan would boost energy conservation  says the party - and insulation could save £100 every year for pensioner households  so using the money more  intelligently  than at present.
2138,captains lining up for aid match ireland s brian o driscoll is one of four six nations captains included in the northern hemisphere squad for the irb rugby aid match on 5 march.  france s fabien pelous  gordon bullock of scotland and italy s marco bortolami are also in the northern party. sir clive woodward will coach the northern team against rod macqueen s southern hemisphere team in a tsumani fund-raising match at twickenham.  i m looking forward to working with such outstanding players   he said. it will be a chance for woodward to assess some of his options before unveiling his british and irish lions touring party  who will visit new zealand in the summer.  the game promises to be a great spectacle   he said.  both teams are fielding top-quality sides and i really hope that the rugby public and community get behind this game to raise as much money as possible for such a deserving cause.   l dallaglio (england)  b cohen (england)  a rougerie (france)  d traille (france)  f pelous (france)  r ibanez (france)  p de villiers (france)  b o driscoll (ireland  capt)  p o connell (ireland)  d humphreys (ireland)  c paterson (scotland)  c cusiter (scotland)  g bullock (scotland)  s taylor (scotland)  a lo cicero (italy)  m bortolami (italy)  s parisse (italy)  d peel (wales)  c sweeney (wales)  j thomas (wales)  r williams (wales)  j yapp (wales).  c latham (australia); r caucaunibuca (fiji)  j fourie (s africa) t umaga (new zealand)  s bobo (fiji); a mehrtens (new zealand) g gregan (australia  capt); t kefu (australia)  p waugh (australia)  s burger (s africa); i rawaqa (fiji)  v matfield (s africa); k visagie (s africa)  j smit (s africa)  c hoeft (new zealand). reserves: b reihana (new zealand)  b lima (samoa)  e taukafa (tonga)  o palepoi (samoa)  s sititi (samoa)  m rauluni (fiji)  a n other.
338,yukos heading back to us courts russian oil and gas company yukos is due in a us court on thursday as it continues to fight for its survival.  the firm is in the process of being broken up by russian authorities in order to pay a $27bn (£14bn) tax bill. yukos filed for bankruptcy in the us  hoping to use international business law to halt the forced sale of its key oil production unit  yuganskneftegas. the unit was however sold for $9.4bn to state oil firm rosneft but only after the state auction had been disrupted.  yukos lawyers now say the auction violated us bankruptcy law. the company and its main shareholders have vowed to go after any company that buys its assets  using all and every legal means. the company wants damages of $20bn  claiming yuganskneftegas was sold at less than market value. judge letitia clark will hear different motions  including one from deutsche bank to throw out the chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. the german lender is one of six banks that were barred from providing financing to gazprom  the russian state-owned company that was expected to win the auction for yuganskneftegas. deutsche bank  which is also an advisor to gazprom  has called on the us court to overturn its decision to provide yukos with bankruptcy protection.  lifting the injunction would remove the uncertainty that surrounds the court case and clarify deutsche bank s business position  analysts said.  analysts are not optimistic about yukos  chances in court. russian president vladimir putin and the country s legal authorities have repeatedly said that the us has no jurisdiction over yukos and its legal wranglings. on top of that  the firm only has limited assets in the us. yukos has won small victories  however  and is bullish about its chances in court.  do we have an ability to influence what happens  we think we do   said mike lake  a yukos spokesman.  the litigation risks are real   said credit suisse first boston analyst vadim mitroshin the dispute with the russian authorities is partly driven by president putin s clampdown on the political ambitions of ex-yukos boss mikhail khodorkovsky. mr khodorkovsky is in jail on charges of fraud and tax evasion.
133,wales get williams fitness boost wales are hopeful that openside flanker martyn williams could be fit for saturday s rbs 6 nations championship opener against england in cardiff.  williams was expected to miss the match with a disc problem in his neck  but has been making a speedy recovery.  he will have tests in the next 48 hours and we are pretty optimistic he is getting there   wales  team physiotherapist mark davies said.  it has been frustrating but he is on the mend  he has made good progress.  last week williams  along with fellow flanker colin charvis - who is unlikely to play for at least a month while he recovers from a foot injury - was all but ruled out of the millennium stadium clash. with williams initially thought to be struggling  the signs pointed towards wales coach mike ruddock handing a first cap to former wales under-21 skipper richie pugh.  cardiff blues flanker williams  29  offers considerable experience and if he is declared fit then ruddock might be tempted to include him in the back row. charvis will be reviewed by the wales medical staff next monday  but davies admitted that there was only an  outside chance  of him being fit to face france in wales  third championship game on 26 february. wales  other injury concern is pugh s fellow neath-swansea ospreys player sonny parker  as the centre has a trapped nerve in his neck.  sonny s injury is still an issue   davies said.  it is still painful and irritable. we will run the rule of thumb over him in the next couple of days.  ruddock will name his starting line-up for the england game at 1830 gmt on tuesday evening  as wales target their first victory in cardiff over the world champions since 1993.
215,ireland v usa (sat) saturday 20 november  lansdowne road  dublin  1300 gmt  the irish coach knows a repeat of the record 83-3 victory over the states in 2000 is not on the agenda and expects a real test at lansdowne road.  their coach tom billups will have them very organised   said o sullivan.  they ran five tries past the french in the summer  so we will not take them for granted. we have guys coming into the team who are chomping at the bit.  the irish line-up shows nine changes from the team which started against south africa with winger tommy bowe and flanker denis leamy making their international debuts. the other changes see recalls for backs david humphreys  kevin maggs and guy easterby with eric miller  marcus horan  donnacha o callaghan and frank sheehan all returning to the pack.  o sullivan said the players coming in had the opportunity to stake claims for inclusion against argentina on 27 november. easterby gets a rare start at scrum-half while humphreys  now effectively ronan o gara s deputy at fly-half  wins his 65th cap.  we have got to get the focus right on the day   said ulster man humphreys.  the us may be classed as weaker opposition  but we will treat them with the respect they deserve.  the states lost 39-31 against france in their last international and are ranked 16th in world rugby. the americans have made three changes  plus one positional switch from the game in july against the french. lock alec parker  blind-side flanker brian surgener and right wing al lakomskis return and captain kort schubert of the cardiff blues shifts to number eight. schubert is the only eagles player remaining from the sides  meeting four years ago.  g murphy; s horgan  b o driscoll (capt)  k maggs  t bowe; d humphreys  g easterby; m horan. f sheahan  j hayes  d o callaghan  p o connell  s easterby  d leamy  e miller.  s byrne  s best  l cullen  a foley  p stringer  r o gara  g dempsey.  viljoen; lakomskis  emerick  sika  fee  hercus  timoteo; macdonald  wyatt  waasdorp  parker  klerck  surgener  petruzzella  schubert (capt).  hobson  osentowski  gouws  mo unga  williams  sherman  tuipulotu.
521,fiat chief takes steering wheel the chief executive of the fiat conglomerate has taken day-to-day control of its struggling car business in an effort to turn it around.  sergio marchionne has replaced herbert demel as chief executive of fiat auto  with mr demel leaving the company. mr marchionne becomes the fourth head of the business - which is expected to make a 800m euro ($1bn) loss in 2004 - in as many years. fiat underperformed the market in europe last year  seeing flat sales.  the car business has made an operating loss in five of the last six years and was forced to push back its break-even target from 2005 to 2006. the management changes are part of a wider shake-up of the business following fiat s resolution of its dispute with general motors. as part of a major restructuring  fiat is to integrate the maserati car company - currently owned by ferrari - within its own operations. ferrari  in which fiat owns a majority stake  could be separately floated on the stock market in either 2006 or 2007.  mr marchionne  who only joined the company last year  said fiat auto was now the  principal focus  of his attention.  i have made the decision to take on the post of chief executive of the auto unit to speed up the company s recovery   he said.  a profound cultural transformation is underway following a management reorganisation that has delivered a more agile and efficient structure   he added.  although mr marchionne does not have a background in the car industry  he has been playing an increasing role in the group s activities. last year  he said that a series of new models  launched as part of the group s recovery plan  had not boosted revenues as much as hoped. the car business  best known for its alfa romeo marque  is expected to make a loss of about 800m euros in 2004. sales are expected to fall in 2005  fiat said this week  as it exits unprofitable areas such as the rental car market. mr demel  a car industry veteran  took the helm in november 2003 after being recruited by former fiat chief executive giuseppe morchio. mr morchio made a bid last year to become chairman after the death of president umberto agnelli. however  this was rejected by the founding agnelli family and mr morchio subsequently resigned. earlier this week  fiat reached an agreement with gm to dissolve an alliance which could have obliged gm to buy the italian firm outright. gm will pay fiat $2bn as part of the settlement.
1777,labour accused of  eu propaganda  a  taxpayer subsidised propaganda exercise  on the eu is being used to lull the british public into a false sense of security  say the tories.  shadow foreign secretary michael ancram told mps a new white paper was part of trying to soften up opinion ahead of the referendum on the eu constitution. his claims were denied by foreign secretary jack straw  who accused the tories of  running scared  of debate. eu cooperation would help get better uk immigration controls  he argued.  mr straw used thursday s commons debate to launch the new white paper on the prospects for the eu in 2005. security  stability and prosperity would be the key themes when the uk took over the chairmanship of the eu in july  said mr straw. africa and climate change would also feature highly. he said the uk was trying to ensure future eu budgets were limited to 1% of europe s economic output and were spent  where it adds most value . mr straw promised to continue to ensure the uk s budget rebate  secured in 1984 by margaret thatcher  was  fully justified .  we  like all other countries  have a veto on any changes proposed in this area   he said.  mr ancram condemned the document  which the foreign office says has cost about £2 500 to design  print and deliver.  isn t the reason that the government is now involved in a taxpayer subsidised propaganda exercise to try to sell the new eu to the country in advance of the forthcoming referendum and general election    he asked. the tory spokesman also criticised the government for claiming the eu constitution would make europe easier to understand.  the government  last week  had to publish a commentary of 500 pages to try and explain this  easy and simple  constitution to the british people   he said.  who are they trying to kid   the proposed question for the constitution referendum is:  should the united kingdom approve the treaty establishing a constitution for the european union   the electoral commission on thursday said it was satisfied the question was easy to understand. the government has suggested the referendum on the constitution could take place in spring 2006  with the tories set to campaign for a  no  vote.  mr ancram said ministers were prolonging uncertainty by putting the vote off until the latest date possible. the foreign secretary hit back by saying tory attitudes to europe had helped keep the party out of power for more than a decade. mr straw argued cooperation with european partners could bring a  level playing field  on immigration and asylum controls.  you are setting your face against all of these things   he added. for the liberal democrats  sir menzies campbell said the uk should not ignore the need to reform the eu common agricultural policy. change was particularly important for developing countries wanting access to markets  he argued. sir menzies was among those worried about plans  backed by the uk  to lift the arms embargo imposed on china after the tiananmen square massacre. mr straw said no decisions had been taken - chinese human rights had improved but not by enough.
185,sony wares win innovation award sony has taken the prize for top innovator at the annual awards of pc pro magazine.  it won the award for taking risks with products and for its  brave  commitment to good design. conferring the award  pc pro s staff picked out sony s pcg-x505/p vaio laptop as a  stunning piece of engineering . the electronics giant beat off strong competition from toshiba and chip makers amd and intel to take the gong.  paul trotter  news and features editor of pc pro  said several sony products helped it to take the innovation award.  he said sony s clie peg ux50 media player with its swivel screen and qwerty keyboard  broke the design rules yet again . other sony products that helped included the vaio w1 desktop computer and the ra-104 media server. mr trotter said sony s combining of computer  screen and keyboard in the w1 was likely to be widely copied in future home pcs. the company has also become one of the first to use organic leds in its products.  while not always inventing new technology itself  sony was never afraid to innovate around various formats   said mr trotter.  other awards decided by pc pro s staff and contributors included one for canon s eos 300d digital camera in the most wanted hardware category.  microsoft s media player 10 took the award for most wanted software. this year was the 10th anniversary of the pc pro awards  which splits its prizes into two sections. the first are chosen by the magazine s writers and consultants  the second are voted for by readers. mr trotter said more than 13 000 people voted for the reliability and service awards  twice as many as in 2003. net-based memory and video card shop crucial shared the award for online vendor of the year with novatech.
2105,house prices rebound says halifax uk house prices increased by 1.1% in december  the first monthly rise since september  the halifax has said.  the uk s biggest mortgage lender said prices rose 15.1% over the whole of 2004  but by only 2.8% in the second half of the year. the average price of a house in the uk now stands at £162 086  halifax said. the survey seems to fly in the face of recent evidence that the uk housing market has been slowing substantially in response to interest rate rises.  last week  the nationwide said that house prices fell 0.2% in december  with annual inflation running at a three year low.  on tuesday  figures from the bank of england showed that the number of mortgages approved in the uk has fallen to the lowest level for nearly a decade. new loans in november fell to 77 000  from 85 000 in october  the lowest rate since september 1995  the bank of england said. growth in unsecured lending  such as personal loans and credit cards  also slowed last month. capital economics  which has in the past predicted a sharp fall in uk house prices  branded halifax s findings a  temporary surprise   which would be reversed over the coming months.  the month by month volatility of the halifax house price data should not distract from the fact that there is a clear downward trend in house prices   a capital economics statement said.  experts believe five interest rate rises since november 2003 are cutting borrowers  appetite for debt.  despite recording a price rise in december  the halifax survey concluded that there was  continuing signs of a genuine slowdown in the housing market.  martin ellis  halifax chief economist  said that there was no need to revise the bank s prediction  made last month  that prices would fall by 2% in 2005.  sound housing market fundamentals will continue to underpin the market in 2005  ensuring that the market remains healthy and that house prices fall only slightly   mr ellis said. if the bank s prediction of a 2% price drop comes true  it will be the first annual fall in nine years.  the bank said that the recent pattern of house prices rising the fastest in the north of england continued in december. in the north west and yorkshire and the humber  halifax said prices rose by 3% and 1.2% in the two regions respectively during the month. at the other send of the scale  prices in the south east and london fell by 1.6% and 0.5% respectively. the biggest decline was seen in wales where prices fell by 6.2%  an area that had experienced strong house price growth during most of 2004. overall  halifax said prices in the final quarter of 2004 were 0.1% higher than in the previous quarter. this was the smallest quarterly rise since the second quarter of 2000  the bank said. as a result  annual house price inflation dipped below 20% during the final few months of 2004.
1556,us bank in $515m sec settlement five bank of america subsidiaries have agreed to pay a total of $515m (£277m) to settle an investigation into fraudulent trading share practices.  the us securities and exchange commission announced the settlements  the latest in an industry-wide clean-up of us mutual funds. the sec also said it had brought fraud charges against two ex-senior executives of columbia distributor. columbia distributor was part of fleetboston  bought by boa last year. three other ex-columbia executives agreed settlements with the sec.  the sec has set itself the task of stamping out the mutual funds  use of market-timing  a form of quick-fire  short-term share trading that harms the interests of small investors  with whom mutual funds are particularly popular. in the last two years  it has imposed penalties totalling nearly $2bn on 15 funds. the sec unveiled two separate settlements  one covering boa s direct subsidiaries  and another for businesses that were part of fleetboston at the time. in both cases  it said there had been secret deals to engage in market timing in mutual fund shares. the sec agreed a deal totalling $375m with banc of america capital management  bacap distributors and banc of america securities. it was made up of $250m to pay back gains from market timing  and $125m in penalties. it is to be paid to the damaged funds and their shareholders. separately  the sec said it had reached a $140m deal - equally split between penalties and compensation - in its probe into columbia management advisors (cam) and columbia funds distributor (cfd) and three ex-columbia executives. these businesses became part of boa when it snapped up rival bank fleetboston in a $47bn merger last march.  the sec filed civil fraud charges in a boston federal court against james tambone  who it says headed cfd s sales operations  and his alleged second in command robert hussey. the sec is pressing for the highest tier of financial penalties against the pair for  multiple violations   repayment of any personal gains  and an injunction to prevent future breaches  a spokeswoman for the sec s boston office told the bbc. there was no immediate comment from the men s  lawyers. the sec s settlement with cam and cfd included agreements with three other ex-managers  peter martin  erik gustafson and joseph palombo  who paid personal financial penalties of between $50-100 000.
659,kirwan demands italy consistency italy coach john kirwan has challenged his side to match the performance they produced in pushing ireland close when they meet wales on saturday.  despite losing 28-17 in sunday s six nations encounter  the italians confirmed their continuing improvement.  our goal is to match every side we face and against ireland we showed we could do that   said kirwan.  but the most important thing is that we build on that performance when we play wales on saturday.  italy s half-backs had a mixed afternoon  with recalled scrum-half alessandro troncon impressing but fly-half luciano orquera having an off-day with the boot. kirwan said:  i was very happy with troncon. he had an incredible game - he was very good in attack and defence.  orquera s kicking was off but he showed great courage in defence.  he also followed the game plan. we have to give him confidence because he has the capability to do well.
1837,saint-andre anger at absent stars sale sharks director of rugby philippe saint-andre has re-opened rugby s club-versus-country debate.  sale host bath in the powergen cup on friday  but the frenchman has endured a  difficult week  with six players away on england s six nations training camp.  it s an important game but we ve just the one full session. it s the same for everyone but we need to manage it.  if five players or more are picked for your country they should move the date of the game   he told bbc sport. unless the authorities agree to make changes  saint-andre believes england s national team will suffer as clubs opt to sign foreigners and retired internationals.  that s not good for the politics of the english team or for english rugby   he argues. it is an issue he has taken up before  most notably during the autumn internationals when sale lost all three zurich premiership matches they played.  now he fears it could derail the club s hopes of cup silverware after eight players  including captain jason robinson and fly-half charlie hodgson  were away with their countries.  we re in the quarter-finals  it s always better to play at home than away and it s a great opportunity   he added.  but we have to be careful. bath have just been knocked out of europe and will make it a tough game. it also comes at the end of a very  very difficult week.  sebastien bruno s been with france  jason white with scotland and there are six with england  that s eight players plus injuries - 13 players out of a squad of 31.  we ll have just one session together and will have to do our best to make that a good one on thursday afternoon.   gloucester have also been caught in a club-versus-country conflict after england sought a second medical opinion on james simpson-daniel s fitness. the winger is carrying a shoulder injury and the national team management believe he requires time on the sidelines. as a result he misses the cherry and white s quarter-final at home to bristol.  under the elite player squad agreement  england wanted a second opinion  which they can do   director of rugby nigel melville told the gloucester citizen.   they obviously want him for international rugby and we want him for club rugby in what is a very important game for us. there is a conflict of interests.  the surgeon who carried out his operation said he was fine for us but england say he is still vulnerable to be damaged again and want him on a full rehab programme.  simpson-daniel added:  i ve said to nigel i want to be back playing and that means if everything goes well this week  i can target the worcester game (on 29 january) for a return.
59,scotland v italy (sat) murrayfield  edinburgh  saturday  26 february  1400 gmt  bbc1  five live and this website  victory for the azzurri in rome last year saw scotland end their campaign without a victory. and the pressure is on scotland coach matt williams as he seeks a first six nations victory at the eighth attempt. italy have lost both their opening games at home to ireland and wales  but travel to edinburgh with high hopes.  their coach john kirwan has warned his side they must eradicate the errors that blighted their loss to wales however or risk suffering a third successive defeat.  if the defeat against wales has taught us anything  it s that at this level we can t make any mistakes   kirwan said.  in the six nations  every error you make will come at a high price.  we have to be aggressive for 80 minutes  keep calm in every situation and display great maturity on the pitch.   it will be fundamental to keep cool in the difficult moments - in the key situations of the game.  kirwan has recalled the experienced cristian stoica at centre and drafted in david dal maso at open-side after star flanker mauro bergamasco was ruled out for the rest of the tournament. scotland have also made two changes  simon webster replacing simon danielli on the wing and simon taylor returning for his first test in a year  for injured flanker jason white. taylor s recovery from a serious knee injury is a major boost to scottish hopes.  he is one of the world-class players in the tournament and you want them in your team   acknowledged williams.  despite a record of only two victories from 14 tests  williams insists he is revelling in the pressure.  i actually really enjoy seeing how you cope with such pressure as a coach   he said  optimistic despite opening defeats to france and ireland.  we were confident for those two first games and we are confident we can beat italy too   he added.  : c paterson; s webster  a craig  h southwell  s lamont; d parks  c cusiter; t smith  g bulloch (capt)  g kerr; s grimes  s murray; s taylor  j petrie  a hogg.  r russell  b douglas  n hines  j dunbar  m blair  g ross  b hinshelwood.  r de marigny; mirco bergamasco  c stoica  a masi  l nitoglia; l orquera  a troncon; a lo cicero  f ongaro  m castrogiovanni; s dellape  m bortolami (capt); a persico  d dal maso  s parisse.  g intoppa  s perugini  ca del fava  s orlando  p griffen  r pedrazzi  kp robertson.
383,argentina  venezuela in oil deal argentina and venezuela have extended a food-for-oil deal  which helped the former to overcome a severe energy crisis last year.  argentine president nestor kirchner and venezuelan president hugo chavez signed the deal in buenos aires on tuesday. last april  argentina signed a $240m agreement to import venezuelan fuel in exchange for agricultural goods and this deal has now been extended. venezuela will now import cattle  medicines and medical equipment. last year  argentina s severe energy crisis forced president kirchner to suspend gas exports to chile. argentina fears that rising demand could spark another crisis and wants to prevent it by signing this deal. the two countries also formalised a co-operation deal between venezuelan energy firm pdvsa and argentina s enarsa. under this deal  the argentine market will be opened to venezuelan investment. president chavez added that brazil s petrobras could join soon the co-operation deal. president chavez is an ardent promoter of the concept of a south american oil company  which could include the state-owned companies of venezuela  argentina  brazil and bolivia. the two presidents also agreed to create  television sur   a latin american network of state-owned television channels.
1581,bookmakers back aviator for oscar the aviator has been tipped by uk bookmakers as the favourite to win the best film award at this year s oscars.  ray star jamie foxx is clear favourite in the best actor category while million dollar baby s hilary swank is tipped to win the best actress prize. bookmakers predict cate blanchett will be named best supporting actress. william hill and ladbrokes have given the aviator 4/9 and 8/13 odds of winning best film  with million dollar baby in second place at 9/4.  bet direct and bet 365 also tip the aviator  with the majority of bookmakers regarding finding neverland as the outsider. the aviator is also widely tipped to win the best director prize for martin scorsese. british star clive owen is second favourite at william hill to take the best supporting actor award  for his performance in closer. the favourite in that category is sideways star thomas hayden church. vera drake star imelda staunton has 5/1 odds of winning the best actress oscar at bet 365 and william hill  ahead of fellow uk star kate winslet who has odds of 25/1 at william hill.  mike leigh is the outsider in the best director category for vera drake  a position he holds jointly with ray s taylor hackford at bookmakers vc bet. this year s academy awards will be handed out in hollywood on 27 february. x factor judge sharon osbourne will present sky television s live coverage of the event. meanwhile  clive owen s best supporting actor nomination has led a bookmaker to shorten his odds of becoming the next james bond. he has moved from 4/1 to 5/2 favourite to play 007  with hugh jackman and ewan mcgregor joint second favourite.  clive owen s nomination has sparked a betting frenzy from james bond fans  who feel that his heightened global recognition will have done his chances of becoming the next bond a world of good   said william hill spokesman rupert adams.
2167,us  to raise tv indecency fines  us politicians are proposing a tough new law aimed at cracking down on indecency and bad language on us tv.  fines of up to $500 000 (£266 582) could be imposed each time broadcasters transmit nudity or profanities. the proposal  unveiled in the house of representatives  also seeks to revoke a broadcaster s licence after three violations have been committed. the exposure of janet jackson s breast at last year s superbowl landed cbs with a $550 000 (£293 264) fine. entertainers could also be liable for fines under the proposed legisation from both us politcians and officials from the federal communications commission (fcc). a republican senator from kansas  sam brownbeck  is set to call for a maximum $3 million (£1.6 million) fine for repeated violations.  the current maximum fine stands at $32 500 (£17 320) - 20 of the stations in the cbs network were each penalised these lesser amounts for the jackson incident. republican politician fred upton  who chairs the committee responsible for broadcasting  said current fines are  more of a cost of doing business rather than a deterrent . last year s janet jackson  wardrobe malfunction  encouraged the fcc to impose tougher rules  but the us congress adjourned last year without agreeing on a new level of fines. new figures have to be decided before new legislation can be put before president bush. certain broadcasters  like fox  claim the material they carry does not violate indecency laws and is protected under the right to free speech.
1593,iran jails blogger for 14 years an iranian weblogger has been jailed for 14 years on charges of spying and aiding foreign counter-revolutionaries.  arash sigarchi was arrested last month after using his blog to criticise the arrest of other online journalists. mr sigarchi  who also edits a newspaper in northern iran  was sentenced by a revolutionary court in the gilan area. his sentence  criticised by human rights watchdog reporters without borders  comes a day after an online  day of action  to secure his release. iranian authorities have recently clamped down on the growing popularity of weblogs  restricting access to major blogging sites from within iran. a second iranian blogger  motjaba saminejad  who also used his website to report on bloggers  arrests  is still being held.  a spokesman for reporters without borders  which tracks press freedom across the globe  described mr sigarchi s sentence as  harsh  and called on iranian president mohammed khatami to work to secure his immediate release.  the authorities are trying to make an example of him   the organisation said in a statement.   by handing down this harsh sentence against a weblogger  their aim is to dissuade journalists and internet-users from expressing themselves online or contacting foreign media.  in the days before his arrest mr sigarchi gave interviews to the bbc persian service and the us-funded radio farda. iranian authorities have arrested about 20 online journalists during the current crackdown. they accused mr sigarchi of a string of crimes against iranian state  including espionage  insulting the founder of iran s islamic republic  ayatollah ruhollah khomenei  and current supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei. mr sigarchi s lawyer labelled the revolutionary court  illegal and incompetent  and called for a retrial in a public court.  mr sigarchi was sentenced one day after an online campaign highlighted his case in a day of action in defence of bloggers around the world.  the committee to protect bloggers designated 22 february 2005 as free mojtaba and arash day. around 10 000 people visited the campaign s website during the day. about 12% of users were based in iran  the campaign s director told the bbc news website. curt hopkins said mr sigarchi s sentence would not dent the resolve of bloggers joining the campaign to help highlight the case.  the eyes of 8 million bloggers are going to be more focused on iran since sigarchi s sentence  not less.  the mullahs won t be able to make a move without it be spread across the blogosphere.
1849,mps  murder sentence concern murder sentences should not be reduced automatically simply because of a guilty plea  says a new mps  report.  the influential commons home affairs committee was responding to sentencing guidelines issued this summer. the mps also call for tougher sentences for crimes committed under the influence of drink or drugs. they say the influence of drugs and alcohol should be introduced as an aggravating factor when judges and magistrates sentence offenders. committee chairman john denham said drugs of alcohol were sometimes used as an excuse.   the committee believes that these arguments should be rejected by sentencers and that being under their influence should instead be an aggravating factor.  at present judges  when sentencing murderers to the mandatory life sentence  can reduce the tariff - the minimum term they must serve - if the defendant pleads guilty. but although they are spared the ordeal of a trial many murder victims  relatives are unhappy. in july this year amanda champion s killer  james ford  pleaded guilty to her murder and was jailed for at least 15 years - it would have been longer had he denied the charge.  amanda s uncle  lewis champion  told the bbc news website ford did not deserve any credit for his plea  saying:  nothing at all is worth taking five years off a murder sentence.  mps criticised home secretary david blunkett last year for introducing last-minute rules allowing reduced sentences for murderers who pleaded guilty.  the measures passed into law virtually unnoticed after mr blunkett introduced them at a late stage of the criminal justice bill.  as a result  says the committee  the government may need to re-legislate to  remove ambiguity  over how murderers should be sentenced. it is also calling on the senior judge in england and wales  lord woolf  to abandon draft guidelines he proposed in september to reduce sentences of murderers who plead guilty. the committee said the plans had not reflected the  public disquiet  expressed over the possibility of significantly reduced prison terms for murderers. lord woolf s sentencing guidelines council (sgc) caused further controversy by suggesting a one third discount off sentences for early guilty pleas in all types of crime. as a result murderers who face a 15-year tariff could get five years knocked off if they give themselves up to the police.  mr denham believes the sgc should reconsider its proposals to reflect parliament s wish that murder should be treated as a separate and especially grave category of offence. he said:  we want to see sentencers advised that in the case of murder  reduction in sentence for a guilty plea should not normally be granted in addition to reductions for other mitigating circumstances.  but a spokesman for the home office defended the proposals. he said:  by making express provision for murder tariffs in the criminal justice act  parliament sent a clear signal that it expects murder to be treated differently to other offences.  we stand by the provisions in the act that cover guilty plea discounts  which have potential benefits for victims and witnesses of avoiding the trauma of a trial.   shadow home secretary david davis echoed criticisms of the way mr blunkett introduced the murder tariff rules.  there is genuine concern about potential reductions in murder sentences - such action sends out the wrong signals to violent criminals and completely undermines the government s claim to be tough on crime   he said. but liberal democrat spokesman mark oaten warned the mps  committee that binding judges too much might look like political interference.  the danger of having a prescriptive approach is that whilst every murder is awful  it is also different   he told bbc news.
1691,rapper 50 cent scores chart first rapper 50 cent has become the first solo artist to have three singles in the us top five in the same week.  his track candy shop remained at the top of the charts  while disco inferno crept up from six to five. 50 cent also appears on rap protege the game s song how we do  number four in the us but now outside the uk top ten. the pair had a recent dispute which saw the game thrown out of 50 cent s rap collective g-unit  accusing him of disloyalty in an ongoing feud.  50 cent  who burst onto the music scene in 2003  has had less success in the uk charts  with three singles making the top ten. his debut album  get rich and die tryin   narrowly missed out on becoming a uk chart topper.  but in the us  he headed the 2003 end of year charts for the album and r&b and hip hop artists. newcomer the game s debut reached the top of the charts five weeks ago  while 50 cent s second collection the masscre was released in the us at the end of last week. last may  r&b star usher scored a chart first  with three concurrent singles in the us top 10  a feat which was previously matched only by the bee gees and the beatles. the hit songs were taken from the 24-year-old s confessions album  which topped the american chart for eight weeks.
2033,search sites get closer to users search sites want to get to know you better.  not content with providing access to the millions of websites  many now offer ways that do a better job of remembering  cataloguing and managing all the information you come across. some of the latest to update their search systems are ask jeeves and blinkx  which have both released a series of utilities that try to help people get more from the web.  the future is all about developing your own personal web   said tony macklin  spokesman for ask jeeves.  mr macklin said that too often when people use a search engine it was like the first time they ever used it  because there was no memory of what they had searched for before.  each time you go back in you have to start all over again   he said. the series of updates to its service  collected under the my ask jeeves banner  would help people remember where they had been before.  ask jeeves has added the ability to  save  websites of interest so the next time a users visits the site they can search through the sites they have previously found. sites saved in this way can be arranged in folders and have notes attached to them to explain why they were saved. mr macklin said many people wanted to save sites they had seen but did not want to add them to their bookmarks or favourites not least because such lists cannot be easily searched. on average  said mr macklin  users conduct between five and 10 searches per day and the tools in my ask jeeves should stop them having to do searches twice and get to what they want much more easily. under my ask jeeves users can search the web or through the results they have already noted as interesting.  it s about finding again what you found before   he said. the my ask jeeves service lets people store up to a 1000 web links or 5000 if they sign up to the free service. by way of comparison google s desktop search tool catalogues search histories informally and lets people look through the sites they have visited.  at the same time  search start-up blinkx has released a second version of its eponymous software. blinkx is desktop search software that watches what someone is working on  be it a document or e-mail  and suggests websites  video clips  blogs or documents on a pc that are relevant to it.  since blinkx launched it has faced increased competition from firms such as google  copernic  enfish  x1 and apple all of whom now have programs that let people search their pc as well as the web.  the competition has validated the problem we tackle   said suranga chandratillake  co-founder of blinkx. in the latest release of blinkx  the company has added what it calls smart folders. once created the folders act as persistent queries that automatically sweep the web for pages related to their subject and catalogues relevant information  documents or incoming e-mails  on hard drives too. what users do with blinkx and other desktop search engines shows that people tend to be very promiscuous in their use of search engines.  blinkx users do not stop using other web search systems   he said.  they might use google to look up a company  or yahoo for travel because they know they are good at that   he said.  the classic thing we have seen recently  is people using blinkx to look at the things they have searched on   he said. the variety of ways to search data was only helping users  said mr chandratillake and that it was likely that in the future people would use different ones for different tasks.
2092,collins named uk athletics chief uk athletics has ended its search for a new performance director by appointing psychologist dave collins.  collins  who worked with the british teams at the 2000 and 2004 olympics  takes over from max jones. six candidates were interviewed for the job  including denise lewis  coach charles van commenee and former british triple jumper keith connor.  we ve searched long and hard to ensure we have found the right person   said uka chief executive david moorcroft.  we have thoroughly tested the candidates. i believe david will make a great leader and i have great faith in what he will achieve.  collins said:  it s a great challenge. over the next few months i will spend time listening to those who already make a significant contribution to athletics and other elite sports in the uk.  collins  who has worked with javelin thrower steve backley in the past  started his career as a royal marine before becoming a pe teacher. he is currently professor of physical education and sport performance at edinburgh university  where he helps competitors across many sports  including rugby  athletics  judo and football.  he has specialised in helping competitors fulfil their potential through psychology and has worked with the great britain women s curling team  who won gold at the 2002 winter olympics. mark lewis-francis sought collins  advice in athens when he was looking for inspiration before he ran the final leg of britain s surprise triumph in the 4x100m relay. collins has played rugby at regional level  was captain of the great britain american football team  and competed at national level in judo and karate. he arrives with british athletics at a crossroads. despite kelly holmes  golden double and the success of the sprint relay squad  the gb team failed to live up to expectations in athens. many older competitors have retired or are coming to the end of their careers  and britain failed to win a single medal at the world junior championships in italy this year. collins will not have day-to-day coaching contact with the athletes  but will be expected to make changes to the system and coaching set-up in order to secure medals at the beijing olympics in 2008. the appointment of a new performance director was one of the main recommendations in sir andrew foster s review of the sport  which was published in may. it was commissioned by uk sport and sport england  which wanted uk athletics to justify funding of more than £40m from the government following the failure to hang on to the 2005 world championships  which are now being held in helsinki. van commenee dropped out of the selection process to take on the same role with the dutch olympic committee  while connor s application was rejected after an arduous interview process. foster  however  declared himself satisfied with how the appointment was made.  the appointment of david collins  with his strong mix of leadership skills and managerial experience  is testament to the professional and detailed recruitment process   he said.
849,slimmer playstation triple sales sony playstation 2 s slimmer shape has proved popular with uk gamers  with 50 000 sold in its first week on sale.  sales have tripled since launch  outstripping microsoft s xbox  said market analysts chart-track. the numbers were also boosted by the release of the ps2-only game grand theft auto: san andreas. the title broke the uk sales record for video games in its first weekend of release. latest figures suggest it has sold more than 677 000 copies.   it is obviously very  very encouraging for sony because microsoft briefly outsold them last week   john houlihan  editor of computerandvideogames.com told bbc news.  and with halo 2 [for xbox] out next week  it really is a head-to-head contest between them and xbox.   although xbox sales over the last week also climbed  ps2 sales were more than double that. the figures mean sony is reaching the seven million barrier for uk sales of the console. edinburgh-based developer  rockstar  which is behind the gta titles  has seen san andreas pull in an estimated £24m in gross revenues over the weekend. in comparison  blockbuster films like harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban took £11.5m in its first three days at the uk box office. the lord of the rings: the return of the king took nearly £10m over its opening weekend  although games titles are four to five times more expensive than cinema tickets.  gangster-themed gta san andreas is the sequel to grand theft auto vice city which previously held the record for the fastest-selling video game ever. the xbox game halo 2  released on 11 november in the uk  is also widely tipped to be one of the best-selling games of the year. the original title won universal acclaim in 2001  and sold more than four million copies.  mr houlihan added that sony had done well with the ps2  but it definitely helped that the release of san andreas coincided with the slimline ps2 hitting the shelves. the run-up to christmas is a huge battlefield for games consoles and titles. microsoft s xbox had been winning the race up until last week in sales. the sales figures also suggest that it may be a largely adult audience driving demand  since gta san andreas has an 18 certificate. sony and microsoft have both reduced console prices recently and are preparing the way for the launches of their next generation consoles in 2005.  both have hit crucial price points at around £100 and that really does open up new consoles to new audience  plus the release of two really important games in terms of development are also driving those sales   said mr houlihan.
1780,tv presenter deeley drops cd:uk cat deeley has resigned as host of itv1 s saturday morning children s music show cd:uk after six years.  the 28-year-old host who also presents stars in their eyes said she wanted to concentrate on new television projects.  i ve had a great few years  met some really incredible people and been given some wonderful opportunities   the presenter said. deeley will host her last show on 5 march and guest presenters will stand in until a replacement is found.  the long-running presenter said:  i would like to take this opportunity to thank the cd:uk team and all the viewers that have watched  supported the show and let me gate crash their saturday morning.  whilst obviously i am really sad to say goodbye  i m immensely excited about the future.  deeley formerly co-hosted sm:tv  the children s show which airs before cd:uk on a saturday morning  alongside hit presenters ant and dec. she won a children s bafta award for best presenter in december 2001 and also fronted bbc one s fame academy series.
1747,french consumer spending rising french consumers increased their spending by 1.5% in january  a figure which bodes well for the country s economic growth  figures revealed.  the national statistic institute (insee) added that consumer spending in january rose 3.8% on a year-on-year basis. rising sales of household equipment were behind the increase. the insee also said that french consumer prices fell 0.6% in january  but were up 1.6% on an annual basis.  despite the general increase in spending in january  french households bought fewer cars in january. according to the insee  car sales fell 2.8% in january  following a fall of 0.6% in december. but on a year-on-year basis  the sector still saw a sales increase of 6.5%. consumer spending fuelled france s economic growth in the last quarter of 2004 and analysts expect that it will continue to support the economy.  it s a growth that will remain fragile and vulnerable to risks like a strong rise in long-term interest rates  tension in the oil price   emmanuel ferry  from exane bnp paribas told reuters news agency.  meanwhile in italy  consumer confidence rose to its highest level since october 2004. economic research group isae has said that italian consumer confidence rose to 104.4 from 103.3  despite a slight deterioration in short-term sentiment.
1509,kennedy s cautious optimism charles kennedy is far too canny to make any grand claims about how his party may fare at the general election.  in his 22 years in the commons  he has seen his fair share of such claims dashed on the rocks of bitter experience and  he might say  the uk s political and electoral system. but even his caution cannot hide the fact that this is a party and a leader that believes it may well be on the way to something special in a few months  time.  look  i have already said i am not going to put any artificial limits on our ambitions this time around   he said. he still seems to accept that the most likely outcome is another labour victory of some sort. and his general election pitch is designed around the notion of the lib dems as the  real  opposition.  but doesn t that lead to the jibe that his is a party actively bidding to come second  he is prepared to go this far:  a clear conclusion has been reached  including by conservatives  that the conservatives are not going to win this election.  therefore the potential is there for the liberal democrat advance to be one of the big stories of the election  given that we have the capacity to take on labour and win as well as take on the conservatives and win.  this is really going to be the first modern three party uk election that we have all experienced . but haven t we been here before  with suggestions in the 1980s that labour was finished. won t voters looking for an alternative to labour still naturally gravitate to the conservatives   the problem is that  geographically  the conservative party has melted away in about a third of britain.  we have supplanted them as the main alternative to labour in whole tracts of mainland britain. and they are a party with an ageing and declining membership base and they just do not look vibrant or vital or in touch any longer with contemporary britain .  mr kennedy is also eager to dispel any impression his party is the new party of the left and is likely to attract mostly disillusioned labour voters.  he insists his three headline commitments  to be financed from a 1% tax increase on those earning over £100 000 a year  will appeal right across the political spectrum. they are to replace the council tax with a local income tax  provide free long term care for the elderly and scrap student fees. he also believes being the only major party promising to increases taxes will not land him in the same trouble a similar policy did to old labour.  i think the tax argument has moved on a lot in british politics particularly in the context of the forthcoming general election   he said. under a labour government the tax burden would have to rise  while the tories  plans to increase spending in some areas while also reducing taxes is just incredible  he claims.   we are being straightforward with people  saying you know there is likely to be an increase in the tax burden  we are only recommending one specific tax rise for the top end of income scale earners to fund three specific policies .   that is a clear cut choice for people  one i am very comfortable with and i think will distinguish us from the others . as to his own future  he is clear. if  as expected  his party increases its showing at the election  he intends to go into the next parliament  on the front foot with a view to leading it right through that parliament into the next election because i see that as the decisive opportunity for us . that last remark reflects a view gaining ground in westminster that  if the tories do as badly as some fear  the election after next might really see that historic breakthrough by the third party. perhaps then mr kennedy will be ready to put some of the caution to one side.
1305,uk homes hit £3.3 trillion total the value of the uk s housing stock reached the £3.3 trillion mark in 2004 - triple the value 10 years earlier  a report indicates.  research from halifax  the country s biggest mortgage lender  suggests the value of private housing stock is continuing to rise steadily. all regions saw at least a doubling in their assets during the past decade. but northern ireland led the way with a 262% rise  while scotland saw the smallest increase of just 112%.  the core retail price index rose by just 28% in the same period  underlining how effective an investment in housing has been for most people during the past decade. more than a third of the uk s private housing assets - representing more than a trillion pounds in value - are concentrated in london and the south east  the halifax s figures indicate. tim crawford  group economist at halifax  said:  the value of the private housing stock continues to grow and the family home remains  by a large margin  the most valuable asset of the majority of households in the uk.  halifax s own monthly figures on house sales - issued on thursday - suggest the average price of a british property now stands at £163 748 after a 0.8% rise in january. housing experts are split on prospects for the market  with some saying price growth will slow but not fall  while others predict a sharp drop in values.
2055,tories leave door open for archer the conservative party would deal  sympathetically  with any application by disgraced peer lord archer to rejoin its ranks  its co-chairman has said.  dr liam fox told bbc one s breakfast with frost programme there was no place for  vindictiveness  in politics. lord archer spent two years in prison after being convicted of perjury and perverting the course of justice. the former tory deputy chairman s five-year suspension from the party has just elapsed.  a jury ruled that lord archer lied during a libel trial against the daily star at the high court in london in 1987.  he won damages after the newspaper printed allegations about involvement with a prostitute. dr fox was asked if he would say yes or no if lord archer applied to rejoin.  i m sure that in line with people having served their sentence and having done some reparations for what they did wrong  we would look at that sympathetically.  i don t believe in vindictiveness  i don t think that has any place in politics  unlike the prime minister and alastair campbell.   tory peer lord tebbit said he agreed with dr fox s view  and said the case should be looked at on its merits.  after all  he is far from being the worst perjurer in the world   he added. meanwhile  senior conservative mp sir teddy taylor warned that moves bring lord archer back into the fold could be controversial. he said:  i suppose  on a sunday in particular  we should always make provision for forgiving sinners. but there is no doubt it would be controversial.  lord archer  who was not available for comment  remains a popular figure among constituency tory parties and is a successful fundraiser. he has not been seen in the house of lords since his release from prison in july 2003  although there is nothing in the rules to prevent him from attending.
2139,libya takes $1bn in unfrozen funds libya has withdrawn $1bn in assets from the us  assets which had previously been frozen for almost 20 years  the libyan central bank has said.  the move came after the us lifted a trade ban to reward tripoli for giving up weapons of mass destruction and vowing to compensate lockerbie victims. the original size of libya s funds was $400m  the central bank told reuters. however  the withdrawal did not mean that libya had cut its ties with the us  he added.   we are in the process of opening accounts in banks in the united states   the central bank s vice president farhat omar ben gadaravice said. the previously frozen assets had been invested in various countries and are believed to have included equity holdings in banks. the us ban on trade and economic activity with tripoli - imposed by then president ronald regan in 1986 after a series of what the us deemed terrorist acts  including the 1988 lockerbie air crash - was suspended in april. bankers from the two country s had been working on how to unfreeze libya s assets.
57,ukraine trims privatisation check ukraine is to review  dozens  of state asset sales as the country s new administration tackles corruption.  the figure announced by president viktor yushchenko is less than the 3 000 cases mentioned last week  but will cover many of the biggest deals. ukraine recently ousted long-serving leader leonid kuchma and has said it wants closer european union links. in a separate statement  the eu said that the us should back ukraine s entry into the world trade organisation. the comments came as viktor yushchenko prepared to head to brussels to meet with us president george w bush and other north atlantic treaty organisation (nato) leaders. he is the only non-nato member leader invited to attend the summit.  mr yushchenko recently defeated moscow-backed presidential candidate and prime minister viktor yanukovych at the polls  and has made no secret of his wish to fight corruption and make ukraine more transparent.  earlier this month  new prime minister yulia tymoshenko said as many as 3 000 firms may have their privatisations put under the spotlight. her comments raised concerns among a number of investors and mr yushchenko was seen on monday as trying to soothe their frayed nerves.  we acknowledge that business in ukraine is now shaped and 98% of privatisations were carried out according to the law   mr yushchenko said on monday.  we have trust in this business and want to defend it by law   he continued  adding that any review would focus on  dozens of companies  not hundreds or thousands . he cited last year s sale of ukrainian steel producer krivorizhstal as one that had raised concerns. it was sold in june 2004 to a consortium that included viktor pinchuk  son-in-law of former-president kuchma  and rinat akhmetov  the country s richest man  for $800m (£424m) - despite other higher offers.  vice-prime minister oleg rybachuk called on the eu to recognise the steps that ukraine was taking  fearing that should the country not be rewarded for its efforts there may be a backlash against closer relations with brussels. he said that while he understood that ukraine was not ready for eu membership  the country needed to see progress on topics such as trade and visa requirements.  we deserve an honest response   mr rybachuk told the associated press in an interview.  we understand the difficulties. we refuse to understand double standards.  ukraine may find it has a sympathetic ear in brussels  the eu has reiterated that we support (ukraine s) fast accession to the wto and if possible we would like that to happen some time during the year   said claude veron-reville  a spokesman for eu trade commissioner peter mandelson.  we have said as much to the americans. we feel that it is important for us all to pull together for ukraine to be allowed into the wto. mr yushchenko was careful not to turn his back on russia  which borders the country to the east  saying it was important to maintain  pragmatic  ties with moscow.  russia is ukraine s eternal strategic partner   mr yushchenko said.
1496,asian quake hits european shares shares in europe s leading reinsurers and travel firms have fallen as the scale of the damage wrought by tsunamis across south asia has become apparent.  more than 23 000 people have been killed following a massive underwater earthquake and many of the worst hit areas are popular tourist destinations. reisurance firms such as swiss re and munich re lost value as investors worried about rebuilding costs. but the disaster has little impact on stock markets in the us and asia.  currencies including the thai baht and indonesian rupiah weakened as analysts warned that economic growth may slow.  it came at the worst possible time   said hans goetti  a singapore-based fund manager.  the impact on the tourist industry is pretty devastating  especially in thailand.  travel-related shares dropped in europe  with companies such as germany s tui and lufthansa and france s club mediterranne sliding. insurers and reinsurance firms were also under pressure in europe.  shares in munich re and swiss re - the world s two biggest reinsurers - both fell 1.7% as the market speculated about the cost of rebuilding in asia. zurich financial  allianz and axa also suffered a decline in value.  however  their losses were much smaller  reflecting the market s view that reinsurers were likely to pick up the bulk of the costs. worries about the size of insurance liabilities dragged european shares down  although the impact was exacerbated by light post-christmas trading. germany s benchmark dax index closed the day 16.29 points lower at 3.817.69 while france s cac index of leading shares fell 5.07 points to 3.817.69. investors pointed out  however  that declines probably would be industry specific  with the travel and insurance firms hit hardest.  it s still too early for concrete damage figures   swiss re s spokesman floiran woest told associated press.  that also has to do with the fact that the damage is very widely spread geographically.   the unfolding scale of the disaster in south asia had little immediate impact on us shares  however. the dow jones index had risen 20.54 points  or 0.2%  to 10 847.66 by late morning as analsyts were cheered by more encouraging reports from retailers about post-christmas sales. in asian markets  adjustments were made quickly to account for lower earnings and the cost of repairs. thai airways shed almost 4%. the country relies on tourism for about 6% of its total economy. singapore airlines dropped 2.6%. about 5% of singapore s annual gross domestic product (gdp) comes from tourism. malaysia s budget airline  airasia fell 2.9%. resort operator tanco holdings slumped 5%.  travel companies also took a hit  with japan s kinki nippon sliding 1.5% and his dropping 3.3%. however  the overall impact on asia s largest stock market  japan s nikkei  was slight. shares fell just 0.03%. concerns about the strength of economic growth going forward weighed on the currency markets. the indonesian rupiah lost as much as 0.6% against the us dollar  before bouncing back slightly to trade at 9 300. the thai baht lost 0.3% against the us currency  trading at 39.10. in india  where more than 2 000 people are thought to have died  the rupee shed 0.1% against the dollar analysts said that it was difficult to predict the total cost of the disaster and warned that share prices and currencies would come under increasing pressure as the bills mounted.
671,dvd copy protection strengthened dvds will be harder to copy thanks to new anti-piracy measures devised by copy protection firm macrovision.  the pirated dvd market is enormous because current copy protection was hacked more than five years ago. macrovision says its new ripguard technology will thwart most  but not all  of the current dvd ripping (copying) programs used to pirate dvds.  ripguard is designed to... reduce dvd ripping and the resulting supply of illegal peer to peer   said the firm. macrovision said the new technology will work in  nearly all  current dvd players when applied to the discs  but it did not specify how many machines could have a problem with ripguard. the new technology will be welcomed by hollywood film studios which are increasingly relying on revenue from dvd sales.  the film industry has stepped up efforts to fight dvd piracy in the last 12 months  taking legal action against websites which offer pirated copies of dvd movies for download.   ultimately  we see ripguard dvd... evolving beyond anti-piracy  and towards enablement of legitimate online transactions  interoperability in tomorrow s digital home  and the upcoming high-definition formats   said steve weinstein  executive vice president and general manager of macrovision s entertainment technologies group. macrovision said ripguard was designed to plug the  digital hole  that was created by so-called decss ripper software. it circumvents content scrambling system measures placed on dvds and let people make perfect digital copies of copyrighted dvds in minutes. those copies could then be burned onto a blank dvd or uploaded for exchange to a peer-to-peer network. macrovision said ripguard would also prevent against  rent  rip and return  - where people would rent a dvd  copy it and then return the original. ripguard is expected to be rolled out on dvds from the middle of 2005  the company said. the new system works specifically to block most ripping programs - if used  those programs will now most likely crash  the company said. macrovision has said that rip guard can be updated if hackers find a way around the new anti-copying measures.
1193,eu rules  won t stop uk spending  the shape of the uk s economy in graphics  but he denied that he was ruling out british membership of the euro despite saying there would be no assessment of the five economic tests this year. mr brown said that it was vital the uk continued to invest in infrastructure  science  and education in the future. otherwise it would be overtaken by the likes of china  he told mps.  the chancellor said that the eu s planned changes in the growth and stability pact - designed to ensure that countries in the euro zone do not borrow too much - would force britain to run a budget surplus of 1% over the economic cycle.  under mr brown s rules  the uk current budget must be in balance over the economic cycle  but public investment is not counted as part of that deficit. he told the house of commons treasury select committee that the eu rules  make it difficult for a low debt country to run the investment programmes that are necessary to improve its infrastructure . but he argued that the eu was moving in the direction of the uk principles  and would eventually recognise the need to consider budget deficits over a longer period than one year  to include investment  and to take more account of the total size of government debt as well as the balance each year. under mr brown s  sustainable investment  rule  government debt should be under 40% - in contrast to the 60% allowed under the growth and stability pact.  mr brown vigorously denied conservative claims that he had in effect fiddled the figures to ensure that he met his own fiscal rules. in march the office of national statistics (ons) reclassified £3.4bn of spending on road repairs as public investment - shortly before the chancellor announced in the budget that he would meet his own fiscal budget rule by only £6bn. conservative michael fallon asked mr brown whether the treasury had leaned on ons to make this change  and said that the ons had received a written paper from the treasury on this matter. but the chancellor said mr fallon was  impugning the integrity  of the office of national statistics and said the decision had been made completely independently. mr brown also denied that he was increasing taxes to fund his spending gap. he told the treasury select committee that a growing economy meant more people in work and more profits for companies which would boost treasury coffers.  earlier  ex-conservative chancellor ken clarke welcomed a relaxation of the rules governing the euro zone. speaking on radio 4 s today programme  mr clarke said political give and take would replace more  rigid  rules. but fellow tory david heathcoat-amory said the folly of the system was in trying to run europe s varied economies on one set of rules.  the essential point here is that the stability and growth pact has turned out to be a fake   he said.  the warning is about the european constitution  which we are going to have a vote on in a year or two  and that centralises and entrenches these rules in a constitution. it gives more powers to brussels to co-ordinate things like employment and economic policy.  but  speaking to the treasury select committee  gordon brown said that the new stability pact rules were not part of a binding treaty and could be changed again the future - potentially opening the way for future euro membership.  the conditions for euro entry are unchanged by this new decision about the stability and growth pact   mr. brown said.
2104,ds aims to touch gamers the mobile gaming industry is set to explode in 2005 with a number of high-profile devices offering a range of gaming and other features such as movie and music playback. market leader nintendo  however  is releasing a handheld console that it says will revolutionise the way games are played.  the first striking thing about the ds is how retro it looks. far from looking like a mould-breaking handheld  it looks more like nintendo dug out a mould from a 1980s handheld prototype. the lightweight clam shell device opens up to reveal two screens  and when switched on it instantly reveals its pedigree. both screens are crisp and clear while the bottom of the two is touch sensitive. nintendo has given developers free rein to utilise the dual screens and ability to control the action by simply touching the screen.  the japanese gaming giant hopes the ds will maintain the firm s pre-eminence in an increasingly-competitive mobile gaming market.  nintendo first launched its gameboy console in 1989 and has dominated the market ever since. but its lead can no longer be taken for granted. sony will enter the market later this year with its playstation portable  while start-up companies gizmondo and tapwave zodiac are also offering hybrid devices.  we believe the ds will appeal to all ages  both genders and gamers of any skill   said david yarnton  nintendo europe s general manager said at the recent press launch for the handheld. with its two screens  wireless connectivity and backwards compatibility with the gameboy advance  the ds certainly has a number of unique selling points. it went on sale in the us in mid-november priced $150 and nintendo says sales have exceeded expectations  without giving detailed figures. japan and europe will have to wait until the first quarter of 2005 to get the device. with more than two million pre-orders for the device in japan  nintendo is confident it will keep its number one spot. but will the device prove to be as revolutionary as claimed  the game ships with a demo of metroid hunters - a 3d action title which can be played alone or with a group of friends using the machine s wireless capabilities. it certainly looks impressive on the small machine and plays smoothly even with a group of people.  the game can be controlled by using the supplied stylus to aim. the top screen is used to navigate the action while the bottom screen offers a top-down map and the ability to switch weapons. it is certainly a unique control method and while it makes aiming more controlled it can be a little disorientating. super mario 64 ds is a faithful re-creation of the nintendo 64 classic with a host of new mini-games and new levels. the game looks stunning on the portable machine and the sound too is impressive for such a small machine. one thing is for certain. hardened gamers will have to learn to adapt to a new way of playing while it could prove to be an accessible way in to gaming for novices  ultimately the success or failure of the device lies in the hands of developers. if they manage to create titles which use the nintendo ds s key features then a whole new market of gamers could open up. the fear is that the touch screen and voice recognition are treated as little more than gimmicks.
872,dvd review: spider-man 2 it s a universal rule that a film can either be a superhero special effects extravaganza or it can be good. but spider-man 2 breaks that rule in two.  it s not fantastically deep but you get quickly drawn into the tale of spidey versus doc ock and more so into the fate of poor peter parker. gigantic action set pieces seamlessly work with more brooding personal torment and it all looks stunning. a few effects look false but tobey maguire  kirsten dunst and alfred molina make this compelling. the other universal rule is that dvds of superhero films will have making of features only about the effects. this disc covers those special effects enough but as just one part of a detailed look at the film. then there are commentaries  trailers and a blooper reel.  sometimes quality comes in bulk: this set contains no less than 34 john wayne films ranging from the westerns and war movies to the quiet man.  now is that a christmas present or what  give this to someone on 24 december and you won t see them again until early in the new year. it s not truly a complete collection and leans more toward wayne s earlier films: there s no true grit  for instance  though there is hellraisers. the films look well transferred to dvd  though none has extras.  it was very daft but it knew it was and somehow this famous 1979 series became a cult favourite that s been long awaited on dvd. this set has the first season of buck (gil gerard) and wilma s (erin gray) tongue-in-cheek adventures and it s all as camp and gaudy as you remember. but it s also a disappointment. the us dvd has this and the more po-faced second season - and you can import it for just about the same price. the bigger omission  though  is that there are no extras. that s particularly disappointing because originally there were meant to be commentaries and stars gerard and gray had agreed to do them.
606,parry firm over gerrard listen to the full interview on sport on five and the bbc sport website from 1900 gmt.  but parry  speaking exclusively to bbc sport  also admits gerrard  who has been constantly linked with chelsea  will have the final say on his future. he told bbc five live:  steven is above money. he is the future of liverpool.  it doesn t matter if it s £30m  £40m or £50m  we will not accept offers. but we are also realistic enough to know we can t keep steven against his will.  on the subject of liverpool s finances  parry also revealed the club is ready to explore the possibility of a sponsorship deal for its proposed new stadium.  and responding to criticism from bbc sport pundit and former liverpool stalwart alan hansen  he insisted talks on new investment are ongoing  but added the door has not closed on shareholder and lifelong fan steve morgan. parry joined liverpool as chief executive in july 1998 from a similar role at the premier league. there have been several highs and lows during his time in charge at anfield - and he had a busy summer  overseeing the arrival of new manager rafael benitez and managing to hold on to steven gerrard.  on the subject of liverpool s captain and prize asset  parry revealed real madrid  did  ask for an option on the england midfield man during negotiations for striker fernando morientes. he said:  they were looking for ways of saying they got more out of the deal for fernando morientes  but the response to real madrid was the same - steven is not for sale.  but when asked if gerrard would be a liverpool player on the first day of next season  parry said:  i sincerely hope he will be. steven knows my views. he knows rafa s views.  we have re-affirmed recently to steven that we are trying to build a team around him. we crave success as much as he does. we know he s ambitious and nobody can argue with that.   i think steven would dearly love to win things with liverpool more than he d like to do anything else.  we all want to see progress by next season. he s not alone in that. there are a lot of other players who feel the same  so we all have a common aim.  it is expected chelsea will test liverpool with a £30m-plus bid in the summer - but parry claims he will be in no mood to listen.  there have been a lot of open secrets about steven  most of which have been complete myths. it is suggested we had a deal tied up last summer. we didn t had an offer last summer   parry explained.  we had told chelsea that as far as we were concerned he was not for sale and we didn t want to sell him. in reality it didn t go beyond that.  maybe there will be an offer in the summer. maybe there won t.   our position is we want steven to stay  but we are also realistic enough and have enough respect for steven - and he has enough respect for us - to know that it is his decision that will be crucial.  you are not going to keep a player like steven against his will. that just doesn t work  but any idea we are going to accept offers for steven and then tell him  by the way we ve decided to sell you  is not on the agenda. you can forget that.  parry is currently in the process of finalising funding for liverpool s new stadium in stanley park  which is set to open in 2007. and he confessed arsenal s £100m deal with emirates to sponsor their new ground - complete with naming rights - has given the anfield club serious food for thought. he said:  i have to say historically it is something i have been against  and i have been on record as saying that  but i think the size of the arsenal deal is a real eye-opener.   i would say in the past deals have been done frankly far too cheaply and it just hasn t even been worth contemplating.  but the arsenal deal is the sort of deal that causes you to draw breath and say  wow - that s interesting.   my personal point of view is that i would find it a hell of a lot more palatable than a shared stadium.  some liverpool fans would find such a move highly controversial  but parry countered:  i recognise it would be an emotive issue for many supporters  but you look at the amount of money available and it could go into the team.  if it was the right partner how strong an issue is it  time will tell.  i think the stadium will always be anfield  not least because of where it is  but do we need to investigate the possibilities of sponsorship  i think it would be remiss not to.  that s not to say we have made a decision that we will go down that road  but i think it is clearly something we have to explore.   on the subject of possible new investment  parry revealed liverpool are still in negotiations with a mystery investor  with rumours of interest from the middle east. that prompted the withdrawal of tycoon steve morgan  who got frustrated by failed bids and what he claimed was indecision by the board. he also accused liverpool of using him as  a stalking horse  to attract other bids  but parry explained:  steve has never been used as a stalking horse. there s no need  and that is not the way we do business.  we had discussions with steve over the course of 2004. i think we came close to concluding a deal in the summer but it didn t happen.  quite genuinely  the new interest did appear relatively late in the day just prior to the agm in december  and as i have said it was of such potential magnitude  and that potential is so exciting  we felt we had to evaluate it. we are still evaluating it.  steve s interest was taken very much on its own merits. his enthusiasm for the club is there for all to see and who knows what the next few months will hold   the door isn t closed on anything. we had a perfectly sensible dialogue with steve last year.  we have a common interest in making liverpool successful. that s a dream we all share  so as far as i m concerned the door is not closed.   i would take £50m if we had no investment  but if we did  keep him. as for the stadium  if it gets us cash what difference does it make really   £50m for gerrard  i don t care who you are  the directors would take the money and it is the way it should be. we cannot let that sum of money go  despite gerrard s quality.  through a cleverly worded statement  the club has effectively forced gerrard to publicly make the decision for himself  which i think is the right thing to do.  critical time for liverpool with regards to gerrard. ideally we would want to secure his future to the club for the long term. i am hoping he doesn t walk out of the club like michael owen did for very little cash.  £50m realistically would allow rafa to completely rebuild the squad  however  if we can afford to do this and keep gerrard we will be better for it. i would however be happy with gerrard s transfer for any fee over £35m.  parry s statements are clever in that any future gerrard transfer cannot be construed as a lack of ambition by the club to not try and keep their best players. upping the ante is another smart move by parry.  i would keep gerrard. no amount of money could replace his obvious love of the club and determination to succeed.  the key is if gerrard comes out and says that he is happy. clearly  if he isn t  then we would be foolish not to sell. the worrying thing is who would you buy (or who would come) pending possible non-champions league football.
1502,broadband soars in 2004 if broadband were a jumbo jet  then 2003 would have seen it taxiing down the runway  firing up its engines and preparing for take-off. but this year has seen it soar.  in the spring it literally took to the skies as lufthansa and british airways trialled it on flights. this perhaps said more about how indispensable people were beginning to perceive the technology  rather than how useful sky-high broadband would actually be. it was flying high and by the autumn  five million britons had signed up for high-speed net access at home.  such enthusiasm is unlikely to dampen any time soon and experts predict that by the end of next year the numbers will have risen to more than eight million  or more than 30% of homes. the two key factors in whetting people s appetite were falling prices and a huge marketing push. when operators such as bt and telewest offered standard 512k broadband for less than £20 at the beginning of the year  it was as if an invisible barrier had been breached - broadband had truly gone mass market. a feeding frenzy followed as firms vied for eyeballs in a price war reminiscent of that following the mass market take-up of dial-up. broadband for less than £10 was even touted by some firms  although such a low price raised eyebrows among more established companies questioning how they are able to sustain such business models.  for those who became broadbanders in 2004 there was no turning back and the days of waiting for the modem to kick in began to seem as outdated an idea as a jungle without celebrities. the rest of the world was also falling in love with the benefits of fast internet access  to the tune of 100 million connections worldwide by april  prompting research firm point topic to declare it one of the fastest growing technologies ever. by september  the number of broadband connections in the uk finally overtook dial-up and in december bt announced that it was making a new broadband connection every 10 seconds.  broadband was being mentioned on the 10 o clock news and in the tabloids; the sun even carried a cartoon joke about it. but two of the most significant pieces of news for broadband were items that did not make the headlines. in may  bt quietly announced that it was shaving 70% off the cost of allowing other operators access to its telephone exchanges  so-called local loop unbundling. the vital local loop is the crucial link between telephone exchanges and homes. at the moment bt has a stranglehold on more than 80% of these lines making it the key voice in deciding what adsl products get into homes. with cheaper local loop unbundling  rivals to bt can offer faster services that will leave the broadband of today looking positively tortoise-like. it will mean the uk will finally catch up with countries such as france and the netherlands  where homes are routinely enjoying speeds of up to 15mb (megabits per second). and the major price fall means that  rather than just talk about it  companies are actually starting to get their own equipment into bt s exchanges. it may not seem that exciting but it is a remarkable transition given that just a few years ago the arguments over local loop unbundling bore more than a passing resemblance to the northern ireland peace talks - fraught  bitter and with no end in sight.  another big piece of news for broadband users in 2004 was the extension of bt s reach  meaning more than 95% of the population could get broadband  regardless of how far away from the exchange they lived.  there was a slight caveat for those wanting to upgrade to 1mbps broadband  they still have to live within six kilometres of a broadband-enabled exchange. for thousands frustrated by their inability to get the technology  the news meant they could finally join in. broadband is not just about fast access over the telephone and cable operators ntl and telewest also had a bumper year. the biggest news for them was increased speeds  introducing 2mb and 3mb services for users and offering a free upgrade to those on 512k. the cable operators are limited in their reach and it is perhaps testament to how big a deal local loop unbundling could become that even they are considering extending their range via this route. broadband can seem confusing for consumers  with the huge amount of operators offering so many different products  some with capped bandwidth and different length contracts and set-up fees. it is unlikely to get any less easy to understand in 2005 but remains a plane worth catching. as it gets faster and offers extras such as cheap telephone calls online  the only real thing to remember for the coming year is to enjoy the ride.
244,tindall wants second opinion england centre mike tindall is to seek a second opinion before having surgery on a foot injury that could force him to miss the entire six nations.  the bath player was already out of the opener against wales on 5 february because of a hand problem.  mike had a specialist review on a fracture in his right mid foot   said england doctor simon kemp.  before a final decision is made on surgery... medical teams have decided he should see a second specialist.   england coach andy robinson is already without centre will greenwood and flanker richard hill while fly-half jonny wilkinson is certain to miss at least the first two games. robinson is expected to announce his new-look england line-up on monday for the match at the millennium stadium. and newcastle s 18-year-old centre mathew tait is set to stand in for tindall alongside club team-mate jamie noon.  meanwhile  tindall is targeting a return to action before the end of the regular zurich premiership season on 30 april. he will also aim to be back to full fitness before the lions tour to new zealand this summer.
381,stallone evicted from big brother jackie stallone  mother of actor sylvester  has become the first star to be evicted from celebrity big brother.  she and john mccririck faced the public vote on friday - 67% of people voted to keep the racing pundit in the house. stallone  71  appeared not to have enjoyed her time in the house saying:  i m a total wreck  i need a vacation  this was a nightmare . but she was pleased to have patched things up with actress brigitte nielsen  her former daughter-in-law.  that alone was worth $1m   she said. stallone joined the channel 4 show on monday as a surprise for nielsen. she was hot favourite to be evicted first  with odds of 1/4 to leave.  but mccririck has made some enemies with his outspoken views about women. ladbrokes spokesman warren lush said:  we may have underestimated the power of the anti-mccririck brigade  but it s so hard to call with him  there are people out there who either love him or hate him  there is no middle ground.  the bookmakers have made former happy mondays dancer bez favourite to win the show at 7/4  while blazin  squad singer kenzie is second at 2/1.  bez has wooed the viewers and looks the one to beat  he s kept his nose clean and doesn t take anything too seriously   mr lush said. earlier on friday 15 protesters from the fathers 4 justice campaign group were arrested after entering the big brother compound at 0300 gmt and throwing fireworks. feminist icon germaine greer quit the show earlier in the week over what she called  bullying  tactics used by the programme s producers. the show is currently attracting an average audience of about 4.2 million viewers a night.
1944,apple sues to stop product leaks computer firm apple has issued a lawsuit to prevent online leaks of information about future products.  the lawsuit  against an unidentified individual  comes just weeks before the macworld conference in san francisco  used to showcase new products. the complaint said an  unidentified individual... has recently misappropriated and disseminated confidential information . the lawsuit was filed with the santa clara california superior court. apple is famously secretive about its future product launches while apple users are equally famous for speculating about new technology from the company. fans have speculated in recent weeks about the possibility of a new type of ipod being announced at the macworld conference.  apple said in the seven-page complaint  filed on 13 december  that it did not know the  true names or capacities  whether individual  associate  corporate or otherwise   of the defendants. the company said it would amend the complaint once they had discovered the names of those who had allegedly leaked information. it is not the first time apple has sued people who have posted information about future products on the internet. in december 2002  apple sued a former contractor who allegedly posted online drawings  images and engineering details of the company s powermac g4 computer. in a statement  apple said of the current lawsuit:  apple has filed a civil complaint against unnamed individuals who we believe stole our trade secrets and posted detailed information about an unannounced apple product on the internet.
725,tory expert denies defeat warning the conservatives  campaign director has denied a report claiming he warned michael howard the party could not win the next general election.  the times on monday said australian lynton crosby told the party leader to focus on trying to increase the tories  commons presence by 25 to 30 seats. but mr crosby said in a statement:  i have never had any such conversation... and i do not hold that view.  mr howard later added there was not  one iota  of truth in the report. the strategist helped australia s pm  john howard  win four elections. mr howard appointed mr crosby as his elections chief last october. mr crosby s statement said:  the conservative party has been making an impact on the issues of lower tax and controlled immigration over the past week.  it added:  the labour party will be wanting to do all they can to distract attention away from the issues that really matter to people.
369,emi shares hit by profit warning shares in music giant emi have sunk by more than 16% after the firm issued a profit warning following disappointing sales and delays to two album releases.  emi said music sales for the year to march will fall 8-9% from the year before  with profits set to be 15% lower than analysts had expected. it blamed poor sales since christmas and delays to the releases of new albums by coldplay and gorillaz. by 1200 gmt on monday  emi shares were down 16.2% at 235.75 pence.  emi said two major albums scheduled for release before the end of the financial year in march - one by coldplay and one by gorillaz - have now had their release dates put back.   emi music s sales  particularly re-orders  in january have also been lower than anticipated and this is expected to continue through february and march   the company added.  therefore  for the full year  at constant currency  emi music s sales are now expected to be 8% to 9% lower than the prior year.  the company said it expected profits to be about £138m ($259.8m). alain levy  chairman and chief executive of emi music  described the performance as  disappointing   but added that he remained optimistic over future trends in the industry.  the physical music market is showing signs of stabilisation in many parts of the world and digital music  in all its forms  continues to develop at a rapid pace   he said.  commenting on the delay to the release of the coldplay and gorillaz albums  mr levy said that  creating and marketing music is not an exact science and cannot always coincide with our reporting periods .  while this rescheduling and recent softness is disappointing  it does not change my views of the improving health of the global recorded music industry   he added. paul richards  an analyst at numis securities  said the market would be focusing on the slump in music sales rather than the timing of the two albums.  it s unusual to see this much of a downgrade just because of phasing   he said.
211,lost doors frontman movie found historians in florida have discovered a 40-year-old clip of a clean-cut jim morrison appearing in a promotional film for his university.  the 1964 film shows the doors frontman  who died aged 27 in 1971  playing the part of a young man who had been rejected by florida state university. morrison is seen quizzing a college administrator on why he was refused.  but what happened  how come my parents and the state and the university didn t look ahead   he is seen asking.   it s incredible. he s so clean cut and soft-spoken   said florida state archivist jody norman.  we know he was at florida state university for a period of time and he did some acting when he was there   norman added. the doors were one of the most influential bands of the 1960s  with hits including light my fire and riders on the storm. morrison was notorious for his wild lifestyle - and was accused of exposing himself and simulating a sex act at a miami concert in 1969. he was found dead in the bath of his paris apartment and died from heart problems  aggravated by alcohol. a coroner recorded a verdict of death by natural causes and his grave at the city s pere lachaise ceremony has become a shrine for fans.
1861,leeds v saracens (fri) headingley  friday  25 february  2000 gmt  the tykes have brought in newcastle prop ed kalman and tom mcgee from the borders on loan while fly-half craig mcmullen has joined from narbonne. raphael ibanez is named at hooker for saracens in one of four changes. simon raiwalui and ben russell are also selected in the pack while kevin sorrell comes in at outside centre.  - friday s game at headingley got the go-ahead on friday after passing an early pitch inspection. leeds: balshaw; rees  christophers  bell  doherty; mcmullen  dickens; mcgee  rawlinson  gerber; murphy  palmer (capt)  morgan  parks  popham. replacements: kalman  regan  hyde  rigney  mcmillan  rock  vickerman. saracens: bartholomeusz; castaignede  sorrell  harris  vaikona; jackson  bracken; yates  ibanez  visagie; raiwalui  fullarton; randell  russell  vyvyan (capt). replacements: cairns  lloyd  broster  chesney  johnston  rauluni  little.
1044,video phones act as dating tools technologies  from e-mail  to net chatrooms  instant messaging and mobiles  have proved to be a big pull with those looking for love.  the lure once was that you could hide behind the technology  but now video phones are in on the act to add vision. hundreds have submitted a mobile video profile to win a place at the world s first video mobile dating event. the top 100 meet their match on 30 november at london s institute of contemporary arts (ica). the event  organised by the 3g network  3  could catch on as the trend for unusual dating events  like speed dating  continues.  it s the beginning of the end of the blind date as we know it   said graeme oxby  3 s marketing director. the response has been so promising that 3 says it is planning to launch a proper commercial dating service soon. hundreds of hopefuls submitted their profiles  and special booths were set up in a major london department store for two weeks where expert tips were given on how to visually improve their chances. the 100 most popular contestants voted by the public will gather at the ica in separate rooms and  meet  by phone.  dating services and other more adult match-making services are proving to be a strong stream of revenue worth millions for mobile companies. whether it does actually provide an interesting match for video phone technologies remains to be seen. flic everett  journalist and dating expert for company magazine and the daily express  thinks technology has been liberating for some nervous soul-mate seekers. there are currently about 1.3 million video phones in use in the uk and three times more single people in britain than there were 30 years ago  with more people buying video mobiles  3g dating could be the basis for a successful and safe way to meet people.   one of the problems with video phones is people don t really know what to video. it is a weird technology. we have not quite worked out what it is for. this gives it a focus and a useful one   she told bbc news.  i would never have thought online dating would take off the way it did   she said.  lots of people find it easier to be honest writing e-mail or text than face-to-face. lots people are quite shy and they feel vulnerable.   when you are writing  it comes directly onto the page so they tend to be more honest.  but the barrier that comes with sms chat and online match-making is that the person behind the profile may not be who they really are. scare stories have put people off as a result  according to ms everett. many physical clues  body language  odd twitches  are obviously missing with sms and online dating services. still images do not necessarily provide all those necessary cues.  it could really take off because you do get the whole package. with a static e-mail picture  you don t know who the person is behind it is.  so checking out a potential date by video phone also gives singletons a different kind of barrier  an extra layer of protection; a case of wlts before wltm.  if you are trapped in real-life blind date context  you can t get away and you feel embarrassed.  with a video meeting  you really have the barrier of the phone so if you don t like them you don t have to suffer the embarrassment.   there is a more serious side to this new use of technology though. with money being made through more adult-themes content and services which let people meet and chat  the revenue streams for mobile carriers will grow with 3g  thinks paolo pescatore mobile industry specialist for analysts idc.  wireless is a medium that is being exploited with a number of features and services. one is chatting and the dating element is key there   he said.  the foundation has been set by sms and companies are using media like mms and video to grow the market further.  but carriers need to be wary and ensure that if they do launch such 3g dating services  they ensure mechanism are in place to monitor and be aware who is registers and accesses these services on regular basis  he cautioned. in july  vodafone introduced a content control system to protect children from such adult content. the move was as a result of a code of practice agreed by the uk s six largest mobile phone operators in january. the system means vodafone users need to prove they are over 18 before firewalls are lifted on explicit websites or chat rooms dealing with adult themes. the impetus was the growing number of people with handsets that could access the net  and the growth of 3g technologies.
976,zambia confident and cautious zambia s technical director  kalusha bwalya is confident and cautious ahead of the cosafa cup final against angola on saturday in lusaka.  bwalya said:  nothing short of victory will do.  however bwalya warned his side not to be too complacent.  i don t want my team to be too comfortable or too sure of victory as it is going to be a difficult game.  for me the main aim of the game is to enjoy and to win.  zambia have shown their determination to win this final by recalling nine of their foreign-based players. however the 41 year-old bwalya  who became the oldest player to appear in the competition when he played and scored against mauritius  is uncertain whether he will take to the field or not. the chipolopolo fans however are not being so cautious with a  victory  concert already scheduled for after the match featuring some of the country s top musicians. both sides are hoping to win the competition for a record third time  and so keep the trophy for good. the chipolopolo won the first two editions of the regional tournament for southern african nations in 1997 and 1998. they were prevented from a third straight win by angola who knocked out the zambians at the semi-final stage in 1999. that victory for angola also marked a first defeat in 14 years for zambia at lusaka s independence stadium  where saturday s game is being played. angola named just four overseas-based players in their preliminary squad. the palancas negras have been unable to secure the release of many of their portugal-based players.
1673,real will finish abandoned match real madrid and real socieded will play the final six minutes of their match  which was abandoned on sunday because of a bomb scare.  the bernabeu was evacuated with the score at 1-1 and two minutes of normal time remaining in the game. the teams will now play the final two minutes  plus four minutes of injury time  on 5 january. brazilian ronaldo and england captain david beckham had to wait in the street in their kit after the abandonment. real sociedad president jose luis astiazaran said:  we thought the best thing was to play the time remaining.   hundreds of fans streamed across the pitch on their way to the exits after the game was called off. tourists and fans took advantage of the opportunity for a photograph between the famous stadium s goalposts. the two clubs met the spanish fa on monday and astiazaran added:  we thought about giving the game as concluded but after talking with the fa we decided there was no precedent for that and the best thing was to play the time that was remaining.  real madrid director of sport emilio butragueno praised the spectators inside the ground for their conduct.  i d like to highlight the behaviour of the fans  who showed great maturity and it was an example of good citizenship   he said. butragueno confirned  before confirming that tuesday s charity match - which has been billed as  ronaldo s friends against zidane s friends  - will go ahead as planned.  i d also like to take the chance to say that tomorrow s game will take place   butragueno declared of the  partido contra la pobreza  (game against poverty). he added:  football is important for society and we want to show that.  we also think that football should be a fiesta  we had programmed and people deserve to enjoy the game.
442,news corp eyes video games market news corp  the media company controlled by australian billionaire rupert murdoch  is eyeing a move into the video games market.  according to the financial times  chief operating officer peter chernin said that news corp is  kicking the tires of pretty much all video games companies . santa monica-based activison is said to be one firm on its takeover list. video games are  big business   the paper quoted mr chernin as saying. we  would like to get into it .  the success of products such as sony s playstation  microsoft s x-box and nintendo s game cube have boosted demand for video games.  the days of arcade classics such as space invaders  pac-man and donkey kong are long gone. today  games often have budgets big enough for feature films and look to give gamers as real an experience as possible. and with their price tags reflecting the heavy investment by development companies  video games are proving almost as profitable as they are fun. mr chernin  however  told the ft that news corp was finding it difficult to identify a suitable target.  we are struggling with the gap between companies like electronic arts  which comes with a high price tag  and the next tier of companies   he explained during a conference in phoenix  arizona.  these may be too focused on one or two product lines.
144,greene sets sights on world title maurice greene aims to wipe out the pain of losing his olympic 100m title in athens by winning a fourth world championship crown this summer.  he had to settle for bronze in greece behind fellow american justin gatlin and francis obikwelu of portugal.  it really hurts to look at that medal. it was my mistake. i lost because of the things i did   said greene  who races in birmingham on friday.  it s never going to happen again. my goal - i m going to win the worlds.  greene crossed the line just 0.02 seconds behind gatlin  who won in 9.87 seconds in one of the closest and fastest sprints of all time. but greene believes he lost the race and his title in the semi-finals.  in my semi-final race  i should have won the race but i was conserving energy.  that s when francis obikwelu came up and i took third because i didn t know he was there.  i believe that s what put me in lane seven in the final and  while i was in lane seven  i couldn t feel anything in the race.   i just felt like i was running all alone.  i believe if i was in the middle of the race i would have been able to react to people that came ahead of me.  greene was also denied olympic gold in the 4x100m men s relay when he could not catch britain s mark lewis-francis on the final leg. the kansas star is set to go head-to-head with lewis-francis again at friday s norwich union grand prix. the pair contest the 60m  the distance over which greene currently holds the world record of 6.39 seconds. he then has another indoor meeting in france before resuming training for the outdoor season and the task of recapturing his world title in helsinki in august. greene believes gatlin will again prove the biggest threat to his ambitions in finland. but he also admits he faces more than one rival for the world crown.  there s always someone else coming. i think when i was coming up i would say there was me and ato (boldon) in the young crowd   greene said.  now you ve got about five or six young guys coming up at the same time.
1954,business confidence dips in japan business confidence among japanese manufacturers has weakened for the first time since march 2003  the quarterly tankan survey has found.  slower economic growth  rising oil prices  a stronger yen and weaker exports were blamed for the fall. december s confidence level was below that seen in september  the bank of japan said. however  september s reading was the strongest for 13 years.  the economy is at a pause but unlikely to fall   the economy minister said.  it will feel a bit slower (next year) than this year  and growth may be a bit more gentle but the situation is that the recovery will continue   said economy minister heizo takenaka. in the bank of japan s december survey  the balance of big manufacturers saying business conditions are better  minus those saying they are worse  was 22  down from 26 in september.  japan s economy grew by just 0.1% in the three months to september  according revised data issued this month. with the recovery slowing  the world s second biggest economy is now expected grow by 0.2% in 2004. the tankan index is based on a survey of 10 227 firms. big manufacturers were even more pessimistic about the first quarter of 2005; their views suggest the march reading could go as low as 15 - still in positive territory  but weaker. the dollar s decline has strengthened the yen  making japanese exports more expensive in the us. china s attempts to cool down its fast-growing economy have also hit japanese industry s sales abroad. confidence among non-manufacturers was unchanged in the final quarter of 2004  but it is forecast to drop one point in the march survey. nonetheless  japanese firms have been stepping up capital investment  and the survey found the pace is quickening. companies reported they expect to invest 7.7% more in the year to march 2005 than the previous year - up from expectations of 6.1% increase in the september tankan.
48,campaign  cold calls  questioned labour and the conservatives are still telephoning the millions of people who have signed up to make sure they do not get marketing  cold calls .  the parties say they can stick to the rules by ensuring that their calls are not marketing - for instance by asking about people s voting intentions. the lib dems are asking the watchdog overseeing the rules to stop the calls. the information commissioner s office says surveys are allowed but people had to be told if personal data was kept. telephone call centres are expected to be used as never before by all the three major parties in the run-up to the general election.  but seven million telephone numbers are on the telephone preference service (tps) lists  which ban unsolicited sales and marketing calls. both schemes are run by the direct marketing association and backed by eu directives on privacy and electronic communications.  the rules on marketing calls apply as much to politicians as to private sector companies. but that does not mean labour and the tories are not calling people signed up to the tps. a labour party spokesman told the bbc news website the party avoided those on tps lists when telephoning people about membership or fundraising. but that did not happen for  voter identification  calls.  when we ask which party they will vote for  that is not marketing and we have very clear legal advice that it is not   he said.  so it is not covered by the telephone preference service.   he said the party always asked people if they would be happy to be contacted again and if they said no  they were not rung again. a conservative spokeswoman said the party stuck to the rules when it rang tps subscribers. she said:  we do apply tps but in line with the law. we would not do things that are not allowed in the law.  assistant information commissioner phil jones said it was classed as marketing if political parties telephoned people to encourage them to vote for them. but  classic market research   such as a poll of voter intentions  did not constitute direct marketing  he said.  if a party is calling someone who is registered on tps and records their voting intention with a view to using this information in the future  this should be clear to the voter concerned   said mr jones.  if a party rings a person who is registered on tps to ask about their voting intention and goes on to encourage that voter to support them  the party may well be in breach of the regulations.  in summary  whether a party calling tps registered voters to check their voting intentions will breach regulations will depend on the script used and whether the script is followed.  mr jones said the watchdog received  very few complaints  on the issue.  earlier  lib dem chairman matthew taylor wrote to the watchdog saying:  the advice we have received on several previous occasions is that such phone calls are illegal.  he says evidence from local lib dem parties around the country suggests there are  significant  numbers of such calls.  i hope you can therefore take swift and efficient action to ensure that this ceases   he tells the commissioner. mr taylor argues there should be new guidelines so all parties can act in the same way if the watchdog believes the rules allow parties to ring tps numbers about voting intentions and later urge those people to vote for them.
608,swap offer for pirated windows xp computer giant microsoft has launched a pilot scheme to replace counterfeit versions of windows xp with legal ones.  the first-time initiative is restricted to the uk and to users with pre-installed copies of the operating system in pcs bought before november. until december microsoft said software can be sent to it for analysis if there are doubts about its legitimacy. the company aims to detect illegal traders and turn users of fake versions of windows into legitimate ones.  the windows xp counterfeit project will mean that software that is found to be counterfeit will be replaced for free  subject to certain conditions  until the end of the year. it is the first time microsoft has launched a counterfeit product replacement scheme in the world  the company told the bbc news website. in june  the software giant said that the major security update to windows xp  service pack 2  would not work with the most widely pirated versions of its operating system. the upgrade closed security loopholes in xp and added features that made it easier to keep machines safe from viruses and other types of malicious computer code.  the us company invited anyone who had suspicions about their version of windows xp to submit it for testing as soon as possible. the procedure consists of a series of computer checks  collating documents  and filling out a witness statement.  this is a great opportunity for users to confirm the authenticity of windows xp software whilst helping gather vital information about illegal traders   said alex hilton  licence compliance manager at microsoft. the scheme has also been welcomed by the technology and commerce industry.  it is important that users ensure that they are legally licensed to avoid the risks of purchasing and using counterfeit products   said david frost  director general of the british chambers of commerce. the plan would enable microsoft to gather intelligence about illegal traders in a prompt way  which would allow it to take action against software pirates. microsoft said it would evaluate the results of the uk programme before setting up similar schemes in other countries.
2165,murray to make cup history andrew murray will become britain s youngest-ever davis cup player after it was confirmed he will play in the doubles against israel on saturday.  the 17-year-old will play alongside fellow debutant david sherwood against israel s jonathan erlich and andy ram. murray will eclipse the record set by roger becker back in 1952. greg rusedski takes tim henman s place as first choice in the singles  while alex bogdanovic will play in the second singles clash. rusedski will take on former world number 30 harel levy and bogdanovic - who has previously played in two singles rubbers against australia - will face noam okun.  murray is the brightest young hope in british tennis  after winning the us open junior title last year and the bbc young sports personality of the year. british number one tim henman  who announced his davis cup retirement earlier this year  believes britain can win the tie in tel aviv.  it s going to be as really tough match. israel have some really good players - and their doubles pair of andy ram and jonathan erlich are among the top eight in the world - but i fancy our chances   he said. but henman urged bogdanovic  who has had run-ins with british tennis officials in the past  to seize his chance.  alex is a quality player - he s young but he s got to keep pushing forward.  he s got to be stronger  he s got a lot of ability but he s got to be more disciplined mentally and physically and if he does that he s got a good chance.
913,confusion over high-definition tv now that a critical mass of people have embraced digital tv  dvds  and digital video recorders  the next revolution for tv is being prepared for our sets.  in most corners of tv and technology industries  high-definition (hdtv) is being heralded as the biggest thing to happen to the television since colour. hd essentially makes tv picture quality at least four times better than now. but there is real concern that people are not getting the right information about hd on the high street. thousands of flat panel screens - lcds (liquid crystal displays)  plasma screens  and dlp rear-projection tv sets - have already been sold as  hd   but are in fact not able to display hd.   the uk is the largest display market in europe   according to john binks  director of gfk  which monitors global consumer markets.  but  he added:  of all the flat panel screens sold  just 1.3% in the uk are capable of getting high-definition.  there are 74 different devices that are being sold as hd but are not hd-ready  according to alexander oudendijk  senior vice president of marketing for satellite giant astra. they may be fantastic quality tvs  but many do not have adaptors in them - called dvi or hdmi (high-definition multimedia interface) connectors - which let the set handle the higher resolution digital images. part of this is down to lack of understanding and training on the high street  say industry experts  who gathered at bafta in london for the 2nd european hdtv summit last week.  we have to be careful about consumer confusion. there is a massive education process to go through   said mr binks. the industry already recognised that it would be a challenge to get the right information about it across to those of us who will be watching it. eventually  that will be everyone. the bbc is currently developing plans to produce all its tv output to meet hdtv standards by 2010.  preparations for the analogue switch-off are already underway in some areas  and programmes are being filmed with hd cameras. bskyb plans to ship its first generation set-top boxes  to receive hdtv broadcasts  in time for christmas. like its sky+ boxes  they will also be personal video recorders (pvrs). the company will start broadcasts of hdtv programmes  offering them as  premium channel packages   concentrating  to start with  on sports  big events  and films  in early 2006. but the set-top box which receives hdtv broadcasts has to plug into a display - tv set - that can show the images at the much higher resolution that hd demands  if hdtv is to be  real . by 2010  20% of homes in the uk will have some sort of tv set or display that can show hd in its full glory.  but it is all getting rather confusing for people who have only just taken to  being digital . as a result  all the key players  those who make flat panel displays  as well as the satellite companies and broadcasters  formed a hd forum in 2004 to make sure they were all talking to each other. part of the forum has been concerned with issues like industry standards and content protection. but it has also been preoccupied with how to help the paying public know exactly what they are paying for.  from next month  all devices that have the right connectors and resolution required will carry a  hd-ready  sticker. this also means they are equipped to cope with both analogue and hdtv signals  and so comply with the minimum specification set out by the industry.  the logo is absolutely the way forward   said david mercer  analysts with strategy analytics.  but it is still not appearing on many retail products.  the industry is upbeat that the sticker will help  but it is only a start.  we can only do so much with the position we are in today with manufacturers   said mr oudendijk.  there may well be a number of dissatisfied customers in the next few months.  the european broadcast union (ebu) is testing different flavours of hd formats to prepare for even better hdtv further down the line. it is similarly concerned that people get the right information on hdtv formats  as well as which devices will support the formats.  we believe consumers buying expensive displays need to ensure their investment is worthwhile   said phil laven  technical director for the ebu. the tv display manufacturers want us to watch hd on screens that are at least 42in (106cm)  to get the  true impact  of hd  they say  although smaller displays suffice. what may convince people to spend money on hd-ready devices is the falling prices  which continue to tumble across europe. the prices are dropping an average of 20% every year  according to analysts. lcd prices dropped by 43% in europe as a whole last year  according to mr oudendijk.
1580,voters flock to blog awards site voting is under way for the annual bloggies which recognise the best web blogs - online spaces where people publish their thoughts - of the year.  nominations were announced on sunday  but traffic to the official site was so heavy that the website was temporarily closed because of too many visitors. weblogs have been nominated in 30 categories  from the top regional blog  to the best-kept-secret blog. blogs had a huge year  with a top us dictionary naming  blog  word of 2004. technorati  a blog search engine  tracks about six million blogs and says that more than 12 000 are added daily. a blog is created every 5.8 seconds  according to us research think-tank pew internet and american life  but less than 40% of the total are updated at least once every two months.  nikolai nolan  who has run the bloggies for the past five years  told the bbc news website he was not too surprised by the amount of voters who crowded the site.  the awards always get a lot of traffic; this was just my first year on a server with a bandwidth limit  so i had to guess how much i d need   he said. there were many new finalists this year  he added  and a few that had won bloggies before. several entries reflected specific news events.  there are four nominations for the south-east asia earthquake and tsunami blog  which is a pretty timely one for 2005   said mr nolan.  the big bloggies battle will be for the ultimate prize of blog of the year. the nominated blogs are wide-ranging covering what is in the news to quirky sites of interest. fighting it out for the coveted award are gawker  this fish needs a bicycle  wonkette  boing boing  and gothamist. in a sign that blogs are playing an increasingly key part in spreading news and current affairs  the south-east asia earthquake and tsunami blog is also nominated in the best overall category. greenfairydotcom  londonist  hicksdesign  plasticbag and london underground tube blog are the nominees in the best british or irish weblog.  included in the other categories is best  meme . this is for the top  replicating idea that spread about weblogs . nominations include flickr  a web photo album which lets people upload  tag  share and publish their images to blogs. podcasting has also made an appearance in the category. it is an increasingly popular idea that makes use of rss (really simple syndication) and audio technology to let people easily make their own radio shows  and distribute them automatically onto portable devices.  many are done by those who already have text-based blogs  so they are almost like audio blogs. three new categories have been added to the list this year  including best food  best entertainment  and best writing of a weblog. one of the categories that was scrapped though was best music blog. the winners of the fifth annual bloggies are chosen by the public. public voting closes on 3 february and the winners will be announced sometime between 13 and 15 march.
1061,apple ipod family expands market apple has expanded its ipod family with the release of its next generation of the digital music players.  its latest challenges to the growing digital music gadget market include an ipod mini model which can hold 6gb compared to a previous 4gb. the company  which hopes to keep its dominant place in the digital music market  also said the gold coloured version of the mini would be dropped. a 30gb version has also been added to the ipod photo family. the latest models have a longer battery life and their prices have been cut by an average of £40. the original ipod took an early lead in the digital music player market thanks to its large storage capacity and simple design.  during 2004 about 25 million portable players were sold  10 million of which were apple ipods. but analysts agree that the success is also down to its integration with the itunes online store  which has given the company a 70% share of the legal download music market. mike mcguire  a research director at analyst gartner  told the bbc news website that apple had done a good job in  sealing off the market from competition  so far.  they have created a very seamless package which i think is the idea of the product - the design  function and the software are very impressive   he said. he added that the threat from others was always present  however.  creative  other microsoft-partnered devices  real  sony and so on  are ratcheting up the marketing message and advertising   he said. creative was very upbeat about how many of its creative zen players it had shipped by the end of last year  he said. its second-generation models  like the creative zen micro photo  is due out in the summer. it will have 5gb of memory on board.  digital music players are now the gadget of choice among young americans  according to recent research by the pew internet and american life project. one in 10 us adults - 22 million people - now owns a digital music player of some sort. sales of legally downloaded songs also rose more than tenfold in 2004  according to the record industry  with 200 million tracks bought online in the us and europe in 12 months. the ifpi industry body said that the popularity of portable music players was behind the growth. analysts say that the ease of use and growth of music services available on the net will continue to drive the trend towards portable music players.  people are also starting to use them in novel ways. some are combining automatic syncing functions many of them have with other net functions to automatically distribute diy radio shows  called podcasts. but 2005 will also see more competition from mobile phone operators who are keen to offer streaming services on much more powerful and sophisticated handsets. according to mr mcguire  research suggests that people like the idea of building up huge libraries of music  which they can do with high-capacity storage devices  like ipods and creative zens. mobiles do not yet have this capacity though  and there are issues about the ease of portability of mobile music. mr mcguire said apple was ensuring it kept a foot in the mobile music door with its recent deal with motorola to produce a version of itunes for motorola phones.
529,us charity anthem is re-released we are the world  the american charity anthem inspired by the success of band aid  has been re-issued to raise money for aids research and tsunami victims.  more than 40 stars sang as group usa for africa  including lionel richie  diana ross  ray charles  bob dylan  michael jackson and bruce springsteen. it topped the charts in the us and uk  raising millions of dollars for african famine relief. the re-release also marks the 20th anniversary of the original recording. it has been re-issued as part of a two-disc dvd set  which will also feature footage from the recording session of the track in january 1985. the single was originally released in the us on 7 march 1985 and sold 800 000 copies in its first week. it went on to win grammys for song of the year and record of the year.
2137,fido  to be taken off vote lists the risk of pets and children being given votes could be cut by changing how people register to vote  the uk elections watchdog has said.  those are some of the mistakes found under the current system  where one person in each household applies for voting forms for the other occupants. the electoral commission says enabling people to register individually could cut some errors and combat fraud. voters need to register by 11 march if the next poll is on 5 may as expected. but any individual registration scheme would not be introduced in britain before that general election.  the proposed scheme would mean voters using individual  identifiers  when they vote - such as their own voting number  date of birth and signature. the electoral commission says having voters register individually rather than the head of household do it for them fits better with human rights laws. chairman sam younger told mps on tuesday care was needed to ensure that people were not lost off the register in the process - which happened when northern ireland switched to a similar system. there have been rare cases when household pets have been put on the electoral roll  the mps heard. and some people have registered all their family  regardless of their age - birth dates are not included on the forms so election officers cannot easily check. non-british citizens who are not entitled to vote have also been registered in some cases.  mr younger said there was anecdotal evidence of inaccuracies in the register  the vast majority of which were caused by genuine mistakes. he argued local councils could look harder at promoting targeted campaigns at  hard to reach  voters  for example. some authorities already run such programmes but in others councillors worry about the party political impact of encouraging particular areas to turn out. mr younger said using the royal mail s postal redirection service had already helped election officers retrace about 50 000 voters.  he argued individual registration would also increase security for postal ballots and other new ways of voting. there have been fears there are too few checks to ensure current postal votes are cast by the person on the voting form. he said it might also help register students in halls of residences  where the hall warden often has to do the job for everybody. the mps on the office of the deputy prime minister and constitutional affairs select committees pressed mr younger on how to avoid losing voters in any changeover. he said the northern ireland example illustrated real difficulties to be confronted. currently  british voters have to re-register to vote every year or face being removed from the electoral rolls if they fail to do so two years running. mr younger suggested the re-registration could happen less frequently but argued efforts were needed to check the electoral rolls were up-to-date.
1284,wales critical of clumsy grewcock wales coach mike ruddock says england lock danny grewcock needs to review his actions after he kicked dwayne peel.  trouble flared at a ruck in the first half of wales  11-9 win in cardiff as grewcock came recklessly over the top with his boot  leaving peel bloodied. grewcock was sin-binned with wales captain gareth thomas for retaliation.  it s up to the citing commissioner   said ruddock.  i m not saying it s deliberate  but grewcock did a similar thing for bath against leinster.  last june grewcock was banned from rugby for two months for reckless use of a boot in a match against new zealand.  six years earlier  also in new zealand  grewcock became only the second england player to be sent off in tests. the player himself and his captain jason robinson have both said that the clash with peel was accidental.  if the ball is at the back of the ruck and i feel i can step over and disrupt it then i will do that   said grewcock. but ruddock feels that the england man should be more careful.  the boy himself should look at his actions  it was a clumsy piece of footwork   he said.  he s a great player and i don t want to knock him  we won t be calling for the match commissioner to review the incident.  i m not going to go too far with the lad. it could just be a clumsy action and dwayne had just a minor cut.  the referee s interpretation was that grewcock was attempting to step over the ruck.  ruddock also warned his rbs 6 nations championship rivals that his team can make massive improvements.  we created more opportunities and also squandered them by taking more contact and playing more individually   said the coach.  we ve looked through things on the video debrief and there were definitely a lot of chances that we wasted.  in the forthcoming games  ruddock may use penalty hero gavin henson as his first-choice kicker in place of stephen jones.  our first aim was to get gavin settled into the team  but it s something we ll talk about in selection this week   said ruddock.
2040,russian film wins bbc world prize russian drama the return (vozvrashchenie) has been named winner of the bbc four world cinema award.  the film tells the story of two adolescent boys who are subjected to a harsh regime when their strict father returns after a 10-year absence. directed by andrey zvyagintsev  the return previously won the 2003 golden lion award at the venice film festival. the prize was presented at an awards ceremony held in london on thursday and hosted by jonathan ross. the winner was chosen by a panel which included x files actress gillian anderson  critic roger clarke and touching the void director kevin mcdonald.  ross  who is the presenter of bbc one s film 2005  was also involved in the deliberations. a shortlist of six films from around the world had been drawn up from which the panel chose. other nominees included the motorcycle diaries  zatoichi and hero. a viewer poll saw director zhang yimou s martial arts epic hero emerge as the favourite with 32% of votes cast. tragedy struck the production of the return when one of the young stars  15-year-old vladimir girin  drowned in a lake. the winner of the world cinema award last year was the french animated feature belleville rendezvous
349,rapper 50 cent ends protege feud rapper 50 cent has ended his public feud with his protege the game as the pair said they wanted to be good role models for their communities.  the row blew up when 50 cent threw the game out of his g-unit crew and accused him of being disloyal. a member of the game s entourage was reportedly shot outside a radio station where 50 cent was being interviewed. but the pair shook hands as they handed over money to music projects for new york s deprived areas on wednesday.  the game  whose real name is jayceon taylor  told a news conference:  i want to apologise. i m almost ashamed to have participated in the things that went on over the last few weeks.  chart-topper 50 cent  real name curtis jackson  said the truce came on the anniversary of the death of the notorious big in 1997  who was part of a volatile feud between the east and west coast rap scenes.  we re here today to show that people can rise above the most difficult circumstances and together we can put negativity behind us   50 cent said.   a lot of people don t want to see it happen  but we re responding to the two most important groups - our family and our fans.  the boys choir of harlem got a cheque for $150 000 (£77 800) from 50 cent  while the game handed over $103 500 (£53 400). the game also made a contribution to the compton schools music programme. 50 cent announced he has launched the g-unity foundation  to help people overcome obstacles and make a chance for the better in their lives .   i realised that if i m going to be effective at that  i have to overcome some of my own   he said.  game and i need to set an example in the community.  50 cent is no stranger to feuds  with rapper ja rule among the targets for ridicule in his songs. on his latest album  released earlier this month  he turned his attentions to fat joe and nas  who have both worked with ja rule. both he and the game have admitted drug dealing in the past and have both been shot.
1385,air passengers win new eu rights air passengers who are unable to board their flights because of overbooking  cancellations or flight delays can now demand greater compensation.  new eu rules set compensation at between 250 euros (£173) and 600 euros  depending on the length of the flight. the new rules will apply to all scheduled and charter flights  including budget airlines. airlines have attacked the legislation saying they could be forced to push prices higher to cover the extra cost. the european commission is facing two legal challenges - one from the european low-fare airlines association (elaa) and the other from the international air transport association (iata)  which has attacked the package as a  bad piece of legislation . previously  passengers could claim between 150 euros and 300 euros if they had been stopped from boarding.  however  only scheduled flight operators were obliged to offer compensation in cases of overbooking and they did not have to offer compensation for flight cancellations.  the eu decided to increase passenger compensation in a bid to deter airlines from deliberately overbooking flights. overbooking can often lead to  bumping  - when a passenger is moved to a later flight. when this happens against a passenger s will  airlines will now have to offer compensation. in addition  if a flight is cancelled or delayed for more than two hours through the fault of the airline  all passengers must be paid compensation.  however  airlines do not have to offer compensation if flights are cancelled or delayed due to  extraordinary circumstances . airlines fear that  extraordinary circumstances  may not include bad weather  security alerts or strikes - events which are outside of their control. all eu-based airlines and operators of flights which take off from the eu will have to adhere to the new compensation regime which came into force on thursday. low-cost airlines have criticised the new compensation levels  arguing that the pay-out could be worth more than the ticket.  it s a preposterous piece of legislation  we among all airlines are fighting this   ryanair deputy chief executive michael cawley told radio 4 s today programme.  the european regions airline association (eraa) claims that neither airlines nor consumers were consulted over the changes. andy clarke  eraa director of air transport  said that the ec advice misleads customers as it leads them to believe that airlines could be liable for payouts if flights are delayed because of bad weather.  ec spokeswoman marja quillinan-meiland conceded there were  grey areas  but said  these are not as big as the airlines are making out . in cases of dispute  national enforcement bodies would decide whether the passenger had a case  she said. new technology means it is easier for airlines to take off and land in bad weather  she added. the eraa s mr clarke also warned that while airlines would comply with the new rules  the extra costs would be passed onto passengers.  we reckon it s going to cost european air passengers - not the airlines  the airlines have no money  it has to be paid by passengers - 1.5bn euros  that s over £1bn a year loaded onto european passengers   mr clarke said.  that s basically a transfer of money from passengers whose journeys are not disrupted to passengers whose journeys are disrupted.   on wednesday  jacques barrot  vice president of the european commission and also commissioner for transport  said that the changes were necessary.  the boom in air travel needs to be accompanied by proper protection of passengers  right.   this is a concrete example of how the union benefits people s daily lives   he added. the ec has launched an information campaign in airports and travel agencies to inform airline passengers of their new rights.
1307,us  afflicted  with awards fatigue the film world and media may be wild about the oscars but cinema-goers and the tv-viewing public are sick of watching award ceremonies  according to some la film critics.  bob strauss  from the la daily news  thinks there are just too many televised gatherings of stars showering praise on each other. he came up with a colourful but unprintable description for these glitzy events  which roughly translates a  celebrity love-in . this echoed the views of oscars host and comedian chris rock  who whipped up a media storm for saying he rarely watched them  calling award shows  idiotic .  as chris rock accurately said  they re about celebrity and fashion   mr strauss said. the recent grammy music awards proved to be a ratings loser  and it seems oscars organisers are determined not to go the same way.  recently announced changes to the ceremony include lining up all five nominees on stage before announcing the winner.  unsurprisingly  this prompted press speculation that the changes were aimed at boosting flagging advertising revenue. but entertainment weekly s dave karger maintained the oscars only generated excitement outside the industry when a blockbuster  such as titanic or lord of the rings  was nominated. the near constant flow of us film awards  representing directors  actors and producers  guilds  also means  few surprises  are left by the time the oscar ceremony is upon us  he said. a quick scan of the los angeles times and los angeles daily news bears this out - speculation about who will win seems to have ground to a halt.  on thursday  the times simply printed a picture of the plastic tents going up outside the kodak theatre to protect the red carpet from rain. variety and the hollywood reporter have also kept their focus firmly on industry-related news  while in the uk bets have closed on the best actor category  with ray star jamie foxx a dead cert to win.  screen international s us editor mike goodridge thinks 2004 s films have simply not grabbed the public s imagination.  film-makers haven t produced films that people adore this year   he said.  they adored saving private ryan for example - people loved it and it made a ton of money.  2004 s films could be a reaction to 9/11 - there was a realisation in america that things might not be so rosy after all.  audiences don t necessarily want to see darker films such as million dollar baby  aviator and finding neverland  which end with casualty.  as to whether rock could pep up the awards  the critics were not hopeful.  mr strauss doubted whether rock would make an impact  but added:  i m all for lower ratings though - there are far more important things going on than the oscars.  mr karger said the comic might boost younger viewers  but mike goodridge thought rock s humour could prompt america s conservative states to switch off. so despite all this  did the critics have any views on who would win    clint eastwood s million dollar baby affected people emotionally  which is why it will beat aviator  which was about technical artistry not feelings   mr karger said.  eastwood has it in the bag   added mr strauss.  oscar voters often vote with their hearts not their heads.  and mr goodridge said best film and director were between martin scorsese s aviator and million dollar baby. mr karger  whose favourite film of the year was mike leigh s abortion drama vera drake  stayed upbeat about the awards despite his other comments.  i hope this is the year for small films to triumph   he said.  after all  it s still one of the biggest tv events of the year.
807,china keeps tight rein on credit china s efforts to stop the economy from overheating by clamping down on credit will continue into 2005  state media report.  the curbs were introduced earlier this year to ward off the risk that rapid expansion might lead to soaring prices. there were also fears that too much stress might be placed on the fragile banking system. growth in china remains at a breakneck 9.1%  and corporate investment is growing at more than 25% a year. the breakneck pace of economic expansion has kept growth above 9% for more than a year. rapid tooling-up of china s manufacturing sector means a massive demand for energy - one of the factors which has kept world oil prices sky-high for most of this year. in theory  the government has a 7% growth target  but continues to insist that the overshoot does not mean a  hard landing  in the shape of an overbalancing economy. a low exchange rate - china s yuan is pegged to a rate of 8.28 to the dollar  which seems to be in relentless decline - means chinese exports are cheap on world markets. china has thus far resisted international pressure to break the link or at least to shift the level of its peg. to some extent  the credit controls do seem to be taking effect. industrial output grew 15.7% in the year to october  down from 23% in february  and inflation slowed to 4.3% - although retail sales are still booming.
333,jarre joins fairytale celebration french musician jean-michel jarre is to perform at a concert in copenhagen to mark the bicentennial of the birth of writer hans christian andersen.  denmark is holding a three-day celebration of the life of the fairy-tale author  with a concert at parken stadium on 2 april. other stars are expected to join the line-up in the coming months  and the danish royal family will attend.  christian andersen s fairy tales are timeless and universal   said jarre.  for all of us  at any age there is always - beyond the pure enjoyment of the tale - a message to learn.  there are year-long celebrations planned across the world to celebrate andersen and his work  which includes the emperor s new clothes and the little mermaid. denmark s crown prince frederik and crown princess mary visited new york on monday to help promote the festivities. the pair were at a manhattan library to honour us literary critic harold bloom  the international icon we thought we knew so well .   bloom recognizes the darker aspects of andersen s authorship   prince frederik said. bloom is to be formally presented with the hans christian andersen award this spring in anderson s hometown of odense. the royal couple also visited the hans christian anderson school complex  where queen mary read the ugly duckling to the young audience. later at a gala dinner  danish supermodel helena christensen was named a hans christian andersen ambassador. other ambassadors include actors harvey keitel and sir roger moore  athlete cathy freeman and brazilian soccer legend pele.
786,fresh hope after argentine crisis three years after argentina was hit by a deadly economic crisis  there is fresh hope.  the country s economy is set to grow about 8% this year after seeing 9% growth last year  a sharp turnaround from 2002 when output fell 11%. the unemployment rate is improving  too: it is set to slip below 13% by the end of the year  down from 20% in may 2002. true  problems remain  but the overall picture is one of vast improvement. even the international monetary fund (imf) admits this.  the argentine authorities are proud  should be proud  of the strong performance of the economy   thomas dawson  an imf director  said earlier this month.  argentina has made a remarkable recovery from a hideous and lengthy recession which in 2001 culminated in the government halting debt repayments to its private creditors. the debt default sparked a deep and prolonged economic crisis which  at least initially  was made worse by the government s decisions. pension payments were halted and bank accounts frozen as part of austerity measures introduced by the government to deal with the country s massive debts. in response  angry crowds of ordinary argentines took to the streets where dozens of lives were lost in clashes with the police. two presidents and at least three finance minister resigned in less than a month. argentina was on the brink of collapse. the fix was found in the currency markets with the abandonment of the peso s decade-long peg to the us dollar in february 2002. the subsequent devaluation saw thousands of people s life savings disappear. scathes of companies went bust.  three years ago  every sector [of the economy] was hit by the crisis   said entrepreneur drayton valentine. it really was dire.  but since then  the general mood on the ground has improved dramatically  in part because the devaluation helped attract fresh direct investment from abroad and stimulate business within brazil.  agriculture and tourism are helping   said entrepreneur drayton valentine.  mr valentine  who was born in the united states but grew up in argentina  was fortunate: at the time of the crisis  his savings were held in dollar accounts abroad. but now he is using his money to help with the start-up a trading company. he explained that initially  his firm is going to export building materials to spain and united states. then  he would like to diversify to other areas  depending on the market.  locally there is a sense of recovery  many companies are exporting now   he said  noting that a lot of firms  which were closed during the crisis  are re-opening.  but not all that shines is gold. argentina is still burdened by its failure to pay private creditors at the end of 2001. president nestor kirchner s administration is still trying to hammer out an agreement with the creditors  but with the debts  nominal value standing at around $100bn it is not proving easy. debt defaults make further lending agreements both difficult and expensive to negotiate. argentina s current offer implies that the creditors would get just 25 cents for each dollar they are owed  according to the creditors. understandably  they want more and until they do  both they and others are loath to continue lending. for president kirchner  this proves a hopeless challenge. real losses have been suffered and somebody has to pay  observed jack boorman  adviser to imf s managing director  rodrigo rato.  everyone needs to keep in mind the enormous cost on the part of both creditors and the argentine society and people that will have been endured by the time a settlement is reached   he said.  the cost is enormous  and continues to be paid  and will not be reversed by any restructuring.   with the international negotiations being troubled  it is of little help to president kirchner that the domestic situation remains strained as well.  this is partly because there are still bank account holders who are waiting to recover some of their deposits.  the situation is bad for those who had previously chosen to save in argentina    said carlos baez silva  president of aara  an association that represents bank account and bond holders. few people have recovered more than about half their savings  mr baez silva estimated  pointing out that many of the savers who have lost out are pensioners or others who once trusted the government  people who set aside money for the future in the belief that their investment would be safe.  a lot of them invested in good faith   he said.  the argentine state responded by taking most of their investments.  the affair has made mr baez silva disillusioned with the country s legal system. on occasion  the supreme court has ruled against the interests of the people he represents  he says  insisting that the system cannot be trusted.  people have to deposit their money in the banks  not necessarily because they trust them but because crime is so high that people cannot have their money in their homes beneath their mattresses.  mr valentine  who was born in the united states but grew up in argentina  agreed.  if i have to save pesos [the local currency] there is not much problem  but i will think twice before i deposit dollars in a bank .
1775,warning over tsunami aid website net users are being told to avoid a scam website that claims to collect cash on behalf of tsunami victims.  the site looks plausible because it uses an old version of the official disasters emergency committee webpage. however  dec has no connection with the fake site and says it has contacted the police about it. the site is just the latest in a long list of scams that try to cash in on the goodwill generated by the tsunami disaster.  the link to the website is contained in a spam e-mail that is currently circulating. the message s subject line reads  urgent tsunami earthquake appeal  and its text bears all the poor grammar and bad spelling that characterises many other phishing attempts. the web address of the fake site is decuk.org which could be close enough to the official www.dec.org.uk address to confuse some people keen to donate. patricia sanders  spokeswoman for the disaster emergency committee said it was aware of the site and had contacted the computer crime unit at scotland yard to help get it shut down. she said the spam e-mails directing people to the site started circulating two days ago shortly after the domain name of the site was registered. it is thought that the fake site is being run from romania. ms sanders said dec had contacted us net registrars who handle domain ownership and the net hosting firm that is keeping the site on the web.  dec was going to push for all cash donated via the site to be handed over to the official organisation. bt and dec s hosting company were also making efforts to get the site shut down  she said.  ms sanders said sending out spam e-mail to solicit donations was not dec s style and that it would never canvass support in this way. she said that dec hoped to get the fake site shut down as soon as possible. all attempts by the bbc news website to contact the people behind the site have failed. none of the e-mail addresses supplied on the site work and the real owner of the domain is obscured in publicly available net records. this is not the first attempt to cash in on the outpouring of goodwill that has accompanied appeals for tsunami aid. one e-mail sent out in early january came from someone who claimed that he had lost his parents in the disaster and was asking for help moving an inheritance from a bank account in the netherlands. the con was very similar to the familiar nigerian forward fee fraud e-mails that milk money out of people by promising them a cut of a much larger cash pile. other scam e-mails included a link to a website that supposedly let people donate money but instead loaded spyware on their computers that grabbed confidential information. in a monthly report anti-virus firm sophos said that two e-mail messages about the tsunami made it to the top 10 hoax list during january. another tsunami-related e-mail is also circulating that carries the zar worm which tries to spread via the familiar route of microsoft s outlook e-mail program. anyone opening the attachment of the mail will have their contact list plundered by the worm keen to find new addresses to send itself to.
558,us bank boss hails  genius  smith us federal reserve chairman alan greenspan has given a speech at a scottish church in honour of the pioneering economist  adam smith.  he delivered the 14th adam smith lecture in kirkcaldy  fife. the adam smith lecture celebrates the author of 1776 s wealth of nations  which became a bible of capitalism. dr greenspan was invited by chancellor gordon brown  whose minister father john used to preach at the st bryce kirk church. mr brown introduced dr greenspan to the 400 invited guests as the  the world s greatest economist . dr greenspan  79  who has been in the uk to attend the g7 meeting in london  said the world could never repay the debt of gratitude it owed to smith  whose genius he compared to that of mozart.  he said the philosopher was a  towering contributor to the modern world .  kirkcaldy  the birthplace in 1723 of adam smith and  by extension  of modern economics  is also of course  where your chancellor was reared.  i am led to ponder to what extent the chancellor s renowned economic and financial skills are the result of exposure to the subliminal intellect-enhancing emanation in this area.  he continued:  smith reached far beyond the insights of his predecessors to frame a global view of how market economics  just then emerging  worked.  in so doing he supported changes in societal organisation that were to measurably enhance standards of living.   dr greenspan said smith s revolutionary philosophy on human self-interest  laissez-faire economics and competition had been a force for good in the world.  the incredible insights of a handful of intellectuals of the enlightenment - especially with smith toiling in the environs of kirkcaldy - created the modern vision of people free to choose and to act according to their individual self-interest   he said. following his lecture  dr greenspan - who received an honorary knighthood from the queen at balmoral in 2002 - was awarded an honorary fellowship of the royal society of edinburgh. he later opened an exhibition dedicated to smith in the atrium of fife college of further and higher education. joyce johnston  principal of the college  said:  it is very fitting that the world s premier economist delivered this lecture in tribute to the world s first economist.  dr greenspan - who became chairman of the federal reserve for an unprecedented fifth term in june 2004 - will step down in january next year. he has served under presidents george w bush  bill clinton  george bush  and ronald reagan. he was also chairman of the council of economic advisors to gerald ford.
592,david blunkett in quotes david blunkett - who has resigned as home secretary - built his reputation as a plain-speaking yorkshire man.      i fell in love with someone and they wouldn t go public and things started to go very badly wrong in the summer  and then the news of the world picked up the story.  i tried for three years to make something work.      trust  plain-speaking and straight talking is something which matters so much to me as a politician and as a man that i have decided  of my own volition  to request an independent review of the allegations that i misused my position.    i don t think anyone can say i have said one thing in public and done another in private.   it would be dangerous territory if i wasn t practising what i preach which is to always accept responsibility  always accept the consequences of your actions.     none of us believe countering terrorism is about party politics.    i accepted by necessity we have to have prevention under a new category which is to intervene before the act is committed  rather than do so by due process after the act is committed when it s too late   he said in reference to new anti-terrorism measures.     our work with the french government...has been hugely successful   said mr blunkett.  the number of illegal immigrants detected in dover has dropped dramatically.      strengthening our identity is one way or reinforcing people s confidence and sense of citizenship and well-being.      i foolishly thought as this was a celebrity edition it would be more relaxed than normal.      you wake up and you receive a phone call - shipman s topped himself. you have just got to think for a minute: is it too early to open a bottle
2172,palace threat over cantona masks manchester united fans wearing eric cantona masks will not be allowed in selhurst park on saturday.  united fans are planning to mark the 10th anniversary of cantona s infamous kung-fu kick on crystal palace fan matthew simmons by wearing the masks. but palace stadium manager kevin corner has warned:  if they wear them inside selhurst park they will be immediately rejected on safety grounds.  and no fans wearing cantona masks will be allowed entry to the stadium.  united fans had declared saturday as  cantona day  and had planned to wear masks  that were popular during the frenchman s time as a player at the old trafford club. cantona received a nine-month ban following the incident and palace are keen to avoid an incident that would stir up ill feeling between the two sets of supporters. four months after the cantona incident a palace fan  paul nixon  was killed prior to an fa cup semi-final at villa park.
1735,disney backs sony dvd technology a next generation dvd technology backed by sony has received a major boost.  film giant disney says it will produce its future dvds using sony s blu-ray disc technology  but has not ruled out a rival format developed by toshiba. the two competing dvd formats  blu-ray developed by sony and others  and toshiba s hd-dvd  have been courting top film studios for several months. the next generation of dvds promise very high quality pictures and sound  as well as a lot of data. both technologies use a blue laser to write information. it has a shorter wavelength so more data can be stored. disney is the latest studio to announce which technology it is backing in a format battle which mirrors the 1980s betamax versus vhs war. sony lost out to jvc in that fight.  the current battle for hollywood s hearts and minds is a crucial one because high-definition films will bring in billions of revenue and the studios would prefer to use one standard. last month  paramount  universal and warner brothers said they were opting for the toshiba and nec-backed format  hd-dvd high-definition discs.  those studios currently produce about 45% of dvd content. sony pictures entertainment and mgm studios have already staked their allegiance with the blu-ray disc association  whose members also include technology companies dell  samsung and matsushita. twentieth century fox is still to announce which technology it will be supporting. if fox decided to go with blu-ray too  it would mean the format would have a 47% share of dvd content. disney said its films would be available on the blu-ray format when dvd players for the standard went on sale on north america and japan  expected in 2006. universal is to start producing films on the hd-dvd format in 2005  and paramount will start releasing titles using the standard in 2006. toshiba expects sales of hd-dvds to reach 300bn yen ($2.9bn  £1.5bn) by 2010.
1188,newcastle to join morientes race newcastle have joined the race to sign real madrid striker fernando morientes and scupper liverpool s bid to snap up the player  according to reports.  liverpool were reported to have bid £3.5m for the 28-year-old spanish international this week. but the liverpool echo newspaper has said anfield boss rafa benitez will avoid a bidding war and instead turn his attentions to nicolas anelka. real are believed to still want £7m before selling morientes. monaco are also in the race for the player they had on loan last season. reports suggest liverpool will lift their offer to £5m - the highest they are willing to go before bowing out of any deal.  on tuesday  morientes had said:  i like liverpool and i am pleased that a club of their stature want to buy me. i have told madrid that i want it to happen.  madrid know my situation and they know they must do something about me. they must sort out the situation by being sensible.  i am in a position where i want to play  and i will have to look elsewhere to do that. if madrid do not want me then it s in the best interests of everyone that they are realistic.   i haven t spoken to rafa benitez but i have always appreciated his work and i would like to play for him. but benitez could yet turn his attentions to the younger anelka should morientes be reluctant to pledge his future to liverpool. anelka previously played at anfield under gerard houllier before sealing his permanent switch to manchester city.
511,davenport hits out at wimbledon world number one lindsay davenport has criticised wimbledon over the issue of equal prize money for women.  reacting to a disputed comment by all england club chairman tim phillips  the american said:  i think it is highly insulting if prize money is taken away.  somebody  i think it was mr phillips  said they won t have money for flowers at wimbledon. that s insulting.  an all england club spokesperson denied phillips made the remark  insisting:  he definitely didn t say it.  the statement added:  it was said by someone else and was a humorous aside at the end of a radio interview when the conversation had moved to talking about the wimbledon grounds.   davenport was speaking following the announcement that this week s dubai duty free event will join the us and australian opens in offering equal prize money for women.  you hear about women playing only three sets while men play five   said daveport.  and the best women are never going to beat the best men.  but it s a different game you go to watch with the women - it doesn t make it better or worse.  hopefully we will be able to change people s minds.  serena williams  who is also in dubai  added:  i m obviously for equal prize money.  women s tennis is exciting. men s tennis is exciting as well  but the women have it right now.  if you are bringing in the spectators you should be able to reap what everyone else is able to reap.
157,lomu relishing return to action former all black star jonah lomu says he cannot wait to run out on the pitch for former england rugby union captain martin johnson s testimonial on 4 june.  the 29-year-old had a kidney transplant in july 2004 but will play his first full match for three years  leading a southern hemisphere side at twickenham.  i actually started training three weeks after my operation but i was very limited until a few months ago.  now it s basically bring it on!  said the giant winger.  the match on 4 june will be my first 15-man game but i have a training schedule which is quite testing and combines with sevens and a whole lot of things   said lomu.  i have got so much energy since my operation that i train three times a day  six days a week.   mohammed ali has always been my ideal. coming back to rugby  people said  you are dreaming  but it always starts off with a dream.  it s up to you whether you want to make it a reality.  opinion has been divided on whether lomu should attempt to return to the game after such a major operation. but when lomu was asked whether he was taking a risk he replied:  as much as someone going down the road being hit by a bus.  there are a lot of people in the world with one kidney who just don t know it.  i have talked this over  had a chat with the donor and this is to set my soul at peace and finish something i started in 1994 [when he made his all blacks debut].  at his lowest ebb lomu was so ill he could barely walk  but he says he is now getting stronger every day and his long-term target is to play for new zealand again.  the only person who saw me at my worst was my wife   he added.  i used to take two steps and fall over but now i can run and it is all coming back  and a lot more quickly than i ever thought it would.  to play for the all blacks would be the highest honour i could get. that is the long-term goal and you have to start somewhere.
646,mcclaren targets champions league middlesbrough boss steve mcclaren believes his side can clinch a top-four spot in the premiership and secure qualification for the champions league.  after their 3-2 win over manchester city  mcclaren said:  we are playing exciting football  it s a magnificent result to keep us in the top five.  but how well we do depends how often we can get our best team out.  once we got the third goal it should have been four or five but we nearly paid for it in the end.  mcclaren also praised winger stewart downing and strikers jimmy floyd hasselbaink and mark viduka  who both ended barren runs in front of goal. he added:  if stewart keeps playing like this sven-goran eriksson has got to pick him.  and the strikers scored great goals  the combination play between them shows they want to play with each other and they are trying.
8,henman hopes ended in dubai third seed tim henman slumped to a straight sets defeat in his rain-interrupted dubai open quarter-final against ivan ljubicic.  the croatian eighth seed booked his place in the last four with a 7-5 6-4 victory over the british number one. henman had looked on course to level the match after going 2-0 up in the second set  but his progress was halted as the rain intervened again. ljubicic hit back after the break to seal a fourth straight win over henman. earlier in the day  spanish fifth seed tommy robredo secured his semi-final place when he beat nicolas kiefer of germany 6-4 6-4. afterwards  henman was left cursing the weather and the umpire after seven breaks for rain during the match.  it was incredibly frustrating   henman said.  it s raining and the umpire doesn t take control.  he kept telling us to play till the end of the game. but if it s raining  you come off - the score s irrelevant.  it couldn t be more frustrating as i was very happy with my form until now. you don t expect this in the desert.
821,hantuchova in dubai last eight daniela hantuchova moved into the quarter-finals of the dubai open  after beating elene likhotseva of russia 7-5 6-4  and now faces serena williams.  australian open champion williams survived an early scare to beat russia s elena bovina 1-6 6-1 6-4. world number one lindsay davenport and anastasia myskina also progressed. davenport defeated china s jie zheng 6-2 7-5  while french open champion myskina sailed through after her opponent marion bartoli retired hurt. american davenport will now face fellow former wimbledon champion  conchita martinez of spain  who ousted seventh-seeded nathalie dechy of france 6-1 6-2. myskina will face eighth-seed patty schnyder from switzerland  who defeated china s li na 6-3 7-6 (10-8). the other quarter final pits wild card sania mirza of india against jelena jankovic of serbia and montenegro  who both won on tuesday.  before her meeting with martinez  davenport believes there is some room for improvement in her game.  i started well and finished well  but played some so-so games in the middle   she said. williams was also far from content.  i don t know what i was doing there   she said.  it was really windy and i hadn t played in the wind. all my shots were going out of here.  but hantuchova is in upbeat mood ahead of her clash with the younger williams sister  who was handed a first-round bye.  i feel i have an advantage (over serena) because i have already played two matches on these courts   she said.  it is a difficult court to play on. very fast and sometimes you feel you have no control over the ball.
1001,parties warned over  grey vote  political parties cannot afford to take older uk voters for granted in the coming election  says age concern.  a survey for the charity suggests 69% of over-55s say they always vote in a general election compared with just 17% of 18 to 24 year olds. charity boss gordon lishman said if a  decisive blow  was struck at the election it would be by older voters who could be relied on to turn out. a total of 3 028 adults aged 18 or over were interviewed for the study. mr lishman urged the next government to boost state pension.  he also called for measures to combat ageism and build effective public services to  support us all in an ageing society .  older people want to see manifesto commitments that will make a difference to their lives   mr lishman said.  political parties must wake up to the fact that unless they address the demands and concerns of older people they will not keep or attract their vote.  in the survey carried out by icm research  14% of people aged between 18 and 34 said they never voted in general elections. among the over-65s  70% said they would be certain to vote in an immediate election  compared with 39% of people under 55. age concern says the over-55s are  united around  key areas of policy they want the government to focus on. for 57%  pensions and the nhs were key issues  while the economy was important for a third  and tax was a crucial area for 25%.
309,ruddock backs yapp s credentials wales coach mike ruddock says john yapp has what it takes as an international.  the 21-year-old blues prop is the only uncapped player in wales  six nations squad  gaining a chance in the absence of ospreys loose-head duncan jones.  john is a young man with a big future. he has been playing with the blues for two years and has racked up mileage on his playing clock   said ruddock.  he has international size  is a big  physical lad and a good ball-carrier with a high tackle-count.  ruddock s assessment was backed up by yapp s coach at the blues  former wales and lions prop dai young.   john s been on an upward curve all season and is going from strength to strength   young told bbc sport wales.  his ball carrying gives us good go-forward  he impresses in defence and his work-rate is excellent.  he s working hard on his scrummaging technique  which he is keen to improve to become a destroyer on the loose-head.  to be fair to him he s not quite there with the scrummaging yet  but nobody can fault his effort  commitment and attitude.  john s a very strong man and is eager for the challenge  if he s pitched in he won t let anyone down.  he s developing quickly  but i hope he isn t pushed too quickly in a way that would hurt his development.   ruddock hopes that the selection of yapp and dragons lock ian gough - out of the international reckoning since falling out with former coach steve hansen - will send a message to other players in wales.  john and ian have been rewarded for impressing during the heineken cup competition   said ruddock.  both of them have played well  and we want to send a message out that consistently playing well gets you in the squad.  we believe this is an exciting squad representing traditional values of welsh rugby  and based on the performances in the november internationals.  we have strength and experience up front  and well-recognised talent  pace and skill behind.  the management team just want to get hold of the players and get out on the training pitch at the moment.  they are all due in on sunday  and that s when the hard work starts.
1732,crossrail link  to get go-ahead  the £10bn crossrail transport plan  backed by business groups  is to get the go-ahead this month  according to the mail on sunday.  it says the uk treasury has allocated £7.5bn ($13.99bn) for the project and that talks with business groups on raising the rest will begin shortly. the much delayed crossrail link bill would provide for a fast cross-london rail link. the paper says it will go before the house of commons on 23 february.  a second reading could follow on 16 or 17 march.  we ve always said we are going to introduce a hybrid bill for crossrail in the spring and this remains the case   the department for transport said on sunday. jeremy de souza  a spokesman for crossrail  said on sunday he could not confirm whether the treasury was planning to invest £7.5bn or when the bill would go before parliament.  however  he said some impetus may have been provided by the proximity of an election.  the new line would go out as far as maidenhead  berkshire  to the west of london  and link heathrow to canary wharf via the city. heathrow to the city would take 40 minutes  dramatically cutting journey times for business travellers  and reducing overcrowding on the tube. the line has the support of the mayor of london  ken livingstone  business groups and the government  but there have been three years of arguments over how it should be funded. the mail on sunday s financial mail said the £7.5bn of treasury money was earmarked for spending in £2.5bn instalments in 2010  2011 and 2012.
1291,hanks greeted at wintry premiere hollywood star tom hanks was in london s leicester square for the uk premiere of polar express.  the west end landmark was turned into a festive landscape complete with snow and carol singers to celebrate the arrival of the animated film.  this is leicester square like you ve never seen it before   said hanks  who plays five roles in the movie. polar express is based on a children s book which tells the story of a young boy s journey to meet santa claus. the 48-year-old actor crossed a three-metre high bridge built in the square  which he said was  almost impossible to get across . hundreds of fans greeted the star  all wearing santa hats  and mince pies were on offer. hanks said that the new film has an  elegant message .  christmas is a special time of the year and you get out of it what you put into it   added the two-time academy award winner.   i believe in the spirit of christmas and i think that s embodied in santa claus   he said. polar express uses technology similar to that used in lord of the rings to bring gollum to life. the  performance capture  technique enables hanks to play a number of roles  including the eight-year-old boy who is at the centre of the story  and father christmas. it is directed by robert zemeckis  who has previously worked with hanks on forrest gump and castaway.
2136,boeing secures giant japan order boeing is to supply japan airlines with up to 50 of its forthcoming 7e7 planes in a deal that could be worth as much as $6bn (£3.1bn) for the us giant.  japan airlines has made a firm order for 30 of the aircraft  at $120m each  with the option to buy 20 more. asia s biggest airline joins japanese rival all nippon as one of the first carriers to order the mid-size 7e7  which boeing says is super-economical. airbus this week announced the first pre-sale of its 7e7 rival - the a350. boeing s great european competitor is to sell 10 of its forthcoming a350 to spanish carrier air europe  which has the option to buy two more in a deal that could be worth more than $1.8bn. both the 7e7 and the a350 are being designed to be as fuel-efficient as possible in the 200- to 300-seat sector  and each will be available in both short and long range versions.  japan airlines said it had looked at both aircraft before choosing the 7e7  also known as the dreamliner.  we chose the 7e7 after carefully considering both it and airbus  aircraft   said a japan airlines spokesman.  the 7e7 fits better for what we needed and it could be delivered when we hoped to get it.  boeing continues to enjoy a dominance over airbus in japan  and japanese companies are taking key roles in building the 7e7. the first 7e7s will be delivered to japan airlines in april 2008. boeing has set itself a target of getting 200 firm commitments for the 7e7 by the end of this year  and has orders for 56 so far. airbus hopes to have 50 orders in place for the a350 by mid-2005.
999,dawson wins england squad recall wasps scrum-half matt dawson has been recalled to england s training squad ahead of the rbs six nations and been reinstated in the elite player squad.  coach andy robinson dropped dawson for the autumn tests after he missed training to film  a question of sport.   i always said i would consider bringing matt back if i felt he was playing well   robinson said.  he merits his return on current form.  newcastle s 18-year-old centre mathew tait is also in the training squad.  it s obviously an honour to be asked to train with england   said tait  who has burst into contention recently.  i look forward to going down and doing the sessions  but the most important thing at the moment is sunday s game against newport  so i m not looking any further than that.  robinson has invited 42 players to attend a three-day session in leeds next week  in which his squad will train in part with the leeds rhinos rugby league squad.  with mike tindall ruled out of the opening two matches and will greenwood sidelined for the entire six nations  tait is one of six or seven contenders for the two centre berths. stuart abbott  jamie noon  ollie smith  olly barkley and henry paul - who retains his place despite his early substitution against australia - are also in the mix. ben cohen could also be considered after switching from the wing for his club northampton recently. prop phil vickery and lock simon shaw both return to the squad after missing the autumn tests through injury  while wasps wing tom voyce is recalled. the group also includes bath flanker andy beattie and leicester hooker george chuter.  beattie has matured greatly as a player these past two seasons   robinson said. jonny wilkinson  tindall and martin corry have all been included despite their unavailability for the opening two matches against wales and france.  the revised 56-man elite squad includes wasps hooker phil greening  who replaces the retired mark regan  and sale wing mark cueto. cueto was selected for the november internationals despite not being part of the group  but scored four tries in three england appearances. leicester scrum-half harry ellis has also been promoted from the senior national academy  and will contest the number nine jersey with dawson and gloucester s andy gomarsall. the players in robinson s elite squad can only play 32 matches for club and country. they can be called up for a total of 16 training days in addition to the recognised international weeks for each of the years leading up to the next world cup.  balshaw  cohen  cueto  lewsey  robinson  simpson-daniel  voyce  abbott  noon  paul  smith  tait  tindall  barkley  hodgson  king  wilkinson  dawson  ellis  gomarsall.  chuter  thompson  titterrell  rowntree  sheridan  stevens  vickery  white  borthwick  brown  l deacon  grewcock  kay  shaw  beattie  corry  forrester  hazell  jones  moody  vyvyan  j worsley.  abbott  balshaw  borthwick  a brown  chuter  cohen  corry  cueto  dawson  ellis  flatman  gomarsall  greening  greenwood  grewcock  hazell  hill  hodgson  kay  king  lewsey  moody  noon  paul  robinson  rowntree  shaw  simpson-daniel  thompson  tindall  titterrell  vickery  vyvyan  white  wilkinson  j worsley  m worsley.  barkley  beattie  christophers  l deacon  forrester  c jones  palmer  rees  sheridan  skinner  smith  stevens  tait  voyce.  dowson  haughton  monye  roques  p sanderson.
1258,blair to face mps amid feud talk tony blair faces his first prime minister s questions of 2005 after a week of renewed speculation about his relationship with gordon brown.  meanwhile  the chancellor is leaving britain on a high-profile tour of africa to highlight poverty issues. but before doing so  he insisted he still trusted mr blair  despite claims to the contrary in a new book. labour mps have warned against disunity and tory leader michael howard may well take up the theme in the commons. the tories have already accused the prime minister and his chancellor of behaving like  schoolboys squabbling in a playground .  michael howard is likely to want to capitalise further on the spat when he goes head-to-head with the prime minister in the commons. at a campaign poster launch on tuesday  mr brown was joined by alan milburn  who mr blair controversially put in charge of election planning in place of the chancellor.  later this week the prime minister is due to set out the themes of his party s next election manifesto  which for the past two polls have been drawn up by the chancellor. mr brown  meanwhile  is visiting tanzania  mozambique and kenya to highlight the plight of many africans hit by aids  war and famine - issues which mr blair has also spoken out on. the prime minister and chancellor faced backbench discontent at monday s meeting of the parliamentary labour party over claims made in journalist robert peston s new book. mr blair told mps and peers:  i know from everyone here  in cabinet and government  nothing is going to get in the way of a unified labour party with a unified position and winning the third term people desperately need.  labour s paul flynn said the pair had had a  scorching  from mps.  on tuesday  deputy prime minister mr prescott told bbc news:  they told us very clearly  it was the troops telling the leaders: get in line.  the new book claims mr prescott hosted a dinner in november 2003 where the prime minister told mr brown he would stand down before the next election because he had lost trust over the iraq war. mr blair then changed his mind in june 2004  after cabinet allies intervened and amid suspicion the chancellor was manoeuvring against him  writes mr peston. in mr peston s book mr brown is alleged to have told the prime minister:  there is nothing you could ever say to me now that i could ever believe.
721,hansen  delays return until 2006  british triple jumper ashia hansen has ruled out a comeback this year after a setback in her recovery from a bad knee injury  according to reports.  hansen  the commonwealth and european champion  has been sidelined since the european cup in poland in june 2004. it was hoped she would be able to return this summer  but the wound from the injury has been very slow to heal. her coach aston moore told the times:  we re not looking at any sooner than 2006  not as a triple jumper.  moore said hansen may be able to return to sprinting and long jumping sooner  but there is no short-term prospect of her being involved again in her specialist event.  there was a problem with the wound healing and it set back her rehabilitation by about two months  but that has been solved and we can push ahead now   he said.  the aim is for her to get fit as an athlete - then we will start looking at sprinting and the long jump as an introduction back to the competitive arena.  moore said he is confident hansen can make it back to top-level competition  though it is unclear if that will be in time for the commonwealth games in melbourne next march  when she will be 34.  it s been a frustrating time for her  but it has not fazed her determination   he added.
1922,talks held on gibraltar s future two days of talks on the future of gibraltar begin at jack straw s country residence later on wednesday.  officials at the two-day summit at the foreign secretary s official kent house  chevening  will plan a new forum on the rock s future. in october  mr straw and his spanish counterpart miguel moratinos agreed to establish a body that would give gibraltarians a voice in their future. most gibraltarians said in a referendum they wanted to remain british.  gibraltar s chief minister peter caruana will represent the british citizens living on the rock  while britain s europe director dominick chilcott will represent the uk. madrid is being represented by spain s director general for europe  jose maria pons. the initiative follows spain s socialist government s decision to put its long-standing sovereignty ambitions on hold. gibraltarians rejected plans for the rock s sovereignty to be shared between britain and spain in a referendum organised by gibraltar government.
954,hollywood hunts hits at sundance the sundance film festival  the movie industry s top destination for uncovering the next independent hits and new talent  opens on thursday.  the event will see screen executives decamp from hollywood to park city  utah  for 11 days to search for low-key movies that could make it big in 2005. open water  napoleon dynamite  garden state and super-size me were all snapped up at last year s festival. but stars like keanu reeves and pierce brosnan also have films showing there. the festival is being opened by a screening of quirky comedy happy endings  starring former friends actress lisa kudrow and maggie gyllenhaal  on thursday.  kudrow s friends co-star  david schwimmer  plays a divorced drunkard in duane hopwood  while brosnan stars as a hit man in comedy the matador. keanu reeves appears in coming-of-age tale thumbsucker while kevin costner and michael keaton are among the other big names whose films are involved. robert redford founded sundance in 1981 and it has gone on to showcase future successes such as reservoir dogs  the blair witch project and the full monty. but it has received criticism that it has become more commercial and mainstream over the years.  as much as the press argues that sundance has completely changed  it hasn t changed that much   festival director geoffrey gilmore said.  it s still a place for discovery. it s a place for common ground among film-makers and audiences more than it is the celebrity stuff.  other films generating interest before this year s festival include hustle & flow  about an aspiring rapper  the squid and the whale  an autobiographical film by writer-director noah baumbach  and comedy/drama pretty persuasion. it also has two new international cinema competitions.
847,slovakia seal hopman cup success slovakia clinched the hopman cup for the second time by beating argentina 3-0 in saturday s final in perth.  daniela hantuchova put the third seeds ahead  recovering from a terrible start to beat gisela dulko 1-6 6-4 6-4. dominik hrbaty  who had not lost a set in his three singles matches in the group stages  then upset world number seven guillermo coria 6-4 6-1. hantuchova and hrbaty then won the mixed doubles after coria was forced to withdraw because of a sore back. slovakia s win made up for last year s final defeat to the united states.  i would like to congratulate daniela   hrbaty said.  i was so nervous watching her today  i almost had a heart attack.  i also feel a little sorry for guillermo because i get very excited whenever i play for my country. i show lots of emotions and played such good tennis.   world number 31 hantuchova  ranked two places above dulko  looked nervous as she dropped the first four games of the match. dulko  who had lost all three of her singles matches in the group stages  grew in confidence and took the opening set in just 27 minutes. but hantuchova hit back to take the next two and the match.  i was so nervous because i really wanted to win for the team and for dominik as he played so well all week   she said.  i didn t think i was playing my best but i just tried to hang in there and fight hard for every point for my country.  slovakia won the cup on their first appearance in 1998 when karol kucera and karina habsudova beat france.
846,brazil jobless rate hits new low brazil s unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in three years in december  according to the government.  the brazilian institute for geography and statistics (ibge) said it fell to 9.6% in december from 10.6% in november and 10.9% in december 2003. ibge also said that average monthly salaries grew 1.9% in december 2004 from december 2003. however  average monthly wages fell 1.8% in december to 895.4 reais ($332; £179.3) from november. tuesday s figures represent the first time that the unemployment rate has fallen to a single digit since new measurement rules were introduced in 2001. the unemployment rate has been falling gradually since april 2004 when it reached a peak of 13.1%. the jobless rate average for the whole of 2004 was 11.5%  down from 12.3% in 2003  the ibge said.  this improvement can be attributed to the country s strong economic growth  with the economy registering growth of 5.2% in 2004  the government said. the economy is expected to grow by about 4% this year. president luiz inacio lula da silva promised to reduce unemployment when he was elected two years ago. nevertheless  some analysts say that unemployment could increase in the next months.  the data is favourable  but a lot of jobs are temporary for the (christmas) holiday season  so we may see slightly higher joblessness in january and february   julio hegedus  chief economist with lopes filho & associates consultancy in rio de janeir  told reuters news agency. despite his leftist background  president lula has pursued a surprisingly conservative economic policy  arguing that in order to meet its social promises  the government needs to first reach a sustained economic growth. the unemployment rate is measured in the six main metropolitan areas of brazil (sao paolo  rio de janeiro  belo horizonte  recife  salvador and porto alegre)  where most of the population is concentrated.
313,incredibles win animation awards the incredibles movie has beaten shrek 2 to the main prizes at hollywood s animation awards  the annies.  the superhero film was named best animated feature while brad bird won best director  writer and voice actor for his role as designer edna mode. the incredibles won a total of 10 awards - but shrek 2  which had seven nominations  went home empty-handed. the two movies will compete with shark tale in the best animated film category of the oscars at the end of february.  the incredibles  awards came despite shrek 2 s greater box office success. shrek 2 took $881m (£468m) around the world  compared with $576m (£306m) for the incredibles. spongebob squarepants was named best animated tv show while tv comedy king of the hill picked up two prizes including one for actress brittany murphy s voice work. tom kenny  who provides the voice for spongebob squarepants  hosted sunday s ceremony at the alex theater  los angeles. the awards are handed out by the international animated film society. finding nemo won nine annies last year.
1997,brentford v southampton griffin park  tuesday  1 march  1945 gmt  barry knight (kent)  home to manchester united in the quarter-finals  midfielder andrew frampton and striker deon burton are both slight doubts with hamstring injuries  but should be fit saints are missing their entire first-choice midfield of jamie redknapp  graeme le saux  nigel quashie and david prutton. anders svensson and matt oakley are likely replacements with kevin phillips also scheduled to start  with henri camara rested.  - brentford boss martin allen:  after conceding eight goals in our last three matches  i have to admit i m not very confident.  there s no doubt we re the underdogs and after defending so poorly recently it s not looking good.  southampton have just drawn with the premiership champions and that makes our task harder than it was already.    - southampton boss harry redknapp:  we know they can give us problems.  brentford have done well but we are the premiership side and should have the better players.  staying in the premiership is our priority. we want to win  of course we do. we ll battle but if it comes to a football match i think we ll win.  key match stats   - brentford are the lowest ranked club left in the fa cup. they re on their best run in the competition since reaching the quarter-finals for the fourth time in their history 16 years ago. now they have the carrot of the plum draw in the last eight dangling before them. victory over premiership strugglers southampton  would bring the mighty manchester united to griffin park and a gigantic pay day for the sole league one survivors.   - martin allen s brave side came back from two goals down at st mary s to earn a deserved replay. southampton striker henri camara scored twice from close range to put the saints in command  but isaiah rankin hit back just before half time  and sam sodje headed past a creaky defence on 58 minutes.   - the londoners have conceded six goals in their two subsequent league outings - three each in losing away to hartlepool and drawing at home to sheffield wednesday. but they haven t lost in six league and cup games on home turf - winning three and drawing three since the reverse to torquay on boxing day.   - southampton go into this tie on the back of an eventful premiership match with arsenal on saturday. an angry david prutton pushed referee alan wiley after being shown the red card  but his side still came back to draw 1-1. it was saints  fourth stalemate in succession in all competitions  but didn t lift them out of the relegation zone. the retention of their ever present premier league status must be the number one priority  irrespective of the rewards that success against brentford would bring.   - victory here would set up a repeat of the 1976 final  when saints astounded the football world by defeating tommy docherty s manchester united courtesy of bobby stokes  famous winner. they also knocked out the red devils in 1991 on penalties in the fourth round. but to write another chapter in their fa cup history  the solent side must avoid succumbing to lower division opposition for the first time since rotherham  from the second level  beat them 2-1 in a third round tie at millmoor on 16 january 2002. southampton were last humbled by a club from the third tier six years ago. fulham were then in the second division  when they won a third round replay at craven cottage 1-0 on 13 january 1999.   - to get to within two matches of a second visit to the millennium stadium in three years for the final  harry redknapp must guide his side past a club 36 places inferior on the league ladder  and a manager 19 years his junior  who played under him at west ham. head to head  10th league one  quarter-finals (four times)  18th prem  winners (once)
322,blair says mayor should apologise tony blair has urged london mayor ken livingstone to apologise for his  nazi  comment to a jewish reporter.  labour s mr livingstone  who says he is  standing by  his remarks  had accused an evening standard journalist of being like a  concentration camp guard . mr blair told five s wright stuff show:  let s just apologise and move on.  mr livingstone has said the remarks may have been offensive but were not racist  and said he would not apologise even if the prime minister asked.  mr blair  who was instrumental in returning mr livingstone to the labour party  insisted on wednesday it was time for the london mayor to say sorry.   a lot of us in politics get angry with journalists from time to time  but in the circumstances  and to the journalist because he was a jewish journalist  yes  he should apologise   he said.  let s just apologise and move on - that s the sensible thing.  tory leader michael howard  asked about mr livingstone s remark by reporters  said it was important for politicians to be mindful about the language they use.  it s particularly important that as we get close to the election that politicians talk with civility and courtesy about issues that we all face   he said.  i think it s a matter of sadness that we are not seeing that from the labour party. we had what ken livingstone said  we had what alastair campbell has said and we have what others have said. i think that s a matter of great regret.   the row blew up after mr livingstone was approached by evening standard reporter oliver finegold following a party marking the 20th anniversary of former culture secretary chris smith coming out as britain s first gay mp. on tape  mr livingstone  who once worked as a freelance restaurant critic on the paper  is heard asking mr finegold if he is a  german war criminal .  mr finegold replies:  no  i m jewish  i wasn t a german war criminal. i m quite offended by that.  the mayor then says:  ah right  well you might be  but actually you are like a concentration camp guard  you are just doing it because you are paid to  aren t you   at his weekly press conference on tuesday  mr livingstone said his comments were not racist and refused to apologise.  if you think they are racist  i think you are wrong   he told reporters. the dispute comes as an inspection team from the international olympic committee began a four-day tour to assess london s bid for the 2012 games. an official complaint has been made to local government watchdogs by the british jews  demanding an investigation by the standards board of england. it has the power to suspend or bar mr livingstone from public office.
1221,mccall earns tannadice reprieve dundee united manager ian mccall has won a reprieve from the sack  with chairman eddie thompson calling for an end to speculation over his future.  it is understood that mccall would have been sacked if sheffield wednesday manager paul sturrock had been willing to return to tannadice. but sturrock has distanced himself from the position.  we re in a difficult situation. we must get out of it through the efforts of current personnel   said thompson.  ian mccall and i have had a long and detailed talk about a number of areas including the current league position and the manner of the exit from the league cup   he added.  however  the continuing speculation is doing no one any good  especially as we have several crucial games coming up.  the minds of the coaching staff and the players have to be on those games and those games only.  our season would of course improve considerably if in the next few weeks we achieved some improved league results and there is also the potential of another cup semi-final  subject to the draw.   all that matters at the present time - is us all having a total focus on the games ahead and a positive series of results being achieved.  dundee united players had expressed their solidarity with mccall after their side s 3-0 scottish cup win over queen of the south.  we want the boss to stay  we don t want someone else coming in   said jim mcintyre.  hopefully now he gets the chance to stay.  keeper tony bullock echoed mcintyre s sentiments.  i think all the boys are behind ian mccall   he added.  at the moment it is all speculation and we have got to rise above all that and do a job on the pitch.   on saturday  sturrock insisted that he had unfinished business with wednesday  who are fourth in league one.  i ve only been here five months and i don t expect to be leaving very  very soon   he said.  i can appreciate the rumours because i ve emphasised my thoughts and ambitions to go back to dundee united.  i can assure you the timescale is not the right one.  it (dundee united) is my team. i had five years there as a coach  six as a player  two years as a manager - once you ve done that kind of thing  it s the result you look for.  the important thing now is i ve come here to do a job and i m going to try to finish it.
129,csa  could close   says minister ministers would not rule out scrapping the child support agency if it failed to improve  work and pensions secretary alan johnson has warned.  but he said replacing the controversial csa would be  the nuclear option . a report by the commons work and pensions committee called for the agency to be wound up unless it improved its service within weeks. chairman sir archy kirkwood said:  if the agency cannot be rescued  then it must be replaced.   the committee reached its conclusions after it found that nearly 250 000 cases have yet to be processed. it warned that it could be five years before the csa was  fit for purpose   describing it as  a failing organisation  and  in crisis  with parents facing payment delays and inaccurate maintenance calculations. the report urged the csa to draw up contingency plans  including the  abandonment option   to be presented to parliament by easter  in case the cs2 computer system could not be made to work.  and responding to calls for the agency to be scrapped  mr johnson told bbc radio 4 s today programme:  i certainly wouldn t rule out the nuclear option of moving to a completely new system.  but i think the select committee would agree with me we would only do that when we were absolutely convinced that this system just isn t going to work.   the mps launched their inquiry into the csa s performance after it became clear that  despite the introduction of a simpler system of calculating maintenance payments for new cases in 2003  a backlog of claims was building up. the mps found the £456m system from american it giant eds was  nowhere near being fully functional and the number of dissatisfied  disenchanted and angry customers continues to escalate . faced with the committee s criticism  the government has suspended its plan to cut the agency s staff by 25%. the csa has been surrounded in controversy since its introduction in 1993 to assess and enforce child support payments by absent parents.  it is currently chasing outstanding payments of more than £720m  while a further £947m has been designated as  unrecoverable .  michelle  a mother of twins  said she had not received a penny of the £57 a week she should be receiving from her ex-partner and had faced an  on-going battle  with the csa. her forms have twice been lost in the post  she said.  i don t receive correspondence  i don t receive phone calls  i have to chase them all the time   she said. theresa may  tory shadow work and pensions secretary  said:  we have got to find a way that s going to ensure those payments get through to the people who are due them.  the agency s former chief executive doug smith quit last autumn claiming he was  seriously disappointed  with its performance. the committee said the national audit office should investigate why the eds system had gone so badly wrong. it blamed the agency s senior management for a  multitude of problems  within the agency  including for an apparent lack of training of frontline staff.
981,claxton hunting first major medal british hurdler sarah claxton is confident she can win her first major medal at next month s european indoor championships in madrid.  the 25-year-old has already smashed the british record over 60m hurdles twice this season  setting a new mark of 7.96 seconds to win the aaas title.  i am quite confident   said claxton.  but i take each race as it comes.  as long as i keep up my training but not do too much i think there is a chance of a medal.  claxton has won the national 60m hurdles title for the past three years but has struggled to translate her domestic success to the international stage. now  the scotland-born athlete owns the equal fifth-fastest time in the world this year. and at last week s birmingham grand prix  claxton left european medal favourite russian irina shevchenko trailing in sixth spot.  for the first time  claxton has only been preparing for a campaign over the hurdles - which could explain her leap in form. in previous seasons  the 25-year-old also contested the long jump but since moving from colchester to london she has re-focused her attentions. claxton will see if her new training regime pays dividends at the european indoors which take place on 5-6 march.
330,blair  up for it  ahead of poll tony blair says his personal standing in the eyes of voters will be  an issue  in the general election.  the prime minister said he was  up for it  as the country waits to go to the polls  possibly in a matter of weeks. he told the observer government life was a  constant barrage of attack  but said he would not stay in charge if he felt unable to contribute. mr blair also spoke of meeting many people across the country with concerns about the compensation culture.  he said britain was in danger of needless panic over public safety issues.  speaking amid a flurry of pre-election campaigning  the prime minister said:  i am an issue  i always will be. whoever is the prime minister will be.  he added:  if you are afraid to take criticism  you should go and do another job.  asked if he would quit as leader if he felt like a liability to labour  he said:  it s important always not to do the job unless you feel you have something to contribute.  whether he still had something to offer  he said  was a judgement for people to make. mr blair s assessment is likely to be seen as a signal that replacing him would not bring an upsurge in fortunes for the labour administration.  his comments come as the co-chairman of the conservative party  liam fox  on saturday called him  a disappointment of historic proportions  as a prime minister. mr blair said he had learned from a series of at times tough encounters with members of the public  during question and answer sessions across the country in recent weeks. he pledged to clamp down on britain s growing compensation culture  which has brought concerns that doctors  teachers and other professionals are being hampered in their work by the fear of frivolous lawsuits.   i was quite shocked to be told by people who were running a nursery that they were worried about letting the kids out into the playground when it was wet in case one of them slipped and fell and they ended up having a legal case [against them]   he said.   we have got to look at a way of getting people protection on that.  mr blair said the government was also looking at  how to make sure that legal aid is not abused with actions against doctors and others   as part of a review being carried out by the lord chancellor s department. and there should be  real debate  about the risk posed by public safety threats  he said.  we are in danger of - depending on whatever is the media campaign of the day - ending up spending literally hundreds  sometimes millions of pounds meeting quite a small risk.   his comments come after the government announced it is to spend £200m on drugs to treat a possible outbreak of bird flu  and the sudan 1 food scare. meanwhile  commons leader peter hain has warned that on the campaign trail he has seen  dangerous complacency  being displayed by labour voters convinced of a general election victory. if labour voters  stayed at home  in marginal seats they could see tory leader michael howard  coming in the back door to number 10 with the tradesman s key to number 10  getting into power   he added.
1172,euronext  poised to make lse bid  pan-european group euronext is poised to launch a bid for the london stock exchange  uk media reports say.  last week  the lse rejected a takeover proposal from german rival deutsche boerse - the 530 pence-a-share offer valued the exchange at about £1.35bn. the lse  which saw its shares rise 25%  said the bid undervalued the business. euronext - formed after the brussels  paris and amsterdam exchanges merged - is reportedly working with three investment banks on a possible offer. the lse  europe s biggest stock market  is a key prize  listing stocks with a total capitalisation of £1.4 trillion.  euronext already has a presence in london due to its 2001 acquisition of london-based options and futures exchange liffe. trades on the lse are cleared via clearnet  in which euronext has a quarter stake.  euronext  which also operates an exchange in lisbon  last week appointed ubs and abn amro as additional advisors. it is also working with morgan stanley. despite the rejection of the deutsche boerse bid last week  werner seifert  chief executive of the frankfurt-based exchange  may well come back with an improved offer. it has long wanted to link up with london  and the two tried and failed to seal a merger in 2000. responding to the lse s rebuff  deutsche boerse - whose market capitalisation is more than £3bn - said it believed it could show its proposal offered benefits  and that it still hoped to make a cash bid.  last week the lse said not only was the bid undervalued  but that it had  been advised that there can be no assurance that any transaction could be successfully implemented . however  it has indicated it is open for further talks. meanwhile  german magazine der spiegel said part of mr seifert s negotiations with the lse were about where to base the future board of any merged exchange. while mr seifert has suggested a merged company would be run out of london  the mayor of frankfurt has raised concerns that such a move could cost german jobs. many analysts believe german boerse has more financial firepower than euronext if it came to a bidding war.
2123,spider-man creator wins profits spider-man creator stan lee is to get a multi-million dollar windfall after winning a court battle with comic book company marvel.  a judge has upheld lee s demand for 10% of marvel s profits from the hugely successful spider-man films. spider-man and its sequel made $1.6bn (£857m) at box offices worldwide. of the cut now due to lee  82  who created spider-man in 1962  his lawyer said:  it could be tens of millions of dollars  that s no exaggeration.  us district court judge robert w sweet ruled lee should get a tenth of profits generated since november 1998 by marvel tv and movie productions involving the company s characters. lee took legal action in 2002  saying marvel shut him out of  jackpot  profits from the first blockbuster film.  he said the company - where he worked for more than 60 years - had gone back on agreement to give him the 10%. as well as spider-man  lee co-created the incredible hulk  x-men  daredevil and fantastic four characters. he said:  i am gratified by the judge s decision although  since i am deeply fond of marvel and the people there  i sincerely regret that the situation had to come to this.  the ruling also means he is entitled to a slice of profits from dvd sales and certain merchandise. marvel said it would appeal and did not expect the decision to impact on financial forecasts for 2004 and beyond. the new york court did not rule on lee s claims to a share of profits from some spider-man and hulk movie merchandise  which will be decided at a future trial  marvel said.
1165,cactus diet deal for phytopharm a slimming aid made from a southern african cactus is set to be developed by uk firm phytopharm and unilever.  anglo-dutch food giant unilever will help the pharmaceutical firm develop the snacks containing hoodia extract. phytopharm shares jumped 10.7% on the news  with analysts saying sales of $600m (£309m) a year were possible. the plant  licensed to phytopharm in 1997  has been used for thousands of years by the sans bushmen of the kalahari desert to stave off hunger. studies have reportedly shown the plant curbs appetite instead of reducing calorific intake like many existing products.  phytopharm will receive an initial fee of £6.5m from unilever - out of a potential total of £21m - as well as future royalties on product sales. under the deal  production of the hoodia cactus at phytopharm s nursery in south africa will also rise from eight million plants to potentially hundreds of millions  said phytopharm chief executive richard dixey. the firm had initially hoped to market a slimming drug from hoodia with pfizer. but the research collaboration came to an end in 2003. analysts said unilever could launch the new products in 2007.  this deal goes a long way to restoring the market faith in phytopharm s pipeline after the pfizer exit   said analyst erling refsum at nomura.
1592,gervais writing simpsons episode the office s ricky gervais is writing an episode of hit us cartoon the simpsons  following an invitation from its creator matt groening.  gervais has already begun writing the script but is keeping its subject matter a closely guarded secret. he will also write a part for himself in the episode.  i ve got the rough idea but this is the most intimidating project of my career. the simpsons is the greatest tv show of all time   he said. groening recently heaped praise on the office  saying:  everybody on the simpsons is a fan of the office - it s one of the best shows on tv in the last decade.  gervais has already said he would not guest star in the show as his office character david  having left him behind for good in the christmas specials. the office became a surprise us success when it was screened on cable channel bbc america. the first series won two golden globes in 2004 for best comedy and best tv actor for gervais.  in winning it beat the likes of sex and the city and will and grace. an american version was produced  but so far only a pilot has been broadcast - to much criticism that it failed to live up to the original. at the british comedy awards on wednesday  gervais was handed a special achievement award for writing. but the office missed out in the best comedy show category to little britain. matt groening was also at the awards to collect the award for best international comedy for the simpsons.
2094,download chart debut is delayed the inclusion of downloaded music in the official singles chart has been delayed for a month.  the british phonographic industry (bpi) had planned to include download formats in the chart from 20 march. but the date has been put back to 17 april to create a  level playing field  for independent labels. the bpi is concerned that independent repertoire is not adequately represented online and said they were looking at ways of rectifying it.  bpi chairman peter jamieson said:  the inclusion of download formats in the official uk singles chart is the most significant development in the charts for 20 years.   but for a multitude of reasons the current chart representation of independent repertoire at the major download outlets is poor.  i am very pleased we have secured this delay on behalf of independents. we have to try and establish a realistic  level playing field  of opportunity. the official uk charts are run by the official uk charts company (occ) - a joint venture between the bpi and the british association of record dealers (bard). at an occ board meeting on wednesday  the occ board agreed with bpi members that the 20 march start date be postponed. download formats will now be included in the official uk singles chart for the first time in the chart published on 17 april - the sales week beginning 10 april. the us has already merged downloaded singles into its billboard hot 100 chart.
841,ban hits half-life 2 pirates hard about 20 000 people have been banned from playing the half-life 2 game.  game maker valve shut down the online accounts of the players because it had evidence that their copy of the game had been obtained illegally. copies of half-life 2 had been circulating on file-sharing systems soon after it was officially released. experts said the success of the half-life 2 anti-piracy system might tempt other game makers into creating their own version.  half-life 2 was officially released on 16 november but before gamers could get to grips with the long-awaited title they were forced to authenticate their copy of the game online. authentication involved setting up an account with valve s gaming community system called steam and letting that check which copy of the game was being run.  in a statement detailing the banning of the accounts valve said this system helped identify who had got hold of pirated copies.  the method used was extremely easy for valve to trace and confirm  and so there is no question that the accounts disabled were used to try and illegally obtain half-life 2   read the statement. valve spokesman doug lombardi said that the company had not yet released sales figures for the game and would not say what proportion of all steam players the 20 000 represented. one effect of steam s popularity has been to limit the copies of the game sold in shops and artificially depress the game s ranking in the top ten. even so the title debuted at no 3 in the uk charts. valve also said that a small number of accounts were closed because people were using stolen credit cards to buy copies of the game or were using stolen steam accounts. some of those who have been banned by the move protested their innocence in the online forums on the main steam site and said they were being punished for what other people did with their account.  some contributors to the forums wondered if the action might force more piracy as people tried to get hold of successive copies of the game to keep ahead of valve s anti-piracy actions.  in its statement valve also said that rumours that it distributed fake half-life 2 keys  copies of the game or instructions on how to hack the game  just to catch pirates and cheats were false. the company said:  the hack came from the  community  as do they all.  it added that most of those banned simply tried to use copies of half-life 2 circulating on file-swapping systems such as bit torrent rather than use hacks to get around the need for cd keys. rob fahey  editor of online news site gamesindustry.biz  said the mass banning showed off the power of the steam system. before now  he said  it has been hard for game makers to do anything about piracy once the game was being played.  but with this  valve is taking really effective steps against people using illegitimate copies of half-life 2   he said. if steam proves effective at cutting the piracy of games to a minimum  said mr fahey  other game makers may be tempted to set up copycat systems.  it s not hard to see a point in the near future when every publisher wants you to run an application on your system purely to allow you to play their games   he said. this could mean that computers get cluttered with poorly written steam-type systems that are used to batter people with adverts. unless game firms were careful  he said  they could face a backlash from consumers who soon get tired of maintaining different accounts for every game they play.
1224,fit-again betsen in france squad france have brought flanker serge betsen back into their squad to face england at twickenham on sunday.  but the player  who missed the victory over scotland through injury  must attend a disciplinary hearing on wednesday after being cited by wasps.  serge has a good case so we are confident he will play   said france coach bernard laporte. the inexperienced nicolas mas  jimmy marlu and jean-philippe grandclaude are also included in a 22-man squad. the trio have been called up after pieter de villiers  ludovic valbon and aurelien rougerie all picked up injuries in france s 16-9 win on saturday.  laporte said he was confident that betsen would be cleared by the panel investigating his alleged trip that broke wasps centre stuart abbott s leg.  if he was to be suspended  we would call up imanol harinordoquy or thomas lievremont   said laporte  who has dropped patrick tabacco.  we missed serge badly against scotland. he has now recovered from his thigh injury and played on saturday with biarritz.  france s regular back-row combination of betsen  harinordoquy and olivier magne were all missing from france s side at the weekend because of injury. laporte is expected to announce france s starting line-up on wednesday.  forwards: nicolas mas  sylvain marconnet  olivier milloud  william servat  sebastien bruno  fabien pelous  jerome thion  gregory lamboley  serge betsen  julien bonnaire  sebastien chabal  yannick nyanga. backs: dimitri yachvili  pierre mignoni  frederic michalak  yann delaigue  damien traille  brian liebenberg  jean-philippe grandclaude  christophe dominici  jimmy marlu  pepito elhorga.
72,singapore growth at 8.1% in 2004 singapore s economy grew by 8.1% in 2004  its best performance since 2000  figures from the trade ministry show.  the advance  the second-fastest in asia after china  was led by growth of 13.1% in the key manufacturing sector. however  a slower-than-expected fourth quarter points to more modest growth for the trade-driven economy in 2005 as global technology demand falls back. slowdowns in the us and china could hit electronics exports  while the tsunami disaster may effect the service sector.  economic growth is set to halve in singapore this year to between 3% and 5%. in the fourth quarter  the city state s gross domestic product (gdp) rose at an annual rate of 2.4%. that was up from the third quarter  when it fell 3.0%  but was well below analyst forecasts.  i am surprised at the weak fourth quarter number. the main drag came from electronics   said lian chia liang  economist at jp morgan chase. singapore s economy had contracted over the summer  weighed down by soaring oil prices. the economy s poor performance in the july to september period followed four consecutive quarters of double-digit growth as singapore bounced back strongly from the effects of the deadly sars virus in 2003.
1176,director nair s vanity project indian film director mira nair has said she was thrilled to be given the chance to make william makepeace thackeray s novel vanity fair - as the book has been a favourite through her life.  the book is one of the classics of english literature - the story of scheming 19th century social climber becky sharp  played in the film by reese witherspoon. nair said that she jumped at the chance to work on the film  which she has - controversially - made in a bollywood style  including two song-and-dance routines in the film s second half.  it was serendipity really - i was offered vanity fair by the studio focus features  who had distributed monsoon wedding   nair told bbc world service s masterpiece programme.  they offered me their next-best thing  not realising that vanity fair had actually been one of my favourite novels since i was 16 years old in an irish catholic boarding school in india.   since her 1988 debut feature salaam bombay! - nominated for the best foreign language oscar and winner of best first feature at cannes - nair has become one of india s most famous and respected directors. she is not restricted to bollywood  however - she followed salaam bombay! with mississippi masala  starring denzel washington  and the perez family  her first hollywood film.  her career peaked with monsoon wedding in 2001  which won the golden lion award at venice. nair s indian-style adaptation of vanity fair  however  has been attacked by critics in the us - where it only reached number eight at the box office in its opening week - who described the bollywood elements as  jarring.  the film has a new ending  with becky sharp running off for a new life in india. but nair said that her film had picked up on the way thackeray - who was born in india but moved to england as a young man - had seen the world.  first  when i was 16  it was becky sharp  who is a completely memorable character  because i recognised myself in her - i recognised all the ladies who did not want to be ladies  who wanted to buck the system that they were in   she said.  but it was the sort of novel i somehow kept at the side of my bed for many years  and i would dip into every now and then and suddenly get completely mesmerised again.  as i got older and read it  i think it was thackeray s clarity - his clear-sightedness about his own society  the fact that he was born in india but came to england as a young man - that gave him the eyes of an outsider  and yet he was an insider.  that perspective was something i really loved.   nair also defended her decision to cast an american actress - reese witherspoon - as becky sharp  despite the fact that all the rest of the cast are british or irish.  i cast intuitively - in my films i cast as many non-actors as i cast actors   she said.  for me  it is intuition - i have to fall in love with an actor. it is a visceral response.   thackeray describes becky sharp as a minx. also she s described as someone who s tiny  red-headed and thin. reese had that completely minx-like irresistibility about her.  having won the role because she seemed physically perfectly suited to the part  however  witherspoon then became pregnant. but nair said that  though this had created the need for some filming tricks  it had in fact also helped the film.  it was a self-fulfilling prophesy - when i first met her husband [actor ryan philippe]  i said  knock her up  won t you  i need some flesh on the girl    she joked.  i m not a fan of the underfed los angeles actor at all. this was  for me  about becky sharp being  eventually  a full-blown woman through the course of the film.  i love the luminosity that pregnancy brings  i love the fleshiness  i love the ample bosom - it gave me much more to play with.  nair explained how camera tricks had been used to disguise witherspoon s  bump  in various scenes - including hiring a number of young boys in costumes to stand in front of her.  she runs  she gets off coal carts  she jumps off horses - she does everything   nair said.  but there s also a certain carriage with horses that is going to wipe the screen at a certain moment  because of the bump.
1285,deutsche boerse boosts dividend deutsche boerse  the german stock exchange that is trying to buy its london rival  has said it will boost its 2004 dividend payment by 27%.  analysts said that the move is aimed at winning over investors opposed to its bid for the london stock exchange. critics of the takeover have complained that the money could be better used by returning cash to shareholders. deutsche boerse also said profit in the three months to 31 december was 120.7m euros ($158.8m; £83.3m). sales climbed to 364.4m euros  lifting revenue for the year to a record 1.45bn euros.  frankfurt-based deutsche boerse has offered £1.3bn ($2.48bn; 1.88bn euros) for the london stock exchange. rival pan-european bourse euronext is working also on a bid. late on monday  deutsche boerse said it would lift its 2004 dividend payment to 70 euro cents (£0.48; $0.98) from 55 euro cents a year earlier.  there is a whiff of a sweetener in there   anais faraj  an analyst at nomura told the bbc s world business report.  most of the disgruntled shareholders of deutsche boerse are complaining that the money that is being used for the bid could be better placed in their hands  paid out in dividends   mr faraj continued. deutsche boerse is  trying to buy them off in a sense   he said.
1671,glasgow hosts tsunami benefit gig the top names in scottish music are taking part in a benefit concert in aid of the victims of the asian tsunami.  all 10 000 tickets for saturday s concert  featuring franz ferdinand  belle and sebastian and travis  at glasgow s secc sold out in 36 hours. mull historical society  deacon blue  idlewild  texas  mogwai and teenage fanclub are among the other acts performing at the concert. organisers hope to raise at least £250 000 from the show.  it follows a cardiff gig starring eric clapton  keane and jools holland  which raised more than £1.25m. and it is taking place on the same night as a tsunami benefit show in bristol  which will see massive attack and portishead share a stage for the first time. colin macintyre  of mull historical society  was playing another gig on the same day but said he was determined to make the glasgow benefit. he said:  i think we were all affected by seeing the reports coming from the far east.  we all know somebody who was there  but more than that it was that we had never seen a wave of destruction  a natural disaster  like this in my generation.  i m lucky as an artist to be able to perform at something like this.
67,deadline nears for fiat-gm deal fiat and general motors (gm) have until midnight on 1 february to settle a disagreement over a potential takeover.  the deadline marks the point at which fiat will gain the right to sell its car division to gm  part of an alliance agreed in 2000. gm  whose own european operations are losing money  no longer wants to own the unprofitable fiat unit. reports of deadlocked talks sent fiat shares down 1.2% on tuesday  after monday s 4% gain on hopes of a payoff. the us firm is thought to be offering about $2bn (£1.06bn) to extricate itself from the arrangement. it has argued the deal was voided by fiat s decision to sell off fiat s finance arm and halve gm s stake via a capital-raising effort.  the 2000 deal resulted from a race between gm and daimlerchrysler to ally with fiat. the german firm wanted to buy fiat outright. but gianni agnelli  the godfather of the group  wanted to keep control  and preferred gm s offer to buy a 20% stake and give fiat the right to sell in the future  known as a  put option . since then  however  fiat cars have lost market share and the firm has piled up losses  while a plan to raise new money in 2003 cut gm s stake in half to 10%. for its part  gm s european units opel and saab have both had trouble  with opel management threatening to cut 12 000 jobs.  the last thing they need is additional production capacity in europe   said patrick juchemich  auto analyst at sal oppenheim bank.
952,csa chief who  quit  still in job the head of the  failing  child support agency widely reported to have resigned three months ago is still at the helm of the troubled organisation.  doug smith s departure was announced by work secretary alan johnson on 17 november as mps grilled him over the agency s poor performance. his  resignation  was referred to by both tory and lib dem leaders during that day s prime ministers questions. officials now say he did not resign but will move on under civil service rules.  mr smith s departure was reported widely at the time as his shouldering the blame for the failings of the child support agency. in january the mps who make up the commons work and pensions committee published a highly critical report into the  failing  agency noting the chief executive  has now left  and hoping  the new leadership will bring a fresh approach to what is a failing organisation .  on that day s today programme mr johnson was asked why mr smith had been allowed to resign rather than be sacked. he replied:  the chief executive decided it was time to move on  there is a new chief executive coming in.  it now emerges that the widespread belief mr smith  made commander of the order of the bath in the new year honours  had left  was wrong. a department for work and pensions spokeswoman confirmed mr smith was still in post and that he would continue in the job until a replacement was found.  no date was ever given for doug smith s departure   she said adding that the post had been advertised.  tory work and pensions spokesman david willetts said families affected by csa failings would wonder why mr smith was still in his job three months after his departure was announced. the csa has been surrounded by controversy since its introduction in 1993 to assess and enforce child support payments by absent parents.  the work and pensions committee launched their inquiry into the csa s performance after it became clear that  despite the introduction of a simpler system of calculating maintenance payments for new cases in 2003  a backlog of claims was still building up. it is currently chasing outstanding payments of more than £720m  while a further £947m has been designated as  unrecoverable . the mps found american it giant eds  £456m system was  nowhere near being fully functional and the number of dissatisfied  disenchanted and angry customers continues to escalate .  in november  when he surprised mps and the watching media by announcing mr smith s departure  mr johnson said:  i should tell you that doug has decided that now is the time to stand aside and to allow a new chief executive to tackle the challenges ahead.  doug has exceeded the four years that senior civil servants are now expected to remain in a particular post.  so doug believes that we have reached the natural breakpoint at which he can hand over the reins.  lib dem sir archy kirkwood  who chairs the commons work and pensions committee  said that when mr johnson had announced mr smith was going he got the  clear impression  the csa chief was retiring though it had since emerged that was not the case  and he may be seeking new employment opportunities.  he added his committee was  duty bound  to allow the work and pensions secretary to get new management into place in the csa and it would be  premature  to say anything further on the issue at the moment. but committee member and tory mp nigel waterson said he was  amazed  mr smith was still in his job.  when mr smith and the secretary of state came to give evidence  we were led to believe he was going shortly   he said.  even if he was working out three months notice  he should have been clearing his desk by now.  asked on thursday about mr smith s position mr johnson told bbc radio 4 s world at one he thought it was a  non-story . he added that he had been absolutely open when he announced mr smith s departure to the select committee and how people chose to interpret it was a  different thing .  the major issue is have we got a new chief executive coming into this very important agency as quickly as possible and have we gone through the right selection process to make sure we ve got the right people   he added.
884,brown in appeal for labour unity gordon brown has made an appeal for unity after reports claimed mr blair went back on a pledge to stand down before the next general election.  the chancellor would not comment on the reports  but insisted he would not be  diverted or distracted  from tackling the challenges faced by the country. his only  motivation  was to ensure labour was re-elected  he insisted. mr blair earlier dismissed the claim he had reneged on a promise to stand aside for gordon brown as old news. according to a new book  brown s britain by sunday telegraph journalist robert peston  mr blair went back on a pledge to make way for mr brown after cabinet allies intervened in june 2004.  in an interview with bbc one s breakfast with frost  mr blair said:  i ve dealt with this six months ago. i said then you don t do deals over jobs like this - you don t.  what both of us are actually concentrating on are the issues that concern the country.   in a separate interview with bbc political editor andrew marr  mr brown said:  it s very important that we all do what we can in a unified way to ensure the election of a labour government.  i think it is very important to stress that that is the motivation that i have.  that is my purpose in politics  and that is what every day i seek to do. and i am not going to be diverted or distracted  nor is tony blair  by newspaper stories or books or rumours or gossip.  the only reason why we are in government is to get on with the job in a unified way to deal with the challenges facing this country.  mr brown also said he had discussed the general election campaign with the prime minister on saturday and pledged to play his part as he had been asked to do.  but mr peston said the pair had  mutual animosity and contempt  for each other and that mr blair had decided in november 2003 he would quit because he felt he had lost voters  trust because of the iraq war. he then changed his mind in june 2004  following intervention from allies in the cabinet and the suspicion that the chancellor was deliberately manoeuvring against him  according to the book. andrew marr said:  this is enormously damaging. gordon brown knows it as well as tony blair.  i think the relationship is genuinely  privately  very poor indeed. things are very difficult.  he added:  lots of ministers believe tony blair will attempt to move gordon brown out of the treasury after the election.  that depends on whether there s still a labour government and their majority.   senior mps are expected to raise concerns about the latest reports of infighting at the regular meeting of labour backbenchers on monday.  health secretary john reid said those fuelling such reports were damaging labour s re-election chances and would not be easily forgiven. fresh speculation of a rift recently followed mr blair and mr brown s separate responses to the asian tsunami. these rumours were fuelled by mr blair s decision to hold his monthly media conference at the same time as a long-planned speech by mr brown on uk plans to tackle global poverty with a new  marshall plan  for africa. there was speculation the pair were trying to outdo each other s response to the disaster. but the prime minister said he had discussed these claims with the chancellor and dismissed them as a  load of nonsense . tory leader michael howard accused the prime minister and mr brown of squabbling like schoolboys . liberal democrat parliamentary chairman matthew taylor said the personal ambition of mr blair and mr brown was  getting in the way of good government .
2011,fast moving phone bugs appear security firms are warning about several mobile phone viruses that can spread much faster than similar bugs.  the new strains of the cabir mobile phone virus use short-range radio technology to leap to any vulnerable phone as soon as it is in range. the cabir virus only affects high-end handsets running the symbian series 60 phone operating system. despite the warnings  there are so far no reports of any phones being infected by the new variants of cabir.  the original cabir worm came to light in mid-june 2004 when it was sent to anti-virus firms as a proof-of-concept program. a mistake in the way the original cabir was written meant that even if it escaped from the laboratory  the bug would only have been able to infect one phone at a time.  however  the new cabir strains have this mistake corrected and will spread via short range bluetooth technology to any vulnerable phone in range. bluetooth has an effective range of a few tens of metres. the risk of being infected by cabir is low because users must give the malicious program permission to download on to their handset and then must manually install it. users can protect themselves by altering a setting on symbian phones that conceals the handset from other bluetooth using devices. finnish security firm f-secure issued a warning about the new strains of cabir but said that the viruses do not do any damage to a phone. all they do is block normal bluetooth activity and drain the phone s battery. anti-virus firm sophos said the source code for cabir had been posted on the net by a brazilian programmer which might lead to even more variants of the program being created. so far seven versions of cabir are know to exist  one of which was inside the malicious skulls program that was found in late november. symbian s series 60 software is licenced by nokia  lg electronics  lenovo  panasonic  samsung  sendo and siemens.
1979,venezuela reviews foreign deals venezuela is to review all foreign investment in its mining industries in an effort to strengthen its indigenous industrial output.  president hugo chavez has ordered all existing contracts with foreign firms to be examined to see if they provide maximum benefits to the country. the review will cover production of gold  aluminium and iron ore although it excludes the country s oil sector. chavez has sought to extend the state s role in all sectors of the economy.  the left-wing president is conducting a controversial review of land ownership in the country while also seeking to create a state-run telecoms firm to compete with foreign-owned businesses.  he has argued that major economic reforms are vital to improve the lives of venezuela s poorest citizens. announcing the review of raw material production  minister victor alvarez said the government would seek to transfer technology  training capability and content from projects with foreign partners.  we are defending our national sovereignty over the use of our national resources which must serve the endogenous development of the nation   mr alvarez said.  for this reason we are reviewing all memorandums of understanding  all letters of intent  all agreements that have been signed  all contracts  to check which of these comply with these directives.  everything  absolutely everything  has to be reviewed.   venezuela has previously assured foreign companies with operations in the mineral rich country that it respects existing contracts. however  the government insisted that it needed to develop its own industrial infrastructure in order to create new jobs and lessen its reliance on foreign partners.  if we don t do this  we are just going to carry on being slaves  suppliers of raw materials  all our lives and we will never develop our own productive capacity   mr alvarez added. companies from the united states  canada  france and switzerland all have substantial investments in venezuela s mining sector.
519,yukos drops banks from court bid russian oil company yukos has dropped the threat of legal action against five banks it had accused of involvement in the sale of its key yugansk unit.  state-owned rosneft bought the unit for $9.3bn (£5bn) after yukos was forced to sell assets to meet a $27.5bn tax bill. yukos says the sale was illegal and is pursuing damages in a us court. its lawyers now accept abn amro  bnp paribas  calyon  jp morgan chase bank  and dresdner kleinwort wasserstein were not involved in the sale financing. however  yukos still has an outstanding complaint against deutsche bank  which it alleges to be the leader of a consortium that was behind a bid for yugansk by state gas monopoly gazprom. the company has also accused gazprom  the russian federation and two other russian firms.  gazprom had been expected to win the december auction  but ended up not bidding. yugansk was sold to a little-known shell company  which in turn was bought by rosneft. yukos claims its downfall was punishment for the political ambitions of its founder mikhail khodorkovsky. the firm  whose finance chief is now based in the us  filed for bankruptcy in houston  texas  and sought a court injunction against the sale. but deutsche bank has suggested yukos artificially manufactured a legal case to stop the sale of its main asset. a hearing scheduled for february 16 and 17 will rule on whether the us court has jurisdiction in the case.
1132,ministers lose slopping out case the scottish executive has lost an appeal against an inmate s compensation for being forced to slop out in prison.  armed robber robert napier  25  won £2 450 after he claimed he suffered an outbreak of the skin complaint  eczema  when slopping out at barlinnie prison. napier said that the practice  where prisoners use buckets in their cells as toilets  breached his human rights. on thursday  the court of session threw out a move by the executive to apply a more rigorous standard of proof.  the executive faces more than 1 000 similar claims for damages from prisoners and former inmates. more than 310 actions have already been raised in the court of session and sheriff courts in scotland. an executive spokesman said:  we will study this judgement in detail. much has changed to address the issues raised in the napier case  for example  slopping out has ended at barlinnie and work in other prisons is being accelerated.  today s judgement does not affect the outcome of other cases.  napier  a remand prisoner at the time  raised a legal challenge in 2001 under the european convention on human rights  in which he sought £5 000. he was awarded compensation last april after winning his case.  executive ministers raised an appeal arguing that the standard of proof to be applied in cases alleging a breach of the european convention on human rights through degrading and inhumane treatment should  be beyond reasonable doubt . this is the standard normally applied in criminal trials in scotland. however  civil litigation is settled on the test of  a balance of probabilities . judge lord cullen  sitting with lord osborne and lord hamilton  ruled that alleged human rights breaches involving degrading treatment should be dealt with on the normal civil standard. napier s lawyer tony kelly believes the action will soon be followed by others. mr kelly said:  there are hundreds of people still undergoing slopping out  overcrowding and poor regime and those people will certainly be heartened by today s judgement.  scottish national party justice minister kenny macaskill said that the slopping out case had been  a fiasco from start to finish . he said:  ministers were fully aware of the state of scotland s jails. funds were available but they chose to ignore the problem and after this ruling i suspect we will be faced with even more claims and no doubt more payouts.  a short term executive saving has resulted in a long term public cost.
1782,game firm holds  cast  auditions video game firm bioware is to hold open auditions for people to become cast members for future games.  the company  which makes role playing games such as knights of the old republic and neverwinter nights  is seeking people aged 18 to 99. the canada-based company says it was looking for  a wide variety of people to use as face models for characters . everyone chosen to appear in a video game will receive a performer s fee for the use of their image. the company is inviting people to come along to a shopping mall in west edmonton  alberta  on friday and saturday  bringing along a piece of photo identification.   there are hundreds and hundreds of characters in a typical bioware game   said shauna perry  bioware s audio and external resources producer.  those people live in any city and village and so we need ordinary people  people with interesting faces.  she added:  not everyone is a model in the world so we don t want just models in our games.  people chosen to appear in a game will have their head scanned in three dimensions. hundreds of photos of the person s head are taken so that a model of the head can be generated in 3d.  the 3d model will look exactly like the person - it s really quite incredible how detailed they are   said ms perry. she said chosen participants will have no control over how the image is used in a computer game.  we cannot give people any control over how the images are used.  but their face could be used in multiple games - so they could be the hero in one  the villain in another and just a merchant in a third.
112,rapper jay-z becomes label boss rap star jay-z is to become a record company executive after being put in charge of one of hip-hop s most influential labels  def jam.  jay-z  who said he would make no more music after 2003 s the black album  will become the company s president and chief executive from january. def jam s parent company  universal  made the appointment after buying jay-z s roc-a-fella label. def jam s artists include ll cool j  dmx  ludacris  ja rule and ashanti. jay-z will continue to run roc-a-fella  which he founded with damon dash in 1995 and has kanye west and beanie sigel on its roster. universal said on wednesday it had bought the 50% of roc-a-fella it did not already own.  antonio  la  reid  chairman of the island def jam music group  said:  i can think of no-one more relevant and credible in the hip-hop community to build upon def jam s fantastic legacy.  he hoped jay-z would  move the company into its next groundbreaking era   he added. jay-z  real name shawn carter  said:  i have inherited two of the most important brands in hip-hop  def jam and roc-a-fella.   i feel this is a giant step for me and the entire artist community.  one of the most successful and respected rap stars of the last eight years  jay-z s hits have included hard knock life  dirt off your shoulder and 03 bonnie and clyde with his girlfriend beyonce knowles. he said he would retire after the black album  but has just released an album and been on an ill-fated tour with r kelly. def jam was founded in 1984 by russell simmons and producer rick rubin and signed artists including run-dmc  the beastie boys and public enemy.
1996,cole refuses to blame van persie ashley cole has refused to blame robin van persie for leaving arsenal with no fully-fit strikers for the fa cup fifth round replay at sheffield united.  van persie is suspended alongside dennis bergkamp and jose antonio reyes after being sent off at southampton when arsenal had a numerical advantage. thierry henry is ruled out with an achilles tendon injury but cole said:  no-one is putting the blame on robin.  it s just something that happens on the spur of the moment.  cole added:  i ve done it before and i hope they didn t blame me for anything.  of course he ll learn. i ve been sent off a couple of times now and it s just one of those things when you go a bit crazy for one or two seconds. freddie ljungberg is likely to be used in an emergency striking role and will be partnered by either arturo lupoli  quincy owusu-abeyie or jeremie aliadiere. gunners boss arsene wenger said:  freddie is an option but we need a second striker.  i have to decide whether it will be aliadiere  quincy or lupoli who will start with him up front. those three will be involved.  arsenal are also without winger robert pires  who sustained an ankle injury at st mary s. wenger added:  it doesn t look like anything is fractured  but it is a good ankle sprain.  it does not look like pires will be ready for two to three weeks.
683,europe blames us over weak dollar european leaders have openly blamed the us for the sharp rise in the value of the euro.  us officials were talking up the dollar  they said  but failing to take action to back up their words. meeting in brussels  finance ministers of the 12 eurozone countries voiced their concern that the rise of the european currency was harming exports. the dollar is within touching distance of an all-time low reached earlier in november. at 0619 gmt on tuesday  the dollar was up slightly at just above $1.29 to the euro  and buying 105.6 yen in tokyo. it rallied briefly on monday amid signs that oil prices are easing.  but analysts said the respite was likely to be only temporary. the european ministers  comments  said junya tanase of jpmorgan chase bank in tokyo  were  generally too weak to produce a market reaction .  still  by the standards of diplomacy the european ministers were forthright. nicolas sarkozy of france said he and his colleagues were unanimous in their worry that the decline of the dollar would hit europe s economies by eating into their exports.  we are concerned about these developments  which are destabilising  and which are linked to the accumulation of deficits by our american friends   he said. the comments come a day after us treasury secretary john snow said a strong dollar was  in america s interest .  but that was not enough for mr sarkozy.   if the americans were to change their policy  it s up to them to say so   he said. and the european union s monetary affairs commissioner  made it clear that action was necessary.  i fully welcome the words of mr snow   said joaquin almunia   but we will need to see decisions adopted in that direction.  if the imbalances in the us economy are not adjusted in the future  the decision in the market will be as in the past weeks.  economists point out that whatever europe says  in the short term a weaker dollar is a boon to president george w bush s administration. not only does it boost us exports  but it also makes the budget deficit easier to fund. on the other hand  slower european exports would mean slower eu growth - potentially reducing the demand for us goods.
1447,mobile picture power in your pocket how many times have you wanted to have a camera to hand to catch an unexpected event that would make headlines   with a modern mobile phone that has a camera built in  you no longer need to curse  you can capture the action as it happens. already on-the-spot snappers are helping newspapers add immediacy to their breaking news stories headlines  where professional photographers only arrive in time for the aftermath. celebrities might not welcome such a change because they may never be free of a new breed of mobile phone paparazzi making their lives a bit more difficult. already one tabloid newspaper in la is issuing photographers with camera phones to help them catch celebrities at play. it could be the start of a trend that only increases as higher resolution phone cameras become more widespread; as video phones catch on and millions of people start carrying the gadgets around.  only last week  the world media highlighted the killing of the dutch film maker theo van gogh  notorious after making a controversial film about islamic culture.  one day later de telegraaf  a daily amsterdam newspaper  became news on its own when it published a picture taken with a mobile phone of mr van gogh s body moments after he was killed.  this picture was the story   said de telegraaf s image editor  peter schoonen. other accounts of such picture phone users witnessing news events  include:    - a flight from switzerland to the dominican republic which turned around after someone took a picture of a piece of metal falling from the plane as it took off from zurich (reported by the swiss daily le matin).   - two crooks who robbed a bank in denmark were snapped before they carried out the crime waiting for the doors of the building to be opened (reported by the danish regional paper aarhus stiftstidende).     but this is not just about traditional media lending immediacy to their stories with content from ordinary people  it is also about first-hand journalism in the form of online diaries or weblogs.  it has been called  open source news  or even  moblog journalism  and it has flourished in the recent us election campaign.  not many people walk around with their cameras  but they always have their mobile phones with them. if something happens  suddenly all these mobiles sort of appear from nowhere  and start taking pictures   said digital artist henry reichhold. he himself uses mobile phone pictures to create huge panoramic images of events and places.  you see it in bars  you see it everywhere. it s a massive thing   mr reichhold told the bbc news website.  with some picture agencies already paying for exclusive phone pictures  especially of celebrities  there are also fears about the possible downside of this phenomenon.  it could become a nuisance for public figures as higher resolution picture phones hit the market  with five megapixel models already being launched in asia. already on us photojournal site  buzznet  there is a public album full of snaps of celebrities  many of which were taken with camera phones. tabloid newspapers in the uk and many monthly magazines invite readers to send in images of famous people they have seen and snapped. but there are other positive uses of picture mobile phones that may balance these uses. for instance  in alabama  in the us  camera phones will be used to take snaps at crime scenes involving children  and help the authorities to arrest and prosecute paedophiles. and in china s capital beijing  courts have adopted mobile phone photos as formal evidence. for henry reichhold  this is progress:  that s the whole thing about the immediacy of the thing. i can see that happening a lot more.
472,parry puts gerrard  above money  listen to the full interview on sport on five and the bbc sport website from 1900 gmt.  but parry  speaking exclusively to bbc sport  also admits gerrard  who has been constantly linked with chelsea  will have the final say on his future. he told bbc five live:  steven is above money. he is the future of liverpool.  it doesn t matter if it s £30m  £40m or £50m  we will not accept offers. but we are also realistic enough to know we can t keep steven against his will.  on the subject of liverpool s finances  parry also revealed the club is ready to explore the possibility of a sponsorship deal for its proposed new stadium.  and responding to criticism from bbc sport pundit and former liverpool stalwart alan hansen  he insisted talks on new investment are ongoing  but added the door has not closed on shareholder and lifelong fan steve morgan. parry joined liverpool as chief executive in july 1998 from a similar role at the premier league. there have been several highs and lows during his time in charge at anfield - and he had a busy summer  overseeing the arrival of new manager rafael benitez and managing to hold on to steven gerrard.  on the subject of liverpool s captain and prize asset  parry revealed real madrid  did  ask for an option on the england midfield man during negotiations for striker fernando morientes. he said:  they were looking for ways of saying they got more out of the deal for fernando morientes  but the response to real madrid was the same - steven is not for sale.  but when asked if gerrard would be a liverpool player on the first day of next season  parry said:  i sincerely hope he will be. steven knows my views. he knows rafa s views.  we have re-affirmed recently to steven that we are trying to build a team around him. we crave success as much as he does. we know he s ambitious and nobody can argue with that.   i think steven would dearly love to win things with liverpool more than he d like to do anything else.  we all want to see progress by next season. he s not alone in that. there are a lot of other players who feel the same  so we all have a common aim.  it is expected chelsea will test liverpool with a £30m-plus bid in the summer - but parry claims he will be in no mood to listen.  there have been a lot of open secrets about steven  most of which have been complete myths. it is suggested we had a deal tied up last summer. we didn t had an offer last summer   parry explained.  we had told chelsea that as far as we were concerned he was not for sale and we didn t want to sell him. in reality it didn t go beyond that.  maybe there will be an offer in the summer. maybe there won t.   our position is we want steven to stay  but we are also realistic enough and have enough respect for steven - and he has enough respect for us - to know that it is his decision that will be crucial.  you are not going to keep a player like steven against his will. that just doesn t work  but any idea we are going to accept offers for steven and then tell him  by the way we ve decided to sell you  is not on the agenda. you can forget that.  parry is currently in the process of finalising funding for liverpool s new stadium in stanley park  which is set to open in 2007. and he confessed arsenal s £100m deal with emirates to sponsor their new ground - complete with naming rights - has given the anfield club serious food for thought. he said:  i have to say historically it is something i have been against  and i have been on record as saying that  but i think the size of the arsenal deal is a real eye-opener.   i would say in the past deals have been done frankly far too cheaply and it just hasn t even been worth contemplating.  but the arsenal deal is the sort of deal that causes you to draw breath and say  wow - that s interesting.   my personal point of view is that i would find it a hell of a lot more palatable than a shared stadium.  some liverpool fans would find such a move highly controversial  but parry countered:  i recognise it would be an emotive issue for many supporters  but you look at the amount of money available and it could go into the team.  if it was the right partner how strong an issue is it  time will tell.  i think the stadium will always be anfield  not least because of where it is  but do we need to investigate the possibilities of sponsorship  i think it would be remiss not to.  that s not to say we have made a decision that we will go down that road  but i think it is clearly something we have to explore.   on the subject of possible new investment  parry revealed liverpool are still in negotiations with a mystery investor  with rumours of interest from the middle east. that prompted the withdrawal of tycoon steve morgan  who got frustrated by failed bids and what he claimed was indecision by the board. he also accused liverpool of using him as  a stalking horse  to attract other bids  but parry explained:  steve has never been used as a stalking horse. there s no need  and that is not the way we do business.  we had discussions with steve over the course of 2004. i think we came close to concluding a deal in the summer but it didn t happen.  quite genuinely  the new interest did appear relatively late in the day just prior to the agm in december  and as i have said it was of such potential magnitude  and that potential is so exciting  we felt we had to evaluate it. we are still evaluating it.  steve s interest was taken very much on its own merits. his enthusiasm for the club is there for all to see and who knows what the next few months will hold   the door isn t closed on anything. we had a perfectly sensible dialogue with steve last year.  we have a common interest in making liverpool successful. that s a dream we all share  so as far as i m concerned the door is not closed.   i would take £50m if we had no investment  but if we did  keep him. as for the stadium  if it gets us cash what difference does it make really   £50m for gerrard  i don t care who you are  the directors would take the money and it is the way it should be. we cannot let that sum of money go  despite gerrard s quality.  through a cleverly worded statement  the club has effectively forced gerrard to publicly make the decision for himself  which i think is the right thing to do.  critical time for liverpool with regards to gerrard. ideally we would want to secure his future to the club for the long term. i am hoping he doesn t walk out of the club like michael owen did for very little cash.  £50m realistically would allow rafa to completely rebuild the squad  however  if we can afford to do this and keep gerrard we will be better for it. i would however be happy with gerrard s transfer for any fee over £35m.  parry s statements are clever in that any future gerrard transfer cannot be construed as a lack of ambition by the club to not try and keep their best players. upping the ante is another smart move by parry.  i would keep gerrard. no amount of money could replace his obvious love of the club and determination to succeed.  the key is if gerrard comes out and says that he is happy. clearly  if he isn t  then we would be foolish not to sell. the worrying thing is who would you buy (or who would come) pending possible non-champions league football.
562,totp turns to elvis impersonator top of the pops has turned to the star of elvis presley musical jailhouse rock after the late rock legend scooped the uk s 1 000th number one single.  mario kombou  who plays the presley role on stage  will sing one night on friday s bbc one show as producers are unable to use presley video footage. it is his second number one in a row. the show used presley photos last week. presley will feature in the charts for several more months as all 18 of his original uk chart-toppers are reissued.  a top of the pops spokesperson said:  it s a very special number one as it s the uk s 1 000th.  we wanted to pay tribute to elvis in the best way we knew how  so we thought getting a professional would be the best way for top of the pops to do that.  kombou is likely to appear on the show again next week as the next presley re-release  a fool such as i  is on course to give him his third number one in three weeks. kombou plays vince everett in jailhouse rock - the same role presley played in the 1957 film of the same name.
1476,nhs waiting time target is cut hospital waiting times for patients in wales are to be cut  but not to the same extent as those in england.  welsh health minister jane hutt said no patient would wait more than 12 months for an outpatient appointment by march 2006  against a current target of 18 months. but she said the target for an inpatient appointment would remain at 12 months for march 2006. the announcement came as new monthly waiting figures showed a drop. this current inpatient target was set when the assembly government extended its second offer guarantee scheme  which gives patients the option of having their treatment outside wales.  details about funding to resource the new targets are expected in the new year. in england  the current target for inpatients - seeing a consultant to having an operation - is six months. dr richard lewis  welsh secretary of the british medical association (bma)  welcomed the new targets  to make further and faster progress on waiting lists .  however  much remains to be done on waiting lists and waiting times because wales still lags a long way behind england   he said.  capacity must be built into the system with sustained investment to ensure that welsh patients don t receive a worse service than patients over the border.  health analyst tony beddow  from the welsh institute for health and social care  called the new targets  reasonably impressive .  on wednesday  ms hutt also announced £264m for health services will be spent reducing waiting times  improving key areas and modernising staff pay structures in wales.  ms hutt said major achievements had been made in cutting  unacceptably long waits for treatment over the past year .  we are turning the corner on long waits in wales. now we need to see those reductions in long waiters being improved again   she said. she added the targets intended to ensure no-one waits more than a year for treatment or to see a consultant.  but let us not forget two thirds of those waiting for treatment now are waiting less than six months  and these targets affect the small minority of patients in wales that are waiting far too long.  rhodri glyn thomas  plaid cymru health spokesman said:  it s exactly the same target she set in 1999  with the qualification that it s dependent on a second offer. it s a failed target  from a failed minister..with a failed policy.  for the welsh liberal democrats  kirsty williams called the new target  hugely unambitious .  it leaves patients in wales still waiting two years before they re treated.  conservative health spokesman jonathan morgan said:  we re spending more money but waiting lists have gone through the roof.  the audit commission has said that the money is not being spent efficiently or effectively  and that s quite a criticism.  meanwhile  the latest monthly waiting list figures showed the total number of people waiting more than 18 months as an inpatient in wales has fallen by 9.8%. statistics to the end of november showed a decline since october from 785 to 708. the number waiting over 12 months also fell from 7 613 to 6 630  or 12.9%. ms hutt said they were  excellent figures . there are 305 775 people on a waiting list of some kind  down from 311 764 last month.
1339,mcilroy wins 800m indoor title james mcilroy motored to the aaa s indoor 800m title in sheffied on sunday in a time of one minute  47.97 seconds.  the larne athlete dominated the race from start to finish although he had to hold off a late challenge from welshman jimmy watkins in the final 100 metres.  i had to go out and go through all the gears before the europeans and i won t run again until then   said mcilroy.   i though if i got lucky i d get close to the british record but i blew up in the end.   mcilroy has been in superb form at the start of the season and will now start his build-up for the european indoors at madrid on 4-6 march. meanwhile  paul brizzel and anna boyle reached the semi-finals of the 60m hurdles with boyle setting a season s best of 7.48. in the women s 60m final  ailis mcsweeney broke michelle carroll s long-standing irish record by clocking 7.37 which left her in third place. david gillick showed that he is a genuine medal contender in the european indoor championships by claiming an impressive 400m victory. gillick was more than half-a-second clear when taking gold in 46.45 - .02 outside his personal best set in saturday s semi-finals.  the irishman is now the fastest european this season. derval o rourke broke her own irish 60m hurdles record by clocking 8.06 which left her third behind new british record holder sarah claxton (7.96). james nolan (3:46.04) took second in the men s 1500m behind neil speaight (3:45.86) but the offaly man was outside the european indoor standard. colin costello was seventh in the 1500m final in 3:48.82). deirdre ryan was second in the women s high jump with a clearance of 1.87m while aoife byrne took silver in the 800m in a personal best of 2:06.73. lisburn s kelly mcneice reid (4:31.34) was seventh in the women s 1500m while gary murray (8:11.22) was 11th in the men s 3000m. meanwhile  stephen cairns and jill shannon claimed the individual titles at saturday s northern ireland cross country championship in coleraine. cairns came in ahead of paul rowan and allan bogle in the men s race. willowfield claimed their first men s team title in 72 years while shannon helped lagan valley win the women s team honours.
1972,thanou desperate to make return greek sprinter katerina thanou says she is eager to compete again after being cleared of missing a drugs test by an independent greek tribunal.  thanou  30  was provisionally suspended for missing a test before the olympics  but the decision was overturned.  the iaaf will decide if we can compete again in greece and abroad   thanou told to vima newspaper in her first interview since the athens olympics.  if given the green light i will run again - that s the only thing i want.  thanou  30  and her compatriot kostas kenteris were provisionally suspended by the iaaf in december for missing three drugs tests. the third was alleged to have been on the eve of the opening ceremony of the athens olympics.  but an independent tribunal of the greek athletics federation overturned the provisional ban on 18 march. the iaaf - which said it was  very surprised  by the decision of the greek tribunal - is deciding whether to appeal against the decision at the court of arbitration for sport. however  dick pound  the chairman of the world anti-doping authority  has said he will appeal against the decision if the iaaf does not. and thanou and kenteris face a criminal trial later this year for allegedly avoiding the test and then faking a motorcycle accident. thanou said:  i can see how people can think the accident seemed like a childish excuse.  i cannot deny that we made a lot of mistakes during that time. i always said we needed a pr person.  an athlete would have to be very stupid to take illegal substances when he or she knows that they will undergo tests at any given moment.  i am a champion. i cannot risk everything i ve achieved in such a silly way.
875,a-listers flock to gervais sitcom hollywood actors samuel l jackson and ben stiller have signed up for ricky gervais  new sitcom  the comedian has told bbc news.  he said they had both seen the scripts and had agreed to appear in an episode each of the sitcom extras. they join british stars jude law and kate winslet who have been booked for guest roles. the comic and actor said he had drawn up an a-list of stars he wanted and all had agreed to be in it.  we wanted actors who had iconic status but that we could also deconstruct   gervais told bbc news.   it s not about the zeitgeist. we wanted people who would still be around in 20 years  not just the winner of big brother to take part.  gervais admitted he was cautious about revealing who would be taking part until they had all signed on the dotted line. but he has met with stiller and jackson and they enjoyed the scripts enough to commit to it.   i didn t want to start revealing names until it was all sorted because people just mention people who haven t even been asked.  i have been linked with ridiculous stories recently such as i m going to be in a remake of 10 taking dudley moore s part. i haven t been approached and i wouldn t take it anyway.   he said stiller and jackson would be playing  twisted  versions of themselves in extras and that the jokes about them  would sail pretty close to the bone . gervais and his writing partner stephen merchant are currently refining the scripts for the six-part series  in which gervais plays a struggling actor who bitches about the stars. meanwhile  gervais is gearing up to promote his cartoon book flanimals which is released in the us in march  around the same time as nbc begin showing the us version of the office. the film rights to flanimals have already been snapped up but gervais is keen for the project to be taken slowly.  a film will happen over the next three years but i don t want it to be a $50m movie straight away because it is not well enough known and it wouldn t be another spider-man or batman. i would like to do something small on tv with it first.
1067,famed music director viotti dies conductor marcello viotti  director of venice s famous la fenice theatre  has died in germany at 50.  viotti  director of la fenice since 2002  conducted at renowned opera houses worldwide including milan s la scala and the vienna state opera. his time at la fenice coincided with its reopening in 2003 after it was destroyed by fire in 1996. he fell into a coma after suffering a stroke during rehearsals for jules massenet s manon last week.  he conducted some of the best orchestras in the world including the berlin philharmonic and the english chamber orchestra. viotti was born in switzerland and studied the piano  cello and singing at the lausanne conservatory. his career breakthrough came in 1982 when he won first prize at the gino marinuzzi conducting competition in italy. viotti established himself as chief conductor of the turin opera and went on to become chief conductor of munich s radio orchestra. at la fenice viotti was widely acclaimed for his production of the french composer massenet s thais and some of his other productions included giuseppe verdi s la traviata and richard strauss s ariadne auf naxos.  the last opera he directed at la fenice was massenet s le roi de lahore. viotti s debut at the new york s metropolitan opera came in 2000 with giacomo puccini s madame butterfly  followed by la boheme  la traviata and fromental halevy s la juive. giampaolo vianello  superintendent of the fenice theatre foundation  said:  i am filled with extreme sadness because  other than a great artist  he is missed as a friend - a main character in the latest joyous times  during the rebirth of our theatre.  viotti s last public performance was on 5 february when he conducted vincenzo bellini s norma at the vienna state opera.
1442,mobile games come of age the bbc news website takes a look at how games on mobile phones are maturing. a brief round-up follows but you can skip straight to the reviews by clicking on the links below. part two will follow on monday.  reviews of call of duty  splinter cell - pandora tomorrow  lord of the rings and pocket kingdom will follow on monday if you think of snake when some mentions  mobile games  then you could be in for a bit of a surprise. this is because mobile games have come a long way in a very short time. even before nokia s n-gage game phone launched in late 2003  many mobile operators were realising that there was an audience looking for something to play on their handset.  and given that many more people own handsets than own portable game playing gadgets such as the gameboy it could be a very lucrative market. that audience includes commuters wanting something to fill their time on the way home  game fans looking for a bit of variety and hard core gamers who like to play every moment they can. life for all these types of player has got immeasurably better in the last year as the numbers of titles you can download to your phone has snowballed. now sites such as wireless gaming review list more than 200 different titles for some uk networks and the ranges suit every possible taste. there are ports of pc and arcade classics such as space invaders  lunar lander and bejewelled. there are also versions of titles  such as colin mcrae rally  that you typically find on pcs and consoles.  there are shoot-em-ups  adventure games  strategy titles and many novel games only found on handsets. rarely now does an action movie launch without a mobile game tie-in. increasingly such launches are all part of the promotional campaign for a film  understandable when you realise that a good game can rack up millions of downloads. the returns can be pretty good when you consider that some games cost £5. what has also helped games on mobiles thrive is the fact that it is easier than ever to get hold of them thanks to technology known as wap push. by sending a text message to a game maker you can have the title downloaded to your handset. far better than having to navigate through the menus of most mobile operator portals. the number of handsets that can play games has grown hugely too. almost half of all phones now have java onboard meaning that they can play the increasingly sophisticated games that are available - even the ones that use 3d graphics.  the minimum technology specifications that phones should adhere to are getting more sophisticated which means that games are too. now double key presses are possible making familiar tactics such as moving and strafing a real option. the processing power on handsets means that physics on mobile games is getting more convincing and the graphics are improving too. some game makers are also starting to take advantage of the extra capabilities in a mobile. many titles  particularly racing games  let you upload your best time to see how you compare to others. usually you can get hold of their best time and race against a  ghost  or  shadow  to see if you can beat them. a few games also let you take on people in real time via the network or  if you are sitting close to them  via bluetooth short-range radio technology. with so much going on it is hard to do justice to the sheer diversity of what is happening. but these two features should help point you in the direction of the game makers and give you an idea of where to look and how to get playing.  too fast too furious (digital bridges)  as soon as i start playing this i remember why i never play driving games - because i m rubbish at them. no matter if i drive the car via joystick or keypad i just cannot get the hang of braking for corners or timing a rush to pass other drivers. the game rewards replay because to advance you have to complete every section within a time limit. winning gives you cash for upgrades. graphically the rolling road is a convincing enough evocation of speed as the palm trees and cactus whip by and the city scrolls past in the background. the cars handle pretty well despite my uselessness but it was not clear if the different models of cars were appreciably different on the track. the only niggle was that the interface was a bit confusing especially when using a joystick rather than the keypad to play.  fatal force (macrospace)  a futuristic shooter that lets you either play various deathmatch modes against your phone or run through a series of scenarios that involves killing aliens invading earth. graphics are a bit cartoon-like but only helps to make clear what is going on and levels are well laid out and encourage you to leap about exploring. both background music and sounds effects work well. the scenarios are well scripted and you regularly get hints from the fatal force commanders. weapons include flamethrowers  rocket launchers  grenades and at a couple of points you even get chance to use a mech for a short while. with the right power-up you can go into a matrix-style bullet time to cope with the onslaught of aliens. the game lets you play via bluetooth if others are in range. online the game has quite a following with clans  player rankings and even new downloadable maps.
708,m&s cuts prices by average of 24% marks & spencer has cut prices in london and the regions by an average of 24%  according to research from a city investment bank.  dresdner kleinwort wasserstein said:  in spite of the snow in the uk  it still feels very early to be cutting prices of spring merchandise.  stuart rose  head of m&s  said last year its prices were too high.  we are bringing in ranges at new price points to compete against mid-market retailers like next   said m&s.  next is one of m&s s biggest competitors and the move may force it to lower prices. drkw said the cuts are either to clear stock or could indicate a longer term  step change in pricing in certain areas  at m&s.  either way  this cannot be good news for m&s  margin   it added.  we have brought in quite a lot of new clothing at new price points as part of stuart rose s strategy of quality  style -and price   said the m&s spokesman. many analysts believe february is proving to be a difficult month for retailers and british retail consortium figures  due in a few weeks  are expected to reflect the tough trading environment. separately  investment bank goldman sachs produced reseach showing that a basket of 35 m&s goods is now 11% above the high-street average  compared with 43% higher last year.  it has been a strange week for m&s  which on tuesday received a statement from philip green  the billionaire bhs owner  confirming he was not rebidding for the company. this was followed the same day by mark paulsmeier  a south african financier  issuing a press release saying his paulsmeier group was interested in m&s. a sudden spike in m&s s share price followed. however  an m&s spokesman said on sunday it had no evidence that mr paulsmeier had lined up sufficient finance for a bid. he also said the takeover panel and the uk s financial watchdog the financial services authority had been in touch with m&s at the beginning of the week to find out what it knew about the paulsmeier developments.
515,net regulation  still possible  the blurring of boundaries between tv and the internet raises questions of regulation  watchdog ofcom has said.  content on tv and the internet is set to move closer this year as tv-quality video online becomes a norm. at a debate in westminster  the net industry considered the options. lord currie  chairman of super-regulator ofcom  told the panel that protecting audiences would always have to be a primary concern for the watchdog. despite having no remit for the regulation of net content  disquiet has increased among internet service providers as speeches made by ofcom in recent months hinted that regulation might be an option. at the debate  organised by the internet service providers  association (ispa)  lord currie did not rule out the possibility of regulation.   the challenge will arise when boundaries between tv and the internet truly blur and then there is a balance to be struck between protecting consumers and allowing them to assess the risks themselves   he said. adopting the rules that currently exist to regulate tv content or self-regulation  which is currently the practice of the net industry  will be up for discussion.  some studies suggest that as many as eight million households in the uk could have adopted broadband by the end of 2005  and the technology opens the door to tv content delivered over the net. more and more internet service providers and media companies are streaming video content on the web. bt has already set up an entertainment division to create and distribute content that could come from sources such as bskyb  itv and the bbc. head of the division  andrew burke  spoke about the possibility of creating content for all platforms.  how risque can i be in this new age  with celebrity chefs serving up more expletives than hot dinners  surely i can push it to the limit   he said.  in fact  he said  if content has been requested by consumers and they have gone to lengths to download it  then maybe it should be entirely regulation free. internet service providers have long claimed no responsibility for the content they carry on their servers since the law commission dubbed them  mere conduits  back in 2002. this defence does not apply if they have actual knowledge of illegal content and have failed to remove it. the level of responsibility they have has been tested in several high-profile legal cases. richard ayers  portal director at tiscali  said there was little point trying to regulate the internet because it would be impossible. huge changes are afoot in 2005  he predicted  as companies such as the bbc offer tv content over the net. the bbc s planned interactive media player which will give surfers the chance to download programmes such as eastenders and top gear will make net tv mainstream and raise a whole new set of questions  he said.  one of these will be about the vast sums of money involved in maintaining the network to supply such a huge quantity of data and could herald a new digital licence fee  said mr ayers. as inappropriate net content  most obviously pornography viewed by children  continues to dominate the headlines  internet regulation remains a political issue said mp richard allan  liberal democrat spokesman on it. mr allan thinks that the answer could lie somewhere between the cries of  impossible to regulate  and  just apply offline laws online . in fact  instead of seeing regulation brought online  the future could bring an end to regulation as we know it for all tv content. after lord currie departed  the panel agreed that this could be a reality and that for the internet people power is likely to reign.  if content is on-demand  consumers have pulled it up rather than had pushed to them  then it is the consumers  choice to watch it. there is no watershed on the net   said mr burke.
118,chancellor rallies labour voters gordon brown has issued a rallying cry  telling supporters the  stakes are too high  to stay at home or protest vote in the forthcoming general election.  the chancellor said the vote - expected to fall on 5 may - will give a  clear and fundamental  choice between labour investment and conservative cuts. speaking at labour s spring conference in gateshead  mr brown claimed the nhs was not safe in conservative hands. he said tory plans to cut £35bn tax would  cut deep into public service .  to a packed audience at gateshead s sage centre  the chancellor said the cuts proposed by shadow chancellor oliver letwin were the equivalent of sacking every teacher  gp and nurse in the country  he told activists. laying into the conservative s record in government he said:  i give you this promise - with labour  britain will never return to the mistakes of erm and 10% inflation  15% interest rates  £3bn in lost reserves  250 000 repossessed  one million in negative equity and three million unemployed.  never again tory boom and bust.   this will be the central dividing line at the election  between a conservative party taking britain back and planning deep cuts of £35bn in our services  and a labour government taking britain forward  which on a platform of stability will reform and renew our hospitals  schools and public services and  i am proud to say  spend by 2008 £60bn more.  turning to the economy  the chancellor pledged to continue economic stability and growth in a third term in power.  he said after seven years labour had transformed from a party not trusted with the economy to  the only party trusted with the economy . it was now a  party not just of employees  but of employers and managers   he said. in the speech - which prompted a standing ovation from an audience clearly  warm  to mr brown - he also promised to end teenage unemployment within the next five years. he also highlighted plans for 100% debt relief for the world s poorest countries  a national minimum wage for 16 and 17-year-olds and the creation of a network of children s centres and flexibility in maternity leave. the prime minister is to take part later on saturday in an interactive question and answer session  fielding queries sent in by e-mail  text message and telephone as part of labour s attempt to engage the public in their campaign.
1513,half-life 2 sweeps bafta awards pc first person shooter half-life 2 has won six bafta awards  including best game and best online game.  the title  developed by valve  was released last year to universal acclaim - receiving special praise for its immersive plot and physics engine. the game also won baftas for best action adventure  best pc game  art direction and animation. burnout 3 won three awards in the categories for racing  technical direction and best playstation 2 game. grant dean  chairman of the bafta games awards  said at a ceremony in london on tuesday:  the last year has been a great year for the interactive entertainment industry.   these awards reflect the enormous achievements  progress and diversity that we have seen in that time.  halo 2 won the best xbox game category  while prince of persia: warrior within was adjudged the best gamecube title. the sports award went to konami s pro evolution soccer 4. bafta said the  significant feature  of this year s awards was the number of  non-traditional games . the originality award was won by playstation 2 title singstar while the children s award went to gamecube bongo rhythm game donkey konga. the handheld award went to colin mcrae rally 2005 while the mobile category was won by blue tooth byplanes. the audio award was won by call of duty: finest hour and hitman: contracts won the music award.
1227,jol joy at  professional  cup win tottenham manager martin jol acclaimed his players for their patience in their 3-0 fa cup fifth-round victory over a determined nottingham forest side.   we had the initiative but it wasn t easy. it was a professional sort of performance   the dutchman said.  forest played with a lot of players behind the ball in the first half  but at 2-0 they were dead and buried.  looking ahead to the quarter-final  jol said:  newcastle have got a very good side and they are always difficult.  however  he added that his side  who are four places above the magpies in the premiership  were  not afraid of anyone . robbie keane  skipper for the night and scorer of the crucial second goal  echoed his manager s sentiments on the last-eight match.  they re on a high  but we re confident and in the last few games we ve played well and hopefully we can go there and get the win   he said.  he conceded the win over forest  which included goals from noe pamarot and mido  was not pretty to watch.  it wasn t the best display but it s all about the result   the irishman said.  we knew it was going to be difficult with the conditions. the pitch wasn t the best but we still tried to pass it.  we dug in and the gaffer said to us at half-time to keep being patient and that the goal will come.  forest manager gary megson conceded his team did not deserve anything after a poor performance.  if you play like we did and concede two goals from corners you re going to have an uphill battle against a very good team   he said.  if we defend in the championship like we did we ll not get another point.  we were organised but i felt at times we thought the system would be enough but we didn t look like scoring.
1196,duff ruled out of barcelona clash chelsea s damien duff has been ruled out of wednesday s champions league clash with barcelona at the nou camp.  duff sustained a knee injury in the fa cup defeat at newcastle and manager jose mourinho said:  he cannot run. his injury is very painful  so he is out.  but mourinho has revealed defender willian gallas and striker didier drogba will be in the starting line-up. the blues boss took the unusual step of naming his side a day before the match  with jole cole named in midfield. mourinho said:  we have one more session but i think drogba will play  and gallas will play.  drogba trained on monday with no problems and will do the same on tuesday. gallas feels he can play and wants to play. we are protecting him still but he will be okay to play.  drogba  chelsea s £24m striker  has missed the last three weeks through injury.  cech  ferreira  carvalho  terry  gallas  tiago  makelele  lampard  cole  drogba  gudjohnsen.
635,mutu to hold talks with juventus disgraced former chelsea striker adrian mutu is to begin talks with juventus as he looks for a new club.   mutu will be in our club s main stand to watch the match between juventus and fiorentina   said a juventus official  who declined to be named.  then he will meet some important people of the club   he added. mutu  25  sacked by chelsea and banned for seven months for taking cocaine  is now represented by alessandro moggi  son of juve manager luciano moggi. mutu  banned by the english fa  can resume playing next may. he is to undergo a drug education and rehabilitation programme. mutu wants to train with romanian side dinamo bucharest whilst serving his ban  say the bucharest side.
1669,johnson too strong for gb runners britain s kathy butler and hayley yelling were no match for benita johnson in the 51st cross international zornotza in amorebieta  spain.  butler and yelling finished fourth and fifth as australian world champion johnson romped to a five-second victory in the 6km race ahead of edith masai. masai s fellow kenyan alice timbilil finished third. johnson said:  i ran comfortably for the first 3km and then i tried to leave the others but it wasn t an easy task.  butler clocked a time of 22 minutes 45 seconds - 22secs behind the winner but four ahead of yelling  who last month succeeded paula radcliffe as european champion. johnson  will be one of the star attractions at the great edinburghinternational cross country on 15 january.
1823,corbett attacks  dumbed-down tv  ronnie corbett has joined fellow comedy stars victoria wood and david jason in attacking the declining standards of british television programmes.  speaking to the radio times  the two ronnies star said there is too much bad language and reality tv.  you get fed up watching shows with not much care and love   he complained. corbett  soon to reunite with ronnie barker for a new two ronnies series  also criticised quiz shows like the bbc s they think it s all over.  it s just laughing at each other and thinking   aren t we clever    said the 74-year-old comedian. corbett is the latest comedy star to bemoan the  dumbing down  of modern tv programmes. in an interview published in the radio times in january  victoria wood slated comedian sacha baron cohen for his character ali g s  horrible  brand of  victim  humour.   with so many good writers and good performers  it s a shame people can t just write a script and have other people learn it   she said. and last week only fools and horses star david jason criticised british tv for being  too safe and too cheap .  we ve got to be careful not to dumb down for the audience   he said.  they shouldn t be sitting at home on the sofa vegetating.  corbett said he and barker were always mindful of their family audience while making the two ronnies.  our material was good-natured   he said.  we knew what would upset the average man in the street.  there s a lot of swearing on tv today. they even have documentaries with the f-word.   corbett goes on to criticise  reality programmes where they put people in a house for a fortnight and film them doing everything . the two ronnies ran from 1971 to 1987 and attracted 17 million viewers at its peak. its bespectacled stars will return later this year in the two ronnies sketchbook  which will combine classic sketches with newly recorded material. corbett claims he and barker differ from today s celebrities in that they did not allow their success to go to their heads.  we were never temperamental  fractious or walked out slamming doors   he said.  we were fussy though   he added.  we wanted everything done properly.
483,losing yourself in online gaming online role playing games are time-consuming  but enthralling flights from reality. but are some people taking their fantasy lives too seriously   when video game world of warcraft hit the shops in europe last week fans wrote in to the bbc website to express their delight - and to offer a warning.  an addiction to a game like this is far more costly in time than any substance could impair - keep track of time   wrote travis anderson  in texas. some of the comments were humorous:  this game is so good i m not going to get it  there s no way i could limit the hours i d spend playing it   wrote charles macintyre  from england.  but some struck a more worrying tone about the massively multiplayer online role playing game (mmorpg):   you need to get out more  could be the motto of any mmorpg. shame they are getting more popular  as you know this problem is just going to mushroom   wrote stuart stanton-davies  in huddersfield. scare-mongering articles about  addictive video games  have existed since the days the first game of pong stopped everyone from working at the atari offices.  gaming is like any other pastime - it can quickly become an unhealthy obsession  whether it is spending too much time in the gym  in front of the television  or reading poetry.  unfortunately  gaming and addiction is a far too easy association to make. however  stories about gamers spending 10 to 15 hours a day in front of some video games are becoming more frequent. and the impact that is having on their families is quite distressing for some.  massively multiplayer online role playing games - mmorpgs - allow thousands of gamers to share a common experience of sharing fantasy or science fiction worlds. the scope of these games - like warcraft  everquest  ultima among others - is epic  and exploration and adventure is almost infinite. part of the  problem  is grinding - by which gamers have to perform long-winded  mindless tasks  to bring up their levels and gain access to more adventure. such open-endedness brings with it a desire to keep playing; not for no reason is everquest (eq) nicknamed evercrack. e hayot  writing in the culture blogzine print culture  said recently:  i used to play the online role-playing game everquest a lot.  by  a lot   i mean probably 15 to 20 hours a week on average  and on weeks where i didn t have to work  as many as 30 or 40 hours.   he says that in the world of online gaming such behaviour  wasn t that unusual; lots of people i knew in the game played eq that much .  you lie; you don t go into work because you  had stuff to do at home ; you cancel or refuse invitations to dinner  you spend much less time watching tv (a good thing  presumably)   he wrote  explaining how everquest took over his time. he quit the game  he says  because he realised life was more fun than everquest.  let us be clear - such obsession is rare. but the huge growth in online gaming means a growth in the numbers of people who take their passion for a hobby too far. almost 400 000 people bought a copy of world of warcraft in the first two days on sale earlier this month. only a fraction will descend into obsessives. the thoughts of families and friends of gamers who have been affected by everquest can be found on one blog everquest daily grind. jane  who runs the website  compiles a chronicle of heart-rending stories.  i am actually convinced at this point that there are more than  some  people who spend more times in mmoprgs than in reality   she said. one unnamed correspondent - all are anonymous - wrote:  on the rare nights when my husband does come to bed at the same time as i do  i find that i am so used to sleeping by myself that it is difficult to get to sleep with another body laying next to me.   i can t talk to him while he is playing. there is absolutely no point as he doesn t hear me or is so distracted that i get a  ummm... ya  a few minutes after i ask him a question.    gaming widows  has become a comedic term for women who have been shut out by male gamers. but for some it is not in the least funny. another correspondent wrote:  i believe that he is addicted to the online gaming  and that is the cause of his depression and restlessness.  and some of them are even sadder:  today our son was five days old.  the sad truth is my husband spent 11 hours today playing his warcraft game. he did not interact with our sweet tiny baby because there were important quests waiting online.  video game fans often complain that their hobby is misunderstood or marginalised. but as gaming becomes ever more mainstream  and games ever more immersive  there will be no hiding place for social problems.    i wish 30-40 hours a week was unusual but i think it probably isn t. an 11 hour stretch isn t that surprising - i ve known people to play 15+ hours at a stretch. i know of people who are spending their week s holiday from work playing warcraft. i know of people who would play ever[crack] in shifts...waking at 3am to take over from their friends and resume waiting for an item they  needed  to appear. i understand that the key sign of an addiction is if you alter your life around it rather than fit it into your life. by all standards many of us are addicts. so is the solution to force ourselves to stop playing..or do we just need to make real life a bit more interesting   sadly with all the talk of people becoming obsessed with gaming  i find myself longing to have the time to join them. i have been in a long term relationship for over 4 years - since that began  games have become more and more complex. and more and more so i find i have less and less time to play them  with and marriage and work being the main drag on my time.  i think the line between playing a game a lot and a gaming addiction is really quite distinct. i play games a lot  definately over 20 hours a week  but i don t go missing work or other commitments in order to play games.  i have  about a year ago  deleted every game on my computer. rpgs are the worst - the real world fades and all your worries sorround a new magic staff or mighty sword. unlike books  or perhaps even tv  you gain absolutely nothing. when you stop playing you re at the same point as when you started; all the achievements of your 10 hour session are irretrievably locked in the game and  since you ve gained nothing in the real world  you may as well pile on more achievement in the fake one.  despite having little monetary value  the  rewards  and encouragement offered by these mmorpgs is enough to hook games for hours daily. if only business could learn to leverage that very simply human need for easily measurable progress and recognition. perhaps the unhealthily obsessed simply need more recognition for their achievements in reality   my advice to gaming widows is  if you can t beat  em  join  em . that is  try playing it yourself. if he wants to play as well  well at least you ll be together somewhere...  i was an addict and it cost me my relationship. i still play now  but without the guilt   hehe  how long have i played in one sitting  from morning till the early hours of the next day  the birds were singing out side and i had to hobble to the bath room cos my bladder was so full i was in pain  i would hardly eat  perhaps some toast  smoke endlessly and drink. now  thankfully the fascination has worn off and i have a girlfriend but still no job. for the most part online gaming give me an adiction to illusory achievement  and as there is no end in sight you keep going for the mirage of the ultimate.  obsessive behaviour is  of course  always cause for concern  but it always bothers me when articles about gaming talk in terms of  reality . obviously  somebody who spends thirty hours a week playing everquest has a problem. this problem  however  has nothing to do with a dysfunctional sense of reality. an obsessive eq player does not consider the game to be  real  any more than - for example - an obsessive automotive tinkerer considers their car to be human. if mmorpgs have a unique danger  in terms of encouraging obsessive behaviour  it is not that they create an absorbing virtual world  but rather that they can be easily accessed 24/7. the problem here does not lie with the nature of gaming  but with the nature of modern 24 hour culture.  the problem with these so called mmorpgs is that you can never really complete them  there s always another quest to do. a few of my friends have only had about 10 hours sleep since it was released friday...  championship manager consumed my life for years. one particular session started at about 2pm on a sunday  paused for a brief sleep at 5am on the monday and after visit to university for classes restarted at about midday for another 10 hour session. the people who tend to hark on about about the problems of  hardcore gaming  seem to be those who have rarely allowed themselves to become immersed in a game. i would expect their perspective to change if they were to do that.  i used to be an everquest addict while i was in college. it came to the point where the gaming world felt more real than the real one. i failed alot of my courses and was able to barely graduate. i was lucky that i came to my senses when i did  others were less fortunate and dropped out of college. now that i am holding a job  i avoid online rpgs like the plague.  when i was made redundant i told my partner i had a new job for three months whilst every day i played everquest from 7:30am till 5:pm. when she came home i pretended i had just got in as well  hence justifying playing it all evening. i have since quit playing mmorpg and have a good job.  when i got to the point where i was eating my dinner in front of the pc i realised things were getting silly so i m trying not to spend so much time on there. it s not easy. i feel as if i ve got a real addiction going on here.  for me the problem is that i love to complete a goal. once it is completed that is it  i am finished  time to move on. i become obsessed to complete the goal  so from that standpoint it is an addiction. in a game where you will never complete an  ultimate  goal  well it would be like falling into a black pit. it is easier to escape into a controlled fantasy world than face reality at times - in other words the goal offered in the pc game are  easier  and more fun than the real world. pretty scary implications if you think about it.  i can t buy world of warcraft as it would destroy my marrage  i just know it!!  i played star wars galaxies for about a year and can attest to the addictiveness of these games. they are all engineered in such a way that early on in the game you progress quickly  but this progress becomes exponentially slower  requiring more and more time to reach the next level. i m sad to say that at the peak of my addiction i was spending entire weekends in front of my monitor  slowly building up my character  stopping only for food and toilet breaks. thankfully i made a clean break  and actually managed to sell my jedi account for £800 - which is my only sanity check in an otherwise completely unproductive time vacuum.  seven years ago  i began playing ultima online. this game dominated 2 years of my life. they were 2 wonderful years and i still have vivid memories of the experiences and friends i had. online gaming can be a world of escapism where you can be yourself without fear of the thoughts of others. something that cannot always be achieved in the day to day running of a normal life. whilst i would warn against people giving to much of there life to these games  i believe they are a better way to spend your time than say watching tv.  gaming is addictive and should be made a recognised addiction. when i was single i used to play upto eight hours a night after work every night for about a year  building up my stats  completing evermore quests and battling ogres. but somehow i found time to get out  even met someone and got married! has my life changed  hell no! i still cast spells and battle till the early hours of the morning. on with the fun!  online gaming should be enjoyed just as much as you would enjoy watching television  or going to the cinema or the pub with your mates.  many people use recreational drugs on an occasional basis and are able to lead succesfull lives with families  relationships and good careers. a minority allow drugs to take over and destroy their lives and become addicted. according to this article the same is true of mmorpgs. the message to the government is clear  either legalise drugs  or outlaw online gaming!!  sounds like there are some sad stories here - and i can believe them all. i play alot of warcraft myself  and know full well how addictive it is. i am resolute that it will not take over my life. it certainly gets in the way though. i think that some people simply do not know how to draw this line  or lack the willpower to stop themselves stepping over it.  i think i m obsessed with gaming in general  i spend far too much time playing games like everquest 2 and football manager rather than going out and interacting with real people and when i do try to  i m always thinking in the back if my mind that i d rather be in front of the computer winning the league with cambridge united.  i am obsessed with online role playing games. it s not so much quests but it has the adrenaline of a real life situation - goals to achieve etc. i spend about five hours per day online playing it and i rarely get more than four to five hours sleep before getting up for work the next morning...  as many of the players spend their time in mmorpgs rather than in front of the tv i fail to see how it will affect players social lives negatively. furthermore these types of games contain a huge social aspect  whereas other games and some other pursuits (such as being a couch potato) the players could be indulging in are solitary by nature.  these games are like most things -- too much of anything is a bad thing  but as long as you can walk away from the computer to do other things too  they can be great fun.  living in korea at the moment  they have lots pc bangs (internet cafes). nearly most of south koreans are addicted to online games  and one korean died because of the lack of food and water he had through playing online games.  i play xbox live every day. i find my self lying and rescheduling everything around my gaming fix. the longest i played was a 24 hour straight session. i know i play for to long but it s an obsession that i can t control. can you reccomend a counsellor - this is not a wind up... but something i m increasingly concerned with...  me and my mate play online for an hour or two a day  we re both aware of how much time can disappear by sitting in front of a tv  trying to  frag  some individual. it s getting the balance between getting home and relasing the stress of a day by an hour or so gaming  and enjoying  real  life...  i bought the us version of world of warcraft when it came out. the longest period i played was 23 hrs straight. i gave up the game after a month because it was so addictive  but have subsequently just bought the european version (couldn t help myself). in future  i m going to regulate my time far more strictly. great game!  having played mmorpg games for some years i agree that these type of games can be life sucking. but my concern is for the younger generation of gamers that play for hours on end in an adult enviroment. most mmorpg games you need a credit card to play but i dont think parents know just what they are letting there children into.  unless there is undeniable medical proof that staring at a computer screens for hours at a time can damage a person¿s health  you can expect this not to decline but to get worse.  these people are pathetic. they need to get off their machines and notice that our world is being swiftly overcome by issues and troubles that make the trifling worries of and  online universe  absolutely meaningless.  24hours  when i was a kid at school and i was on half term  ultima online was the game  ahhhh them was the days ! lol
1477,dollar slides ahead of new year the us dollar has hit a new record low against the euro and analysts predict that more declines are likely in 2005.  disappointing economic reports dented the currency  which had been rallying after european policy makers said they were worried about the euro s strength. earlier on thursday  the japanese yen touched its lowest versus the euro on concerns about economic growth in asia. currency markets have been volatile over the past week because of technical and automated trading and light demand. this has amplified reactions  analysts said  adding that they expect markets to become less jumpy in january.   people want to go into the weekend and the new year positioned for a weaker buck   said tim mazanec  director of foreign exchange at investors bank and trust. the dollar slid to a record $1.3666 versus the euro on thursday  before bouncing back to $1.3636. against the yen the dollar was trading down at $103.05.  the yen  meanwhile  dropped to 141.60 per euro in afternoon trading. it later strengthened to 140.55. investors are concerned about the size of the us trade and budget deficits and are betting that george w bush s administration will allow the dollar to weaken despite saying they favour a strong currency. also playing on investors  minds are mixed reports about the state of the us economy. on thursday  disappointing business figures from chicago brought a sudden end to a rally in the value of the dollar. the national association of purchasing management-chicago said its index dropped to 61.2  more than analysts had expected. german chancellor gerhard schroeder and italian prime minister silvio berlusconi voiced concerns about the strength of the euro. mr berlusconi said the euro s strength was  absolutely worrying  for italian exports. mr schroeder said in a newspaper article that stability in foreign exchange markets required a correction of global economic imbalances.
509,when invention turns to innovation it is unlikely that future technological inventions are going to have the same kind of transformative impact that they did in the past.  when history takes a look back at great inventions like the car and transistor  they were defining technologies which ultimately changed people s lives substantially. but  says nick donofrio  senior vice-president of technology and manufacturing at ibm  it was not  the thing  itself that actually improved people s lives. it was all the social and cultural changes that the discovery or invention brought with it. the car brought about a crucial change to how people lived in cities  giving them the ability to move out into the suburbs  whilst having mobility and access.  when we talk about innovation and creating real value in the 21st century  we have to think more like this  but faster   mr donofrio told the bbc news website  after giving the royal academy of engineering 2004 hinton lecture.  the invention  discovery is likely not to have the same value as the transistor had or the automobile had.  the equivalent of those things will be invented or discovered  but by themselves  they are just not going to able to generate real business value or wealth as these things did.  these are not altogether new ideas  and academics have been exploring how technologies impact wider society for years. but what it means for technology companies is that a new idea  method  or device  will have to have a different kind thinking behind it so that people see the value that innovative technology has for them.  we are in a different phase now when it comes to technology  argues mr donofrio  industry week s 2003 technology leader of the year. the hype and over-promise is over and now technology leaders have to demonstrate that things work  make sense  make a difference and life gets better as a result.   in the dotcom era  there was something that was jumping up in your face every five minutes.  somebody had a new thing that would awe you. you weren t quite sure that it did anything  you weren t quite sure if you needed it  you weren t quite sure if it had value for it  but it was cool.  but change and innovation in technology that people will see affecting their daily lives  he says  will come about slowly  subtlety  and in ways that will no longer be  in your face . it will creep in pervasively. nanotechnologies will play a key part in this kind of pervasive environment in all sorts of ways  through new superconducting materials  to coatings  power  and memory storage.  i am a very big believer in the evolution of this industry into a pervasive environment  in an incredible network infrastructure   says mr donofrio. pervasive computing is where wireless computing rules  and where jewellery  clothes  and everyday objects become the interfaces instead of bulky wires  screens and keyboards. the net becomes a true network that is taken for granted and just there  like air.  people will not have to do anything to stay connected. people will know their lives are just better   says mr donofrio.  trillions of devices will be connected to the net in ways people will not know.  natural interfaces will develop  devices will shape your persona  and our technologically underused voices could be telling our jewellery to sort out the finances.  ultimately  there will be  says mr donofrio  no value in being  computer illiterate . to some  it sounds like a technological world gone mad. to mr donofrio  it is a vision innovation that will happen. behind this vision should be a rich robust network capability and  deep computing   says mr donofrio. deep computing is the ability to perform lots of complex calculations on massive amounts of data  and integral to this concept is supercomputing. it has value  according to ibm  because it helps humans work out extremely complex problems to come up with valuable solutions  like how to refine millions of net search results  finding cures for diseases  or understanding of exactly how a gene or protein operates.  but pervasive computing presumably means having technologies that are aware of diversity of contexts  commands  and requirements of a diverse world. as computing and technologies become part of the environment  part of furniture  walls  and clothing  physical space becomes a more important consideration.  this is going to need a much broader range of skills and experience.  i am confident that the set [science  engineering and technology] industry is going to be short on skills   he says.  if i am right about what innovation is  you need to be multidisciplinary and collaborative.  women tend to have those traits a lot better than men.  eventually  women could win out in both life and physical sciences  he says. in the uk  a dti-funded resource centre for women has set a target to have 40% representation on set industry boards. ibm  according to mr donofrio  has 30%.  our goal is for our research team to become the preferred organisation for women in science and technology to begin their career.  the whole issue of global diversity is as much a business matter as it is a moral and social concern to mr donofrio.  we believe in the whole issue of global diversity   he says.  our customers are diverse  our clients are diverse. they expect us to look like them.  as more and more women or underrepresented minorities succeed into leadership positions  it becomes and imperative for us to constantly look like them.
667,steady job growth continues in us the us created fewer jobs than expected in december  but analysts said that the dip in hiring was not enough to derail the world s biggest economy.  according to labor department figures  157 000 new jobs were added last month. that took 2004 s total to 2.2 million  the best showing in five years. job creation was one of last year s main concerns for the us economy. while worries still remain  the conditions are set for steady growth in 2005  analysts said. the unemployment rate stayed at 5.4% in december  and about 200 000 jobs will need to be created each month if that figure is to drop.   it was a respectable report   said michael moran  analyst at daiwa securities.   payroll growth in december was a little lighter than the consensus forecast  but we had upward revisions to the prior two months and an increase in manufacturing employment.   manufacturing is a cyclical area of the economy and if it s showing job growth  it s a good indication that the economy is on a solid growth track.  that means that the federal reserve is likely to continue its policy of raising interest rates. the fed lifted borrowing costs five times last year to 2.25%  citing evidence the us economic recovery was becoming more robust.  job creation was one of last year s main concerns for the us economy  and proved to be a main topic of debate in the us presidential election. while demand for workers is far from booming  the conditions are set for steady growth.  overall  compared to the previous year it looks great  it just keeps going stronger and stronger and i expect that to be the case  in 2005  said kurt karl  economist at swiss re in new york. meanwhile  economists cautioned against reading too much into data from the federal reserve showing an unexpected $8.7bn drop in consumer debt in november. a fall in consumer spending  which makes up about two-thirds of all us economic activity  could help limit the extent of any future interest rate rises. but economists said there could be a number of reasons for a fall in the borrowing  which include credit cards and personal loans  while noting that such figures can vary on a month-to-month basis.
127,ibm frees 500 software patents computer giant ibm says 500 of its software patents will be released into the open development community.  the move means developers will be able to use the technologies without paying for a licence from the company. ibm described the step as a  new era  in how it dealt with intellectual property and promised further patents would be made freely available. the patents include software for a range of practices  including text recognition and database management. traditional technology business policy is to amass patents and despite ibm s announcement the company continues to follow this route.  ibm was granted 3 248 patents in 2004  more than any other firm in the us  the new york times reports. for each of the past 12 years ibm has been granted more us patents than any other company. ibm has received 25 772 us patents in that period and reportedly has more than 40 000 current patents. in a statement  dr john e. kelly  ibm senior vice president  technology and intellectual property  said:  true innovation leadership is about more than just the numbers of patents granted. it s about innovating to benefit customers  partners and society.   our pledge today is the beginning of a new era in how ibm will manage intellectual property.  in the past  ibm has supported the non-commercial operating system linux although critics have said this was done only as an attempt to undermine microsoft.  the company said it wanted to encourage other firms to release patents into what it called a  patent commons . adam jollans  ibm s world-wide linux strategy manager  said the move was a genuine attempt to encourage innovation.  we believe that releasing these patents will result in innovation moving more quickly.  this is about encouraging collaboration and following a model much like academia.  mr jollans likened the plan for a patent commons to the way the internet was developed and said everyone could take advantage of the result of collaboration.  the internet s impact has been on everyone. the benefits are there for everyone to take advantage of.  stuart cohen  chief executive of us firm open source development labs  said the move could mean a change in the way companies deal with patents.   i think other companies will follow suit   he said. but not everyone was as supportive. florian mueller  campaign manager of a group lobbying toprevent software patents becoming legal in the european union dismissed ibm s move as insubstantial.  it s just diversionary tactics   wrote mr mueller  who leadsnosoftwarepatents.com  in a message on the group s website.  let s put this into perspective: we re talking aboutroughly one percent of ibm s worldwide patent portfolio. they filethat number of patents in about a month s time   he added. ibm will continue to hold the 500 patents but it has pledged to seek no royalties from the patents. the company said it would not place any restrictions on companies  groups or individuals who use them in open-source projects. open source software is developed by programmers who offer the source code - the origins of the program - for free and allow others to adapt or improve the software. end users have the right to modify and redistribute the software  as well as the right to package and sell the software. other areas covered by the patents released by ibm include storage management  simultaneous multiprocessing  image processing  networking and e-commerce.
1316,tokyo says deflation  controlled  the japanese government has forecast that the country s economic growth will slow to 1.6% in the next fiscal year starting in april 2005.  while it predicts this fall from the current 2.1% level  it said it was making progress on ending deflation. the figures were given by economics minister heizo takenaka who said the economy would grow by 2% in 2006/07. he said the consumer price index (cpi) would rise 0.1% in the next fiscal year  the first gain since 2000/01.  we are attempting to make real economic conditions better and to overcome deflation. i think we are on track   said mr takenaka. deflation - or falling consumer prices - has plagued japan for more than five years. to ease the problem the bank of japan has regularly flooded the money market with excess cash to keep short term interest rates at 0% in an attempt to spur economic activity.
1983,the gaming world in 2005 if you have finished doom 3  half life 2 and halo 2  don t worry. there s a host of gaming gems set for release in 2005.   world of warcraft   the us reception to this game from developers blizzard has been hugely enthusiastic  with the title topping its competitors in the area of life-eating  high-fantasy  massively multiplayer role-player gaming. solid  diverse  accessible and visually striking  it may well open up the genre like never before. if nothing else  it will develop a vast and loyal community. released 25 february on pc. ico 2 (working title) ico remains a benchmark for ps2 gaming  a title that took players into a uniquely atmospheric and artistic world of adventure. the (spiritual) sequel has visuals that echo those of the original  but promises to expand the ico world  with hero wanda taking on a series of giants. the other known working title is wanda and colossus. release date to be confirmed on ps2. the legend of zelda   the charismatic cel imagery has been scrapped in favour of a dark  detailed aesthetic (realism isn t quite the right word) that connects more with ocarina of time. link resumes his more teenage incarnation too  though enemies  elements and moves look familiar from the impressive trailer that has been released. horseback adventuring across a vast land is promised. release date to be confirmed on gamecube. advance wars ds the uk nintendo ds launch line-up is still to be confirmed at time of writing  but titles that exploit its two-screen and touch capacity  like warioware touched! and sega s feel the magic  are making a strong impression in other territories. personally  i can t wait for the latest advance wars  the franchise that has been the icing on the cake of nintendo handheld gaming during the past few years. release date to be confirmed on ds. s.t.a.l.k.e.r.   following in the high-spec footsteps of far cry and half-life 2  this looks like the key upcoming pc first-person shooter (with role-playing elements). the fact that it is inspired in part by andrei tarkovsky s enigmatic 1979 masterpiece stalker and set in 2012 in the disaster zone  a world of decay and mutation  makes it all the more intriguing. released 1 march on pc. metal gear solid: snake eater   more hideo kojima serious stealth  featuring action in the soviet-controlled jungle in 1964. the game see snake having to survive on his wits in the jungle  including eating wildlife. once again  expect cinematic cut scenes and polished production values. released march on ps2. dead or alive ultimate tecmo s team ninja are back with retooled and revamped versions of dead or alive 1 and 2. here s the big  big deal though - they re playable over xbox live. released 11 march on xbox. knights of the old republic ii looks set to build on the acclaimed original star wars role playing game with new characters  new force powers and a new set of moral decisions  despite a different developer. released 11 february on xbox and pc.
598,dvd review: harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban this third harry potter film brought a change of director and a dramatic visual shake-up that really shines on dvd.  gone are the warm  bright colours found in the two earlier films  alfonso cuaron brings in a bleak and cold feel that is simply gorgeous - and looks even better here than in the cinema. it is all part of the progression of harry s story into darker areas  but you ll spend time just marvelling at the beautiful hogwarts landscape.  this is the first potter film where you get so lost in the screen adaptation that you forget the book. it is the third year at hogwarts and studies are interrupted  as they always are  by a calamity that only harry  ron and hermione can put right.  it sounds corny. but harry is no longer the winsome hero  he is a moody teenager and daniel radcliffe pulls it off very well. emma watson is ever better as hermione  and the young stars are joined by the usual myriad famous actors including gary oldman and emma thompson. the film itself is the reason to buy this dvd. but it is laden with behind-the-scenes extras  including funny  if shallow  interviews with all the main cast. but what seems like a long list of features can be swiftly whittled down to the few that you are going to watch. younger viewers will go for the games which include a magic you may have missed memory test  and crookshanks chasing off after scabbers. adult viewers will ignore those and go straight to the deleted scenes. you will understand why they were deleted but it is fun to see more footage - and not have to hunt through endless menus to find it  as we did on the first harry potter dvd. the most interesting pieces are an interview with jk rowling in creating the vision and conjuring a scene  a short featurette about the making of the film s big moments.
1654,file-swappers ready new network legal attacks on websites that help people swap pirated films have forced the development of a system that could be harder to shut down.  one site behind the success of the bittorrent file-swapping system is producing its own software that avoids the pitfalls of the earlier program. a test version of the new exeem program will be released in late january. but doubts remain about the new networks ability to ensure files being swapped are  quality copies .  in late december movie studios launched a legal campaign against websites that helped people swap pirated movies using the bittorrent network. the legal campaign worked because of the way that bittorrent is organised. that file-sharing system relies on links called  trackers  that point users to others happy to share the file they are looking for. shutting down sites that listed trackers crippled the bittorrent network. one of the sites shut down by the legal campaign was suprnova.org which helped boost the popularity of the bittorrent system by checking that trackers led to the movies or tv programmes they claimed to.  now the man behind suprnova.org  who goes by the nickname sloncek  is preparing to release software for a new file-swapping network dubbed exeem. in an interview with novastream web radio  sloncek said exeem would combine ideas from the bittorrent and kazaa file-sharing systems. like bittorrent  exeem will have trackers that help point people toward the file they want. like kazaa these trackers will be held by everyone. there will be no centrally maintained list. this  said sloncek  should make the system less vulnerable to legal action aimed at stopping people swapping pirated movies and music. the exeem software has been under development for a few months and is currently being tested by a closed group of users. an early public version of the software should be available before february. sloncek said that currently only a windows version of the software was in development. there were no plans for a linux or mac version. he said that costs of writing the software will be paid for by adverts appearing in the finished version of the program. despite suprnova administrator sloncek s involvement with exeem  the basic technology appears to have been developed by a firm called swarm systems that is based on caribbean island saint kitts and nevis.  users of the exeem system will be able to rate files being swapped to help stop the spread of fake files  sloncek told novastream.  dr johan pouwelse  a researcher at the delft university of technology who studies peer-to-peer networks  said exeem was the next evolution in file-sharing systems. but  he said  it would struggle to be as popular as bittorrent and suprnova because early versions were not taking enough care to make sure good copies of files were being shared.  exeem cannot prevent pollution   he said.  the rating system in exeem seems flawed because it is easy to insert both fake files and fake ratings   he said. studies have shown that organisations working for record labels and movie studios have worked to undermine kazaa by putting in fakes. by contrast moderators on suprnova made sure files being shared were high quality.  the moderators are the difference between having a system that works and one that s full of crap like kazaa   he said.  there is a fundamental tension between distribution and integrity   he said. mr pouwelse said that future versions of file-sharing systems are likely to incorporate some kind of distributed reputation system that lets moderators prove who they are to the network and rate which files are worth downloading. when big files were being shared moderation systems were key  said mr pouwelse. he added that the legal attacks on bittorrent had driven people away from sites such as suprnova but many users had simply migrated to other tracker listing sites many of which have seen huge increases in traffic.  it s hard to compete with free   he said. no-one from the motion picture association of america was immediately available for comment on the file-sharing development.
1232,hollywood campaign hits websites movie studio efforts to stop pirated films being shared on peer-to-peer networks have claimed a high-profile victim.  the campaign of legal action is thought to be behind the closure of the widely used suprnova.org website. the site was the most popular place for people swapping and sharing links for the bittorrent network. a recent study showed that more than half of the peer-to-peer traffic during june was for the bittorrent system.  in a message posted on suprnova.org on sunday  the site s controllers said the site was  closing down for good in the way that we all know it . if the site did return  the message said  it would not be hosting any more torrent links. it continued:  we are very sorry for this  but there was no other way  we have tried everything.   the only parts that would keep going  said the operators of the suprnova site  were the discussion forums and net chat channels. the site is thought to have closed following an announcement by the motion picture association of america that it was launching legal action against those operating bittorrent servers rather than end users. because of the way that bittorrent works  server sites do not host the actual file being shared  instead they host a link that points people to others that have it. by targeting servers  the mpaa hopes to cripple bittorrent s ability to share files. in the opening days of the mpaa campaign  the organisation filed 100 lawsuits against operators of bittorrent server site. the launching of the legal seems to be having an effect. phoenix torrents  another popular bittorrent site  has also decided to shut down and  though it gave no reasons for the closure  it is thought to be motivated by the threat of legal action. last week finnish police raided a bittorrent site based in the country that  according to reports  let 10 000 users shared pirated films  software  music and games.
703,escaped prisoner report ordered first minister jack mcconnell has ordered a report on the decision to allow a paranoid schizophrenic knife attacker to go on a visit unguarded.  michael ferguson  36  escaped after being allowed out of the high-security carstairs unit. the snp s nicola sturgeon has demanded to know who was responsible for signing off the leave. the scottish executive said ministers would be notified but it would  not be common practice  to sign approval. an executive spokesman said the health department and the state hospital itself would work together on preparing the report. ministerial responsibility for carstairs rests with rhona brankin  the deputy health minister. ms brankin said:  the first minister has called for a review of what has happened  we need to talk to the state hospital and we need to reflect on this.  ms sturgeon has written to mr mcconnell asking for clarification on the move to allow the prisoner out. she said questions must be answered about his escape  if the public is to be reassured about safety. police are still searching for ferguson  who failed to return after a trip to east kilbride on monday.  the scottish national party s parliamentary leader argued that under the law  authorisation of ferguson s leave of absence would have come directly from ministers. she said:  the scottish executive seemed to indicate yesterday that the escape of mr ferguson was a matter for carstairs.  however  my understanding is that  under the mental health legislation  the decision to grant this patient - and any restricted patient - leave of absence  would have required direct and specific authorisation by scottish ministers.  she added:  i have written to the first minister today asking for confirmation of that fact. i have also asked him to confirm which minister would routinely take decisions of this nature and what information they are based on.  this is not an attempt to apportion blame  but to ensure a better understanding of the decision making process in such important and sensitive cases.   police said ferguson posed a danger to the public. bbc scotland political correspondent glenn campbell said the first minister had ordered an urgent report into the situation. he said:  we understand from the executive that in this case no individual minister signed off the approval for michael ferguson to be released unescorted from carstairs.  the executive concedes that it is up to scottish ministers  they have a legal responsibility for approving this sort of leave  but they say routinely it is specialised officials that make that decision and simply inform ministers that they have taken it.  but at that stage presumably ministers can ask hard questions and can ask for reassurances that the patient is not a serious danger to the public or that any risk has been minimised.  scottish conservative leader  david mcletchie  said earlier it was  almost beyond belief that this has been allowed to happen .  the executive spokeswoman said the recommendation for leave was agreed by a psychiatric advisor  in conjunction with officials on behalf of ministers . she said:  ministers were told of that  notified of it  but it would not be common practice for them to sign it off.  they do have statutory responsibility  but the common practice has been that people who work with the patient and have the best knowledge about risk would make that decision.  ferguson  who slashed a man in a doctors  surgery in coatbridge in 1994  had been out to see his fiancée annabella holmes  47  whom he met when she was a patient at the high security complex in south lanarkshire. he is described as being 5ft 9ins tall  slim  with blond hair  blue eyes and a fair complexion. ferguson was wearing a black jacket  grey jeans  black jumper and black shoes when he was last seen. he has multiple fading tattoos on his left hand and a very faded tear tattoo under his left eye. ms holmes is not missing but there have been no sightings of ferguson since monday. strathclyde police asked anyone who spots ferguson to contact sergeant keith mcdonald on  .
2051,novartis hits acquisition trail swiss drugmaker novartis has announced 5.65bn euros ($7.4bn; £3.9bn) of purchases to make its sandoz unit the world s biggest generic drug producer.  novartis  which last month forecast record sales for 2005  said it had bought all of germany s hexal. it also acquired 67.7% of hexal s us affiliate eon labs  and offered to buy the remaining shares for $31 each. novartis said that it would be able to make cost savings of about $200m a year following the acquisitions. novartis  shares rose 1% to 57.85 swiss francs in early trading.  the deal will see novartis  sandoz business overtake israel s teva pharmaceuticals as the world s biggest maker of generics. based on 2004 figures the newly merged producer would have sales of more than $5bn  the company estimated. novartis said that it would merge a number of departments  adding that there may be job cuts.   the strong growth outlook for sandoz  which will create jobs  is expected to partially compensate for necessary reductions in the work force   the firm said in a statement. generic drugs are chemically identical to their more expensive branded rivals. producers such as sandoz can copy the branded products usually after their patent protection expires and can sell them more cheaply as they do not have to pay research and development cost.  there are more than 150 generic drugmakers worldwide and analysts have predicted consolidation in a market that they call fragmented. however  not all analysts were initially convinced about the deal.  this is a very expensive acquisition   birgit kuhlhoff  from sal oppenheim investment bank  told reuters.  i find it strange that they are making acquisitions in exactly those markets where they suffered price pressure.
451,labour in constituency race row labour s choice of a white candidate for one of the uk s most multi-racial seats proves the need for all-black short lists  says a race group.  local councillor lyn brown was selected for west ham  east london  in a contest between two white and five ethnic minority women. an operation black vote spokesman said they now wanted to meet labour party chairman ian mccartney for discussions. mr mccartney recently announced party consultation on all-black shortlists. however  labour has so far unable been unable to comment on the implications of the west ham result.  ashok vishwanathan of operation black vote  which aims to increase ethnic minorities  participation in the political process and their representation  said the result again showed all-women shortlists were not effective in getting minority women selected.  i think all-black shortlists are the only way to cut to the chase and address the lack of minority candidates   mr vishwanathan said.  last month the chairman of the commission for racial equality (cre) also called for ethnic minority shortlists in certain circumstances. a cre spokesman said the organisation had nothing to add on the shortlist issue specifically but would be working with all the political parties to address the under-representation of ethnic minorities in parliament.  we will be raising it with each of the party leaders on a formal basis and helping them find the most appropriate way forward   the spokesman said. ethnic minorities make up 8% of the united kingdom population but only 2% of mps - 13 out of 659 - are from a visible minority group. twelve of them represent labour  and one is a liberal democrat. if ethnic minorities were represented in the house of commons in proportion to their numbers in the population  there would be 42 ethnic minority mps.
1924,deutsche telekom sees mobile gain german telecoms firm deutsche telekom saw strong fourth quarter profits on the back of upbeat us mobile earnings and better-than-expected asset sales.  net profit came in at 1.4bn euros (£960m; $1.85bn)  a dramatic change from the loss of 364m euros in 2003. sales rose 2.8% to 14.96bn euros. sales of stakes in firms including russia s oao mobile telesystems raised 1.17bn euros. this was more than expected and helped to bring debt down to 35.8bn euros.  a year ago  debt was more than 11bn euros higher. t-mobile usa  the company s american mobile business  made a strong contribution to profits.  it s a seminal achievement that they cut debt so low. that gives them some head room to invest in growth now   said hannes wittig  telecoms analyst at dresdner kleinwort wasserstein. the company also said it would resume paying a dividend  after two years in which it focused on cutting debt.
852,japan s ageing workforce: built to last in his twenties he battled tuberculosis for eight years  then went on to run his own clothing business before marrying in his late thirties. and the 101-year-old torao toshitsune has eaten raw fish pretty much every day throughout his life.  mr toshitsune is one of japan s 23 000 centenarians - a club that is growing by 13% annually  and where the oldest member is 114. at his neat osaka detached house  where he lives with one of his sexagenarian daughters  mr toshitsune keeps a regular routine of copying out buddhist sutras and preparing the traditional japanese tea ceremony. between tasks  this remarkably active senior citizen reveals what his next goal is:  well  what s most important for me is to be japan s number one.  mr toshitsune wants to outlive everyone. and when it comes to longevity  japan  as a country  appears to be doing just that. women can expect to live until 85  men until 78  four years longer than americans and europeans.  on the outskirts of kyoto  83-year-old yuji shimizu contemplates this phenomenon during a round of golf with his younger friends  who are in their seventies.   i think this is because the food industry and the environment have improved   he remarks.  on average  we can live longer.  whether it s the diet  or the traditional family structure where roles were clearly defined  or just something in the genes  japan s elderly are remarkable. but while life may be a game of golf for mr shimizu  his grandchildren have huge problems ahead. japan is the world s least fertile nation with childbirth rates of just two thirds of that in the us.  by 2007  japan s population is expected to peak at 127 million  then shrink to under 100 million by the middle of the century. this means 30 million fewer workers at a time when the number of elderly will have almost doubled.   in the year 2050  if the birth rate remains the same people over 60 will make up over 30% of the population   explains shigeo morioka of the international longevity centre in tokyo. so how will japan s finances stay on track  after a decade of economic stagnation and huge deficit spending  the public sector debt is already about 140% of the country s gross domestic product (gdp)  the highest rate among industrialised countries. the international monetary fund predicts that as the falling birth rate takes grip from 2010  the cost of running japan s welfare state will double to more than 5% of gdp  while current account balances will deteriorate by over 2%. but unfortunately  japan appears poorly prepared both financially and politically. glen wood  vice president of deutsche securities japan  asks;  who s going to fund the pension fund for the next generation and indeed who are going to be the new japanese worker   who is going to build the economy  who are going to be the leaders  who are going to be the producers of the gdp going forward   one option is further welfare reform. another is immigration  possibly from the philippines and indonesia. but so far  any emerging policy appears restricted to a limited number of nursing staff.  standing next to tokyo harbour is a version of new york s statue of liberty. but  as yet  japan is not ready for an ellis island.   japan has never really liked that option in its history and i think it s an option that s becoming more and more plausible and necessary   insists mr wood. in japan  as in europe which also faces a workforce decline  immigration is a very sensitive subject. but for the japanese economy  facing 8% fewer consumers by 2050 means slumping domestic sales of cars  hi-tech kit and home appliances  perhaps even another property crash.  of course the japanese could always have more children. the government is currently considering financial rewards for procreative couples similar to those in operation in australia. but there would be no pay back until 2030  when today s babies are taxpayers  and the demographic crisis  like in europe  starts to unfold in 2010. in contrast to japan - and of course the european union - the us population is expected to increase by 46% to 420 million by the middle of the century. although president bush must re-devise social security to take account of a 130% rise in america s over 65s  the imf foresees a positive contribution to the us current account balance from the combined forces of fertility and immigration.  some voices in japanese industry are calling for radical changes to the nature of the japanese labour market. they want a shift towards financial services  though doubts persist over the country s ability  let alone willingness  to move away from manufacturing.  japan still has problems getting a viable banking system  let alone shifting their auto business or their semi-conductor business or the broad based tech manufacturing business overseas   says mr wood. japan can either drive some radical reforms or else run the risk of a vicious ageing recession. falling demand and a lower tax take could result in soaring budget pressures and a basket case currency. come 2020  japan could be more dependent on a shrinking workforce than any other industrialised power. there are fears that the world s number two economy is doomed to a permanent recession. but none of this is mr toshitsune s concern anymore. at 101  he chuckles that  he feels fine.
1889,abba queen enters music rich list the woman behind the abba musical mamma mia! has joined a list of british-based music millionaires.  producer judy craymer is the highest new entry in the sunday times  music rich list  with a £67m fortune. ms craymer remortgaged her home to finance her idea of a musical based around abba s hits  which has since become a global triumph. teenage soul singer joss stone is a new entry on a list of britain s young music millionaires with £5m.  ms craymer  who developed mamma mia! with playwright catherine johnson and members of abba  is at number 31 on the music rich list. but taking the top spot for a second year is former record label boss clive calder  whose wealth has risen to £1.3bn. mr calder is the man behind acts including britney spears. he made his fortune by selling his independent label zomba to record giant bmg. former beatle sir paul mccartney is second on the list with £800m - up £40m on last year. andrew lloyd-webber s wealth rose an estimated £300m on last year  to £700m  while theatre impresario sir cameron mackintosh s fortune rose from £340m to £400m.  his recent hits have included the west end show mary poppins. but pop idol mogul simon fuller has seen his wealth plummet from £220m last year to £75m after selling his entertainment company 19 for less than expected  according to the sunday times. joss stone  the 17-year-old soul singer from devon  was a new entry in the young music millionaires list. the list also features charlotte church  coldplay  daniel bedingfield  will young and david and victoria beckham. at number one is dhani harrison  son of the late beatle george harrison  who has inherited £140m. the beckhams - who qualify thanks to victoria s former singing career - are in second place with £75 million between them - up £10m on last year.
1695,brown names 16 march for budget chancellor gordon brown will deliver his budget to the house of commons on 16 march  the treasury has announced.  the budget  likely to be the last before the general election  will be at about 1230 gmt on that wednesday  just after prime minister s question time. the annual event is when the chancellor outlines the government s taxation and broader economic predictions. the tories say it is likely the budget will contain measures to attract votes. the election is expected on 5 may.  next month s budget will be mr brown s ninth since labour came to power in 1997. if a may election is called  there could be as little as 18 days between the budget and the announcement of a date for the election. a shortened finance bill would have to be rushed through parliament with all-party support to allow the government to continue collecting revenue.  the full finance bill  with the budget measures in it  would then be returned to the commons after the election  if labour secures another term in office. tory shadow chancellor oliver letwin said:  we can be sure of two things: the budget will contain measures to attract votes  and it will not contain the £8 billion of tax rises which independent experts say are inevitable if labour wins the election.  as mr brown announced the budget date in a short ministerial statement  accountancy firm ernst & young urged him to put politics aside and focus on the long-term requirements of the economy.  in the budgets that were given immediately before the last six elections  taxes were cut by the incumbent chancellor and  in many cases  taxes were increased soon after the election result   said aidan o carroll  e&y s uk head of tax.
417,microsoft releases patches microsoft has warned pc users to update their systems with the latest security fixes for flaws in windows programs.  in its monthly security bulletin  it flagged up eight  critical  security holes which could leave pcs open to attack if left unpatched. the number of holes considered  critical  is more than usual. they affect windows programs  including internet explorer (ie)  media player and instant messaging. four other important fixes were also released. these were considered to be less critical  however. if not updated  either automatically or manually  pc users running the programs could be vulnerable to viruses or other malicious attacks designed to exploit the holes. many of the flaws could be used by virus writers to take over computers remotely  install programs  change  and delete or see data.  one of the critical patches microsoft has made available is an important one that fixes some ie flaws. stephen toulouse  a microsoft security manager  said the flaws were known about  and although the firm had not seen any attacks exploiting the flaw  he did not rule them out. often  when a critical flaw is announced  spates of viruses follow because home users and businesses leave the flaw unpatched. a further patch fixes a hole in media player  windows messenger and msn messenger which an attacker could use to take control of unprotected machines through .png files. microsoft announces any vulnerabilities in its software every month. the most important ones are those which are classed as  critical . its latest releases came the week that the company announced it was to buy security software maker sybari software as part of microsoft s plans to make its own security programs.
2125,tate & lyle boss bags top award tate & lyle s chief executive has been named european businessman of the year by a leading business magazine.  iain ferguson was awarded the title by us publication forbes for returning one of the uk s  venerable  manufacturers to the country s top 100 companies. the sugar group had been absent from the ftse 100 for seven years until mr ferguson helped it return to growth. tate s shares have leapt 55% this year  boosted by firming sugar prices and sales of its artificial sweeteners.   after years of a sagging stock price and a seven-year hiatus from the ftse 100  one of britain s venerable manufacturers has returned to the vaunted index   forbes said. mr ferguson took the helm at the company in 2003  after spending most of his career at consumer goods giant unilever. tate & lyle  which was an original member of the historic ft-30 index in 1935  operates more than 41 factories and 20 more additional production facilities in 28 countries. previous winners of the forbes award include royal bank of scotland chief executive fred goodwin and former vodafone boss chris gent.
2087,beer giant swallows russian firm brewing giant inbev has agreed to buy alfa-eco s stake in sun interbrew  russia s second-largest brewer  for up to 259.7m euros ($353.3m; £183.75m).  alfa-eco  the venture capital arm of russian conglomerate alfa group  has a one-fifth stake in sun interbrew. the deal gives inbev  the world s biggest beermaker  near-total control over the russian brewer. inbev bought out another partner in august 2004. inbev brands include bass  stella artois  hoegaarden and staropramen. it employs 77 000 people  running operations in over 30 countries across the americas  europe and asia pacific.  the leuven-based brewery said it would own 97.3% of the voting shares and 98.8% of the non-voting shares of sun interbrew. the deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2005. inbev was formed in august 2004 when belgium s interbrew bought brazilian brewer ambev. sun interbrew  which employs 8 000 staff  owns breweries in eight russian cities - klin  ivanovo  saransk  kursk  volzhsky  omsk  perm and novocheboksarsk. there are also three breweries in ukraine  in the cities of chernigov  nikolaev and kharkov.
1274,millions to miss out on the net by 2025  40% of the uk s population will still be without internet access at home  says a study.  around 23 million britons will miss out on a wide range of essential services such as education and medical information  predicts the report by telecoms giant bt. it compares to 27 million  or 50%  of the uk  who are not currently online. the idea that the digital divide will evaporate with time is  wishful thinking   the report concludes.  the study calls on the government and telecoms industry to come up with new ways to lure those that have been bypassed by the digital revolution. although the percentage of britons without home access will have fallen slightly  those that remain digital refuseniks will miss out on more  the report suggests. as more and more everyday tasks move online and offline services become less comprehensive  the divide will become more obvious and more burdensome for those that have not got net access  it predicts.  the gap between  have-nets  and  have-nots  has been much talked about  but predictions about how such a divide will affect future generations has been less discussed. bt set out to predict future patterns based on current information and taking account of the way technology is changing. optimists who predict that convergence and the emergence of more user-friendly technology will bridge the digital divide could be way off mark  the report suggests.  internet access on other devices tends to be something taken up by those who already have it   said adrian hosford  director of corporate responsibility at bt. costs of internet access have fallen dramatically and coverage in remote areas have vastly improved over the last year but the real barrier remains psychological.  there is a hard rump of have-nots who are not engaging with the net. they don t have the motivation or skills or perceive the benefits   said mr hosford.  as now  the most disadvantaged groups are likely to remain among low income families  the older generation and the disabled.  those on low incomes will account for a quarter of the digital have-nots  the disabled will make up 16% and the elderly nearly a third by 2025  the report forecasts. organisations such as bt have a responsibility to help tackle the problem  said mr hosford. the telco has seen positive results with its everybody online project which offers internet access to people in eight deprived communities around britain. in one area of cornwall with high levels of unemployment  online training helped people rewrite cvs and learn skills to get new jobs  explained mr hosford. such grassroot activity addressing the specific needs of individual communities is essential is the problem of the digital divide is to be overcome  he said.  if we don t address this problem now  it will get a lot worse and people will find it more difficult to find jobs  education opportunities will be limited and they ll simply not be able to keep up with society   he said. the alliance for digital inclusion  an independent body with members drawn from government  industry and the voluntary sector has recently been set up to tackle some of the issues faced by the digital refuseniks.
579,isinbayeva heads for birmingham olympic pole vault champion yelena isinbayeva has confirmed she will take part in the 2005 norwich union grand prix in birmingham on 18 february.   everybody knows how much i enjoy competing in britain. i always seem to break records there   said isinbayeva.  as olympic champion there will be more attention on me this year  but hopefully i can respond with another record in birmingham.  kelly holmes and carolina kluft are among other athens winners competing. the organisers are hoping that isinbayeva s main rival  fellow russian svetlana feofanova  will also take part in the event. the pair had a thrilling battle in athens which ended with isinbayeva finally jumping a world record of 4.91m to claim the gold medal. isinbayeva  22  has set 10 world records in the pole vault  three of which have come on british soil.
398,lawyer attacks anti-terror laws a senior barrister who has resigned in protest over the government s anti-terror laws says the current system is giving britain a bad name.  ian macdonald qc quit when the government failed to recognise a house of lords ruling that detaining terror suspects indefinitely is unlawful. he was part of a 19-strong panel who have special security clearance to act for suspected terrorists. five more barristers are now reported to be threatening to resign.  mr macdonald told bbc news:  the reason why i am resigning is because i fundamentally disagree with locking people up without any trial for an indefinite period on reasonable suspicion.  the current legal system is certainly having a very adverse effect on the muslim community in britain and the whole asian community.  i think it is giving britain a bad name internationally .  under the anti-terrorism  crime and security act introduced by the government in 2001 in response to the 11 september attacks  foreign nationals suspected of involvement in terrorism who cannot be deported can be held indefinitely without trial. but mr macdonald believes that detainees currently being held should be entitled to a trial by jury.  my own view is we need to have a full return to trial by jury  a proper criminal trial with proper accusations.  as far as i m concerned  the government have to start all over again and rethink their whole strategy for dealing with this.  he added.  the attorney general lord goldsmith will receive a letter of resignation from mr macdonald on monday. according to the independent  his resignation is expected to be followed by those of five other barristers - nicholas blake qc  andrew nicol qc  manjit singh gill qc  rick scannell and tom de la mare. they are all believed to be carefully considering their positions on the panel of special advocates who represent detainees before the special immigration appeals commission (siac) - a secure court without a jury  which tries terror suspects. mr macdonald said he had  no idea  whether further resignations would follow. but barry hugill  a spokesman for the campaign group liberty  told radio 4 s today programme that more lawyers may go.  i can assure that there is a distinct possibilty that more lawyers may be resigning   he said.  they are now in a situation where everything they have been trained to believe in  the right to trial by jury  has been abandoned and that is what gives some of them sleepless nights.   helena kennedy  a labour peer and a human rights lawyer  said the special advocates  main concern was that once they had seen any special intelligence they were not allowed to speak to the detainees.  when this whole procedure was being considered immediately after 11 september there was a great deal of argument particularly in the house of lords about whether there really was a process that could be considered a judicial review   she said.  without that you are having detention with no habeus corpus and really a blot  as ian mcdonald has said  on our legal landscape  something really quite shocking with regard to the rule of the law.
1898,henry tipped for fifa award fifa president sepp blatter hopes arsenal s thierry henry will be named world player of the year on monday.  henry is on the fifa shortlist with barcelona s ronaldinho and newly-crowned european footballer of the year  ac milan s andriy shevchenko. blatter said:  henry  for me  is the personality on the field. he is the man who can run and organise the game.  the winner of the accolade will be named at a glittering ceremony at zurich s opera house. the three shortlisted candidates for the women s award are mia hamm of the united states  germany s birgit prinz and brazilian youngster marta.  hamm  who recently retired - is looking to regain the women s award  which she lost last year to striker prinz. fifa has changed the panel of voters for this year s awards. male and female captains of every national team will be able to vote  as well as their coaches and fipro - the global organisation for professional players.
87,uk pledges £1bn to vaccine effort uk chancellor gordon brown has offered £960m ($1.8bn) over 15 years to an international scheme aiming to boost vaccination and immunisation schemes.  in a speech  he called for action to reach the 2000 millennium declaration goals of halving global poverty and tackling child mortality rates. mr brown has just returned from a tour of african nations. the £1bn commitment is part of a five-point plan on debt relief  trade  aid  education and health.  the chancellor was speaking at an event jointly organised by the uk s department for international development and the un development programme on wednesday. mr brown welcomed news that the bill gates foundation and norway are joining up to put an extra £0.53bn ($1bn ) into the global alliance for vaccines and immunisation (gavi). britain  france  gavi and the gates foundation have drawn up proposals to apply the principles of the international finance facility (iff) to the area of immunisation. that could see donors making long-term  legally binding financial commitments which can then be used as collateral for raising extra funds from international capital markets. as well as pledging £960m over 15 years to the immunisation iff  britain urged other donors to contribute.  if gavi could increase its funding for immunisation by an extra £4bn ($7.4bn) over 10 years  then an extra five million lives could have been saved by 2015 and five million thereafter  mr brown argued. campaign groups including friends of the earth  the world development movement  and war on want said uk government policy on free trade was a major barrier to fighting poverty. war on want s john hilary said:  compassionate rhetoric cannot disguise the reality of the government s neo-liberal policies.  as long as mr blair and mr brown continue to push free trade and privatisation on developing countries  more and more people will be pushed deeper into poverty  not lifted out of it.
2024,humanoid robot learns how to run car-maker honda s humanoid robot asimo has just got faster and smarter.  the japanese firm is a leader in developing two-legged robots and the new  improved asimo (advanced step in innovative mobility) can now run  find his way around obstacles as well as interact with people. eventually asimo could find gainful employment in homes and offices.  the aim is to develop a robot that can help people in their daily lives   said a honda spokesman.  to get the robot running for the first time was not an easy process as it involved asimo making an accurate leap and absorbing the impact of landing without slipping or spinning. the  run  he is now capable of is perhaps not quite up to olympic star kelly holmes  standard. at 3km/h  it is closer to a leisurely jog. its makers claim that it is almost four times as fast as sony s qrio  which became the first robot to run last year. the criteria for running robots is defined by engineers as having both feet off the ground between strides. asimo has improved in other ways too  increasing his walking speed  from 1.6km/h to 2.5km  growing 10cm to 130cm and putting on 2kg in weight. while he may not quite be ready for yoga  he does have more freedom of movement  being able to twist his hips and bend his wrists  thumbs and neck.  asimo has already made his mark on the international robot scene and in november was inducted into the robot hall of fame. he has wowed audiences around the world with his ability to walk upstairs  recognise faces and come when beckoned. in august 2003 he even attended a state dinner in the czech republic  travelling with the japanese prime minister as a goodwill envoy. he is one of a handful of robots used by tech firms to trumpet their technological advances. technology developed for asimo could be used in the automobile industry as electronics increasingly take over from mechanics in car design. for the moment asimo s biggest role is an entertainer and the audience gathered to see his first public run greeted his slightly comical gait with amusement  according to reports. robots can fulfil serious functions in society and the united nations economic commission for europe predicts that the worldwide market for industrial robots will swell from 81 000 units in 2003 to 106 000 in 2007.
1927,norway upholds  napster  ruling a norwegian student who ran a website which linked to downloadable mp3 files has been ordered to pay compensation by the country s supreme court.  frank allan bruvik was ordered to pay 100 000 kroner (£8 000) to the music industry in norway. he was a student when he set up his napster.no site  which allowed users to submit and receive links to mp3 files. bruvik had earlier been cleared on appeal after a lower court had found for the music industry. music industry bosses in norway said the ruling would help build confidence in the internet as a distribution medium.  frank allan bruvik set up the napster.no website as part of a school project in 2001 while studying computer engineering in the norwegian town of lillehammer. the website was not associated with the napster.com site in the usa  which had been operating since 1999 and was already facing legal action.  bruvik s site was online between august and november 2001  and while it did not host any music  at its peak it was providing links to more than 170 free files on other servers. as well as providing links  the site allowed those visiting it to submit links that could later be accessed by other visitors. a legal complaint for copyright violation was filed by groups including norway s performing rights society  tono  and the norwegian branches of sony music and universal music  who saw it as an important test of principle.  a norwegian court ruled in 2003 that bruvik would have to pay 100 000 kroner to the music industry  but the country s court of appeal cleared him  saying that the copyright violation occurred when others posted the music. however  the supreme court stated that the music was clearly published in violation of copyright law it added that the case was decided based on the responsibility for abetting an illegal act  and that bruvik s actions were premeditated. norway s music industry said it was satisfied with the ruling  because showed that music piracy would not be accepted.  meanwhile  in the usa a further 717 lawsuits against people alleged to have traded copyrighted songs were filed this week by the recording industry association of america. the suits  brought on behalf of the major record companies  cite the individuals for illegally distributing music via unauthorized peer-to-peer services such as kazaa and edonkey. as with preceding cases  the fresh action was made against so-called  john doe  defendants  who are identified only by the codes given to their computers  internet connections.
1019,defection timed to hit tax pledge with impeccable and precisely-calculated timing  tory defector robert jackson and his new labour bosses have attempted to overshadow michael howard s latest announcement on taxation and spending.  with just about everyone in westminster now working towards a may general election  mr howard is eager to map out some clear and distinctive policies aimed at finally shifting the tories  resolutely depressing poll showings. the big idea is his £35bn savings on waste and bureaucracy which mr howard has pledged to plough back into public services and tax cuts. and it was virtually certain his pledge on tax cuts was meant to be the core message from his interview on the bbc one s breakfast with frost programme. he and his shadow chancellor oliver letwin have been edging towards an announcement on this front for some months now  but without any concrete pledges. but mr howard announced that  of the £35bn he has earmarked from savings  £12bn will be used to plug labour s claimed financial black hole with any left over going to tax cuts in mr letwin s first budget. he would not be precise  but there are already suggestions he is set to announce lifting the threshold on income tax and reforming or abolishing inheritance tax. but he did  for the first time  say there would be such tax cuts.   at this election  people will have a clear choice between mr blair who will waste more and tax more and the conservative party which will give value for money and tax less . it is the tories  attempt to open that famed  clear blue water  between them and the labour party and return to a traditional tory agenda that will both reassure the middle england voters who have abandoned him and appeal to core conservative voters. so it is a pretty safe bet to assume that  when robert jackson finally decided to jump ship and swim over to the labour benches  his new masters decided to time the announcement for the greatest possible impact. mr howard  however  was dismissive.  these things happen from time to time. there are disagreements between robert jackson and me.   the election is not going to be decided on what robert jackson did   he added. and that is certainly true. the election will be decided on  the economy stupid . other issues like the iraq war and the  trust  thing will also play a major part. but it is the economy that will probably be the greatest influence over the way people finally vote. and many on the tory benches have been crying out for mr howard to get back onto the old tory tax cuts agenda. mr howard knows that risks accusations that  as a result  he would slash public services  so he has attempted to shoot that fox first. with polls suggesting voters would rather any government cash surpluses were spent on schools and hospitals before tax cuts  he has suggested that is exactly what he will do. whether this will finally be enough to shift those polls remains to be seen.
1892,german economy rebounds germany s economy  the biggest among the 12 countries sharing the euro  grew at its fastest rate in four years during 2004  driven by strong exports.  gross domestic product (gdp) rose by 1.7% last year  the statistical office said. the economy contracted in 2003. foreign sales increased by 8.2% last year  compared with a 0.3% slide in private consumption. concerns remain  however  over the strength of the euro  weak domestic demand and a sluggish labour market. the european central bank (ecb) left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2% on thursday. it is the nineteenth month in a row that the ecb has not moved borrowing costs. economists predict that an increase is unlikely to come until the second half of 2005  with growth set to sputter rather than ignite.   during 2004 we profited from the fact that the world economy was strong   said stefan schilbe  analyst at hsbc trinkaus & burkhardt.  if exports weaken and domestic growth remains poor  we cannot expect much from 2005.  many german consumers have been spooked and unsettled by government attempts to reform the welfare state and corporate environment. major companies including volkswagen  daimlerchrysler and siemens have spent much of 2004 in tough talks with unions about trimming jobs and costs. they have also warned there are more cost cutting measures on the horizon.
357,green fear for transport ballot the green party is concerned thousands of residents may not be able to vote in edinburgh s transport referendum.  edinburgh city council is to ballot constituents on proposals to introduce congestion charging in the capital. but green msp mark ballard fears people not on the council s edited electoral register may miss out. local authorities can only send ballot papers to those on the edited list over non-statutory matters  such as the transport referendum. therefore  residents who have exercised their right to have their details left off the list could miss the chance to vote.  however  there is still time for those who are not on the list to contact the council and make sure they are sent ballot forms ahead of february s voting deadline. mr ballard said:  this vote will set the future of transport in edinburgh for decades to come.  it is therefore vital that as many residents as possible in edinburgh city and the surrounding areas  are registered to vote in the ballot.  many people are not aware that they may miss out on their chance to have a say.  everyone involved in this debate - both for and against - wants the ballot to be as fair and representative as possible  and that means encouraging people to take part.  the ballot will ask residents to vote for or against the council s proposed congestion charge scheme and a host of transport improvements to be funded by it. the outcome of the referendum will be known next month after the ballot forms are sent out and returned to the council. towards the end of february  the council will meet to decide whether to proceed with an application to scottish ministers for approval for its planned congestion charging scheme and the other parts of its transport package.
1161,csi shows give  unrealistic view  people have unrealistic expectations of forensic science thanks to the success of the csi tv shows  real experts say.  evidence submitted to forensic labs has shot up as a result of the programmes  at a time when many have large backlogs  science investigators claim. lawyers also fear the effect because jurors have a distorted view of how forensic evidence is used. the issue was discussed at a major science conference in washington dc. crime scene investigation (csi) and its spin-offs  csi: miami and csi: new york  have proven exceptionally popular with audiences on both sides of the atlantic.  each episode  a team of forensic investigators goes about solving a crime through the ingenious appliance of science - and the extensive resources at their disposal.  the csi effect is basically the perception of the near-infallibility of forensic science in response to the tv show   said max houck  who runs a forensic science graduate course at west virginia university  us.  this tv show comes on and everyone starts watching it - including the cops and prosecutors - and submissions to forensic laboratories go through the roof   he told the annual meeting of the american association for the advancement of science (aaas). the american forensics expert said there were roughly 200 000-300 000 backlogged dna samples in us labs. yet these constituted just 10% of the total test backlog  said dr houck. forensic pathologist dr patricia mcfeeley said she had started to see the show s influence in dealing with the families of victims.  what i find is that families now are more dissatisfied with the investigation than was previously the case   she explained.  for example  on television  the toxicology results are available almost instantaneously. but when people find out that it can take several months  they can find that very difficult.   dr mcfeeley added that the accuracy with which forensic investigators can determine time of death was far lower than most people s perceptions. the show s influence can follow forensic investigators all the way into the courtroom  making lawyers jittery.  prosecutors fear the csi effect with juries because  for example  they wonder:  why wasn t everything tested   well  in fact  not everything needs to be tested   dr houck explained.  defence attorneys also worry about the csi effect because they think that jurors come in and have this view of science as a juggernaut; this objective method that s always accurate.  however  he admitted the show had had positive as well as negative effects on the field.  my university course started with four graduates in 1999; we re now the largest major on campus - with 400 students   he said. dr houck added that there was an urgent need for better funding of forensic science at the university level:  there s more money spent in this country on holistic medicine than there is on forensic science research.
52,strike threat over pension plans millions of public service workers could strike if ministers scrap their final salary pension scheme and make them work longer  warn union leaders.  the cabinet office has confirmed it is reviewing the current pension system  prompting unions representing 4.5m workers to threaten united action. they believe the plans include raising the mandatory retirement age for public service workers from 60 to 65. the government says unions will be consulted before any changes are made.  it is thought the proposed overhaul  due on thursday  could mean pensions could be based on a  career average  salary. for each year served  staff currently get one eightieth of their highest salary in the final three years. ministers will be anxious to avoid mass strike action in the lead-up to the next general election  which is widely expected next may. in a statement on sunday  the cabinet office said it was reviewing the civil service pension scheme  and hoped to announce proposals soon.  unions will of course be consulted about any proposed changes.  public sector pension schemes need to remain affordable and sustainable. people are living longer and pensions are getting more expensive.  to maintain the long-term affordability of our pension scheme  the government announced in its green paper on pensions that pension age would rise from 60 to 65.  on monday  tony blair s official spokesman declined to say whether the prime minister backed the plans. he said:  what s important is that there s a process going on  it s out for consultation at the moment  let s wait for that process to complete itself.   there is already widespread anger over the chancellor s plans to get rid of more than 100 000 civil servants. now public service unions are united against the plans and the trades union congress is discussing the issue next monday. dave prentis  general secretary of unison  said changes to pension provisions for workers in the public sector would mean they had to pay in more but would still face a raw deal.  members working in the nhs or for local government have never had high pay or city bonuses  but they could look forward to a decent pension - now all that is being taken away   he said.  what really riles me is the breathtaking hypocrisy of mps who recently voted themselves the best pension scheme in europe  but say they can t afford it for anyone else.  this is a position that unison cannot accept and will oppose. it will lead to conflict between unison and the government  if not this year then next.   mr prentis said workers did not want to go on strike and called for talks between unions and the highest level of government. mark serwotka  from the public and commercial services union said there should be a co-ordinated one day strike unless there was a government rethink. the fire brigades union said the government was planning to cut ill health retirement benefits for firefighters and other measures to chip away at pensions. pensions officer paul woolstenholmes said:  the pensions of millions of public sector workers are under threat - apart from mps and judges who have the most generous pensions arrangements in the country.
1798,standoff  on deutsche s lse bid deutsche boerse investors unhappy with its london stock exchange bid will have no chance to throw out the exchange s management until may  reuters says.  the sunday times reported that hedge funds tci and atticus were planning to demand the removal of the group s chairman and chief executive. but deutsche boerse told news agency reuters such a move would have to wait until may s annual general meeting. investors want deutsche to return cash to shareholders rather than bid.  we are long-term investors and are experienced in removing management. we are not scared to take this to its conclusion this time   atticus  david slager told the sunday times. however  deutsche boerse told reuters:  tci s request for the removal of the supervisory board will be considered at the annual general meeting on may 25.   the sunday times reported that tci had been drawing up a list of heavyweight executives to replace deutsche s chairman rolf breuer and chief executive werner seifert. the group owns more than 5% of deutsche - more than enough to demand an extraordinary general meeting to call on shareholders to oust the german exchange s management. under german law deutsche does not need investor backing to make a takeover bid. tci and atticus have opposed the lse bid for some time saying it would destroy shareholder value  and would be better spent on a share buyback. deutsche is in competition with pan-european bourse euronext to take over the london exchange. many commentators have suggested a bidding war between the two could break out. however  any such move would have to wait until march when the office of fair trading completes an investigation into the competition aspects of the pair s takeover proposals.
2028,hendrix guitar fetches £100 000 a much-loved guitar belonging to jimi hendrix has been sold for £100 000 at an auction in london.  the 1965 fender stratocaster was one of a number of guitars included in the sale dedicated to the rock legend. the vast archive of instruments  signed records and posters were collected by a dedicated fan who had become friendly with the star. the auction was billed as the biggest collection of hendrix memorabilia to go under the hammer. the majority of the items were collected by fan bob terry who began collecting at the age of 17. he later sold it on to another collector.  hendrix  widely considered one of the best guitarists of his era  died of a drug overdose in 1970 at the age of 27. the 1965 fender stratocaster was used by the musician on tour and in his studio. a poem written by hendrix two weeks after his infamous appearance at the monterey festival where he set light to his guitar went for £10 000. the jimi hendrix experience s first single hey joe  signed by all the band  was sold for £2 000. the sale  hosted by auctioneers cooper owen  was held at the hard rock cafe in london.
58,henson stakes early lions claim the six nations may be a glittering prize in itself but every player from the four home unions will also have one eye on a possible trip to new zealand with the lions this summer.  the player who staked the biggest claim for a place in the starting xv over the weekend was gavin henson. he s very confident. you just had to listen to his interview afterwards - he beamed with confidence - but although there s an element of arrogance it s good arrogance. he certainly showed some nice touches. he once showed a clean pair of heels to mathew tait when he got outside him  his defence was very good and he made some great kicks out of hand. and that s without even mentioning his majestic match-winning penalty. but i think we need to wait and see what happens because he needs to be put to the test. he needs to come up against brian o driscoll or a big french midfield. wales fly-half stephen jones was another player who impressed me. he gave good direction  he was very confident and he was a nice general for his side. he showed he can control a game. with jonny wilkinson not playing at the moment due to inury the number 10 shirt could be up for grabs and jones  or maybe even henson  could make the lions team at fly-half.  jones stuck his hand up and he certainly looks a better bet than charlie hodgson after saturday s game. some of the wales forwards surprised me because i thought they would be out-muscled in the tight five. england prop julian white is a capable player but when it comes down to selection gethin jenkins is now going to have the upper hand because he came out on top. however  i still think white and phil vickery will be in the frame. some english players did their cause no harm. i thought joe worsley had a solid game and jason robinson and josh lewsey both did nothing wrong. but it looked too soon for young mathew tait and i think it will be a while before we see him again. despite being written off beforehand several scots caught my eye against france.  tom smith has been there and done it before  but the likes of chris cusiter  jason white and ally hogg all made their mark. hogg made a couple of good runs while white had a pretty robust game - his defence is right up there. cusiter looked very lively and he could be a very good option for lions coach sir clive woodward. the star of ireland s win over italy in rome looks like a certainty to make the starting xv against new zealand. brian o driscoll is a class act. he ran some good lines against italy  made the breaks and fed his outside backs  although italy defended man on man which made it easy for him. gordon d arcy was unlucky to go off injured early on but i think you could get a henson  d arcy  o driscoll combination in the lions midfield. paul o connell just needs to add a hard edge to his game and malcolm o kelly keeps on going and seems to be putting his hand up  while shane byrne seems to be a lively character. but they will be a bit worried after the italian pack drove them off their own ball on sunday  although i used to play in italy and i know how difficult it can be. one player who didn t impress me was wales scrum-half dwayne peel. he choked late on in the second half when wales were trailing. they had good possession and he kicked the ball away - i wouldn t want him as my lions scrum-half after that.
258,sporting rivals go to extra time the current slew of sports games offers unparalleled opportunities for fans who like to emulate on-field action without ever moving from the couch.  the two giants in the field - espn and ea sports - have been locked in a heavyweight battle for years. the latter is the world s largest games manufacturer. years of experience mean that the titles in their steady flow of sport sims are finely honed  massively entertaining and ooze flair. sports broadcaster espn  meanwhile  has leant its name to a series of games that are similarly classy but lower in profile and price. but that status quo was changed forever - or for the next 15 years at least - by a deal earlier this year when espn sold ea the rights to its tv branding and on-air talent  meaning the espn games presently developed by sega will have to come to and end in their present form.  it was a massive-money deal that not only raised eyebrows but stirred active indignation in many quarters  with fans concerned that it is set to enable ea to monopolise the sports gaming landscape to an unhealthy degree. some particularly disgruntled fans set up an online petition that notched more than 18 000 virtual signatures. many of those clicking to complain were already rankled  for the espn coup happened just weeks after ea had pulled off another enormous licensing deal  controversially giving them exclusive rights to teams and personnel from america¿s national football league (nfl). so  will the sega - espn range be missed  a key reason for answering  yes  is that liking or disliking a sports game regularly comes down to personal taste  and having some options available always proves hugely handy. online soccer fans will testify to that  between bouts of arguing over which high-profile title rules supreme out of the similar-yet-hugely-different fifa 2005 and pro evolution soccer 4. on the same note  the espn 2k5 and ea sports games have so little to choose between them that picking favourites will come down to players  personal preferences and spending budget rather than any technical elements. taking hockey and basketball as examples  both publishers  efforts are phenomenally entertaining and fairly accessible. they also both look awesome  with the sega / espn versions perhaps shading things on a graphical front.  in terms of gameplay  i marginally preferred ea s nba live 2005 for basketball  and was more satisfied ice hockey-wise by espn s nhl 2k5. the espn games are a touch more arcade-like in look and feel and are slightly easier to get into  although like their rivals  they also offer a dizzyingly-extensive array of in-game tricks and overall challenge modes that should be enough to quench thirsts of even the most die-hard of sports fans. perhaps the most interesting aspect of the espn deal will be seeing how it affects the presentation of ea s future titles. the front-end decoration of ea s games has become something of an art-form in itself  loaded with slick visuals and oodles of licensed music. they are also immediately identifiable as coming from the ea stable  and the inevitable compulsion to add an espn look will no doubt change that in various ways. what is a shame is that the espn titles took similar care about framing the gameplay with an authentic setting - their preambles look and sound much like they would on tv. they are neat and excellent-value games in their current form  and combining them with ea s own established brand should produce a truly formidable beast.
638,nintendo ds makes its euro debut nintendo s ds handheld game console has officially gone on sale in europe.  many stores around the uk opened at midnight to let keen gamers get their hands on the device. the two-screen clamshell gadget costs £99 (149 euros) and 15 games are available for it at launch  some featuring well-known characters such as super mario and rayman. the ds spearheads nintendo s attempt to continue its dominance of the handheld gaming market.  since going on sale in japan and the us at the end of 2004  nintendo has sold almost 4m ds consoles.  part of this popularity may be due to the fact that the ds can run any of the catalogue of 700 games produced for nintendo s gameboy advance handheld. games for the ds are expected to cost between £19 and £29. about 130 games for the ds are in development.  as well as having two screens  one of which is controlled by touch  the ds also lets players take on up to 16 other people via wireless. a  download play  option means ds owners can take each other on even if only one of them owns a copy of a particular game. other ds owners can also be sent text messages and drawings. nintendo is also planning to release a media adapter for the handheld so it can play music and video. five virgin megastores and 150 game shops were expected to open early on friday morning to let people buy a ds.  we know that customers want it as soon as it s released - and that means the minute  not the day   said robert quinn  game s uk sales director.  but nintendo will only have sole control of europe s handheld gaming market for a few weeks because soon sony is expected to release its psp console. although nintendo is aiming for younger players and the psp is more for older gamers  it is likely that the two firms will be competing for many of the same customers. sony s psp represents a real threat to nintendo because of the huge number of playstation owners around the world and the greater flexibility of the sleek black gadget. the psp uses small discs for games  can play music and movies without the need for add-ons and also supports short-range wireless play. when it goes on sale the psp is likely to cost between £130 and £200.
541,bank holds interest rate at 4.75% the bank of england has left interest rates on hold again at 4.75%  in a widely-predicted move.  rates went up five times from november 2003 - as the bank sought to cool the housing market and consumer debt - but have remained unchanged since august. recent data has indicated a slowdown in manufacturing and consumer spending  as well as in mortgage approvals. and retail sales disappointed over christmas  with analysts putting the drop down to less consumer confidence.  rising interest rates and the accompanying slowdown in the housing market have knocked consumers  optimism  causing a sharp fall in demand for expensive goods  according to a report earlier this week from the british retail consortium. the brc said britain s retailers had endured their worst christmas in a decade.   today s no change decision is correct   said david frost  director general of the british chambers of commerce (bcc).  but  if there are clear signs that the economy slows  the mpc should be ready to take quick corrective action and cut rates.  dismal reports from the retail trade about christmas sales are worrying  if they indicate a more general weakening in consumer spending.   mr frost added:  the housing market outlook remains highly uncertain.  it is widely accepted that  if house prices start falling more sharply  the risks facing the economy will worsen considerably.  cbi chief economist ian mccafferty said the economy had  slowed in recent months in response to rate rises  but that it was difficult to gauge from the christmas period the likely pace of activity through the summer.  the bank is having to juggle the emergence of inflationary pressures  driven by a tight labour market and buoyant commodity prices  against the risk of an over-abrupt slowdown in consumer activity   he said.  interest rates are likely to remain on hold for some time.   on thursday there was more gloomy news on the manufacturing front  as the office for national (ons) statistics revealed british manufacturing output unexpectedly fell in november - for the fifth month in the past six. the ons said manufacturing output dropped 0.1% in november  matching a similar unrevised fall in october and confounding economists  expectations of a 0.3% rise. manufacturers  organisation  the eef  said it expected the hold in interest rates to continue in the near future. it also said there was evidence that manufacturers  confidence may be waning as the outlook for the world economy becomes more uncertain.   so far the evidence suggests that last year s rate increases have helped to rebalance the economy without damaging the recovery in manufacturing   said eef chief economist  steve radley.  however  should the business outlook start to deteriorate  the bank should stand ready to cut rates.  some economists have predicted rates will drop later in the year  although others feel the bank may still think there is a need for a rise to 5% before that happens. the bank remains concerned about the long-term risks posed by personal debt - which is rising at 15% a year - if economic conditions worsen.
2190,mobile networks seek turbo boost third-generation mobile (3g) networks need to get faster if they are to deliver fast internet surfing on the move and exciting new services.  that was one of the messages from the mobile industry at the 3gsm world congress in cannes last week. fast 3g networks are here but the focus has shifted to their evolution into a higher bandwidth service  says the global mobile suppliers association. at 3gsm  siemens showed off a system that transmits faster mobile data. the german company said data could be transmitted at one gigabit a second - up to 20 times faster than current 3g networks. the system is not available commercially yet  but motorola  the us mobile handset and infrastructure maker  held a clinic for mobile operators on hsdpa (high speed downlink packet access)  a high-speed  high bandwidth technology available now. early hsdpa systems typically offer around two megabits per second (mbps) compared with less than 384 kilobits per second (kbps) on standard 3g networks.   high-speed downlink packet access (hsdpa) - sometimes called super 3g - will be vital for profitable services like mobile internet browsing and mobile video clips   according to a report published by uk-based research consultancy analysys. a number of companies are developing the technology. nokia and canada-based wireless communication products company sierra wireless recently agreed to work together on high speed downlink packet access. the two companies aim to jointly market the hsdpa solution to global network operator customers.   while hsdpa theoretically enables data rates up to a maximum of 14mbps  practical throughputs will be lower than this in wide-area networks   said dr alastair brydon  author of the analysys report: pushing beyond the limits of 3g with hsdpa and other enhancements.  the typical average user rate in a real implementation is likely to be in the region of one megabit per second which  even at this lower rate  will more than double the capacity... when compared to basic wcdma [3g]   he added. motorola has conducted five trials of its technology and says speeds of 2.9mbps have been recorded at the edge of an outdoor 3g cell using a single hsdpa device. but some mobile operators are opting for a technology called evolution  data optimised (ev-do).  us operator sprint ordered a broadband data upgrade to its 3g network at the end of last year. we are  expanding our network and deploying ev-do technology to meet customer demand for faster wireless speeds   said oliver valente  sprint s vice president for technology development  when the contract was announced. as part of $3bn in multi-year contracts announced late last year  sprint will spend around $1bn on ev-do technology from lucent technologies  nortel networks and motorola that provides average data speeds of 0.3-0.5 megabits a second  and peak download rates of 2.4mbps. mmo2  the uk-based operator with services in the uk  ireland and germany  has opted for technology based on hsdpa. using technology from lucent  it will offer data speeds of 3.6mbps from next summer on its isle of man 3g network  and will eventually support speeds of up to 14.4mbps. us operator cingular wireless is also adopting hsdpa  using technology from lucent alongside equipment from siemens and ericsson.  siemens  plans for a one gigabit network may be more than a user needs today  but christoph caselitz  president of the mobile networks division at the firm says that:  by the time the next generation of mobile communication debuts in 2015  the need for transmission capacities for voice  data  image and multimedia is conservatively anticipated to rise by a factor of 10.  siemens - in collaboration with the fraunhofer german-sino lab for mobile communications and the institute for applied radio system technology - has souped up mobile communications by using three transmitting and four receiving antennae  instead of the usual one. this enables a data transmission  such as sending a big file or video  to be broken up into different flows of data that can be sent simultaneously over one radio frequency band. the speeds offered by 3g mobile seemed fast at the time mobile operators were paying huge sums for 3g licences. but today  instead of connecting to the internet by slow  dial-up phone connection  many people are used to broadband networks that offer speeds of 0.5 megabits a second - much faster than 3g. this means users are likely to find 3g disappointing unless the networks are souped up. if they aren t  those lucrative  power users   such as computer geeks and busy business people will avoid them for all but the most urgent tasks  reducing the potential revenues available to mobile operators. but one gigabit a second systems will not be available immediately. siemens says that though the system works in the laboratory  it still has to assess the mobility of multiple-antennae devices and conduct field trials. a commercial system could be as far away as 2012  though siemens did not rule out an earlier date.
1936,lib dems stress budget trust gap public trust in the handling of the economy can only be restored if gordon brown opens up his books for unbiased inspection  say the lib dems.  city experts say there is a £10bn  black hole  in the public finances  a claim denied by the chancellor. lib dem spokesman vince cable said the public did not know who to believe and the national audit office should judge. responding to the pre-budget report  mr cable also attacked labour s  unfair  and over-complicated taxes.  in his report  mr brown insisted he was on course to meet his  golden rule  of borrowing only to invest  rather than for day-to-day spending  over the course of the economic cycle. mr cable said people did not know whether to believe the chancellor or the consensus among experts which said the rule would be broken.  there is an issue of credibility and trust   he said.  we cannot have a continuation of a situation where the chancellor sets his own tests and then marks them.  what we need is the equivalent of a thorough ofsted inspection of the government s accounts.  he asked what the government had to hide.  mr cable also accused the chancellor of ducking tough choices. he argued:  there are serious challenges ahead from the falling dollar and from the rapid downturn in the uk housing market and rising personal debt. but they have not been confronted.  mr brown confirmed he was setting aside another £520m for the conflicts in iraq and afghanistan. mr cable compared that new cost with the £500m needed for britain s role in the entire first gulf war - when 80% of the bill had been met through help from european and arab nations. he suggested keeping british troops in iraq could cost another £1bn with the government also planning to spend at least £3bn for identity cards. the current economic climate meant britain could not afford the  reckless  george bush-style tax cutting spree  planned by the tories  he said. instead  what was needed was simple and fair taxation rather than the  complete mess  produced by mr brown s endless tinkering.  mr cable said 40% of all pensioners were now paying marginal tax rates of 50%. and one-and-a-half million hard working families were paying 60% marginal tax rates. with that record  he asked why ministers attacked lib dem plans for a new 50% tax rate for the  very rich  - those earning more than £100 000 a year. mr brown earmarked £1bn to help keep down council tax rises next year. but the lib dem spokesman questioned whether that money was being found from cuts to education and health. he urged the government to scrap the  grossly unfair  tax completely. the lib dems want it replaced with a local income tax. in response  mr brown stressed the iraq money came from a reserve funds. it was because he had rejected previous lib dem proposals  such as scrapping the new deal  that britain s economy was successful  claimed mr brown.
1293,home loan approvals rising again the number of mortgages approved in the uk has risen for the first time since may last year  according to lending figures from the bank of england.  new loans in december rose to 83 000  slightly higher than november s nine-year low of 77 000. mortgage lending rose by £7.1bn in december  up from a £6.4bn rise in november. the figures contradict a survey from the british bankers  association  which said approvals were at a five-year low.  analysts say the figures show the market may be stabilising but still point to further house price softness.  the modest rise in mortgage approvals and lending in december reinforces the impression that the housing market is currently slowing steadily rather than sharply   said global insight analyst howard archer  commenting on the boe s figures. the bba believes that the property market is continuing to cool down. changes to mortgage regulation may have artificially depressed figures in november  thus flattering the december figures  analysts said. in october last year  new rules came into force  which meant some lenders were forced to withdraw mortgage products temporarily in november and defer some lending until they had made sure they had complied with the rules properly. separately  the bank of england said that consumer credit rose by £1.5bn in december  more than the £1.4bn expected and above the £1.4bn reported in the previous month.
2181,campbell lifts lid on united feud arsenal s sol campbell has called the rivalry between manchester united and the gunners  bitter and personal .  past encounters have stirred up plenty of ill-feeling between the sides and they meet again at highbury on tuesday.  it is just more bitter and personal against united   the defender told the guardian newspaper.  there s an edge.  after all that has happened  if we beat them it will be one of our sweetest ever wins  especially because of how we lost to them up there.  last october  arsenal lost 2-0 at old trafford  which ended a record 49-match unbeaten league run and sparked a mini-crisis  with the gunners winning only three of their next 10 games.   it had a psychological impact on us  but again because of the way we were defeated   added the 30-year-old  referring to a controversial penalty award for united s first goal.  that was far more upsetting  losing like that  because they just seem to get away with it. you try and balance out over the course of a season but i ve had so many rough decisions against them you begin to wonder.  with tensions spilling over afterwards - united boss sir alex ferguson was allegedly pelted with pizza in the players  tunnel - there is little surprise that so much is riding on the return encounter on.  everyone at arsenal has been waiting for this game   said campbell.  we are up for this one.   speaking on his long-term plans  campbell signalled his intent to move abroad before he turns 35.  i m 30 now and in five years  time i won t be in this country - that s definite.  italy looks good to me because it would suit my kind of football. spain is an option but the idea of tasting a new culture and learning another language excites me the most. i m starting a little with french  of course.
1329,brown visits slum on africa trip chancellor gordon brown has visited kenya s biggest shantytown as he opened a week-long visit to africa.  mr brown s trip is designed to highlight how the uk wants to make africa s problems a priority of its chairmanship of the g8 this year. he will see an hiv/aids orphanage in tanzania and a women s credit union in mozambique before chairing a meeting of the commission for africa in cape town. at slums in narobi on wednesday  he said education needs had to be tackled.  speaking outside the olympic primary school  mr brown said:  it is simply not acceptable in the modern age for the rest of the world to stand by and have hundreds of millions of children not getting the chance at education.  he pointed to international plans to invest $10bn for education in africa over the next decade. the school is on the edge of kibera  where 800 000 live often in huts made of mud  scrap metal and cardboard. mr brown s aides say he wants to find out more about the kenyan government s education policies  which included introducing free primary education in early 2003. the chancellor has already unveiled proposals for a g8 aid package which he has likened to the marshall plan used by the united states to rebuild europe after world war two. the trip follows claims of infighting between mr brown and tony blair detailed in a new book. conservative leader michael howard is expected to seize on those reports at prime minister s questions at 1200 gmt on wednesday.
146,industrial output falls in japan japanese industrial output fell in october while unemployment rose  casting further doubt on the strength of the country s economic recovery.  production dropped 1.6% in october  reflecting a decline in exports  while unemployment levels edged up 0.1% to 4.7%  slightly higher than forecast. the economy has grown for six quarters but growth slowed dramatically in the last quarter amid weaker global demand. japan s government remains optimistic due to strong domestic demand.  analysts had been forecasting a 0.1% rise in month on month industrial output.  according to figures from the ministry of economy  trade and industry (meti)  the decline was led by a fall in demand for electronic parts for mobile phones and digital televisions. although inventories fell 0.7% month on month  they were 36% higher than a year ago.  it s a sign that the economy s adjustment phase is stronger than expected   said takashi yamanaka  an economist with ufj bank. japan downgraded its overall economic assessment earlier this month for the first time in a year.  growth slowed to 0.3% in the quarter ending september 30  down from 6.3% in the first quarter of 2004. experts believe the economy -which stagnated for most of the 1990s -may be entering a softer patch on the back of rising oil prices and the falling dollar. japanese government officials played down the latest data  arguing that domestic consumer demand was still resilient.  the outlook for november is positive so i don t think one can say that conditions have worsened just because of the fall in october   said a meti official. despite the rise in unemployment  jobless figures are still some way below historical highs of recent years. the comparatively weak economic date preyed on shares with the nikkei down 1% in afternoon trade.
89,cult band kasabian surge forward indie dance band kasabian built up a cult following throughout 2004 to secure three brit award nominations.  the four-piece leicester band blends dark electronics with rock  earning kasabian places on the best british group  rock act and live act shortlists. they have also earned a reputation as outspoken and charismatic  in contrast to fellow brit nominees such as keane and snow patrol.  british music needs a kick up the arse and britain needs a new band to breathe life into the british people again   declared kasabian s singer tom meighan.   no-one s doing it at the minute. music feels like it s in the afterlife right now. we don t want people to give up on it.  the serpent s going to rise from the sea and scare all the pirates away!  meighan grew up in leicester with kasabian songwriter/guitarist sergio pizzorno and bassist chris edwards  a trio which began making music from the age of 17.  they enlisted guitarist and keyboard player christopher karloff after spotting him in a pub.  we saw his long sideburns and thought  hey  he looks the part  we ll ask him    said meighan. inspired by britpop and a mutual love of hardcore  an early 1990s genre that fused house music with hip hop beats and a dark sensibility  they added an electronic element to the traditional guitar sound.  we got a computer and we cut rock n roll up  because there s no point in going back to how it was   said meighan.  it s all about new ideas and creativity.   the band s original approach is reflected in its name  inspired by linda kasabian - the getaway driver of us serial killer charles manson. coincidentally it is also the armenian term for  butcher . kasabian moved into a remote farmhouse in rutland to record their debut album  benefiting from its isolation but also managing to sneak in a few parties while they were there. signed to the rca record label  kasabian tested the water with two singles  club foot and lsf  which reached numbers 19 and 10 in the uk singles chart respectively.  they built up their following on the summer festival circuit  opening both glastonbury and t in the park  and at a series of  guerilla gigs  at unusual venues including half time orange  a pub next to leicester city football club s headquarters. kasabian s self-titled album was released last september to widespread critical acclaim  its indie dance stance drawing comparisons to the stone roses  primal scream and the happy mondays.  regarding it as  both a fiery assertion of rock  n  roll ethics and proof that a siege mentality is alive and well in the badlands of rutland water   the nme s praise was typical of the album s reception. as 2004 progressed kasabian would score a further two hits - processed beats and cutt off - and embark upon a well-received uk tour.  we take our music seriously  definitely  but we want to have fun with it   said pizzorno.  this is not a job to us   added meighan.  this is the best life we could ever have. this is what it s all about and without it we d be lost souls. but music needs us as well.
1627,high fuel prices hit ba s profits british airways has blamed high fuel prices for a 40% drop in profits.  reporting its results for the three months to 31 december 2004  the airline made a pre-tax profit of £75m ($141m) compared with £125m a year earlier. rod eddington  ba s chief executive  said the results were  respectable  in a third quarter when fuel costs rose by £106m or 47.3%. ba s profits were still better than market expectation of £59m  and it expects a rise in full-year revenues.  to help offset the increased price of aviation fuel  ba last year introduced a fuel surcharge for passengers.  in october  it increased this from £6 to £10 one-way for all long-haul flights  while the short-haul surcharge was raised from £2.50 to £4 a leg. yet aviation analyst mike powell of dresdner kleinwort wasserstein says ba s estimated annual surcharge revenues - £160m - will still be way short of its additional fuel costs - a predicted extra £250m. turnover for the quarter was up 4.3% to £1.97bn  further benefiting from a rise in cargo revenue. looking ahead to its full year results to march 2005  ba warned that yields - average revenues per passenger - were expected to decline as it continues to lower prices in the face of competition from low-cost carriers. however  it said sales would be better than previously forecast.  for the year to march 2005  the total revenue outlook is slightly better than previous guidance with a 3% to 3.5% improvement anticipated   ba chairman martin broughton said. ba had previously forecast a 2% to 3% rise in full-year revenue.  it also reported on friday that passenger numbers rose 8.1% in january. aviation analyst nick van den brul of bnp paribas described ba s latest quarterly results as  pretty modest .  it is quite good on the revenue side and it shows the impact of fuel surcharges and a positive cargo development  however  operating margins down and cost impact of fuel are very strong   he said. since the 11 september 2001 attacks in the united states  ba has cut 13 000 jobs as part of a major cost-cutting drive.  our focus remains on reducing controllable costs and debt whilst continuing to invest in our products   mr eddington said.  for example  we have taken delivery of six airbus a321 aircraft and next month we will start further improvements to our club world flat beds.  ba s shares closed up four pence at 274.5 pence.
1123,turkey knocks six zeros off lira turkey is to relaunch its currency on saturday  knocking six zeros off the lira in the hope of boosting trade and powering its growing economy.  the change will see the end of such dizzyingly-high denominations as five million lira - enough for a short taxi ride - and the 20m note  worth $15. these valuations were the product of decades of inflation which  as recently as 2001  was as high as 70%. inflation has since been tamed and economic prospects are improving.  the currency - officially to be known as the new lira - will be launched at midnight on 1 january. from that point  the one-million lira note will become the new one-lira coin. the government hopes the change will be seen as a promise of growing economic stability as turkey embarks on the long process of trying to join the european union.  on an everyday level  it is hoped the change will stimulate more international trade and end confusion among foreign investors and turks alike.  the transition to the new turkish lira shows clearly that our economy has broken the vicious circle that it was imprisoned in for long years   said sureyya serdengecti  head of the turkish central bank.  the new lira is also the symbol of the stable economy that we dreamed of for long years.   the turkish economy teetered on the brink of collapse in 2001 when the lira plunged in value and two million people lost their jobs.  turkey had to turn to the international monetary fund for financial assistance  accepting a $18bn loan in return for pushing through a wide-ranging austerity programme. these tough measures have borne fruit. inflation fell below 10% earlier this year for the first time in decades while exports are up 30% this year. meanwhile  the economy is expanding at a healthy rate  with 7.9% growth expected in 2004. the government hopes that the new currency will cement the country s economic progress  two weeks after eu leaders set a date for the start of turkey s accession talks.  the slimmed-down lira is likely to be widely welcomed by the business community.   the turkish lira has been like funny money   tevfik aksoy  chief turkish economist for deutsche bank  told associated press.  now at least in cosmetic terms it will look like real currency.  however  some do not feel quite so happy about seeing the nominal value of their investments reduced.  if a person has 10 billion lira in investments this will suddenly decrease   shop owner hayriye evren  told associated press.  this will definitely affect people psychologically.
1233,arsenal through on penalties arsenal win 4-2 on penalties  the spanish goalkeeper saved from alan quinn and jon harley as arsenal sealed a quarter-final trip to bolton with a 4-2 victory on penalties. lauren  patrick vieira  freddie ljungberg and ashley cole scored for arsenal  while andy gray and phil jagielka were on target for the blades. michael tonge and harley wasted chances for the underdogs  but paddy kenny was inspired to keep arsenal at bay. arsenal  stripped of attacking talent such as thierry henry and dennis bergkamp  partnered 17-year-old italian striker arturo lupoli with ljungberg up front. it was a revamped arsenal line-up  and they were almost a goal behind within seconds as tonge wasted a glorious chance. gray ran free down the right flank  and his cross left tonge with the simplest of chances  but he blazed over the top from six yards.  arsenal were barely seen as an attacking force in the opening 45 minutes  although ljungberg turned a half-chance wide after good work by cesc fabregas. arsene wenger introduced quincy owusu-abeyie for the ineffective lupoli at half-time  and the pacy dutch youngster had an immediate impact. he ran clear after good work by mathieu flamini  but his finish was tame and kenny saved easily. owusu-abeyie then fired in a testing cross  which was met by fabregas  and it needed a desperate clearance by kenny s legs to save the blades. arsenal were now totally dominant  and were desperately unlucky not to take the lead after 62 minutes when fabregas crashed a rising drive against the bar from 20 yards. it then took a brilliant tackle by jagielka to deny ljungberg as he was poised to strike. arsenal continued to press  and once again kenny was called into action with eight minutes left  diving low to clutch another close-range effort from fabregas. neil warnock s side almost snatched victory in the dying seconds when derek geary s cross found harley at the far post  but his diving header was brilliantly turned over by almunia. owusu-abeyie s pace was causing all sorts of problems for the blades  and as extra-time began  another surging run into the penalty area almost set up a chance for ljungberg. pascal cygan missed arsenal s best chance after 106 minutes  blazing across the face of goal when he was unmarked at the far post. arsenal sent on jeremie aliadiere with seven minutes of extra-time left  and he almost broke the deadlock with his first touch. kolo toure s misplaced free-kick landed at his feet  but kenny once again blocked from a tight angle. arsenal laid siege to sheffield united s goal in the dying minutes  but they somehow held on to force penalties. almunia was then arsenal s hero as another brave blades cup campaign came to a losing end.  kenny  geary  morgan  bromby  harley  liddell  montgomery  jagielka  thirlwell  tonge (quinn 97)  gray.  subs not used: francis  kabba  shaw  haystead.  morgan.  almunia  lauren  cygan  senderos  cole  fabregas (toure 90)  vieira  flamini (aliadiere 113)  clichy  lupoli (owusu-abeyie 45)  ljungberg.  subs not used: eboue  taylor.  clichy  lauren  senderos.  27 595  p dowd (staffordshire).
580,playstation 3 chip to be unveiled details of the chip designed to power sony s playstation 3 console will be released in san francisco on monday.  sony  ibm and toshiba  who have been working on the cell processor for three years  will unveil the chip at a technology conference. the chip is reported to be up to 10 times faster than current processors. it is being designed for use in graphics workstations  the new playstation console  and has been described as a supercomputer on a chip. sony has said the cell processor could be used to bridge the gap between movies and video games. special effects and graphics designed for films could be ported for use directly in a video game  sony told an audience at the e3 exhibition in los angeles last year.  cell could also be marketed as an ideal technology for televisions and supercomputers  and everything in between  said kevin krewell  the editor in chief of microprocessor report. the chip will be made of several different processing cores that work on tasks together. the playstation 3 is expected in 2006 but developers are expecting to get prototypes early next year to tune games that will appear on it at launch. details of the chip will be released at the international solid state circuits conference in san francisco. some details have already emerged  however. when put inside powerful computer servers  the cell consortium expects it to be capable of handling 16 trillion floating point operations  or calculations  every second.  the chip has also been refined to be able to handle the detailed graphics common in games and the data demands of films and broadband media. ibm said it would start producing the chip in early 2005 at manufacturing plants in the us. the first machines off the line using the cell processor will be computer workstations and servers. a working version of the ps3 is due to be shown off in may 2005 but a full launch of the next generation console is not expected to start until 2006.  in the future  all forms of digital content will be converged and fused onto the broadband network   said ken kutaragi  chief operating officer of sony  said last year.  current pc architecture is nearing its limits   he added.
591,ba to suspend two saudi services british airways is to halt its flights from london heathrow to jeddah and riyadh in saudi arabia from 27 march.  the airline said the decision was a commercial one due to reduced passenger demand for the services. ba currently operates four flights per week from heathrow to jeddah  and three weekly journeys to riyadh. it suspended flights to saudi arabia for three weeks in autumn 2003 after a government warning about a  threat to uk aviation interests in saudi arabia .  ba will now suspend the saudi flights - which it says will remain  under constant review  - from 27 march.  the decision to suspend flights between the uk and saudi arabia is a difficult one to make as we have enjoyed a long history of flying between the two countries   said ba director of commercial planning  robert boyle.  however  the routes don t currently make a profitable contribution to our business and we are unable to sustain them while this remains the case.  passengers with flights booked after the suspension date will be contacted by ba for alternative arrangements to be made.
1933,anelka apologises for criticism manchester city striker nicolas anelka has issued an apology for criticising the ambitions of the club.  anelka was quoted in a french newspaper as saying he would like to play in the champions league for a bigger club. but chairman john wardle said:  i ve spoken to nicolas and he s apologised for anything that might have been mistakenly taken from the french press.  we are a big club. nicolas told me that he agrees with me that we are a big club.  wardle was speaking at the club s annual general meeting  where he also confirmed the club had not received any bids for the former arsenal and real madrid striker. the club still owe french club psg £5m from the purchase of anelka in may 2002. he has been linked with a move to barcelona and liverpool  and reds skipper steven gerrard also revealed he is an admirer from his time on loan at anfield. but wardle added:  there s been no bids for nicolas anelka. no-one has come to me and said i would like to buy nicolas anelka.   if a bid comes in for nicolas anelka i will speak to the board and then speak to kevin keegan.  if there was a bid and it was a bid of substance and worth taking then between us we d decide.  we still owe some money on nicolas which we have clear out  so it would have to be above that.  wardle did stress that the club was not inviting any offers for england winger shaun wright-phillips. he added:  i ve no intention of selling shaun wright-phillips.  if someone comes with a silly bid i ll have to discuss it.  but we re not putting him on the shelf to sell. he is the heart and soul of this club and has his heart and sole in this club  and he would be very upset if i put him in the shop window.  he was an academy kid here  he s just signed a new four-year deal  i don t think he d do that unless he wanted to play for manchester city football club.  city recently announced debts of £62m  but wardle confirmed they would try and find funds to bring in players in the january transfer window. he said:  like kevin i d like to see some players come in. we ve got to see what we can do - whether it s a on a bosman or not.  we will try to be creative to generate some funds. but maybe we have to start looking at clubs like everton and bolton to see how they have been dealing in the transfer market and do a similar type of thing.
911,patti smith to host arts festival rock star patti smith has been made artistic director of this year s meltdown festival  to be held at london s south bank centre in june.  the punk pioneer follows morrissey  david bowie and nick cave in directing 15 days of concerts and events. smith has yet to decide the line-up for meltdown  which begins on 11 june.  i want to touch on all aspects of our culture  perhaps with readings from genet  and i have an idea for jeremy irons to read proust   she said.  the 58-year-old us singer of because the night told the observer newspaper that the festival would be her response to these  material  exploitative and greedy times .  it is important we explore the new  but we should also salute the best art there is  aesthetically and spiritually   she said. last year s meltdown festival  directed by the ex-smiths star morrissey  included appearances by singer jane birkin  nancy sinatra and playwright alan bennett. he also persuaded punk band the new york dolls to reform for a reunion show.
971,church urges nelly show boycott church ministers are trying to prevent rapper nelly performing in arkansas  saying they do not want his  vile and filthy lyrics  in their town.  more than 20 jonesboro ministers urged music fans to boycott nelly s 12 march concert at arkansas state university in a bid to have it cancelled.  jonesboro is a wonderful city because of what does not come here   said the reverend adrian rodgers. but a venue spokesman said more than 5 500 tickets had been sold so far.  mr rodgers  of the fullness of joy church  said he was concerned about the rapper s lyrics that include references to drugs  sex and violence  and songs that the minister said were demeaning to women. ministers were worried that bringing such acts to jonesboro would lead to problems.  tear the tickets up   mr rodgers said.  do not go and do not allow your children to go.   tim dean  director of the arkansas state university venue  said ticket sales had been brisk.  it would appear that with ticket sales over 5 000  many others have expressed their right to find nelly s music entertaining and worth spending their time and money on   he said. nelly has sold more than 30 million singles and albums worldwide  and in september 2004 simultaneously occupied the number one and two positions in the us albums chart. he has had 12 uk hit singles  including hot in herre  dilemma and recent number one over and over.
1154,beattie return calms attack fears everton striker james beattie has been declared fit for training on tuesday  despite suffering an alleged assault last saturday.  beattie  27  is not believed to be as seriously hurt as some reports have suggested after being  the victim of an unprovoked assault  in birmingham. he was on a night out with his girlfriend and two friends following everton s 3-1 win over aston villa.  he was shaken but not badly injured   said everton spokesman ian ross. he added:  he did speak to the police but will not be pressing charges.  he has spoken to manager david moyes about what happened.  beattie was suspended for the win at aston villa after his red card against chelsea and he will be available again for the merseyside derby at liverpool on 20 march.
1622,bookmakers back aviator for oscar the aviator has been tipped by uk bookmakers as the favourite to win the best film award at this year s oscars.  ray star jamie foxx is clear favourite in the best actor category while million dollar baby s hilary swank is tipped to win the best actress prize. bookmakers predict cate blanchett will be named best supporting actress. william hill and ladbrokes have given the aviator 4/9 and 8/13 odds of winning best film  with million dollar baby in second place at 9/4.  bet direct and bet 365 also tip the aviator  with the majority of bookmakers regarding finding neverland as the outsider. the aviator is also widely tipped to win the best director prize for martin scorsese. british star clive owen is second favourite at william hill to take the best supporting actor award  for his performance in closer. the favourite in that category is sideways star thomas hayden church. vera drake star imelda staunton has 5/1 odds of winning the best actress oscar at bet 365 and william hill  ahead of fellow uk star kate winslet who has odds of 25/1 at william hill.  mike leigh is the outsider in the best director category for vera drake  a position he holds jointly with ray s taylor hackford at bookmakers vc bet. this year s academy awards will be handed out in hollywood on 27 february. x factor judge sharon osbourne will present sky television s live coverage of the event. meanwhile  clive owen s best supporting actor nomination has led a bookmaker to shorten his odds of becoming the next james bond. he has moved from 4/1 to 5/2 favourite to play 007  with hugh jackman and ewan mcgregor joint second favourite.  clive owen s nomination has sparked a betting frenzy from james bond fans  who feel that his heightened global recognition will have done his chances of becoming the next bond a world of good   said william hill spokesman rupert adams.
539,radcliffe eyes hard line on drugs paula radcliffe has called for all athletes found guilty on drugs charges to be treated as criminals.  the marathon world record holder believes more needs to be done to rid athletics of the  suspicions and innuendoes  which greet any fast time.  doping in sport is a criminal offence and should be treated as such   the 30-year-old told the sunday times.  it not only cheats other athletes but also cheats promoters  sponsors and the general public.   radcliffe s comments come at a time when several american sports stars are under suspicion of steroid use.  being caught in possession of a performance-enhancing drugs should carry a penalty   she added.   the current system does not detect many of the substances being abused by athletes.  this means that often athletes do not know if they are competing on a level playing field  if their hard work and sacrifice is being trumped by an easier scientific route.  often  when an athlete puts in a good performance  they are subjected to suspicions and innuendoes instead of praise.  having been on the receiving end of accusations like this i can testify as to how much this hurts.
1131,what price for  trusted pc security   you can now buy  trusted computers   but can we really trust the pc vendors  asks technology analyst bill thompson.  if you have recently bought an ibm thinkvantage computer  a dell optiplex  or one of a whole range of laptops from toshiba  hp/compaq or samsung then you may have got more for your money than you realised. inside your shiny new pc is an extra chip called the trusted platform module (tpm) that can be used for a range of hardware-based security features. eventually the tpm will be built into the main processor itself  and if the trusted computing group has its way then you will find one in every piece of hardware you own  from mobile phones to tv set top boxes to children s toys. but for the moment it is a separate piece of hardware  providing enhanced security features to programs that know how to use them. and as part of a well-designed network system  it can provide a lot more security than we enjoy today. a big advantage of the tpm is that it is hardware-based.  at the moment most of us rely on software to keep our information safe and secure. it might be password-protected user accounts  data encryption programs or a firewall  but it all relies on program code running on an inherently insecure processor.  hardware security is less common  even if it is a lot safer. this is partly because it is more expensive to give someone a smartcard than a password  but also because its more work for users  systems administrators and managers. as a result we settle for second best. so when it comes to computer security  trusted systems could be a major step forward. after all  if you have a laptop that will only run programs that have been digitally signed then it will be a lot harder for virus writers to get their malicious code to run. and if all your files are locked automatically then even if you get your computer stolen your personal data will be safeguarded. at the moment support for trusted hardware is not built into major operating systems. instead you have to use special software  like hp s protecttools or wave systems  embassy. this provides file encryption  password management and identity protection  usually for business users who connect to company networks. full support for the trusted computing specification will not be available from microsoft until the next release of windows   longhorn . this will include what microsoft  in a typical act of obscurantism  calls the  next generation secure computing base   and it will give user-level programs access to the trusted computing hardware. when that happens we can expect to see a lot of publicity around the new capabilities  and no doubt the windows security centre will encourage users to turn on their trusted computing capability just as they turn on their firewall. however there is a downside to the increased security from viruses  spyware and data theft that this will provide.  because the trusted computing base is also used to make digital rights management (drm) systems more secure  this will give content providers a lot more control over what we can do with music  movies and books that we have bought from them. we have seen recently how allowing digital rights management services into our lives can lead to unwelcome consequences. users of apple s itunes used to be able to stream the music they had brought to up to five other itunes users  a great way of letting your mates discover your music collection.  but the latest version of itunes limits this capability  just as an earlier upgrade reduced the number of times you could burn a selected playlist of purchased songs to a cd. another took away the ability to play songs downloaded from real s harmony service on your ipod. apple can do this because they wrote the software and they control the rights management. once it is embedded in trusted hardware it will be even harder for dedicated programmers to find their way around these restrictions and give us back the fair use rights that should be guaranteed under copyright law. similarly  users of tivo digital video recorders have found that they cannot record some shows  and other programmes that they have recorded are automatically deleted after a day. this happens because of changes that tivo have made to their software  and the users cannot control it. one wonders whether hardware-based drm will work for those who believe that locking-down digital content is a bad idea  and that the flexibility of copyright law is something that should be embraced and not taken away. it will not work because of the fundamental flaw at the heart of the system: in order for the purchaser to view the content it has to be unlocked. once it is unlocked then someone  somewhere  will figure out a way to make a copy of the unlocked version. and once an unlocked version leaks onto the network it will be uncontrollable. the efforts going into drm would be much better spent building efficient distribution services  finding business models that are based on trusting your customers  and offering high quality downloads at fair prices. what we want is not so much a trusted computing platform as a trusted customer platform. the record companies and the film industry need to recognise that most of us  most of the time  will pay a reasonable amount for good quality material. they will benefit more by building a market in which i can share songs with my friends  record shows i want to watch later  and burn cds for my kids; a market which respects the spirit of copyright law and does not seek to replace it by restrictive contracts or end user agreements. we need to ensure that trusted computing remains under the control of the users and is not used to take away the freedoms we enjoy today.  bill thompson is a regular commentator on the bbc world service programme go digital.
1839,minimum rate for foster parents foster carers are to be guaranteed a minimum allowance to help cover their costs  the government has announced.  payment levels vary from area to area  with some carers getting just £50 a week for clothes  food and other costs. minister for children  young people and families margaret hodge said new plans will ensure fosterers  allowances would be as fair as possible. however local authorities  which set and pay the allowances  are concerned about how the extra cash will be found. about 50 000 children live with foster families in the uk and carers have said they need more money to make ends meet.  ms hodge said:  foster carers must not be out of pocket when meeting the costs of caring for a looked after child - a crucial role in society.  we need to make sure that arrangements for paying foster carers are as fair and transparent as possible.  our proposal for a national minimum rate shows we are serious about creating a better deal for foster carers and about encouraging more people to come forward and consider fostering as a worthwhile and rewarding opportunity.  the government is seeking to amend the children bill  which passes through the commons next week  to establish a national minimum payment.  fostering network executive director robert tapsfield criticised the existing system.  there is just no logic to a system which values children differently depending on where they live.  and with a shortage of over 8 000 foster carers in england  it s not a sustainable situation to expect carers to fund foster care from their own pockets.  the charity recommends a weekly payment of £108.49 for looking after a baby. in a survey  it discovered that rates paid by neighbouring authorities could vary by as much as £100 per week.  the association of directors of social services (adss) said it agreed in principle with the government s plans. tony hunter  the organisation s president  said:  there are many devils and lots of details hidden within the government s proposals.  but adss fully supports proper remuneration for valued foster carers and looks forward to working with ministers  local government and the fostering organisations themselves in order to make sure a sensible and practicable policy emerges.
545,bening makes awards breakthrough film actress annette bening is up for an oscar for her starring role in the award-winning film being julia.  bening  who was born in texas in 1958  has gained prominence for a string of key roles. although an oscar has so far eluded her  her status as one of hollywood s favourite actresses remains solid. one of the biggest oscars buzzes in recent years was for bening s role as troubled carolyn burnham in 1999 s american beauty. but her deliciously neurotic portrayal of surburban life turning sour was overlooked in favour of hilary swank s leading role in boys don t cry. after opening her career in the theatre - and gaining a tony award nomination in 1986 - bening had a low-key spell in television. she then made her film debut as a sex-starved wife in 1988 s the great outdoors  opposite comics dan akroyd and john candy.  following a cameo in postcards from the edge  bening s breakthrough role came in 1990  playing seductive con artist myra langtry in the grifters - a role that won her an oscar nomination. despite some rave reviews  bening did not win the best supporting actress academy award.  however the high-profile performance enabled bening to capture roles in a number of big budget hollywood productions  co-starring with some of hollywood s greatest players  including robert de niro and harrison ford. but it was her role opposite warren beatty in 1991 gangster flick bugsy which had the greatest impact. bening played virginia hill  another role which won her high critical acclaim  but the film only picked up two of a staggering 12 oscar nominations.  bugsy was the start of a very significant liaison for bening - she married beatty  with whom she had a child as the couple promoted the film in europe. the couple now have four children together. a pair of contrasting yet successful performances peppered bening s career in the mid-1990s. she played michael douglas  opposite number in romantic comedy the american president  and as a  fiery  queen elizabeth i in a contemporary adaptation of shakespeare s richard iii.  bening was the first choice to play the female lead in american beauty  director sam mendes  film debut which was a critical and commercial success - but the actress had to be content with a bafta award for her strong performance. but current film being julia has made bening an award-winning actress rather than the perennial nominee  with success at the golden globes. the witty tale of revenge and love set in 1930s london sees the eponymous theatrical diva - played by bening - grow tired of her success and fall for a young american - and could be the role which finally wins her the coveted academy award.
1910,sculthorpe wants lions captaincy paul sculthorpe has admitted he would love to succeed andy farrell as great britain skipper if the wigan star does switch codes to rugby union.  sculthorpe was vice-captain in the tri-nations  and took the st helens captaincy from chris joynt last year.  i would definitely want the job - i make no bones about it   sculthorpe told bbc sport.  it s something i ve always wanted to do. i d gladly take it if it was offered to me.   the 27-year-old  who captained st helens to challenge cup success last year  said following in the footsteps of farrell would be a challenge.  andy would be a hard act to follow but it s something i m confident of being up to   he said.  the gb team isn t a one-man team. there are a lot of good young players who are pushing for places anyway.   sculthorpe said the rugby league world would understand if farrell did decide to move to rugby union.  it s a short career and you have to make of it what you can   said sculthorpe.  nobody can blame him if he does go - he s done everything in the game of rugby league.   financially it could set him up for life. if he fancies a new challenge  then who could fault him   sculthorpe also called on the rugby league authorities to have a serious look at the number of games the top players are being asked to play. sean long  sculthorpe s saints and lions team-mate  has expressed doubts about his international future  i think sean s situation is to do with the sheer number of games we re playing   he said.   the way he s looking at it is that if he can extend his career by a couple of years by not playing international rugby  then he s willing to do that.  the rfl has got to do something about the fixtures. we re playing 42 weeks of the year and it s too much.  a lot of the niggly injuries that i ve suffered with over the last couple of years have come about because of the lack of rest time.  st helens have been strongly linked with a move for brilliant young forward sonny bill williams  and sculthorpe said he would love the 19-year-old to come to knowsley road.  he s a great player - a big strong lad who can certainly hit hard in defence  but who is also very skilful   he said.  i d love him to come to st helens. who knows what might happen  but you want the best players in your team  and he s certainly one of the best players in the world.
799,fry set for role in hitchhiker s actor stephen fry is joining the cast of the forthcoming film adaptation of the hitchhiker s guide to the galaxy.  fry will provide the voice of the guide  an electronic book which accompanies the story s hero arthur dent on his travels around the galaxy. martin freeman  john malkovich  bill nighy and alan rickman are co-starring in the film  due for release in may. the late douglas adams  original 1977 scripts have also been turned into a series of successful books.   being asked to do the voice of the guide is like having your birthday on christmas day  discovering a winning lottery ticket in your stocking and having chocolate poured all over you   said fry  a self-confessed fan of the book. the film s executive producer robbie stamp said that adams  who died in 2001  would have been  delighted  with the choice of fry for the role.   his humour and intelligence are perfect for the voice of the guide   added mr stamp. adams wrote the screenplay based on his book before his premature death  while a new radio series was aired 26 years after the first broadcast and included many of the original cast members. hollywood star malkovich will play religious cult leader humma kavula  which was especially created by adams for the new film. freeman  who starred in hit bbc comedy the office  will play the role of arthur dent  who begins his intergalactic voyage following the destruction of the earth.
1016,murray returns to scotland fold euan murray has been named in the scotland training squad after an eight-week ban  ahead of saturday s six nations match with ireland.  the glasgow forward s ban for stamping ended on 2 february.  i m just happy to be back playing and be involved with the squad   said murray on monday.  hopefully i can get a couple of games under my belt and i might have a chance of playing later in the six nations. i m just glad to be part of it all.   backs: mike blair (edinburgh rugby)  andy craig (glasgow rugby)  chris cusiter (the borders)  simon danielli (the borders)  marcus di rollo (edinburgh rugby)  phil godman (edinburgh rugby)  calvin howarth (glasgow rugby)  ben hinshelwood (worcester warriors)  andrew henderson (glasgow rugby)  rory lamont (glasgow rugby)  sean lamont (glasgow rugby)  dan parks (glasgow rugby)  chris paterson (edinburgh rugby)  gordon ross (leeds tykes)  hugo southwell (edinburgh rugby)  simon webster (edinburgh rugby) forwards: ross beattie (northampton saints)  gordon bulloch (captain  glasgow rugby)  david callam (edinburgh rugby)  bruce douglas (the borders)  jon dunbar (leeds tykes)  iain fullarton (saracens)  stuart grimes (newcastle falcons)  nathan hines (edinburgh rugby)  allister hogg (edinburgh rugby)  gavin kerr (leeds tykes)  nick lloyd (saracens)  scott lawson (glasgow rugby)  euan murray (glasgow rugby)  scott murray (edinburgh rugby)  jon petrie (glasgow rugby)  robbie russell (london irish)  tom smith (northampton saints)  jason white (sale sharks).
1460,michael film signals  retirement  singer george michael has said that a new film about his life is the start of a retirement from public view.  the pop star said it would be a much more  behind the scenes affair   and called his own genre of music  dead .  i thought i should explain myself before i disappear   said michael  who was at the berlin film festival to launch the documentary. the film  a different story  chronicles michael s life and career from the 1980s and his personal struggles. the 41-year-old chart-topper told reporters in the german capital that he wanted to  move his career into a different form   but added that he does not know what it is going to be yet.   i m still going to be making music   he said  but added that he was  not going to be around . he hinted at discontent with the current state of music industry  and said:  i don t really think that there is anyone in the modern pop business who i feel i want to spar with.  michael said that the film  directed by southan morris  would put his two decades of fame into context.  it s almost as much for me as for my fans  in terms of trying to make sense of the last 22 years and bring it to a close in a proper way   he said. the documentary chronicles the highs and lows of his life in the public gaze  from his meteoric rise as one half of pop duo wham! to his arrest for lewd conduct in a los angeles toilet in 1998. the film also deals with the loss of michael s partner anselmo feleppa from an aids-related condition in 1993. a different story  which is being shown at the berlin film festival  has been screened by bbc one.
1286,police probe bnp mosque leaflet police are investigating a british national party leaflet posted to homes in south wales opposing plans for a new mosque.  anti-racism campaigners in swansea have handed copies to south wales police. swansea s muslim community is raising money to open a new mosque and community centre in the former st andrews united reform church. the building on george street has been derelict since the 1980s.  taha idris  director of the swansea bay race equality council  said his organisation contacted police after receiving complaints from the public.  i m quite shocked to see this sort of leaflet by the bnp in swansea   he said.   the bnp has tried in the past to get into swansea and this is another example of them trying again.  i am in no doubt that the bnp are not needed and not wanted here.  a south wales police spokeswoman confirmed that they were looking at the contents of the leaflet. according to the bnp s website  they have been posted to homes in the castle ward. the bnp website carries a photograph of party leader nick griffin - who lives near welshpool  mid wales - delivering the leaflet. the bnp has denied it is trying to stir up hatred of any race or religion  but argues that they should be able to debate this without fear of arrest. swansea unite against fascism (uaf) is meeting this week to plan a campaign. following the death earlier this year of kalan kawa karim  an iraqi kurd living in swansea  it organised an anti-racism march in the city that was supported by more than 1 000 people. it is planning its own mail shot campaign and may launch a petition in support of the plans for the mosque.  andy richards  of swansea uaf  said the leaflet was exactly what he had come to expect from the bnp.   the people of swansea will not put up with this.  swansea s muslim community bought the former church  just across the road from the existing mosque on st helen s road  in the late 1990s. mr idris said the community was now raising money to renovate the building.  it is a landmark building in swansea and would otherwise just crumble   he said.  it is the ideal opportunity for the building to be restored and used in the proper manner.  it will be a muslim community centre. it s a holistic place used for education  weddings  deaths and births.  he said space was limited in the current mosque and on some occasions muslims had to travel to llanelli for cultural events.
296,bush to outline  toughest  budget president bush is to send his toughest budget proposals to date to the us congress  seeking large cuts in domestic spending to lower the deficit.  about 150 federal programs could be cut or axed altogether as part of a $2.5 trillion (£1.3 trillion) package aimed at curbing the giant us budget deficit. defence spending will rise  however  while the proposals exclude the cost of continuing military operations in iraq. vice-president dick cheney said the budget was the  tightest  so far.  at the heart of the administration s fifth budget  presented to congress on monday  is an austere package of domestic measures. these would see discretionary spending rise below the projected level of inflation.  such belt-tightening is designed to tackle the massive budget deficit increases of president bush s first term. mr cheney admitted that the budget was the toughest of the bush presidency but argued it was  fair and responsible .  it is not something we have done with a meat axe  nor are we suddenly turning our back on the most needy people in our society   he said. the wars in iraq and afghanistan  increased expenditure on national security after 9/11 and the 2001 recession wiped out the budget surplus inherited by president bush in 2001 and turned it into a record deficit. the shortfall is projected to rise to $427bn in 2005.  education  environmental protection and transport initiatives are set to be scaled back as a first step towards reducing the deficit to $230bn by 2009.  most controversially  the government is seeking to cut the medicaid budget  which provides health care to the nation s poorest  by $45bn and to reduce farm subsidies by $587m. spending on defence and homeland security is set to increase  although not by as much as originally planned. president bush s proposals would see the pentagon s budget rise by $19bn to $419.3bn while homeland security would get an extra $2bn.  the budget does not include the cost of running military operations in iraq and afghanistan  for which the administration in expected to seek an extra $80bn from congress later this year.  also not featuring in the proposals is the cost of funding the administration s radical proposed overhaul of social security provision. some expects believe this could require borrowing of up to $4.5bn trillion over a twenty year period. despite the republicans holding a majority in both houses of congress  the proposals will be fiercely contested over the next few months.  john mccain  a republican senator  said he was pleased the administration was prepared to tackle the deficit.  with the deficits that we are now running  i am glad the president is coming over with a very austere budget   he said. however  democratic senator kent conrad said the proposals exposed the country to huge financial commitments beyond 2009.  the cost of everything he [president bush] advocates explodes   he said.
1345,solutions to net security fears fake bank e-mails  or phishing  and stories about id theft are damaging the potential of using the net for online commerce  say e-business experts.  trust in online security is falling as a result. almost 70% of those asked in a poll said that net firms are not doing enough to protect people. the survey of more than 1 000 people reported that 43% were not willing to hand over personal information online. it is worrying for shopaholics and firms who want to exploit the net. more people are becoming aware of online security issues but they have little confidence that companies are doing enough to counter the threats  said security firm rsa  which carried out the poll. an estimated 12 million britons now use the net as a way of managing their financial affairs. security experts say that scare stories and the vulnerabilities dogging e-commerce and e-banking are being taken seriously - by banks in particular.   i don t think the threat is overplayed   barry beal  global security manager for capgemini  told the bbc news website. he added:  the challenge for banks is to provide the customer with something that improves security but balances that with usability.  ensuring extra security measures are in place protects them too  as well as the individual  and it is up to both parties to make sure they do what is necessary to prevent fraud  he said.  card issuers will keep us informed of types of attacks and what procedure to take to protect ourselves. if we do that  they will indemnify us   he said. many believe using login details like usernames and passwords are simply not good enough anymore though. one of the biggest challenges to improving security online is how to authenticate an individual s identity. several security companies have developed methods which complement or replace passwords  which are easily compromised and easy to forget. last year  a street survey found that more than 70% of people would reveal their password for a bar of chocolate.  on average  people have to remember four different passwords. some resort to using the same one for all their online accounts. those who use several passwords often write them down and hide them in a desk or in a document on their computer. in a separate survey by rsa  80% said they were fed up with passwords and would like a better way to login to work computer systems. for many  the ideal is a single online identity that can be validated once with a series of passwords and questions  or some biometric measurement like a fingerprint or iris scan with a token like a smartcard.  activcard is just one of the many companies  like rsa security  which has been trying to come up with just that. rsa has a deal with internet provider aol that lets people pay monthly for a one-time passcode generation service. users get a physical token which automatically generates a code which stays active for 60 seconds. many companies use a token-based method already for employees to access networks securely already. activcard s method is more complex. it is currently trailing its one-time passcode generation technology with uk banks. steve ash  from activcard  told the bbc news website there are two parts to the process of identification. the most difficult is to ascertain whether an individual is who they say they are when they are online.   the end solution is to provide a method where you combine something the user knows with something they have and present those both.  the method it has developed makes use of the chip embedded in bank cards and a special card reader which can generate unique codes that are active for a specified amount of time. this can be adjusted at any time and can be active for as little as 30 seconds before it changes. it combines that with usual usernames and passwords  as well as other security questions.  you take the card  put it in the reader  enter your pin number  and a code is given.  if you wanted then to transfer funds  for instance  you would have to have the code to authorise the transaction.  the clever bit happens back at the bank s secure servers. the code is validated by the bank s systems  matching the information they expect with the customer s unique key.  each individual gets a key which is unique to them. it is a 2048-bit long number that is virtually impossible to crack   said mr ash. it means that in a typical security attack  explains mr ash  even if password information is captured by a scammer using keystroke software or just through spoof websites  they need the passcode.  by the time they go back [to use the information]  the code has expired  so they can t prove who they are   according to mr ash. in the next few years  mr ash predicts that this kind of method will be commonplace before we see biometric authentication that is acceptable for widespread use.  pcs will have readers built into them  the cost of readers will be very cheap  and more people will have the cards.  the gadgets we carry around  like personal digital assistants (pdas) and mobiles  could also have integrated card reader technology in them.  the pda or phone method is a possible alternative as people are always carrying phones around   he said.
1568,brookside creator s channel 4 bid the creator of defunct tv soap brookside has written to the culture minister to offer to buy channel 4.  phil redmond  now chairman of mersey tv  told tessa jowell he would run it with its current remit intact for the next 10 years. but media watchdog ofcom has said the the commercially funded public service broadcaster will not be privatised. a spokesman for the department for culture  media and sport said there were no plans to sell the channel.  he added that primary legislation would be required for the station to be sold off  which the government was not intending to introduce. brookside was axed in 2003 after its ratings slumped from a peak of seven million to just 1.5 million. redmond also brought teen soap hollyoaks to channel 4 and created grange hill  the school-based drama serial which was first broadcast on bbc one in 1978. he was awarded the cbe for services to drama earlier this year.
502,axa sun life cuts bonus payments life insurer axa sun life has lowered annual bonus payouts for up to 50 000 with-profits investors.  regular annual bonus rates on former axa equity & law with-profits policies are to be cut from 2% to 1% for 2004. axa blamed a poor stock market performance for the cut  adding that recent gains have not yet offset the market falls seen in 2001 and 2002. the cut will hit an estimated 3% of axa s policyholders. the rest will know their fate in march.  the cuts on axa s policies will mean a policyholder who had invested £50 a month into an endowment policy for the past 25 years would see a final maturity payout of £46 998. this equated to a annual investment growth rate of 8% axa said. with-profits policies are designed to smooth out the peaks and troughs of stock market volatility. however  heavy stock market falls throughout 2001 and 2002 forced most firms to trim bonus rates on their policies.  the stock market has grown over the past 18 months  however not enough to undo the damage that occurred during 2001 and 2002   axa spokesman mark hamilton  axa spokesman  told bbc news. axa cut payouts for the same investors last january.
1530,terror detainees win lords appeal detaining foreign terrorist suspects without trial breaks human rights laws  the uk s highest court has ruled.  in a blow to the government s anti-terror measures  the house of lords law lords ruled by an eight to one majority in favour of appeals by nine detainees. most of the men are being indefinitely held in belmarsh prison  south london. the law lords said the measures were incompatible with european human rights laws. the men will stay behind bars while ministers decide how to react. the ruling creates a major problem for charles clarke on his first day as home secretary following david blunkett s resignation. the liberal democrats say mr clarke should use the fact he is new to the job to take issue with a law established by his predecessor  david blunkett. belmarsh prison has been dubbed britain s guantanamo bay by civil rights campaigners opposed to the use of emergency anti-terror laws.  the detainees took their case to the house of lords after the court of appeal backed the home office s powers to hold them without limit or charge. the government opted out of part of the european convention on human rights concerning the right to a fair trial in order to bring in anti-terrorism legislation in response to the 11 september attacks in the us. any foreign national suspected of links with terrorism can be detained or can opt to be deported. however those detained cannot be deported if this would mean persecution in their homeland.  on thursday  senior law lord lord bingham said the rules were incompatible with the european convention on human rights as they allowed detentions  in a way that discriminates on the ground of nationality or immigration status . lord nicholls of birkenhead  in his ruling  said:  indefinite imprisonment without charge or trial is anathema in any country which observes the rule of law.  it deprives the detained person of the protection a criminal trial is intended to afford.   he said the weakness for the government s case was that it was trying to justify detention without trial for foreign suspects - but not for british suspects. lord hoffmann said:  the real threat to the life of the nation  in the sense of a people living in accordance with its traditional laws and political values  comes not from terrorism but from laws such as these.  but lord walker of gestingthorpe  the one law lord to oppose the appeal  said the anti-terror laws contained important safeguards against oppression.  in a statement  detainee  a  in woodhill prison said:  i hope now that the government will act upon this decision  scrap this illegal  law  and release me and the other internees to return to our families and loved ones.  the case was heard by a panel of nine law lords rather than the usual five because of the constitutional importance of the case. ben emmerson qc  representing seven of the detainees  said the men had already been in custody for nearly three years. he said they had been given no idea when  if ever  they would be released  had never been formally interviewed and there was no prospect they would ever be put on trial. when the men were first held  they took their cases to the special immigration appeals commission (siac). the commission ruled on 30 july  2002 that the anti-terror act unjustifiably discriminated against foreign nationals as british people could not be held in the same way. but that ruling was later overturned by the court of appeal who said there was a state of emergency threatening the life of the nation.
81,us company admits benin bribery a us defence and telecommunications company has agreed to pay $28.5m after admitting bribery in the west african state of benin.  the titan corporation was accused of funnelling more than $2m into the 2001 re-election campaign of president mathieu kerekou. at the time  titan was trying to get a higher price for a telecommunications project in benin. there is no suggestion that mr kerekou was himself aware of any wrongdoing. titan  a california-based company  pleaded guilty to falsifying its accounts and violating us anti-bribery laws. it agreed to pay $13m in criminal penalties  as well as $15.5m to settle a civil lawsuit brought by the us financial watchdog  the securities and exchange commission (sec).  the sec had accused titan of illegally paying $2.1m to an unnamed agent in benin claiming ties with president kerekou. some of the money was used to pay for t-shirts with campaign slogans on them ahead of the 2001 election. shortly after the poll  which mr kerekou won  benin officials agreed to quadruple titan s management fee. prosecuting attorney carol lam said:  all us companies should take note that attempting to bribe foreign officials is criminal conduct and will be appropriately prosecuted.  the company says it no longer tolerates such practices. under the us foreign corrupt practices act  it is a crime for american firms to bribe foreign officials.
2162,napster offers rented music to go music downloading  for those that have rejected the free peer to peer services  can be a costly business.  the cost of paying even as little as 70p per track can add up  particularly for those people who own one of the new generation of players that can store thousands of songs. paying per track for music is becoming as outmoded as paying per minute for internet access and alternative monthly or yearly subscription models are springing up as a more convenient  and ultimately cheaper way of owning music.   music fans are moving away from buying the traditional bundled package of a dozen or more songs that we used to call an album to newer ways that fit their lifestyle; either single tracks or subscriptions services   said paul myers  chief executive of wippit  a uk-based music download service. while itunes is doing good business with its sales of individual tracks to ipod owners  others are questioning whether the concept of owning music is even valid in the digital age. napster is due to launch a new rental subscription service - dubbed napster to go in the uk in the next few months. the service can be used on players that support microsoft windows latest digital rights management technology known as janus. this includes players made by samsung  rio and creative.  currently on offer in beta-version in the us  the service costs $15 per month for unlimited downloads. the technology ensures that music downloaded to the player only remains playable while the user subscribes to the service. users need to update their license on a monthly basis or the tunes will no longer play.  this has outraged some digital music lovers  especially as napster already offers a cheaper service for downloading music to the pc. napster claims the higher price is a result of record labels charging more for the to-go service and says it also offers  greater value  for customers. mr myers is not convinced a rental model will work for consumers.  we ve been offering our unlimited music subscription service for more than three years now and our customers know what they want. format interoperability  excellent value and the reassurance that music purchased from wippit is theirs to keep and enjoy on whatever device they choose   he said.  who wants to download a track that won t play next month if you decide to unsubscribe to the service or change portable player for an ipod or the latest mobile phone   wippit offers a download subscription service for £4.99 per month or £50 per year. it has a catalogue of around 60 000 songs.
1519,jobs growth still slow in the us the us created fewer jobs than expected in january  but a fall in jobseekers pushed the unemployment rate to its lowest level in three years.  according to labor department figures  us firms added only 146 000 jobs in january. the gain in non-farm payrolls was below market expectations of 190 000 new jobs. nevertheless it was enough to push down the unemployment rate to 5.2%  its lowest level since september 2001. the job gains mean that president bush can celebrate - albeit by a very fine margin - a net growth in jobs in the us economy in his first term in office. he presided over a net fall in jobs up to last november s presidential election - the first president to do so since herbert hoover. as a result  job creation became a key issue in last year s election. however  when adding december and january s figures  the administration s first term jobs record ended in positive territory.  the labor department also said it had revised down the jobs gains in december 2004  from 157 000 to 133 000.  analysts said the growth in new jobs was not as strong as could be expected given the favourable economic conditions.  it suggests that employment is continuing to expand at a moderate pace   said rick egelton  deputy chief economist at bmo financial group.  we are not getting the boost to employment that we would have got given the low value of the dollar and the still relatively low interest rate environment.   the economy is producing a moderate but not a satisfying amount of job growth   said ken mayland  president of clearview economics.  that means there are a limited number of new opportunities for workers.
1634,call for kenteris to be cleared kostas kenteris  lawyer has called for the doping charges against the greek sprinter to be dropped.  gregory ioannidis has submitted new evidence to a greek athletics tribunal which he claims proves the former olympic champion has no case to answer. kenteris and compatriot katerina thanou were given provisional suspensions in december for failing to take drugs tests before the athens olympics. the greek tribunal is expected to give its verdict early next week. kenteris and thanou withdrew from the athens olympics last august after missing drugs tests on the eve of the opening ceremony. they were also alleged to have avoided tests in tel aviv and chicago before the games.  but ioannidis said:  everything overwhelmingly shows that the charges should be dropped.  ioannidis also said he has presented evidence that will throw a different light on the events leading up to the pair s sensational withdrawal from the athens games. the lawyer added that he has proof the authorities  knew  kenteris was in germany at the time he was alleged to have missed a test in chicago. nick davies  spokesman for athletics  ruling body the iaaf  which handed out the provisional bans  said:  we can t comment because we were not present at the hearing and don t know what was said behind closed doors.  we expect a verdict from the greek athletics federation before the end of february and will obviously be making a statement then.  kenteris won 200m gold at the 2000 sydney olympics  while thanou won silver in the 100m.
1586,abortion not a poll issue - blair tony blair does not believe abortion should be an election issue  arguing it is a matter for individual conscience.  the prime minister s spokesman set out mr blair s view after the top catholic in england and wales backed michael howard s stance on abortions. the tory leader supports a reduction in the legal limit from 24 weeks to 20 and has said current rules are  tantamount to abortion on demand . the prime minister has made it clear he has no plans to the change the law.  mr blair s spokesman said:  the catholic church has a well-known position on this issue and it was one of many issues the cardinal mentioned and therefore it should be seen in that context.  his words came as cardinal cormac murphy o connor  the archbishop of westminster  backed mr howard s stance and distanced himself from labour. in a statement  he said abortion was a  very key issue   saying:  the policy supported by mr howard is one that we would commend  on the way to a full abandonment of abortion.   cardinal o connor claimed labour had  developed  the notion that it was the natural party of catholics  but he said:  we are not going to suggest people support one particular party.  the family planning association says a reduction would particularly affect young women who often seek help later. more than 180 000 women in england and wales had terminations last year  of which fewer than 1% were carried out between 22 and 24 weeks.  in the cosmopolitan interview mr howard said:  i believe abortion should be available to everyone  but the law should be changed.  in the past i voted for a restriction to 22 weeks and i would be prepared to go down to 20.  all three main parties say the issue is one for each mp s conscience  rather than one where there is a party-wide policy. mr howard stressed his views were his personal views. shadow home secretary david davis said he understood mr howard had been signalling that a conservative government would allow a commons vote on the issue. mr blair and liberal democrat leader charles kennedy also gave their views during interviews  conducted as part of the magazine s  high heeled vote  campaign.  mr blair  who last year denied he planned to join his wife and four children in the catholic faith despite regularly taking communion  said abortion was a  difficult issue .  however much i dislike the idea of abortion  you should not criminalise a woman who  in very difficult circumstances  makes that choice.  obviously there is a time beyond which you can t have an abortion  and we have no plans to change that although the debate will continue.  mr kennedy said he had previously voted for a 22-week limit but medical advances mean  i don t know what i would do now . the roman catholic archbishop of cardiff  the most reverend peter smith  told bbc radio 4 s today programme that the church merely wanted people to  reflect on issues in light of the gospel  before voting. anne weyman  chief executive of the family planning association  asked:  what is the benefit to women  or to the potential child  of forcing a woman to have a baby   anti-abortion group the pro-life alliance  congratulated  mr howard on his new stance  but said it did not go far enough.
469,guantanamo four free in weeks all four britons held by the us in guantanamo bay will be returned to the uk within weeks  foreign secretary jack straw told the commons on tuesday.  moazzam begg  from birmingham  and martin mubanga  richard belmar and feroz abbasi  from london  have been held by the us for almost three years. they were detained in the cuban camp as part of the us-led  war on terror . mr straw said the us had agreed to release the four after  intensive and complex discussions  over security. he said the government had been negotiating the return of the detainees since 2003. all four families have been informed of their return and have been involved in regular discussions with the government  mr straw said.  but he added:  once they are back in the uk  the police will consider whether to arrest them under the terrorism act 2000 for questioning in connection with possible terrorist activity.  the shadow foreign secretary  michael ancram  welcomed the return of the four detainees. but he said there were still  serious questions  both over the possible threat the four pose to the uk  and the treatment they received while detained. liberal democrat foreign affairs spokesman sir menzies campbell said the four had been rescued from a  legal no-man s land .  their civil rights were systematically and deliberately abused and they were denied due process.   azmat begg  father of moazzam  thanked his lawyers and the british people for the support he had received while campaigning for his son s release. he added:  if they have done something wrong  of course they should be punished  but if they haven t  they shouldn t have been there.  lawyer louise christian  who represents mr abbasi and mr mubanga  said the government should have acted sooner. she said:  they should at the outset have said quite clearly to the american government that they were behaving in breach of international law and that the british government wanted no part of it and wanted guantanamo bay shut down.  they didn t do that. they colluded with it.  moazzam begg s labour mp roger godsiff welcomed his release  but said questions remained unanswered  particularly about charges. asked about possible damages mr begg and the other detainees could bring against the us  mr godsiff said:  people get released from prison when it s found that their prosecution was unsustainable and they are quite rightly awarded sizeable sums of money.  i don t see any difference in this case.  human rights campaigners have been outraged at the treatment of the detainees in cuba. amnesty international has called camp delta a  major human-rights scandal  and an  icon of lawlessness . both amnesty and the lobby group guantanamo human rights commission described the release as  long overdue . civil rights group liberty said it was  delighted  but called on the government to release men indefinitely detained in the uk without charge or trial.  director shami chakrabarti called on the government to  practise what it preaches  and either free or charge 12 detainees at belmarsh and woodhill prisons. law lords ruled last month that the 12 were being held in contravention of human rights laws but they are still behind bars. the us has also announced that 48-year-old australian mamdouh habib  previously accused of terrorist offences  will be released without charge from camp delta. five british detainees released from guantanamo in march last year were questioned by uk police before being released without charge.
382,e-university  disgraceful waste  a failed government scheme to offer uk university courses online has been branded a  disgraceful waste  by mps.  the e-university was scrapped last year  having attracted only 900 students at a cost of £50m. chief executive john beaumont was paid a bonus of £44 914  despite a failure to bring in private sector backers. the commons education select committee called this  morally indefensible  but the government said the e-university project had  improved understanding .  a department for education and skills spokeswoman said the venture had been  ambitious and ground-breaking  but take-up had not been  sufficient to continue with the project . she added:  uk e-universities was not the only organisation to have lost out on private sector investment in the collapse of the dotcom boom.  the select committee found that those responsible for founding the e-university in 2000 had been caught up in the  general atmosphere of enthusiasm  surrounding the internet. initial business plans forecast a quarter of a million students joining within a decade  bringing in at least £110m in profit.  but virtually no market research was carried out and just £4.2m was spent on worldwide sales and marketing of courses. some £14m went on developing the technology to make the e-university work. this was used by just 200 students  the rest preferring to work through existing university websites. with no significant private investors and no direct accountability to a government minister  the e-university had had  too much freedom to spend public money as it wished   the report found. committee chairman barry sheerman said:  uk e-university was a terrible waste of public money.  the senior executives failed to interest any private investors and showed an extraordinary over-confidence in their ability to attract students to the scheme.  the report warns that the government should not be scared off investment in innovative but potentially risky schemes by the failure of the e-university  but  should learn the lessons from this disaster .
353,councils prepare to set tax rises council tax in scotland is set to rise by an average of about 4% in the coming year  bbc scotland has learned.  authorities will decide final figures on thursday when projected increases will be more than twice the rate of inflation  which is currently 1.6%. the finance minister has urged councils to limit increases but they have warned that they will struggle to maintain services unless funding is increased. they say much additional government money is for new initiatives. scottish finance minister  tom mccabe msp  said:  last week in parliament i announced an additional £419m for core expenditure to local government in scotland.  that s a 5.5% increase and sits against an inflation rate of 1.6%  so i think we have quite rightly said to councils this year that we would at the very least ask them to exercise restraint.  mr mccabe is also looking for local authorities to become more efficient and save money in coming years. he told bbc radio scotland s sunday live programme:  here in scotland we have 32 councils who all have their own individual collection systems for council tax  they have their own payroll systems and their own human resource systems.   we think there has to be opportunities there for rationalisation and using the money saved to reinvest in frontline services.  the councils  umbrella organisation cosla  which provided bbc scotland with the indicative figures for next year  warned that councils would face a continuous struggle to maintain services. mr mccabe has promised them about £8.1bn next year.  however  most of the increase is targeted to new initiatives and councils will experience difficulties in maintaining core services   a cosla spokesman said. cosla says that it is willing to work with the executive on finding efficiency savings but that these will not be enough to maintain services. they say the funding plans for the next three years will see councils lose more of the share of public spending. the conservatives accuse the scottish executive of using the council tax to raise funds because it is too afraid to raise income tax.  the tory finance spokesman  brian monteith msp  said:  its a form of disguise... yet again we see that council tax is being used as a way of passing on costs.  scared of actually using its three pence income tax that it could put up  what we ve seen over the years is more and more burdens being put onto local authorities and the council tax payer having to pick up the bill.  there are also warnings that unless funding to councils is increased in the next few years then services may have to be reduced. linda knox  director of the scottish local authority management centre at strathclyde university  said:  with this current settlement the increase is slowing. at the same time  the burdens on councils are greater than they were.  the settlement figures don t include pay increases and the executive is also requiring a substantial figure - in the area of £325m - in efficiency savings across the settlement period.  education will be protected from any cuts but linda knox says this will mean other services will suffer. she said:  in practice  that will mean a 4-5% cut for other services. on the face of it the settlement looks like an increase of about 9.7% but by the time you take into account other factors its probably only about 1% in real terms.
1666,hamm bows out for us women s football legend mia hamm has played her final game.  hamm  32  who officially retired after this year s athens olympics  took to the field for the last time to help the us claim a 5-0 win over mexico. hamm ends her career as the most prolific scorer - male or female - in international football  with 158 goals in 276 games for the us. she was twice fifa women s player of the year and won the world cup in 1991 and 1999 and two olympic golds. on her retirement  hamm said:  there are mixed emotions. there are things in your life that you have had to put on the back-burner and you can focus more time and energy on that now.  i have to see what is out there and not commit to everything at the beginning.  the friendly also saw the end of julie foudy and joy fawcett s us careers. hamm will now embark on a new life with husband  chicago cubs shortstop nomar garciaparra  who was in the stands to watch her final game. he has just agreed a new deal with the cubs after joining them in july.
1457,french wine gets 70m euro top-up the french government is to hand its struggling wine industry 70m euros ($91m) in aid to help it battle falling sales and damaging overproduction.  the financial package is aimed at assisting vintners in financial trouble and improving how its wine is marketed. the french wine industry  the world s second largest  has been hit by declining consumption at home and the growing popularity of new world wines. wine makers  however  claimed the support did not go far enough. the package was announced by agriculture minister dominique bussereau after talks with vintners  representatives.  the bulk of the money - about 40m euros - will be offered in the form of preferential loans to heavily indebted producers to enable them to reschedule their payments. a further 15m euros will be made available to wine cooperatives  which make up the majority of french producers  in low interest loans. efforts to promote french wine abroad are to be boosted by an extra 3.5m euros in funding. france fell behind the  new world  producers of australia  chile and the united states for the first time in 2003 in terms of exports.  domestic consumption  accounting for 70% of sales  has suffered from strict restrictions on advertising and tough drink-driving laws.  the aid package would  create a positive climate around french viticulture   mr bussereau said. however  wine makers and farmers said the support was much less than they had been hoping for.  i am afraid the resources are not up to the ambitions   jean-michel lemetayer  from the fnsea agricultural union  told the associated press news agency. in an effort to tackle overcapacity  the government will agree that vines can be destroyed in areas where growers give their unanimous consent  while 500 vintners will be helped to take early retirement. the government will also seek european union approval to distil about 250 million litres of excess wine into alcohol  with vintners receiving compensation. production is currently outstripping demand by about 30%. the support is designed to make french producers more competitive in the face of increasing global consolidation across the wine industry. wine makers in france s best-known regions  such as burgundy  have found it hard to invest in new technology and to create recognisable brands to appeal to overseas buyers.
2182,women in film  are earning less  women in the uk film industry earn less than their male counterparts despite being better qualified  according to a study released on wednesday.  only 16% of women earn more than £50 000  compared with 30% of men. women make up a third of the workforce. the research was carried out jointly by the uk film council and industry training body skillset. it also found that women in the industry were less likely than men to be married or have dependant children.  the study  which claims to be the most in-depth so far conducted  found 60% of women in the film industry hold degrees  compared with 39% of men. whilst 17% of men in the industry had no qualifications  this was true for only five per cent of women. in the lower salary bracket  35% of women earn less than £20 000 a year  compared to only 18% of men. the research found very few women worked in the camera  sound  electrical and construction departments  but they made up a majority of those working in make-up and hairdressing.  uk film council chief executive john woodward said:  whilst the uk has benefited hugely from its highly-qualified film production workforce there are still many barriers facing people who want to get in and stay in the industry.   developing the film production workforce must be underpinned with a commitment to diversity as well as training.  the workforce is largely focused around london  with 78% in the industry based in the capital and the south east of england. the industry depends heavily on word of mouth  with 81% being recruited in that way. in total  only five percent of the workforce is made up of ethnic minorities  although in london the figure rises to 24%. the necessity of completing unpaid work experience to get into the workforce has also shot up  from 5% before the 1980s  to 45% after 2000.
1591,blair moves to woo jewish voters tony blair has pledged to  never  ever  ever  attack tory leader michael howard over his jewish beliefs.  the prime minister told the jewish chronicle:  if you look at what i do  i attack michael howard politically.  mr blair also distanced himself from recent labour campaign posters featuring mr howard  which critics claimed were  anti-semitic . these were  not intended to cause any offence to anyone on the jewish community   mr blair insisted.  one poster depicted mr howard and his shadow chancellor oliver letwin  who is also jewish  as flying pigs. another pictured the tory leader swinging a pocket watch on a chain  which critics said echoed the jewish money lender shylock in shakespeare s merchant of venice.  others compared the image to the character fagin in charles dickens  oliver twist. labour has since taken the designs of its website  saying members had preferred other designs. during his interview with the jewish chronicle  mr blair said:  i ve been a very strong supporter of the jewish community and israel  and will always be so.  pressed on whether he would draw attention to mr howard s jewish beliefs in an attempt to attract muslim support  he replied:  the idea that i would allow anybody to make such a charge is outrageous. it s untrue.  if you look what i do  i attack michael howard politically. i would never  ever  ever attack him on that basis.   mr blair also defended his party s attitude towards the jewish community  pointing out that it was his government that had introduced the holocaust memorial day. he added that labour also aggressively fought all forms of racism.  neither the conservatives nor the liberal democrats wished to comment on mr blair s words. the prime minister was speaking as london s labour mayor ken livingstone remains embroiled in a row over comments he made to a jewish reporter from the city s evening standard newspaper. mr blair repeated calls for the mayor to apologise for likening the reporter  oliver finegold  to a concentration camp guard. mr livingstone  should have withdrawn the comment immediately  once he realised the journalist was jewish  said mr blair.  i m sure that is what in truth he wants to do. well  he should do it.  mr livingstone has said he could not sincerely say sorry for the comments he made  and claims he has been targeted by the newspaper. he conceded his comments may have been offensive but were not racist  and said earlier this week he would not apologise even if mr blair asked.
1643,teenager tait picked for england newcastle s teenage centre mathew tait has been named as a centre in england s team to face wales in the six nations opener in cardiff on saturday.  the 18-year-old will play alongside falcons  team-mate jamie noon in england s midfield. scrum-half matt dawson is also recalled  despite been left out of the initial squad after a row over clashing tv and training commitments. bath lock danny grewcock will also start  pending a possible citing. england coach andy robinson has also awarded gloucester flanker andy hazell his first six nations start. in another change to the side that lost to australia in november  leicester lock ben kay replaces bath second row steve borthwick. robinson was already without jonny wilkinson  mike tindall  stuart abbott  richard hill and will greenwood  while mike catt had been left out of england s squad.  j robinson (sale sharks  capt); m cueto (sale sharks)  m tait (newcastle)  j noon (newcastle)  j lewsey (wasps); c hodgson (sale sharks)  m dawson (wasps); g rowntree (leicester)  s thompson (northampton)  j white (leicester)  d grewcock (bath)  b kay (leicester)  l moody (leicester)  a hazell (gloucester)  j worsley (wasps). replacements: a titterrell (sale sharks)  p vickery (gloucester)  s borthwick (bath)  j forrester (gloucester)  h ellis (leicester)  o barkley (bath)  b cohen (northampton).
1822,hitler  row over welsh arts cash an artist critical of welsh arts funding being brought under assembly government control has denied comparing the idea with dictatorships in russia and germany.  shani rhys james is worried that the arts council of wales may be taken over by the welsh assembly government. culture minister alun pugh said it would be  crass and ignorant  to liken a quango review to hitler s germany. but ms james emphasised she had actually said artists needed freedom. the future of the arts council of wales has been in question since it was announced that most welsh quangos would eventually be abolished.  it was announced last july that three welsh quangos  education and training body elwa  the wales tourist board and the welsh development agency  would be brought under assembly government control. the arts council of wales may be among the next to come under the assembly government s umbrella. but ms james  who won the £30 000 jerwood painting prize in 2003  said arts funding should be separate from government. ms james told bbc radio wales:  it s quite dangerous when you involve politicians because it s not like the health service and it s not like the railways.  free expression is absolutely vital in a democratic society. you need distance  you do not need government interference because it could be taken the wrong way.   but she said reports that she had likened the assembly government to totalitarian regimes were inaccurate.  she told good morning wales:  just to put the record straight  that business in the paper where it said i likened the government to bolshevik russia or hitler s germany  the actual quote i gave was:  it is vital to a civilised society that we allow artists to express themselves without government control .  as we know from past european history  i.e. russia and germany in the early 20th century  artists will go underground or leave the country or rather than compromise their expression .  artists need a free voice to express themselves - they reflect a truth through their own art forms.   she said the assembly government was not best placed to run the arts in wales.  she added:  it would be a momentous change and devastating to the arts. it would set the arts scene back 60 years  because i really don t think the government has the expertise.  if you have the national assembly taking control  i fear you are going to be going back to the dragons and leeks and the choirs.   wales has moved on. it is international now. it is not set back in how green was my valley   responding to ms james  criticisms  mr pugh said:  the structure of unelected quangos is under review and we have made it clear that further announcements are due shortly.  comparing the welsh assembly government to hitler s germany is a crass and ignorant response to a real issue about democratic accountability.  ms james  whose father was welsh  was born in melbourne where her parents worked in the theatre. she moved to powys nearly 20 years ago where she works from her studio near llangadfan. she has won a number of arts prizes including the wales open in 1989 and the mostyn open in 1991.
742,electrolux to export europe jobs electrolux saw its shares rise 14% on tuesday after it said it would be shifting more of its manufacturing to low-cost countries.  the swedish firm  the world s largest maker of home appliances  said it is to relocate about 10 of its 27 plants in western europe and north america. it did not say which facilities would be affected  but intends moving them to asia  eastern europe and mexico. the company has two manufacturing sites in county durham. it makes lawn and garden products in newton aycliffe  and cookers and ovens in spennymoor. the newton aycliffe plant could also be affected by electrolux s separate announcement that it is to spin-off its outdoor products unit into a new separate company.  electrolux s subsidiary brands include aeg  zanussi and frigidaire. the company said it was speeding up its restructuring programme  which aims to save between £190m and £265m annually from 2009.  we see that about half the plants in high-cost countries - that is around 10 - are at risk   said electrolux chief executive hans straberg.  it looks pretty grim   said swedish trades union official ulf carlsson.  what are we going to end up producing in sweden
1956,hewitt survives nalbandian epic home favourite lleyton hewitt came through a dramatic five-set battle with argentine david nalbandian to reach the australian open semi-finals.  hewitt looked to be cruising to victory after racing into a two-set lead. but nalbandian broke his serve three times in both of the next two sets to set up a nailbiting decider. hewitt eventually grabbed the vital break in the 17th game and served out to win 6-3 6-2 1-6 3-6 10-8 and set up a meeting with andy roddick. the winner of that match will face either roger federer or marat safin in the final. ninth seed nalbandian had never come back from two sets down to win a match  and there was no indication he would do so as hewitt dominated the first two sets.  the argentine had stoked up the temperature ahead of the match by saying hewitt s exuberant on-court celebrations were  not very good for the sport . and he had words with hewitt during one change of ends in the second set when the australian appeared to brush shoulders with him as they went to their chairs. the balance of power changed completely in the third set as hewitt allowed his level to dip  and he double-faulted twice as nalbandian broke on the way to taking the fourth set. but the tiring third seed showed incredible reserves of strength to force the break despite being outplayed for much of the final set and three times coming within two points of defeat. he then produced a love service game to finish off the match in four hours and five minutes.  i just kept hanging in there. it was always tough serving second in the fifth set   said hewitt  who had never reached the last four at his home grand slam.  i told myself to give everything and in the end it paid off once again.  it s a long way from holding that trophy up there but i m hanging in there.  only four guys left that can win and we re the top four in the world. it s set up for a pretty good showdown in the semis and finals.
1829,go-ahead for new internet names the internet could soon have two new domain names  aimed at mobile services and the jobs market.  the internet corporation for assigned names and numbers (icann) has given preliminary approval to two new addresses - .mobi and .jobs. they are among 10 new names being considered by the net s oversight body. others include a domain for pornography  an anti-spam domain as well as .post and .travel  for the postal and travel industries.  the .mobi domain would be aimed at websites and other services that work specifically around mobile phones  while the .jobs address could be used by companies wanting a dedicated site for job postings. the process to see the new domain names go live in cyberspace could take months and icann officials warned that there were no guarantees they would ultimately be accepted. applicants paid £23 000 apiece to have their proposals considered. the application for .mobi was sponsored by technology firms including nokia  microsoft and t-mobile.  of the 10 currently under consideration  the least likely to win approval is the .xxx domain for pornographic websites. there are currently around 250 domain names in use around the globe  mostly for specific countries such as .fr for france and .uk for britain. perhaps unsurprisingly  .com remains the most popular address on the web.
1675,google shares fall as staff sell shares in google have fallen 6.7% after employees and early investors in the web search took advantage of the first chance to sell their holdings.  restrictions were imposed ahead of its flotation in august  to prevent shares being dumped quickly onto the market. in one of the most closely-watched initial public offerings in stock market history  the us-based company sold 19.6 million shares at $85 each. google shares have risen since but fell $12.33 on tuesday to close at $172.55. the restriction - known as a lockup - is being eased piecemeal: in all  some 227 million additional shares will become free to trade by february 2005. selling the shares could turn many of google s workers into millionaires.  there were fears that the potential increase of shares in circulation from tuesday would ease demand for stock. however  analysts say they expected most shareholders would be holding back from selling all their shares immediately  as google s good performance and future growth potential means demand will hold.  in its first earnings report since floating on the stock market  google said it made a net profit of $52m in the three months ending 30 september. sales surged to $805.9m in the third quarter  up from $393.9m a year earlier. google s main service - its internet search - is free to users  so the firm makes much of its money from selling advertising space linked to the words for which its users search. it also sells the use of its technology to companies who need to make either their websites  or their internal information systems  searchable.
376,election deal faltered over heath role the tories failed to hold onto power in 1974 after liberals demanded sir edward heath quit in return for co-operation.  documents released after 30 years reveal the failed negotiations by the then prime minister following the dramatic february general election. liberal leader jeremy thorpe appeared willing to form a coalition government. but it partly collapsed over the conservative leader s own role  prompting the queen to ask harold wilson to form a labour government. the february 1974 general election surprised the nation when it created a hung parliament with no party in overall control. sir edward had gone to the country for a fresh mandate amid the spiralling economic crisis  a miners  strike and the subsequent three-day week. labour emerged with the most seats - but its 301 mps were 17 short of the number mr wilson needed to form a majority.  sir edward  who had received more votes but had fewer mps  believed he had the authority to remain at number 10 providing the 14 liberal mps would support his government. he said the liberals could keep out labour in three ways: lend ad hoc support to his minority government  help draw up the government s programme  or have up to three cabinet members in a coalition with the conservatives. according to the documents released at the national archives  the  friendly and easy  first meeting indicated that both sir edward and mr thorpe thought they had the makings of a deal. mr thorpe was in high spirits  having just led his party to a historic jump in support. he also argued for a grand coalition of all three main parties. but sir edward said that was impossible because the labour left was set against it and the pair settled on trying for a conservative-liberal pact.  hours later sir edward s hopes of a deal unravelled as mr thorpe s colleagues refused to support him.  jeremy said he was encountering a rather embarrassing problem with his colleagues about the prime minister personally   reads a telephone memo for mr heath.   they feel they could not agree to serve as long as he is the prime minister.  asked if this was his own view he said - no it was not  i am very close to ted and thought he was by far the most able man we had and he would be perfectly happy to serve - it was only some of his colleagues who were being difficult.  the following day  the stickling points had clearly become two-fold: mr thorpe s colleagues wanted electoral reform and sir edward s resignation. mr thorpe told sir edward:  i am sorry this is obviously hell - a nightmare on stilts for you.  somehow i personally hope that we can work something out.   four hours later  sir edward called the liberal leader back to downing street in a last attempt at a deal. the minutes of the meeting show how the chance of a coalition government quickly evaporated.  the pm said he was bound to tell mr thorpe that his colleagues had told him that they would not agree to serve under any other prime minister. mr thorpe was at liberty to verify this by talking to one or two of the prime minister s colleagues.  documents show that sir edward mulled over resigning and perhaps returning to coalition government in a labour-led coalition. but he already knew mr wilson would not form a coalition with either the liberals or the conservatives because of the opposition of the labour left. within hours of his final talks with mr thorpe  sir edward told the nation he was resigning and the queen invited mr wilson to form a new minority government.
1626,euronext joins bid battle for lse pan-european stock market euronext has approached the london stock exchange (lse) about a possible takeover bid.   the approach is at an early stage and therefore does not require a response at this point   lse said. talks with the european stock market and with rival bidder deutsche boerse will continue  the lse said. last week  the group rejected a £1.3bn ($2.5bn) takeover offer from deutsche boerse  claiming that it undervalued the business. lse saw its shares surge 4.9% to a new high of 583p in early trade  following the announcement on monday.  the offer follows widespread media speculation that euronext would make an offer for lse. experts now widely expect a bidding war for europe s biggest stock market  which lists stocks with a total capitalisation of £1.4 trillion  to break out. commentators say that a deal with euronext  which owns the liffe derivatives exchange in london and combines the paris  amsterdam and lisbon stock exchanges  could potentially offer the lse more cost savings than a deal with deutsche boerse.  a weekend report in the telegraph had quoted an unnamed executive at euronext as saying the group would make a cash bid to trump deutsche boerse s offer.  because we already own liffe in london  the cost savings available to us from a merger are far greater than for deutsche boerse   the newspaper quoted the executive as saying. euronext chief executive jean-francois theodore is reported to have already held private talks with lse s chief executive clara furse. further reports had suggested that euronext could make an offer in excess of the lse s 533p a share closing price on friday. however  euronext said it could not guarantee  at this stage  that a firm offer would be made for lse. there has been extensive speculation about a possible takeover of the company since an attempted merger with deutsche boerse failed in 2000.
168,top judge clashes with ministers the uk s top judge has revealed he has clashed with ministers about how the heads of public inquiries are chosen.  lord woolf said he was determined his current veto on whether a judge should chair an inquiry should continue as a guard for judicial independence. but he told mps the lord chancellor  lord falconer  was insisting he should have the final say in such cases. lord hutton s inquiry into the death of dr david kelly sparked debate about who should run inquiries.  the government says the lord chancellor would be unlikely to go against lord woolf s wishes. lord woolf  who is lord chief justice of england and wales  was giving evidence to the commons public administration select committee s inquiry into public inquiries. he said he had not been involved in the choice of lord hutton  who as a law lord did not come under his jurisdiction. but he argued he should have a veto on whether judges generally should chair a particular inquiry and if so  which judge it should be. in written evidence to the committee  lord woolf said:  i have  so far  failed to reach an agreement with the lord chancellor on this issue ... i intend to maintain my position and will press for this safeguard to be in any future legislation.   judges should think carefully before heading an inquiry into a highly political issue  such as the intelligence on iraq s weapons of mass destruction  he said. he argued:  the subject matter of the inquiry may be so political that it would be damaging to the judiciary for a judge to be involved.  in addition  the question of whether there should be an inquiry at all may be highly controversial and if a judge is appointed  the judiciary  as a result of the appointment  may be seen as siding inappropriately with the government.  he told the mps:  anything that tends to undermine the confidence of the public in the judiciary worries me.   lord woolf said the current rules were not written down but it was inconceivable in practice that the lord chancellor would overrule his concerns. but that situation could change with new legal reforms. the issue had been  overlooked  when a new agreement was drawn up about those responsibilities and the dispute had emerged in later discussions.  what i am asking for is a situation where if the lord chancellor cannot obtain my agreement [on appointing a judge]  it doesn t happen   he said.  lord woolf said he did not think there would be difficulties but he wanted to establish the principle. a department for constitutional affairs spokeswoman said lord woolf and lord falconer agreed about what happened in practice.  their disagreement is about whether the legislation should include a requirement for consultation or concurrence - a very narrow dispute  in lord woolf s words   she said.  as lord woolf also acknowledged  it is highly unlikely that the lord chancellor would appoint a judge against the wishes of the lord chief justice.  judges are free to decide for themselves whether to accept positions as inquiry chairs.  parliament will examine the issue next year when it debates a new bill about public inquiries.
321,madagascar completes currency switch madagascar has completed the replacement of its malagasy franc with a new currency  the ariary.  from monday  all prices and contracts will have to be quoted in the ariary  which was trading at 1 893 to the us dollar. the malagasy franc  which lost almost half its value in 2004  is no longer legal tender but will remain exchangeable at banks until 2009. the phasing out of the franc  begun in july 2003  was intended to distance the country from its past under french colonial rule and address the problem of the large amount of counterfeit francs in circulation.  it s above all a question of sovereignty   reuters quoted a central bank official as saying.  it is symbolic of our independence from the old colonial ways. since we left the french monetary zone in 1973 we should have our own currency with its own name.  the ariary was the name of a pre-colonial currency in the indian ocean island state.
715,amex shares up on spin-off news shares in american express surged more than 8% on tuesday after it said it was to spin off its less profitable financial advisory subsidiary.  the us credit card to travel services giant said off-loading american express financial advisors (aefa) would boost its profitability. aefa has more than 12 000 advisers selling financial advice  funds and insurance to 2.5 million customers. over the years it has delivered poor profits and even some losses.   this is an excellent move by american express to focus on its core businesses  and sell off a laggard division  which has been a problem for quite some time   said marquis investment research analyst phil kain. analysts estimate that a stand-alone aefa could have a market value of $10bn (£5.3bn). the unit was acquired by american express 20 years ago as investors diversified service  of minneapolis  at a time when firms were amassing one-stop financial empires. however  the business of selling investments was never integrated with the rest of the group.
1278,barkley fit for match in ireland england centre olly barkley has been passed fit for sunday s six nations clash with ireland at lansdowne road.  barkley withdrew from bath s team for friday s clash with gloucester after suffering a calf injury in training. gloucester centre henry paul has also been cleared to play after overcoming an ankle injury. england coach andy robinson  who names his team on wednesday  has called up bath prop duncan bell following phil vickery s broken arm. with vickery sidelined for at least six weeks and julian white out with a neck injury  bell could make his england debut. bell  30  had set his sights on an international career with wales. but last december  the international rugby board confirmed that he could only be eligible for england as he had travelled on tour with them in 1998.  i thought i d burned all my bridges with england when i expressed an interest in wanting to play for wales  so it s fantastic to get this opportunity   he said. bell  who featured in the england a side which beat france 30-20 10 days ago  added:  i recognise that i got into the england a squad because of injuries.  and it s the same again in getting into the senior squad. but now that i have this opportunity i intend to take it fully if selected and play my heart out for my country.   england coach andy robinson could take a gamble and call inexperienced sale sharks prop andrew sheridan into his front row. but sheridan favours the loosehead side of the scrum and a more likely scenario is for uncapped bell - who was among the try-scorers when england a beat france a 30-20 nine days ago - to be drafted in.
653,supercomputer breaks speed record the us is poised to push japan off the top of the supercomputing chart with ibm s prototype blue gene/l machine.  it is being assembled for the lawrence livermore national laboratory  a us department of energy (doe) lab. doe test results show that blue gene/l has managed speeds of 70.72 teraflops. the current top machine  japan s nec earth simulator  clocks up 35.86. due next week  the top 500 list officially charts the fastest computers in the world. it is announced every six months and is worked out using an officially recognised mathematical speed test called linpack which measures calculations per second. the speeds will most likely make it the fastest computer system on the planet  yet the chip technology powering the machine is the kind which can be found in familiar devices such as games consoles.  the us secretary of energy spencer abraham confirmed that the machine had reached the breakneck speed  according to the linpack benchmark. until the official list is published  however  blue gene/l s position will not be confirmed  and there are expected to be some other new entries. but the test results raise the bar of supercomputing enormously and signal a remarkable achievement. surpassing the 40 trillion calculations per second (teraflop) mark has been considered a landmark for some time.  the ibm blue gene/l is only a prototype and is one 5th the speed of the full version  due to be completed for the livermore labs in 2005. its peak theoretical performance is expected to be 360 teraflops  and will fit into 64 full racks. it will also cut down on the amount of heat generated by the massive power  a big problem for supercomputers. the final machine will help scientists work out the safety  security and reliability requirements for the us s nuclear weapons stockpile  without the need for underground nuclear testing. the earth simulator has held on to the top spot since june 2002. it is dedicated to climate modelling and simulating seismic activity. but in september  ibm said that another blue gene/l machine clocked up 36.01 teraflops  marginally surpassing the earth simulator s performance. this was achieved during internal testing at ibm s production facility in rochester  minnesota  though  so was not an official record. another giant to enter the fray is silicon graphics  columbia supercomputer based at nasa s ames research center in california. it would be used to model flight missions  climate research  and aerospace engineering. the linux-based machine was reported to have reached a top speed of 42.7 teraflops in october.  supercomputers are hugely important for working out very complex problems across science and society. their massive simulation and processing power means they can improve the accuracy of weather forecasts  help design better cars  and improve disease diagnosis. ibm s senior vice president of technology and manufacturing  nick donofrio  believes that by 2006  blue gene will be capable of petaflop computing. this means it would be capable of doing 1 000 trillion operations a second.  when you get a computer as large as a petaflop  you can start to think of simulations that might complement the physical world   mr donofrio recently told the bbc news website.   you can start to be more proactive  more interactive and more innovative.  one area where mr donofrio sees supercomputing - and blue gene machines in particular - as crucial is health. he believes the machines can help scientists understand one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century: protein folding.  health is one of the most important problems  not just mapping the human genome  but also protein structures.  we are a great believer in simulation. it gives you another tool   he said. once the structures of proteins are understood fully  then drugs can be tailor-made to fight diseases more effectively. compared with the current fastest supercomputers  blue gene is designed to consume one 15th the power and be 10 times more compact. since the first supercomputer  the cray-1  was installed at los alamos national laboratory in 1976  computational speed has leaped 500 000 times. the cray-1 was capable of 80 megaflops (80 million operations a second). the blue gene/l machine that will be completed next year will be five million times faster. started in 1993  the top 500 list is decided by a group of computer science academics from around the world. it is presented at the international supercomputer conference in pittsburgh.
1206,housing plans criticised by mps  irreversible environmental damage  will be caused by government plans to build more than one million homes in south-east england  mps have warned.   sustainable communities  were being promoted without a real understanding of what  sustainable  means  the environmental audit committee said. it said issues like energy needs and transport were not properly addressed. deputy prime minister john prescott said the report was completed before new initiatives were announced. he said:  we are working across government  especially with our colleagues at defra  to create cleaner  safer and greener communities  while protecting and enhancing the environment.   the report said there was far too little attention paid to many environmental issues  including water  even though supplies in parts of the south east are already too low. regulations designed to ensure energy-efficient buildings are too lax  and builders routinely flout them anyway  it said.  financing for improving transport was around one-twentieth of what would be required. the report was a stinging rebuke for the government and especially john prescott s department  bbc environment correspondent richard black said. chairman of the environmental audit committee peter ainsworth mp  said:  the government s housing policy is an alarming example of disjointed thinking in an areas where joined-up policy is crucial.  i accept the need to improve housing supply but  as things stand  the principal beneficiary of housing growth will be property developers  with the environment we all depend on being the principal loser.  points raised in the report included:    - no proposals to further increase housing supply should be taken forward without strong supporting evidence.   - the government should recognise shortcomings of the treasury s barker review  which said 140 000 new homes a year were needed in britain.   - the government should consider a  national spatial framework  for england such as those already in place in scotland and wales.   - the office of the deputy prime minister should maximise brown field development and housing densities.   - measures to encourage improved energy efficiency for existing homes should be considered - including reduced stamp duty for homes that achieve set standards and a clear timetable for achieving zero-emissions homes.   - the government should make clear how it intends to measure its success at creating sustainable communities.     conservative local government spokeswoman caroline spelman said:  there is now growing evidence that john prescott s buildings programme is environmentally unsustainable  leaving a concrete scar across the face of rural england.
411,bollywood dvd fraudster is jailed a major distributor of pirated dvds of bollywood films has been sent to prison for three years.  jayanti amarishi buhecha from cambridge was found guilty of two trademark offences last month  and sentenced at harrow crown court  london  on tuesday. buhecha  who made £26 000 per month from his illegal trade  was called  one of the biggest bollywood pirates in the uk  by the sentencing judge. the british phonographic industry (bpi) worked for two years on the case.  an operation was launched against buhecha in 2002 after complaints were received about his activities. the judge in the case  which lasted seven days  said that  a heavy penalty was called for because of the enormous damage buhecha caused to legitimate business . fake dvds were manufactured in pakistan and malaysia and sold on wholesale to shops by buhecha  who traded in conterfeit dvds in 2002 and 2003.  in december 2002  he was stopped in his car by trading standards officers  who uncovered 1 000 pirated dvds and faked inlay cards printed with registered trademarks. despite being arrested and bailed  buhecha was caught a second time at the end of 2003. his home and a lock-up in cambridge were found to contain 18 000 counterfeit dvds and further faked inlay cards. buhecha was previously a legitimate distributor of bollywood films  but was suspended and sued by his employers for dealing in illegal copies of bollywood classic mohabbatein. legitimate bollywood film distributors have hailed the conviction as  a major boost . bollywood music and film suffers piracy at the rate of 40%  which is more than that suffered by mainstream productions. the bpi welcomed the news of the prison sentence  but warned there are plenty of other active counterfeiters of bollywood films. the organisation s anti-piracy director david martin said:  the problem simply will not disappear with buhecha. others and more will take his place  so it s vital that keep up our efforts in this field.
931,apple attacked over sources row civil liberties group the electronic frontier foundation (eff) has joined a legal fight between three us online journalists and apple.  apple wants the reporters to reveal 20 sources used for stories which leaked information about forthcoming products  including the mac mini. the eff  representing the reporters  has asked california s superior court to stop apple pursuing the sources. it argues that the journalists are protected by the american constitution. the eff says the case threatens the basic freedoms of the press.  apple is particularly keen to find the source for information about an unreleased product code-named asteroid and has asked the journalists  e-mail providers to hand over communications relevant to that.  rather than confronting the issue of reporter s privilege head-on  apple is going to the journalist s isps for his e-mails   said eff lawyer kurt opsahl.  this undermines a fundamental first amendment right that protects all reporters.  if the court lets apple get away with this  and exposes the confidences gained by these reporters  potential confidential sources will be deterred from providing information to the media and the public will lose a vital outlet for independent news  analysis and commentary   he said. the case began in december 2004 when apple asked a local californian court to get the journalists to reveal their sources for articles published on websites appleinsider.com and powerpage.org.  apple also sent requested information from the nfox.com  the internet service provider of powerpage s publisher jason o-grady. as well as looking at how far corporations can go in preventing information from being published  the case will also examine whether online journalists have the same privileges and protections as those writing for newspapers and magazines. the eff has gained some powerful allies in its legal battle with apple  including professor tom goldstein  former dean of the journalism school at the university of california and dan gillmor  a well-known silicon valley journalist. apple was not immediately available for comment.
1576,soul sensation ready for awards south west teenage singing sensation  joss stone  has been nominated in three categories in wednesday s brit awards.  the 17-year-old from a small east devon village near cullumpton  received nominations for best solo female  best urban act and best breakthrough artist. her second album mind  body & soul reached number one in the uk charts last october and went straight into the us charts at number 11. ms stone is due to perform at the 25th award ceremony at london s earls court. the teenager also has grammy nominations in the us  normally dominated by home-grown acts. born jocelyn stoker  the devon diva started her career in a bbc talent programme  and was then discovered at a new york audition by a us record executive  steve greenberg. the 17-year-old singer is hoping to tour in japan  australia and the us in 2005.
1207,speak easy plan for media players music and film fans will be able to control their digital media players just by speaking to them  under plans in development by two us firms.  scansoft and gracenote are developing technology to give people access to their film and music libraries simply by voice control. they want to give people hands-free access to digital music and films in the car  or at home or on the move. huge media libraries on some players can make finding single songs hard.  voice command-and-control unlocks the potential of devices that can store large digital music collections   said ross blanchard  vice president of business development for gracenote.  these applications will radically change the car entertainment experience  allowing drivers to enjoy their entire music collections without ever taking their hands off the steering wheel   he added.  gracenote provides music library information for millions of different albums for jukeboxes such as apple s itunes. the new technology will be designed so that people can play any individual song or movie out of a collection  just by saying its name. users will also be able to request music that fits a mood or an occasion  or a film just by saying the actor s name.  speech is a natural fit for today s consumer devices  particularly in mobile environments   said alan schwartz  vice president of speechworks  a division of scansoft.  pairing our voice technologies with gracenote s vast music database will bring the benefits of speech technologies to a host of consumer devices and enable people to access their media in ways they ve never imagined.  the two firms did not say if they were developing the technology for languages other than english. users will also be able to get more information on a favourite song they have been listening to by asking:  what is this   portable players are becoming popular in cars and a number of auto firms are working with apple to device interfaces to control the firm s ipod music player. but with tens of thousands of songs able to be stored on one player  voice control would make finding that elusive track by elvis presley much easier. the firms gave no indication about whether the ipod  or any other media player  were in mind for the use of the voice control technology. the companies estimate that the technology will be available in the fourth quarter of 2005.
1729,wales make two changes for france wales coach mike ruddock has made two changes from the team that beat italy 38-8 for saturday s trip to france.  kevin morgan takes over from his injured newport-gwent dragons colleague hal luscombe on the right wing. and in the pack neath-swansea ospreys forward ryan jones is preferred at blindside flanker to jonathan thomas. thomas  a try-scorer in rome  drops down to the bench instead of ian gough  while cardiff back rhys williams steps up in place of morgan. luscombe is sidelined by a hamstring problem sustained during the six nations game against italy last weekend.  however  the experienced and in-form morgan was already pushing hard for a start at stade de france.  due to his impressive performances from the bench  kevin was very much in the selection mix anyway  and the unfortunate injury to hal gives him the chance to start   said ruddock.  now that ryan jones has recovered from injury  we have increased the options in the back row.  jonathan thomas is unlucky to lose his spot after performing well against italy and scoring a try  but such is the competition for places that every position is debated in detail.  for this particular game  we felt we might not always be afforded the open spaces out wide we were able to exploit against italy  so an extra big ball-carrier in the back-row is thought to be necessary on this occasion.  obviously  it s a 22-man game these days  and there is every chance that jonathan will be making an impact from the bench.  wales have beaten france on two of their last three visits to paris  and another victory this time around would keep them firmly on course for a first five or six nations title triumph since 1994.  graham henry (former wales coach) said a couple of years ago that we should  be bold  when going to france  and he was proved right   said ruddock.  that is a great way to approach the game  and something we will further endorse with the players this week.   g thomas (toulouse  capt); k morgan (newport-gwent)  t shanklin (cardiff)  g henson (neath-swansea)  s williams (neath-swansea); s jones (clermont auvergne)  d peel (llanelli); g jenkins (cardiff)  m davies (gloucester)  a jones; (neath-swansea)  b cockbain (neath-swansea)  r sidoli (cardiff); r jones (neath-swansea)  m williams (cardiff)  m owen (newport-gwent).  replacements: r mcbryde (llanelli)  j yapp (cardiff)  j thomas (neath-swansea)  r sowden-taylor (cardiff)  g cooper (newport-gwent)  c sweeney newport-gwent)  r williams (cardiff).
851,gardener wins double in glasgow britain s jason gardener enjoyed a double 60m success in glasgow in his first competitive outing since he won 100m relay gold at the athens olympics.  gardener cruised home ahead of scot nick smith to win the invitational race at the norwich union international. he then recovered from a poor start in the second race to beat swede daniel persson and italy s luca verdecchia. his times of 6.61 and 6.62 seconds were well short of american maurice greene s 60m world record of 6.39secs from 1998.  it s a very hard record to break  but i believe i ve trained very well   said the world indoor champion  who hopes to get closer to the mark this season.  it was important to come out and make sure i got maximum points. my last race was the olympic final and there was a lot of expectation.  this was just what i needed to sharpen up and get some race fitness. i m very excited about the next couple of months.   double olympic champion  marked her first appearance on home soil since winning 1500m and 800m gold in athens with a victory. there was a third success for britain when  edged out russia s olga fedorova and sweden s jenny kallur to win the women s 60m race in 7.23secs. maduaka was unable to repeat the feat in the 200m  finishing down in fourth as  took the win for russia. and the 31-year-old also missed out on a podium place in the 4x200m relay as the british quartet came in fourth  with russia setting a new world indoor record. there was a setback for jade johnson as she suffered a recurrence of her back injury in the long jump. russia won the meeting with a final total of 63 points  with britain second on 48 and france one point behind in third.  led the way for russia by producing a major shock in the high jump as he beat olympic champion stefan holm into second place to end the swede s 22-event unbeaten record.  won the triple jump with a leap of 16.87m  with britain s tosin oke fourth in 15.80m.  won the men s pole vault competition with a clearance of 5.65m  with britain s nick buckfield 51cm adrift of his personal best in third. and  won the women s 800m  with britain s jenny meadows third. there was yet another russian victory in the women s 400m as  finished well clear of britain s catherine murphy. chris lambert had to settle for fourth after fading in the closing stages of the men s 200m race as sweden s  held off leslie djhone of france. france s  won the men s 400m  with brett rund fourth for britain.  took victory for sweden in the women s 60m hurdles ahead of russia s irina shevchenko and britain s sarah claxton  who set a new personal best. italy grabbed their first victory in the men s 1500m as  kicked over the last 200 metres to hold off britain s james thie and france s alexis abraham. a botched changeover in the 4x200m relay cost britain s men the chance to add further points as france claimed victory.
994,us hacker breaks into t-mobile a man is facing charges of hacking into computers at the us arm of mobile phone firm t-mobile.  the californian man  nicholas lee jacobsen  was arrested in october. mr jacobsen tried at least twice to hack t-mobile s network and took names and social security numbers of 400 customers  said a company spokesman. the arrest came a year after t-mobile uncovered the unauthorised access. the us secret service has been investigating the case.  t-mobile has stringent procedures in place where we monitor for suspicious activity so that limited his activities and we were able to take corrective action immediately   peter dobrow  a t-mobile spokesperson said. it is thought that mr jacobsen s hacking campaign took place over at least seven months during which time he read e-mails and personal computer files  according to court records.  although mr jacobsen  21  managed to get hold of some data  it is thought he failed to get customer credit card numbers which are stored on a separate computer system  said mr dobrow. t-mobile confirmed that the us secret service was also looking into whether the hacker accessed photos that t-mobile subscribers had taken with their camera phones. the associated press agency reported that mr jacobsen also read personal files on the secret service agent who was apparently investigating the case. a los angeles grand jury indicted mr jacobsen with intentionally accessing a computer system without authorisation and with the unauthorised impairment of a protected computer between march and october 2004. he is currently on bail. t-mobile is a subsidiary company of deutsche telekom and has about 16.3 million subscribers in the us.
223,gardener battles to narrow win jason gardener fought all the way to the line to narrowly claim the men s 60m title at the norwich union indoor trials and aaas championships.  the world 60m champion got off to a rolling start and had to dig deep to dip ahead of mark findlay and darren chin  who both set personal bests.  it was a close race   admitted gardener.  i stumbled out the blocks but my experience told through.  i still feel there s more life in me and i believe i can go faster.  gardener s performance in sheffield could have been affected by the news  which he heard before his semi-final  that his european record had been broken frenchman ronald pognon  who will be a real threat at the european championships  set a new time of 6.45  one-hundreth of a second faster than gardener s previous mark. favourite  delivered a powerful performance to take the women s 60m title in 7.27 seconds.  you ll see me in madrid and i feel there is a lot more to come along   said the 22-year-old. katherine endacott battled hard to take second and dip under the european qualifying mark. defending champion joice maduaka had pulled out of the final with a chest infection.  was on record-breaking form as she stormed to the women s 60m hurdles crown. the 25-year-old set a new british record for the second time in seven days  clocking 7.96 seconds to finish ahead of rival diane allahgreen.  i m so happy   a tearful claxton told bbc sport.  all the years i ve been running and i m getting recognition.  claxton s time was also good enough to qualify for the european championships.  the men s 800m went to form in sheffield as  dominated the race from start to finish. the northern ireland athlete went off at a startling pace but had to hold off the challenge of welshman jimmy watkins over the final 200m to win in one minute  47.96 seconds. both mcilory and watkins  who set a life-time best of 1:48.32  had already booked their places in madrid and were again well within the qualifying time.  i had to go out and go through all the gears before the europeans and i won t run again until then   said mcilroy.  could not reach the european mark in the women s race as she crossed the line to win in 2:04.45. olympic bronze heptathlon medallist  rounded off a useful weekend with two more personal bests in sheffield. the 28-year-old reached 1.80m in the high jump and clocked 8.47secs in the heats of the 60m hurdles.  i ve surprised myself   said sotherton.  i m starting to thrive on the pressure but if i don t perform then it s not the end of the world.  pole vaulter  made a winning return to major competition after a drugs ban. the trafford athlete  who has served a two-year ban after testing positive for anabolic steroids  clinched the title with a championship record 4.25m.  also set a new championship mark in the men s triple jump title in sheffield. the 26-year-old  who has been training in australia over the winter  landed 17.30m with his final effort - the longest leap in the world this year.  i didn t have a clue   said idowu.  i ve not jumped indoors before and i just wanted the qualifying mark.  but this isn t a bad start and hopefully i ll come back from madrid with a gold medal.  nathan douglas continued his steady progress this season as he set a life-time best of 16.76m in second while jonathan moore took third.  and  resumed their rivalry in the long jump competition  both achieving the european standard. commonwealth champion morgan reached a personal best of 7.96m on his very first jump and then promptly retired with a bruised heel. olympian tomlinson tried to play catch up with his six jumps but had to settle for a season s best jump of 7.91m.  i was advised not to jump by my doctor and so i m pleased to come here and get the qualifying mark   said tomlinson.    now based at loughborough  sprinted past front runner catherine murphy in the final 100m to steal the women s 400m title. the 21-year-old ran a personal best of 53.45 seconds to win her first indoor title. wall s time was just short of the qualifying mark - something murphy already has. ireland s  took the men s title in 46.46 ahead of promising channel islands decathlete dale garland. sudanese 18-year-old rabah yusuf  who is seeking british citizenship  showed his raw talent as he burst through in third.  cleared the required 1.90m to qualify for the european championships and claim the aaas title in the women s high jump. in the men s 3 000m   powered to a new personal best of seven minutes  56.86 seconds to defend his aaas title in style. it was the first time in 11 years the eight-minute barrier has been broken at the championships and was just within the european mark.  took the women s 1500m aaas title in the absence of kelly holmes. her time of 4:19.11 was not good enough to qualify for madrid but ovens had already opted out of the championships. the men s race was won by    who had to fight off a closing pack to claim the title in 3:45.87.
763,celtic make late bid for bellamy newcastle striker craig bellamy is discussing a possible short-term loan move to celtic  bbc sport understands.  the welsh striker has rejected a move to birmingham after falling out with magpies manager graeme souness. the toon boss vowed bellamy would not play again after a bitter row over his exclusion for the game against arsenal. celtic are in no position to match birmingham s £6m offer but a stay until the end of the season could suit bellamy while he considers his future. according to bellamy s agent  the player dismissed a permanent move to birmingham. and it is unlikely that newcastle would allow the player to go on loan to another premiership club.  bellamy was fined two weeks  wages after a live tv interview in which he accused souness of lying  following a very public dispute about what position bellamy should play in the side. souness said:  he can t play for me ever again. he has been a disruptive influence from the minute i walked into this football club.  he can t go on television and accuse me of telling lies.  chairman freddy shepherd described bellamy s behaviour as  totally unacceptable and totally unprofessional .
977,radcliffe proves doubters wrong this won t go down as one of the greatest marathons of paula s career. but as a test of character  it was the toughest race she s ever taken part in.  a win in the new york marathon doesn t make up for the disappointment of athens in any shape or form  but it will offer hope and reassurance for next year. if paula s last experience of the year had been athens  it would have been very difficult to look forward with any optimism. she can now draw a line under this year and make plans about her future. even if she d lost this race  there would have been a lot of positives to take out of it. she knows she can dig deep if she needs to. it was a strong field  with a number of the girls going into the race with expectations of winning. and although two hours 23 minutes wasn t one of paula s best times  it wasn t far off the record on a difficult course.  i was speaking to paula in the lead-up to this race and she said that in many ways she was facing a no-win situation. she thought that if she won  people would say  why couldn t she do that in athens   and if she lost  people would say her career was over. and a lot of people were wondering what would happen if paula was forced to drop out of this race  as she did in the marathon and 10 000m in athens. but that was never on the cards. she might have been beaten  but she would have kept running. the reasons she was forced to pull out in athens - the niggling injuries  her lack of energy and the oppressive conditions - weren t at play here. the only question was what position she could finish in. most important of all  despite all the hype in the media ahead of this race  there were never doubts in paula s mind. if she wasn t confident  she wouldn t have run. after all  if you re the best in the world at an event  you ll always have expectations of winning.  now paula will take part in the run london 10km race in london at the end of the year  have a well-earned rest over christmas and go into next year with a lot of optimism.
1094,arnold congratulated on oscar win oscar-winner andrea arnold has been congratulated by the uk film council  the organisation which partly funded her project.  arnold s film wasp won the best live action short film award on sunday.  the uk film council spends millions of pounds of lottery investment on short filmmaking in britain every year   said chief executive officer john woodward.  it certainly pays off when you see new film-makers winning such prestigious awards   he added.  wasp  which was commissioned by the film council and channel 4  beat films by fellow uk nominees gary mckendry and ashvin kumar to the prize. it stars actress nathalie press  who appeared in the bafta-winning drama my summer of love  as a single mother who is forced to take drastic action when she is invited on a date and is unable to find a babysitter to look after her four daughters. the film has already won over 30 other international awards including the sundance short film prize. arnold  from dartford in kent  described her victory as  truly overwhelming. i m really not used to this kind of thing   she said  after receiving her oscar from actor jeremy irons.  thanks to everyone who worked on this - the beers are on me when we get home.  the director was one of only two british winners on the night  the other being sandy powell  who won the costume design oscar for her work on the aviator.
582,reaction from spanish press england s 1-0 defeat to spain on wednesday dominated the back and front pages of the country s press on thursday.  controversy was in no short supply  with racist abuse of england s black players  wayne rooney s petulance and england s inept performance. but what did the spanish press make of the affair  bbc sport looks at the reaction.      there is little coverage of the racist chanting on wednesday night s game. but as does cover the english reaction to the pre-match comments from spain coach luis aragones  who highlighted britain s colonial past when probed about his own remarks regarding thierry henry in october. journalist guillem balague writes:  in our country  where multi-culturalism is a new thing  we are in nappies dealing with these things  and have a naivety which makes the english nervous.   marca refers in passing to the booing of england s black players - but only after referring to the cheers of  ole  which greeted the long periods of spanish possession. aragones   no comment  to questions about racism after the match is also highlighted  as marca focuses on the spanish coach s praise for his players. serbia & montenegro s 2-0 world cup qualifying win in belgium - which could make qualification tougher for spain - seems to be of greater importance.  elsewhere  the spanish media criticises its english counterparts for stoking up the racism issue.  were there racist chants against some players  this hasn t happened in the spanish league and spain for many years   said spanish federation press officer fernando garrido.  so you (english reporters) should ask yourselves what you have done to contribute to all this.  and spanish daily abc accuses english reporters of launching a witch-hunt against aragones.  perhaps it was because their team had played so poorly and they wanted to divert attention towards this muddled issue   the paper says.       what the boy in the bernabeu did was odd... rooney seemed intent to kick any spanish player who approached him.  yet rooney is seen only as the worst example of many england miscreants  with gary neville criticised for continuing the feud between manchester united and arsenal for his tackles on jose reyes. ashley cole s treatment of joaquin  and a frank lampard foul on reyes are also lambasted for their  ugliness .  marca s headline says it all:  wayne rooney se volvió loco en el bernabéu (wayne rooney became crazy in the bernabeu)  rooney s display alarms the writer  in particular three  chilling  fouls on joaquin  casillas and marchena  which  could well have left them in the infirmary.  and like as  marca criticises gary neville for  leaving a message on reyes  ankle  to remind him of the manchester united-arsenal clash this month.      spain s first-half performance is showered with praise  with xavi singled out as the biggest star.  xavi did things on wednesday which were worthy of maradona   the paper beams  adding   what a work-rate  what dynamism  what vision  what leadership  what a midfield player!  on a controversial evening  as offers one seemingly undeniable viewpoint:  spanish football players played better football than the english.   more plaudits are given to the home team  with jaime vargas lauding the manner in which  spain dominated england with order and quality . the paper adds:  the bad thing about spain v england was that it lasted only 65 minutes after which a succession of changes prevented any real competition.  vargas does not mention england s two galacticos  simply adding in a ps:  i have not forgotten to speak of beckham and owen. they forgot to play.
1845,more reforms ahead says milburn labour will continue to pursue controversial reforms if it wins a third term in power  the party s election chief alan milburn has said.  he pledged labour would encourage more people to achieve their aspirations.  what we want is for more people to earn and own   mr milburn told bbc radio 4 s today show. tory shadow chancellor oliver letwin called labour  a brilliant machine for talking about things  but said it did not deliver policies the country needs. meanwhile  the liberal democrats  president simon hughes said:  new labour has lost people s confidence in a way old labour never did.  mr milburn told today that labour wanted policies which encouraged increased social mobility in britain.  pressed on incapacity benefits  he said the tax and welfare system must  provide the right incentives to people .  no-one is talking about driving people into work but what we do know is there are one million people on incapacity benefit who want the opportunity to work  providing the right level of support is there for them . however  backbench labour mp karen buck warned against proposed changes in such benefits. she told the today programme:  if the policy is seen as being about how do you make the feckless poor go back to work then it is not going to work  on the one hand. and it is not going to improve our electoral chances on the other.  mr milburn also sought to draw a line under the controversy about reports of a feud between gordon brown and prime minister tony blair.  he stressed that mr brown would play the same role that he did in the last election. mr milburn gave more details of planned reforms in a speech to labour s fabian society  in which he also praised mr brown as one of the leaders of the party s reform process. in the speech  he backed choice in schools and hospitals  wider home ownership and changes to the welfare system. mr milburn insisted that government reform must continue.  our task is to rebuild the new labour coalition around  one nation politics  that recognise  while life is hard for many  all should have the chance to succeed   he said.  there is a glass ceiling on opportunity in this country. in our first two terms we have raised it. in our third term we have to break it.  voters turned on the party when it failed to reform industrial relations in the 1960s  he also told his audience.  oliver letwin said the government had failed to deliver in any of the key public services  such as cleaner hospitals  discipline in schools and putting more police on the streets. he said ministers had not delivered cleaner hospitals  with 5 000 people dying from infections last year. new labour had failed on school discipline because it had not implemented serious reforms so that teachers could run schools  and which would give parents choice  he went on. for the lib dems  simon hughes said many pensioners are means tested for the money they needed and students who were told there wouldn t be tuition fees and more debt  have been given exactly the opposite . he added:  under new labour  all households are still paying unfair council tax rather than a fairer alternative.
965,gta sequel is criminally good the grand theft auto series of games have set themselves the very highest of standards in recent years  but the newest addition is more than able to live up to an increasingly grand tradition.  the 18 certificate gta: san andreas for the playstation 2 could have got away with merely revisiting a best-selling formula with a more-of-the-same approach. instead  it builds and expands almost immeasurably upon the last two games and stomps  carefree  over all the driv3r and true crime-shaped opposition. even in the year that will see sequels to halo and half-life  it is hard to envisage anything topping this barnstorming instant classic.  the basic gameplay remains familiar. you control a character  on this occasion a youth named cj  who sets out on a series of self-contained missions within a massive 3d environment. cj can commandeer any vehicle he stumbles across from a push-bike to a city bus to a plane. all come in handy as he seeks to establish his presence in a tough urban environment and avenge the dreadful deeds waged upon his family. to make things worse  he is framed for murder the moment he arrives in town  and blackmailed by crooked cops played by samuel l jackson and chris penn. the setting for all this rampant criminality is the fictional us state of san andreas  comprising three major cities: los santos  which is a thinly-disguised los angeles  san fierro  aka san francisco and las venturas  a carbon copy of las vegas. san andreas sucks you in with its sprawling range  cast of characters and incredibly sharp writing.  its ability to capture the ambience of the real-world versions of these cities is something to behold  assisted no end by the monumental graphical advances since vice city. the streets  and vast swathes of countryside  are by turns gloriously menacing  grungy and preppy. flaunting awesome levels of graphical detail  the game s overall look  particularly during the many unusual weather conditions and dramatic sunsets  is stupendous. the outstanding bread-and-butter gameplay mechanics provide a solid grounding for the elaborate plot to hang on. cars handle more convincingly than ever  a superb motion blur kicks in when you hit high speeds  and there s more traffic to navigate than before. park your vehicle across the lanes of a freeway  and within seconds there will be a huge pile-up. pedestrians are also out in force  and are a loquacious bunch. cj can interact with them using a simple system on the control pad. they will pass comments on his appearance and credibility  aspects that the player now has control over. clothes  tattoos and haircuts can all be purchased  and funding these habits can be achieved by criminal means or by indulging in mini-games like betting on horses and challenging bar patrons to games of pool. the character will put on or lose weight according to how long he spends on foot or in the gym. he will have to pause regularly in restaurants to keep energy levels up  but will swell up as a result of over-eating. and at last  this is a gta hero who can swim.  at a time when games are once again under fire for their supposed potential to corrupt the young  san andreas  violence  or specifically the freedom it gives the player to commit violence  are sure to inflame the pro-censorship brigade. developers rockstar have not shied away from brutality  and in some respects ramp it up from past outings.  when hijacking a car  for example  cj will gratuitously shove the driver s head into the steering wheel rather than just fleeing with the vehicle. indeed  the tone is darker than the jokey vice city. the grim subject matter here hardly lends itself to gags in quite the same way as the cheesy 80s setting of the last game. this title  incidentally  is set in 1992  but that is really neither here nor there apart from the influence it has on the radio playlists. the wit is still present  just more restrained than in previous outings. a further reason for this is that the incredible range of in-vehicle radio stations available means you will spend less time happening upon the hilarious talk radio options  where gta games  trademark humour is anchored. the quality of voice acting and motion capture is simply off-the-chart. the game s rather odious gangland lowlifes swagger and mouth off in a way that rings very true indeed. it is a testament to san andreas  magnificence that it has a number of prominent flaws  but plus-points are so numerous that the niggles don t detract. the on-screen map  for instance  is needlessly fiddly  an unwelcome change from past editions. there is also a very jarring slowdown at action-packed moments. and the game suffers from the age-old problem that can be relied upon to blight all games of this genre  setting you back a vast distance when you fail right at the very end of a long mission. but the gameplay experience in its entirety is overwhelmingly positive. you simply will not be bothered by these minor failings. san andreas is among the few unmissable games of 2004.
1461,us blogger fired by her airline a us airline attendant suspended over  inappropriate images  on her blog - web diary - says she has been fired.  ellen simonetti  known as queen of the sky  wrote an anonymous semi-fictional account of her life in the sky. she was suspended by delta in september. in a statement  she said she was initiating legal action against the airline for  wrongful termination . a delta spokesperson confirmed on wednesday that ms simonetti was no longer an employee. delta has repeatedly declined to elaborate on what it calls  internal employee matters . a spokesperson reiterated this position on wednesday  confirming only that ms simonetti was no longer with the company. the spokesperson also confirmed that there were  very clear rules  attached to the unauthorised use of delta branding  including uniforms. ms simonetti announced on her blog she had been fired on 1 november.  she said in an official statement:  as a result of my suspension and subsequent termination without cause by delta airlines i am moving forward with filing a discrimination complaint with the federal government eeoc [us equal employment opportunity commission].  she added she had also hired a texas-based law firm to initiate legal action for  wrongful termination  defamation of character and lost future wages.  ms simonetti told the bbc news website she had received no warning or further explanation when she was suspended on 25 september. queen of the sky has received a lot of support and advice from the global blogging community since news of her suspension was brought to light on the bbc news website and others.  her story has highlighted concerns amongst the growing blogging community about conflicts of interest  employment law and free speech on personal websites. the blog  which she started in january as a way of getting over her mother s death  contains a mix of fictional and non-fictional accounts. queen of the sky developed over the months as a character in her own right  according to ms simonetti. in the postings  she made up fictional names for cities and other companies she mentioned to protect anonymity. but some postings contained images of herself in uniform. of the 10 or so images only one showed ms simonetti s flight  wings . she removed them as soon as she was informed of her suspension.  i never meant it as something to harm my company and don t understand how they think it did harm them   ms simonetti said. a legal expert in the us speculated that delta might be concerned that the fictional content on the blog may be linked back to the airline after the images were posted.  delta has been hit recently by pressures of rising fuel costs and fierce competition. it has said it needs to cut between 6 000 and 7 000 jobs and reduce costs by $5bn (£2.7bn) a year. analysts had warned recently that the airline might have to seek chapter 11 bankruptcy prevention. last week  it struck a $1bn cost-cutting deal with its pilots which could save it from bankruptcy. the deal would see pilots accept a 32% pay cut in return for the right to buy 30 million delta shares  unions said. and on monday  it negotiated a deal to defer about $135m in debt which was due next year  until 2007. the airline also said it had agreed the terms of a $600m loan from american express.
945,mourinho expects fight to finish chelsea manager jose mourinho expects the champions league clash with barcelona to be a fight to the finish.  mourinho is relishing the first leg of the tie against his former club in the last 16 in the nou camp. he said:  i wouldn t be surprised if nothing had been decided by the last minute of the return leg and the match had to go into extra time.  i have to defend what is mine and the champions league is mine at the moment. i m the last manager to have won it.  mourinho never coached barcelona  assisting both sir bobby robson and louis van gaal. but he is not envious  insisting:  i don t have to be jealous about barcelona because they have 100 years of history and have won the european cup once.   i have been managing for five years and i have the same amount of champions league trophies to my name.  barcelona star ronaldinho admitted:  i think that it is going to be a difficult match for us because chelsea have a good team full of big stars.  i have seen chelsea a few times on television  tactically they are very good and they are very strong on the counter-attack.  they pressure very well and keep possession of the ball so it will be important that we play our own game.  i believe they are the two strongest teams in europe. nevertheless  barcelona are accustomed to playing big games at the nou camp  where they have to face the likes of real madrid each season.  it is a special game  the atmosphere in the city changes  there are lots of journalists but inside the dressing room there is not a lot of difference   ronaldinho added.  we are only thinking of winning the match with all respect to the opposition.
746,china continues breakneck growth china s economy has expanded by a breakneck 9.5% during 2004  faster than predicted and well above 2003 s 9.1%.  the news may mean more limits on investment and lending as beijing tries to take the economy off the boil. china has sucked in raw materials and energy to feed its expansion  which could have knock-on effects on the rest of the world if it overheats. but officials pointed out that industrial growth had slowed  with services providing much of the impetus. growth in industrial output - the main target of government efforts to impose curbs on credit and investments - was 11.5% in 2004  down from 17% the previous year.  still  consumer prices - at 2.4% - rose faster than in 2004  adding to concern that a sharp rise in producer prices of 7.1% could stoke inflation. and overall investment in fixed assets was still high  up 21.3% from the previous year - although some way off the peak of 43% seen in the first quarter of 2004. the result could be higher interest rates. china raised rates by 0.27 percentage points to 5.8% - its first hike in nine years - in october 2004.  despite the apparent rebalancing of the economy the overall growth picture remains strong  economists said.  there is no sign of a slowdown in 2005   said tim congdon  economist at ing barings.  china s economy is not only gathering speed thanks to domestic demand  but also from soaring sales overseas. figures released earlier this year showed exports at a six-year high in 2004  up 35%. part of the impetus comes from the relative cheapness of the yuan  china s currency. the government keeps it pegged close to a rate of 8.28 to the us dollar  - much to the chagrin of many us lawmakers who blame china for lost jobs and competitiveness. despite urging to ease the peg  officials insist they are a long way from ready to make a shift to a more market-set rate.  we need a good and feasible plan and formulating such a plan also needs time   national bureau of statistics chief li deshui told reuters.  those who hope to make a fortune by speculating on a renminbi revaluation will not succeed in making a profit.
1768,downing injury mars uefa victory middlesbrough boss steve mcclaren hopes that stewart downing did not seriously damage his hamstring during the 2-1 uefa cup win over graz ak.  the winger was carried off on a stretcher in the closing stages as boro booked their place in the last 16. mcclaren said:  stewart has tweaked a hamstring  which is a blow for us. we will assess it in the morning.  but i m delighted with the match result. they say in sport you can win ugly - and we certainly did.  mcclaren was relieved to make it through after a tough encounter at the riverside.   to be fair to graz  they had a gameplan - they knocked the ball forward  especially in the first half  and we struggled to deal with it.  in the second half we were better but it was frustrating because we got the goal - but one slip and they were back in it.  boro face sporting lisbon for a place in the quarter-finals after the portuguese side saw off feyenoord on thursday. and mcclaren added:  sporting are technically very good - portuguese sides always are.  but the journey goes on for us and we will now go to their magnificent stadium - after the first game here - we ll look forward to it.  goalscorer jimmy floyd hasselbaink added:  it wasn t a particularly beautiful match to watch - but they made it difficult for us.  we didn t play well at all. but you need a little bit of luck and i think we got that when my shot went through the legs of their goalkeeper.  i would have liked to play in holland - that would have been a little bit special to me.  but so is going back to portugal - i ll be playing against some lads i played with at boavista.
1242,indonesians face fuel price rise indonesia s government has confirmed it is considering raising fuel prices by as much as 30%.  millions of indonesians use kerosene for basic cooking  and prices have been heavily subsidised for years. president susilo bambang yudhoyono s government has said it wants to curb fuel subsidies and direct the money into aid programmes for the poor. but critics argue cutting subsidies will hurt the poorer families that his government says it wants to help. millions of people were left homeless in indonesia aceh s region following the earthquake and tsunami disaster in late december.  indonesia pays subsidies to importers in order to stabilise domestic fuel prices  but higher oil prices have forced the government to spend more on holding prices down. it spent 59.2 trillion rupiah ($6.58bn; £3.5bn) on fuel subsidies in 2004  a sum far in excess of its original projection of 14.5 trillion rupiah. since president yudhoyono s government came to power in october  it has indicated its intention of raising domestic fuel prices by cutting subsidies.  the (january to march) quarter of this year is the best time for us to increase fuel prices   said sri mulyani indrawati  state minister for national development planning.  we are still considering if a 30% hike is suitable at the moment. the sooner the better for the state budget.  the bbc s correspondent in jakarta  rachel harvey  told world business report that there was likely to be a strong public reaction to any price rise.  the big question is whether they go for one big  short  sharp shock and raise prices between 20% and 30% or whether they try to stagger it   she said. indonesia s previous government  led by president megawati sukarnoputri  also attempted to cut subsidies in 2003  but was forced to back down in the face of public protests.
259,italy 8-38 wales wales secured their first away win in the rbs six nations for nearly four years with a six-try victory in rome.  tries from jonathan thomas  tom shanklin and martyn williams gave the visitors a 19-5 half-time advantage. luciano orquera did reply with one for italy but second-half efforts from brent cockbain  shane williams and robert sidoli sealed victory. fly-half stephen jones added four conversions as wales maintained their superb start to this year s tournament. starting full of confidence after their victory over england  the visitors scored the opening try after just four minutes. diminutive wing shane williams fielded a kick ahead and danced past the onrushing andrea masi and aaron persico into the italian half. his pass to tom shanklin appeared forward but when the centre was held up short  the ball was switched left and michael owen s long cut-out pass gave the lurking thomas an easy run-in.  stephen jones  who retained the kicking duties despite gavin henson s heroics against england  slotted an excellent conversion from wide out. wales twice threatened further scores but failed to find the crucial pass  and italy hit back out of the blue in the 11th minute.  henson  sporting gold boots rather than the silver variety that did for england  beat two players with ease out on the left touchline. but his attempted chip ahead was charged down by orquera  who snaffled the loose ball and hared away from halfway to score in the right corner. with the welsh line-out stuttering and italy twice turning the visitors  scrum  the home side s forward power brought them back into it. but a clever high kick from henson almost brought a try for hal luscombe when roland de marigny and ludovico nitoglia made a hash of claiming it as the ball bounced into touch.  wales regained control with a second try in the 21st minute  henson lobbing up a high kick to the left corner where shanklin jumped higher than nitoglia to dot down his 15th test try. jones was unable to convert and de marigny then hit the upright with a penalty attempt for italy. henson was also narrowly short with a long-range effort at goal  but wales ended the half with a vital third score to give themselves some breathing space.  henson sent luscombe streaking away and when he off-loaded to martyn williams  the flanker showed his nous to ground the ball against the padding of the post  jones adding the conversion. italy  who lost flanker mauro bergamasco with a head knock before half-time  built up a head of steam on the resumption. de marigny landed a penalty to make it 19-8 and a nitoglia break through the middle threatened a try only for the move to break down with a knock-on. but wales put the outcome beyond doubt with two superb tries in four minutes before the hour. their fourth after 53 minutes was sparked by another mazy run from shane williams  who beat several players with ease  and finished with a powerful angled run from lock cockbain. before italy could recover from that blow  a strong surge from gareth thomas and great off-loads from martyn williams and replacement kevin morgan saw shane williams scamper over.  with jones converting both for a 33-8 lead  wales had the luxury of sending on five more replacements for the final quarter. the icing on the cake came with a sixth try after more superb support work  shane williams and ceri sweeney combining to send sidoli over in the left corner. the only downside for wales was a hamstring injury suffered by luscombe. but after back-to-back wins at the start of the tournament for the first time in 11 years  they will travel to paris in a fortnight looking like genuine contenders.  r de marigny; mirco bergamasco  w pozzebon  a masi  l nitoglia; l orquera  a troncon; a lo cicero  f ongaro  m castrogiovanni  s dellape  m bortolami (capt)  a persico  mauro bergamasco  s parisse.  g intoppa  s perugini  ca del fava  d dal maso  p griffen  m barbini  kp robertson.  g thomas (capt); h luscombe  t shanklin  g henson  s williams; s jones  d peel; g jenkins  m davies  a jones; b cockbain  r sidoli; j thomas  m williams  m owen.  r mcbryde  j yapp  i gough  r sowden-taylor  g cooper  c sweeney  k morgan.  andrew cole (australia).
866,brits debate over  urban  music joss stone  a 17-year-old soul singer from devon  beat dizzee rascal  jamelia  lemar and the streets to win best british urban act at the brit awards. her victory has reignited the debate about what urban music is.      i m not really comfortable with the word urban. it s a word that s been manufactured in this country and america to describe black music. the word urban seems to cover such a broad range of black music that it s wrong. how far are the brits removed from inner-city music and what people are doing  it s so far removed that i don t expect them to get it bang on. the music industry isn t championing music from our particular genre very well anyway. people don t feel like that s anything to do with us. i don t feel like urban music s just been celebrated by [joss stone] winning or her being nominated  or by the brits acknowledging that there s an urban music scene because it s all a kick in the teeth at the end of the day. it s not really relevant. if joss stone is the closest thing that they feel comfortable championing because of what she looks like and how she sounds and who she s signed to  then so be it. it s got nothing to do with what s really going on.    urban as a genre is very broad. if you look underneath urban  there are a number of core elements that include hip-hop  r&b  garage and into that obviously comes soul. joss stone is a soul artist. her first album was called the soul sessions. so urban is a very broad brushstroke that is the umbrella over the top of sub-genres  and there are offshoots of all of those. joss stone has had amazing success [in the us] given that she s a uk artist. what has really captured everybody s imagination is that here you have a 17-year-old from devon with a voice to die for and a bunch of really  really good tunes and she looks good - i think that s what s done it.  the award for best british urban act was voted for by viewers of mtv base.    i don t think joss was not a worthy winner. she makes soul music and that definitely comes under the category of what we describe as urban. the fact that she s from devon is the interesting thing because most of the music we cover is made in large cities and she s literally rural. the great thing about urban music is that there s a big range. if there is some sort of root with black music or dance music in britain  i think that s where you can call it urban - that s where this new sub-category  or uber-category  has come from. joss stone is certainly not old enough to have had some of the experiences of an older soul singer  but you couldn t argue that she was being inauthentic with her emotions - it is coming from somewhere genuine. it has to come across as real. that s the only cut-off point we have here and that s the only way by which we judge people.    what urban means to us as an organisation is the politically correct term to describe music which originated from a black background. music should become inclusive and if we are fighting for a multi-cultural britain  then we should be fighting for inclusion rather than exclusion. if joss stone can be accepted within the urban music community  i think acts from other ethnicities doing classical music and rock should be accepted too. race doesn t make a difference if everyone is included. out of all the awards dished out yesterday  i m still trying to find out what people of other races received any sort of recognition or award.    a type of music (especially street music) that originates from a city  and typically reflects or is characteristic of urban life.  she might not be urban  but when did r&b become the hip hop tainted thing it is now  r&b stands for rhythm and blues  remember!  that joss stone is rubbish is certain. if anyone deserves to win an award for urban music (i think probably should include hip-hop  soul & funk at least but not rock or pop) this year its the streets  although dizzee rascal stakes a good claim  she definitely deserved to win a prize  joss stone s albums are quite simply amazing  easily better than anything else that was released last year. this whole debate about what is urban  what isnt urban is completely pointless and probably fueled by urban artists who weren t nominated or didn t win. i cant see why people can t just congratulate her for the talent that she is.  she did deserve it  but i agree with the comments about urban music. its a stupid phrase  and particularly british. in the states they tend to use hip hop and r&b  if i say hip hop here a lot of people have no idea what i m talking about. very strange.  what s in a name  a rose by any other name etc... if people want to call it urban  why not  if we really analysed it  the term  dance music  is misleading because it doesn t describe everything you can dance to.  whilst i agree that the term  urban  is open to interpretation  it strikes me as simply weird that joss stone has won.  urban  to me is what i hear being played in parties in the inner cities - i live in brixton and have never heard the soul sessions pumping out of of a bass heavy sound system in any parties i ve been to. good luck to joss stone  let s celebrate her victory - let s also question why  with artists so successful and talented as jamelia  lemar  kanye west  dizzee rascal  alicia keys and outkast - we didn t see a single black artist on stage collecting an award.  so  what you re saying is that any music that has black heritage is not allowed to be sung by anyone who isn t black. and  if it is  then they shouldn t be acknowledged for it even if they re pretty dam good at it  she s 17  has an amazing voice  and won. good on her. oh  but she s not  black  well  let s make her feel real bad about it then. how dare she! though hang on  didn t the so-called  public  vote on this one   this idea of pigeonholing whatever is popular at the time is no different than what was happening in the 1940s and 50s in relation to what  jazz  was. the media then called anything that had a swinging beat  syncopated melody or soulful feeling  jazz   much to the chagrin of the artists. it would mean that  blues  would be put in the same mould as  bebop    cool  and  ragtime   all very different styles at that time. jazz was and remains such a massively misunderstood term. and so what of  urban  music  in truth it s a lazy term to categorise music that you don t really understand. soul and garage are worlds apart musically (marvin gaye v tuff jam )  but no doubt have their connections. if we just let the music speak for itself and not judge the success of an artist by the number of awards won  then maybe we can enjoy the music for what it is  rather than what it represents.  i demand a prize for rural music! sucks to the cities- it s way better out here. we have hay  for one thing.  excluding her from what has become known as urban music would be as bad as excluding lenny kravitz or hendrix from rock music for being black surely  i dont understand the point that ty is making. if lemar  who makes music which is less soulful than joss  work won  he might have said nothing. (btw i m black too)  how can she be  urban  if she spent most of her life in the devon countryside  nonsense.  i love joss to bits and don t care what her branding is - it s amazing music  full stop. stop puting it all in brackets and let s just call it music  and let s especially drop the black / urban tag - nearly all music came from black origin  this just sets an example that it is ok to pigeonhole people and their music by their colour.  surely the point of having an urban music category is simply to acknowledge artists that are making what is (historically) considered urban music  irrelevent of the colour of their skin  or where they originate from. joss stone is simply singing a certain type of music that can be considered urban in style  just as someone from an inner city  and indeed not from the usa could sing country music. if that person was good at it and authentic in sound  would we criticise it being referred to as country music or the artist for representing that style   the term urban in reference to a music genre in uk has developed  in part  from the controversy surrounding the branding of the mobo awards. the very term  music of black origin  has confused and offended many people. this is particularly strange given the existence of the asian music awards. it appears that the use of  black  or  white  in relation to music makes people feel uncomfortable. the term  urban  therefore  has been invoked to sidestep the debate of which type of music came first  black  or  white  thereby rendering the issue colourblind. the result is now a redundant new debate as to what  urban  also means. perhaps we should have created a new term altogether to describe the various strains of soul/rnb and hip-hop  one which does not also mean something else - as we have done with  crunk .  urban is just a word that s come about recently to describe  black  music that s become popular now. the word wasn t even in use  or common use five of six years ago. it s just a way of the industry clumping it all together without having to call it black music  because some people are oversensitive and might call them racist for it.  i m in a band that has been called  urban   and i despise the label. i d hate to think i belonged to any neat marketing niche  because that s all it is. ever since the music channels and record comapnies tried to fracture what they consider  music of black origin   these labels have been used to undermine the status of good music into a commodity. look at all the tv broadcasters  unable to reach young people without condesending  they simply play some  urban  music on the soundtrack as if its some dreadful cheap lift music. ignore the labels  it is what it is  just music.  as a black man  i think i agree with some of the statements at least the statements made by the key executives. black people should lead the music they invented . we should stop calling a genre meaningless  northing is meaningless. the real question is would joss stone would have been that successful doing the music she was doing if she were black  same thing  with streets  amy winehouse  etc. who s ever heard of terri walker or rhian benson.. they are both 10 times better than joss stone and both of them have won urban music awards and i think mobos   but why not brits      so what if joss stone won the urban awards. her music is great soul and surely that is under the  urban  banner  what if the streets had won  would people be whining because mike skinner is white... it seems that a lot of the fuss is about race where the real issue should be music and nothing else.  urban is pc version for saying black music. i m not doubting ms stone s talent  but why didn t jamelia or lemar get a brit  this reminds me of what happened to craig david and soul ii soul in the past  getting nominations are easy to get  but picking up a brit seems to be the hardest thing.  refreshing to see people making reasonable  intelligent comments on any topic these days. more power to you  people! you have said it: there is music you like and music you don t like - who cares what label you put on it   that entire category was a mess. how can you have people like dizzee rascal up against joss stone  its like putting eminem against bob geldof. she should have been nominated for best british r & b act. joss stone deserved to win an award for her talents  but i don t think it was very  urban  of her to sing angels with robbie williams.  urban is a nonsense term - music of black origin  well doesn t that include rock  music made in the inner cities  well almost all bands end up making music in london/manchester etc. and doesn t that make some weird implication that all black people live in cities  it doesn t make any sense.  why does music have to be put into a genre  it s music  you like it or you don t. simple as that.  i play in a heavy metal band. we are urban music as far as i m concerned. we live in cities and spend our working life in an urban environment; it therefore directly shapes what we write musically.   urban  seems to be the new name for all styles of black music. why it needed a rebrand i don t know as the name is misleading. oasis originate from a city and characterise the urban life they know  therefore more than fit the term  urban  yet as they re a white rock band they won t be described as such.  joss stone has a fantastic voice and great timing and delivery - what other reason do they need to award her the brit  all this  urban  and other such categorisation is just the red-tape of the music business and is best ignored.  yeah  she deserved it. she is talented. urban is a crap  meaningless  politically correct and probably actually racist marketing term though. there s only two kinds of music: good and bad.
1288,ericsson sees earnings improve telecoms equipment supplier ericsson has posted a rise in fourth quarter profits thanks to clients like deutsche telekom upgrade their networks.  operating profit in the three months to 31 december was 9.5bn kronor (£722m; $1.3bn) against 6.3bn kronor last year. shares tumbled  however  as the company reported a profit margin of 45.6%  less than the 47.3% forecast by analysts and down from 47.1% in the third quarter. ericsson shares dropped 5.9% to 20.7 kronor in early trading on thursday. however  the company remained optimistic about its earnings outlook after sales in the fourth quarter rose 9% to 39.4bn kronor.  long-term growth drivers of the industry remain solid   ericsson said in a statement.  chief executive carl-henric svanberg explained that about  27% of the world s population now has access to mobile communications .  this is exciting for a company with a vision of an all-communicating world   he added. mr svanberg  however  warned that the extra demand that had driven 2004 sales had already dissipated and it was  business as usual . he added that sales in the first three months of 2005 would be subject to  normal seasonality . for the whole of 2004  ericsson returned a net profit of 19bn kronor  compared with a loss of 10.8bn kronor in 2003. sales climbed to 131.9 billion kronor from 117.7bn kronor in 2003.
915,us economy shows solid gdp growth the us economy has grown more than expected  expanding at an annual rate of 3.8% in the last quarter of 2004.  the gross domestic product figure was ahead of the 3.1% the government estimated a month ago. the rise reflects stronger spending by businesses on capital equipment and a smaller-than-expected trade deficit. gdp is a measure of a country s economic health  reflecting the value of the goods and services it produces.  the new gdp figure  announced by the commerce department on friday  also topped the 3.5% growth rate that economists had forecast ahead of friday s announcement. growth was at an annual rate of 4% in the third quarter of 2004 and for the year it came in at 4.4%  the best figure in five years. however  the positive economic climate may lead to a rise in interest rates  with many expecting us rates to rise on 22 march. in the january-to-march quarter  the economy is expected to grow at an annual rate of about 4%  economists forecast. in the final quarter of 2004  businesses increased spending on capital equipment and software by 18%  up from 17.5% in the third quarter. consumer spending grew 4.2% in the final quarter  down from the third quarter s 5.1%.
337,britney attacks  false tabloids  pop star britney spears has attacked  false  and  desperate  us tabloid magazines  questioning their honesty after they reported she was pregnant.  in a letter on her website  the singer named celebrity tabloids us weekly  in touch and star as the worst offenders.  until you face what is going on in your life  i guess you ll remain a false tabloid   the 23-year-old wrote. stories about the state of her marriage to kevin federline and rumours about a pregnancy have recently appeared. but the chart-topping singer s letter did not shed any further light on those stories. in february  spears clashed with us weekly for publishing pictures of her honeymoon in fiji without permission. the couple  who married in los angeles last september  claimed staff took photographs of them which were later sold.  they said they allowed the pictures to be taken after they were assured they would only be used for a private scrapbook  which they later received as a souvenir. us magazine was unrepentant about their decision to publish  saying:  britney should start her own magazine if she d like to dictate her own coverage.   coming from a celebrity who sold pictures of both her wedding and her stepdaughter  it s unlikely the issue here is privacy   they added. spears claimed that other magazines were approached with the pictures but chose to contact her instead.
1842,plaid mp s cottage arson claim a plaid cymru mp believes uk security services were involved in some arson attacks blamed on welsh extremists.  it is 25 years since the start of 12 years of fire-bombings  attributed to a shadowy group known as meibion glyndwr. plaid cymru s elfyn llwyd has suggested the security services could have been involved  with the intention of discrediting the nationalist vote. ex-welsh office minister lord roberts of conwy denied security services were involved. in march this year  north wales police reopened the case  saying materials kept during their investigations would be examined to find whether it would yield dna evidence.  meibion glyndwr - which means  sons of glyndwr  - began burning property in december 1979 in protest at homes in rural wales being sold as holiday cottages to people from england. the group was linked to most of the 220 or so fire-bombing incidents stretching from the llyn peninsula to pembrokeshire. the campaign continued until the early 1990s. police were accused in some quarters of targeting anyone who was a nationalist. although one man  sion aubrey roberts  was convicted in 1993 of sending letter bombs in the post  the arson cases remain unsolved.  as a solicitor  elfyn llwyd represented welsh singer bryn fôn when he was arrested on suspicion of being involved in the arson campaign. fôn was released without charge . but now  as mp for merionnydd nant conwy and plaid cymru s parliamentary leader  mr llwyd has argued that some of the terror attacks may have had the involvement of the security services and not meibion glyndwr. he believes that elements of the british security services may have carried out renegade actions in order to discredit plaid cymru and the nationalist vote ahead of elections. the claim is made in an interview for bbc wales  maniffesto programme to be shown on s4c on sunday.  mr llwyd said that the sophistication of many of the devices used in the attacks compared to the crude nature of many others  suggests a degree of professionalism which could only have come from individuals who knew exactly what they were doing. he said:  what i m saying is that the role that they took wasn t the appropriate one  i.e. like an  agent provocateur  and perhaps interfering and creating a situation where it looked like it was the nationalists that were responsible.  the programme also heard from lord roberts of conwy  who was a welsh office minister at the time. he denied that the security services played any improper role. mr llwyd s theory has also been questioned by plaid cymru s former president  dafydd wigley. he accepted that the fires damaged plaid cymru s public image but believed that the security services had their hands full at the time with the ira and animal rights activists.    - maniffesto can be seen on s4c on sunday  12 december  at 1200 gmt.
975,low-cost airlines hit eurotunnel channel tunnel operator eurotunnel has seen sales fall in the face of the upsurge in european low-cost airlines.  the firm said sales were down 4% in 2004 to 789m euros ($1.03bn; £548m).  the impact of the development of no-frills airlines is being felt ever more strongly   said chief executive jean-louis raymond. income from its vehicle-carrying shuttle services fell 7%  although 15% more passengers meant a 2% rise in railway revenue.  the cross-channel truck market is improving  eurotunnel said  but warned that it was not benefiting since much of the traffic was in containers destined for ports. the passenger-only trains which use the tunnel are run by a separate company  eurostar.  eurotunnel is still struggling with debts of more than 6bn euros. the company is currently kept afloat by the 200-plus banks to whom it owes the money. a shareholder revolt threw out the old board in 2004. but the bbc s business editor  jeff randall  said the banks could yet step in and take over altogether.  at the moment it can t even service the interest on its debt   he said.  this is a company in the departure lounge of life.
1890,moya suffers shock loss fifth seed carlos moya was the first big name to fall at the australian open as he went down to fellow spaniard guillermo garcia-lopez on monday.  moya began the year with victory at the chennai open but looked out of sorts from the start in the melbourne heat. garcia-lopez  ranked 106 in the world  dominated from the outset and withstood a third-set rally from moya to hang on for a 7-5 6-3 3-6 6-3 victory. the 21-year-old plays kevin kim or lee hyuung-taik in the second round. garcia-lopez was delighted with the victory in only his third ever grand slam match.  i think this was the most important win of my life as carlos is one of the best players in the world   he said.  this has given me a lot of confidence. now i feel i can beat all these players.  moya said:  i was playing well before i came here. it was the perfect preparation but something was wrong today.   four-time champion andre agassi began what could be his last australian open with a convincing win over german qualifier dieter kindlmann. the 34-year-old american  who had been struggling with a hip injury earlier in the week  stormed to a 6-4 6-3 6-0 win. agassi will play france s olivier patience or germany s rainer schuettler - the man he beat in the 2003 final - in the next round.  no one was more concerned (about the injury) than myself   said eighth seed agassi.  i d worked hard to be down here and ready. but the last few days  i ve pushed through the injury and it seemed to do pretty good.  in other matches  world junior champion gael monfils made use of his wild card with a magnificent 1-6 6-3 6-4 7-6 (8-6) win over american robby ginepri. the 2002 champion thomas johansson fought back to beat peter luczak 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-3 4-6 6-0  and french open champion gaston gaudio beat justin gimelstob 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 6-3. seeds dominik hrbaty  ivan ljubicic and mario ancic made comfortable progress  but former french open champion albert costa lost to bjorn phau.
1694,robben plays down european return injured chelsea winger arjen robben has insisted that he only has a 10% chance of making a return against barcelona in the champions league.  the 21-year-old has been sidelined since breaking a foot against blackburn last month. chelsea face barcelona at home on 8 march having lost 2-1 in the first leg. and robben told the daily star:  it is not impossible that i will play against barcelona but it is just a very  very small chance - about 10%.   robben has been an inspirational player for chelsea this season following a switch from psv einhoven last summer. he added:  my recovery is going better than we expected a few weeks ago but i think the barcelona game will come too soon.  i won t take any risks and come back too soon.
367,mobile multimedia slow to catch on there is no doubt that mobile phones sporting cameras and colour screens are hugely popular.  consumers swapping old phones for slinkier  dinkier versions are thought to be responsible for a 26% increase in the number of phones sold during the third quarter of 2004  according to analysts gartner more than 167 million handsets were sold globally between july and september 2004  a period that  according to gartner analyst carolina milanesi is  seldom strong . but although consumers have mobiles that can take and send snaps  sounds and video clips few  so far  are taking the chance to do so.  in fact  the numbers of people not taking and sending pictures  audio and video is growing. figures gathered by continental research shows that 36% of british camera phone users have never sent a multimedia message (mms)  up from 7% in 2003. this is despite the fact that  during the same period  the numbers of camera phones in the uk more than doubled to 7.5 million. getting mobile phone users to send multimedia messages is really important for operators keen to squeeze more cash out of their customers and offset the cost of subsidising the handsets people are buying. the problem they face  said shailendra jain  head of mms firm adamind  is educating people in how to send the multimedia messages using their funky handsets.   also   he said   they have to simplify the interface so its not rocket science in terms of someone understanding it.  research bears out the suspicion that people are not sending multimedia messages because they do not know how to. according to continental research  29% of the people it questioned said they were technophobes that tended to shy away from innovation. only 11% regarded themselves as technically savvy enough to send a picture or video message. the fact that multimedia services are not interoperable across networks and phones only adds to people s reluctance to start sending them  said mr jain.  they ask themselves:  if i m streaming video from one handset to another will it work    he said.  there s a lot of user apprehension about that.   there are other deeper technical reasons why multimedia messages are not being pushed as strongly as they might. andrew bud  executive chairman of messaging firm mblox  said mobile phone operators cap the number of messages that can be circulating at any one time for fear of overwhelming the system.  the rate we can send mms into the mobile network is fairly constant   he said. the reason for this is that there are finite capacities for data traffic on the second generation networks that currently have the most users.  no-one wants to take the risk of swamping these relatively narrow channels so the number of mms messages is capped  said mr bud. this has led to operators finding other technologies  particularly one known as wap-push  to get multimedia to their customers. but when networks do find a good way to get multimedia to their customers  the results can be dramatic. israeli technology firm celltick has found a way to broadcast data across phone networks in a way that does not overwhelm existing bandwidth. one of the first firms to use the celltick service is hutch india  the largest mobile firm in the country. the broadcast system gets multimedia to customers via a rolling menu far faster than would be possible with other systems. while not multimedia messaging  such a system gets people used to seeing their phones as a device that can handle all different types of content. as a result 40% of the subscribers to the hutch alive  which uses celltick s broadcast technology  regularly click for more pictures  sounds and images from the operator.  operators really need to start utilising this tool to reach their customers   said yaron toren  spokesman for celltick. until then  multimedia will be a message that is not getting through.
1270,hingis hints at playing comeback martina hingis has admitted that she might consider a competitive return to tennis if an appearance in thailand later this month goes well.  the former world number one will play at the volvo women s open in pattaya  which starts on 31 january  as part of her charity work in the region.  the tournament is a test   she said.  i don t know how my body will react.  i support several charities in thailand. i m also playing to see where i am.  speaking to le matin  the 24-year-old swiss added:  at pattaya there will not be as many people and the players are ranked between the 30th and 95th in the world.  hingis was 22 when she retired after having surgery on both ankles  and her last wta event was in filderstadt  germany  in october 2002  when she lost to elena dementieva.
1679,williams says he will never quit defiant matt williams says he will not quit as scotland coach even if his side slump to a new low with defeat by italy at murrayfield.  that would leave the scots as favourites to win the wooden spoon for the second year running.  i have never quit anything in my life  apart from maybe painting the kitchen   he told bbc sport.  the support we have been given from murrayfield in my whole time here has been 100%.  williams has yet to experience an rbs six nations victory after seven attempts and scotland have lost 12 of their 14 games under his leadership. but he rejected the comparison made in some media sources with berti vogts  recently sacked as scotland football manager after a poor run of results.   how can a german football coach and an australian rugby coach have anything in common   he asked.  it is a bizarre analogy. it is so absurd that it borders on the humorous.  williams insists that he is revelling in the pressure  despite the possibility of a second six nations series without a victory.  that is not beyond the realms of possibility   he admitted.  there s nothing much between the teams  so we could win the next three games or lose them.  but i actually really enjoy seeing how you cope with such pressure as a coach.  it helps the team grow and helps you grow as a coach.  we could have won in paris but for the last five minutes and now we have two defeats  but we were confident for those two first games and we are confident we can beat italy too.
717,fantasy book wins hollywood deal a british author has had the film rights to her children s bestseller snapped up for a seven-figure sum  with ridley scott set to direct.  michelle paver s wolf brother  a fantasy set 6 000 years ago  is the first in a planned series of six books. film studio fox has bought the rights for around $4m (£2.13m) for scott s company scott free to develop. the director said he was  thrilled  with the project.  wolf brother is an enchanting book   he said. paver  who lives in london and previously worked as a lawyer  began writing the book in 1982 while studying biochemistry at oxford university.  she was an established author of love stories when she turned the work-in-progress into a children s novel. it was published in 2004  with paver earning an advance of $5m (£2.8m) - the highest sum ever paid for a debut children s book. wolf brother tells the story of torak  a 12-year-old hunter who lives in the forest. after his father is killed he teams up with a wolf cub and sets out to rid the forest of an evil force. paver is currently writing the second book in the series.  michelle paver lives and breathes the worlds she writes about   said a spokesman for the author.  i ve told her about the film deal but at the moment she is writing the second book and her mind is 6000 years away deep in the primeval forest.
838,sec to rethink post-enron rules the us stock market watchdog s chairman has said he is willing to soften tough new us corporate governance rules to ease the burden on foreign firms.  in a speech at the london school of economics  william donaldson promised  several initiatives . european firms have protested that us laws introduced after the enron scandal make wall street listings too costly. the us regulator said foreign firms may get extra time to comply with a key clause in the sarbanes-oxley act.  the act comes into force in mid-2005. it obliges all firms with us stock market listings to make declarations  which  critics say  will add substantially to the cost of preparing their annual accounts.  firms that break the new law could face huge fines  while senior executives risk jail terms of up to 20 years. mr donaldson said that although the act does not provide exemptions for foreign firms  the securities and exchange commission (sec) would  continue to be sensitive to the need to accomodate foreign structures and requirements . there are few  if any  who disagree with the intentions of the act  which obliges chief executives to sign a statement taking responsibility for the accuracy of the accounts. but european firms with secondary listings in new york have objected - arguing that the compliance costs outweigh the benefits of a dual listing. the act also applies to firms with more than 300 us shareholders  a situation many firms without us listings could find themselves in.  the 300-shareholder threshold has drawn anger as it effectively blocks the most obvious remedy  a delisting. mr donaldson said the sec would  consider whether there should be a new approach to the deregistration process  for foreign firms unwilling to meet us requirements.   we should seek a solution that will preserve investor protections  without turning the us market into  one with no exit   he said. he revealed that his staff were already weighing up the merits of delaying the implementation of the act s least popular measure - section 404 - for foreign firms. seen as particularly costly to implement  section 404 obliges chief executives to take responsibility for the firm s internal controls by signing a compliance statement in the annual accounts. the sec has already delayed implementation of this clause for smaller firms - including us ones - with market capitalisations below $700m (£374m).  a delegation of european firms visited the sec in december to press for change  the financial times reported.  it was led by digby jones  director general of the uk s confederation of british industry (cbi) and included representatives of basf  siemens and cadbury schweppes. compliance costs are already believed to be making firms wary of us listings. air china picked the london stock exchange for its secondary listing in its $1.07bn (£558m) stock market debut last month. there are also rumours that two chinese state-run banks - china construction bank and bank of china - have abandoned plans for multi-billion dollar listings in new york later this year. instead  the cost of sarbanes-oxley has persuaded them to stick to a single listing in hong kong  according to press reports in china.
1857,o connor aims to grab opportunity johnny o connor is determined to make a big impression when he makes his rbs six nations debut for ireland against scotland on saturday.  the wasps flanker replaces denis leamy but o connor knows that the munster man will be pushing hard for a recall for the following game against england.  it s a  horses for courses  selection really   said o connor.  there s a lot of competition here and i can t just drag my heels around if i don t get picked.  it looks a definite head-to-head battle between himself and 23-year-old leamy - three stone heavier than o connor - for the number seven role against the world champions. nonetheless  all o connor is currently concerned about is making an impression while winning his third cap.   missing the italian game was disappointing certainly  but you can t dwell on these things - it s part and parcel of rugby.  denis has been playing really well and deserved his opportunity.  it s a good situation to be in if there are good players around you  pushing for a place in the side.  o connor  who celebrated his 25th birthday on wednesday  was touted by wasps director of rugby warren gatland as a possible 2005 lions test openside as far back as last september. and his reputation as a breakdown scavenger and heavy hitter has seen him come to the forefront of o sullivan s mind for the scottish tussle. o connor added:  it will be interesting to see how situations on the deck is reffed  with the new laws having come in.   obviously the breakdown a big part of what i do on the pitch so i m hoping to hold some influence there against what is a very solid scottish pack.  o connor will be winning his third cap after making his debut in the victory over south africa last november.
798,kenyan school turns to handhelds at the mbita point primary school in western kenya students click away at a handheld computer with a stylus.  they are doing exercises in their school textbooks which have been digitised. it is a pilot project run by eduvision  which is looking at ways to use low cost computer systems to get up-to-date information to students who are currently stuck with ancient textbooks. matthew herren from eduvision told the bbc programme go digital how the non-governmental organisation uses a combination of satellite radio and handheld computers called e-slates.  the e-slates connect via a wireless connection to a base station in the school. this in turn is connected to a satellite radio receiver. the data is transmitted alongside audio signals.  the base station processes the information from the satellite transmission and turns it into a form that can be read by the handheld e-slates.  it downloads from the satellite and every day processes the stream  sorts through content for the material destined for the users connected to it. it also stores this on its hard disc.   the system is cheaper than installing and maintaining an internet connection and conventional computer network. but mr herren says there are both pros and cons to the project.  it s very simple to set up  just a satellite antenna on the roof of the school  but it s also a one-way connection  so getting feedback or specific requests from end users is difficult.   the project is still at the pilot stage and eduvision staff are on the ground to attend to teething problems with the linux-based system.  the content is divided into visual information  textual information and questions. users can scroll through these sections independently of each other.  eduvision is planning to include audio and video files as the system develops and add more content. mr herren says this would vastly increase the opportunities available to the students. he is currently in negotiations to take advantage of a project being organised by search site google to digitise some of the world s largest university libraries.  all books in the public domain  something like 15 million  could be put on the base stations as we manufacture them. then every rural school in africa would have access to the same libraries as the students in oxford and harvard  currently the project is operating in an area where there is mains electricity. but mr herren says eduvision already has plans to extend it to more remote regions.  we plan to put a solar panel at the school with the base station  have the e-slates charge during the day when the children are in school  then they can take them home at night and continue working.  maciej sundra  who designed the user interface for the e-slates  says the project s ultimate goal is levelling access to knowledge around the world.  why in this age when most people do most research using the internet are students still using textbooks  the fact that we are doing this in a rural developing country is very exciting - as they need it most.
1915,labour plans maternity pay rise maternity pay for new mothers is to rise by £1 400 as part of new proposals announced by the trade and industry secretary patricia hewitt.  it would mean paid leave would be increased to nine months by 2007  ms hewitt told gmtv s sunday programme. other plans include letting maternity pay be given to fathers and extending rights to parents of older children. the tories dismissed the maternity pay plan as  desperate   while the liberal democrats said it was misdirected.  ms hewitt said:  we have already doubled the length of maternity pay  it was 13 weeks when we were elected  we have already taken it up to 26 weeks.  we are going to extend the pay to nine months by 2007 and the aim is to get it right up to the full 12 months by the end of the next parliament.  she said new mothers were already entitled to 12 months leave  but that many women could not take it as only six of those months were paid.  we have made a firm commitment. we will definitely extend the maternity pay  from the six months where it now is to nine months  that s the extra £1 400.  she said ministers would consult on other proposals that could see fathers being allowed to take some of their partner s maternity pay or leave period  or extending the rights of flexible working to carers or parents of older children. the shadow secretary of state for the family  theresa may  said:  these plans were announced by gordon brown in his pre-budget review in december and tony blair is now recycling it in his desperate bid to win back women voters.   she said the conservatives would announce their proposals closer to the general election. liberal democrat spokeswoman for women sandra gidley said:  while mothers would welcome any extra maternity pay the liberal democrats feel this money is being misdirected.  she said her party would boost maternity pay in the first six months to allow more women to stay at home in that time.  ms hewitt also stressed the plans would be paid for by taxpayers  not employers. but david frost  director general of the british chambers of commerce  warned that many small firms could be  crippled  by the move.  while the majority of any salary costs may be covered by the government s statutory pay  recruitment costs  advertising costs  retraining costs and the strain on the company will not be   he said. further details of the government s plans will be outlined on monday. new mothers are currently entitled to 90% of average earnings for the first six weeks after giving birth  followed by £102.80 a week until the baby is six months old.
1051,tough schedule delays elliot show preview performances of the £3m musical billy elliot have been delayed to give the child actors a less arduous rehearsal schedule.  director stephen daldry made the decision to re-schedule the previews to protect the young stars. three boys will rotate the demanding role of ballet dancer billy  which requires them to sing  dance and act. the show s opening night on 12 may at the victoria palace theatre in london remains unaffected by the changes. preview performances will now be held on 14  20 and 27 april.  this is one of the most ambitious projects i have been involved with   said daldry.  the decision has been made to push back our preview performances in order to give our company  with a cast including 45 children  a little extra time so they are as fully prepared as possible.   he added:  the young billy elliots in particular  making their professional stage debuts in the west end  will benefit from a little extra time to familiarise themselves with all aspects of the production.   the three boys playing billy are james lomas  15  george maguire  14  and liam mower  12. the other major child parts will also be rotated between young actors. such are the demands of the show that producers set up a stage school in newcastle to train potential stars for the show. child labour laws also mean the young actors can only work for a limited period each week. adult actors in the show include tim healy as billy s father and haydn gwnne as his dance teacher mrs wilkinson. sir elton john has composed the music. daldry directed the successful film version of billy elliot  adapted from lee hall s script. both were nominated for oscars  alongside julie walters  who played billy s teacher.
99,japan narrowly escapes recession japan s economy teetered on the brink of a technical recession in the three months to september  figures show.  revised figures indicated growth of just 0.1% - and a similar-sized contraction in the previous quarter. on an annual basis  the data suggests annual growth of just 0.2%  suggesting a much more hesitant recovery than had previously been thought. a common technical definition of a recession is two successive quarters of negative growth.  the government was keen to play down the worrying implications of the data.  i maintain the view that japan s economy remains in a minor adjustment phase in an upward climb  and we will monitor developments carefully   said economy minister heizo takenaka. but in the face of the strengthening yen making exports less competitive and indications of weakening economic conditions ahead  observers were less sanguine.  it s painting a picture of a recovery... much patchier than previously thought   said paul sheard  economist at lehman brothers in tokyo. improvements in the job market apparently have yet to feed through to domestic demand  with private consumption up just 0.2% in the third quarter.
810,oil prices reach three-month low oil prices have fallen heavily for a second day  closing at three-month lows after news that us crude stocks have improved ahead of winter.  london brent crude closed at $40.15 on thursday - a drop of 5.1% - having dived below $40 a barrel for the first time since mid-september. us light crude traded in new york lost more than $2 to $43.25  its lowest close since 10 september. the price of both benchmark crudes has dropped 12% in two days. the falls were triggered when the energy information administration (eia) said on wednesday that us crude stocks were 3.5% higher than a year ago. the news calmed worries about winter shortages. weak us fuel and heating oil stocks have been a persistent factor in pushing up oil prices.  it s amazing how quickly sentiment changed   said rick mueller  an analyst at energy security analysis. analysts also attributed the fall to mild early-winter weather  which has tempered demand for heating oil.  the stronger fuel inventories helped boost us stock markets to nine-month highs on wednesday  though only the nasdaq index had hung onto those gains by the end of thursday.  in london  the ftse 100 index closed 15 points higher at 4 751. the long-awaited drop in oil prices helped to ease persistent investor jitters over the impact of energy costs on company profits and economic growth. however  traders warned that the fall could be short-lived if there is a cold snap in north america this winter or any major supply problems in other parts of the world.  the price of crude is still up about 30% on the start of 2004  but has fallen from the record of $55.67 set in late october. opec nations have increased production to 25-year highs to meet global demand and this has helped rebuild us stocks hit by supply disruptions after hurricane ivan in september. traders were also encouraged by comments on wednesday from the energy minister of opec member algeria. chakib khelil said the cartel was likely to keep output unchanged when it meets next week. however  some analysts believe the sharp fall in crude prices may harden opec s attitude to over-production  leading to a scaling back of oil output.  fears still remain over the level of us heating oil stocks  which are rising but remain down on 2004 levels. a cold spell in north america would start to deplete supplies and could spark further price rises. analysts  however  say prices will fall further if inventories continue to rise.  mother nature is going to be huge in the next several weeks   said kyle cooper  at citigroup global markets.  long term i think we re headed to $30-35 but i don t think we re doing that yet. we have a lot of winter left.  john person  president of national futures advisory services  said the eia data indicated there should be adequate supplies for the next three months in the us. .
1662,drink remark  acts as diversion  the first minister s statement that it was okay to get drunk  once in a while  has diverted attention from the real issues  it has been claimed.  jack law  chief executive of alcohol focus scotland  said jack mcconnell s comment was  ill-advised . the media attention had helped to move the focus from scotland s binge drinking problems  mr law said. scotsman journalist hamish macdonell said he believed the bigger picture had been  obscured  by the remark. mr mcconnell was speaking on monday to more than 100 secondary pupils from schools in the highlands about the problems of binge drinking and drink promotions.  the one-sentence comment was immediately criticised by the scottish national party which accused him of encouraging young people to get drunk. but the scottish executive has insisted mr mcconnell was speaking about adults and his comments were  a recognition that people will get drunk . mr macdonell  political editor of the scotsman  said:  i think we have to say right at the outset that this was a very stupid and ill-advised remark by the first minister.  if you come out with something like this  saying that by all means get drunk  then you will be pilloried for it.  however  he added that  perhaps mr mcconnell could feel rightly aggrieved about the coverage .  mr macdonell said:  i think the problem here is that he did say a lot more things about binge drinking and under age drinking.  but that whole side of things has been lost in the furore over one sentence. i understand why  but i think there is a much bigger message here that has been obscured.  mr law  from voluntary body alcohol focus scotland  believed damage had been done to scotland s fight against binge drinking. he said he accepted that young people drank and they did have problems with drink. mr law added:  i think the remark was ill-advised - but these remarks are blown out of all proportion and they so easily misrepresent what we are trying to do in scotland.   we don t want to preach to young people  but we need to acknowledge that they do drink problematically.  this diverts us from the real issues which are about promoting responsibility and reducing harm and indeed tackling our drinking culture which is a culture about binge drinking and drunkenness.  he said it was vital that young people were properly informed about the risks incurred to themselves and others when they got drunk. mr macdonell said that the first minister should know by now that if he said things which were  off the mark   they were bound to  come back and bite him . he added:  here  mr mcconnell was talking in the highlands to 100 teenagers and every word he said was put out on a webcast by the scottish executive and then looked at by other politicians and reporters.  i think in this instance he has done a lot of really good things and he will be regretting this remark.   the scottish national party s holyrood leader nicola sturgeon wrote to mr mcconnell on tuesday accusing him of an error of judgement and calling for him to apologise for his  ill-judged comment  and withdraw it immediately. in a furious response  the first minister said his comments had been distorted and taken out of context. he told ms sturgeon:  it is disappointing that you have contributed to this distortion by saying it is staggering that i  should encourage young people to get drunk .  that is completely untrue. perhaps it would have been wiser for you to find out what was actually said before you rushed to represent my position  undermine the convener of education at highland council and insult the intelligence of the young people i spoke with - all for the sake of a simple soundbite.
1521,umaga ready for lions all blacks captain tama umaga has warned the british and irish lions will be his most fearsome opponents yet ahead of their summer tour.  but umaga  in england for saturday s irb rugby aid match  also backed new zealand to win the three-test series against the lions. he told bbc sport:  it s potentially the most fearsome line-up i ve ever come up against. they re awesome.  but i d back us all the way to beat them when they come over.  lions boss sir clive woodward is set to announce his squad for the june-july tour next month.  when woodward was appointed last year  it was widely believed he would rely heavily on his former england players. but umaga said:  he d be hard pushed to do that now considering the shape of the six nations.  don t get me wrong  england have got a lot of talented guys and i m sure there are some of them who ll make the lions test xv.  but you can t disguise wales and ireland in particular. some of the tries they ve scored have been great. i ll admit it ll be fairly awesome lining up against the likes of brian o driscoll.   umaga will meet o driscoll in saturday s rugby aid match at twickenham  with the irish captain leading the northern hemisphere side. o driscoll is among a host of players in the northern hemisphere squad  coached by woodward  that are tipped for lions call-ups.  it ll be good for us to get an early idea of some of these guys  although a lot can change between now and june   umaga said. the 31-year-old admitted interest in the lions tour was immense  calling it  the biggest thing to hit new zealand since lord of the rings . he added:  as players  it s enough for us to be driven by the rarity of playing the lions. in fact  it s not just us all blacks - it s the talk of the country.   umaga admitted the fear of injury weighed on his mind ahead of saturday s charity game  which features a host of big names including george gregan  andrew mehrtens and chris latham. but he admitted the value of the cause - proceeds of the match will go to aiding victims of the tsunami - easily won him over.  the second [southern hemisphere coach] rod macqueen made the approach  i didn t hesitate. it was great when new zealand rugby then gave me the all clear.  thankfully i didn t know anyone that was involved in the tragedy of the tsunami but you couldn t miss all the horrific reports on the news.  there are so many people that were affected  are still affected and will be affected for a long time. it s just good to know we can do something minor to help out.   - the match will be televised on bbc one at 1400 gmt on saturday.
1693,adventure tale tops awards young book fans have voted fergus crane  a story about a boy who is taken on an adventure by a flying horse  the winner of two smarties book prizes.  paul stewart and chris riddell s book came top in the category for six- to eight-year-olds and won the award chosen by after-school club members. sally grindley s spilled water  about a chinese girl sold as a servant  was top in vote of readers aged nine to 11. biscuit bear by mini grey took the top award in the under-five category. winners were voted for by about 6 000 children from a shortlist picked by an adult panel.  the prize  which is celebrating its 20th year  is billed as  the uk s biggest children s book award . fergus crane includes text by stewart and illustrations by riddell  who also created the edge chronicles together. as well as the six to eights prize  it won the 4children special award voted for by after-school club members. julia eccleshare  chair of the adult judging panel  said children s literature had  never looked stronger  in the prize s 20 years.  this award counts because the final choice of winners is made by children  who are the toughest critics of all   she said.  this year s young judges chose the winners from an exceptionally strong and varied shortlist which showcases the very best in children s books today.  previous winners have included jk rowling  jacqueline wilson and dick king-smith.
347,visa decision  every 11 minutes  visa processing staff are sometimes expected to rule on an application every 11 minutes  mps have said.  pressure was placed on staff to be efficient  rather than to do a thorough examination of an application  the public accounts committee found. every officer had an annual target of 8 000 applications - equivalent to 40 a day or one every 11 minutes. mps want research into whether uk visa holders leave at the end of their stays  or vanish into the black market. committee chairman edward leigh said:  there is a worrying tension between quick processing and proper control over the visas issued.  entry clearance staff are expected to deal with a visa application in about 11 minutes which is surely too little time to look closely at the supporting documents.    the committee s report also discussed the romanian and bulgarian visas scandal which led to the resignation of immigration minister beverley hughes last year. committee members said the home office had been wrong to dismiss concerns from visa staff abroad who feared the system was being abused. investigations carried out in the wake of ms hughes  resignation found more than 7 000 people had entered the uk under the business visa scheme for romanian and bulgarian  entrepreneurs . mr leigh said the home office should now consider removing those who had not set up a valid business. a home office spokesman said the system had been toughened and tightened since the investigation. he added  that the traditional system of a dual decision making process for all pre-entry applications will be replaced by a single pre-entry check at post  which will be simpler and more robust against abuse than the current system .
60,us regulator to rule on pain drug us food and drug regulators will decide on friday whether to recommend the sale of painkillers that have been linked to a high risk of heart attack and stroke.  the food and drug administration (fda) advisory panel will give its verdict after hearing evidence for three days. the painkillers - called cox-2 inhibitors - are sold under brand names such as celebrex and vioxx. vioxx was withdrawn from shops last year but merck said it would consider selling it if it gets fda approval. the fda has been asked to decide if the benefits to patients justify the increased risks.  putting vioxx back on the shelves is likely to boost profits at merck and make easier any legal battles with people who claim to have been injured by the drug  analysts said.  merck voluntarily stopped sales of vioxx on 30 september  a move which caused the firm s fourth-quarter earnings to slide to $1.1bn (£581m)  from $1.4bn a year earlier. merck s shares tumbled more than 10% on the news and the company has had to set aside millions of dollars to cover the cost of vioxx-related litigation. alarm bells were rung by a research note called approve which showed that the risk of heart attack and stroke doubled in patients who had been taking the drug for at least 18 months. the cox-2 inhibitors were developed by drug companies  including merck and pfizer  because they cause users fewer stomach problems than other painkillers.  pfizer is still selling its celebrex and bextra products  though investigations have suggested that they may also be harmful to the heart. merck s announcement of a possible reintroduction of vioxx caught analysts by surprise. merck s head of research peter kim said that it withdrew vioxx  based on the information that was available to us at the time  knowing there were alternative therapies . he went on to say that things have since changed in the light of new reports.  given this new information  its is not clear that the cardiovascular risk observed in approve makes vioxx unique in the class of similar drugs marketed in the us   mr kim explained.  on thursday  david graham from the fda s office of drug safety told the advisory panel that  there really doesn t appear to be a need for cox-2  inhibitors. according to calculations presented to the us senate by dr graham in november  vioxx may be linked to as many as to 56 000 american deaths. facing stem criticism for its handling of the vioxx case  the fda said on tuesday that it will create an independent body to oversee the safety of drugs already in the market place. european regulators  meanwhile  ruled on thursday that patients who have had heart disease or a stroke should not take cox-2 inhibitors. the european medicines agency also said doctors should be  cautious  about giving the drugs to patients who have risk factors for heart disease.
1958,roddick in talks over new coach andy roddick is reportedly close to confirming us davis cup assistant dean goldfine as his new coach.  roddick ended his 18-month partnership with brad gilbert on monday  and goldfine admits talks have taken place.  we had a really good conversation and we re on the same page in terms of what i expect from a player in commitment and what he wants   said goldfine.  the reading i got from him is that i would have a lot of the qualities he s looking for in a coach.  speaking to told south florida s sun-sentinel newspaper  goldfine added:  that being said  from his standpoint  which is smart  he wants to cover all his bases.  i think andy wants a long-term relationship and wants to make sure it s the right fit... the best fit.  goldfine  39  has worked with todd martin and roddick s close friend mardy fish  and was an assistant coach with the us olympic team. martin is the other name to have been linked to the vacant post alongside roddick.
723,rochus shocks coria in auckland top seed guillermo coria went out of the heineken open in auckland on thursday with a surprise loss to olivier rochus of belgium.  coria lost the semi-final 6-4 6-4 to rochus  who goes on to face czech jan hernych  a 6-4 7-5 winner over jose acasuso of argentina. fifth seed fernando gonzalez eased past american robby ginepri 6-3 6-4. the chilean will meet sixth seed juan ignacio chela next after the argentine beat potito starace 6-1 7-6 (7-5). rochus made the semi-finals at the australian hardcourt championships in adelaide last week and is naturally delighted with his form.  it s been two unbelievable weeks for me   he said.  today i knew i had nothing to lose. if i beat him great  if i lost  i would be losing to a top-10 player.  coria conceded that rochus  played just too good   and added:  when you give your best out there you can t be too sad.
402,progress on new internet domains by early 2005 the net could have two new domain names.  the .post and .travel net domains have been given preliminary approval by the net s administrative body. the names are just two of a total of 10 proposed domains that are being considered by the internet corporation for assigned names and numbers  icann. the other proposed names include a domain for pornography  asia  mobile phones  an anti-spam domain and one for the catalan language and culture.  the .post domain is backed by the universal postal union that wants to use it as the online marker for every type of postal service and to help co-ordinate the e-commerce efforts of national post offices.  the .travel domain would be used by hotels  travel firms  airlines  tourism offices and would help such organisations distinguish themselves online. it is backed by a new york-based trade group called the travel partnership. icann said its early decision on the two domains was in response to the detailed technical and commercial information the organisations behind the names had submitted. despite this initial approval  icann cautioned that there was no guarantee that the domains would actually go into service. at the same time icann is considering proposals for another eight domains. one that may not win approval is a proposal to set up a .xxx domain for pornographic websites. a similar proposal has been made many times in the past. but icann has been reluctant to approve it because of the difficulty of making pornographers sign up and use it. in 2000 icann approved seven other new domains that have had varying degrees of success. three of the new so-called top level domains were for specific industries or organisations such as .museum and .aero. others such as .info and .biz were intended to be more generic. in total there are in excess of 200 domain names and the majority of these are for nations. but domains that end in the .com suffix are by far the most numerous.
662,vibe awards back despite violence the us vibe awards will be held again next year despite a stabbing which happened during the ceremony.  vibe magazine president kenard gibbs said the attack earlier this month in santa monica was  sickening . he said not holding the awards would be counter to the work the magazine has done to promote hip hop music. rapper young buck has been charged after allegedly stabbing a man who hit dr dre as he was about to receive a lifetime achievement award.  the rapper  whose real name is david darnell brown  is due in court on 20 december after being arrested on one charge of attempted murder and a second charge of assault with a deadly weapon. the performer is one of the members of 50 cent s g-unit group  which is signed to dr dre s record label. the man who was stabbed  jimmy james johnson  suffered a collapsed lung and is in a stable condition at a los angeles hospital. mr johnson allegedly approached dr dre  who was seated at a table in front of the stage  and appeared to ask for an autograph before punching him. during the ensuing scuffle - which involved many of the 1 000-strong crowd - mr johnson was stabbed as he was being dragged away by security staff
3,tigers wary of farrell  gamble  leicester say they will not be rushed into making a bid for andy farrell should the great britain rugby league captain decide to switch codes.   we and anybody else involved in the process are still some way away from going to the next stage   tigers boss john wells told bbc radio leicester.  at the moment  there are still a lot of unknowns about andy farrell  not least his medical situation.  whoever does take him on is going to take a big  big gamble.  farrell  who has had persistent knee problems  had an operation on his knee five weeks ago and is expected to be out for another three months. leicester and saracens are believed to head the list of rugby union clubs interested in signing farrell if he decides to move to the 15-man game.  if he does move across to union  wells believes he would better off playing in the backs  at least initially.  i m sure he could make the step between league and union by being involved in the centre   said wells.  i think england would prefer him to progress to a position in the back row where they can make use of some of his rugby league skills within the forwards.  the jury is out on whether he can cross that divide.  at this club  the balance will have to be struck between the cost of that gamble and the option of bringing in a ready-made replacement.
84,news corp makes $5.4bn fox offer news corporation is seeking to buy out minority investors in fox entertainment group  its broadcasting subsidiary  for about $5.4bn (£3.7bn).  the media giant  run by rupert murdoch  owns 82% of the shares in the company  home to the fox television network and the 20th century fox film studio. the move follows news corp s decision to register its business in the us. 20th century fox s recent film releases include i heart huckabees and i  robot  while fox puts out hit tv series 24.  under the terms of the offer  minority fox shareholders will receive 1.90 news corp shares in return for each fox share they hold. analysts said the decision to list news corp in the us - which will result in the firm s shares trading in new york rather than sydney- nullified the need to retain a separate stock market listing for fox entertainment shares. news corp investors voted in october to approve the transfer of the company s corporate domicile from australia to the us state of delaware. the move is designed to help news corp attract more investment from the largest us financial institutions  and make it easier to raise capital. fox entertainment group generated revenues of $12bn last year. news corp shares fell 25 cents to $17.65 after the share offer was announced while fox shares were up 19 cents at $31.22.
1551,latest opera browser gets vocal net browser opera 8.0  due for official release at the end of next month  will be  the most accessible browser on the market   according to its authors.  the latest version of the net browser can be controlled by voice command and will read pages aloud. the voice features  based on ibm technology  are currently only available in the windows version. opera can also magnify text by up to 10 times and users can create  style sheets   its developers say. this will enable them to view pages with colours and fonts that they prefer. but the browser does not yet work well with screen reader software often used by blind people  so its accessibility features are more likely to appeal to those with some residual vision.  our mission was always to provide the best internet experience for everyone   said opera spokeswoman  berit hanson.  so we would obviously not want to exclude disabled computer users.   another feature likely to appeal to people with low vision is the ability to make pages fit to the screen width  which eliminates the need for horizontal scrolling.  the company points out that this will also appeal to anyone using opera with a handheld device. the company says that features like voice activation are not solely aimed at visually impaired people.  our idea was to take a first step in making human-computer interaction more natural   said ms hanson.  people are not always in a situation where they can access a keyboard  so this makes the web a more hands-free experience.  unlike commercially available voice recognition software  opera does not have to be  trained  to recognise an individual voice. around 50 voice commands are available and users will have to wear a headset which incorporates a microphone. the voice recognition function is currently only available in english. opera is free to download but a paid-for version comes without an ad banner in the top right hand corner and with extra support. opera began life as a research project - a spin-off from norwegian telecoms company telenor. its browser is used by an estimated 10 million people on a variety of operating systems and a number of different platforms.
1684,five million germans out of work germany s unemployment figure rose above the psychologically important level of five million last month.  on wednesday  the german federal labour agency said the jobless total had reached 5.037 million in january  which takes the jobless rate to 12.1%.  yes  we have effectively more than five million people unemployed   a government minister said earlier on zdf public television. unemployment has not been this high in germany since the 1930s.  changes to the way the statistics are compiled partly explain the jump of 572 900 in the numbers. but the figures are embarrassing for the government.  with the figures apparently the worst we ve seen in the post-war period  these numbers are very charged politically   said christian jasperneite  an economist with mm warburg.  they could well put an end to the recent renaissance we ve seen by the spd [the ruling social democrats] in the polls  and with state elections due in schleswig-holstein and north rhine-westphalia  they may have an adverse effect on the government s chances there.   the opposition also made political capital from the figures. it said there are a further 1.5 million-2 million people on subsidised employment schemes who are  in fact  looking for real jobs. it added that government reforms  including unpopular benefit cuts  do not go far enough. under the government s controversial  hartz iv  reforms  which came into effect at the beginning of the year  both those on unemployment benefits and welfare support and those who are long-term unemployed are officially classified as looking for work. the bad winter weather also took its toll  as key sectors such as the construction sector laid off workers. adjusted for the seasonal factors  the german jobless total rose by 227 000 in january from december.
806,safin plays down wimbledon hopes newly-crowned australian open champion marat safin has ruled out any chance of winning wimbledon in the future.  after losing in round one last year  safin said he had  given up  on wimbledon and winning his second grand slam title has not changed his mind.  i ll play  but with no expectations. i feel like i can t waste my time  my energy on that surface   he said.  some people  they cannot play on clay. some people  they cannot play on a hard court. me  i can t play on grass.  however  safin is hopeful that winning the australian open will give him the belief he needs to win more grand slam titles.  it s a relief for me. two grand slams  it s already something. but with this one i worked really hard for it   he said.  basically  i would love to win a couple more. i think i have a chance if i continue this way.   if (coach) peter lundgren will stick around with me and wants to work with me for a bit longer  i think i can make it.  the 25-year-old shocked pete sampras in the 2000 us open final to win his first major title but then lost in two australian open finals. safin admitted he had begun to doubt whether he would win another grand slam.  i didn t expect that (to win the 2000 us open) - it was against sampras  i wasn t the favourite so i had no pressure whatsoever   he said.  after the first final that i didn t win against thomas johansson (in 2002)  i couldn t see myself winning the grand slams anymore.  i was once in the semi-finals of the french open  but i didn t believe i can win it.  i just couldn t handle the pressure. you need to believe in yourself  and i didn t.   and after losing the first set 6-1 to lleyton hewitt in sunday s final  safin said he began to doubt himself again.  i am 25. i m playing against hewitt. at least you have to have the opportunity to win it  at least have a chance   he said.  it s like you go there and you lose first set 6-1  then you start to think:  this is not my day. the way i m playing is ridiculous.   but then you start to really be a little bit more selfish and try to find a way out of there.  and i found it. i was like really much i was much happier than in 2000  that s for sure  because i get over it.
1721,mandelson warning to bbc the bbc should steer away from  demonising  ex-downing street media chief alastair campbell  peter mandelson has said.  the european commissioner and former labour minister was speaking amid claims that mr campbell is part of a labour  dirty tricks  campaign. that charge was denied by mr mandelson  who said the tories were afraid of mr campbell s campaigning skills. he warned the bbc that attacking mr campbell had brought it trouble before. that was a reference to the hutton inquiry following a bbc story claiming downing street  sexed up  iraq s weapons of mass destruction dossier.  the affair prompted the resignation of bbc chairman gavyn davies  director-general greg dyke and reporter andrew gilligan. labour has attracted media criticism for using new freedom of information laws to dig up information about tory leader michael howard s past.  mr mandelson  a former labour communications director  told bbc radio 4 s today programme:  i understand why the tories will be gunning for alastair campbell because they fear his campaigning skills.  what i understand less is why the bbc should be joining with the tories in driving that agenda.  in my experience of these things  parties which shout about dirty tricks and the like tend to do so because they fear a direct hit in some vulnerable part of their political anatomy.  i suggest the bbc concentrates on the issues and helps the public to understand the policies and the choices that are at stake in the election rather than engages in the process politics  the trivialisation of the campaign.  i think the bbc would be much better advised to leave all this stuff well alone  concentrate on the issues as i say  not resume their demonisation of alastair campbell - we all know where that led before.   mr campbell is acting as an adviser for labour  which denies engaging in personal campaigning. conservative co-chairman liam fox said mr campbell s return and labour poster plans attacking mr howard - recently withdrawn from the party s website - were a sign of  abusive politics .  the government  despite the fact that they would say want to go forward  not back  seem intent on talking about history rather than their own record or even more importantly  about the future   he said on sunday. labour peer baroness kennedy  who is chairing the power inquiry into political disengagement  said people already thought politicians engaged in dirty tricks.  this feeling of distrust is going to be enlarged if this campaigning on all sides is conducted in the way that it looks as if it just might   she said.
446,hunt ban support is  in decline  support for a ban on hunting has fallen in the past six years  a poll suggests.  less than half the uk wants a ban compared to almost two-thirds in 1999  the mori survey of 2 000 adults for bbc one s countryfile programme suggests. the number opposed to a ban remains constant  but those  neither supporting nor opposing  has increased by 11%. most city-dwellers support the ban but rural people were evenly split between supporters  opponents and undecided.  polling company mori carried out both surveys. in july 1999 they asked 801 adults if they supported the ban for the mail on sunday. for countryfile they asked 2 234 adults across the country the same question. the mail on sunday survey found that 63% supported a hunting ban compared with 24% against. in the countryfile survey  47% said they supported the legislation  with 26% against. but the programme makers suggest the british public are becoming  increasingly neutral  to the issue because around one quarter said they  neither support nor oppose  a ban.
326,bbc to pour £9m into new comedy the bbc is to invest £9m in developing new comedy and entertainment programmes outside london.  the changes come as part of a shake-up of several departments to create shows that appeal to a wider range of people. changes are also being made to teams in the factual and daytime departments outside london. director of television jana bennett said the changes were about  getting the best ideas on screen as efficiently and effectively as we can .  the new structure in each genre is designed to ensure that happens   she said.  a number of new roles are being created in each department  including a head of comedy commissioning based in glasgow. the new person will be in charge of the £9m budget and their role will be to develop shows outside the capital  both within the bbc and with independent production companies. jane lush  controller of entertainment commissioning  said   entertainment and comedy are incredibly important to our audiences; i m confident these changes will help us get the very best programmes on screen.  similar positions will also be created in the other departments  with the new commissioning editor for documentaries based in bristol and the daytime commissioning editor in birmingham. ms bennett said the new roles would benefit those making programmes within the bbc as well as those making shows for the channel independently.  a strong independent sector and a flourishing in-house production base are not mutually exclusive and will stimulate the competition that will deliver the best ideas to the audience   she said.
2211,teens  know little  of politics teenagers questioned for a survey have shown little interest in politics - and have little knowledge.  only a quarter of 14-16 year olds knew that labour was the government  the tories were the official opposition and the lib dems were the third party. almost all could identify tony blair  but only one in six knew who michael howard was  and just one in 10 recognised charles kennedy. the icm survey interviewed 110 pupils for education watchdog ofsted. nearly half those pupils polled said it was not important for them to know more about what the political parties stand for. and 4% of those questioned thought the conservatives were in power - while 2% of them believed the lib dems were. the survey also looked at issues of nationality. it found the union flag and fish and chips topped the list of symbols and foods associated with being british. many of the pupils also looked on themselves as english  scottish or welsh  rather than british; while the notion of being european hardly occurred to anyone.
2037,day-lewis set for berlin honour actor daniel day-lewis is to be presented with an award for his career in film at the berlin film festival.  the 47-year-old  whose credits include his oscar-winning performance in my left foot  will be presented with the berlinale camera award on 15 february. the honour  awarded since 1986  honours figures in cinema that the festival feels  particularly indebted to . man to man  a historical epic starring kristin scott thomas  opens the german festival on 10 february. a candid documentary about the life and career of singer george michael  a different story will also be screened at the 10-day event.    day-lewis has competed four times at the berlin film festival  with films in the name of the father (1994)  the crucible (1997)  the boxer (1998) and martin scorsese s gangs of new york (2003). the festival praises him for his  sensational start  with roles in my beautiful launderette and costume classic a room with a view  and a  great number of celebrated roles  in subsequent productions. japan s oldest film studio will also be honoured along with day-lewis. shochiku film studios  which was founded 110 years ago  will become the first cinematic institution to receive the berlinale camera award. famous japanese directors including akira kurosawa have had films produced at the studio.
1158,brown ally rejects budget spree chancellor gordon brown s closest ally has denied suggestions there will be a budget giveaway on 16 march.  ed balls  ex-chief economic adviser to the treasury  said there would be no spending spree before polling day. but mr balls  a prospective labour mp  said he was confident the chancellor would meet his fiscal rules. he was speaking as sir digby jones  cbi director general  warned mr brown not to be tempted to use any extra cash on pre-election bribes.  mr balls  who stepped down from his treasury post to stand as a labour candidate in the election  had suggested that mr brown would meet his golden economic rule -  with a margin to spare . he said he hoped more would be done to build on current tax credit rules.  he also stressed rise in interest rates ahead of an expected may election would not affect the labour party s chances of winning. expectations of a rate rise have gathered pace after figures showed house prices are still rising. consumer borrowing rose at a near-record pace in january.  if the mpc (the bank of england s monetary policy committee) were to judge that a rate rise was justified before the election because of the strength of the economy - and i m not predicting that they will - i do not believe that this will be a big election issue in britain for labour   he told a parliamentary lunch.  this is a big change in our political culture.   during an interview with bbc radio 4 s today programme  mr balls said he was sure mr brown s budget would not put at risk the stability of the economy.  i don t think we ll see a pre-election spending spree - we certainly did not see that before 2001   he said.  his assurances came after sir digby jones said stability was all important and any extra cash should be spent on improving workers  skills. his message to the chancellor was:  please don t give it away in any form of electioneering.  sir digby added:  i don t think he will. i have to say he has been a prudent chancellor right the way through. stability is the key word - british business needs boring stability more than anything.  we would say to him  don t increase your public spending  don t give it away. but if you are going to anywhere  just add something to the competitiveness of britain  put it into skilling our people .  that would be a good way to spend any excess.   mr balls refused to say whether mr brown would remain as chancellor after the election  amid speculation he will be offered the job of foreign secretary.  i think that gordon brown wants to be part of the successful labour government which delivers in the third term for the priorities of the people and sees off a conservative party that will take britain backwards   mr balls told today. prime minister tony blair has yet to name the date of the election  but most pundits are betting on 5 may.
498,putin backs state grab for yukos russia s president has defended the purchase of yukos  key production unit by state-owned oil firm rosneft  saying it followed free market principles.  vladimir putin said it was quite within the rights of a state-owned company to ensure its interests were met. rosneft bought 100% of baikal finance group  in a move that amounts to the renationalisation of a major chunk of russia s booming oil industry. rosneft will now control about 16% of russia s total crude oil output. yukos share jumped in moscow  climbing as much as 50% before being suspended.  rosneft is already in the process of merging with gazprom  the world s biggest gas company  a move that will see gazprom return to majority state-ownership.  baikal was the surprise buyer of oil and gas giant yukos s main production division at a forced auction on sunday.  everything was done by market methods   mr putin said at his year-end press conference in moscow. shedding some light on the kremlin s motivation  mr putin referred to a period of so-called  cowboy capitalism  that followed the collapse of the soviet union.  he said privatisations carried out in the early 1990s had involved trickery  including law breaking  by people seeking to acquire valuable state property.  now the state  using market methods  is safeguarding its interests. i think this is quite normal   the russian president said. a rosneft spokesman has said the acquisition is part of its plan to build a  balanced  national energy corporation.   the latest announcement comes after more than a year of wrangling that has pushed yukos  one of russia s biggest companies to the brink of collapse. the russian government put yukos s yuganskneftegas subsidiary up for sale last week after hitting the company with a $27bn (£14bn) bill for back taxes and fines.  analysts say that yukos s legal attempts to block the auction by filing for bankruptcy protection in the us are probably what caused this week s cloak-and-dagger dealings. gazprom  the company originally tipped to buy yuganskneftegas  was banned from taking part in the auction by a us court injunction. by selling the yukos unit to little-known baikal and then to rosneft  russia is able to circumvent a host of tricky legal landmines  analysts said.  you cannot sue the russian government   said eric kraus  a strategist at moscow s sovlink securities.  the russian government has sovereign immunity.   the government is renationalising yuganskneftegas.   even so  analysts reckon that the saga still has a long way to go. the rosneft announcement came just hours after yukos accused gazprom of illegally taking part in sunday s auction. it has said it will be seeking damages of $20bn. the claim was made at the latest hearing in the us bankruptcy court in houston  texas  where yukos  had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. if found in contempt of the us court order blocking the auction  gazprom could face having foreign assets seized. yukos  lawyers had also been expected to try to have baikal s assets frozen. lawyers claimed the auction was illegal because yukos - with an office in houston - had filed for bankruptcy and therefore its assets were under the protection of us law which has worldwide jurisdiction. further muddying the waters is a merger between rosneft and gazprom which authorities have said will go ahead as planned.
2122,women mps reveal sexist taunts women mps endure  shocking  levels of sexist abuse at the hands of their male counterparts  a new study shows.  male mps pretended to juggle imaginary breasts and jeered  melons  as women made commons speeches  researchers from birkbeck college were told. labour s yvette cooper said she found it hard to persuade commons officials she was a minister and not a secretary. some 83 mps gave their answers in 100 hours of taped interviews for the study  whose secretary are you  minister .  the research team  under professor joni lovenduski  had set out to look at the achievements and experiences of women at westminster. but what emerged was complaints from mps of all parties of sexist barracking in the chamber  sexist insults and patronising assumptions about their abilities. barbara follet  one of the so-called  blair babes  elected in 1997  told researchers:  i remember some conservatives - whenever a labour woman got up to speak they would take their breasts - imaginary breasts - in their hands and wiggle them and say  melons  as we spoke.  former liberal democrat mp jackie ballard recalled a stream of remarks from a leading mp on topics such as women s legs or their sexual persuasion. and ex-tory education secretary gillian shepherd remembered how one of her male colleagues called all women  betty .   when i said   look you know my name isn t betty   he said   ah but you re all the same  so i call you all betty .  harriet harman told researchers of the sheer hostility prompted by her advancement to the cabinet:  well  you ve only succeeded because you re a woman.  another current member of the cabinet says she was told:  oh  you ve had a very fast rise  who have you been sleeping with   even after the great influx of women mps at the 1997 general election  and greater numbers of women in the cabinet  female mps often say they feel stuck on the edge of a male world.  liberal democrat sarah teather  the most recent female mp to be elected  told researchers:  lots of people say it s like an old boys club.  i ve always said to me it feels more like a teenage public school - you know a public school full of teenagers.  prof joni lovenduski  who conducted the study with the help of margaret moran mp and a team of journalists  said she was shocked at the findings.  we expected a bit of this but nothing like this extent. we expected to find a couple of shocking episodes.  but she said there was a difference between the experiences of women before the 1997 intake and afterwards. this was mainly because there were more women present in parliament who were not prepared to  put up with  the sexist attitudes they came across  prof lovenduski said. but she added:  some women  including the women who came in 1997  received extraordinary treatment and i am not convinced that if the number of women changed back to what it was before 1997 that things would not change back.  what i think is shocking to the general public is that these things go on in the house of commons.  the interviews are to be placed in the british library as a historical record.
1905,no half measures with half-life 2 could half-life 2 possibly live up to the hype  after almost two years of tantalising previews and infuriating delays it s safe to say that this is the most highly-anticipated computer game of all time.  fortunately  it doesn t merely live up to its promise  but exceeds it. no-one who plays the finished product will wonder why it took so long. the impression is of a game that has been endlessly refined to get as close to perfection as could realistically be hoped. all the money - or indeed time - is on the screen. the player sees things through the eyes of gordon freeman  the bespectacled scientist who starred in the original 1998 half-life. having survived that skirmish in an desolate monster-infested research facility  he s back in another foreboding troublespot - the enigmatic city 17. it has the look of a beautiful eastern european city  but as soon as your train pulls in to the station  it s clear that all is not well here. sinister police patrol the unkempt streets  and the oppressive atmosphere clobbers you like a sledgehammer. a casual smattering of the nightmarish creatures from the first game makes this an even less pleasant place to be.  you are herded around like a prisoner and have to mingle with a few freedom-fighting civilians to gather information and progress in your task. it is not immediately explained what your objectives are  nor precisely why everything is so ravaged. finding out step-by-step is all part of the experience  although you never fully get to understand what it was all about. that does not really matter. hl2 does not waste energy blinding you with plot. underplaying the narrative in this way is gloriously effective  and immerses the player in the most vivid  convincing and impressive virtual world they are likely to have seen. there are no cut-scenes to interrupt the flow. exposition is accomplished by other characters stopping to talk directly to you.  whereas the highly impressive doom iii felt like a top-notch theme park thrill-ride  wandering through half-life s world truly does feel like being part of a movie.  considering its sophistication  the game runs surprisingly well on computers that only just match the modest minimum specifications. but if ever there was an incentive to upgrade your pc s components  this is it. on our test machine - an alienware system with an athlon 3500+ processor and ati s radeon x800 video card - everything ran at full quality without trouble  and the visual experience was simply jaw-dropping. it is not simply that the surfaces  textures and light effects push the technical envelope without mercy  but that such care and artistic flair has gone into designing them. the haunting  grim landscapes become strangely beautiful. luckily you get time to pause mid-task and marvel at the awesome graphical flourishes of your surroundings. so impressive are the physics that you ll find yourself hurling bits of rubbish around and prodding floating corpses just to marvel at the lifelike way they move. there are puzzles to be solved along the way  pitched at about the right difficulty  but most progress is achieved by force. freeman is quickly reunited with the original game s famous crowbar  and an array of more sophisticated weapons soon follow.  virtually anything not nailed to the floor can be interacted with  and in realistic fashion. you will be wowed by the attention-to-detail as you chip bits of plaster off walls  chase a pigeon out of your way  or dodge exploding barrels as they ping around at deadly speed. at times half-life 2 feels like one of those annoying people who are unfeasibly brilliant at everything they turn their hand to  and in a curious way  its unrelenting goodness actually becomes almost tiresome. running around on foot is great enough  but jumping into vehicles proves even more fun. human foes are rendered just as well as alien ones. the stealth sections are as exhilarating as the open gun battles. in gameplay terms  hl2 somehow gets almost everything perfect. and without resorting to the zombies-leaping-out-of-shadows approach of doom iii  it s all incredibly unsettling. the vacant environment is distinctly eerie  and at one point i even caught myself hesitating to go down a murky tunnel for fear of what might be inside.  the game does have a couple of problems. firstly  the carefully-scripted way that you progress through each level might irk some people.  a lot of things are meticulously choreographed to happen on cue  which makes for exciting moments  but may be an annoyance to some players and limit the appeal of playing again once you ve completed it. if you like things open-ended and free-ranging  far cry will be a lot more pleasing. but the real downside is the hassle of getting the game to run. installing it proved a life-draining siege that would test a saint s patience. developer valve has rashly assumed that everyone wanting to play the game will have an internet connection and it forces you to go online to authenticate your copy. the box does warn you of this anti-piracy measure  but does not say just how many components have to be downloaded. the time spent doing this will depend on your connection speed  the temperamental valve servers and the time of day  but it can take hours. it would take a mighty piece of work to feel worthwhile after such annoyances - but luckily  half-life 2 is up to the challenge. it is surely the best thing in its genre  and possibly  many will feel  of any genre. the bar has been raised  and so far out of sight that you have to sympathise with any game that tries to do anything remotely similar in the near future.  half-life 2 is out now for the pc
564,saab to build cadillacs in sweden general motors  the world s largest car maker  has confirmed that it will build a new medium-sized cadillac bls at its loss-making saab factory in sweden.  the car  unveiled at the geneva motor show  is intended to compete in the medium-sized luxury car market. it will not be sold in the us  said gm europe president carl-peter forster. as part of its efforts to make the us marque appeal to european drivers  the car will be the first cadillac with a diesel engine.  gm s announcement should go some way to allay fears of the saab factory s closure. the factory in trollhaettan has been at the centre of rumours about gm s planned severe cutbacks in its troubled european operations. but the group s new commitment to the swedish factory may not be welcomed by the group s opel workers in ruesselsheim  germany. they may now have to face a larger proportion of gm s cuts.  neither will the announcement be seen as unalloyed good news in sweden  since it reflects saab s failure to make significant inroads into the lucrative european luxury car market. for years  saab has consistently said it is competing head-on with bmw  mercedes and jaguar. the segment s leaders do not agree.  gm s plans to build the american marque in sweden is part of its efforts to push it as an alternative luxury brand for european drivers. in the us  it has long been established as an upmarket brand - even the presidential limousine carries the badge. yet it could prove tough for cadillac to steal market share from the majors in europe. other luxury car makers  most notably the toyota subsidiary lexus  have enjoyed tremendous success in the us without managing to make significant inroads in europe. there  german marques mercedes benz and bmw have retained their stranglehold on the luxury market.  bringing cadillac production to sweden should help introduce desperately-needed scale to the saab factory  which currently produces fewer than 130 000 cars per year. that is about half of what major car makers consider sufficient numbers for profitable operations  and saab is losing money fast - albeit with losses halved in 2004 to $200m (£104m; 151m euros) from $500m the previous year. beyond the 12 000 job cuts announced last year at its european operations  gm is reducing expenditure by building saabs  opels - badged as vauxhalls in the uk - and now cadillacs on the same framework  and by allowing the different brands to share parts. another way to further reduce saab s losses could be to shift some of the production of saabs to the us  a market where drivers have adopted it as an upmarket european car. doing so would remove the exposure to the weak us dollar  which is making saabs more expensive to us consumers. but not everyone in the industry agree that it would be the best way forward.  we know that in five years the us dollar will be stronger than it is today   the chief executive of a leading european car maker told bbc news. the current trend towards us production was  stupid   he said.  in a separate announcement  gm unveiled a new scheme to allow european consumers the chance to test drive its opel and vauxhall models. it is to deploy a fleet of 35 000 test cars across 40 countries  inviting potential buyers to try out a vehicle for 24-hours. it follows a similar initiative by gm in the us. gm said it wanted to change  customers  perceptions  about opel and vauxhall cars  showing them that the quality had improved in recent years.
939,umaga ready for  fearsome  lions all blacks captain tama umaga has warned the british and irish lions will be his most fearsome opponents yet ahead of their summer tour.  but umaga  in england for saturday s irb rugby aid match  also backed new zealand to win the three-test series against the lions. he told bbc sport:  it s potentially the most fearsome line-up i ve ever come up against. they re awesome.  but i d back us all the way to beat them when they come over.  lions boss sir clive woodward is set to announce his squad for the june-july tour next month.  when woodward was appointed last year  it was widely believed he would rely heavily on his former england players. but umaga said:  he d be hard pushed to do that now considering the shape of the six nations.  don t get me wrong  england have got a lot of talented guys and i m sure there are some of them who ll make the lions test xv.  but you can t disguise wales and ireland in particular. some of the tries they ve scored have been great. i ll admit it ll be fairly awesome lining up against the likes of brian o driscoll.   umaga will meet o driscoll in saturday s rugby aid match at twickenham  with the irish captain leading the northern hemisphere side. o driscoll is among a host of players in the northern hemisphere squad  coached by woodward  that are tipped for lions call-ups.  it ll be good for us to get an early idea of some of these guys  although a lot can change between now and june   umaga said. the 31-year-old admitted interest in the lions tour was immense  calling it  the biggest thing to hit new zealand since lord of the rings . he added:  as players  it s enough for us to be driven by the rarity of playing the lions. in fact  it s not just us all blacks - it s the talk of the country.   umaga admitted the fear of injury weighed on his mind ahead of saturday s charity game  which features a host of big names including george gregan  andrew mehrtens and chris latham. but he admitted the value of the cause - proceeds of the match will go to aiding victims of the tsunami - easily won him over.  the second [southern hemisphere coach] rod macqueen made the approach  i didn t hesitate. it was great when new zealand rugby then gave me the all clear.  thankfully i didn t know anyone that was involved in the tragedy of the tsunami but you couldn t miss all the horrific reports on the news.  there are so many people that were affected  are still affected and will be affected for a long time. it s just good to know we can do something minor to help out.   - the match will be televised on bbc one at 1400 gmt on saturday.
1,tv future in the hands of viewers with home theatre systems  plasma high-definition tvs  and digital video recorders moving into the living room  the way people watch tv will be radically different in five years  time.  that is according to an expert panel which gathered at the annual consumer electronics show in las vegas to discuss how these new technologies will impact one of our favourite pastimes. with the us leading the trend  programmes and other content will be delivered to viewers via home networks  through cable  satellite  telecoms companies  and broadband service providers to front rooms and portable devices.  one of the most talked-about technologies of ces has been digital and personal video recorders (dvr and pvr). these set-top boxes  like the us s tivo and the uk s sky+ system  allow people to record  store  play  pause and forward wind tv programmes when they want.  essentially  the technology allows for much more personalised tv. they are also being built-in to high-definition tv sets  which are big business in japan and the us  but slower to take off in europe because of the lack of high-definition programming. not only can people forward wind through adverts  they can also forget about abiding by network and channel schedules  putting together their own a-la-carte entertainment. but some us networks and cable and satellite companies are worried about what it means for them in terms of advertising revenues as well as  brand identity  and viewer loyalty to channels. although the us leads in this technology at the moment  it is also a concern that is being raised in europe  particularly with the growing uptake of services like sky+.  what happens here today  we will see in nine months to a years  time in the uk   adam hume  the bbc broadcast s futurologist told the bbc news website. for the likes of the bbc  there are no issues of lost advertising revenue yet. it is a more pressing issue at the moment for commercial uk broadcasters  but brand loyalty is important for everyone.  we will be talking more about content brands rather than network brands   said tim hanlon  from brand communications firm starcom mediavest.  the reality is that with broadband connections  anybody can be the producer of content.  he added:  the challenge now is that it is hard to promote a programme with so much choice.   what this means  said stacey jolna  senior vice president of tv guide tv group  is that the way people find the content they want to watch has to be simplified for tv viewers. it means that networks  in us terms  or channels could take a leaf out of google s book and be the search engine of the future  instead of the scheduler to help people find what they want to watch. this kind of channel model might work for the younger ipod generation which is used to taking control of their gadgets and what they play on them. but it might not suit everyone  the panel recognised. older generations are more comfortable with familiar schedules and channel brands because they know what they are getting. they perhaps do not want so much of the choice put into their hands  mr hanlon suggested.  on the other end  you have the kids just out of diapers who are pushing buttons already - everything is possible and available to them   said mr hanlon.  ultimately  the consumer will tell the market they want.   of the 50 000 new gadgets and technologies being showcased at ces  many of them are about enhancing the tv-watching experience. high-definition tv sets are everywhere and many new models of lcd (liquid crystal display) tvs have been launched with dvr capability built into them  instead of being external boxes. one such example launched at the show is humax s 26-inch lcd tv with an 80-hour tivo dvr and dvd recorder. one of the us s biggest satellite tv companies  directtv  has even launched its own branded dvr at the show with 100-hours of recording capability  instant replay  and a search function. the set can pause and rewind tv for up to 90 hours. and microsoft chief bill gates announced in his pre-show keynote speech a partnership with tivo  called tivotogo  which means people can play recorded programmes on windows pcs and mobile devices. all these reflect the increasing trend of freeing up multimedia so that people can watch what they want  when they want.
567,spark heads world booker list dame muriel spark is among three british authors who have made the shortlist for the inaugural international booker prize.  doris lessing and ian mcewan have also been nominated. mcewan and margaret atwood are the only nominees to have previously won the main booker prize. the new £60 000 award is open to writers of all nationalities who write in english or are widely translated. the prize commends an author for their body of work instead of one book.  gabriel garcia marquez  saul bellow  milan kundera and john updike also feature on the 18-strong list of world literary figures.  but other past winners of the regular booker prize  such as salman rushdie  jm coetzee and kazuo ishiguro have failed to make the shortlist. the prize  which will be awarded in london in june  will be given once every two years. it will reward an author - who must be living - for  continued creativity  development and overall contribution to fiction on the world stage . an author can only win once. the international award was started in response to criticisms that the booker prize is only open to british and commonwealth authors.    margaret atwood (canada) saul bellow (canada) gabriel garcia marquez (colombia) gunter grass (germany) ismail kadare (albania) milan kundera (czech republic) stanislaw lem (poland) doris lessing (uk) ian mcewan (uk) naguib mahfouz (egypt) tomas eloy martinez (argentina) kenzaburo oe (japan) cynthia ozick (us) philip roth (us) muriel spark (uk) antonio tabucchi (italy) john updike (us) abraham b yehoshua (israel)
1219,whitehall cuts  ahead of target  thousands of civil service jobs have already been cut or moved out of london as part of a major cost-cutting drive.  chancellor gordon brown said 12 500 jobs had gone while 7 800 were being moved out of the south east. he plans to axe 104 000 jobs to free up money for education  health  defence  housing and overseas aid. unions oppose the plans but mr brown said £2bn savings had already been made and more jobs had been cut than had been expected at this stage. a further 200 jobs at the department of the environment  food and rural affairs have been earmarked to be cut. at the department for work and pensions  30 000 jobs are to go  560 will be lost by the end of the month at the department of trade and industry and 400 are to go at the inland revenue and customs.  in his budget statement  the chancellor said the first 12 500 civil service jobs had been cut  on target. about 4 300 civil servants will leave london and the south east by the end of march 2005 and there are plans to relocate another 3 500. of those 300 department of health posts will go to yorkshire while hundreds at the department of culture will move to birmingham and newcastle.  mr brown also announced plans to merge 35 agencies into nine - described by one civil service union as a  bonfire of the quangos . mark serwotka  the leader of the public and commercial services union said:  in last year s budget we had the day of the long knifes as the chancellor kicked off the crude game of who could cut the most civil service jobs between the government and the tories.  there was a time when the only worry thousands of hard working civil and public servants had on budget day was whether petrol or taxes would go up  nowadays the worry is whether they will have a job by the end of it.  he said mr brown had made welcome announcements on closing tax loopholes and extending the new deal  while cutting  the very people who deliver them.  the treasury also announced plans to reduce the number of public sector workers on sick leave with a new system of checks and tougher measures against those suspected of abusing the system.
1720,o sullivan commits to dublin race sonia o sullivan will seek to regain her title at the bupa great ireland run on 9 april in dublin.  the 35-year-old was beaten into fourth at last year s event  having won it a year earlier.  i understand she s had a solid winter s training down in australia after recovering from a minor injury   said race director matthew turnbull. mark carroll  irish record holder at 3km  5km and 10km  will make his debut in the mass participation 10km race. carroll has stepped up his form in recent weeks and in late january scored an impressive 3 000m victory over leading american alan webb in boston. carroll will be facing stiff competition from australian craig mottram  winner in dublin for the last two years.
1015,howard dismisses tory tax fears michael howard has dismissed fears from some conservatives that his plans for £4bn tax cuts are too modest.  he defended the package  saying it was a plan for the tories  first budget and he hoped to be able to go further. the tories on monday highlighted £35bn in  wasteful  spending they would stop to allow tax cuts  reduced borrowing and more spending on key services. labour and the liberal democrats say the party s sums do not add up and claim it would cut frontline services. the tory tax plan follows complaints from some of the party s mps that mr howard and shadow chancellor oliver letwin have taken too long to unveil the proposals. now they have promised a figure but have yet to reveal which taxes would be targeted.  tory backbencher edward leigh said the proposals were a step in the right direction but he told the financial times:  i would come up sooner with much greater tax cuts.  interviewed on bbc radio 2 s jeremy vine show  mr howard said:  it is perfectly true that i am being attacked on one side by people who think we ought to be promising much  much bigger tax cuts and spending cuts.   on the other side  there are people who say we won t be able to achieve these tax cuts.  i think we have got it about right.  mr howard said voters faced a clear choice at the next election between more waste and more tax under labour and tory value for money and lower taxes. he added:  i would like to be able to do more  and over time i am sure we will be able to do more  but at the start  we have got to recognise there is a limit to what we can do in one go  in our first budget.  i have got to be responsible about this.   the latest tory plans came as campaigning for the election - widely expected in may - gathered pace. the liberal democrats launched their pre-election platform  with leader charles kennedy saying his party was the  authentic opposition   particularly on the iraq war  council tax and university tuition fees. lib dem treasury spokesman vince cable also branded the tory plans as  fantasy economics . labour hit back at the tory proposals even before their publication with election coordinator alan milburn accusing mr howard of producing a  fraudulent prospectus . the party on tuesday challenged the tories to publish the full report from david james  the trouble-shooter they asked to identify possible savings. but the tories are in turn demanding that tony blair spell out which taxes he would raise if he wins the election.
1459,what the election should really be about  a general election is the best chance most pressure groups get to make a real impact on government policy. here is how six leading lobbies plan to make sure their cause is being debated ahead of an expected spring poll.  we ve called for the state pension to be increased from £79.60 to the pensioner credit guarantee level of £105.45. that s what we re calling for. many pensioners are disadvantaged by the current system. if we ve got one in five pensioners below the poverty line  we ve got to make it more generous or have these people living in poverty.  we ve drawn up a pensioners  manifesto. this will be sent to each of the candidates in the 659 constituencies. they will be asked which of the top five issues  including the pension issue  they would support. once we ve got their responses we will publish the results within the constituencies and nationally as well. it s our way of putting the politicians on notice. we are trying to get across the fact that there are 11m voters over 60 in the country  they are more likely to vote than other sections of society and thirdly they are true swing voters. before 1997 most pensioners voted conservative. in 1997 and 2001 they voted labour. but there is no guarantee they will vote for a labour government this time around. they cannot take that vote for granted.  pensions generally will certainly be a big election issue even though the government has postponed the publication of adair turner s full report into the issue. he said the uk had one of the least generous pensions systems in the developed world.  that the government takes seriously the impact of aviation on the environment.  we haven t worked out specific plans but i imagine we will lobby political parties and incumbent mps. various local groups will do that in their particular areas and we will provide a national briefing. we don t have any large demonstrations planned but they can t be ruled out.  it is hard to say whether we will be successful. we have got the issue in the public consciousness to an extent  but it is difficult to say whether an election will raise its importance in the public mind or whether it will be pushed out by big issues like iraq.  repealing the hunting bill.  we are challenging the use of the parliament act 1949 in a high court action. we are hoping to hear in the new year. whichever way the court rules the other side will appeal so we expect it to fall plumb in electioneering time. when the ban comes into force on 18 february we will be going to the european court because no compensation is being paid. so there s a lot of legal territory to go. we are trying to engage with the ministers by demonstrating and talking. whatever intelligence we get we will try to turn up and speak to whoever it is. (rural affairs minister) alun michael has avoided us and cancelled engagements so that makes it difficult. it is not intimidatory - on the whole it is groups of angry housewives. of course there is an element of shouting because people are angry but there is no violence because that does not achieve anything.  it will fall plumb in the run up to the most important general election tony blair will ever face. it s exactly what the prime minister did not want. he wanted the issue off the table until after the election.  people using live animals as targets for sport both here and abroad. the reason for including abroad is because of trophy hunting. it is another sort of form of shooting for sport. the principle is the same whether it s a tiger or a pheasant.  we will widely publicise what s happening in relation to trophy hunting. we will publicise the darker aspects of the target animal industry the uk. we will seek to get pledges from individual mps and would-be mps saying that they are against the use of animals as targets for sports. we would like the support of political parties but i think a general election is very much to do with pledges mps make to their electors. with hunting we had many mps who were happy to say they were against it.  i think what we will get is a very real climbing up the agenda. whether or not we will get a ban i am not sure. but it will mobilise public opinion. everything we do will reduce animal suffering and in time that will lead to a ban.  the issue that we think is the most important for this election is choice. the language of consumerism is very commonplace in government and across the political spectrum. choice as an ideology is beginning to be the privatisation of this decade. it s become an issue in itself but what s really missing from the debate is the consumer s choice in that. choice is not choice at all if all you have to choose from is two failing schools. we have seen so many pensions mis-selling scandals and in the pensions industry there s a maximum of choice but a minimum quality in that. we want choice on the consumer s terms - that means clear and accessible information to operate that choice.  firstly  we have our website. it features our campaigns and changes every day. secondly through our 700 000 members who communicate with us. thirdly through the media and also what we will be doing is holding a pre-election conference. we will invite the opinion formers  mps  journalists and others. the idea is that we open up communications between members of the public and the politicians.  i think we will be successful. it s very much the language being used by the main political parties. politicians on all sides are very sensitive to this issue they want to be seen to be responding to this issue.  fuel duty is a large part of operational costs for road haulage workers. we have been hearing about this proposed increase of 1.92p per litre that gordon brown has been postponing and postponing. tuppence does not sound like a great deal but every year if you operate one vehicle that s an increase of about £750. if you re running 10 vehicles it s obviously 10 times that.  if fuel duty does rise we will be absolutely horrified. there will be a huge effect throughout the industry and i would not be surprised if you see widespread demonstrations. what it will mean is there will be a number of firms going out of business.  we will continue to do what we have always done we keep the issue in the trade press. regrettably it s one of those stories that it is getting harder to get into the national press. whatever we do  the public don t like lorries - they see us as a complaining minority. but they don t realise that when you see a car on the road it is probably going to work  when you see a lorry it s already at work.
633,us woman sues over ink cartridges a us woman is suing hewlett packard (hp)  saying its printer ink cartridges are secretly programmed to expire on a certain date.  the unnamed woman from georgia says that a chip inside the cartridge tells the printer that it needs re-filling even when it does not. the lawsuit seeks to represent anyone in the us who has purchased an hp inkjet printer since february 2001. hp  the world s biggest printer firm  declined to comment on the lawsuit. hp ink cartridges use a chip technology to sense when they are low on ink and advise the user to make a change.  but the suit claims the chips also shut down the cartridges at a predetermined date regardless of whether they are empty.  the smart chip is dually engineered to prematurely register ink depletion and to render a cartridge unusable through the use of a built-in expiration date that is not revealed to the consumer   the suit said. the lawsuit is asking for restitution  damages and other compensation. the cost of printer cartridges has been a contentious issue in europe for the last 18 months. the price of inkjet printers has come down to as little as £34 but it could cost up to £1 700 in running costs over an 18-month period due to cartridge  a study by computeractive magazine revealed last year. the inkjet printer market has been the subject of an investigation by the uk s office of fair trading (oft)  which concluded in a 2002 report that retailers and manufacturers needed to make pricing more transparent for consumers.
1384,brown comes out shooting labour may have abolished hunting - but that didn t stop chancellor gordon brown using his budget to fire both barrels at some of the opposition parties  core election foxes.  specifically  it saw him attempting to slaughter the council tax as an election issue and to tear limb from limb their wider policies for pensioners and families. in a relatively short speech he kept the best for last and was clearly out to give exactly that pre-election boost everyone had been predicting. so if you are a couple with children  a pensioner  a patient or a youngster  there was something pulled from mr brown s red box in an attempt to persuade you to stick with or switch to a new labour government. like a surgeon  he attempted to target his handouts with absolute precision onto exactly the groups the government needs to appeal to in the election campaign.  the announcements brought great cheers from his own mps who are now in full-on election mode and had been looking to their man to give them ammunition for the doorsteps. they obviously believed he had done that for them and  coincidentally  given his own image as a prime minister-in-waiting another little boost.  labour mps  for example  will undoubtedly now engage in a debate over exactly how redistributive - a lovely old labour word - this chancellor really is. but gordon brown is never going to put on a show and even as he was out to cast himself as the man who will win labour an historic third term  his demeanour remained quiet  confident and reassuring. prudence made an appearance  albeit towards the end of his address  as he assured voters he would do nothing to mess up the economic stability he had brought to britain and which  he claimed  would be thrown away by anyone else. according to the opposition parties  however  it is all one big con trick.  as always  they accused him of glossing over the facts of the  black hole  at the centre of his finances which  they claim  would ensure tax increases after the election. he did it most obviously with his increase in national insurance contributions after the 2001 election campaign during which he had pledged not to increase income tax. as liberal democrat leader charles kennedy claimed  for most families the distinction between income tax and a tax on income is meaningless.  tory leader michael howard said the chancellor was up to his old trick of deliberately re-casting his forecasts to give the illusion that everything in the treasury larder is as fresh as the day it was first stored away for future use. he branded it a dodgy  vote now pay later  budget based on dodgy figures from a dodgy government that gave britain the dodgy dossier. where the chancellor mostly avoided direct electioneering  mr howard felt no such constraint with attacks like comparing mr brown s forecasts to the prime minister s forecasts on iraq s weapons of mass destruction. as ever  there will now be a period of frantic activity by the opposition parties  treasury specialists as they pore over the chancellor s red book  which sets out the fine detail of his budget  in an attempt to spot the flaws. in particular there will be an argument over precisely whose policies on the council tax will offer people the best deal. and in labour circles there will undoubtedly be an argument over just how good a prime minister gordon brown will make at some point after the next election.
242,johnson edges out rival sotherton jade johnson edged out rival kelly sotherton with her last effort to claim the aaas long jump title at the norwich union european indoor trials.  olympic heptathlon bronze medallist  sotherton  led the event with her first leap of 6.43m - a personal best. but johnson  who has not competed indoors for five years  leapt to a life-time best of 6.50m in her last jump  after four fouls. both johnson and sotherton passed the european championships qualifying mark. although sotherton s main aim in madrid next month will be the pentathlon where she will take on olympic heptathlon champion carolina kluft. ireland s  delivered a shock in the men s 200m as he stormed to his first major title in 21.01 seconds. british favourite chris lambert had to settle for second place while defending champion ireland s paul brizzel took third. there was some consolation for lambert as he set a personal best of 20.94 in the first round - good enough to qualify for europe.  two-time aaas champion allyn condon and ian mackie had no such luck as they were disqualified in the heats. there was plenty of hot action in the men s 60m hurdles where scotland s  was vying for top spot with olympian andy turner. scott  22  smashed his personal best on the way to the final  where he broke it again to win the aaas title in 7.58 seconds. turner finished second in 7.82 after previously setting a personal best on the 7.83 in the semi-finals  while damien greaves did not finish the final. the trio of athletes have reached the european qualifying mark this season though one of them is set to miss out on a call-up to the british squad.  comfortably defended her 3 000m title  clocking eight minutes  49.87 seconds to easily surpass the european qualifying mark. the european cross country bronze medallist is ranked number one in europe this season and will go to madrid with high hopes. helen clitheroe was agonisingly close to the 9:05.00 qualifying mark as she claimed the runners-up spot in a personal best of 9:05.73. in the men s 800m heats   qualified fastest in the 800m heats to lay down a challenge to in-form  . the welsh runner attacked the last 200m to come through ahead of james thie in one minute  49.87 seconds. mcilroy  who is third in the european rankings  eased across the finish in 1:50.87 to set up a showdown in sunday s final in sheffield. both watkins and mcilroy have already achieved the european qualifying mark. scotland s susan deacon stole   s thunder in the final of the women s 200m. fraser became the fastest british woman over the distance this season when she qualified for the final in 23.68 seconds - though that time is outside the european standard. but deacon claimed her first aaas title over the distance  edging fraser into second in 23.67. in the women s shot put veteran  claimed her fourth aaas title with a throw of 15.27m. but that mark was not good enough for the 39-year-old to book her place at next month s european indoor championships in madrid. sotherton finished fifth after producing two throws of 13.77m. in the absence of injured british number one carl myerscough   claimed the men s shot put title with a throw of 17.64m  which was below the qualifying mark.  sale s robert mitchell climbed to a season s best of 2.20m - just 3cm short of the european standard - to claim the british indoor high jump title.  could only clear 2.16m to finish in fourth but the 27-year-old s disappointment will be tempered as he had already achieved the qualifying mark at a meeting in slovenia on tuesday. there was bad luck for british number one  in the pole vault as he failed to clear the bar after deciding to come in at 5.45m. the aaas indoor title went instead to ashley swain  who climbed to a season s best of 5.25m and ireland s taniesha scanlon set a new national record of 13.28m in the women s triple jump.
1334,cebit opens to mobile music tune cebit  the world s largest hi-tech fair  has opened its doors in hanover for a look at the latest technologies for homes and businesses.  there are more than 6 000 exhibitors registered and about 500 000 visitors are expected to pass through the doors. third generation mobiles  the digital home and broadband are key themes at the show. camera phones will get better resolutions as vendors set out to prove that bigger is definitely better. samsung is set to steal some initial limelight with the launch of a 7-megapixel phone on the opening day.  the sch-v770 has some of the features of high-end digital single lens reflex cameras such as manual focus and the ability to attach a telephoto or wide-angle lens. camera phones are likely to prove an interesting battle ground at the show  said ben wood  principal analyst at research firm gartner.  it is firmly established that cameras are an integral part of phones and now the technology arms race is on in terms of megapixels. there will be a certain amount of  look how big mine is    he said. there will also be increasing focus on music-enabled mobiles.  at 3gsm in cannes everyone went music mad and music is going to be a big theme for all the vendors at cebit   said mr wood. sony ericsson will use the fair to show off the w800 - its recently unveiled walkman branded phone - and there is speculation that motorola may unveil its rokr handset  widely tipped as the first to carry apple s itunes music software. apple and motorola announced they were getting together at the end of last year as a result of a long-standing friendship between motorola s chief executive ed zander and steve jobs.  some analysts think motorola may save the launch for ctia  a wireless show in america the following week  which could be a telling sign about how operators are coming to view the german tech fair.   one of the interesting things is that cebit is clearly a show in decline   said mr wood.  a lot of the big players  such as nokia  are pulling back saying it is hard to justify a big presence at all of the shows. it could be the last big year for cebit   he said. other themes include tv-enabled mobiles which are bound to create a buzz in the halls as vodafone unveils a prototype handset that can show live digital television. there has been a glut of recent headlines about mobile tv - french operators are teaming up  o2 is trialling a system in oxford  uk  and nokia begins trialling a system in finland with the finnish broadcasting company  yle tv and commercial tv channels. cebit could become the battleground for the two competing methods for getting tv on to mobiles  and is also likely to provide a stage for a technology slated to compete with 3g. hsdpa (high speed downlink packet access) has been described as  3g on steroids  and could offer consumers much faster download times. for instance  a song which currently takes one and a half minutes to download to a phone could be done in 10 seconds. korean giants lg electronics and samsung will show off hsdpa handsets at the show and the technology is set to be rolled out in the us  europe and korea next year. broadband will continue to be a key theme at the show with internet telephony proving this year s killer application.  germany s largest online service provider  t-online  is tipped to reveal software for low-cost net telephony which would see it competing with its parent company deutsche telekom. cebit is used by many to unveil cutting edge products and in the mobile sphere this is likely to mean a lot of bright  colourful handsets as fashion continues to compete with technology when it comes to the device everyone has in their pockets. rainbow-coloured phones  influenced by handsets from japan  are just one example of how asian companies will stamp their mark on this year s show  at which they will have their biggest ever presence. cebit organisers have created a digital home in hall 25 of the 27 hangar-like buildings that will house the show.  the digital home will be a hyped theme at the show. the house will be totally wired and full of things that can be used for home entertainment   said cebit organiser gabriele dorries.
1456,lib dems target first-time buyers the liberal democrats have unveiled plans to build 100 000 new  affordable  homes on publicly owned land.  the party s scheme would allow people to buy a share in a home through a mutual home ownership trust  as a way of getting onto the housing ladder. the lib dems would also encourage the conversion of existing buildings in an effort to protect greenfield sites. labour has already announced plans to help first-time buyers and the tories would extend right-to-buy schemes.  all the major parties are focusing on the issue in the run-up to the election after a survey suggested first-time buyers could not afford a home in 92% of uk towns. the lib dems say their  mutual homes  would let people buy a share of a property  usually worth about 5% of the building costs. party leader charles kennedy said the homes would be affordable because they would be built on surplus public sector land  donated by central or local government. people would also only have to pay for the cost of the building and not the land  he added.  they would spend about 30% of their monthly salary on rent and buying extra shares in the property. when they moved house  they would be able to cash in on any rise in property prices by selling their share. it would also allow councils to vary discounts to tenants given the right to buy their council homes so local needs were taken into account. mr kennedy said:  mutual homes will offer people the opportunity to build up an equity stake in a home gradually  investing only as much as they can afford.   there are also plans to prevent high house prices forcing people out of their local communities. the kind of  golden share  used by the lib dems in south shropshire could be rolled out more widely. under the plan  councils secure deals with developers where they keep a 1% share in a property scheme so properties cannot be sold on the open market. instead  they are sold at  build cost  to people who the local council decides have local needs. the party says its help for first-time buyers can be funded at no extra cost to the taxpayer. but the plans involve changing the vat system  which the party says often makes it too expensive to renovate existing buildings.  the conservatives claimed the plans would amount to an extra tax of up to £11 000 on every new house.  this is typical of lib dem hypocrisy   said tory shadow local government secretary caroline spelman.  they claim that they want to help people on to the property ladder  but the small print of their policies reveal how they intend to price even more people out of the housing market.  the flagship tory proposal on housing policy is to give a million more housing association tenants the right to buy their homes. labour has said it will allow 300 000 council and housing association tenants to buy a share in their homes. housing minister keith hill said much of the lib dem plans mimicked the government s strategy.  however  as usual  the lib dems  proposals are completely uncosted   he said. mr hill said he also asked whether the lib dems would match labour s promise to spend £42bn on making refurbishing and repair council homes by 2010.
1298,microsoft debuts security tools microsoft is releasing tools that clean up pcs harbouring viruses and spyware.  the virus-fighting program will be updated monthly and is a precursor to microsoft releasing dedicated anti-virus software. also being released is a software utility that will help users find and remove any spyware on their home computer. although initially free it is thought that soon microsoft will be charging users for the anti-spyware tool.  the anti-spyware tool is available now and the anti-virus utility is expected to be available later this month. microsoft s windows operating system has long been a favourite of people who write computer viruses because it is so ubiquitous and has many loopholes that can be exploited. it has proved such a tempting target that there are now thought to be more than 100 000 viruses and other malicious programs in existence. latest research suggests that new variants of viruses are being cranked out at a rate of up to 200 per week. spyware is surreptitious software that sneaks on to home computers  often without users  knowledge. in its most benign form it just bombards users with pop-up adverts or hijacks web browser settings. the most malicious forms steal confidential information or log every keystroke that users make. surveys have shown that most pcs are infested with spyware. research by technology firms earthlink and webroot revealed that 90% of windows machine have the malicious software on board and  on average  each one harbours 28 separate spyware programs. before now microsoft has left the market for pc security software to specialist firms such as symantec  mcafee  trend micro and many others. it said that its virus cleaning program would not stop machines being infected nor remove the need for other anti-virus programs. on spyware freely available programs such as ad-aware and spybot have become widely used by people keen to keep the latest variants at bay. microsoft s two security tools have emerged as a result of acquisitions the company has made over the last two years. in 2003 it bought romanian firm gecad software to get hold of its anti-virus technology. in december 2004 it bought new york-based anti-spyware firm giant company software. last year microsoft also released the sp2 upgrade for windows xp that closed many security loopholes in the software and made it easier for people to manage their anti-virus and firewall programs.
1567,creator of first apple mac dies jef raskin  head of the team behind the first macintosh computer  has died.  mr raskin was one of the first employees at apple and made many of the design decisions that made the mac so distinctive when it was first released. he led the team that decided to use a graphical interface and mouse that let people navigate around the computer by pointing and clicking. the 1984 release of the mac reflected mr raskin s belief that good design should make computers easy to use.  mr raskin joined apple in 1978 as employee number 31  initially to lead the company s publications department. however  in 1979 he was put in charge of a small team to design a computer that lived up to his idea of a machine that was cheap  aimed at consumers rather than computer professionals and was very easy to use.  the result was the 1984 macintosh that did away with the then common text-based interface in favour of one based around graphics that resembled a virtual desktop and used folders and documents. users navigated around the machine using a mouse and by pointing  clicking and dragging. although now in common use in almost all computers  these methods were pioneering when first used in the macintosh. the gui was developed by xerox parc  and used in its star machine. but the acceptance of the interface did not truly begin until the concept was developed for use by apple in its pioneering lisa computer.  his role on the macintosh was the initiator of the project  so it wouldn t be here if it weren t for him   said andy hertzfeld  an early macintosh team member. although mr raskin drove the team that created the macintosh he did not stay at apple to see it released. in 1981 he was removed from the project following a dispute with apple s mercurial boss steve jobs. in 1982  mr raskin left apple entirely. the macintosh was reputedly named after mr raskin s favourite apple  though the name was changed slightly following a trademark dispute with another company. after leaving apple  mr raskin founded another company called information appliance and continued to work on better ways to interface with computers. he was also an accomplished musician  played three instruments and conducted san francisco s chamber opera society. mr raskin was diagnosed in december 2004 with pancreatic cancer and died on 26 february at his home in california.
205,day-lewis set for berlin honour actor daniel day-lewis is to be presented with an award for his career in film at the berlin film festival.  the 47-year-old  whose credits include his oscar-winning performance in my left foot  will be presented with the berlinale camera award on 15 february. the honour  awarded since 1986  honours figures in cinema that the festival feels  particularly indebted to . man to man  a historical epic starring kristin scott thomas  opens the german festival on 10 february. a candid documentary about the life and career of singer george michael  a different story will also be screened at the 10-day event.    day-lewis has competed four times at the berlin film festival  with films in the name of the father (1994)  the crucible (1997)  the boxer (1998) and martin scorsese s gangs of new york (2003). the festival praises him for his  sensational start  with roles in my beautiful launderette and costume classic a room with a view  and a  great number of celebrated roles  in subsequent productions. japan s oldest film studio will also be honoured along with day-lewis. shochiku film studios  which was founded 110 years ago  will become the first cinematic institution to receive the berlinale camera award. famous japanese directors including akira hurosawa have had films produced at the studio.
385,drive to  save  festive holidays efforts are being made to  protect  workers  days off on christmas day and new year s day.  support is being sought for a bill which would ensure that large retailers in scotland remain closed on christmas day and 1 january. the usdaw trade union said shop workers should be able to enjoy a break with their families. msp karen whitefield wants to ensure only those whose roles are essential are at work over the festive season. in recent years  more stores have been opening on traditional holidays  with some starting their end-of-year sale on christmas day or new year s day. ms whitefield said:  i have found members of the public to be very supportive when i have been campaigning on the streets.   the early evidence shows quite clearly that the vast majority of people believe that shop workers should be given these two special days to spend with friends and family.  usdaw general secretary john hannett added:  christmas day and new year s day are special days for everyone in scotland and the fact that shops do not open is an important part of making them special. they are largely collective days of rest.  we want people to tell karen  through her consultation  whether they want the special nature of these days to remain  or whether they want them to become like any other trading day  with shops open for business as usual.  the consultation on a christmas & new year s day trading bill has so far attracted almost 500 responses and closes on 7 february.
795,millions buy mp3 players in us one in 10 adult americans - equivalent to 22 million people - owns an mp3 player  according to a survey.  a study by the pew internet and american life project found that mp3 players are the gadget of choice among affluent young americans. the survey did not interview teenagers but it is likely that millions of under-18s also have mp3 players. the american love affair with digital music players has been made possible as more and more homes get broadband.  of the 22 million americans who own mp3 players  59% are men compared to 41% of women. those on high income - judged to be $75 000 (£39 000) or above - are four times more likely to have players than those earning less than $30  000 ( £15 000). broadband access plays a big part in ownership too. almost a quarter of those with broadband at home have players  compared to 9% of those who have dial-up access. mp3 players are still the gadget of choice for younger adults. almost one in five us citizens aged under 30 have one. this compares to 14% of those aged 30-39 and 14% of those aged 40-48. the influence of children also plays a part. sixteen percent of parents living with children under 18 have digital players compared to 9% of those who don t. the ease of use and growth of music available on the net are the main factors for the upsurge in ownership  the survey found. people are beginning to use them as instruments of social activity - sharing songs and taking part in podcasting - the survey found.  ipods and mp3 players are becoming a mainstream technology for consumers  said lee rainie  director of the pew internet and american life project.  more growth in the market is inevitable as new devices become available  as new players enter the market  and as new social uses for ipods/mp3 players become popular   he added.
1083,labour battle plan  hides blair  the tories have accused tony blair of being  terrified  of scrutiny after labour unveiled details of how it will fight the next general election.  in a break with tradition  the party will ditch the leader s battle bus and daily press briefings in westminster. instead mr blair will travel to key cities and marginal seats to deliver the party s message. labour election chief alan milburn denied the party was trying to  hide  the prime minister.  he promised  the most positive and upbeat election campaign labour has ever run . but tory co-chairman liam fox said labour s plans showed mr blair was  terrified of facing proper scrutiny .   at a time when the british people are looking for more accountability and openness  this government turns its back on them; abandoning plans to tour the country and scared to face journalists in a press conference - it does rather beg the question   what have they got to hide    the general election is widely expected next may and all the parties are stepping up their campaign preparations. mr milburn said the economy would take centre stage in labour s campaign in what would be a  watershed  election and the  last stand of the thatcherites . mr milburn said labour s slogan would be  britain is working - don t let the tories wreck it.   the tone of the campaign  said mr milburn  would be more conversational than rhetorical; more spontaneous less scripted; less national more local and less based on issues and more concentrated on people. the approach is particularly designed to appeal to women voters  he said. mr milburn brushed aside questions over why the chancellor was not present at the cabinet meeting to discuss election strategy particularly since such importance was being given to the economy.  i m not privy to everybody s diary   he said. mr brown has headed labour s preparations for previous polls but mr milburn is taking that role this time. in a break with the past  labour will not hold a daily news conference in london. it will not be a  battle bus  style campaign either  he said.  in previous elections  each party leader has had their own battle bus transporting national newspaper  television and radio reporters to staged campaign events around the country. mr milburn said labour s media effort this time would focus more on local newspapers and broadcasters  with every local radio station given the chance to interview the prime minister. mr milburn said there would also be a greater effort to set up face-to-face meetings between ministers and the electorate. former downing street media chief alastair campbell is also returning to advise labour on media strategy and campaigning.  mr milburn said no decision had been taken yet over whether david blunkett would have a prominent role in the election. liberal democrat chief executive lord rennard suggested labour was avoiding news conferences in london because it wanted less scrutiny of its record and proposals.  tony blair seems to have disappeared from labour leaflets and broadcasts   he said.  in contrast charles kennedy will feature prominently in the liberal democrat campaign right across the country.
1953,worldcom trial starts in new york the trial of bernie ebbers  former chief executive of bankrupt us phone company worldcom  has started in new york with the selection of the jury.  mr ebbers  63  is accused of being the mastermind behind an $11bn (£6bn) accounting fraud that eventually saw the firm collapse in july 2002. his indictment includes charges of securities fraud  conspiracy and filing false reports with regulators. if found guilty  mr ebbers could face a substantial jail sentence. he has firmly declared his innocence.  under mr ebbers  leadership  worldcom emerged from mississippi obscurity to become a $160bn telecoms giant and the darling of late 1990s investors. yet as competition intensified and the telecoms boom petered out  worldcom found itself under growing financial stress. when worldcom finally collapsed  shareholders lost about $180bn and 20 000 workers lost their jobs. mr ebbers  trial  which is expected to last two months  is the latest in a series of attempts by us prosecutors to pursue senior executives for fraud. it will coincide with the retrial of former tyco international chief dennis kozlowski and his top lieutenant  accused of looting the industrial conglomerate to the tune of $600m. trail preparations are also preparing for former executives of shamed us energy firm enron.
1987,uk set to cut back on embassies nine overseas embassies and high commissions will close in an effort to save money  uk foreign secretary jack straw has announced.  the bahamas  east timor  madagascar and swaziland are among the areas affected by the biggest shake-up for the diplomatic service for years. other diplomatic posts are being turned over to local staff. mr straw said the move would save £6m a year to free up cash for priorities such as fighting terrorism.  honorary consuls will be appointed in some of the areas affected by the embassy closures. nine consulates or consulates general will also be closed  mostly in europe and america.  they include dallas in the us  bordeaux in france and oporto in portugal  with local staff replacing uk representation in another 11. the changes are due to be put in place before the end of 2006  with most savings made from cutting staff and running costs. some of the money will have to be used to fund redundancy payments. in a written statement  mr straw said:  the savings made will help to underpin higher priority work in line with the foreign and commonwealth office s strategic priorities  including counter- proliferation  counter-terrorism  energy and climate change.  some of the savings will also be redeployed to strategic priority work within certain regions where we are closing posts.  in africa  for instance  we plan to create new jobs to cover these issues across the region  with a new post in nairobi to help support our work on climate change  one in nigeria to cover energy and one in pretoria to cover regional issues more generally as well as covering maseru and mbabane.   the foreign office currently has about 6 100 uk-based staff. it has opened major new missions on baghdad and basra in iraq  kabul in afghanistan and pyongyang in north korea since 1997 in response to what the government says are changing needs. since 1997 10 overseas posts have been closed - excluding wednesday s cuts - but 18 new embassies or consulates have been opened. the shake-up is aimed at helping making £86m in efficiency savings between 2005 and 2008. the chancellor has demanded all government departments make similar savings. shadow foreign secretary michael ancram said there was a constant need to ensure value for money from foreign missions.  but the government must give a far clearer reason for making the dramatic changes it has announced and must show that british commercial interests and the interests of britons abroad will not be adversely affected   he said.
1748,running around the olympics it was back to official duties last week in my role as an ambassador to london s 2012 olympic bid. but i still managed to do all my marathon training.  all the sporting people on the capital s bid team think i m mad to be taking part in the london marathon. the bid chairman  lord coe  admitted he would never dream of running a marathon  even though he was an olympic middle-distance runner.  kelly holmes  former hurdler alan pascoe and former sprinter frankie fredericks - who is now an ioc member - all wanted to know why anyone would want to run that far. you d have thought all these athletes  who have been running for most of their lives  wouldn t think it would be that bad. but the only person who was positive about my intentions was tanni grey thompson  who has won the london marathon wheelchair race six times. even though it was a very busy week entertaining the international olympic committee s (ioc) evaluation commission  i actually found my running schedule easier to follow. when i m at home  i get distracted by all sorts of things but for the five days i was in london  i was in a pressurised situation  but i found it easy to relax by running.  on wednesday  the presentations to the ioc team did not finish until the early evening  so i just managed to squeeze in a 45-minute run. we had an early start on thursday because we had to visit all the olympic sites around london  that was pretty shattering  but when we got back to the hotel  i got back on the treadmill. on friday evening i went along to the special dinner at buckingham palace which was a nice occasion. i never feel guilty about eating  especially when i m exercising. and because it was a rest day i didn t have to feel bad about missing my training either. anyway  i managed to do another quick run on saturday ahead of the final ioc presentations  before heading home for my daughter s birthday.  when i was in london i did all of my runs on the treadmill  which isn t the same as exercising outdoors. one of the ioc s technical staff from australia ran alongside me one day. we talked about the sydney olympics and that made the time go past more quickly. i do find it quite comfortable running in the gym because there is more cushioning. but when you re gearing up to running on the road you need your body to get used to that jarring feeling when your feet hit the pavement. it was good to get out on the road for my long run on sunday. after the week i d had i was a bit concerned i wouldn t be able to complete it. but i coped with it very well and  even though it was bitterly cold  i put in 15-and-a-half miles - only another 11 to go then.  - this year steve will donate all the proceeds from his london marathon efforts to victims of the tsunami.steve will be writing a regular column on the ups and downs of his marathon training for the bbc sport website.he will be raising money through the steve redgrave trust which supports the association of children s hospices  the children with leukaemia charity  and the trust s own project which aims to provide inner-city schools with rowing equipment.
1869,hollywood to sue net film pirates the us movie industry has launched legal action to sue people who facilitate illegal film downloading.  the motion picture association of america wants to stop people using the program bittorrent to swap movies. the industry is targeting people who run websites which provide information and internet links to movies which have been copied or filmed in cinemas. more than 100 server operators have been targeted in the actions launched in the us and uk  the mpaa added. the suits were filed against users of the file-sharing programs bittorrent  edonkey and directconnect in the united states  united kingdom  france  finland and the netherlands  the mpaa said.  bittorrent users can download movies by following a link to files which are found on websites called trackers. unlike most peer-to-peer programs bittorrent works by sharing a file  which could be anything from a legitimate digital photo to a copied movie  among multiple users at the same time. the movie industry hopes that suing the people who run the trackers will cut bittorrent users off from illegal movies at source. last month major film studios started legal action against 200 individuals who were swapping films online. the growth in broadband has made it quicker for people to download movies and the industry fears that if it does not take action now  it could suffer the same downturn as the music industry.
34,show over for mtv s the osbournes rock star ozzy osbourne has said his family will not make any more episodes of reality tv show the osbournes.   at the end of it i didn t like having cameras around the house all the time   the black sabbath singer told reporters at the mtv europe awards in rome. his wife sharon  who also appears in the popular mtv show based on the osbournes  family life  agreed.  now everybody s doing reality shows. he s done it  he s been there  he s got to do something else   she said.  ozzy osbourne said he had had enough of the work involved in making the series.  when you watch a 25-minute episode  i ve been filming all day   he said. sharon osbourne is currently appearing as a judge and mentor in itv1 talent show the x-factor alongside simon cowell and louis walsh.  earlier this year she topped a poll of the most important people in rock  for her part in guiding the career of husband ozzy and her family. she was the driving force behind the osbournes  which ran for three series  earning the family a reported $85m (£46m). the renewed popularity for ozzy has seen sales of his merchandise hit the $50m (£27.2m) mark  a record for a heavy metal artist. sales of t-shirts  accessories and action figures have rocketed since the osbournes hit screens. at its peak  the osbournes had a regular audience of eight million  with america s tv guide magazine describing the series as  a cross between the simpsons and this is spinal tap . osbourne himself was at a loss to explain its popularity:  i suppose americans get a kick out of watching a crazy brit family like us make complete fools of ourselves every week.
604,sir paul rocks super bowl crowds sir paul mccartney wowed fans with a live mini-concert at american football s super bowl - and avoided any janet jackson-style controversies.  the 62-year-old sang hey jude and other beatles songs in a 12-minute set at half-time during the game in florida. last year  jackson exposed a breast during a dance routine  causing outrage among millions of tv viewers and landing the cbs tv network a fine. sir paul  however  did nothing more racy than remove his jacket as he sang. organisers were widely considered to be playing it safe this year by booking 62-year-old sir paul for his second super bowl show.  three years ago  he was invited to perform at the first super bowl after the september 11 attacks and performed his specially-written song freedom. this time  he started off the show  at the alltel stadium in jacksonville  florida  with the beatles numbers drive my car and get back. he then performed a mellow version of live and let die  the james bond theme he recorded with the band wings. finally  he closed the show with a rousing version of hey jude. the former beatle resisted any temptation to refer to janet jackson s headline-grabbing performance last year  instead keeping banter between songs to a minimum in order to squeeze as much music as he could into his slot. the singer removed his black jacket halfway through the show - but any fans hoping for a second  nipple-gate  were to be disappointed as he kept his red sweatshirt on underneath.  earlier  the black eyed peas and alicia keys had provided the night s other high-profile entertainment by performing in a pre-game show. black eyed peas singer fergie was dressed in a tight orange top and purple hotpants  but nothing in her performance was likely to upset tv watchdogs. after the controversy last year - which saw cbs fined a record $550 000 (£292 000) by federal regulators - super bowl organisers had turned to producer don mischer to oversee this year s half-time show. his previous production credits included olympic opening and closing ceremonies. the super bowl is watched by an audience of 144.4 million in the us  with many of the people watching are said to tune in specifically to see the entertainment put on around the event. michael jackson  aerosmith  diana ross  gloria estefan and phil collins are among the stars who have previously graced the super bowl stage.
142,us seeks new $280bn smoker ruling the us justice department is to try to overturn a court ruling that threw out its claim for $280bn (£149bn) in damages from tobacco firms.  earlier this month  a three-judge appeal court panel rejected the claim - filed in 1999 by the administration of bill clinton - in a 2-1 decision. government lawyers said they would ask the full us court of appeals for the district of columbia to hear the case. the court room battle is seen as key in government attempts to fight smoking.  it s pretty clear that they ve suffered a severe setback   said anthony sebok  a professor at brooklyn law school  adding that the appeal was what the government  would be expected to ask for .  prosecutors had argued that tobacco firms lied about the dangers of smoking  ignored research that highlighted problems  looked to increase addiction by manipulating nicotine levels and targeted the young with their adverts. among the firms accused were altria group  rj reynolds tobacco  lorillard tobacco  liggett group and brown and williamson. prosecutors went after the companies using legislation put in place to fight organised crime  and accused the firms of conspiring and running  racketeer influenced and corrupt organisations . the tobacco companies denied the charges  saying that they never illegally conspired to promote smoking and fool the public. they also said that they have met many of the government s demands laid out in a landmark $206bn settlement hammered out in 1998 with 46 states. a three-judge panel agreed with the companies  finding that the case could not be brought under federal anti-racketeering laws.  central to the government s case was a meeting in the plaza hotel  new york  on 15 december  1953. prosecutors contend that executives from the major tobacco firms met and agreed to present a unified strategy denying the harmful effects of smoking. despite denying for decades that smoking could be linked to illness  the companies have modified their stances in recent years. altria s philip morris now accepts that nicotine is harmful  and the company s main lawyer william ohlemeyer told the bbc last year that earlier statements may have been wrong but they were not dishonest. government lawyers have until 21 march to file their appeal.
1832,agassi fear for melbourne andre agassi s involvement in the australian open was put in doubt after he pulled out of the kooyong classic with a hip injury.  agassi was serving at 5-6 down in the first set to fellow american andy roddick when he decided to bring a premature end to the match.  my hip was cramping and i just could not continue   said the 34-year-old. agassi  who has won the australian open four times  will have an mri scan to discover the extent of the damage. he said the problem was not the same as the hip injury which forced him to miss wimbledon last year.   the good news is that it didn t just tear  it was tightening up and that can be your body protecting itself  which is hopefully more of the issue   he added.  that wasn t comfortable out there at all  what i was feeling.  i have to wait and see what i m dealing with - it s a pretty scary feeling out there when something doesn t feel right and is getting worse.  it s very disappointing and i ll have to do my best to deal with it. time will shortly tell if it (the australian open) is a possibility or not.  i was not counting on this being the end of the day for me.  maybe in a few days i ll have a much better sense of what my hopes will be.
1865,latest opera browser gets vocal net browser opera 8.0  due for official release at the end of next month  will be  the most accessible browser on the market   according to its authors.  the latest version of the net browser can be controlled by voice command and will read pages aloud. the voice features  based on ibm technology  are currently only available in the windows version. opera can also magnify text by up to 10 times and users can create  style sheets   its developers say. this will enable them to view pages with colours and fonts that they prefer. but the browser does not yet work well with screen reader software often used by blind people  so its accessibility features are more likely to appeal to those with some residual vision.  our mission was always to provide the best internet experience for everyone   said opera spokeswoman  berit hanson.  so we would obviously not want to exclude disabled computer users.   another feature likely to appeal to people with low vision is the ability to make pages fit to the screen width  which eliminates the need for horizontal scrolling.  the company points out that this will also appeal to anyone using opera with a handheld device. the company says that features like voice activation are not solely aimed at visually impaired people.  our idea was to take a first step in making human-computer interaction more natural   said ms hanson.  people are not always in a situation where they can access a keyboard  so this makes the web a more hands-free experience.  unlike commercially available voice recognition software  opera does not have to be  trained  to recognise an individual voice. around 50 voice commands are available and users will have to wear a headset which incorporates a microphone. the voice recognition function is currently only available in english. opera is free to download but a paid-for version comes without an ad banner in the top right hand corner and with extra support. opera began life as a research project - a spin-off from norwegian telecoms company telenor. its browser is used by an estimated 10 million people on a variety of operating systems and a number of different platforms.
862,long life promised for laptop pcs scientists are working on ways to ensure laptops can stay powered for an entire working day.  building batteries from new chemical mixes could boost power significantly  say industry experts. the changes include everything from the way chips for laptops are made  to tricks that reduce the power consumption of displays. ever since laptops appeared the amount of time they last between recharges has been a frustration for users.  a survey carried out in 2000 by forrester research found that the shortness of battery life was the most complained about feature of laptops.  the focus back then was more on performance and features   said mike trainor  chief mobile technology evangelist for chip giant intel.   for most of the 90s battery life was stuck on two to 2.5 hours.  but now  he said  laptops can last much longer. it was not just a case of improving battery life by squeezing more out of the lithium ion power packs  he explained. other changes are needed to get to the holy grail of a laptop running for about eight hours before needing a recharge.  lithium ion is never going to get there by itself   he said.  the industry has done a great job of wringing all possible energy storage out of that technology that they can.  some new battery chemistries promise to cram more power into the same space  said mr trainor  though work still needed to be done to get them successfully from the lab to manufacturing. he was sceptical that fuel cells would develop quick enough to take over from solid batteries even though they have the potential to produce several times more energy than lithium ion power packs.  in fuel cells you need to have pumps and separators and evaporation chambers   he said.  it s a mini energy plant that needs to be shrunk and shrunk and shrunk.   intel has been working with component makers to test energy consumption on all the parts inside a laptop and find ways to make them less power hungry.  this work has led to the creation of the mobile pc extended battery life (ebl) working group that shares information about building notebooks that are more parsimonious with power. some of the improvements in power use come simply because components on chips are shrinking  said mr trainor. intel has also changed the way it creates transistors on silicon to reduce the power they need. on a larger scale  said mr trainor  improvements in the way that voltage regulators are made can reduce the amount of power lost as heat and make a notebook more energy efficient. also  said mr trainor  research is being done on ways to cut energy consumption on displays - currently the biggest power guzzler on a laptop. many laptop makers have committed to creating 14 and 15 inch screens that draw only three watts of power. this is far below the power consumption levels of screens in current notebooks.  if we can get close to eight hours that s a place that people see as extraordinarily valuable that s what the industry has to deliver   mr trainor said.
1191,veteran comic cyril fletcher dies veteran comedian and broadcaster cyril fletcher has died aged 91 at his home in guernsey.  fletcher will be remembered for his  odd odes  and amusing misprints on tv show that s life in the 1970s and 80s  as well as a long variety career. he was also a regular on does the team think   a comic version of radio information show the brains trust. that s life host esther rantzen said he was  so lovely  and a  delight  to work with.  the thing about cyril was that he was  to use a slightly old-fashioned phrase  an english gentleman   she said.  he was courteous  and understated  and he adored gardens  particularly creating them for his beautiful wife.   he was funny and witty to work with. he was a real friend and i shall miss him.  one of the last comedians of old-time variety era  fletcher made his first tv appearance in 1937. a year after bbc television began  he was seen reciting humorous poems  appearing in a revue  tele-ho  and playing the emperor of morocco in the first televised pantomime  dick whittington. he went on to become a regular voice on radio  have a string of tv shows in the 1950s and appear in several films  including 1947 s nicholas nickleby. he married actress betty astell in 1941 and in the 1950s and 60s  they produced pantos and summer shows  discovering new stars including harry secombe. in the mid-1990s  fletcher said he had made a  fabulous living  since the age of 22 and had never had a day out of work.  he was most recently seen presenting a gardening programme for channel tv. fletcher was described as a  consummate professional  by his friend and fellow broadcaster michael pointon.  it really was a pleasure to work with him - he had met everyone and done everything   mr pointon said.  he was a whimsical  droll fellow  but also a very artistic man. as a friend  he was very kind  and generous.  fletcher s daughter jill said her father would be sorely missed.  he was greatly loved by the public   she said.
22,halo 2 heralds traffic explosion the growing popularity of online gaming could spell problems for net service firms  warns network monitoring company sandvine.  it issued the warning following analysis which shows that traffic on the xbox game network increased fourfold on the launch day of halo 2. the 9 november traffic explosion has continued into december  said sandvine. service providers now need to make sure that their networks can cope with the increasing demands for bandwidth. as well as being a popular single-player title  halo 2 can be connected to microsoft s subscription-based broadband network  xbox live. gamers who want to play online can create their own clan  or team  and take on others to see how well they compare.  but the surge in numbers and huge demands for bandwidth should be a wake-up call to the industry which must ensure that their networks can cope with the increases in traffic  said sandvine s chief technology officer marc morin.  in a bid to cope and ease congestion  providers are increasingly making their networks intelligent  finding out who is using bandwidth and for what. it could become common to charge people for the amount of bandwidth they use.  the explosion in xbox live traffic attributed to halo 2 should be seen as a clarion call   he said.  isps need to enhance the broadband experience for these high-end users by prioritising or reserving bandwidth for games   he added.  one of the main factors that spoils online gaming is  lag  in which there is a noticeable delay between a gamer clicking on a mouse or keyboard and what happens in the online gaming world. gamers tend to migrate toward networks with the lowest  lag . analysing traffic will become increasingly important for service providers if they are to hold on to bandwidth-hungry gamers said lindsay schroth  an analyst with research firm the yankee group.  in the competitive broadband environment  operators need to differentiate the way they offer access to services like live-play gaming   she said. in countries such as korea  which has high levels of fast net connections to homes  online gaming is hugely popular.
1883,indian oil firm eyes yukos assets india s biggest oil exploration firm  oil & natural gas corp (ongc)  says it is in talks to buy the former assets of troubled russian crude producer yukos.   we are in touch with the concerned russian entities about the yukos assets and other opportunities in russia   said ongc chairman subir raha. local press had reported that ongc was looking to buy 15% of yukos  former key oil production unit for $2bn (£1bn). yukos is being broken up by russian authorities to pay a massive tax bill.  it was forced to sell its key production unit yuganskneftegas (yugansk) last month after being hit with a bill of $27bn in unpaid taxes and fines.  state-owned rosneft now owns yugansk and russia has said it will turn the oil producer into a stand-alone firm. indian oil minister mani shankar aiyar discussed ongc s plans during a trip to moscow last year  and the topic came up again during russian president vladimir putin s recent visit to new delhi.  it would make great sense for us to build on that   said mr aiyar. india s oil production has stagnated over recent years  and it is having to look abroad to secure future supplies. india imports about 70% of its total oil consumption. at the same time  india s economy is booming and the country s thirst for oil is so strong that it has helped pushed up the price of crude worldwide.  india produces about 793 000 barrels of oil per day (bpd)  little changed since the start of the 1990s  according to oil industry analysts douglas-westwood. consumption  meanwhile  has jumped to 2.4 million bpd  compared with 474 000 bpd in 1973.   for countries to develop  they have to have access to energy   said john westwood  managing director of oil industry analysts douglas-westwood. india is a  dramatically growing economy that must have access to oil . by buying into yugansk  ongc would be able to reduce its dependence on gulf states for oil imports  mr westwood explained  especially as the chances of finding and exploiting resources within india are slim.  we forecast that indian production will go into significant decline   mr westwood said.  by 2020  production may only be at half of today s levels.  ongc  which is majority-owned by the indian state  already has bought petroleum assets in countries including vietnam  sudan and russia. the company is a partner with rosneft in the sakhalin-1 oil field off russia s siberian coast.  ongc is  however  not the only firm interested in yugansk.  chinese crude company china national petroleum has also been mentioned as a possible investor  while on thursday  italy refused to rule out an interest. ongc s interest is the latest twist in a saga that has seen one of the world s biggest oil producers brought to its knees. the dispute is partly driven by president putin s clampdown on the political ambitions of ex-yukos boss mikhail khodorkovsky  who is currently in jail on charges of fraud and tax evasion. yukos has been battling the russian authorities for more than a year and has filed for bankruptcy protection in the us. analysts have questioned how long it can continue to survive without yugansk. on thursday  a us court said it will hear arguments for yukos  bankruptcy claim to be thrown out on 16 february. should that happen  yukos will have little chance of clawing back its assets  analysts said.
737,o sullivan keeps his powder dry when you are gunning for glory and ultimate success keeping the gunpowder dry is essential.  ireland coach eddie o sullivan appears to have done that quite successfully in the run-up to this season s six nations championship. he decreed after the 2003 world cup that players should have a decent conditioning period during the year. that became a reality at the end of last summer with a 10-week period at the start of the this season. it may have annoyed his scottish  and in particularly welsh  cousins who huffed and puffed at the disrespect apparently shown to the celtic league. we will say nothing of mike ruddock   poaching   eight of the dragons side that faced leinster on sunday. but  like o sullivan  he was well within his rights  particularly when you are talking about the national side and pride that goes along with it. the irfu has thrown their weight behind o sullivan  who must be glad that in the main  there is centrally-controlled contracts. bar keith gleeson who is just returning from a broken leg  everyone of o sullivan s squad is fit  fresh and standing at the oche ready to launch this season s campaign.  but i doubt whether o sullivan is going to gloat about the handling of his players. he is not that sort of person. however  he may look at the overworked and injury-hit england  wales and france squads whose players have been overworked  and then pat himself on the back for his foresight. but there is still the question of turning up and transferring that freshness into positive results when the referee signals the start of the game. already ireland are being earmarked as hot favourites in many quarters to go the whole hog this season. a first grand slam since karl mullen s led the team to a clean sweep in 1948. with england and france visiting lansdowne road for the last time before the old darling is pulled down  everything looks perfectly placed. but in the days of yore that frightened the life out of any irishman.  under the burden of great expectations  ireland have crumpled. take the triple crown-winning side of 1985 under mick doyle. they were expected to up the ante further for a grand slam  only the second in ireland s history. what happened in 1986  whitewashed. you see  ireland  in any sport  love to be downsized. then they can go out and prove a point to the contrary. it is the nature of the beast. but o sullivan s side are very capable of proving a salient point this season. after their first triple crown for 19 years  they can live up to their success and take a further step up the ladder. o sullivan has kept faith and displayed loyalty to his players  and they have repaid him in spades ... and there is more to come. he has some old dogs in his squad  but he will come to this season s championship with a different box of tricks  and a new verve to succeed. ireland can indeed succeed  but just whisper it.
1262,dvd review: i  robot only one man recognises that robots are a threat to humanity - but that s fine because it only takes one man to save the day in the thriller i  robot.  will smith co-stars alongside more cgi robots than you can count and as a thrill-a-minute kind of action film  it s perfectly adequate. you ll have forgotten it all tomorrow but you ll have a fun night with the film and all the extras. there is a one-disc version that has commentaries and a making of but the two-disc adds more. unusually for this kind of film  the extras don t solely concentrate on the special effects. they re covered but there s also a general production diary and a post-production feature.  remember the national lottery s draw machines arthur and guinevere  they were more accurate than this glossy hollywood version of the tale.  but as long as you re not expecting a documentary  live with it: king arthur is a fun  exciting  totally shallow experience and looks excellent. clive owen is the brooding king  keira knightly rises above her costume and ray winstone gives it all some grit. it s at its best in its battle scenes which are well done and are also the best part of the making of extra.  less flashy than a david attenborough show and less detailed than a simon schama one  the bbc series british isles nevertheless turned out to be quite engrossing. admit it  the fact that this is one of the shows alan titchmarsh left ground force to present did mean that you expected something equally frothy. but titchmarsh turns out to know his subject and the sight of our present-day landscape being peeled back to reveal the past was fascinating. he s now written an accompanying book  too.
1601,savvy searchers fail to spot ads internet search engine users are an odd mix of naive and sophisticated  suggests a report into search habits.  the report by the us pew research center reveals that 87% of searchers usually find what they were looking for when using a search engine. it also shows that few can spot the difference between paid-for results and organic ones. the report reveals that 84% of net users say they regularly use google  ask jeeves  msn and yahoo when online.  almost 50% of those questioned said they would trust search engines much less  if they knew information about who paid for results was being hidden. according to figures gathered by the pew researchers the average users spends about 43 minutes per month carrying out 34 separate searches and looks at 1.9 webpages for each hunt. a significant chunk of net users  36%  carry out a search at least weekly and 29% of those asked only look every few weeks. for 44% of those questioned  the information they are looking for is critical to what they are doing and is information they simply have to find.  search engine users also tend to be very loyal and once they have found a site they feel they can trust tend to stick with it. according to pew research 44% of searchers use just a single search engine  48% use two or three and a small number  7%  consult more than three sites. tony macklin  spokesman for ask jeeves  said the results reflected its own research which showed that people use different search engines because the way the sites gather information means they can provide different results for the same query. despite this liking for search sites half of those questioned said they could get the same information via other routes. a small number  17%  said they wouldn t really miss search engines if they did not exist. the remaining 33% said they could not live without search sites. more than two-thirds of those questioned  68%  said they thought that the results they were presented with were a fair and unbiased selection of the information on a topic that can be found on the net. alongside the growing sophistication of net users is a lack of awareness about paid-for results that many search engines provide alongside lists of websites found by indexing the web. of those asked  62% were unaware that someone has paid for some of the results they see when they carry out a search. only 18% of all searchers say they can tell which results are paid for and which are not. said the pew report:  this finding is ironic  since nearly half of all users say they would stop using search engines if they thought engines were not being clear about how they presented paid results.  commenting mr macklin said sponsored results must be clearly marked and though they might help with some queries user testing showed that people need to be able to spot the difference.
1404,glaxo aims high after profit fall glaxosmithkline saw its profits fall 9% last year to £6.2bn ($11.5bn)  but europe s biggest drugmaker says a recovery during 2005 is on the way.  cheap copies of its drugs  particularly anti-depressants paxil and wellbutrin  and a weak dollar had hit profits  but global sales were up 1% in 2004. the firm is confident its new drug pipeline will deliver profits despite the failure of an obesity drug. chief executive jean-pierre garnier said it had been a  difficult year .  in early afternoon trade in london the company share price was down 1% at 1218 pence. mr garnier said the company had absorbed over £1.5bn of lost sales to generics but still managing to grow the business.  the continuing success of our key products means we can now look forward to a good performance in 2005   he said.  2005 will also be an important year in terms of research and development pipeline progress.  however  the firm discontinued development of an experimental treatment for obesity  known as  771  after disappointing clinical trial results. glaxo is relying on new treatments for conditions such as cancer  diabetes  depression  hiv/aids and allergies to lift the pace of sales growth after several disappointing years.
1296,manchester wins labour conference the labour party will hold its 2006 autumn conference in manchester and not blackpool  it has been confirmed.  the much trailed decision was ratified by labour s ruling national executive committee in a break with the traditional choice of a seaside venue. it will be the first time since 1917 that the party has chosen manchester to host the annual event. blackpool will get the much smaller february spring conference instead in what will be seen as a placatory move.  for years the main political parties have rotated between blackpool  bournemouth and brighton. and the news the much larger annual conference is not to gather in blackpool will be seen as a blow in the coastal resort. in 1998 the party said it would not return to blackpool but did so in 2002. the following year bournemouth hosted the event before the party signed a two year deal for brighton to host the autumn conference.  colin asplin  blackpool hotel association said:  we have tried very hard to make sure they come back to blackpool.  obviously we have failed in that. i just hope manchester can handle the crowds.  it amazes me that the labour party  which is a working class party  doesn t want to come to the main working class resort in the country.  the exact cost to blackpool in terms of lost revenue for hotel accommodation is not yet known but it is thought that block bookings will be taken at the major manchester hotels after the official announcement.
2163,who do you think you are  the real danger is not what happens to your data as it crosses the net  argues analyst bill thompson. it is what happens when it arrives at the other end.  the financial services authority has warned banks and other financial institutions that members of criminal gangs may be applying for jobs which give them access to confidential customer data. the fear is not that they will steal money from our bank accounts but that they will instead steal something far more valuable in our digital society - our identities. armed with the personal details that a bank holds  plus a fake letter or two  it is apparently easy to get a loan  open a bank account with an overdraft or get a credit card in someone else s name. and it is then a simple matter to move the money into another account and leave the unwitting victim to sort out the mess when statements and demands for payment start arriving. identity theft is an increasingly significant economic crime  and we are all becoming more aware of the dangers of leaving bills  receipts and bank statements unshredded in our rubbish.  but  however careful you may be  if the organisations you trust with your personal data  bank accounts and credit cards are not able to look after their databases properly then you are in trouble. it is surprising that it has taken the gangs so long to realise that a well-placed insider is by far the simplest way to break the security of a computer system. in fact  i suspect that the fsa is probably very late to this particular party and that this sort of thing has been going on for rather a long time. has anyone checked bob cratchit s family links to the criminal underworld  i wonder  and it is hardly likely to be only banks that are being targeted. health authorities  government agencies and of course the big e-commerce sites like amazon must also offer rich pickings for the fraudsters. the good news is that better auditing is likely to catch out those who access account details that they are not supposed to. and as we all become aware of the danger of identity theft and look more carefully for unexpected transactions on our statements  banks should have good enough records and logs to trace the people who might have accessed the account details. fortunately there are now ways to keep bank systems more secure from the sort of data theft that involves taking a portable hard drive or flash memory card into the office  plugging it into a usb slot and sucking down customer files.  companies like securewave  for example  can restrict the use of usb ports just to authorised devices or even to an individual s personal memory card. these solutions are not perfect  but it does not feel like a wave of fraud is about to wash away the entire financial system. however the warning does highlight one of the major issues with e-commerce and online trading - the security or otherwise of the servers and other systems that make up the  back office . it has been clear for years that the real danger in paying for goods online with a credit card is not that the number will be intercepted in transit but that the shop you are dealing with will be hacked.  in fact i do not know of a single case where an e-mail containing payment details has led to card fraud.  there are simply too many e-mails passing over the net for interception to be a sensible tool for anyone out to commit fraud. cd universe  powergen and many other companies have left their databases open and suffered the consequences. and just last week the online bank cahoot admitted that its customer account details could be read by anyone who could guess a login name. whether it is external hackers breaking in because of poor system security or internal staff abusing the access they get as part of their job  the issue is the same: how do we make sure that our personal data is not abused  any organisation that processes personal data is  of course  bound by the data protection act and must take proper care of it. unauthorised disclosure is not allowed  but the penalties are small and the process of prosecuting under the act so convoluted as to be worthless in practice. this is not something we can just leave it to the market. the consequences of having one s identity stolen are too serious  and markets respond too slowly. after all  i bank with cahoot but it would be so much hassle to move my accounts that i did not even consider it when i heard about their security problems. i doubt many others have closed their accounts  especially when there is little guarantee that other banks are not going to make the same sort of mistake in future. the two options would seem to be more stringent data protection law  so that companies really feel the pressure to improve their internal processes  or a wave of civil lawsuits against financial institutions with sloppy practices whose customers suffer from identity theft. i have never felt comfortable with the us practice of suing everything that moves  partly because it seems to make lawyers richer than their clients  so i know which i d prefer.  bill thompson is a regular commentator on the bbc world service programme go digital.
1168,movie body targets children s pcs the body that represents the us movie industry has released its latest tool in its campaign to clamp down on movie file-sharing  aimed at parents.  the movie association for america s (mpaa) free parent file scan software lets parents check their children s computers for peer-to-peer programs. it will also list all movie and music files they have on their hard drive. parents then have the choice to remove programs and files. the mpaa said files found would not be passed on to it.  our ultimate goal is to help consumers locate the resources and information they need to make appropriate decisions about using and trading illegal files   said dan glickman  mpaa chief.  many parents are concerned about what their children have downloaded and where they ve downloaded it from.   but some computer users who had tested the latest software reported on some technology sites that the program had identified windows default wav files as copyrighted material and wanted to delete them. movie piracy cost the industry £3.7bn ($7bn) in 2003  according to analysts. the mpaa said in a statement that it would continue to provide easy access to similar tools in the coming months to combat  the deleterious effects of peer-to-peer software  including such common problems as viruses  trojan horses and identity theft .  mr glickman said that the film industry was embracing  digital age technologies   like movielink and cinemanow  which are legal movie sites.  but legal services such as these need a chance to grow and thrive without having to compete against illegitimate operations that depend on stolen property to survive   he added. the industry body also said it had launched a second round of legal action against online movie-swappers across the us  but did not say how many were being sued. its first set of lawsuits were filed in november 2004. it also started a campaign against operators of bittorrent  edonkey and directconnect peer-to-peer networks. the first convictions for peer-to-peer piracy were handed out in the us in january. william trowbridge and michael chicoine pleaded guilty to charges that they infringed copyright by illegally sharing music  movies and software.
438,whitehall shredding increasing - tories civil servants have drastically stepped up the shredding of official documents  figures compiled by the tories suggest.  some government departments had doubled the number of documents being shredded ahead of the freedom of information act s implementation on 1 january. departments for defence  environment and trade  which had all increased file destruction  said they were following rules governing public records. but the tories want the information commissioner to investigate. the freedom of information act will for the first time give members of the public access to government records previously kept secret for 30 years. but bbc political correspondent james hardy said the prospect of outsiders poking their noses into the inner workings of whitehall appeared to be causing jitters among the mandarins.  liberal democrat alan beith - who chairs the select committee which monitors the department of constitutional affairs - said if the claims were true  whitehall was  acting entirely against the spirit of the new act .  both the information commissioner and the select committee will have to keep this issue under very close scrutiny.  fellow lib dem norman baker said the episode painted an  unflattering picture of the inner workings of government .  it is clear that the government s initial enthusiasm for open government has turned to self-serving cynicism.  dr julian lewis  the conservative spokesman for the cabinet office  said he had discovered a huge acceleration in shredding from a series of parliamentary answers.  the department of work and pensions destroyed nearly 37 000 files last year - up 22 000 on four years ago when the act was passed. the number of files destroyed by the ministry of defence and the departments of environment  food and rural affairs and trade and industry has also risen dramatically. dr lewis has called for an investigation by the information commissioner richard thomas. earlier this week  mr thomas said he was looking into cabinet office orders telling staff to delete e-mails more than three months old. he said he  totally condemned  the deletion of e-mails to prevent their disclosure under freedom of information laws coming into force on 1 january.  government guidance said e-mails should only be deleted if they served  no current purpose   mr thomas said. a cabinet office spokeswoman said the move was not about the new laws or  the destruction of important records . the freedom of information act will cover england  wales and northern ireland from next year. similar measures are being brought in at the same time in scotland. it provides the public with a right of access to information held by about 100 000 public bodies  subject to various exemptions.
1888,last chance  warning for voters people in england  scotland and wales must have registered by 1700 gmt to be able to vote in the general election if it is held  as expected  on 5 may.  those who filled in forms last autumn should already be on the register - but those who have moved house or were on holiday may have been left off. there will also be elections for local councils and mayors in parts of england on 5 may. the deadline for voters to register in northern ireland expired on thursday.  completed registration forms can be handed into local authorities throughout the day on friday  and some will accept them by fax. as well as for english county councils  polls for unitary authorities at bristol  isle of wight and stockton-on-tees and mayors at doncaster  hartlepool  north tyneside and stoke-on-trent are also scheduled for 5 may. last week preston city council reported that more than 14 000 of its voters were not registered. its electoral roll fell by 17.5% in a year - the biggest dip in the uk. an electoral commission spokeswoman said:  political decisions are made on your behalf every day but only by using your right to vote at an election can you really have a say on the issues you care about.  if you want your voice to be heard on 5 may you will need to have registered by friday 11 march.  council tax payers are not eligible to vote without registration  officials have stressed.
694,lewis-francis turns to christie mark lewis-francis has stepped up his preparations for the new season by taking advice from british sprint icon linford christie.  the 22-year-old is set to compete at sheffield this weekend and will then take on maurice greene and kim collins in birmingham on 18 february.  training in wales and getting advice from linford christie is broadening my mind   said lewis-francis. the sprinter has also shed weight since winning relay gold at the athens games.  last year i was 91kg  now i am 86.9kg - hopefully my times will come down   he said.  this has been brought about by eating the right foods and cutting out the snacks. it is just discipline and being more focused about what i am doing.   i am still keeping up my weights work and i can see the improvement in my running.  despite playing his part in britain s successful 4x100m relay team  lewis-francis still feels the frustration of missing out on the individual 100m final at the 2004 olympics.  that was heartbreaking  but i had made it to the semi-final and for me  on a personal level  that was an achievement.  i just have to be patient and build up for the next olympics. that is my goal and whatever i do between now and then will be geared to making the final.
1663,delta cuts fares in survival plan delta air lines is cutting domestic fares by as much as 50% as part of a plan to ensure its financial survival.  other us carriers  including united  have sought bankruptcy protection  amid high fuel costs and competition from discount carriers. delta is restructuring in a bid to fight off insolvency. this latest move to boost business has prompted speculation other firms will be forced to match their fares  hurting revenues in the sector. delta s new simplifares were trialled from august last year on tickets from cincinnati  its second-largest hub.  the airline says no one-way economy fare will now be priced higher than $499 (£264)  and no first-class fare will be priced higher than $599. it is also eliminating a saturday-night stay requirement on discount fares and will give further reductions to customers opting for non-refundable tickets  booking in advance and online. delta  which lost $646m in the three months to september  was forced to cut 6 900 jobs worldwide as part of its aim to slash $5bn from its costs. in october  it reached a crucial agreement with pilots on pay and conditions and it has also issued new shares to staff in return for wage cuts. airline shares closed lower on the announcement  with delta  continental and american airlines all falling by more than 7%.  we believe the whole airline industry will now have to move in this direction; this will likely hurt revenue in the short run but could be beneficial in the long run   said analyst ray neidl at calyon securities.
861,new year s texting breaks record a mobile phone was as essential to the recent new year s festivities as a party mood and auld lang syne  if the number of text messages sent is anything to go by.  between midnight on 31 december and midnight on 1 january  133m text messages were sent in the uk. it is the highest ever daily total recorded by the mobile data association (mda). it represents an increase of 20% on last year s figures.  wishing a happy new year to friends and family via text message has become a staple ingredient of the year s largest party. while texting has not quite overtaken the old-fashioned phone call  it is heading that way  said mike short  chairman of the mda.  in the case of a new years eve party  texting is useful if you are unable to speak or hear because of a noisy background   he said. there were also lots of messages sent internationally  where different time zones made traditional calls unfeasible  he said. the british love affair with texting shows no signs of abating and the annual total for 2004 is set to exceed 25bn  according to mda. the mda predicts that 2005 could see more than 30bn text messages sent in the uk.  we thought texting might slow down as mms took off but we have seen no sign of that   said mr short. more and more firms are seeing the value in mobile marketing. restaurants are using text messages to tell customers about special offers and promotions.  anyone in need of a bit of january cheer now the party season is over  can use a service set up by jongleurs comedy club  which will text them a joke a day. for those still wanting to drink and be merry as the long days of winter draw in  the good pub guide offers a service giving the location and address of their nearest recommended pub. users need to text the word goodpub to 85130. if they want to turn the evening into a pub crawl  they simply text the word next. and for those still standing at the end of the night  a taxi service in london is available via text  which will locate the nearest available black cab.
704,owen set for skipper role wales number eight michael owen says replacing gareth thomas as wales  captain will be straightforward because of the leadership quality in the squad.   you dream about playing for wales  but it never enters your head that you will one day captain your country   he said.  it s an easy job really because there are so many experienced players in the side  but it will be a massive honour.  coach mike ruddock says the 24-year-old should take the armband from broken thumb victim thomas against scotland. ruddock praised owen s contribution as vice-captain and pack leader in this year s wins over england  italy and france  notably his role in the second-half in paris following thomas  injury. the 22-cap dragons man says that thomas will be badly missed  though.  gareth is going to be a massive loss because he is a brilliant player and he has done a fantastic job since he has been captain   said owen.  he has put his own unique stamp on things. we are going to miss him but the strength of the squad is shown when you have someone like kevin morgan to step in.   owen admitted the grand slam had been mentioned within the squad but that no-one was getting carried away with the three victories over england  italy and france.  we can t get ahead of ourselves   he said.  we have a massive game next up and we are just looking forward to preparing for that.  scotland are improving all the time. like us they did well in france and were unlucky not to get a win.  against ireland they played fantastically well in the first 15 minutes before falling away.  they are probably going on a similar journey to the one we have been on in the last couple of years.
1010,cardinal criticises iraq war cost billions of pounds spent on conflict in iraq and in the middle east should have been used to reduce poverty  cardinal cormac murphy-o connor has said.  the head of the catholic church in england and wales made the comments on bbc radio 4 and will re-iterate his stance in his christmas midnight mass. the cardinal used a christmas message to denounce the war in iraq as a  terrible  waste of money. he and the archbishop of canterbury have both spoken out about the war.  speaking on bbc radio 4 s thought for the day slot  he criticised the fact that  billions  have been spent on war  instead of being used to bring people  out of dire poverty and malnourishment and disease . the cardinal said 2005 should be the year for campaigning to  make history poverty . he added:  if the governments of the rich countries were as ready to devote to peace the resources they are willing to commit to war  that would be to see with new eyes and speak with a new voice and perhaps then others would listen to us with new ears.  the cardinal will touch on this theme again on friday night when he will tell the congregation of 2 000 at westminster cathedral that peace is  worth  always  striving for .   how is it that peace has not arrived    the cardinal will ask.  how is it that there is war in iraq  violence in the holy land  and the horror of pain and death amongst the poor and deprived who suffer from injustice and thus do not find peace    how can one wish a happy christmas for our fellow christians in iraq or in the holy land or those who suffer in africa unless you and i  in whatever way is open to us  say and do what makes for peace   both the cardinal and archbishop of canterbury dr rowan williams appealed for the weapons inspectors to be given more time in iraq before the war started. dr williams has since criticised the government over its case for war  saying the failure to find weapons of mass destruction had damaged faith in the political system.  on friday  the cardinal will ask the congregation to search for peace.  it is possible  it is real  it is worth  always  striving for  because of the promise of our saviour   he will say.  i also wish you peace in your homes because peace in your home is the beginning of peace in the homes of the community.   a spokesman said downing street had no comment to make. but prime minister tony blair has said he will put africa at the top of the agenda when britain chairs the g8 summit next year.
2039,kennedy questions trust of blair lib dem leader charles kennedy has said voters now have a  fundamental lack of trust  of tony blair as prime minister.  he said backing his party was not a wasted vote  adding that with the lib dems  what you see is what you get . he made his comments at the start of a day of appearances on channel five in a session on the wright stuff programme. questions from callers  a studio audience and the show s presenter covered lib dem tax plans  anti-terror laws and immigration.  mr kennedy said during his nearly 22 years in parliament he had seen prime ministers and party leaders come and go and knew the pitfalls of british politics.  1983 was when i was first elected as an mp - so tony blair  michael howard and myself were all class of  83 - and over that nearly quarter of a century the world has changed out of recognition   he said.  we don t actually hear the argument any longer:  lib dems  good people  reasonable ideas but only if we thought they could win around here - it s a wasted vote .  you don t hear that because the evidence of people s senses demonstrates that it isn t a wasted vote.  but he said mr blair had lost the trust of the british people.  there is a fundamental lack of trust in tony blair as prime minister and in his government   he said.   what we ve got to do as a party - what i ve got to do as a leader of this party - is to convey to people that what you see is what you get.  mr kennedy also used his tv appearance to defend his party s plans to increase income tax to 50% for those earning more than £100 000  saying it would apply to just 1% of the population. he said the extra revenue would allow his party to get rid of tuition and top-up fees  introduce free personal care for the elderly and replace the council tax with a local income tax. mr blair has already spent a day with five and michael howard is booked for a similar session.
854,uk economy ends year with spurt the uk economy grew by an estimated 3.1% in 2004 after accelerating in the last quarter of the year  says the office for national statistics (ons).  the figure is in line with treasury and bank of england forecasts. the ons says gross domestic product (gdp) rose by a strong 0.7% in the three months to 31 december  compared with 0.5% in the previous quarter. the rise came despite a further decline in production output and the worst christmas for retailers in decades.  the annual figure marked out the best year since 2000  and was also well ahead of the 2.2% recorded in 2003. growth in the final three months of 2004 marked the 50th consecutive quarter of expansion.  on the basis of the latest information the uk has entered 2005 on course to continue its record period of growth   said paul boateng  chief secretary to the treasury in a statement.  the ons said the services sector  which accounts for nearly three-quarters of the uk economy  grew 1.0% in the quarter. the strong services figure was welcomed by analysts  given lacklustre retail sales in december and across the christmas holiday period.  the fact that other services components are doing so well suggests to me that we are back to trend (growth) and i am not particularly concerned about any further slowdown   said ross walker  uk economist at rbs financial markets.  however  output in the production sector contracted 0.5%  the second quarterly fall in row and a state of affairs that some economists classify as a recession. however the ons would not comment on the definition of a recession and whether the manufacturing recovery was over. but steve radley  chief economist at the manufacturers  organisation eef  said:  these figures remain at odds with what is actually happening on the ground.  whilst companies may be experiencing tougher conditions this year   recession  is not a word that manufacturers would currently recognise.  the ons said a sharp fall in mining and quarrying  which was driven by oil and gas extraction  was primarily responsible for the overall contraction in manufacturing production figures.  simon rubinsohn  chief economist at gerrard  said:  this outturn (of 0.7%) was well ahead of the market expectations and cast doubt on the scare stories doing the rounds surrounding the current state of the uk economy.  and he said the gdp figures may help to  push interest rate expectations a little higher along the curve .  the suggestion from the money markets is that the next move is now more likely to be in an upward rather than a downward direction. this is consistent with our own thinking   said mr rubinsohn. the bank of england s nine-strong rate-setting committee voted unanimously earlier this month to keep interest rates steady at 4.75%  minutes of the meeting showed on wednesday.
1562,yahoo celebrates a decade online yahoo  one of the net s most iconic companies  is celebrating its 10th anniversary this week.  the web portal has undergone remarkable change since it was set up by stanford university students david filo and jerry yang in a campus trailer. the students wanted a way of keeping track of their web-based interests. the categories lists they devised soon became popular to hundreds of people and the two saw business potential in their idea.  originally dubbed  jerry s guide to the world wide web  the firm adopted the moniker yahoo because the founders liked the dictionary definition of a yahoo as a rude  unsophisticated  uncouth person. the term was popularised by the 18th century satirist jonathan swift in his classic novel  gulliver s travels.  we were certainly not sophisticated or civilised   mr yang told reporters ahead of the anniversary  which will be officially recognised on 2 march.  they did have business brains however  and in april 1995 persuaded venture capitalists sequoia capital  which also invested in apple computer and cisco systems  to fund yahoo to the tune of $2m (£1.04m). a second round of funding followed in the autumn and the company floated in april 1996 with less than 50 employees. now the firm employs 7 600 workers and insists its dot com culture of  work hard  play hard  still remains. it is one of just a handful of survivors of the dot-com crash although it now faces intense rivalry from firms such as google  msn and aol. jerry yang  who remains the firm s  chief yahoo   is proud of what the company has achieved.  in just one decade  the internet has changed the way consumers do just about everything - and it s been a remarkable and wonderful experience   he said. through it all  we wanted to build products that satisfied our users wants and needs  but it s even more than that - it s to help every one of us to discover  get more done  share and interact.
1422,roddick splits from coach gilbert andy roddick has ended an 18-month association with coach brad gilbert which yielded the us open title and saw the american become world number one.  roddick released a statement through the sfx sports group with the news but did not give a reason for the split.  the decision to not re-hire brad gilbert for the 2005 season is based on what i think is best for my game at this time   said roddick.  any more on this situation s a private matter between coach and player.  roddick won 121 of his 147 matches while working with gilbert  and said he had enjoyed their time together. he won his first grand slam event at flushing meadows last year  and finished 2003 on top of the atp tour rankings.  but roddick slipped to second this year behind roger federer  who became the first man since 1988 to win three majors in a season. federer  who has not had a coach since he split from peter lundgren at the end of last year  beat roddick to win the wimbledon title and in two other tournament finals. roddick hired gilbert after deciding to part from coach tarik benhabiles in the wake of his first-round exit at the 2003 french open. he went on to win the us open and four other titles for the year. he has won four events this season.  i have enjoyed all of my time with andy   gilbert said on his personal website.  he has been a great student of the game during the time that we worked together and i am very proud of the results that were achieved.  while i believe that there is still a great deal of work to be done  andy clearly does not feel that way.
874,howard rejects bnp s claim tory leader michael howard has dismissed claims that his immigration policy was  moving onto the turf  of the british national party (bnp).  bnp leader nick griffin told the independent he expected some bnp voters to switch to the tories over the issue. but mr howard said he rejected the idea that the tories and bnp appealed to the same voting instincts. asked if he would welcome bnp voters he told the bbc:  i don t want anybody to vote for these extremist parties . he added  on bbc radio 4 s today programme:  if you want good community relations in this country...then you have to have firm  fair immigration controls.   the tories have promised an upper limit on the number of people allowed into britain with the slogan:  it s not racist to impose limits on immigration . all parties are stepping up campaiging in the run-up to the general election  widely expected to be called for 5 may. labour has unveiled its own  points system  for ensuring migrants who want to work in the uk have skills that are required  but have rejected immigration quotas. the liberal democrats have warned both parties against  pandering to prejudice .  mr griffin told the independent the tories  plans were  a definite move onto our turf . he said:  i quite freely accept that on a nationwide basis  the tories will con enough people to make a significant hole in our vote.  asked whether he was comfortable with the perception that the conservatives and the bnp appeal to the same voting instincts  mr howard told the bbc:  i reject that entirely . he said he found bnp s policies  abhorrent  but he said the uk had to take a different approach to immigration  which he said was out of control.  the government doesn t want to limit it in any way  we do  there s a legitimate difference between us there which we can discuss in a calm  rational and reasonable way   he said. he again rejected newspaper speculation that his own father entered britain illegally.
1272,germany nears 1990 jobless level german unemployment rose for the 11th consecutive month in december - making the year s average jobless total the highest since reunification.  the seasonally adjusted jobless total rose a higher than expected 17 000 to 4.483 million  the bundesbank said. allowing for changes in calculating statistics  the average number of people out of work was the highest since 1990 - or a rate of 10.8%. bad weather and a sluggish economy were blamed for the rise. the increase  was due primarily to the onstart of winter   labour office chief frank-juergen weise said.  unadjusted  the figures showed unemployment rose 206 900 to 4.64 million - with many sectors such as construction laying off workers amid bad weather.  the three years of stagnation in the german economy came to an end in 2004. but the upturn is still not strong enough  to boost the labour market  mr weise added. news of the rise came as government welfare reforms came into force  a move that is expected to see unemployment swell still further in coming months. under the hartz iv changes  the previous two tier system of benefits and support for the long term unemployed has been replaced with one flat-rate payout. in turn  that means more people will be classified as looking for work  driving official figures higher.   be prepared for a nasty figure for january 2005  about five million unemployed on a non-seasonally adjusted basis   warned hvb group economist andreas rees. but he did add that the numbers should  subside  throughout the year  to remain near 2004 s level of 4.4 million jobless.  i don t expect a strong and lasting turnaround until 2006   german economy minister wolfgang clement said. by 2010  however  the hartz iv reforms should help cut the average jobless rate to between 3% and 5%  he added. europe s biggest economy has been too weak to create work as it struggles to shake off three years of economic stagnation. in recent months companies such as adam opel - the german arm of us carmaker general motors - and retailer karstadtquelle have slashed jobs.
1405,boothroyd calls for lords speaker betty boothroyd has said the house of lords needs its own speaker and that peers should lead the way on reforming the upper chamber.  baroness boothroyd  who was the first woman to be commons speaker  said she believed tony blair initiated reforms without a clear outcome in mind.  now we have to take care of it ourselves and make the best of it   she told the bbc s breakfast with frost. in 1999 labour removed all but 92 of the lords  750 hereditary peers. that was billed as the first stage of reform of the institution. the lord chancellor hinted further reforms could be unveiled in the next labour manifesto.   i think we need to look very carefully at the relationship between the lords and the commons   lord falconer told bbc1 s breakfast with frost.  how it interacts with the commons is a very  very important issue.  we need to address the issue in the manifesto  but you will have to wait for when the manifesto comes.  the lord chancellor currently has the role of house of lords speaker. he is also head of the judiciary and a member of the cabinet as constitutional affairs secretary.  lady boothroyd said she believed it was unacceptable for the lord chancellor to have the role of speaker.  i would really like to see a speaker of the house of lords   she said.  i don t go for the idea of somebody - a lord chancellor - who is head of the judiciary  a senior cabinet minister and speaker of the lords.  i want somebody there who is going to look after that house and do a job there.
2049,blair sees greater bush consensus george w bush will display a more consensual approach to world politics as he begins his second term as us president  tony blair has said.  the prime minister said mr bush had learned military force was not the only way to fight terrorism. he understood that  the best prospect of peaceful co-existence lies in the spread of democracy and human rights   mr blair told the guardian newspaper. mr bush was sworn in at a ceremony in washington dc on thursday.  echoing the new us secretary of state condoleezza rice  the prime minister said there has been a clear evolution of us policy since the war in afghanistan in 2001. mr blair had personally seen the change over time in conversations with mr bush. the president understood that while military and security measures were important  there also needed to be a multilateral approach to solving the world s problems.  turning to critics  fears that the us was poised for further military action  mr blair refused to give succour to suggestions it was preparing for strikes against iran. the prime minister conceded that the us had  what appears to be a harder position  towards the state than europe. but the prime minister pointed out that until now the us had allowed britain  france and germany to take the lead in trying to halt the iranian nuclear programme. following claims that us forces had worked inside iran to identify potential targets  mr blair was asked if the sas had also been in the country.  we never answer questions about special forces  but do not take that as indicating an affirmative   said mr blair.  mr blair said he believed the president was keen to work with other countries while trying to spread democracy and human rights.  it is significant  in my view  that he is coming to europe as his first foreign visit   said mr blair. following his inauguration  mr bush is due in europe at the end of january.
620,virgin radio offers 3g broadcast uk broadcaster virgin radio says it will become the first station in the world to offer radio via 3g mobiles.  the radio station  in partnership with technology firm sydus  will broadcast on selected 2g and high-speed 3g networks. later this year listeners will be able to download software from the virgin website which enables the service. james cridland  head of new media at virgin radio  said:  it places radio at the heart of the 3g revolution.  virgin radio will be the first station made available followed by two digital stations  virgin radio classic rock and virgin radio groove.  mr cridland said:  this application will enable anyone  anywhere to listen to virgin radio simply with the phone in their pocket.  this allows us to tap into a huge new audience and keep radio relevant for a new generation of listeners.  saumil nanavati  president of sydus  said   this radio player is what the 3g network was built for  giving consumers high-quality and high-data products through a handset in their pocket.  virgin says an hour s listening to the station via mobile would involve about 7.2mb of data  which could prove expensive for people using pay as you download gprs or 3g services. some networks  such as orange  charge up to £1 for every one megabyte of data downloaded. virgin says radio via 2g or 3g mobiles is therefore going to appeal to people with unlimited download deals. there are 30 compatible handsets available from major manufacturers including nokia and samsung while virgin said more than 14.9 million consumers across the globe can use the service currently.
2022,stern dropped from radio stations controversial dj howard stern has been dropped from four us radio stations because he keeps promoting his move to a network broadcasting on satellite.  cidatel broadcasting said stern had transformed his show into a  continuous infomercial promoting sirius  his new satellite radio employer . stern will join the sirius subscription service  which is not governed by us regulators  next year. citadel pulled stern s show from stations in new york and pennsylvania. stern had been holiday for two weeks but his show did not return to the four stations as expected on 3 january. citadel said it did not yet know whether it would return to its network.  stern announced in october that he was leaving conventional radio  where his syndicated show goes out across the us  for the relatively restriction-free satellite service. the dj s broadcasts are well known for landing in trouble with regulators for obscene and sexually explicit rantings. stern was dropped by six stations owned by media giant clear channel in 2004 after it had to pay the federal communications commission $1.75m (£950 000)  over breaches indecency laws. media giant viacom has also reportedly agreed to the fcc s demands that if stern is issued with another indecency violation then his show must be pulled from all of its stations. viacom has also been hit with record fines of $3.5m (£1.8m) over stern and two other new york djs. but stern continues to be one of the most popular talk show hosts  particularly in the 25-54 age category.
925,india opens skies to competition india will allow domestic commercial airlines to fly long haul international routes  a move it hopes will stoke competition and drive down prices.  however  only state controlled carriers will be able to fly the lucrative gulf routes  to countries such as kuwait and saudi arabia  for at least three years. jet airways and air sahara are the two companies that will benefit initially. india is looking to develop its airline industry as booming economic growth drives demand for travel.  monica chadha  bbc delhi reporter  said air travel in india had increased by almost 20% from the previous year and was expected to rise even further. infrastructure development is lagging demand  however  and will have to improve.  most international airports in the country are shabby and ill-equipped to handle heavy air traffic   ms chada said  adding that while the civil aviation minister has promised to modernise and privatise airports little progress has been made. steps have been take to move things forward and the government recently changed legislation that limited foreign investment in domestic airlines. it raised the maximum stake holding allowed to 49% from 40%. local press  meanwhile  have reported that the us and india will start negotiations about adding more routes in january. jet airways is india s premier private domestic carrier; air sahara is ranked third in the category.
1573,ebbers  aware  of worldcom fraud former worldcom boss bernie ebbers was directly involved in the $11bn financial fraud at the firm  his closest associate has told a us court.  giving evidence in the criminal trial of mr ebbers  ex-finance chief scott sullivan implicated his colleague in the accounting scandal at the firm. mr sullivan  worldcom s former number two  is the government s chief witness in its case against mr ebbers. mr ebbers has denied multiple charges of conspiracy and fraud.  senior worldcom executives are accused of orchestrating a huge fraud at the former telecoms company in which they exaggerated revenues and hid the cost of expenses. the firm was forced into bankruptcy  the largest in us history. mr sullivan  42  pleaded guilty to fraud last year and agreed to assist the government with its case against mr ebbers.  prosecutors have alleged that mr ebbers  63  directed mr sullivan to hide the true state of the company s finances by providing false information to the firm s accountants. mr ebbers has denied all the charges  saying he was unaware of the fraud. his lawyers claim that their client was unfamiliar with detailed accounting practices and left that side of the business to mr sullivan.  however  on monday mr sullivan named mr ebbers as one of five executives who participated in the accounting fraud.  he [ebbers] has got a hands-on grasp of financial information   mr sullivan told a new york court. on his first day of questioning  mr sullivan admitted to falsifying the company s financial statements.   we did not disclose these adjustments   he said.  we did not talk about these adjustments and the information was false.  mr sullivan said his former boss knew more about accounting matters than many chief financial officers and described him as  detail-oriented .  he portrayed mr ebbers  a charismatic businessman who built up worldcom from a small regional operator into one of america s largest telecoms firms  as obsessed with costs.  he would talk about that there were more coffee filters than coffee bags and that means employees are taking coffee home   he said.  we needed to cut expenses. we needed to cut a lot more than coffee expenses.  mr sullivan is at the centre of the government s case against mr ebbers. mr ebbers could face a sentence of 85 years if convicted of all the charges he is facing.
1187,santini resigns as spurs manager tottenham manager jacques santini has resigned for  personal reasons .  the former france manager moved to white hart lane this summer but now wants to return to france. santini said:  my time at tottenham has been memorable and it is with deep regret that i take my leave. i wish the club and the supporters all the best.  private issues in my personal life have arisen which caused my decision. i very much hope that the wonderful fans will respect my decision.  he added:  i should like to thank (sporting director) frank arnesen and (chairman) daniel levy for their understanding.  assistant coach martin jol has been put in temporary charge and will take care of team affairs for saturday s premiership match against charlton.  arnesen said the club were sad to see santini go:  we are obviously disappointed that jacques is leaving us. we fully respect his decision.  i can assure you that the club will act swiftly to minimise the impact of jacques  departure.  our priority is to ensure that this season s performance remains unaffected by this move.  i shall make a further statement on monday  clarifying our position. we wish jacques well.
1471,bekele sets sights on world mark olympic 10 000m champion kenenisa bekele is determined to add the world indoor two mile record at february s norwich union grand prix in birmingham.  the 22-year-old will again be chasing a record held by his compatriot and mentor haile gebrselassie  who set the mark at the same meeting in 2003.  i am still as hungry to do as much as i can in this sport   said bekele.  and aiming for the two mile world record in birmingham is the next of those targets.  gebrselassie s current record stands at eight minutes  04.69 seconds. and bekele is no stranger to overhauling world marks at the national indoor arena. the ethiopian broke the world indoor 5 000m record on his debut at the meeting last year. compatriots mulugeta wondimu  abiyote abate and markos geneti  the world indoor bronze medallist over 3000m  will race against bekele on 18 february. the meet has already attracted a crop of olympic talent. britain s 800m and 1500m champion kelly holmes is taking part in the 1000m. swedish heptathlon gold medallist carolina kluft will contest the 60m hurdles. while men s 4x100m relay gold medallists jason gardener and mark lewis-francis will go head-to-head in the 60m.
504,greek duo cleared in doping case sprinters kostas kenteris and katerina thanou have been cleared of doping offences by an independent tribunal.  the duo had been provisionally suspended by the iaaf for allegedly missing three drugs tests  including one on the eve of the athens olympics. but the greek athletics federation tribunal has overturned the bans - a decision which the iaaf can now contest at the court of arbitration for sport. the pair s former coach  christos tzekos  has been banned for four years. kenteris  31  and thanou  30  had been charged with avoiding drug tests in tel aviv  chicago and athens and failing to notify anti-doping officials of their whereabouts before the olympics. they withdrew from the olympics after missing a drugs test at the olympic village on 12 august.  the pair then spent four days in a hospital  claiming they had been injured in a motorcycle crash. it was the international olympic committee s demand that the iaaf investigate the affair that led to the hearing of the greek tribunal. the head of that tribunal  kostas panagopoulos  said it had not been proven that the athletes refused to take the test in athens.  the charge cannot be substantiated   he said.  in no way was he (kenteris) informed to appear for a doping test. the same goes for thanou.  kenteris s lawyer  gregory ioannidis  said:  the decision means mr kenteris has been exonerated of highly damaging and unfounded charges which have been extremely harmful for his career.   he has consistently maintained his innocence and this was substantiated by further evidence we were able to submit to the tribunal following its deliberations in january.  this evidence shows mr kenteris was never asked to submit to a test by the international olympic committee so he could not possibly have been guilty of deliberately avoiding one. it shows he has no case to answer.  mr kenteris should now be given the opportunity he deserves to rebuild his career in the full knowledge that there is no stain on his character.  he has suffered greatly throughout this ordeal that has exposed both himself and his family to enormous pressures.  but the iaaf said it was  very surprised  by the verdict. spokesman nick davies said:  we note the decision of the greek authorities with interest.  our doping review board will now consider the english version of the decision.
576,movie body hits peer-to-peer nets the movie industry has struck out at file-sharing networks with another round of lawsuits in the us.  the motion picture association of america (mpaa) also said it had succeeded in getting a network called lokitorrent closed down. it is the latest network which uses the peer-to-peer system called bittorrent to be hit by the mpaa. the mpaa began its legal campaign against operators of similar networks across four continents in december. a dallas court agreed that hollywood lawyers would be allowed access to lokitorrent s server records which could let them single out those who were sharing files illegally. in october 2004  the site had provided links to more than 30 000 files. the action came after the operators of lokitorrent agreed a settlement with the mpaa. a stark message has appeared on the site from the mpaa warning  you can click  but you can t hide . in bittorrent systems  server sites do not host the files being shared. they host links  called  trackers  that direct people to others that have it instead.  as well as filing an unspecified number of file suits across the us  the mpaa said it had given operators that host edonkey servers  take down  notices. hollywood studios are aggressively clamping down on file-sharers who it says infringe copyright laws by copying films and tv programmes then share the files online. but it is now targeting the operators of bittorrent networks themselves. it has filed 100 lawsuits against operators of bittorrent server sites since december. the strategy of hitting those who run the servers which link to copyrighted material is intended to stunt file-sharers  ability to swap content using bittorrent systems. the film industry says the black market for illegally copied videos and dvds already costs them billions every year and it is worried that illegal file-sharing is adding to their losses. in december  the legal action claimed its most high-profile victim. the popular suprnova.org website was forced to close  and others like phoenix torrent followed soon after.
222,world tour for top video gamers two uk gamers are about to embark on a world tour as part of the most lucrative-ever global games tournament.  aaron foster and david treacy have won the right to take part in a tournament offering $1m in total prize money. the cash will be handed out over 10 separate competitions in a continent-hopping contest organised by the cyberathlete professional league. as part of their prize the pair will have their travel costs paid to ensure they can get to the different bouts.  the cpl world tour kicks off in mid-february and the first leg will be in istanbul. all ten bouts of the tournament will be played throughout 2005  each one in a different country. at each stop $50 000 in prize money will be up for grabs. the tournament champion for each leg of the cpl world tour will walk away with a $15 000 prize. the winner of the grand final will get a prize purse of $150 000 from a total pot of $500 000.  winners of each stage of the tour automatically get a place at the next stop. the world tour stops are open to any keen gamer that registers. online registration for the first stop opens this weekend. some pro-players are winning a spot at the tour destinations through qualifying events organised by cpl partners. winners at these qualifiers get seeded higher in the elimination parts of each tournament. mr foster and mr treacy get the chance to attend the world tour as members of the uk s four-kings gaming clan. towards the end of 2004 four-kings staged a series of online painkiller competitions to reveal the uk s top players of the pc game. the best eight players met face-to-face in a special elimination event in late december where mr foster and mr tracey proved their prowess at painkiller. as part of their prize the pair also get a contract with four-kings intel which is one of the uk s few pro-gaming teams.  there are a lot of people who take gaming very seriously and support their local or national team with the same passion as any other sport   said simon bysshe who filmed the event for four-kings and intel. more than 80 000 people have downloaded the movie of the tournament highlights.  professional gaming is here to stay and will only grow in popularity   he said.
95,amnesty chief laments war failure the lack of public outrage about the war on terror is a powerful indictment of the failure of human rights groups  amnesty international s chief has said.  in a lecture at the london school of economics  irene khan said human rights had been flouted in the name of security since 11 september  2001. she said the human rights movement had to use simpler language both to prevent scepticism and spread a moral message. and it had to fight poverty  not just focus on political rights for elites.  ms khan highlighted detentions without trial  including those at the us camp at guantanamo bay in cuba  and the abuse of prisoners as evidence of increasing human rights problems.  what s a new challenge is the way in which this age-old debate on security and human rights has been translated into the language of war   she said.  by using the language of war  human rights are being sidelined because we know human rights do not apply in times of war.  ms khan said such breaches were infectious and were now seen in almost very major country in the world.  the human rights movement faces a crisis of faith in the value of human rights   she said. that was accompanied by a crisis of governance  where the united nations system did not seem able to hold countries to account.  the amnesty secretary-general said a growing gap between the perceived influence of human rights group and what they could actually achieve was fuelling scepticism.  public passivity on the war against terror is the single most powerful indictment on the failures of human rights groups   she said. ms khan said the movement had failed to mobilise public outrage about what was happening to the human rights system. there needed to be a drive to use simpler language  talking about the basic morality of the issues rather than the complexity of legal processes. such efforts could make the issues more relevant to people across the world  she said.  the human rights groups also had to recognise there were new groups which had to be tackled in new ways as power dripped away from state governments. al-qaeda  for example  was not going to be impressed by a traditional amnesty letter writing campaign. more also needed to be done to develop a human rights framework for international business corporations. amnesty international members voted in 2001 to extend the organisation s work from political and civil rights to cover social and economic rights too. ms khan said the human rights movement would make itself irrelevant if it turned away from the suffering caused by economic strife.  we would be an elitist bunch working for the elites  for those who cannot read the newspaper of their choice rather than those who cannot read   she said. despite her concerns  ms khan dubbed herself a  hope-monger   saying she was confident the passions of the human rights movement could overcome the new challenges.
332,cebit fever takes over hanover thousands of products and tens of thousands of visitors make cebit the place to be for technology lovers.   welcome to cebit 2005  was the message from the pilot as we landed  the message on flyers at the airport  and the message on just about every billboard in town. cebit fever has taken over hanover. hotels have been booked out for months; local people are letting out rooms in their homes to the hoards of exhibitors  visitors  and journalists. cebit itself is huge  the exhibition site could almost be classified as a town in its own right.  there are restaurants  shops  and a bus service between the halls - of which there are 27. there are more than 6 000 companies here  showing their latest products. the list of them that i was given when i came in is the size and weight of a phone book. one of the mains themes this year is the digital home  and one of the key buzzwords is convergence.  the  entertainment pc  is being billed as the replacement for dvd players  stereos  telephones and computers - offering a one-box solution  wirelessly connected throughout a house. to show them off  one display has been modelled as a prototype  digital lifestyle home  by german magazine computer reseller news.  we wanted to show how this fits into a living room or workplace  to give people a feeling how it would work in their homes   said claudia neulling from the magazine. the house has webcams for security in each room  which can be called up on the high definition tv  connected to the pc in the living room.  that pc provides home entertainment  movies or music. it can also be linked to the car parked outside  which is kitted out with a processor of its own  along with a dvd player and cordless headphones for the kids in the back.  convergence for me is about how technology  the transfer of data  can do things that make it easier and more convenient for me as a consumer   said mark brailey  director of corporate marketing for intel.  the real challenge is to show people it s easier than they think  and fun.   he firmly believes that entertainment pcs are the future  but says they have to get past people s fears of frequent crashes and incompatibilities. that is something microsoft is trying to do too - its stand has computers running windows xp media centre edition 2005 for people to try out. mobile phones do not escape the convergence theme. samsung is showing off its sgh-i300  a handset with a three gigabyte hard drive  that can be used to watch compressed video or as an mp3 player. and if you would rather watch live tv than a downloaded movie nec is showing a phone  on sale in china  which can show analogue tv on its colour screen.   i think the most probable application is at somewhere like the train station - if you want to check the status of the soccer game for example  said koji umemoto  manager of mobile terminals marketing for nec. he admitted that the signal quality is not very good if you are on the move  and they do not have plans to launch it in europe at the moment. nokia was happy to demonstrate its 6230i  an upgrade to the very popular 6230.  it now has a 1.3 megapixel camera  and a music player that can handle multiple formats  rather than just mp3s. it is also compatible with nokia s new visual radio technology. the handset can receive fm broadcasts  and the user can interact with compatible broadcasts using a gprs connection  to take part in competitions or get extra information such as the name of the song playing. most companies are reluctant to show prototypes  preferring to display products that are already on sale  or just about to hit the market.  portable media player firm creative showed off a new wireless technology  based on magnetic inductance rather than radio - a system some hearing aids use.  the benefits over conventional bluetooth are the lack of interference  and longer battery life   said riccardo de rinaldini  creative s european marketing manager. the firm has a prototype headset linked up to a zen micro player. the transmitter on the player creates a private  magnetic  bubble  around the user  which is picked up by the headset. the range is only about one metre so it is only suitable for personal use. a single aaa battery is said to last up to 30 hours. creative expects it to hit the market in its final form later this year. even clothing is likely to be part of the convergence trend. adidas has a trainer which  according to susanne risse from the company  can  sense  understand  and adapt to your running style . it has a battery  processor  and motor embedded in the sole. buttons on the side allow you to set the amount of cushioning you would like by adjusting the tension on a cable running through the heel. the processor then monitors the surface you are running on  and adjusts the tension accordingly. it is being billed as  the world s first intelligent shoe .
1895,eu software patent law faces axe the european parliament has thrown out a bill that would have allowed software to be patented.  politicians unanimously rejected the bill and now it must go through another round of consultation if it is to have a chance of becoming law. during consultation the software patents bill could be substantially re-drafted or even scrapped. the bill was backed by some hi-tech firms  saying they needed protections it offered to make research worthwhile.  hugo lueders  european director for public policy at comptia  an umbrella organization for technology companies  said only when intellectual property was adequately protected would european inventors prosper. he said the benefits of the bill had been obscured by special interest groups which muddied debate over the rights and wrongs of software patents. other proponents of the bill said it was a good compromise that avoided the excesses of the american system which allows the patenting of business practices as well as software. but opponents of the bill said that it could stifle innovation  be abused by firms keen to protect existing monopolies and could hamper the growth of the open source movement. the proposed law had a troubled passage through the european parliament. its progress was delayed twice when polish meps rejected plans to adopt it. also earlier this month the influential european legal affairs committee (juri) said the law should be re-drafted after it failed to win the support of meps. to become law both the european parliament and a qualified majority of eu states have to approve of the draft wording of the bill. the latest rejection means that now the bill on computer inventions must go back to the eu for re-consideration.
2106,profile: david blunkett before he resigned the position of home secretary on wednesday  david blunkett had been in charge of a substantial body of government portfolios including race  policing and immigration.  his responsibilities in running the home office included civil emergencies  security  terrorism and expenditure. named home secretary after the 2001 general election  mr blunkett had seen the focus on his office intensify. the attacks on the world trade center on 11 september 2001 heightened concern for security and immigration in particular. a labour loyalist from a working class background mr blunkett  57  had been unafraid of pushing for tough changes to labour policy.  recently the issue of identity cards had provoked controversy with questions raised over cost and invasions of civil liberties. mr blunkett was also at the centre of a humiliating scandal involving the former immigration minister beverly hughes. having received his full backing  ms hughes was forced to resign in april over abuses in the visa processing system  which she claimed to be unaware of. mr blunkett s own comments on immigration had prompted censure - he told refugees from afghanistan and kosovo to  get back home  to start rebuilding their countries. and he also urged people from ethnic minorities to develop a  sense of belonging  in britain  telling them to speak english at home. avoiding political correctness is second nature to the former home secretary  who spurns a metropolitan elite and  airy fairy libertarians  and earlier in the year coined the phrase  liberati   as an amalgam of  glitterati  and  liberal . yet in january of this year he courted further controversy over his seemingly liberal reclassification of cannabis  from a grade b to grade c status drug .  before the recent furore  mr blunkett had always appeared more interested in politics than his personal life. mr blunkett told the daily telegraph in 2001 that he continued to wear his wedding ring  in spite of being a divorcee  as  a useful way of ensuring that people don t casually think i am available . he added:  i am not available because i am just getting on with the job.  mr blunkett entered parliament for sheffield brightside in 1987  after first contesting the sheffield hallam seat in 1974. he is one of very few blind mps  and was the first to reach the front bench and the cabinet. his relaxed performances - with his guide dog by his side - at the despatch box  in the labour party s national executive  and on the conference platform made it easy to forget his disability. mr blunkett himself described not being able to see as simply  an inconvenience . using braille for speeches  and briefed by his officials on tape  he also has a sharp tongue at times  and a pragmatic approach to politics.  mr blunkett was schooled in sheffield where he led the city council for seven years before entering the commons. he chaired the labour party nationally  and was a unifying force in the 80s and 90s  shadowing health and education. in tony blair s first government mr blunkett was put in charge of education and employment  where he won big increases in funds for schools  while insisting on improved standards of literacy and numeracy. he was prepared to stand up to the teaching unions - which sometimes heckled his speeches - and his policy of charging university students for tuition fees was not popular. in the labour party he has been regarded as a loyal colleague  a conciliator who avoids factions  and a man whose humour and determination make him widely popular. there have been wry smiles as well. in 1999  his then guide dog lucy threw up in the chamber during the speech of his tory opponent. lucy was replaced by her half-sister  sadie  a black labrador-curly-coated retriever cross  in 2003 after nearly a decade by mr blunkett s side.
1181,reliance unit loses anil ambani anil ambani  the younger of the two brothers in charge of india s largest private company  has resigned from running its petrochemicals subsidiary.  the move is likely to be seen as the latest twist in a feud between mr ambani and his brother mukesh. anil  45  has stepped down as director and vice-chairman of indian petrochemicals corporation (ipc). the company was not available for comment. ipc is 46%-owned by reliance industries which in turn is run by mukesh. mukesh has spoken of ownership issues between the two brothers  who took over control of the reliance empire following the death of their father in july  2002.  reliance s operations have massive reach  covering textiles  telecommunications  petrochemicals  petroleum refining and marketing  as well as oil and gas exploration  insurance and financial services. the brothers  spat has hogged headlines in india during recent weeks  despite a denial from the family that there was anything wrong. speculation has been rife about what has triggered the stand-off  with some observers blaming anil s political ambitions  others the heavy investment by mukesh and reliance in a mobile phone venture. shares of ipc dipped on the news in mumbai  but recovered to trade almost 6% higher. reliance shares added 1.7%  while reliance energy  headed by anil  jumped 7%.
776,london hope over chepkemei london marathon organisers are hoping that banned athlete susan chepkemei will still take part in this year s race on 17 april.  chepkemei was suspended from all competition until the end of the year by athletics kenya after failing to report to a national training camp.  we are watching it closely   said london race director david bedford.  there is a long way to go before the race and we are hoping the situation will be satisfactorily resolved.  the camp in embu was to prepare for the iaaf world cross country championships later this month. chepkemei however took part and finished third in last sunday s world best 10k race in puerto rico. the 29-year-old has finished second to paula radcliffe in the 2002 and 2003 london races as well as in november s new york city marathon.
9,wilkinson fit to face edinburgh england captain jonny wilkinson will make his long-awaited return from injury against edinburgh on saturday.  wilkinson  who has not played since injuring his bicep on 17 october  took part in full-contact training with newcastle falcons on wednesday. and the 25-year-old fly-half will start saturday s heineken cup match at murrayfield on the bench. but newcastle director of rugby rob andrew said:  he s fine and we hope to get him into the game at some stage.  the 25-year-old missed england s autumn internationals after aggravating the haematoma in his upper right arm against saracens. he was subsequently replaced as england captain by full-back jason robinson. sale s charlie hodgson took over the number 10 shirt in the internationals against canada  south africa and australia. wilkinson s year has been disrupted by injury as his muscle problem followed eight months on the sidelines with a shoulder injury sustained in the world cup final.
808,films on war triumph at sundance a study of the united states at war in the past 50 years has picked up one of the main awards at the 2005 sundance film festival in utah  in the us.  why we fight scooped the grand jury prize for documentaries at the world s leading independent film festival. british director sean mcallister s the liberace of baghdad - about a pianist in war-torn iraq - won a special prize in the world documentary category. both why we fight and the liberace of baghdad were made for the bbc. why we fight is due to be screened on bbc four in march.  the sundance festival was founded by actor robert redford in 1981. this year s festival - which ended on sunday after a 11-day run - has been dominated by the themes of war and politics. in the new world cinema drama category  the angolan film the hero triumphed to win the grand jury prize. the film - an angolan/french/portuguese production - tells the story of a veteran of the country s civil war who returns home to face a new battle of survival. twelve films competing in the new world cinema documentary category focused on countries and people under siege.  finnish film the three rooms of melancholia looks at the war in chechnya and shake hands with the devil: the journey of romeo dallaire tells the story of a un mission to rwanda during the 1994 genocide. but it was dutch documentary shape of the moon - a study of an extended family in indonesia - which took the top prize. meanwhile  french-israeli production wall  which looks at israel s controversial security wall separating it from the palestinian territories  picked up a world cinema special jury prize for documentaries. in the main drama category  forty shades of blue was named winner of the grand jury prize. the film tells the tale of a forbidden tug-of-love between a father  his russian immigrant girlfriend and his son.  during its 24-year history  the sundance film festival has showcased successes such as reservoir dogs  the blair witch project and the full monty. last year s festival provided a platform for hits such as open water  napoleon dynamite  garden state and super-size me. the festival is held in the mountain resort of park city  east of salt lake city  which sees its population rise from 7 500 to 45 000 during the festival.
1002,god cut from dark materials film the director and screenwriter of the film adaptation of philip pullman s his dark materials is to remove references to god and the church in the movie.  chris weitz  director of about a boy  said the changes were being made after film studio new line expressed concern. the books tell of a battle against the church and a fight to overthrow god.  they have expressed worry about the possibility of perceived anti-religiosity   weitz told a his dark materials fans  website. pullman s trilogy has been attacked by some christian teachers and by the catholic press as blasphemy. weitz  who admitted he would not be many people s first choice to direct the films  said he regarded the film adaptation as  the most important work of my life .   in part because it is one of the few books to have changed my life   he told bridgetothestars.net. the award-winning trilogy - northern lights  the subtle knife and the amber spyglass - tell the story of oxford school child lyra belacqua. she is drawn into an epic struggle against the church  which has been carrying out experiments on children in an attempt to remove original sin.  as the books progress the struggle turns into a battle to overthrow the authority  a figure who is god-like in the books. weitz  who directed american pie and about a boy  said new line feared that any anti-religiosity in the film would make the project  unviable financially . he said:  all my best efforts will be directed towards keeping the film as liberating and iconoclastic an experience as i can.  but there may be some modification of terms.   weitz said he had visited pullman  who had told him that the authority could  represent any arbitrary establishment that curtails the freedom of the individual  whether it be religious  political  totalitarian  fundamentalist  communist  what have you . he added:  i have no desire to change the nature or intentions of the villains of the piece  but they may appear in more subtle guises.  there are a number of christian websites which attack the trilogy for their depiction of the church and of god  but pullman has denied his books are anti-religious. his agent told the times newspaper that pullman was happy with the adaptation so far.  of course new line want to make money  but mr weitz is a wonderful director and philip is very supportive.  you have to recognise that it is a challenge in the climate of bush s america
784,injury doubts beset wales squad wales have a clutch of injury worries before wednesday s international friendly against hungary in cardiff.  west ham s gavin williams (ankle) looks certain to be out  so uncapped wrexham defender stephen roberts is drafted in. defenders danny gabbidon and gareth roberts  plus ryan giggs have hamstring concerns  while there are also doubts over robbie savage (groin). however  manchester united winger giggs is expected to recover in time to earn his 50th cap at the millennium stadium. there were also doubts over gabbidon s fellow cardiff defender rhys weston  but the full-back appears to have shrugged off the knock he picked up in the bluebirds  1-0 loss to west ham on sunday. the news leaves wales boss john toshack short in defence for his first game in charge  with aston villa s mark delaney injured and james collins with the under-21s. that could clear the way for new faces danny collins and dave partridge to make their wales debuts.  coyne (burnley)  jones (wolves)  roberts (wrexham)  collins (sunderland)  edwards (wolves)  gabbidon (cardiff)  page (cardiff)  partridge (motherwell)  ricketts (swansea)  roberts (tranmere)  weston (cardiff)  davies (tottenham)  fletcher (west ham)  giggs (man utd)  koumas (west brom)  robinson (sunderland)  savage (blackburn)  williams (west ham)  bellamy (newcastle)  earnshaw (west brom)  hartson (celtic).
845,why cell will get the hard sell the world is casting its gaze on the cell processor for the first time  but what is so important about it  and why is it so different   the backers of the processor are big names in the computer industry. ibm is one of the largest and most respected chip-makers in the world  providing cutting edge technology to large businesses. sony will be using the chip inside its playstation 3 console  and its dominance of the games market means that it now has a lot of power to dictate the future of computer and gaming platforms. the technology inside the cell is being heralded as revolutionary  from a technical standpoint. traditional computers - whether they are household pcs or playstation 2s - use a single processor to carry out the calculations that run the computer. the cell technology  on the other hand  uses multiple cell processors linked together to run lots of calculations simultaneously.  this gives it processing power an order of magnitude above its competitors. whilst its rivals are working on similar technology  it is sony s which is the most advanced. the speed of computer memory has been slowly increasing over the last few years  but the memory technology that accompanies the cell is a huge leap in performance.  using a technology called xdr  created by american firm rambus  memory can run up to eight times faster than the current standard being promoted by intel. perhaps more important than any of the technology is the cell s role in the imminent  war on living rooms . the big trend predicted for this year is the convergence of computers with home entertainment devices such as dvd players and hi-fis. companies like microsoft and sony believe that there is a lot of money to be made by putting a computer underneath the tv of every household and then offering services such as music and video downloads  as well as giving an individual access to all the media they already own in one place.  microsoft has already made its first tactical move into this area with its windows media center software  which has been adopted by many pc makers. sony had a stab at something similar with the psx - a variation on the playstation - last year in japan  although this attempt was generally seen as a failure. both companies believe that increasing the capabilities of games consoles  to make them as powerful as pcs  will make the technology accessible enough to persuade buyers to give them pride of place on the video rack.  sony and ibm want to make sure that the dominance of the pc market enjoyed by microsoft and intel is not allowed to extend to this market. by creating a radically new architecture  and using that architecture in a games console that is sure to be a huge seller  they hope that the cell processor can become the dominant technology in the living room  shutting out their rivals. once they have established themselves under the tv  there is no doubt that they hope to use this as a base camp to extend their might into our traditional pcs and instigate a regime change on the desktop. cell is  in fact  specifically designed to be deployed throughout the house. the links between the multiple processors can also be extended to reach cell processors in entirely different systems.  sony hopes to put cells in televisions  kitchen appliances and anywhere that could use any sort of computer chip. each cell will be linked to the others  creating a vast home network of computing power. resources of the cells across the house can be pooled to provide more power  and the links can also be used to enable devices to talk to each other  so that you can programme your microwave from your tv  for example. this digital home of the future depends on the widespread adoption of the cell processor and there are  as with all things  a number of reasons it could fail. because the processor is so different  it requires programmers to learn a different way of writing software  and it may be that the changeover is simply too difficult for them to master. you can also guarantee that microsoft and intel are not going to sit around and let cell take over home computing without a fight. microsoft is going to be pushing its xbox 2 as hard as possible to make sure that its technology  not sony s  will be under your tree next christmas. intel will be furiously working on new designs that address the problems of its current chips to create a rival technology to cell  so that it doesn t lose its desktop pc dominance. if cell succeeds in becoming the living room technology of choice  however  it could provide the jump-start to the fully digital home of the future. the revolution might not be televised  but it could well be played with a videogame controller.
1416,row brewing over peer-to-peer ads music download networks are proving popular not just with an audience of youngsters keen to take advantage of free music but with advertisers equally keen to reach out to a captive audience.  the debate over the legitimacy of file-sharing networks rages on as the music industry continues its threats to close the services down for good. meanwhile the millions of downloaders are proving both an advertiser s dream come true and a branding nightmare. paul myers  chief executive of wippit - a peer to peer service which provides paid-for music downloads - believes it is time advertisers stopped providing  oxygen  for companies that support illegal downloading.  you may be surprised to know that current advertisers on the most popular peer to peer service edonkey who now steadfastly support copyright theft with real cash money include nat west  vodafone  o2  first direct  ntl  and renault   he said in an open letter to the british phonographic industry last month.  he urged people to follow his lead and  dump  brands associated with companies such as edonkey. the bpi is equally quick to condemn established brands becoming bedfellows with peer to peer networks.  networks like edonkey  kazaa and grokster facilitate illegal filesharing. the bpi strongly believes that any reputable company should look carefully at the support they are giving these networks through their advertising revenue   it said in a statement.  illegal file-sharers steal millions of pounds worth of music through these services. we are sure that the companies advertising on them would not put up with theft on such a scale from their own businesses   it said. but the issue is often more complicated for advertisers  said mark mulligan  a music analyst with jupiter research.  this has been a problem for a long time  ever since the days of napster   he told the bbc news website.  the reality is that the millions of downloaders represent a very attractive audience.  advertisers probably pay a lot less for putting ads here than on more respected sites and they are reaching the perfect target audience   he said.  if you put the legality issues aside  not to advertise here would mean missing out on a valuable audience   he added. meanwhile companies contacted by the bbc news website insist that they were not directly aware of where their ads have been appearing. onetel adverts were spotted on edonkey this week and its response was typical.  we have investigated this matter and believe that one of our affiliate partners has placed this advert without our knowledge. it is not our policy to advertise through peer-to-peer networks   read a statement from the discount phone firm. it has requested the advert be removed immediately  said a spokeswoman. similarly telecommunications firm ntl blames its media buying agency which places adverts with third party networks featuring thousands of sites. since the matter was brought to its attention last month  the agency has strict instructions to make sure ads do not appear on such sites  a spokesman told the bbc news website.  however mr mulligan was not entirely convinced by these explanations. while smaller brands might not necessarily be aware of where the money they allocate to online advertising actually ends  this is no excuse for well-known brands  he said.  i would be surprised if these brands didn t have the know-how to prevent this happening   he said. at the moment edonkey is enjoying the benefits of having some very well-known faces advert on its network.  many big brands have leveraged the opportunity  including perhaps two of the biggest brands in the world - senator john kerry and president george w. bush   said chief executive sam yagan. there are some distinct advantages of advertising on such a network  he thinks.  peer-to-peer clients offer big brands a unique opportunity to engage with their customers where they re most comfortable: at their desks interacting with their favourite digital media   he said.
1762,campese berates whingeing england former australian wing david campese has told england to stop whingeing in the wake of their defeat to ireland.  england coach andy robinson lambasted referee jonathan kaplan for costing them the game after disallowing tries from mark cueto and josh lewsey. but campese told bbc sport:  robinson is living up to england s reputation as whingeing poms.  stop going on about it as who really cares  they re acting like they re the first team to be cheated of a win.   england are contemplating a complaint to the international rugby board after potential  tries  by cueto in the first half and lewsey late on were ruled out without recourse to the video referee. but campese added:  scotland could have beaten france in the same way  but do you see them whingeing   basically  things didn t go england s way and  in typical fashion  they make more of it when they believe they ve lost unfairly.   england are second bottom in the six nations table following defeats by wales  france and ireland. but although campese admitted he was surprised about their current predicament  he insisted england were  no longer world class .  england are beginning to realise that being world champions doesn t mean you deserve to win every game   he said.  they lost a few key players and suddenly everyone s realised the ones on the fringes were not all that good in the first place.  added to that  the senior players aren t standing up and they can t do anything when the pressure mounts.   campese  a veteran of 101 international caps  said full-back jason robinson would now be the sole englishman in his world xv. robinson has been blamed for poor leadership in the tournament  while his coach has been castigated for appointing a full-back captain.  i agree that you can t captain from full-back   said campese.  you need someone in the thick of the action  and it s very hard to give orders from all the way back there.  some people are leaders and some aren t. he s not but there s no one who stands out in england s pack - no clear-cut leaders.  campese  though  defended coach andy robinson  who he believes was the  only choice  after sir clive woodward s resignation.  but he blamed  a lack of talent in the england camp  for making the current coach look poor. england face a potential wooden spoon match against italy on 12 march. and the ex-wallaby added:  if england lost that  they d be in bloody turmoil. that said  i don t think they will.  campese has tipped wales to win both the six nations and grand slam come the end of the tournament.  it s been a surprising tournament   he said   and maybe ireland have a little bit more talent overall.  but playing at home is a major boost. and the possible grand slam decider at the millennium stadium will be just too much for the irish.
525,disney backs sony dvd technology a next generation dvd technology backed by sony has received a major boost.  film giant disney says it will produce its future dvds using sony s blu-ray disc technology  but has not ruled out a rival format developed by toshiba. the two competing dvd formats  blu-ray developed by sony and others  and toshiba s hd-dvd  have been courting top film studios for several months. the next generation of dvds promises very high quality pictures and sound  as well as a lot of data. both technologies use a blue laser to write information. it has a shorter wavelength so more data can be stored. disney is the latest studio to announce which technology it is backing in a format battle which mirrors the 1980s betamax versus vhs war. sony lost out to jvc in that fight.  the current battle for hollywood s hearts and minds is a crucial one because high-definition films will bring in billions of revenue and the studios would prefer to use one standard. last month  paramount  universal and warner brothers said they were opting for the toshiba and nec-backed format  hd-dvd high-definition discs.  those studios currently produce about 45% of dvd content. sony pictures entertainment and mgm studios have already staked their allegiance with the blu-ray disc association  whose members also include technology companies dell  samsung and matsushita. twentieth century fox is still to announce which technology it will be supporting. if fox decided to go with blu-ray too  it would mean the format would have a 47% share of dvd content. disney said its films would be available on the blu-ray format when dvd players for the standard went on sale on north america and japan  expected in 2006. universal is to start producing films on the hd-dvd format in 2005  and paramount will start releasing titles using the standard in 2006. toshiba expects sales of hd-dvds to reach 300bn yen ($2.9bn  £1.5bn) by 2010.
596,branson show flops on us screens entrepreneur sir richard branson s us tv show  the rebel billionaire  is proving a flop in the ratings.  the programme suffered poor viewing figures on its debut on the fox network three weeks ago  and has lost one in five of its viewers since then. the show is seen as fox s answer to the apprentice featuring tycoon donald trump  a ratings hit for rivals nbc. sir richard s show sees a group of young entrepreneurs compete to become the president of his business empire. the rebel billionaire has averaged five million viewers and is 91st in the rankings of all prime-time shows. the apprentice  which has already completed its first season  is still managing to pull in 16 million viewers  while its prime-time ranking is number four.  but fox has said it plans to stick with branson s show throughout its 12-episode run.  it s going to remain on the air   said the network s spokesman scott grogin.  creatively we re extremely pleased with the show and hope the audience will find it   he added. contestants on sir richard s show are confronted with business tasks to solve  similar to the apprentice. they are also subjected to stunts like walking a plank suspended in mid-air. the rebel billionaire has marketed itself as a less materialistic version of the apprentice  with sir richard shown jumping out of a taxi  while trump is seen in a limousine.
1800,peace demo appeal rejected peace protestors have lost a landmark appeal over police actions in stopping an anti-war demonstration days after the start of the iraq war.  they had appealed against a high court decision that it was not unlawful for police to forcibly turn protestors away near raf fairford  glos  in 2003. the police had also sought to overturn a breach of human rights ruling arising from the same case. sitting on wednesday  three appeal court judges dismissed both appeals. they were challenging decisions by two judges in the high court in february this year. it followed action by police  when three coachloads of people were searched and detained on the way to raf fairford and forced to return to london under police escort. the demonstrators appealed against a finding by lord justice may and mr justice harrison that it was not unlawful for the police to turn the passengers away.  the police were urging lord chief justice and lord justices clarke and rix to overturn the ruling that they had breached the protestors  human rights by detaining them in the coaches. craig mackey  assistant chief constable of gloucestershire police  said:  we have always considered that our responses were proportionate and all our decisions on the day were based on intelligence.  he said no one on the coaches accepted responsibility for items found on the coaches including body armour  a smoke bomb and five shields.  given these circumstances  and the fact that raf fairford  and other military installations in the uk  had been the scene of increasingly destructive disorder in the weeks preceding this incident  the police commander on the ground made the decision to turn back the coaches.  from day one we have vigorously defended this decision  which was made out of a genuine concern that if the coaches were allowed to proceed it would have resulted in disorder and criminal damage at raf fairford.  fairford coach action  representing more than 80 people who appealed against the police actions  say they are prepared to take their case to the european court of human rights. their action is supported by amnesty international and liberty.
1341,open source leaders slam patents the war of words between microsoft and the open source movement heated up this week as linux founder linus torvalds led an attack on software patents.  in a panel discussion at a linux summit in california mr torvalds said software patents were a problem for the open source movement. mitchell kapor  chairman of the mozilla foundation  warned that microsoft could use patent lawsuits in the future. linux is a freely-available alternative to microsoft s windows. it relies on a community of programmers for its development and is based on open source principles  which allow others to use and modify it without having to pay licence fees. the attack on software patents comes at a time when ibm has made 500 of its patents freely available. other companies are expected to follow suit.  there are between 150 000 and 300 000 registered software patents in the us and open source developers argue that many should never have been granted. this is a view corroborated by the uk patent office.  some of the patents have dubious validity and are being wielded by some big companies to force smaller companies to buy licenses in the knowledge that they can t afford to take them to court   said dr jeremy philpott of the uk patent office. some panel members are worried that microsoft would issue a series of patent lawsuits in the future.  if totally pushed to the wall - because their business model no longer holds up in an era in which open source is an economically superior way to produce software...of course they re going to unleash the wmds   mr kapor is reported as saying. microsoft did not want to comment directly  referring the issue instead to trade body intellect  of which it is a member.  as far as intellect is concerned  open source and patents have co-existed for many years without problems   said spokeswoman jill sutherland.  the industry respects the open source movement and in fact many of the members we represent use the open source system to develop software    we think the important point to make is that companies should be able to choose between patents  copyrights and open source as to the treatment of their intellectual discoveries  and not be forced into using one or the other   she added.
113,prodigy monfils blows away gaudio french prodigy gael monfils underlined his huge promise by beating french open champion gaston gaudio 6-4 7-6 (7-4) in the first round of the qatar open.  the 18-year-old wild card won three of the four junior grand slam events last year  including wimbledon. fabrice santoro  the 2000 champion  beat sweden s thomas johansson 6-4 6-2 but fourth seed mikhail youzhny lost 6-3 7-6 (7-3) to rafael nadal. roger federer plays greg rusedski in the second round on wednesday. monfils  who was given a wildcard into the tournament  said:  this is my first win over a top 10 player and i am delighted.  i play my best tennis when i am fired up on the court and the reason i won today was because i was able to play my natural  attacking game   he said.  of course i was a bit tired in the second set. but i was confident i could survive had there been a third set.
134,france telecom gets orange boost strong growth in subscriptions to mobile phone network orange has helped boost profits at owner france telecom.  orange added more than five million new customers in 2004  leading to a 10% increase in its revenues. increased take-up of broadband telecoms services also boosted france telecom s profits  which showed a 5.5% rise to 18.3bn euros ($23.4bn; £12.5bn). france telecom is to spend 578m euros on buying out minority shareholders in data services provider equant.  france telecom  one of the world s largest telecoms and internet service providers  saw its full-year sales rise 2.2% to 47.2bn euros in 2004.  orange enjoyed strong growth outside france and the united kingdom - its core markets - swelling its subscriber base to 5.4 million. france telecom s broadband customers also increased  rising to 5.1 million across europe by the end of the year. the firm said it had met its main strategic objectives of growing its individual businesses and further reducing its large debt. an ill-fated expansion drive in the late 1990s saw france telecom s debt soar to 72bn euros by 2002. however  this has now been reduced to 43.9bn euros.  our results for 2004 allow us to improve our financial structure while focusing on the innovation that drives our strategy   said chief executive thierry breton.  looking ahead  the company forecast like-for-like sales growth of between 3% and 5% over the next three years. france telecom is consolidating its interest in equant  which provides telecoms and data services to businesses. subject to approval by shareholders of the two firms  it will buy the shares in equant it does not already own. france telecom said it would fund the deal by selling an 8% stake in telephone directory company pagesjaunes.
270,tories reject rethink on axed mp sacked mp howard flight s local conservative association has insisted he will not be its candidate at the general election.  russell tanguay  agent for arundel and south downs tories  said mr flight was ineligible to be a candidate and the association was seeking a substitute. the news comes despite mr flight s allies saying they had enough support to hold a meeting to discuss his fate. mr flight landed in trouble over remarks on tory tax and spending plans. he quit as tory deputy chairman after apparently suggesting the tories planned extra spending cuts - but he wants to continue as an mp.  tory headquarters says he cannot stand as a conservative candidate because he is no longer an approved candidate. mr tanguay backed that view on tuesday  saying:  howard flight is ineligible to stand as a conservative party candidate.  the association is in the process of selecting a new candidate.   but the local tory chairman made similar comments on friday and dissent continues. two local councillors who back mr flight met mr tanguay and the local association s chairman in arundel on tuesday afternoon but did not comment as they left the meeting. mr flight says he will not stand down as a candidate unless his local party instructs him to do so at an extraordinary general meeting (egm). the mp  who is consulting his lawyers  told bbc news:  they selected me and they  if you like  dispose of me or keep me.  mr flight s supporters also say they have the 50 signatures needed to trigger the egm.  at a news conference  mr howard insisted he had played by the party s rules. the tory leader  who argues he is ensuring honesty  said:  we do not say one thing in private and another thing in public.   labour election campaign coordinator alan milburn said the tories were in  turmoil  because mr flight had exposed their hidden plans. the comments were not a  one-off   he said  claiming mr howard and other senior tories were obsessively committed to cutting public spending. liberal democrat chairman matthew taylor said:  whilst i disagree with howard flight s views  it seems extraordinary to sack somebody for telling the truth.   it has also emerged mr howard has suspended slough s constituency conservative association for refusing to deselect its candidate. adrian hilton was abandoned after suggesting the signing of the maastricht treaty  under john major s government  was an act of treason. the catholic herald also highlighted articles he wrote about the role of catholicism in the european union. mr hilton was chosen to fight the seat after the previous candidate  robert oulds  was sacked for being pictured with a range of guns and a hunting knife. slough conservative association has now been placed on  support status  and is being run from conservative campaign headquarters  says a senior party spokesman.  mr hilton on tuesday said he was considering taking legal action against his deposal. he said the local party had only learned of the final decision on the bbc news website on monday evening.  there are people at central office who are behaving like little dictators and seemingly people who are ordinary members are being treated with contempt   he said. the party says it did try to contact the local conservative chairman.
1324,baby becomes new oscar favourite clint eastwood s boxing drama million dollar baby has become the new favourite to win best picture at the oscars on sunday.  according to pundits  the film has overtaken previous favourite the aviator  with eastwood also tipped to take the best director award. its star hilary swank is favourite to win best actress while jamie foxx is tipped to win best actor for ray. million dollar baby has seven nominations while the aviator has 11. the aviator has scored a best director nomination for martin scorsese  who has never won an oscar  while stars leonardo dicaprio and cate blanchett are both nominated for acting oscars.   if you look at the oscars race  the aviator should be ahead   said awards pundit tom o neil.  it is the most nominated film  and the most nominated movie has won best picture 18 times out of the last 20 years.  but the reality is million dollar baby is the dark horse. people feel emotionally about it and clint is a beloved hollywood chum of the academy voters   he said. anne thompson of the hollywood reporter said that million dollar baby was  heart-wrenching .  it s very emotional  it even makes grown men cry   she said.  the aviator is a gorgeous movie  but it s colder.   in the acting categories  foxx is regarded as almost unbeatable for his performance as ray charles in ray.  the performance is based on a real person who was a showbusiness hero with a handicap  who recently died   o neil said.  he has unstoppable momentum among the voters.  hilary swank is the favourite to win best actress for the second time in six years. she previously won in 1999 for her performance in boys don t cry. in the supporting categories  cate blanchett is tipped to win for her performance as katharine hepburn in the aviator  while morgan freeman is favourite to take home his first ever oscar  for million dollar baby. the oscars will take place at hollywood s kodak theatre on 27 february.
12,virgin blue shares plummet 20% shares in australian budget airline virgin blue plunged 20% after it warned of a steep fall in full year profits.  virgin blue said profits after tax for the year to march would be between 10% to 15% lower than the previous year.  sluggish demand reported previously for november and now december 2004 continues   said virgin blue chief executive brett godfrey. virgin blue  which is 25% owned by richard branson  has been struggling to fend off pressure from rival jetstar. it cut its full year passenger number forecast by  approximately 2.5% . virgin blue reported a 22% fall in first quarter profits in august 2004 due to tough competition. in november  first half profits were down due to slack demand and rising fuel costs. virgin blue was launched four years ago and now has roughly one third of australia s domestic airline market. but the national carrier  qantas  has fought back with its own budget airline  jetstar  which took to the skies in may 2004. sydney-listed virgin blue s shares recovered slightly to close 12% down on wednesday. shares in its major shareholder  patrick corporation - which owns 46% of virgin blue - had dropped 31% by the close.
782,europe backs digital tv lifestyle how people receive their digital entertainment in the future could change  following the launch of an ambitious european project.  in nice last week  the european commission announced its networked & electronic media (nem) initiative. its broad scope stretches from the way media is created  through each of the stages of its distribution  to its playback. the commission wants people to be able to locate the content they desire and have it delivered seamlessly  when on the move  at home or at work  no matter who supplies the devices  network  content  or content protection scheme. more than 120 experts were in nice to share the vision of interconnected future and hear pledges of support from companies such as nokia  intel  philips  alcatel  france telecom  thomson and telefonica. it might initially appear to be surprising that companies in direct competition are keen to work together. but again and again  speakers stated they could not see incompatible  stand-alone solutions working. a long-term strategy for the evolution and convergence of technologies and services would be required.  the european commission is being pragmatic in its approach. they have identified that many groups have defined the forms of digital media in the areas that nem encompasses. the nem approach is to take a serious look at what is available and what is in the pipeline  pick out the best  bring them together and identify where the gaps are. where it finds holes  it will develop standards to fill them. what is significant is that such a large and powerful organisation has stated its desire for digital formats to be open to all and work on any gadget. this is bound to please  if not surprise  many individuals and user organisations who feel that the wishes of the holder of rights to content are normally considered over and above those of the consumer. many feel that the most difficult and challenging area for the commission will be to identify a solution for different digital rights management (drm) schemes. currently drm solutions are incompatible  locking certain types of purchased content  making them unplayable on all platforms. with the potential of having a percentage of every media transaction that takes place globally  the prize for being the supplier of the world s dominant drm scheme is huge. although entertainment is an obvious first step  it will encompass the remote provisions of healthcare  energy efficiency and control of the smart home. the 10-year plan brings together the work of many currently running research projects that the ec has been funding for a number of years.  simon perry is the editor of the digital lifestyles website  which covers the impact of technology on media
1357,jansen suffers a further setback blackburn striker matt jansen faces three weeks out after surgery to treat a cartilage problem.  but central defender lorenzo amoruso is moving closer to fitness following a knee operation. rovers  assistant manager mark bowen said:  matt had a small operation to trim knee cartilage.  it s a tiny piece of work  which should be a fairly quick recovery. lorenzo is also jogging for the first time  along with kicking a ball.  jansen s career has been dogged by injury since a freak scooter accident two years ago.  he returned to first-team action soon after mark hughes  appointment as blackburn boss and marked it with a goal against portsmouth in his first appearance of the season. bowen added:  i m guessing  but i reckon maybe two to three weeks before he is back in action completely.  the rovers assistant boss forecast a longer time spell for amoruso s availability for first-team duties. bowen said:  there s still some scar tissue present so it will be some weeks.  it s a case of see how he goes. you can t put a real time on a comeback  we ll see how he progresses.
1608,hunt demo at labour meeting pro-hunt supporters are set to protest at labour s spring conference.  the countryside alliance says it expects up to 4 000 supporters to demonstrate against the hunting ban. they have agreed to keep to a demonstration site on the other side of the river tyne from the conference venue in gateshead. a bid to overturn the law banning hunting with dogs in england and wales has begun in the court of appeal. the ban comes into force on 18 february. the court of appeal is expected to rule early next week on whether the alliance s challenge has succeeded. richard dodd  regional director of the countryside alliance  said he expected between 2 000 and 4 000 supporters in tyneside to make their protest  with hunt horns and placards.  campaigners have been asked not to bring any animals or alcohol.  mr dodd said he did not believe there would be any repeat of the trouble which marred the pro-hunt demonstration outside parliament in september.  we are holding a static demonstration  just to remind labour that we are not going away   he said. northumbria police said the pedestrian millennium bridge  by the demonstration site  will be shut if necessary. but assistant chief constable david warcup has liaised with several protest groups and said all negotiations had gone well. fathers 4 justice  pensioners  rights activists and stop the war campaigners were also expected to demonstrate during the three-day conference which starts on friday. pro-hunt campaigners claims the 1949 parliament act - which extends the right of the house of commons to overrule the house of lords - was itself invalid because it was never passed by peers. the high court last month ruled the act was valid and the proposed hunting ban was lawful. pro-hunt supporters formally launched their second legal challenge to the ban in london s high court on thursday. the countryside alliance has lodged papers seeking a judicial review on human rights grounds. animal welfare groups have welcomed the ban  many of whom have campaigned for a ban for decades saying hunting is cruel and unnecessary.
1134,economy  stronger than forecast  the uk economy probably grew at a faster rate in the third quarter than the 0.4% reported  according to bank of england deputy governor rachel lomax.  private sector business surveys suggest a stronger economy than official estimates  ms lomax said. other surveys collectively show a rapid slowdown in uk house price growth  she pointed out. this means that despite a strong economic growth  base rates will probably stay on hold at 4.75%. official data comes from the office for national statistics (ons). though reliable  ons data takes longer to publish  so now the boe is calling for faster delivery of data so it can make more effective policy decisions.  recent work by the bank has shown that private sector surveys add value  even when preliminary ons estimates are available   ms lomax said in a speech to the north wales business club.  the ons is due to publish its second estimate of third quarter growth on friday.  the mpc judges that overall growth was a little higher in the third quarter than the official data currently indicate   ms lomax said. the bank said successful monetary policy depends on having good information. rachel lomax cited the late 1980s as an example of a time when weak economic figures were published  but substantially revised upwards years later.   the statistical fog surrounding the true state of the economy has proved a particularly potent breeding ground for policy errors in the past   she said. improving the quality of national statistics is the single the best way of making sure the monetary policy committee (mpc) makes the right decisions  she said. the bank of england is working in tandem with the ons to improve the quality and speed of delivery of data. her remarks follow criticism from the house of lords economic affairs committee  which said the mpc had held interest rates too high given that inflation was way below the 2% target.  a slowdown in the housing market and this year s surge in oil prices has made economic forecasting all the more tricky  leading to a more uncertain outlook.  this year rising oil prices and a significant slowdown in the housing market have awoken bad memories of the 1970s and 1980s   ms lomax said.  the mpc will be doing well if it can achieve the same stability over the next decade as we have enjoyed over the past 10 years.  decisions on interest rates are made after the mpc gathers together the range of indicators available every month. the clearest signals come when all indicators are pointing the same direction  ms lomax intimated.  in economic assessment  there is safety in numbers.
276,report attacks defence spending the ministry of defence has been criticised over the soaring spending costs and growing delays of its top equipment projects.  a national audit office report on the 20 biggest projects says costs have risen by £1.7bn in the past year. it says there is  little evidence  the mod s performance had improved  despite the introduction of a  smart acquisition  policy six years ago. a senior defence official told the bbc lessons were being learned. the nao s annual report showed the total cost of the 20 projects covered was expected to reach £50bn - 14% higher than originally planned. the total delays amounted to 62 months  with average individual delays rising by three months.  sir john bourn  head of the nao  said the problems showed the principles of the scheme known as smart acquisition had not been consistently applied.  many problems can be traced to the fact that the mod has not spent enough time and resources in the assessment phase   the report says. the nao found that projects launched since the start of the scheme were showing the same worrying tendencies as the older  legacy projects   such as the eurofighter. a senior defence official  speaking to the bbc s defence correspondent paul adams  said that although the figures were still not good enough  the report reflected unrealistic expectations early on in the project cycle. this year s overspend was significantly less than last year s £3.1bn total  and the defence procurement agency - which is responsible for buying defence equipment - was improving.  lord bach  minister for defence procurement  said he was  obviously still disappointed with the cost and time increases shown   but insisted that the defence procurement agency had  undertaken a huge amount of work to expose any underlying problems on projects . the latest findings follow a string of critical reports issued within the last 12 months  and  according to our correspondent  contain few new surprises. turning around the defence procurement agency  was a little like trying to turn around a super tanker - it takes a very long time indeed   he said. our correspondent said it was the same projects  including the joint strike fighter  the nimrod and a400m aircraft and the type 45 destroyer  which were resonsible for the bulk of the cost over-runs and delay. but he added some projects  such as the c-17 heavy lift aircraft and successor identification friend or foe (siff)  were showing good performances.
41,labour targets  hardcore truants  a fresh crackdown on persistent truants in england has been launched by education secretary ruth kelly.  serial truants make up one in 13 pupils. previous initiatives brought 40 000 pupils back to school since 1997  according to official statistics. parenting contracts  penalty notices and  fast track  prosecution systems have been used to tackle what has been a stubborn problem. it is thought that nearly half a million children skip school each day. tories say labour s previous success regarding the issue came because it tackled the easy part of the problem by reducing authorised absence  where parents are permitted to take children out of school. such absences are often due to family holidays.  however  serial truants avoid the classroom despite government schemes costing £885m. those missing classes are more likely to become involved in crime as well as failing academically. measures such as parenting contracts and penalty notices were adopted by most local education authorities last term and come into force in the remainder this term. in one local education authority alone 800 parents were warned they would receive a penalty notice unless their child s attendance improved. the tough stance paid off with just 24 issued  while attendance improved in 776 cases. truancy has been reduced by 5% at the 128 worst hit schools through the government s behaviour improvement programme. this is the equivalent of 200 pupils back in classes since september.  the new measures come on top of national truancy sweeps - the sixth of which will take place on monday. police and education welfare officers patrol problem hotspots picking up truants and returning them to school. held twice each year  in addition to routine local patrols  previous country-wide sweeps have apprehended 31 000 pupils dodging school. in almost 14 000 of those cases  the youngsters were accompanied by their parents. a department for education and skills source said:  every day in school counts.  it is clear form these figures that schools and local education authorities are now seizing the tools we have given them to improve school attendance and crack down hard on the very small numbers of pupils which account for almost half of the nation s truancy.
1705,brainwave  cap controls computer a team of us researchers has shown that controlling devices with the brain is a step closer.  four people  two of them partly paralysed wheelchair users  successfully moved a computer cursor while wearing a cap with 64 electrodes. previous research has shown that monkeys can control a computer with electrodes implanted into their brain. the new york team reported their findings in the proceedings of the national academy of sciences.  the results show that people can learn to use scalp-recorded electroencephalogram rhythms to control rapid and accurate movement of a cursor in two directions   said jonathan wolpaw and dennis mcfarlane. the research team  from new york state department of health and state university of new york in albany  said the research was another step towards people controlling wheelchairs or other electronic devices by thought.  the four people faced a large video screen wearing a special cap which  meant no surgery or implantation was needed.  brain activity produces electrical signals that can be read by electrodes. complex algorithms then translate those signals into instructions to direct the computer. such brain activity does not require the use of any nerves of muscles  so people with stroke or spinal cord injuries could use the cap effectively.  the impressive non-invasive multidimensional control achieved in the present study suggests that a non-invasive brain control interface could support clinically useful operation of a robotic arm  a motorised wheelchair or a neuroprosthesis   said the researchers. the four volunteers also showed that they could get better at controlling the cursor the more times they tried. although the two partially-paralysed people performed better overall  the researchers said this could be because their brains were more used to adapting or that they were simply more motivated. it is not the first time researchers have had this sort of success in brain-control experiments. some teams have used eye motion and other recording techniques. earlier this year  a team at the mit media labs europe demonstrated a wireless cap which read brain waves to control a computer character.
732,wood - ireland can win grand slam former captain keith wood believes ireland can win only their second grand slam - and first since 1948 - in this year s rbs six nations championship.  after claiming their first triple crown for 19 years last season  wood tips his former team-mates to go one better.  things have been building up over the past few years and i think this is the year for ireland   he told bbc sport.  there is a great chance to win a grand slam. a lot of things are in our favour with england and france at home.  ireland have finished runners-up three times  including last year  since the old five nations became six in 2000  and not finished outside the top three in the past five years.  despite being without flanker keith gleeson  coach eddie o sullivan has not had to contend with the sort of casualty lists that have hit england and scotland in particular prior to the tournament.  for ireland to win it we need to stay relatively injury free  and fortunately we are one of the few teams that have done that so far   wood added.  it is going to be tough and we need to take all the luck and opportunities that come our way.  ireland s last game of the tournament is against wales in cardiff - a fixture they have not lost since 1983.  but despite their traditional hospitality when the irish are visiting  wood believes wales might end their four-match losing run against england in cardiff.  so many of the major england players have either retired in the last year or are injured that i think it will be very hard for them down in cardiff   wood added.  wales have had four brilliant games in the last year or so and lost all four  so the time is right for them now to beat one of the major teams.
968,kidman wins photographer battle actress nicole kidman has won a restraining order against two paparazzi photographers who she claims left her fearful of leaving her sydney mansion.  the oscar-winning star took action against jamie fawcett and ben mcdonald after a bugging device was found outside her home earlier this week. lawyers for the pair denied allegations they had planted the device. the australian actress is currently in sydney to film her latest movie  eucalyptus  with russell crowe. kidman was prompted to take action following a reported high-speed car chase with members of the paparazzi in sydney last weekend.  according to local newspaper the daily telegraph  the incident involved paparazzi driving through red lights and on the wrong side of the road in pursuit of kidman s vehicle. lawyers for mr fawcett and mr mcdonald denied that the pair were involved in the chase. kidman sought the  apprehended violence  orders - normally used in australia in cases of domestic violence and similar incidents - after being advised to do so by local police.  nicole would like to make it clear that she acknowledges she is a public figure and that reporters and photographers have a job to do and she respects that   said kidman s publicist wendy day.  however  these are specific actions against two individuals who  over a period of time  have caused her to feel threatened  intimidated and unable to leave her home without fearing for her safety.  magistrate lee gilmore  who issued the restraining order at waverley local court in sydney  said she understood the photographers were entitled to earn a living but there had to be limits to their behaviour.  miss kidman says she s willing to put up with some of it  but it s gone beyond that   she said.  i do believe the allegation in relation to the driving is a serious issue.
1006,ukraine revisits state sell-offs ukraine is preparing what could be a wholesale review of the privatisation of thousands of businesses by the previous administration.  the new president  viktor yushchenko  has said a  limited  list of companies is being drawn up. but on wednesday prime minister yulia tymoshenko said the government was planning to renationalise 3 000 firms. the government says many privatised firms were sold to allies of the last administration at rock-bottom prices. more than 90 000 businesses in all  from massive corporations to tiny shopfronts  have been sold off since 1992  as the command economy built up when ukraine was part of the soviet union was dismantled.  ms tymoshenko said prosecutors had drawn up a list of more than 3 000 businesses which were to be reviewed.  we will return to the state that which was illegally put into private hands.   a day earlier  mr yushchenko - keen to reassure potential investors - had said only 30 to 40 top firms would be targeted. the list  will be limited and final  and will not be extended after its completion   he said. an open-ended list could further damage outside investors  fragile faith in ukraine  said stuart hensel of the economist intelligence unit. but the government seemed keen not to make the review look like the kind of wholesale renationalisation which many fear in russia  mr hensel said. as a result  it was planning to resell rather than keep firms in state hands.  they re aware of the need not to scare investors  and to be careful of internal divides within ukraine   he said.  they don t want to be seen to be transferring assets from one set of oligarchs to a new set.  foreign investment in ukraine  at about $40 a head in 2004  is one of the lowest among ex-soviet states.  mr yushchenko became president after two elections in december  the first of which was annulled amid allegations of voting irregularities and massive street protests.  his opponent  viktor yanukovich  still has huge support in the country s eastern industrial heartland. mr yushchenko s administration has accused its predecessor  led by ex-president leonid kuchma  of corruption. the privatisation review s number one target is a steel mill sold to a consortium which included viktor pinchuk  mr kuchma s son-in-law  for $800m (£424m) despite higher bids from several foreign groups. the mill  krivorizhstal  is one of the world s most profitable.  we say krivorizhstal was stolen  and at any cost we will return it to the state   mr yushchenko told an investors  conference in kiev.  one of the jilted bidders  netherlands-based group lnm  said it welcomed the possibility that the mill might be back on the market.   if the original privatisation is annulled and a new tender issued  then we would look at it with great interest   a spokesman told bbc news. a resale of krivorizhstal could potentially triple the price  according to the economist intelligence unit s mr hensel. but he warned that the government could decide to take the easy route of revaluing the company and charging the existing owners the revised price rather than undertaking a fresh sale.  that way  mr yushchenko can go to the public and say he has forced the oligarchs to play by the rules   he told bbc news.
1140,britons growing  digitally obese  gadget lovers are so hungry for digital data many are carrying the equivalent of 10 trucks full of paper in  weight .  music  images  e-mails  and texts are being hoarded on mobiles  cameras laptops and pdas (personal digital assistants)  a toshiba study found. it found that more than 60% kept 1 000 to 2 000 music files on their devices  making the uk  digitally fat .  virtual weight  measurements are based on research by california institute of technology professor roy williams. he calculated physical comparisons for digital data in the mid-1990s. he worked out that one gigabyte (1 000 000 000 bytes) was the equivalent of a pick-up truck filled with paper. the amount of data people are squirreling away on their gadgets is clearly a sign that people are finding more things to do with their shiny things.  if digital hoarding habits continue on this scale  people could be carrying around a  digitally obese  20 gigabytes by next year.  britain has become a nation of information hoarders with a ferocious appetite for data   said martin larsson  general manager of toshiba s european storage device division.   as storage capabilities increase and the features and functionalities of mobile devices expand to support movie files and entire libraries of multi-media content  we will all become virtually obese   he told the bbc news website. the survey reflects the increasing trend for portable devices with built-in hard drives like music and media players from apple  creative labs  archos  iriver and others. this trend is set to grow  according to analysts. they suggest the number of hard drives in consumer electronics gadgets could grow from 17 million last year to 55 million in 2006.  consumers are driving the move towards smaller devices that have greater functionality  and industry is trying to keep up   said mr larsson.  people are looking for more than just phone calls and text messages on the move  they want things like web browsing  e-mailing  music  photos and more.   many are finding memory keys and memory sticks are simply not big enough to hold everything.   floppies and memory keys have their place  but they don t have anything like the capacity or flexibility of a hard drive so are unable to meet the demand for more and more storage capacity in consumer devices   said mr larsson. the cost of making hard drives has dropped and is continuing to do so because of improved technologies so they are proving to be more cost-effective than other forms of memory  he added. the amount of data that can be stored has grown by 400% in the last three years  while the cost for every gigabyte has fallen by 80%. it is also getting easier to transfer files from one device to another  which has traditionally been a slow and problematic area.  transfer of data between different memory types has improved significantly in recent times  and will be further helped by the standards for hard drives which are currently being developed by the major manufacturers   said mr larsson. according to technology analysts idc  a fifth of all hard drives produced will be used in consumer electronics by 2007.
966,us manufacturing expands us industrial production increased in december  according to the latest survey from the institute for supply management (ism).  its index of national manufacturing activity rose to 58.6 last month from 57.8 in november. a reading above 50 indicates a level of growth. the result for december was slightly better than analysts  expectations and the 19th consecutive expansion. the ism said the growth was driven by a  significant  rise in the new orders.  this completes a strong year for manufacturing based on the ism data   said chairman of the ism s survey committee.  while there is continuing upward pressure on prices  the rate of increase is slowing and definitely trending in the right direction.   the ism s index of national manufacturing activity is compiled from monthly responses of purchasing executives at more than 400 industrial companies  ranging from textiles to chemicals to paper  and has now been above 50 since june 2003. analysts expected december s figure to come in at 58.1. the ism manufacturing index s main sister survey - the employment index - eased to 52.7 in december from 57.6 in november  while its  prices paid  index  measuring the cost to businesses of their inputs  also eased to 72.0 from 74.0. the ism s  new orders  index rose to 67.4 from 61.5.
1399,beckham virus spotted on the net virus writers are trading on interest in david beckham to distribute their malicious wares.  messages are circulating widely that purport to have evidence of the england captain in a compromising position. but anyone visiting the website mentioned in the message will not see pictures of mr beckham but will have their computer infected by a virus. the pernicious program opens a backdoor on a computer so it can be controlled remotely by malicious hackers.  the appearance of the beckham windows trojan is just another example in a long line of viruses that trade on interest in celebrities in an attempt to fuel their spread. tennis player anna kournikova  popstars britney spears and avril lavigne as well as arnold schwarzenegger have all been used in the past to try to con people into opening infected files. the huge amount of interest in mr beckham and his private life and the large number of messages posted to discussion groups on the net might mean that the malicious program catches a lot of people out.  the public s appetite for salacious gossip about the private life of the beckhams might lead some into an unpleasant computer infection   said graham cluley from anti-virus firm sophos. simply opening the message will not infect a user s pc. but anyone visiting the website it mentions who then downloads and opens the fake image file stored on that site will be infected. the program that installs itself is called the hackarmy trojan and it tries to recruit pcs into so-called  bot networks that are often used to distribute spam mail messages or to launch attacks across the web. computers running microsoft windows 95  98  2000  nt and xp are vulnerable to this trojan. many anti-virus programs have been able to detect this trojan since it first appeared early this year and have regularly been updated to catch new variants.
586,football manager scores big time for the past decade or so the virtual football fans among us will have become used to the annual helping of championship manager (cm). indeed  it seems like there has been a cm game for as many years as there have been pcs.  however  last year was the final time that developers sports interactive (si) and publishers eidos would work together. they decided to go their separate ways  and each kept a piece of the franchise. si kept the game s code and database  and eidos retained rights to the cm brand  and the look and feel of the game. so at the beginning of this year  fans faced a new situation. eidos announced the next cm game  with a new team to develop it from scratch  whilst si developed the existing code further to be released  with new publishers sega  under the name football manager. so what does this mean  well  football manager is the spiritual successor to the cm series  and it has been released earlier than expected. at this point cm5 looks like it will ship early next year. but given that football manager 2005 is by and large the game that everybody knows and loves  how does this new version shape up   a game like fm2005 could blind you with statistics. it has an obscene number of playable leagues  an obscene number of manageable teams and a really obscene number of players and staff from around the world in the database  with stats faithfully researched and compiled by a loyal army of fans. but that does not do justice to the game really. what we are talking about is the most realistic and satisfying football management game to ever grace the earth.  you begin by picking the nations and leagues you want to manage teams from  for instance england and scotland. that will give you a choice not just of the four main scottish leagues  but the english premiership all the way down to the conference north and south. of course you might be looking for european glory  or to get hold of abramovich s millions  in which case you can take control at chelsea  or even barcelona  real madrid  ac milan ... the list goes on a very long way. once in a team you will be told by the board what they expect of you. sometimes it is promotion  or a place in europe  sometimes it is consolidation or a brave relegation battle. it might even be a case of champions or else. obviously the expectations are linked to the team you choose  so choose wisely. then it is time to look at your squad  work out your tactics  seeing how much cash  if any  you have got to splash  having a look at the transfer market  sorting out the training schedule and making sure your backroom staff are up to it. then bring on the matches  which are once more available in the ever-improving top down 2d view. with the exception of the improved user interface on the surface  not much else seems to have changed.  however  there have been a lot of changes under the bonnet as well - things like the manager mind-games  which let you talk to the media about the opposition bosses. the match engine is also much improved  and it is more of a joy than ever to watch. in fact just about every area of the game has been tweaked  and it leads to an ever more immersive experience.  with a game that is so complex and so open-ended  there are of course a few glitches  but nowhere near the sorts of problems that have blighted previous releases. with so many calculations to perform the game can take some time to process in between matches  though there have been improvements in this area. and a sport like football  which is so high profile and unpredictable itself  can never be modelled quite to everybody s satisfaction. but this time around a great deal of hard work has been put in to ensure that any oddities that do crop up are cosmetic only  and do not affect gameplay. and if there are problems further down the line  sports interactive have indicated their usual willingness to support and develop the game as far as possible. in all there are many more tweaks and improvements. if you were a fan of the previous cm games  then fm2005 might make you forget there was anything else before it. if you are new to the genre but like the idea of trying to take margate into the premiership  spurs into europe  or even putting rangers back on the top of the tree  fm2005 could be the best purchase you ever made. just be warned that the family might not see you much at christmas.  football manager 2005 out now for the pc and the mac
868,johnson accuses british sprinters former olympic champion michael johnson has accused britain s top sprinters of lacking pride and ambition.   at the moment  the biggest factor on the mind of british sprinters is to be number one in britain   the world 200m and 400m record holder told five live.  athletics at the moment is all about international competitions and they need to show a little more pride.  however  linford christie countered:  it s easy to criticise when you haven t gone through the system here.  johnson was involved in a verbal spat with britain s darren campbell earlier this year. the american had cast doubt on campbell s claims he had torn a hamstring in the wake of his failure to reach the olympic 100m and 200m finals.  and the american remains highly critical of aspects of british sprinting.  the only time you see british sprinters getting upset or riled is when there is a debate as to which one is better than the other   he claimed.  athletes here have to compete more outside the uk. their focus has to be on being the best in the world and not just on being the top british sprinter.  speaking at an elite coaches  conference in birmingham  johnson also argued that although there has been more investment in the sport in britain  it had not necessarily reaped the rewards.  you can t fix everything with money   he admitted.  you contrast the situation here to that of some us athletes who have no funding.  those who aren t funded might be hungrier and more motivated because their road to success is a lot more difficult and challenging.  so when they get to the top they are more appreciative.
1698,army chiefs in regiments decision military chiefs are expected to meet to make a final decision on the future of scotland s army regiments.  a committee of the army board  which is made up of the most senior defence figures  will discuss plans for restructuring regiments on monday. the proposals include cutting scotland s six single-battalion regiments to five and merging these into a super regiment. the plans have faced stiff opposition from campaigners and politicians alike. the committee s decision must be ratified by defence secretary geoff hoon and prime minister tony blair. it is expected that it will be made public next week. when ministers announced a reorganisation of the army it drew a question mark over the futures of the black watch  the kings own scottish borderers  the royal scots  the royal highland fusiliers and the argyll and sutherland highlanders. in october  the council of scottish colonels proposed the merger of the royal scots and the king s own scottish borderers into a single battalion.  under their vision  it would be one of five in the new super regiment. the proposals to either merge or amalgamate the six regiments into a super regiment sparked a political outcry  with labour backbenchers and opposition politicians opposing the plan. they felt the timing was insensitive because the black watch was in the frontline in iraq  suffering casualties. the save the scottish regiments campaigners were so angered they threatened to stand against labour at the next general election.  speaking ahead of the expected army board meeting  a spokesman said:  the government and the army board have spent the past four months attempting to trick serving soldiers and the public into thinking their planned changes for the scottish regiments are for the good of the army and for that of the serving soldier.  they are very much not for the good and will destroy scotland s regiments by moulding them into a single super regiment which will lead to severe recruitment problems  a loss of local connections to those regiments and a loss to scotland of an important part of her heritage and  most importantly  her future - the regiments are the envy of armies around the world.  an alternative blueprint had been put forward by labour mp eric joyce  who proposed going ahead with the merger while preserving the other regiments. for a brief time  there was speculation the prime minister might consider the plan  but that now seems unlikely. speaking in scotland last week  mr blair said the aim was to preserve tradition but introduce a more effective structure and hinted that a super regiment was likely. he said:  they don t want to get rid of the history or the traditions of the regiment or the local connections - far from it  all they want to do is make sure they can transfer people easily across regiments and deploy them more flexibly.  the prime minister said he hoped campaigners  concerns would be taken into account but the need for effective change had to be paramount.
452,mg rover china tie-up  delayed  mg rover s proposed tie-up with china s top carmaker has been delayed due to concerns by chinese regulators  according to the financial times.  the paper said chinese officials had been irritated by rover s disclosure of its talks with shanghai automotive industry corp in october. the proposed deal was seen as crucial to safeguarding the future of rover s longbridge plant in the west midlands. however  there are growing fears that the deal could result in job losses. the observer reported on sunday that nearly half the workforce at longbridge could be under threat if the deal goes ahead.  shanghai automotive s proposed £1bn investment in rover is awaiting approval by its owner  the shanghai city government and by the national development and reform commission  which oversees foreign investment by chinese firms. according to the ft  the regulator has been annoyed by rover s decision to talk publicly about the deal and the intense speculation which has ensued about what it will mean for rover s future. as a result  hopes that approval of the deal may be fast-tracked have disappeared  the paper said. there has been continued speculation about the viability of rover s longbridge plant because of falling sales and unfashionable models.  according to the observer  3 000 jobs - out of a total workforce of 6 500 - could be lost if the deal goes ahead. the paper said that chinese officials believe cutbacks will be required to keep the mg rover s costs in line with revenues. it also said that the production of new models through the joint venture would take at least eighteen months. neither rover nor shanghai automotive commented on the reports.
600,anti-spam screensaver scrapped a contentious campaign to bump up the bandwidth bills of spammers by flooding their sites with data has been dropped.  lycos europe s make love  not spam campaign began in late november but its tactics proved controversial. lycos has shut down the campaign saying it had been started to stimulate debate about anti-spam measures and had now achieved this aim. the anti-spammer screensaver came under fire for encouraging vigilante activity and skirting the edge of the law.  through the make love  not spam website  users could download a screensaver that would endlessly request data from the net sites mentioned in many junk mail messages. more than 100 000 people are thought to have downloaded the screensaver that lycos europe offered.  the company wanted to keep the spam sites running at near total capacity to make it much less financially attractive to spammers to operate the sites. but the campaign was controversial from the moment it kicked off and many net veterans criticised it for using spamming-type tactics against the senders of junk mail. some net service firms began blocking access to the lycos europe site in protest at the action. monitoring firm netcraft found that the anti-spam campaign was proving a little too successful. according to response-time figures gathered by netcraft  some of the sites that the screensaver targeted were being knocked offline by the constant data requests. in a statement from lycos europe announcing the scrapping of the scheme  the company denied that this was its fault.  there is nothing to suggest that make love  not spam has brought down any of the sites that it has targeted   it said.  at the time that netcraft measured the sites it claims may have been brought down  they were not in fact part of the make love  not spam attack cycle   it added. the statement issued by lycos also said that the centralised database it used ensured that traffic to the target sites left them with 5% spare capacity.  the idea was simply to slow spammers  sites and this was achieved by the campaign   the company said. many security organisations said users should not participate in the lycos europe campaign. the closure comes only days after the campaign was suspended following the outbreak of criticism.
354,pearce keen on succeeding keegan joint assistant boss stuart pearce has admitted he would like to succeed kevin keegan as manager at manchester city.  keegan has decided to step down as city manager when his contract comes to an end in 18 months.  you don t have to be einstein to realise there will be a manager s job available at a really good club   pearce told bbc gmr.  i will certainly be applying for it  although whether the board deem me good enough to take it  i do not know.  pearce initially joined city as a player under keegan in 2001 before becoming part of the coaching staff. he was promoted to joint assistant-manager following the departure of arthur cox last summer.  the former england defender had a year as player-boss with nottingham forest eight seasons ago but has made no secret of his desire to have another crack at the job. he was linked with the manager s job at oldham and keegan has stated he would not get in the way if pearce wanted to leave. but it now appears pearce is keen to wait for his chance at city. he added:  by that time  i will have been here for five years so at least they will have had a good look at me and they are aware of my feelings with regard to being kevin s successor.  obviously  the issue is out of my hands but it is a fantastic job for anybody - i just hope it will be me.
1281,lords wrong on detainees - straw jack straw has attacked the decision by britain s highest court that detaining foreign terrorist suspects without trial breaks human rights laws.  the foreign secretary said the right to life was the  most important liberty  and the government had a duty to protect people from terrorism. law lords were  simply wrong  to imply the men were being held arbitrarily. new home secretary charles clarke vowed the nine men would remain in prison while the law was being reviewed.  the house of lords ruled by an eight to one majority in favour of appeals by the men - dealing a major blow to the government s anti-terror policy.  but mr straw denied it amounted to a  constitutional crisis . he said those held had a right of appeal to the special immigration appeal tribunal and the decision to hold the suspects was upheld by that court.  the law lords are simply wrong to imply that this is a decision to detain these people on the whim or the certificate of the home secretary   he told bbc radio 4 s today programme. the foreign secretary insisted it was for parliament  and not judges  to decide how best britain could be defended against the threat of terrorism. but liberal democrat peer lord carlile  the government s independent reviewer of anti-terrorism laws  said it was possible some of the detainees could now be released. he said the law lords  ruling was an  embarrassment  for the government and major changes were needed to the law.  the ruling came on charles clarke s first day as home secretary following david blunkett s resignation. in a statement to mps  mr clarke said:  i will be asking parliament to renew this legislation in the new year.   in the meantime  we will be studying the judgment carefully to see whether it is possible to modify our legislation to address the concerns raised by the house of lords.  the detainees took their case to the house of lords after the court of appeal backed the home office s powers to hold them without limit or charge. the government opted out of part of the european convention on human rights concerning the right to a fair trial in order to bring in anti-terrorism legislation in response to the 11 september attacks in the us. any foreign national suspected of links with terrorism can be detained or can opt to be deported. but those detained cannot be deported if this would mean persecution in their homeland. on thursday  lord bingham - a senior law lord - said the rules were incompatible with the european convention on human rights as they allowed detentions  in a way that discriminates on the ground of nationality or immigration status  by justifying detention without trial for foreign suspects  but not britons. lord nicholls of birkenhead  in his ruling  said:  indefinite imprisonment without charge or trial is anathema in any country which observes the rule of law.  in a statement  detainee  a  in woodhill prison said:  i hope now that the government will act upon this decision  scrap this illegal  law  and release me and the other internees to return to our families and loved ones.  the case was heard by a panel of nine law lords rather than the usual five because of the constitutional importance of the case. solicitor gareth pierce  who represents eight of the detainees  claimed the detention had driven four of the detainees to  madness   saying two were being held in broadmoor hospital.
914,police detain chinese milk bosses chinese police have detained three top executives at milk firm yili  with reports suggesting that they are being investigated for embezzlement.  yili - full name inner mongolia yili industrial - confirmed its chairman  chief financial officer and securities representative were all in custody. the company  china s third-largest milk producer  is to hold an emergency meeting to debate the issue. a yili spokesman said it may now move to oust chairman zheng junhuai. the spokesman did not say why the three had been detained by the police. the official xinhua news agency said the arrest was linked to alleged embezzlement.  yili has recently been the subject of intense media speculation over its financial operations. executives are suspected of wrongly using 417m yuan ($50.4m; £26m) of company funds to support a management buyout back in july 2003. yili s shares were suspended on tuesday  having fallen by 10% on monday. the company and its two main rivals - market leader mengniu dairy and second place bright dairy - dominate a chinese milk market that has grown by almost 30% over the past five years. analysts wondered if the scandal at yili - the latest to befall chinese companies this year - could be followed by further revelations of corporate wrongdoing.  investors wonder if yili s scandal  one of a slew to be uncovered this year  isn t just the tip of the iceberg   said chen huiqin  an analyst at huatai securities.
1430,bt offers equal access to rivals bt has moved to pre-empt a possible break-up of its business by offering to cut wholesale broadband prices and open its network to rivals.  the move comes after telecom regulator ofcom said in november that the firm must offer competitors  real equality of access to its phone lines . at the time  ofcom offered bt the choice of change or splitting into two. ofcom is carrying out a strategic review aimed at promoting greater competition in the uk telecom sector. bt s competitors have frequently accused it of misusing its status as the former telecoms monopoly and controller of access to many customers to favour its own retail arm.  this latest submission was delivered to the watchdog ahead of a deadline for the second phase of its review.   central to the proposals are plans by bt to offer operators lower wholesale prices  faster broadband services and transparent  highly-regulated access to bt s local network   the former monopoly said in a statement.  the united kingdom has the opportunity to create the most exciting and innovative telecoms market in the world   bt chief executive ben verwaayen said.  bt has a critical role to play  and today we are making a set of far-reaching proposals towards that framework   he said. bt wants lighter regulation in exchange for the changes  as well as the removal of the break-up threat.  the group is to set up a new access services division - with a separate board which would include independent members - to ensure equal access for rivals to the  local loop   the copper wires that run between telephone exchanges and households. the company also unveiled plans to cut the wholesale prices of its most popular broadband product by about 8% from april in areas of high customer demand.  it added that it plans to invest £10bn in the next five years to create a  21st century network . to meet the growing demand for greater bandwidth  bt said it would begin trials in april with a view to launching higher-speed services nationally from the autumn.  telecom analysts ovum welcomed the move  saying bt had  given a lot of ground .   the big question now is whether the industry  and particularly ofcom feels bt s proposals go far enough ...now the real negotiation begins   director of telecoms research tony lavender said. internet service provider (isp) plus.net also backed the proposals saying  we will be entirely happy if ofcom accepts them .  bt has been challenged to play fair and its plans will introduce a level playing field. the scenario now is how well people execute their business plans as a service provider   chief executive lee strafford said. chris panayis  managing director of isp freedom2surf said that it would make the situation clearer for business.  i think it s the first productive thing we ve had from bt   he said.  aol backed the price cuts but said regulation was still needed to ensure a level playing field.  this is a reminder to ofcom that as long as bt can change the dynamics of the whole broadband market at will  the process of opening up the uk s local telephone network to infrastructure investment and competition remains fragile   a spokesman said.  ofcom needs to return to regulation of the wholesale broadband service [ipstream] and provide more robust rules for local loop unbundling if consumers are to see the benefits of increased competition and infrastructure investment.  more than 100 telecom firms  consumer groups and other interested parties are expected to make submissions to the regulator during this consultation phase. ofcom is expected to spend the next few weeks examining the proposals before making an announcement within the next few months.
554,games win for blu-ray dvd format the next-generation dvd format blu-ray is winning more supporters than its rival  according to its backers.  blu-ray  backed by 100 firms including sony  is competing against toshiba and nec-backed hd-dvd to be the format of choice for future films and games. the blu-ray association said on thursday that games giants electronic arts and vivendi would both support its dvd format. the next generation of dvds will hold high-definition video and sound. this offers incredible 3d-like quality of pictures which major hollywood studios and games publishers are extremely keen to exploit in the coming year. in a separate press conference at the consumer electronics show in las vegas  toshiba announced that dvd players for its technology would be on the market by the end of 2005.   as we move from standard definition video images to high-definition images  we have a much greater need for storage   richard doherty  from panasonic s hollywood laboratories  one of the pioneers of blu-ray  told the bbc news website.  so by utilising blue laser-based technology we can make an optical laser disc that can hold six times as much as today s dvd.  a blu-ray disc will be able to store 50gb of high-quality data  while toshiba s hd-dvd will hold 30gb. mr doherty added that it was making sure the discs could satisfy all high-definition needs  including the ability to record onto the dvds and smaller discs to fit into camcorders. both toshiba and blu-ray are hopeful that the emerging dvd format war  akin to the betamax and vhs fight in the 1980s  can be resolved over the next year when next-generation dvd players start to come out. when players do come out  they will be able to play standard dvds too  which is good news for those who have huge libraries of current dvds.  but the support from vivendi and electronics arts is a big boost to blu-ray in the battle for supremacy.  gaming is a $20 billion industry worldwide  so is as crucial as the film industry in terms of money to be made.  the technical requirement for game development today demands more advanced optical-disc technologies   said michael heilmann  chief technology officer for vivendi universal.  blu-ray offers the capacity  performance and high-speed internet connectivity to take us into the future of gaming.  ea  a leading games developer and publisher  added that the delivery of high-definition games of the future was vital and blu-ray had the capacity  functionality and interactivity needed for the kinds of projects it was planning. sony recently announced it would be using the technology in its next generation of playstations. mr doherty said gamers were  ravenous  for high-quality graphics and technology for the next generation of titles.  gamers  especially those working on pcs  are always focused on more capacity to deliver textures  deeper levels  for delivering higher-resolution playback.   he added:  the focus for games moving forward on increased immersion.   gaming companies really like to focus on creating a world which involves creating complicated 3d models and textures and increasing the resolution  increasing the frame rate - all of these are part of getting a more immersive experience.  fitting these models on current dvd technologies means compressing the graphics so much that much of this quality is lost. as games move to more photo-real capability  the current technology is limiting.  they are thrilled at the advanced capacity to start to build these immersive environments   said mr doherty. currently  graphics-intensive pc games also require multiple discs for installation. high-definition dvds will cut down on that need. likewise  consoles rely on single discs  so dvds that can hold six times more data mean much better  high-resolution games. blu-ray has already won backing from major hollywood studios  such as mgm studios  disney  and buena vista  as well as top technology firms like dell  lg  samsung and phillips amongst others. while toshiba s hd-dvd technology has won backing from paramount  universal and warner bros.  the real world benefits (of hd-dvd) are apparent and obvious   said jim cardwell  president of warner home video. mr cardwell added that rapid time to market and dependability were significant factors in choosing to go with hd-dvd. both formats are courting microsoft to be the format of choice for the next generation xbox  but discussions are still on-going. next generation dvds will also be able to store images and other data. ces is the largest consumer electronics show in the world  and runs from 6 to 9 january.
1659,labour pig poster  anti-semitic  the labour party has been accused of anti-semitism over a poster depicting michael howard and oliver letwin - who are both jewish - as flying pigs.  prospective tory candidate andrew mennear  whose finchley constituency contains a large jewish community  branded it  tasteless  and offensive. the poster shows the two men s faces superimposed on winged pigs and says  the day the tory sums add up . labour said the poster was  not anti-jewish  but anti-tory .  it is one of four designs e-mailed to labour members  who were asked to vote for their favourite. mr mennear  who was sent the e-mail by a friend  said he had been  shocked  by the image and had shown it to friends who were similarly horrified. he said there was nothing more distasteful for a jewish person than to be associated with a pig.  i am not suggesting there is any deliberate intent  but these sort of things can cause great offence. it clearly wasn t thought through.  it is possible the posters were designed for maximum impact  but this one clearly overstepped the mark and should be withdrawn.   the campaign was particularly insensitive as it had come out at the same time as holocaust day  a  difficult  time for many jewish people  mr mennear added. a labour spokesman denied the campaign was anti-semitic.  as we said at the time the james report (the tory backed inquiry into possible public spending savings) was published pigs will fly before the tory s sums will add up. this poster is making a serious point   he said. a conservative party spokesman said:  while the conservatives are concentrating on the issues that matter to people  such as lower taxes and controlled immigration  it is clear to see that the labour party is not. people will not be fooled.
1727,computer grid to help the world your computer can now help solve the world s most difficult health and social problems.  launched this week  the world community grid will use idle computer time to test solutions to these problems. the donated processor cycles will help the wcg create virtual supercomputers via the net. the idea follows the success of other similar projects that have used the untapped processing power of millions of desktop pcs. one of the most successful collaboration projects was seti@home  run by the search for extra terrestrial life project  which sorted through radio signals looking for signs of alien communication.  anyone can volunteer to donate the spare time of their computers by downloading a special screensaver from the wgc website. once installed  the virtual terminal gets a chunk of the computational task to process  and reports back after completing that task. the first wcg problem being tackled will be the human proteome folding project  which hopes to identify the ways that the proteins in our body fold.  the subjects of study are being selected by an international advisory board of experts specializing in health sciences  and technology. the body will evaluate proposals from leading research  public and not-for-profit organizations  and is expected to oversee up to six projects a year. organisations also represented on the board include the united nations development programme and the world health organisation.   the world community grid will enable researchers around the globe to gather and analyze unprecedented quantities of data to help address important global issues   said elain gallin  program director for medical research at the doris duke charitable foundation.  [it] will inspire us to look beyond the technological limitations that have historically restricted us from addressing some of our most intractable problems   she added. ibm has donated the hardware  software  technical services and expertise to build the basic infrastructure for the grid. the computer company  working with united devices  previously developed the smallpox research grid  which linked together more than two million volunteers from 226 countries to speed the analysis of some 35 million drug molecules in the search for a treatment for smallpox.
640,asia shares defy post-quake gloom thailand has become the first of the 10 southern asian nations battered by giant waves at the weekend to cut its economic forecast.  thailand s economy is now expected to grow by 5.7% in 2005  rather than 6% as forecast before tsunamis hit six tourist provinces. the full economic costs of the disaster remain unclear. in part  this is because of its scale  and because delivering aid and recovering the dead remain priorities. but indonesian  indian and hong kong stock markets reached record highs on wednesday  suggesting that investors do not fear a major economic impact.  the highs showed the gap in outlook between investors in large firms and individuals who have lost their livelihoods.  investors seemed to feel that some of the worst-affected areas - such as aceh in indonesia - were so under-developed that the tragedy would little impact on asia s listed companies  according to analysts.  obviously with a lot of loss of life  a lot of time is needed to clean up the mess  bury the people and find the missing. but it s not necessarily a really big thing in the economic sense   said abn amro chief asian strategist eddie wong. india s bombay stock exchange inched slightly above its previous record close on wednesday. expectations of strong corporate earnings in 2005 drove the indonesian stock exchange in jakarta to a record high on wednesday. in hong kong  the hang seng index may be benefiting in part from the potential for its listed property companies to gain from rebuilding contracts in the tsunami-affected regions of south east asia. in sri lanka  some economists have said that as much as 1% of annual growth may be lost. sri lanka s stock market has fallen about 5% since the weekend  but it is still 40% higher than at the start of 2004.  thailand may lose 30bn baht (£398m; $768m) in earnings from tourism over the next three months  according to tourism minister sontaya kunplome.  in the affected provinces  he expects the loss of tourism revenue to be offset by government reconstruction spending. thailand intends to spend a similar sum - around 30bn baht - on the rebuilding work.  it will take until the fourth quarter of next year before tourist visitors in phuket and five other provinces return to their normal level   said naris chaiyasoot  director general at the ministry s fiscal policy office. in the maldives the cost of reconstruction could wipe out economic growth  according to a government spokesman.  our nation is in peril here   said ahmed shaheed  the chief government spokesman. he estimated the economic cost of the disaster at hundreds of millions of dollars. the maldives has gross domestic product of $660m.  it won t be surprising if the cost exceeds our gdp   he said.  in the last few years  we made great progress in our standard of living - the united nations recognised this. now we see this can disappear in a few days  a few minutes.  shaheed noted that investment in a single tourist resort - the economic mainstay - could run to $40m. between 10 and 12 of the 80-odd resorts have been severely damaged  and a similar number have suffered significant damage. however  many experts  including the world bank  have pointed out that it is still difficult to assess the magnitude of the disaster and its likely economic impact.
691,mp attacked by muggers in kenya an mp has had more than £600 and his passport stolen after being mugged by six men in a park in kenya.  quentin davies  the mp for grantham and stamford  was attacked in a notoriously dangerous park in the capital  nairobi. he was not hurt in the mugging on saturday evening. several people are being questioned over the attack. he was in kenya before travelling to sudan with the parliamentary committee. local police were said to be  surprised  he was in the area. mr davies  60  said the mugging occurred 100 yards from the nairobi serena hotel and equally close to the anglican cathedral in the centre of the city at dusk.  he said in a statement:  it was a frightening experience.  six men managed to steal up on me and grab me from behind.  i knew i had to stay very calm and passive - you cannot fight six men . he had to spend an extra 24 hours in nairobi before rejoining the rest of the house of commons international development committee in dafur after the mugging.  naturally  i was afraid they would use a knife or gun  though they never produced any weapon   he said.  two of them held me from behind and two others held my legs and another one expertly rifled all my pockets.
1531,ford gains from finance not cars ford  the us car company  reported higher fourth quarter and full-year profits on thursday boosted by a buoyant period for its car loans unit.  net income for 2004 was $3.5bn (£1.87bn) - up nearly $3bn from 2003 - while turnover rose $7.2bn to $170.8bn. in the fourth quarter alone ford reported net income of $104m  compared with a loss of $793m a year ago. but its auto unit made a loss. fourth quarter turnover was $44.7bn  compared to $45.9bn a year ago.  though car and truck loan profits saved the day  ford s auto unit made a pre-tax loss of $470m in the fourth quarter (compared to a profit of £13m in the year-ago period) and its us sales dipped 3.8%.  yesterday general motor s results also showed its finance unit was a strong contributor to profits. however  ford is working hard to revitalise its product portfolio  unveiling the fusion and zephyr models at the international motor show in detroit. it also brought out a number of new models in the second half of 2004.  in 2004  our company gained momentum  delivering...more new products  and more innovative breakthroughs  such as the escape hybrid  the industry s first full-hybrid sport utility vehicle   said chairman and chief executive officer bill ford.    we also confronted operating challenges with our jaguar brand and high industry marketing costs   he added. but ford declined to provide guidance for first quarter 2005. it will do so at a presentation in new york on 26 january. in addition  the company said 2004 net income was affected by a fourth-quarter pre-tax charge taken to reduce the value of a receivable owed to ford by visteon  a former subsidiary. recent new models introduced by ford include the ford five hundred and mercury montego sedans  the ford freestyle crossover  the ford mustang  the land rover lr3/discovery  and volvo s40 and v50 in north america and europe. total company vehicle unit sales in 2004 were 6 798 000  an increase of 62 000 units from 2003. fourth-quarter vehicle unit sales totalled 1 751 000  a decline of 133 000 units. for the full year  ford s worldwide automotive division earned a pre-tax profit of $850m  a $697m improvement from $153m a year ago.
1389,jungle tv show ratings drop by 4m the finale of itv1 s i m a celebrity... get me out of here drew an average of 10.9m viewers - about four million fewer than the previous series.  the fourth series of the show peaked on monday at 11.9m and 49.2% of the audience  just before joe pasquale won. this compared with a peak of 15.3m at and a record 62.2% of the tv audience when kerry mcfadden won in february. comic pasquale beat former royal butler paul burrell who came second  nightclub owner fran cosgrave  who was third. pasquale follows kerry mcfadden  phil tufnell and tony blackburn as winners of the show.  singer and tv presenter mcfadden was the show s first female winner. when cricketer phil tufnell won in may 2003  12.3 million people - 50% of the viewing public - tuned in to watch. and when tony blackburn won the first show in 2002  10.9 million people saw the show. pasquale had been the show s hottest ever favourite to win  and its hosts anthony mcpartlin and declan donnelly  known as ant and dec  said monday s deciding vote was the closest in the programme s history.  pascuale has been flooded with offers of tv work  according to his management company  but one of his first jobs on his return is pantomime.  before joining i m a celebrity  he had signed up to play jack in jack and the beanstalk in birmingham  and tickets for the show have become increasingly popular since he joined the tv show. his manager robert voice said:  we ve had interest from different tv producers. some are for comedy shows  some are new-type projects.  there are a number of things joe wants to do. he is very ambitious.  he wants to play the west end and do different things other than straightforward comedy. we are talking to a couple of west end producers about a musical.
1545,jobs go at oracle after takeover oracle has announced it is cutting about 5 000 jobs following the completion of its $10.3bn takeover of its smaller rival peoplesoft last week.  the company said it would retain more than 90% of peoplesoft product development and product support staff. the cuts will affect about 9% of the 55 000 staff of the combined companies. oracle s 18-month fight to acquire peoplesoft was one of the most drawn-out and hard-fought us takeover battles of recent times. the merged companies are set to be a major force in the enterprise software market  second only in size to germany s sap.  in a statement  oracle said it began notifying staff of redundancies on friday and the process would continue over the next 10 days.  by retaining the vast majority of peoplesoft technical staff  oracle will have the resources to deliver on the development and support commitments we have made to peoplesoft customers over the last 18 months   oracle s chief executive larry ellison said in a statement.  correspondents say 6 000 job losses had been expected - and some suggest more cuts may be announced in future. they say mr ellison may be trying to placate peoplesoft customers riled by oracle s determined takeover strategy. hours before friday s announcement  there was a funereal air at peoplesoft s headquarters  reported ap news agency. a peoplesoft sign had been turned into shrine to the company  with flowers  candles and company memorabilia.  we re mourning the passing of a great company   the agency quoted peoplesoft worker david ogden as saying. other employees said they would rather be sacked than work for oracle.  the new company is going to be totally different   said anil aggarwal  peoplesoft s director of database markets.  peoplesoft had an easygoing  relaxed atmosphere. oracle has an edgy  aggressive atmosphere that s not conducive to innovative production.  on the news  oracle shares rose 15 cents - 1.1% - on nasdaq. in after-hours trading the shares did not move.
462,poppins musical gets flying start the stage adaptation of children s film mary poppins has had its opening night in london s west end.  sir cameron mackintosh s lavish production  which has cost £9m to bring to the stage  was given a 10-minute standing ovation. lead actress laura michelle kelly soared over the heads of the audience holding the nanny s trademark umbrella. technical hitches had prevented mary poppins  flight into the auditorium during preview performances. a number of celebrities turned out for the musical s premiere  including actress barbara windsor  comic graham norton and sir richard attenborough.  the show s director richard eyre issued a warning earlier in the week that the show was unsuitable for children under seven  while under-threes are barred. mary poppins was originally created by author pamela travers  who is said to have cried when she saw disney s 1964 film starring julie andrews. travers had intended the story to be a lot darker than the perennial family favourite. theatre impresario sir cameron mackintosh has said he hopes the musical is a blend of the sweet-natured film and the original book.
2101,us casino  tricks  face ban in uk controversial new uk casinos will be banned from using american tricks of the trade to ensure they are  socially responsible   it has been suggested.  culture secretary tessa jowell said proposed super-casinos will be different from their us counterparts. in america  pheromones have reportedly been released from machines to encourage aggressive gambling and clocks are often removed from walls. eight super-casinos are proposed from 2010 if the gambling bill becomes law. ms jowell said the legislation would ban psychological trickery.  she told the times:  british casinos will be quite different to those overseas.   they will have to act in a socially responsible way and will be tightly regulated.  they will be run according to british rules and we ll simply not allow any tricks which people are subjected to unawares and which increase the risk of problem gambling.  one tactic used in the us is simulating daylight during night-time to lull players into remaining at the tables and slot machines. casinos also frequently offer free food  drink and hotel accommodation to keep punters betting. a spokesman for the british casino association  which represents the uk industry  said the government was trying to allay fears over a  uk las vegas . he said the way the licences were being awarded meant uk firms were at a massive disadvantage and foreign companies would be certain to win the contracts.  the uk industry is one of the world s most respected   he said.  we have the lowest level of problem gambling in the world.  we certainly don t use pheremones.  the uk gambling industry is being totally frozen in time  and the foreign companies will take over.
1907,brits return keane to number one brits success has helped return keane s award-winning album hopes and fears back to the top of the uk album chart.  the debut album  which took the best british album title at the brits on tuesday  moved up seven places from number eight to number one. also capitalising on brits success were the scissor sisters whose eponymous album moved three places to number two. u2 s latest single sometimes you can t make it on your own took the top spot in the singles chart  ahead of elvis. the track  from their current album how to dismantle an atomic bomb  pushed eminem s like toy soldiers from number one to number three.  elvis  wooden heart  which entered the chart at number two  is the sixth in a series of 18 reissues to mark the 70th anniversary of presley s birth. there are currently six re-released elvis  tracks occupying spots in the top 40 singles chart including are you lonesome tonight at number 20  it s now or never at number 27 and jailhouse rock at number 37. soldier  by destiny s child  ti and lil wayne  debuted at number four  while almost here  the duet from former westlife star brian mcfadden and delta goodrem  fell from number three to number five. there was more follow up to brits success for franz ferdinand won best rock act and best british group last week. their self-titled album moved from 13 to number four. last week s number one album tourist  by athlete  fell to number three.
1373,costin aims for comeback in 2006 jamie costin should be paralysed.  he says so himself in a matter-of-fact way as he recalls the car accident which occurred nine days before he was scheduled to step out into the olympic stadium in athens for the 50k walk. there is an ironic chuckle as he talks of his immediate thoughts after a lorry  driving on the wrong side of the road  had ploughed into his rental car.  i was in a lot of pain and i guessed that one of my toes was broken   says the waterford man.  but i was thinking maybe with a cortisone injection you never know.  in my back  it felt as though all the muscles had been ripped off my pelvis but i was thinking maybe we could do something with laser therapy and ultra sound and hopefully i d be able to race.  it took over 10 hours before jamie knew with certainty that he would not be competing in his second olympics.  my back had been broken in two places and with one of my vertebrae  the bottom part had exploded so i m fierce lucky not be paralysed.  i d fractured my big toe as well which was on the brake.  jamie didn t finally arrive at hospital in athens until some nine and a half hours after the accident.   for the first nine hours  i had no pain killers which was ridiculous in 35 degrees heat.  but once i got the scans and saw them it was a case of moving on and thinking: ok  i ve got a different set of circumstances now .  within three days he was arriving back in ireland by air ambulance. doctors in athens had wanted to operate on jamie s back immediately but he insisted on delaying any surgery until he arrived back home - something he is now very relieved about.  the greek doctors were going to put three or four inch titanium rods either side of my spinal cord up through my vertebrae.  that would have fused all my lower back and i would never have been able to race again. they were really putting a lot of pressure on me to agree to the surgery.  but when i got to the mater in dublin they said it was possible for it to heal totally naturally which is giving me the chance to get back into competition which is very important to me. the people at the mater have been absolutely fantastic.  jamie had to wear a body cast for three and a half months after the accident and spent most of that time flat on his back.  he then progressed to crutches for six weeks until he was finally able to walk unaided on 10 january.  walking without the crutches seemed like something finally really measurable in terms of my recovery.  physio sessions with johnston mcevoy in limerick have been a vital part of his recovery.  johnston uses an advanced type of acupuncture and it s very effective.  needles get put right close up to my spine. a two and a half inch needle went in yesterday and i m fairly incapacitated today as a result.  jamie has also travelled to receive treatment at the polish training centre in spala where he has trained with triple olympic champion robert korzeniowski over the past five years.  i was there for over a fortnight earlier this month and underwent a fair extreme treatment called cryotherapy.  basically  there s a small room which is cooled by liquid nitrogen to minus 160 degrees centigrade and it promotes deep healing.   jamie heads to poland again on sunday where he will be having daily cryotherapy in addition to twice-daily physio sessions and pool-work. all these sessions are small steps on the way to what jamie hopes will be a return to racing in 2006.  it s all about trying to get mobility in my back. lying down for three and a half months didn t really help with the strength.  there s a lot of work involved in my recovery. i m doing about six hours a day between physio and pool work.  i m also going to the gym to lift very light weights to try and build up my muscles. i m fairly full on with everything i do.  i d hope to be training regularly by march. but training is just part of the process of getting back.  at the moment  every time i go and do a big bit of movement  my whole pelvic area all down my lower back just tightens up.  it s a case of waiting and seeing how it reacts. hopefully  after four or five months my back won t tighten up as much.
1787,algeria hit by further gas riots algeria suffered a weekend of violent protests against government plans to raise gas prices  local press reports.  demonstrators in a number of regions blocked roads  attacked public buildings and overturned vehicles  newspapers including el watan reported. the price of butane gas  a vital fuel for cooking  has risen to 200 dinars ($2.77) per canister from 170 dinars. even before the hike  failing economic conditions had been fanning resentment in some of algeria s poorest regions.  demonstrators took to the streets last week when the cost change was first announced  but police seemed to have restored order. according to local press reports  trouble flared up again on saturday and carried on into sunday. el watan said that a number of hot spots centred on the villages and towns close to bouira  about 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of the capital algiers. among the other main areas affected were the western tiaret region and sidi ammar in the east of the country  agence france presse (afp) reported. riots also flared up in the maghnia region close to the border with morocco in the west  afp said. butane gas and fuel oil are used as the main source of fuel to heat homes and cook food in algeria s remote mountain areas.
2202,ban on forced retirement under 65 employers will no longer be able to force workers to retire before 65  unless they can justify it.  the government has announced that firms will be barred from 2006 from imposing arbitrary retirement ages. under new european age discrimination rules  a default retirement age of 65 will be introduced. workers will be permitted to request staying on beyond this compulsory retirement age  although employers will have the right to refuse. trade and industry secretary patricia hewitt said people would not be forced to work longer than they wanted  saying the default age was not a statutory  compulsory retirement age. she said employers would be free to continue employing people for as long as they were competent.  under age discrimination proposals from the department of trade and industry last year workers were to be allowed to work on till 70 if they wished.  business leaders had opposed the plan as they said it would be too costly and cumbersome. the british chambers of commerce welcomed the latest proposal.  this move today is the best of both worlds   it said.  employers have the ability to define the end point of the employer-employee relationship and employees have flexibility with a right to request to work past the age of 65.  but age concern said imposing a retirement age of 65 was  cowardly  and a  complete u-turn .  this makes a mockery of the government s so-called commitment to outlawing ageism  leaving the incoming age discrimination law to unravel   said gordon lishman  director general of age concern england .  it is now inevitable that older people will mount legal challenges to the decision using european law.  the decision will have no impact on the age at which workers can collect their state pension  the government has said.
961,fed warns of more us rate rises the us looks set for a continued boost to interest rates in 2005  according to the federal reserve.  minutes of the december meeting which pushed rates up to 2.25% showed that policy-makers at the fed are worried about accelerating inflation. the clear signal pushed the dollar up to $1.3270 to the euro by 0400 gmt on wednesday  but depressed us shares.  the markets are starting to fear a more aggressive fed in 2005   said richard yamarone of argus research. the dow jones index dropped almost 100 points on tuesday  with the nasdaq also falling as key tech stocks were hit by broker downgrades. the dollar also gained ground against sterling on tuesday  reaching $1.8832 to the pound before slipping slightly on wednesday morning.  the release of the minutes just three weeks after the 14 december meeting was much faster than usual  indicating the fed wants to keep markets more apprised of its thinking. this  too  is being taken in some quarters as a sign of aggressive moves on interest rates to come. the key fed funds rate has risen 1.25 percentage points during 2004 from the 46-year low of 1% reached not long after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. that long trough  might be contributing to signs of potentially excessive risk-taking in financial markets   said the federal open markets committee (fomc)  which sets interest rates. the odds now favour a further boost to rates at the next meeting in early february  economists said. but the respite for the dollar  which spent late 2003 being pushed lower against other major currencies by worries about massive us trade and budget deficits  may be short-lived.  you can t rule out a further correction... but we don t think it s a change in direction in the dollar   said jason daw at merrill lynch.  nothing fundamental has changed.
680,davenport puts retirement on hold lindsay davenport has put any talk of retirement on hold after having a largely injury-free 2004 campaign.  the 28-year-old world number one had said that she would quit at the end of last year  but after a successful season she has had a change of heart.  finally i felt i put myself in a position to try and win grand slams again   said davenport.  it would be tough to walk away when i feel like i can contend so there s no point in hanging it up quite yet.  davenport has won three grand slams  the 2000 australian open  wimbledon in 1999 and the 1998 us open. her career has been hit by a series of injuries but last year she started hitting top form and won seven titles. she was due to take part in this week s hopman cup in perth but decided she wanted to rest her knee.  i just really wanted to make sure my right knee was going to be able to really withstand all the rigours of the whole year coming up   she said.
1059,howl helps boost japan s cinemas japan s box office received a 3.8% boost last year  with ticket sales worth 211bn yen (£1.08bn).  the surge was led by animated movie howl s moving castle  which took 20bn yen (£102m) to become the biggest film in japan in 2004. it is expected to match the 30.7bn yen (£157m) record of hayao miyazaki s previous film spirited away. japan motion picture producers figures showed that 170 million cinema admissions were made in japan in 2004. the last samurai  starring tom cruise  was the biggest foreign movie hit in japan last year  taking 13.8bn yen (£70.7m).  it was followed by harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban  finding nemo and the lord of the rings: the return of the king. the second highest-grossing japanese film was romantic drama crying out love in the centre of the world  followed by be with you and pocket monsters advanced generation. japanese films accounted for 37.5% of japan s box office total last year  with foreign films taking the remaining 62.5%. this represented a 4.5% gain for the proportion of japanese films in 2004 compared to 2003. the number of japanese films released rose to 310 in 2004 from 287 the previous year. sales of movies on dvd and video amounted to 497bn yen (£2.54bn) for the year.
626,nigeria to boost cocoa production the government of nigeria is hoping to triple cocoa production over the next three years with the launch of an ambitious development programme.  agriculture minister adamu bello said the scheme aimed to boost production from an expected 180 000 tonnes this year to 600 000 tonnes by 2008. the government will pump 154m naira ($1.1m; £591 000) into subsidies for farming chemicals and seedlings. nigeria is currently the world s fourth-largest cocoa producer.  cocoa was the main export product in nigeria during the 1960s. but with the coming of oil  the government began to pay less attention to the cocoa sector and production began to fall from a peak of about 400 000 tonnes a year in 1970. at the launch of the programme in the south-western city of ibadan  mr bello explained that an additional aim of the project is to encourage the processing of cocoa in the country and lift local consumption. he also announced that 91m naira of the funding available had been earmarked for establishing cocoa plant nurseries. the country could be looking to emulate rival ghana  which produced a bumper crop last year. however  some farmers are sceptical about the proposals.  people who are not farming will hijack the subsidy   said joshua osagie  a cocoa farmer from edo state told reuters.  the farmers in the village never see any assistance   he added.  at the same time as nigeria announced its new initiative  ghana - the world s second largest cocoa exporter - announced revenues from the industry had broken new records. the country saw more than $1.2bn-worth of the beans exported during 2003-04. analysts said high tech-production techniques and crop spraying introduced by the government led to the huge crop  pushing production closer to levels seen in the 1960s when the country was the world s leading cocoa grower.
1961,usher leads billboard nominations r&b singer usher is leading the race for the billboard awards with nominations in 13 categories  including best male.  alicia keys has 12 nominations for the awards  which will be held on 8 december at the mgm grand in las vegas. other multiple nominees include maroon5  outkast  kanye west  r kelly  gretchen wilson  hoobastank and jay-z. soul singer stevie wonder will receive billboard s century award  the magazine s highest honour for creative achievement  at the ceremony.  the awards will be hosted by american idol presenter ryan seacrest  and will feature performances by usher  gwen stefani  nelly and green day. usher and keys will be battling it out for prizes including artist of the year  hot 100 songwriter of the year and billboard 200 album of the year for their respective albums confessions and the diary of alicia keys. maroon5 and outkast are also up for artist of the year  while outkast s speakerboxxx/the love below is a finalist for billboard 200 album of the year  alongside josh groban s closer. the awards honour the year s leading artists and songs as determined by their performance on billboard s weekly charts.
1048,uk directors guild nominees named martin scorsese and clint eastwood are among the nominees for the top prize at the directors guild of great britain awards  now in their second year.  the oscar rivals will compete for the international film prize at the ceremony  to be held at the curzon mayfair cinema in london on 20 march. other nominees include bill condon for kinsey and michel gondry for eternal sunshine of the spotless mind. mike leigh s vera drake is among the nominees for best british film. the awards will see eastwood and scorsese once again competing for the directing prize  following last weekend s oscars. clint eastwood won best director for million dollar baby  beating scorsese who was nominated for a fifth time for the howard hughes biopic the aviator. mike leigh will compete for the british film prize with shane meadows for dead man s shoes  roger michell for enduring love and my summer of love director pawel pawlikowski.  nominees for best foreign film include spain s pedro almodovar for bad education and hong kong director wong kar-wai for 2046. in the tv categories  comedy series early doors and the alan clark diaries will compete for the best directing award for a 30-minute television show  while the directors of shameless  hustle and bodies are all nominated for the 60-minute television prize. the directors of omagh and sex traffic are among the nominees for a television movie or mini-series. american beauty s sam mendes will receive a lifetime achievement award for his work in film and theatre  while theatre director simon mcburney will be given an award for outstanding directorial achievement.
336,white admits to balco drugs link banned american sprinter kelli white says she knowingly took steroids given to her by bay area lab co-operative (balco) president victor conte.  conte faces a federal trial next year on charges of distributing steroids and tax evasion  and white said at first he tried to cover up what he was doing.  he s the one who told me that it wasn t what he said it was   white said in the san francisco chronicle. but she added:  it was my decision to go to him  not anybody else s.  white said conte at first told her the substance was flaxseed oil  only to change his story later. white failed a drugs test after winning the 100m and 200m titles at the 2003 world athletics championships. she was subsequently handed a two-year ban in may this year and has admitted taking the stimulant modafinil. at first  white claimed she took the drug to combat narcolepsy but she now takes full responsibility for her actions.   my whole belief about victor is that he was selling a product   white said in the la times.  whether it be a good product or a bad product  he was selling a product.  white was introduced to conte through her coach remy korchemy  who is also a defendant in the balco case. the 27-year-old believes doping is so common in sport she felt compelled to cheat herself if she was to have any chance of winning.  i have no clue what it s going to take to change that   said white.  i would say i made a mistake and i would never  ever go back.  i would never recommend anyone to take that route.
719,apple attacked over sources row civil liberties group the electronic frontier foundation (eff) has joined a legal fight between three us online journalists and apple.  apple wants the reporters to reveal 20 sources used for stories which leaked information about forthcoming products  including the mac mini. the eff  representing the reporters  has asked california s superior court to stop apple pursuing the sources. it argues that the journalists are protected by the american constitution. the eff says the case threatens the basic freedoms of the press.  apple is particularly keen to find the source for information about an unreleased product code-named asteroid and has asked the journalists  e-mail providers to hand over communications relevant to that.  rather than confronting the issue of reporter s privilege head-on  apple is going to the journalist s isps for his e-mails   said eff lawyer kurt opsahl.  this undermines a fundamental first amendment right that protects all reporters.  if the court lets apple get away with this  and exposes the confidences gained by these reporters  potential confidential sources will be deterred from providing information to the media and the public will lose a vital outlet for independent news  analysis and commentary   he said. the case began in december 2004 when apple asked a local californian court to get the journalists to reveal their sources for articles published on websites appleinsider.com and powerpage.org.  apple also sent requested information from the nfox.com  the internet service provider of powerpage s publisher jason o-grady. as well as looking at how far corporations can go in preventing information from being published  the case will also examine whether online journalists have the same privileges and protections as those writing for newspapers and magazines. the eff has gained some powerful allies in its legal battle with apple  including professor tom goldstein  former dean of the journalism school at the university of california and dan gillmor  a well-known silicon valley journalist. apple was not immediately available for comment.
1563,manics in charge of bbc 6 music the manic street preachers are to take over the helm of bbc digital radio station 6 music for a week in december.  the welsh band  whose hits include design for life and if you tolerate this  have already chosen which records to play between 6 and 12 december. their albums of the day include who s next by the who and u2 s joshua tree. the group will also perform their own live session. they follow in the footsteps of radiohead  who took over the station for a week last year.  bass player nicky wire will join phil jupitus on his morning show on monday 6 december  while vocalist and guitarist james dean bradfield will appear on andrew collins  afternoon show on thursday 9. the group have also chosen documentaries to air  such as the leonard cohen story and guitar greats - jimmy page. the live concert session tracks they have picked include the specials  rat race recorded at hammersmith odeon in london and public enemy s fight the power and rebel without a pause. the band will also answer questions e-mailed in by 6 music listeners.
963,german music in a  zombie  state the german music business - the third largest in the world - is  in the state of a zombie  because it has failed to respond to the challenge posed by downloading and piracy  a leading industry figure has said.  tim renner  the head of universal music germany until last year  told bbc world service s the music biz programme that the country s music industry was now struggling to survive. renner warned that unless the industry accepted  new realties  - such as downloading - its decline could become irreversible.  the problem the music industry has got is that they aren t willing to accept that the classic way of doing business is over and out   he stated.  so the music industry in its current form over here is pretty much in the state of a zombie.   the music market in germany peaked in 1997  with sales of 2.6bn euros (£1.8bn). since 2000  sales have plummeted to just 1.6bn euros (£1.1bn) in 2003. in the space of one year - between 2002 and 2003 - cd album sales fell by 13.8%. but a study by the society for consumer research found that at the same time  more than twice as many recordable cds had music recorded on them than cd albums were sold. mr renner pointed out that  because profit comes mainly from the longevity of a good-selling record  this was particularly damaging.   you need time   he added. however  peter zombic  the managing director of the international federation of phonographic industry in germany  said he did not feel the situation was as  dramatic  as mr renner believed.  it s quite true that we have severe problems in germany - but that s true in other parts of the world and in most developed markets too   he argued.  we have a severe problem with piracy  especially internet piracy  and we also have a severe problem of private copying.  i don t agree that the music industry lost control over the music market - in fact  especially in regard to germany talent  the market is quite successful.  he did  however  admit that copyright owners have  partly lost control of their copyright   due to piracy and copying.  but he refuted suggestions that the industry had been too slow to respond to digital downloading.  we were the first to implement a download service - back in 1997   he argued.  at that time it was not successful  because of the advent of piracy - it was the napster time  when p2p services became popular.  it still is quite difficult for the music industry to compete with a price that is zero as far as the illegal product is concerned.  mr zombic also called for a change to the perception in germany that private copying of music is not a problem. german law does allow people to make copies of cds for their family and close friends  without fear of breaking copyright. mr zombic said that this legal framework was a  huge problem .  there is a widespread attitude that private copying is a hobby  it s nice  it s fun   he added.  we try to make clear it s not nice and it s not fun - it s endangering the creativity in our country.
179,yukos owner sues russia for $28bn the majority owner of embattled russian oil firm yukos has sued the russian government for $28.3bn (£15.2bn).  the kremlin last year seized and sold yukos  main production arm  yugansk  to state-run oil group rosneft for $9.3bn to offset a massive back tax bill. group menatep  the gibraltar-based holding company which controls 51% of yukos  says this was illegal. menatep has already asked rosneft to repay a $900m loan that yugansk had secured on its assets.  the russian government s argument for selling yuganskneftegaz - the unit s full name - was that yukos owed more than $27bn in back taxes for the years from 2000 onwards. it accused the firm of using a web of offshore firms to avoid its tax liabilities  and the courts sent in bailiffs to freeze yukos accounts and seize yugansk.  but critics say the sell-off  and the assault on yukos  finances  are part of an attempt to bring the energy industry back under state control. according to menatep  the government s actions were contrary to the 1994 energy charter treaty  which was designed to regulate disagreements over energy investments.  we have warned the russian government about their continuing attacks against yukos  its personnel and its shareholders and we have warned any buyer of yuganskneftegaz that they would face a lifetime of litigation   said tim osborne  a director of group menatep.  the time for warning is over and actions to recover the value of our losses begin in earnest today.   menatep said the value of its yukos shareholding had gone from $17.8bn to  virtually nothing  since 2003 as a result of the russian government s action  as its shares have fallen 97%. according to its paris lawyer  emmanuel gaillard of shearman and sterling  the overall claim is based on that figure  with a 60% addition for the share gains that could have accrued since then. arbitration of the lawsuit could take place in stockholm or the hague  mr gaillard said. while russia has signed the charter  it has never ratified it - which some experts say could make it difficult for menatep to press its case. but mr gaillard told bbc news that the charter came into effect on signature  not ratification.  russia has said in the past that it is bound by it  so as to attract foreign investors   he said.  yukos is still waiting to see what will happen to its filing in a us court for bankruptcy protection. it took the action to try to prevent the forced sale of yugansk - first to a little-known shell company  which in turn was bought by rosneft. yukos claims its downfall was punishment for the political ambitions of its founder mikhail khodorkovsky. mr khodorkovsky  currently facing fraud and tax evasion charges of his own  was one of the founders of menatep. he has since signed over his shareholding to one of his fellow investors.
1438,police chief backs drinking move a chief constable has backed the introduction of 24-drinking  saying police had a responsibility to ensure people could benefit from a law change.  however  norfolk police chief andy hayman also warned that a great deal of preparatory work was still needed.  i don t subscribe to the views of some of my colleagues who are coming out and objecting to it   he said. his comments come after the liberal democrats backed tory demands that the government s plans be put on hold. andy hayman said he did not agree with politicians and senior police officers who have objected to the plans  which come into force on 7 february.  i feel that is a premature position to be taking   he said. among those who have criticised the plans are the uk s top policeman sir john stevens.  the metropolitan police chief said last week that the plans for 24-hour drinking should be re-examined because of a binge drinking  epidemic . however  mr hayman said:  it would be totally unacceptable in my view for a chief constable to say   i m very sorry . he said that police should make sure that responsible people who wanted a change could benefit from more liberal legislation.  my view is that i have got a responsibility to create an environment where that can happen    he said. however  he believes a lot of preparatory work is still needed to be done by police  local authorities and the drinks industry before the nation was ready for 24-hour drinking. but he is confident problems in the early days can be  ironed out . he believed the majority of people favoured this law change and  we have to accept that lifestyles are changing . but aspects such as transport  and basic things such as making sure public toilets are open all night had to be taken into account.  prime minister tony blair has defended the licensing act  saying it is wrong to deny people the relaxed hours enjoyed elsewhere in europe because of a  tiny minority  of violent binge drinkers. a six-month transitional period starts on 7 february during which time venues can apply for extended licences. the conservatives have called for 24-hour drinking to be shelved until the problems of binge drinking are solved. on monday  the lib dems also called for a delay. lib dem home affairs spokesman mark oaten said:  it would clearly be prudent to allow the police and local authorities more time to prepare for flexible drinking hours.  chief constable mr hayman acknowledged that binge drinking did cause problems.  if you come to norwich on a friday or saturday night you will see things going on that will you make you feel ashamed.  however  i want industry to succeed in norwich and i want norwich to be the recognised nightspot of east anglia.  there is no way i want to say we cannot manage it or police it. we can.
1189,belle named  best scottish band  belle & sebastian have been named the best scottish band of all time after a three month-long public poll.  the group beat travis and idlewild into second and third place respectively. franz ferdinand  who recently picked up five brit award nominations  ended up in 15th place  while the eurythmics wound up at a lowly 38. other scottish acts  such as the mull historical society who also featured in the top 50  performed at a party in glasgow where the result was announced. scottish-based band snow patrol  who finished 14th in the vote and have been nominated for a pair of brit awards  were among the performers who covered well-known scottish pop songs at the party on wednesday night.  indie stalwarts belle & sebastian have enjoyed a chart career stretching back to 1997. they were the surprise winners of the brit award for best breakthrough act two years later. scottish bands from earlier musical eras also made it into the final list  including 1970s tartan boy band the bay city rollers and goth favourites the jesus and mary chain.  scottish magazine the list recently compiled a list of the top 50 scottish bands of all time  but left the final decision to the public. the magazine s music editor mark robertson said:  the idea behind the project was simple - to rediscover the very best of scottish music  from the finest musical talent spanning from the age of 70s rock through to 80s pop  right up to today s international stars.   everyone has strong opinions about this and we wanted to open it up to the public to decide   he added. bbc radio scotland presenter vic galloway  who has been involved in the project  said it had been  great fun  to look back at scotland s musical heritage and take note of up-and-coming scottish acts.
2126,analysis: no pain  no gain  he called it his  masochism strategy  in the run-up to the iraq war and now tony blair has signed up for another dose of pain.  the idea is simple - the prime minister goes head to head with an often hostile group of  real  voters in the full spotlight of the television cameras. the theory is that talking to the great british public  even if they are the  great unwashed   is better than having the media filter what voters hear from politicians. it is also the most effective way of showing that he is aware of real people s concerns and - on occasions - of their outright fury. mr blair used the tactic before the iraq war to try to show he really was engaging with public concerns and you can expect to see it much more in the run-up to the election.  labour knows it has been damaged by accusations of spin   control freakery  and over-slick presentation - sometimes from within the ranks of its own mps. tony blair himself has said people complain he does not listen. mr blair s latest bout of flagellation came with a series of questions sessions on five television throughout wednesday.  the trouble began on the wright stuff show  with maria hutchings marching up to him  saying  tony  that s rubbish  as she tried to complain about her autistic son s school being threatened with closure. a few  don t worries  as mrs hutchings was led back to the audience averted a public slanging match - he spoke to her privately after the show. but that was only the start and later sessions produced the type of grilling not even the toughest television interviewer could produce.  writer neil coppendale  from west sussex  asked of the iraq war:  tens of thousands of innocent men  women and children died - how do you manage to sleep at night   on immigration  london teacher diane granger said:  where are you going to put everyone   and can you imagine even jeremy paxman putting the question posed by brighton nurse marion brown:  would you wipe somebody s backside for £5    mr blair tried to use the questioners  first names - and sometimes threw them off their stride by asking what they would do about the problems. many of the newspapers have branded the exercise a pr stunt which backfired. indeed there is a danger mr blair simply ends up looking  embattled . conservative michael howard and liberal democrat charles kennedy are to be offered chances to appear in similar slots on the channel next month. labour strategists believe more of the sessions will mean the hecklers no longer become a story and the real issues take prominence.  james humphreys  ex-head of corporate communications at number 10  says the strategy shows frustration with the media.  they feel they don t get their voice across and going direct to people is clearly their game on this occasion   he says. there are risks but the prize is tackling the trend of lower turnouts at the polls  he argues. the prime minister knows full well the potential hazards .  he must remember with gritted teeth his confrontation with sharron storer  the birmingham woman who harangued him over the state of her local hospital in the 2001 election campaign.  all you do is walk around and make yourself known  you don t do anything to help anybody   she told mr blair before stomping off  refusing his pleas to discuss the issue privately. former downing street media chief alastair campbell has described the episode as a  bit of a disaster  as it meant the launch of labour s election manifesto received little coverage. but it was seen as one of the few moments when that election campaign came alive  not least because it coincided with john prescott s even more direct contact - when he punched an egg-throwing protester.  former prime ministers too have come to grief at the hands of a persistent member of the public. the undoubted highlight of years of election phone-in shows was margaret thatcher discomfort on nationwide in 1983  when viewer diana gould put her on the spot about the sinking of the belgrano in the falklands war. john major reaped the benefits of street campaigning during the 1992 election campaign with his famous soapbox.  it may have left him splattered with eggs and engine oil at times but he felt it added  fizz  to his campaign. in his memoirs  he also argues the strategy contrasted with neil kinnock s  contrived photo opportunities  and attempts at an artful campaign.  he wanted to look like a prime minister. i  was  prime minister and i wanted a flesh and blood fight   says mr major. mr blair told prospective labour mps on thursday that taking part in phone-ins and public meetings could  enthuse and engage and give the public a sense of empowerment . but he also wants to counter complaints that he has spent too much time on international affairs and foreign trips. mr blair recalls how bill clinton once advised him:  always remember that what people see of you in the news in the evening is how they think you spend your day.  his hope must be that voters watching him on the rack will bear out for labour the old maxim:  no pain  no gain.
895,brown ally rejects budget spree chancellor gordon brown s closest ally has denied suggestions there will be a budget giveaway on 16 march.  ed balls  ex-chief economic adviser to the treasury  said there would be no spending spree before polling day. but mr balls  a prospective labour mp  said he was confident the chancellor would meet his fiscal rules. he was speaking as sir digby jones  cbi director general  warned mr brown not to be tempted to use any extra cash on pre-election bribes.  mr balls  who stepped down from his treasury post to stand as a labour candidate in the election  had suggested that mr brown would meet his golden economic rule -  with a margin to spare . he said he hoped more would be done to build on current tax credit rules.  he also stressed rise in interest rates ahead of an expected may election would not affect the labour party s chances of winning. expectations of a rate rise have gathered pace after figures showed house prices are still rising. consumer borrowing rose at a near-record pace in january.  if the mpc (the bank of england s monetary policy committee) were to judge that a rate rise was justified before the election because of the strength of the economy - and i m not predicting that they will - i do not believe that this will be a big election issue in britain for labour   he told a parliamentary lunch.  this is a big change in our political culture.   during an interview with bbc radio 4 s today programme  mr balls said he was sure mr brown s budget would not put at risk the stability of the economy.  i don t think we ll see a pre-election spending spree - we certainly did not see that before 2001   he said.  his assurances came after sir digby jones said stability was all important and any extra cash should be spent on improving workers  skills. his message to the chancellor was:  please don t give it away in any form of electioneering.  sir digby added:  i don t think he will. i have to say he has been a prudent chancellor right the way through. stability is the key word - british business needs boring stability more than anything.  we would say to him  don t increase your public spending  don t give it away. but if you are going to anywhere  just add something to the competitiveness of britain  put it into skilling our people .  that would be a good way to spend any excess.   mr balls refused to say whether mr brown would remain as chancellor after the election  amid speculation he will be offered the job of foreign secretary.  i think that gordon brown wants to be part of the successful labour government which delivers in the third term for the priorities of the people and sees off a conservative party that will take britain backwards   mr balls told today. prime minister tony blair has yet to name the date of the election  but most pundits are betting on 5 may.
2005,johansson takes adelaide victory second seed joachim johansson won his second career title with a 7-5 6-3 win over taylor dent at the australian hardcourt championships in adelaide.  the swede was made to graft  american dent surviving three break points in the fifth game of the match. but johansson got the breakthrough with a sublime backhand return winner and won the second set with more ease. his first tournament win was at memphis in 2004  helping him leap from 113th in the world rankings to number 11. afterwards  dent said he rated us open semi-finalist johansson as a top contender at the australian open  which starts on 17 january.  i believe men s tennis is all about holding serve and if he s playing like that on his own serve i don t see how guys are going to break him   said dent. johansson was more restrained in his assessment:  i have to improve my serve if i m going to go all the way in melbourne.
819,parmalat boasts doubled profits parmalat  the italian food group at the centre of one of europe s most painful corporate scandals  has reported a doubling in profit.  its pre-tax earnings in the fourth quarter were 77m euros (£53m; $100m)  up from 38m in the same period of 2003. less welcome was the news that the firm had been fined 11m euros for having violated takeover rules five years ago. the firm sought bankruptcy protection in december 2003 after disclosing a 4bn-euro hole in its accounts. overall  the company s debt is close to 12bn euros  and is falling only slowly. its brands  well-known in italy and overseas  have continued to perform strongly  however  and have barely lost revenue since the scandal broke.  but a crucial factor for the company s future is the legal unwinding of its intensely complex financial position. on tuesday  the company s administrator  turnaround expert enrico bondi  sued morgan stanley  its former banker  to return 136m euros relating to a 2003 bond deal. that brought to 49 the number of banks that mr bondi has sued  a mass of legal action that could bring in as much as 3bn euros. the company has also sued former auditors and financial advisors for damages. and criminal cases against the company s former management are proceeding separately.
23,bates seals takeover ken bates has completed his takeover of leeds united.  the 73-year-old former chelsea chairman sealed the deal at 0227 gmt on friday  and has bought a 50% stake in the club. he said:  i m delighted to be stepping up to the mantel at such a fantastic club. i recognise leeds as a great club that has fallen on hard times.  we have a lot of hard work ahead to get the club back where it belongs in the premiership  and with the help of our fans we will do everything we can.  bates bought his stake under the guise of a geneva-based company known as the forward sports fund. he revealed that part of his plan is to buy back leeds  elland road stadium and thorp arch training ground in due course.   it s going to be a tough jon and the first task is to stabilise the cash flow and sort out the remaining creditors   bates added.  but there is light at the end of a very long tunnel. for the past year it has been a matter of firefighting - now we can start running the club again.  outgoing leeds chairman gerald krasner said:  this deal ensures the medium to long term survival of the club and i believe mr bates  proposals are totally for the benefit of the club.  we are content that under mr bates  leeds united will continue to consolidate and move forward.  when we took over leeds united in march 2004  the club had a debt of £103m  since that date  my board has succeeded in reducing the debt to under £25m.  we worked tirelessly to solve all of the problems at leeds united.  eighty percent of the problems have already been overcome and we came to this agreement with mr bates to secure its ongoing success.  krasner revealed that his consortium has been asked to remain in the background at the club for an undisclosed period to help ensure a smooth hand-over. he will stay on in an unpaid capacity while peter lorimer will continue in his role as director and point of contact for the fans and peter mccormick will serve as a consultant to the incoming board. the other outgoing directors have agreed to leave their loans of £4.5m in the company for the next four years. on leeds  new-look board it is understood that lorimer will be joined by former chelsea finance director yvonne todd and bates  lawyer mark taylor.  krasner refused to give any details of the finances involved in the takeover. he told bbc five live:  i am not going into the figures. if ken wants to give them up that is up to him. i can not tell you what the money will be used for.  this dea l is not about money for the current board. in the last four months i never saw any cheques until this week from one person. i am not stretching figures  we don t discuss internal arrangements.  bates stepped down as chelsea chairman in march last year following roman abramovich s £140m takeover at stamford bridge. in may  he made a proposal to invest £10m in sheffield wednesday  but this was rejected by the club. sebastien sainsbury had been close to a takeover of leeds but withdrew his £25m offer last week.  his efforts failed after he revealed it would take £40m to stage a takeover  and that the club will also lose £10m over the next six months. the club was on the brink of administration - and the deduction of 10 points by the football league - before bates  arrival but his investment has spared them that prospect.
457,boothroyd calls for lords speaker betty boothroyd has said the house of lords needs its own speaker and that peers should lead the way on reforming the upper chamber.  baroness boothroyd  who was the first woman to be commons speaker  said she believed tony blair initiated reforms without a clear outcome in mind.  now we have to take care of it ourselves and make the best of it   she told the bbc s breakfast with frost. in 1999 labour removed all but 92 of the lords  750 hereditary peers. that was billed as the first stage of reform of the institution. the lord chancellor hinted further reforms could be unveiled in the next labour manifesto.   i think we need to look very carefully at the relationship between the lords and the commons   lord falconer told bbc1 s breakfast with frost.  how it interacts with the commons is a very  very important issue.  we need to address the issue in the manifesto  but you will have to wait for when the manifesto comes.  the lord chancellor currently has the role of house of lords speaker. he is also head of the judiciary and a member of the cabinet as constitutional affairs secretary.  lady boothroyd said she believed it was unacceptable for the lord chancellor to have the role of speaker.  i would really like to see a speaker of the house of lords   she said.  i don t go for the idea of somebody - a lord chancellor - who is head of the judiciary  a senior cabinet minister and speaker of the lords.  i want somebody there who is going to look after that house and do a job there.
1423,star trek fans fight to save show star trek fans have taken out a full-page ad in the los angeles times in an attempt to persuade tv executives not to scrap star trek: enterprise.  made by the upn tv network  the latest spin-off from the hit sci-fi show is due to end in may after four series. but fans around the world have pitched in to pay for the advert  which had the headline  save star trek . they are also asking the sci-fi channel to pick it up from upn and will stage a rally in los angeles on 25 february.  the advert described the star trek franchise as a  cultural icon . enterprise stars former quantum leap actor scott bakula as captain archer and is set before the original 1960s star trek series.  captain archer and the crew of the nx-01 need your help to continue their journeys!  the advert said. it also included a cut-out coupon for fans to send to upn s parent companies paramount and viacom plus the sci-fi channel. it also urged supporters to join the rally outside the paramount studios.  fan website trek united is hoping to raise $32m (£17m) from donations by the end of march to pay for a fifth series. more than $23 000 (£12 000) has been pledged so far  according to the site. the 98th and final episode of star trek: enterprise will air in the us on 13 may. the fourth series has averaged 2.9 million viewers per episode - half the amount it got in its first series. star trek: enterprise began in 2001 following other star trek spin-off series the next generation  deep space nine and voyager.
100,rapper kanye west s shrewd soul us hip-hop star kanye west - who leads the race for this year s grammys with 10 nominations - rose to prominence by producing songs for artists such as jay-z and alicia keys.  he then emerged from his behind-the-scenes role to become an artist as well as a producer. but his solo career almost ended before it began after a near-fatal car crash left west with his jaw wired shut in 2002. the resulting song  through the wire  became west s first uk hit in april 2004 and subsequent album the college dropout became a transatlantic success  both critically and commercially. west  26  began rapping as a teenager at his chicago school  inspired by the beats and rhymes of 1980s pioneers run dmc.  hip-hop producer no id encouraged west to sample old soul and r&b hits then revive them with an updated sound  an approach that would become his trademark.  i feel like a lot of the soul that s in those old records that i sample is in me   he said.  so when i hear them and i put them with the drums and i bring them to the new millennium  it s just like god s doing that. i m one with them records right there. it s a blessing.   leaving his chicago art school after only one year - a move which would later inspire the title of his album - west began his music career co-producing songs for artists mase and the madd rapper. this drew the attention of superstar rapper jay-z  who signed west up to his roc-a-fella record label to produce numerous artists on his roster. west s work gained mainstream recognition when he produced the singles takeover and izzo (hova) on jay-z s own 2001 album blueprint. incorporating samples of five to one by the doors and the jackson five s i want you back respectively  the hits were credited with injecting soul back into hip-hop.  as their success attracted further production work for jay-z ( 03 bonnie & clyde) and artists such as ludacris (stand up) and alicia keys (you don t know my name)  west announced plans for a solo album. driving home from a late-night los angeles recording session in october 2002  he was involved in the car crash that left his jaw fractured in three places.  anytime i hear about any accident my heart sinks in and i just thank god that i m still here   he later said.  that steering wheel could have been two inches further out  and that would have been it.   west s account of the accident sampled chaka khan s hit through the fire to become the heart of his completed solo album the college dropout. released last year  it was by turns smooth  humorous and sharp and largely avoided the clichéd hip-hop preoccupation with guns  girls and jewellery.  through the wire was quickly joined in the uk and us charts by slow jamz  on which west collaborated with rapper twista and ray actor jamie foxx. the college dropout spawned two further uk hits and a string of award nominations. west was shortlisted for 10 grammys - including nominations for artist and album of the year - and took the best hip-hop artist  producer and album titles at last year s music of black origin (mobo) awards. now a respected rapper and producer in the influential field of hip-hop  kanye west is unlikely to regret his decision to leave college early.
1448,trial begins of spain s top banker the trial of emilio botin  the chairman of spain s most powerful bank  santander central hispano  has started in madrid.  mr botin is accused of misusing the bank s funds after he approved the payment of 160m euros ($208m; £111m) in bonus and pension payouts to two former executives. however  the trial was suspended when mr botin s lawyer introduced a new set of documents on the day testimony was set to begin. a three-judge panel gave prosecution lawyers until monday to study the documents  when the trial will be reconvened.  the high-profile case began after two santander shareholders filed a criminal complaint about the payments to jose maria amusategui and angel corcostegui  who stepped down in 2001. both executives helped mr botin orchestrate spain s biggest bank merger  between santander and banco central hispano  in 1999. as he arrived at spain s high court earlier on wednesday  mr botin greeted the waiting media  saying:  i have full faith in justice.  santander s board of governors strongly reject the charges against their chairman  saying the payouts were legal and made with their unanimous support. but if convicted  mr botin could face a prison term of up to six years. mr corcostegui  a former ceo at santander  also asked the court for new evidence to be admitted. in spite of the allegations against him  mr botin continues to lead santander  and was instrumental in the £8.5bn takeover last november of the british bank abbey national. since taking over the chairmanship in 1986  he has turned santander into one of the top ten biggest banks in the world.
97,oil rebounds from weather effect oil prices recovered in asian trade on tuesday  after falling in new york on milder winter weather across the us.  with winter temperatures staying relatively high in the northern us  a barrel of light crude ended monday down $1.33 to $42.12. however crude prices have rebounded in asia  rising to $42.30 a barrel for february delivery. in london  trading of brent crude was suspended for a public holiday  but the price fell to $39.20 in the far east.  with milder temperatures expected to continue in the northern parts of the us over the next few days at least  analysts have said the price of oil may fall further - even if the decline was only temporary.  weather has been the achilles  heel of this market   said abn amro analyst john brady.  but it is winter in the northeast. eventually we ll get another cold blast.  despite a fall of more than $12 a barrel from the record highs reached in late october  the price of crude oil remains almost 30% higher than year-ago levels. prices rose last week after militant attacks in riyadh  the capital of saudi arabia  briefly renewed fears that the supply chain might be broken in the world s leading crude exporter.  the market was panicked but fears essentially evaporated... since there was no follow-up   said deborah white  senior economist for energy at sg securities in paris.
172,reds sink 10-man magpies titus bramble s own goal put liverpool on the comeback trail as injury-hit newcastle were well beaten at anfield.  patrick kluivert s close-range finish put newcastle ahead after 31 minutes  but they were pegged back as bramble headed in steven gerrard s corner. neil mellor gave liverpool the lead before half-time from milan baros  pass before the czech added a third after rounding shay given on the hour. newcastle then had lee bowyer sent off for two bookable offences. liverpool brought back luis garcia after a hamstring injury  while newcastle were forced to draft in kluivert after craig bellamy was a late withdrawal with a back injury sustained in the warm-up. and garcia should have crowned his return with a goal inside the opening minute when he took a pass from baros but shot wildly over the top from eight yards. olivier bernard was only inches away from giving newcastle the lead after 20 minutes  when he fired just wide from a free-kick 25 yards out. but souness s side did go ahead 11 minutes later in highly controversial circumstances.  kluivert looked suspiciously offside when kieron dyer set bowyer free  but the dutchman was then perfectly placed to score from six yards. the lead lasted three minutes  with liverpool back on terms as bramble headed gerrard s corner into his own net under pressure from sami hyypia. and liverpool were ahead after 37 minutes when baros slid a perfect pass into mellor s path for the youngster to slip a slide-rule finish into given s bottom corner. garcia s finishing was wayward  and he was wasteful again in first-half injury time  shooting tamely at given after good work by xabi alonso. any hopes of a newcastle recovery looked to be snuffed out on the hour when a brilliant turn and pass by harry kewell set baros free and he rounded given to score. jermaine jenas then missed a glorious chance to throw newcastle a lifeline  shooting over from just eight yards out from shola ameobi s cross. then bowyer  who had already been booked for a foul on alonso  was deservedly shown the red card by referee graham poll for a wild challenge on liverpool substitute florent sinama-pongolle.  dudek  finnan  hyypia  carragher  riise  luis garcia (nunez 73)  gerrard  alonso  kewell (traore 85)  baros  mellor (sinama pongolle 75).  subs not used: hamann  harrison.  bramble 35 og  mellor 38  baros 61.  given  andrew o brien  elliott  bramble  bernard  bowyer  dyer (ambrose 80)  jenas  milner (n zogbia 72)  kluivert (robert 58)  ameobi.  subs not used: harper.  bowyer (77).  bowyer  elliott  bernard.  kluivert 32.  43 856.  g poll (hertfordshire).
1918,tory leader unveils spending plan tory leader michael howard says his party can save £35bn in government spending by tackling waste.  the money would be ploughed back into frontline services like the nhs and schools with the rest used to cut government borrowing and reduce taxes. the tory leader has also shrugged off the defection of one of his mps  robert jackson  a former minister  to labour. mr howard said that these things happened in politics and it would not affect the outcome of the election.  let s be realistic - the election is not going to be decided on the basis of what mr jackson did   he told bbc 1 s breakfast with frost programme. however the defection on saturday has cast a shadow over the launch of the conservatives  spending plans. fuller details are due to be unveiled on monday.  the bulk of the £35bn saved by tackling bureaucracy and inefficient systems will go back into frontline services  mr howard said. the £12bn left over would then be spent on reducing government borrowing  he added. however  the remainder would deal with some of the  unfair taxes .  almost every independent expert says if you get another labour government you are going to have to pay higher taxes   mr howard insisted.  because borrowing is going up  it is out of control  that is bound to lead to higher taxes or higher interest rates or both.  so part of the £12bn we are going to apply to filling the government s black hole  reducing the borrowing.  the rest will be used to reduce these unfair taxes which are bearing so heavily on the people of our country today.   mr howard is expected to say that around £6bn will be available for tax cuts when he makes his announcement on monday. the cuts will be paid for out of the savings identified by business trouble-shooter david james. home office spending could be cut by £1.6bn  according to the final instalment of his year-long review. savings of £153m at the foreign office and £336m at the department for culture media and sport  have also been identified. in all  almost a quarter of a million jobs and 168 public bodies would go under mr james  proposals.  mr howard said:  all this adds up to a bottom line and the bottom line is at this election people will have a clear choice between mr blair  who will waste more and tax more  and a conservative government that will give them value for money and tax less.  however  chief treasury secretary paul boateng said:  none of the tories  figures add up so they can t make these savings and can t pay for any tax cuts  which means the only guaranteed cut from the tories is £35bn of cuts  hitting frontline public services hard.  liberal democrat leader charles kennedy added:  people will not be taken in by michael howard s claims of £35bn worth of savings.  this can t be achieved without drastic cuts in local services in their own communities.  a poll for the news of the world newspaper suggests the conservatives are on course for their worst election defeat in a century. labour will hold key marginal constituencies  winning a majority of 160  the populus survey suggests. and the liberal democrats will take three key seats from the conservatives  leaving the tories with just 163 mps  two less than they returned atlabour s 1997 landslide and their worst showing since 1906.
938,the force is strong in battlefront the warm reception that has greeted star wars: battlefront is a reflection not of any ingenious innovation in its gameplay  but of its back-to-basics approach and immense nostalgia quotient.  geared towards online gamers  it is based around little more than a series of all-out gunfights  set in an array of locations all featured in  or hinted at during  the two blockbusting film trilogies. previous star wars titles like the acclaimed knights of the old republic and jedi knight have regularly impressed with their imaginative forays into the far corners of the franchise s extensive universe  and their use of weird and wonderful new characters. battlefront on the other hand wholeheartedly revisits the most recognisable elements of the hit movies themselves.  the sights  sounds and protagonists on show here will all be instantly familiar to fans  who may well feel that the opportunity to relive star wars  most memorable screen skirmishes makes this the game they have always waited for. the mayhem can be viewed from either a third or first-person perspective  and you can either fight for the forces of freedom or join darth vader on the dark side  depending on the episode and type of campaign as well as the player s personal propensity for good or evil.  there is ample chance to be a wookie  shoot ewoks and rush into battle alongside a fired-up luke skywalker. in each section  the task is simply to wipe out enemy troops  seize strategic waypoints and move on to the next planet. it really is no more complicated than that. locations include the frozen wastes of hoth  the ice planet from the empire strikes back  complete with massive mechanical at-ats on the march. there are also the dusty  sinister deserts of tatooine and geonosis  as well as the forest moon of endor  where return of the jedi s much-maligned ewoks lived. the feel of those places is well and truly captured  with both backdrops and characters looking good and very authentic. it is worth noting though that on the playstation 2  the game s graphics are a curiously long way behind those of the xbox version. the pivotal element behind battlefront s success is that it successfully gives you the feel of being of being plunged into the midst of large-scale war. the number of combatants  noise and abundance of laser fire see to that  and the sense of chaos really comes over.  speaking of noise  battlefront is a real testament to the strength of the star wars galaxy s audio motifs.  the multitude of distinctive weapon and vehicle noises are immensely familiar  as are the stirring john williams symphonies that never let up. there is also a particularly snazzy remix of one of his themes in the menu section. it has to be said if the game did not have the boon of being star wars  it would not stand up for long. the gameplay is reliable  bog-standard stuff  short on originality. there are also odd annoyances  like the game s insistence on re-spawning you miles away from the action  an irritating price to pay for not getting blown up the second you appear. and some of the weapons and vehicles are not as responsive and fluid to operate as they might be. that said  it is still great fun to pilot a scout walker or speeder bike  however non user-friendly they prove. whilst it is firmly designed with multiplayer action in mind  battlefront is actually perfectly good fun as an offline game. the above-average ai of the enemy sees to that  although given the frenetic environments they operate in  their strategic behaviour does not need to be all that sophisticated. battlefront s novelty value will doubtless wear off relatively fast  leaving behind a slightly empty one-trick-pony of a game. but for a while  it is an absolute blast  and one of the most immediately satisfying video game offerings yet from george lucas  stable.
752,us blogger fired by her airline a us airline attendant suspended over  inappropriate images  on her blog - web diary - says she has been fired.  ellen simonetti  known as queen of the sky  wrote an anonymous semi-fictional account of her life in the sky. she was suspended by delta in september. in a statement  she said she was initiating legal action against the airline for  wrongful termination . a delta spokesperson confirmed on wednesday that ms simonetti was no longer an employee. delta has repeatedly declined to elaborate on what it calls  internal employee matters . a spokesperson reiterated this position on wednesday  confirming only that ms simonetti was no longer with the company. the spokesperson also confirmed that there were  very clear rules  attached to the unauthorised use of delta branding  including uniforms. ms simonetti announced on her blog she had been fired on 1 november.  she said in an official statement:  as a result of my suspension and subsequent termination without cause by delta airlines i am moving forward with filing a discrimination complaint with the federal government eeoc [us equal employment opportunity commission].  she added she had also hired a texas-based law firm to initiate legal action for  wrongful termination  defamation of character and lost future wages.  ms simonetti told the bbc news website she had received no warning or further explanation when she was suspended on 25 september. queen of the sky has received a lot of support and advice from the global blogging community since news of her suspension was brought to light on the bbc news website and others.  her story has highlighted concerns amongst the growing blogging community about conflicts of interest  employment law and free speech on personal websites. the blog  which she started in january as a way of getting over her mother s death  contains a mix of fictional and non-fictional accounts. queen of the sky developed over the months as a character in her own right  according to ms simonetti. in the postings  she made up fictional names for cities and other companies she mentioned to protect anonymity. but some postings contained images of herself in uniform. of the 10 or so images only one showed ms simonetti s flight  wings . she removed them as soon as she was informed of her suspension.  i never meant it as something to harm my company and don t understand how they think it did harm them   ms simonetti said. a legal expert in the us speculated that delta might be concerned that the fictional content on the blog may be linked back to the airline after the images were posted.  delta has been hit recently by pressures of rising fuel costs and fierce competition. it has said it needs to cut between 6 000 and 7 000 jobs and reduce costs by $5bn (£2.7bn) a year. analysts had warned recently that the airline might have to seek chapter 11 bankruptcy prevention. last week  it struck a $1bn cost-cutting deal with its pilots which could save it from bankruptcy. the deal would see pilots accept a 32% pay cut in return for the right to buy 30 million delta shares  unions said. and on monday  it negotiated a deal to defer about $135m in debt which was due next year  until 2007. the airline also said it had agreed the terms of a $600m loan from american express.
2222,kilroy unveils immigration policy ex-chatshow host robert kilroy-silk has attacked uk policy on immigration saying britain s open door approach is hitting low wage  indigenous  workers.  the veritas leader said the only people to benefit from immigrants from places like poland were employers  landlords  members of the  metropolitan elite . the mep said his party would only admit foreigners who were required because they had specific skills to offer. and he argued asylum cost £2bn a year for 14 000 successful applicants.  mr kilroy-silk said that worked out at £143 000 per successful asylum seeker. he said veritas wanted to grant an amnesty for all those in britain claiming asylum and who have children and deport everyone else. britain should take its fair share of asylum seekers under the united nations convention on human rights  he argued. and mr kilroy-silk said he wanted to spend an extra £500m a year to help provide for refugees abroad.
2038,bmw reveals new models pipeline bmw is preparing to enter the market for car-style people carriers  the firm s chief has told bbc news.  speaking at a bmw event ahead of the geneva motor show  helmut panke predicted demand for such crossover vehicles would soar in europe. in contrast  he said  the popularity of van-style seven-seat vehicles and traditional saloon cars would fade.  customers are moving out of the mini-van (and) traditional concepts are not as attractive anymore   he said.  we have decided that bmw will enter the [crossover] segment   he said in the clearest indication yet about the car maker s intentions.  mr panke praised the honda accura as the  best execution  yet of a crossover vehicle.  we have decided that the bmw brand will enter the segment   he said.  a decision on just how bmw will manage its entry into the new market is due in the first half of 2005. typically it takes about three years from when a decision is taken before a new model hits the streets  mr panke said  implying that a bmw crossover could be on the market by 2008. the coming switch is driven in part by the need for successful carmakers to stay aware of trans-atlantic differences in the car market  mr panke insisted. while in the us drivers tend to prefer sports utility vehicles (suvs)  such as the bmw x5 and its sibling x3  in europe demand for crossover vehicles is likely to be considerable  mr panke said.  there s a growing market here   he said.  we are going to go that way.
24,cole faces lengthy injury lay-off aston villa s carlton cole could be out for six weeks with a knee injury.  the striker  who is on a season-long loan from chelsea  picked up the knock in an england under-21 match against holland earlier this month.  carlton will be out of action for four to six weeks after a bad challenge   said villa boss david o leary.  i won t be able to tell you whether he will need an operation until maybe next week. whether he has an operation has got to be left to chelsea.  cole  who also struggled with an ankle problem earlier in the season  was unable to rest because o leary had a shortage of strikers. the return to fitness of darius vassell after four months out with a broken ankle and the emergence of luke moore has alleviated some of the villa s manager s problems in that department.
1325,harinordoquy suffers france axe number eight imanol harinordoquy has been dropped from france s squad for the six nations match with ireland in dublin on 12 march.  harinordoquy was a second-half replacement in last saturday s 24-18 defeat to wales. bourgoin lock pascal pape  who has recovered from a sprained ankle  returns to the 22-man squad. wing cedric heymans and ludovic valbon come in for aurelien rougerie and jean-philippe grandclaude.  rougerie hurt his chest against wales while grandclaude was a second-half replacement against both england and wales. valbon  capped in last june s tests against the united states and canada  was a second half replacement in the win over scotland.  france coach bernard laporte said harinordoquy had been axed after a poor display last weekend.  imanol has been dropped from the squad because the least i can say is that he didn t make a thundering comeback against wales   said laporte.  we know the ireland game will be fast and rough and we also want to be able to replace both locks during the game if needed  and gregory lamboley can also come on at number seven or eight.  the grand slam is gone but we ll go to ireland to win.  it will be a very exciting game because ireland have three wins under their belt  have just defeated england and have their eyes set on a grand slam.  france  who lost to wales last week  must defeat the irish to keep alive their hopes of retaining the six nations trophy. ireland are unbeaten in this year s tournament and have their sights set on a first grand slam since 1948.  dimitri yachvili (biarritz)  pierre mignoni (clermont)  yann delaigue (castres)  frederic michalak (stade toulousain)  damien traille (biarritz)  yannick jauzion (stade toulousain)  ludovic valbon (biarritz)  christophe dominici (stade francais)  cedric heymans (stade toulousain)  julien laharrague (brive)  sylvain marconnet (stade francais)  nicolas mas (perpignan)  olivier milloud (bourgoin)  sebastien bruno (sale/eng)  william servat (stade toulousain)  fabien pelous (stade toulousain  capt)  jerome thion (biarritz)  pascal papé (bourgoin)  gregory lamboley (stade toulousain)  serge betsen (biarritz)  julien bonnaire (bourgoin)  yannick nyanga (béziers)
409,terror powers expose  tyranny  the lord chancellor has defended government plans to introduce control orders to keep foreign and british terrorist suspects under house arrest  where there isn t enough evidence to put them on trial.  lord falconer insists that the proposals do not equate to a police state and strike a balance between protecting the public against the threat of terrorism and upholding civil liberties. but thriller writer frederick forsyth tells bbc news of his personal response to the move.    there is a mortal danger aimed at the heart of britain. or so says home secretary charles clarke. my reaction  so what  it is not that i am cynical or just do not care. i care about this country very much.  but in the 66 years that i have been alive  there has not been one hour  of one day  of one month  of one year  when there has not been a threat aimed at us. my point is  the british have always coped without becoming a dictatorship. we have coped with fear without becoming a state based on fear; we have coped with threat without turning our country into a land of state threat. but that is what the blair government now seeks to do - create a tyranny to defend us from the al-qaeda tyranny.  i was born on 25 august  1938. the mortal threat back then was a scruffy little austrian called adolf hitler. a week after my first birthday  the threat had become reality. we were at war. my father wore a uniform for five years. after 1945 we yearned for peace at last. but in 1946 winston churchill told us - from the baltic to the adriatic an iron curtain has descended across europe. behind the iron curtain  another genocidal psychopath  another threat. josef stalin triggered the cold war  with the berlin blockade in 1948. my whole generation was blighted by it.  we were threatened by the nuclear holocaust  the nuclear wind  the nuclear winter. we built shelters that would have sheltered nothing. we spent our treasure on weapons instead of hospitals. we took silly precautions. some fought it; some marched futilely against it. some pretended it was not there. the cold war lasted 43 years  but we remained a parliamentary democracy. by the early seventies it was terrorism as well. al fatah  black september  red brigades  but most of all for us the ira and the inla. thirty more years; 300 policemen and women  over 600 soldiers  more than 3 000 civilians dead  but we won because even ira bombs could not force us to become a tyranny. that was why the tyrants lost. civil rights were infringed as little as humanly possible. evidence had to be taken in secret to protect covert sources; yes   and one judge  no-jury courts had to be instituted when juries were terrorised. informants had to be given immunity from their own crimes to win the bigger battle. but habeas corpus did not die; right of appeal was not abolished. now the threat is islamic fundamentalism. its leaders want to destroy our society; so did the ira.  it is based and funded abroad; so was the ira. it has sleeper fanatics inside our society; so did the ira. it is extremely hard to penetrate with our agents; so was the ira. the prime movers are not easy to bring to trial; neither were the ira. but we did. and without becoming a tyranny. now the blair government proposes the law system of fascism and communism. the citizen can be arrested and held without charge or trial  not even on the careful consideration of an experienced judge  but the whim of a political activist called a government minister. to be protected from terror the government says  we must become a tyranny. but a tyranny is based on the citizen s terror. this is not victory; this is defeat before a shot is fired.  an interesting article - its good to see widening participation in the debate - but i suggest we move one step further. our own bombs and bullets will can only shatter peace  because invading foreign nations  imprisoning the innocent and  hunting  in the  shadows  cannot destroy an evil of the mind  and hatred within the heart. rather than focusing upon effect  we should consider the cause  because terrorism does not begin with bombs. why not try a foreign policy of compassion  it can only enhance our democracy  and share our freedom.  i agree with frederick forsyth. we really can t deal with terrorism by turning britain into a fascist state. what we really need is more honesty from our security services and our politicians. if they do not have evidence to bring these people to trial  there probably isn t any. our security services  behave like the detective who having decided that a certain person is guilty  rakes over all kinds of obscure and flimsy evidence to try and prove it  while the real villain gets away. remember there were no wmd in iraq. just because a person may have made some stupid and naive decisions in life does not make them a terrorist.  in this overly  politically correct  society  it is good to see someone like mr. forsyth speak out. yes  there has been oppression by the british government in the past  and overstepping the mark in places like ireland  but yes  we are still a democracy where it is rare to be arrested without charge/trial etc. (apart from a number of prisoners in belmarsh goal  for example).this country signs up to human rights  and then pretends that they only apply to the people with nothing to fear  the innocent people (defined by whom ). when id cards become mandatory  the data collected will not be protected by the data protection act  and will be readily available to people like gchq  with no control by the person whose id is being checked.  the threat now is new. you cannot compare the threats of past years with now. forsyth says 3000 died over 30 years or terrorism; 3000 people died in one morning in ny on september 11th 2001. the threat today is that terrorists will acquire nuclear or biological technology. a kilo of semtex will flatten a building  a kilo of plutonium will flatten a city. you now have a combination of people who will perform terrorist acts with technology that is rapidly becoming accessible. i agree  the government is probably encouraging a degree of mass-hysteria and talking up the threat; but talking-down the threat and doing nothing is unacceptable too.  the problem with this issue is not that it isn t important  but the fact that in general we brits can be so politically apathetic some times  that we will just let this go without telling the government no. however  as the nation that gave the world the common law and a true sense of the rights of individual liberty i hope this will prove to be one step too far.  as somebody of chinese origin  i can say that this country used to be a good place to migrate and start a new life. whilst life wasn t perfect  we could make better for ourselves. now we are riddled with red tape and be told what we can or cannot do. we have to be politically-correct and we are not allowed to have beliefs or opinions. we have a prime minister who spends too much time meddling in us politics and affairs which have little to do with the lives of british citizens at home or abroad. mr forsyth has done a good job in voicing his opinions. let s hope the bbc doesn t get gagged for letting people express their views. the people have the right to know and the bbc s role is to inform  educate and entertain...  i agree. terrorists intend to spread fear but in reality it is the government which has spread the fear  by its constant publicising of the this invisible enemy so dangerous that we must allow them to ride roughshod over our rights and liberties. in the end  the very thing we seek to protect is what we are giving up in the name of safety from this invisible enemy. the terrorists have already won.  i absolutely agree with frederick forsyth. yes we have to defend ourselves against terrorism but existing laws seem to be more than adequate. the idea that the  new terrorism  demands new powers is erroneous. the evidence of any real terrorist capability in the uk is scant. ricin  for example  is a dangerous poison but it is not a weapon of mass destruction. what is really worrying is the enthusiasm of mr blair and his government for authoritarian reactions and attempts to manipulate the electorate through fear.  if the government has its way with id cards  tracking and so on then totalitarianism has won and as such it then matters little whether we give in to the terrorists demands or not. we will have lost the precious freedom which bush and blair constantly tells us we have and that they seek to bring to others.  i agree wholeheartedly with mr forsyth. i am shocked at the ease with which this government is prepared to wipe out a major portion of the liberties that british people have enjoyed for centuries - the right not to be deprived of our liberty without a trial in open court. that goes right back to magna carta  and ordinary people have spilled their blood to enforce that right against governments who thought they  knew best .  when you look at today s britain  you realise george orwell was only wrong about one thing: the date.  frederick forsyth puts it beautifully. the government is seeking to introduce a police state. the new powers of home internment without trial follow a pattern which includes the introduction of surveillance via compulsory id cards and the linking of data bases  together with the un-british idea that we will have to swear allegiance to the state at the age of 18 years. we are sleep-walking into this. wake up!  an interesting view but missing two crucial facts of this new threat: 1) if these terrorists acquire weapons of mass destruction they will use them without fear of mutually assured destruction that kept the cold war in a state of tense balance. these people will use devastating force against us without fear of any consequence. 2) the terrorists are prepared to use suicide bombers which means they could kill innocent people on the london underground and we could do very little to stop it. because these terrorists are potentially so deadly  we have to come up with new  tougher responses. it will be a little late in the day when people outside london wake up one morning to find out that london has been nuked. we won t have much of a society left to debate !  he s correct in most of what he says. mind you he does seem to have forgotten that disgraceful internment policy in northern ireland which probably caused many idealistic if misguided young catholics to join the ira. administrative detention of muslims could have a similar effect now.  surely we the public would be better protected if the security services  rather than alerting a suspect terrorist by placing them under house arrest (and for how long )they were to place suspect terrorist under surveillance and maybe acquire sufficient evidence to prosecute or even better prevent a terrorist attack.  i don t usually have much time for mr forsyth s largely right wing views but this time he has got it spot on. there is no doubt that there are terrorist organisations who would like to do harm to the u.k. but it is very doubtful whether al-qaeda is a global organisation co-ordinating this. the rise of surveillance cameras  id cards  the plan to charge for road use by tracking every vehicle at all times  this is the stuff of nightmares. add to this this new legislation which effectively means that the protection of the law will be removed from anyone at the whim of the home secretary  and i genuinely wonder what sort of world my two children will inherit. where will this end. as it stands terrorists do not need to attack the u.k. it s government will soon have it s people terrorised more that they could very achieve with a few bombs.  mr forsyth has expressed exactly what my gut fears and reservations were about this proposed legislation  but could not verbalise. thank you.  mr forsyth seems to forget that killings in the troubles occurred on both sides of the religious divide and was carried out by killers from both sides. he also forgets basic human rights were suspended then as now. experienced judges sat over some of the greatest miscarriages of justice during those times. for very little return and maximum alienation. these laws and the emphasis on the islamic threat will just do the same.  forsyth is wrong. the nature of the current threat is new. it is no longer to our armed forces  as the soviet threat in the eastern bloc was. it is to you and i. the terrorist aim to kill indiscriminately. the best comparison is therefore the blitz  1941. at this time  let us not forget  suspects (foreign and british were routinely rounded up and interned for the duration of the war  without any complaints from the public. we must not forget we are at war.  i d say that that the likelihood of an attack by a sleeper cell of fundamentalist lunatics against a major uk target is a  when  not an  if  probability. i ll bet any money you like that the day after any such attack freddie forsyth will be saying that the government didn t do enough to protect the uk. people like forsyth can only see one side of any argument and for him it is the side that is opposite new labour and tony blair.  i agree wholeheartedly with mr forsyth. the very reason this country has been such a wonderful place to live  is under attack  not from terrorists  but from this government. the perpetuation of the perceived terrorist threat is not because of what the  alleged  terrorists are doing  but from our own government. i believe what this government is doing  is  at the very least  highly questionable and at worst  sinister. at what point will they feel they have enough control over every single person in the british isles; when we are all tagged and monitored constantly  our freedom is being craftily and surreptitiously whittled away by this government and we are gaining nothing. it should be of great concern to everyone.  i am slightly older than mr forsyth and therefore have lived through the same history as him. i am against a police state and would not like to think that i lived in one. i think that the attack on iraq made the international situation worse and may have provoked further acts of terrorism.  how true. there are extremely worrying parallels between britain now and germany during the 30 s. i never thought it would be so easy to take over a country from within.  mr forsyth has forgotten one key point; the terrorists who threaten britain today are well aware that hitler  stalin  and the ira all failed. as a result modern day terrorists are willing to do things their predecessors did not. that does not mean that the civil liberties of modern britain must be eroded to counter the threat; that should always be the absolute last resort. but to meet the new threat  to defeat the sinister fanaticism of today s terrorists  we may need to do things a little differently. let us hope not.  frederic forsythe s comments seem to me to be a well-thought-out analysis of why we (human society as a whole  and britain in particular) should resist the temptation to over-protect through fear. it is this fear which enables terrorists to succeed in the end  and terrorists can come in all forms  as mr. forsythe s opening comments suggest.  i am reminded of a quote attributed to thomas jefferson.  a nation that limits freedom in the name of security will have neither.   the government are faced with an incredibly difficult task  and have made a policy to deal with it. it s all very well criticising that policy  but if mr forsythe can t draw on his years of experience to offer an alternative  i say  so what   to his opinions.  frederick forsyth s rhetoric is absurd and his conclusions laughable. he distorts reality to serve his own prejudice against new labour. this government seeks to balance protection of our democracy with minimum loss of civil rights. it is frederick forsyth who is the extremist  because he does not appreciate the need for balance.  i rarely find myself agreeing with my forsyth  but in this instance i think he is correct. the rule of law must prevail  civil liberties are worth defending. if the government can hold  suspects  without charge or trial  what s next   i agree absolutely. by introducing fascist type laws we loose the moral high ground in our fight against terror. our democratic system is not perfect  but as churchill points out it is  better than all the others that have been tried . terrorist attacks will take place but for many reasons we should take that personal risk in return for personal freedom.  i do not usually agree with mr. forsyth  but he is spot on here. the single biggest threat we face is that of a government dedicated to acting illegally and manipulating international and national law to suit its own purpose. totalitarianism always requires an outside threat  justifying a range of extraordinary powers leaders want. the british government is a far greater threat that and terrorist organisation.  although  in principle i agree with him  frederick forsyth fails to address one key point- al-qaeda attacks (though obviously there have been none yet in the uk) seek to kill the maximum number of people. the ira wanted to limit the death toll of their attacks so as to maintain support among the republican movement.  yes  i agree with mr. forsyth s views. i do not believe the government s plans are justified. there is over reaction to and the negative influence of the us president s interpretation of democracy and freedom. he uses the same arguments that were current before the wwii  the wars to  liberate  iraq  afghanistan with syria and iran to come. we are leaving a poor inheritance for the future generations.  mr forsyth is a wonderful writer and should keep his fiction where it belongs. the british government is not going down the road that mr forsyth suggests. sadly comments such as his will make a lot of people believe that they are governed by people who are fast becoming tyrants instead of being genuinely committed to stopping tyranny  even if the method employed to do that is at the moment alien to the british people who have lived in a democracy protected by tony blair and others of like mind who  mr. forsyth seems to be putting along side the  scruffy little austrian.   thomas hobbes would be smiling in his grave at labour s propositions. like new labour  he called himself a libertarian. like new labour  he believed he was promoting the people s best interests. but as forsythe criticises this government  hobbes has been criticised by most subsequent philosophers for arguing his way into the hands of the totalitarians. simply put  he argued that in favour of the ultimate liberty - the liberty to live - man should be prepared to surrender all other liberties to a supreme sovereign  as protection against his fellow  barbaric  man. hobbes has been roundly condemned by posterity  and rightly so. i hope new labour suffers the same treatment.  i agree with mr forsyth s views. the governments approach is totally against the spirit of british democracy. they must not be allowed to get away with it.  of course frederick is wrong about britain winning the war against the ira and he s wrong too about the country not becoming a tyranny. has he forgotten about shoot to kill  torture  internment without trial  collusion with loyalist death squads etc   my background is somewhat similar to freddie s so i am persuaded to agree with many of his sentiments. we can have no moral justification for imposing our system of government on anyone while we are systematically depriving our own citizens of basic individual and collective freedoms.  whilst the principle of keeping potential terrorists under house arrest might seem superficially attractive  it is  unfortunately  also the first step towards totalitarianism. who is to decide whom is a suspect  why should we believe them  who can have faith in the honesty  integrity  and competence of our intelligence services and politicians in light of the events of recent years  what is to stop false denunciations  what of those falsely accused who will lose their careers  who will support their families  will their children still go to school  it smacks to me of the methods of nazi germany  stalin s russia  ceausescu s romania - the list goes on. it looks as if a new dark age is coming.  i see that opinion on mr forsyth s remarks are divided. the problem i see is that those who support imprisonment without trial believe it will never happen to them or their family  only to people they don t like or are scared of. but history has shown that if you have laws like that  they always get abused by those in power. after all  today you may be scared of the same people as those in power but someday those in power may be scared of you! and that day  you ll be the one imprisoned without the chance of justice. our laws are such that you cannot just be imprisoned at the whim of our police forces  you have to be shown to be deserving of it. if we imprison people without trial for an indeterminate period  we are no better that those we are fighting.  i never thought it possible for me to agree with a single word uttered by frederick forsyth  but i m in wholehearted agreement with him on this one. we  as a nation are in grave danger of being duped by pro us propaganda  which of course also means we ll inherit most  if not all of their total paranoia  and allow our governments  of any political persuasion incidentally  to gradually  and insidiously  impose a police state by well tried & tested back door methods. i grieve for the future of my children  it s no wonder they re adamant they don t ever want any of their own.  this government  with much fanfare  signs us up to the european convention on human rights but now wants to introduce indefinite house arrest without trial. this puts it on a par with the government of burma.  like many of your respondents  i wouldn t usually think of mr forsyth as someone whose views i share  but in the instance of opposing charles clark s proposals for house arrest  i agree wholeheartedly with mr forsyth/  i agree with mr forsyth. just look at the facts - our government (along with the us) invaded another sovereign country (iraq) by selecting intelligence that backed it s case based on fear. the facts turned out to be very different. if individuals are treated in the same distorted way  then we ve done ourselves more damage than any terrorist organisation could with bombs. we become animals too.  i agree in many ways with what mr forsyth has said - if we are to be respected and have influence within the world we must be seen to be walking the walk as well as talking the talk - how can we accuse countries such as zimbabwe and burma of human rights abuses when we are locking up people who may be totally innocent  it is hypocrisy of the highest order. mr forsyth links  islamic fundamentalism  to the new  threat . however it appears that he has misunderstood the term  islamic fundamentalism . it should be pointed out that a muslim who adheres to the true fundamentals of the qur aan and the teachings of the last prophet muhammad is an islamic fundamentalist. this person does not commit suicide in any shape or form  nor does she/he kill innocent women  men and children. this person is self-reflective and constantly tries to better her/his actions by being good to others. the people who mr forsyth labels the new  threat  are those who do not follow the correct teachings of islam. they have arrived at their own interpretations and assumptions with regards their actions. on top of that  they claim to be following islam in its true form!  i accept that the intentions of these policies are to make britain a safer place but i cannot think of a single example from history where doing this sort of thing has ever made any difference - in northern ireland internment certainly didn t achieve anything - the bombings didn t stop  and it could be argued that all it achieved was to just supply the ira with yet more angry and resentful republicans willing to take up arms against the british.  being eight years older than frederick forsyth and a survivor of the blitz on london  it is easy to agree with him  he is absolutely spot on. during the ira bombings there were massive explosions in canary wharf  to the right of where i write this  and also to the left in the city of london. notwithstanding these and the attempted and nearly successful assassination attempts on prime minister thatcher in brighton and on later occupants of 10 downing street  there was no retaliatory blitz on belfast or dublin as there has been on afghanistan and iraq. even when england was in true peril in 1940 apart from some detentions there were no wholesale derogation of habeas corpus and the like. we have to see off these latest attempts on our liberties including id cards  which winston churchill decided had to go since  he said  the average bobby on the beat could not be relied on to not be tempted to take undue advantage against the citizen going about their lawful activities (incidentally i can still remember my old id card number). hence it is clear that the far too great police state powers set for the statute books have to be resisted and neutered.  what can i add to mr. forsyth s eloquently put arguments... except applause! well done that man for standing up and being counted in the  war against tyranny .
624,bryan twins keep us hopes alive the united states kept the davis cup final alive with victory in saturday s doubles rubber  leaving spain 2-1 ahead going into the final day.  masters cup champions mike and bob bryan thrashed juan carlos ferrero and tommy robredo 6-0 6-3 6-2 in front of a partisan crowd in seville. victory would have given spain the title but they were outclassed. in sunday s reverse singles  carlos moya takes on andy roddick before rafael nadal faces mardy fish.  it feels good  but it s not going to be as good if we don t win two tomorrow   said mike bryan.  it feels good to give those guys another shot  and spain has to go to sleep on that.  bob bryan added:  i m really confident in andy winning that first match  and then anything can happen.  spain coach jordi arrese chose to rest 18-year-old nadal in the doubles after his epic singles win over roddick on friday. he was replaced by former world number one ferrero  but the spanish pair were out of their depth against one of the world s best doubles teams.  the 26-year-old bryan twins have won all four of their davis cup matches this year. and they quickly silenced the huge crowd at the olympic stadium  racing through the opening set to love. the spaniards then twice surrendered breaks of serve at the start of the second before the bryans broke to go 5-3 ahead and served out. when robredo dropped serve in the opening game of the third set the match was all but over  and the unflappable bryan brothers powered on to an impressive win. ferrero  who was upset to be dropped for friday s singles  hinted at further dissatisfaction after the defeat.  it was a difficult game against the best doubles players   he said.  they have everything calculated and we had very little to do.  i was a bit surprised that i was named to play the doubles match because i hardly play doubles.  arrese said:  juan carlos hasn t played at all badly. he played the right way but the bryans are great doubles players.
1367,broadband in the uk growing fast high-speed net connections in the uk are proving more popular than ever.  bt reports that more people signed up for broadband in the last three months than in any other quarter. the 600 000 connections take the total number of people in the uk signing up for broadband from bt to almost 3.3 million. nationally more than 5 million browse the net via broadband. britain now has among the highest number of broadband connections throughout the whole of europe.  according to figures gathered by industry watchdog  ofcom  the growth means that the uk has now surpassed germany in terms of broadband users per 100 people. the uk total of 5.3 million translates into 7.5 connections per 100 people  compared to 6.7 in germany and 15.8 in the netherlands. the numbers of people signing up to broadband include those that get their service direct from bt or via the many companies that re-sell bt lines under their own name. part of the surge in people signing up was due to bt stretching the reach of adsl - the uk s most widely used way of getting broadband - beyond 6km.  asymmetric digital subscriber line technology lets ordinary copper phone lines support high data speeds. the standard speed is 512kbps  though faster connections are available.  this breakthrough led to a dramatic increase in orders as we were suddenly able to satisfy the pent-up demand that existed in many areas   said paul reynolds  chief executive of bt wholesale which provides phone lines that other firms re-sell. bt retail  which sells net services under its own name  also had a good quarter and provided about 30% of the new broadband customers. this was a slight increase on the previous three months. despite the good news about growth in broadband  figures from telecommunications regulator ofcom show that bt faces increasing competition  and dwindling influence  in other sectors. local loop unbundling  (llu)  in which bt rivals install their hardware in exchanges and take over the line to a customer s home or office  is growing steadily. cable & wireless and ntl have announced that they are investing millions to start offering llu services. by the end of september more than 4.2 million phone lines were using so-called carrier pre-section (cps) services  such as talktalk and one.tel  which route phone calls across non-bt networks from a local exchange. there are now more than 300 different firms offering cps services and the percentage of people using bt lines for voice calls has shrunk to 55.4%.
621,israel looks to us for bank chief israel has asked a us banker and former international monetary fund director to run its central bank.  stanley fischer  vice chairman of banking giant citigroup  has agreed to take the bank of israel job subject to approval from parliament and cabinet. his nomination by prime minister ariel sharon came as a surprise  and led to gains on the tel aviv stock market. mr fischer  who speaks fluent hebrew  will have to become an israeli citizen to take the job. the us says he will not have to give up us citizenship to do so.  previous incumbent david klein  who often argued with the finance ministry  steps down on 16 january. mr fischer will face a delicate balancing act - both in political and economic terms - between mr sharon and finance minister binyamin netanyahu  who also backed his nomination. but his appointment has also raised hopes that it could bring in fresh investment - and perhaps even an improvement in the country s credit rating mr fischer first went to israel for six months in 1973  and almost emigrated there before deciding finally to return to the us. while teaching at the massachussetts institute of technology he spent a month seconded to the bank of israel in 1979  beginning a long-time involvement in studying israel s economy. in 1983 mr fischer became adviser on israel s economy to then-us secretary of state george shultz. at the world bank in 1985  he participated in drawing up an economic stabilisation package for israel.
1302,short attacks us over tsunami aid former cabinet minister clare short has criticised the us-led tsunami aid coalition  saying the un should be leading efforts.  president bush has announced that an alliance of the us  india  australia and japan will co-ordinate a humanitarian drive. but ms short said the effect of the parallel coalition would be to undermine the un. she said only the un had the  moral authority  to lead the relief work. ms short resigned as international development secretary over the iraq war.  i think this initiative from america to set up four countries claiming to co-ordinate sounds like yet another attempt to undermine the un when it is the best system we have got and the one that needs building up   she said.  only really the un can do that job   she told bbc radio four s pm programme.  it is the only body that has the moral authority. but it can only do it well if it is backed up by the authority of the great powers.  ms short said the countries involved could not boast good records on their response to major disasters. the us was  very bad at coordinating with anyone  and india had its own problems  ms short said.  i don t know what that is about but it sounds very much  i am afraid  like the us trying to have a separate operation and not work with the rest of the world through the un system   she added.
505,kerr frustrated at victory margin republic of ireland manager brian kerr admitted he was frustrated his side did not score more than one goal in their friendly win over croatia.  robbie keane took his republic record to 24 with a first-half goal which proved enough for victory.  we had more good chances. it is just a shame we did not take them against such a technically gifted team   said kerr.  but  given the conditions and the standard of the croatian team  we should be very happy with the win.  the republic side kept a clean sheet for the eighth time in 11 matches and are unbeaten in 14 home games since kerr succeeded mick mccarthy. kerr applauded the decisive move which earned the victory.  it was a brilliant goal  fantastic skill by damien duff. robbie might have scuffed it a little but it was a good goal.  matchwinner keane was another full of praise for duff s role in the goal.  it was great play from damien   said the tottenham striker.   i always try to be sniffing around because you know nine times out of 10 duffer is going to get it in the box.  playing three up was something different. brian kerr wanted to try it out and it was good to see young stephen elliott getting a run-out.  the conditions were difficult but he did well and is definitely one for the future. it is nice to see young players coming through.  man-of-the-match duff explained what went wrong when he fluffed a chance to make it 2-0 midway through the second half. he opted to bring steve finnan s cross down and shoot against the bar when a close-range header looked the best option.  i would have headed that every time but i completely lost it in the lights   said the chelsea star.  i was desperate to get on the scoresheet myself but the result is the important thing.  we have had a good year and are going nicely in the qualifiers. hopefully that can continue in 2005.
2057,student  inequality  exposed teenagers from well-off backgrounds are six times more likely to go to university than those from the most deprived areas  a report says.  the higher education funding council for england said more people went to university between 1994 and 2000. but the percentage of poorer students  hardly changed at all   said its chief executive  sir howard newby. increasingly more women than men went to university  while tuition fees and student loans made no major difference.  the hefce report  drawing on child benefits data  said teenagers in the richest areas could expect a better than 50% chance of going to university  while in the poorest neighbourhoods it was 10%. participation at constituency level ranged from 69% in kensington and chelsea  65% in the city of london and westminster and 62% in sheffield hallam  down to 10% in bristol south and leeds central and 8% in nottingham north and sheffield brightside.  sir howard said the report highlighted the  entrenched divisions  between rich and poor areas  but added it was a social as much as an educational problem. he told bbc news:  we know  once children from deprived backgrounds get into university  they do very well. in fact surprisingly more go into postgraduate study than those from more affluent backgrounds.  the issue is  i think  one of raising aspirations amongst those families and those communities that university is something for them and not for other people.   he said by the time universities traditionally dealt with pupils  between the ages of 16 and 18  it was too late. instead they should be reaching out to communities and schools much earlier  even down to primary school level  to persuade them a university education was something they could aspire to  he said. but while the report revealed stark inequalities and exposed the extent of the challenge  there were some encouraging findings  he added.  tuition fees and student loans in england and wales - and the different fee regime in scotland - did not seem to have affected the choices of young people  even the poorest. the report also showed women were 18% more likely than men to enter higher education in 2000 - up from 6% in 1994. in the poorest areas  the gap was 30% in women s favour and growing faster than anywhere else. the higher education minister  kim howells  said:  we are working in schools to raise the attainment and aspiration of young people in disadvantaged areas.  higher standards in schools would lead to greater participation in higher education. from 2006 upfront tuition fees in england would be removed  with grants for the less well off. the shadow education secretary  tim collins  said:  it is clear from this report that children from disadvantaged areas are far more likely to have encountered poor standards in their secondary education.  tackling these must be the top priority for any government looking to improve university access.  the group which represents university vice-chancellors  universities uk  said the new system of deferred fees in england  due to start in 2006  with grants and bursaries for poorer students  would encourage more of them to go into higher education. the national union of students argued the opposite - that the situation was  likely to get much worse  with poorer students being restricted in choice and having to make decisions based on their financial situation rather than aspiration .  the tables below show the participation rate for each parliamentary constituency in britain:
265,tough rules for ringtone sellers firms that flout rules on how ringtones and other mobile extras are sold could be cut off from all uk phone networks.  the rules allow offenders to be cut off if they do not let consumers know exactly what they get for their money and how to turn off the services. the first month under the new rules has seen at least ten firms suspended while they clean up the way they work. the rules have been brought in to ensure that the problems plaguing net users do not spread to mobile phones.  in the last couple of years ringtones  wallpapers  screensavers and lots of other extras for phones have become hugely popular. but fierce competition is making it difficult for firms to get their wares in front of consumers  said jeremy flynn  head of third party services at vodafone.   if you are not on the operator s portal you are going to have quite heavy marketing costs because it s a problem of how people discover your services   he said. to combat this many ringtone and other mobile content sellers started using a new tactic to squeeze more cash out of customers. this tactic involved signing people up for a subscription to give them  for instance  several ringtones per week or month instead of the single track they thought they were getting. mr flynn said that the move to using subscriptions happened over the space of a few weeks at the end of 2004. websites such as grumbletext.co.uk started getting reports from customers who were racking up large bills for phone content they did not know they had signed up for.  what made us uncomfortable was that these services were not being marketed transparently   said mr flynn.  people did not know they were being offered a subscription service.   we saw potential for substantial consumer harm here   he added.  the swift adoption of subscription services led to the creation of a new code of conduct for firms that want to sell content for mobile phones. the drafting of the new rules was led by the mobile entertainment forum and the uk s phone firms.  everyone is required to conform to this code of conduct   said andrew bud  regulatory head of the mef and executive chairman of messaging firm mblox.   it s all about transparency   he said.  consumers have to be told what they have got themselves into and how to get out of it.   the consumer has a right to be protected   he said. christian harris  partnership manager of mobile content firm zed  said the new system was essential if consumers were to trust companies that sell ringtones and other downloads.  the groundrules must be applied across the whole industry and if that s done effectively we will see the cowboys driven out   he said. the new rules came in to force on 15 january and the first month under the new regime has seen many firms cautioned for not honouring them. some have been told to revamp websites so customers know what they get for their money and what they are signing up for  said mr flynn. also  said mr flynn  vodafone has briefly cut off between eight and ten content sellers flouting the rules.  we have quite draconian contracts with firms   he said.  we do not have to say why. we can just cut them off.  under the rules consumers must be able to switch off the services by using a universal  stop  command sent via text message. he said the system had been designed to limit how much a consumer will pay if they inadvertently signed up for a service.  the mobile is so personal that people really resent the abuse of what is effectively part of their personality   said mr flynn.
262,burren awarded egyptian contracts british energy firm burren energy has been awarded two potentially lucrative oil exploration contracts in egypt.  the company successfully bid for the two contracts  granted by government owned oil firms  covering onshore and offshore areas in the gulf of suez. burren energy already has a presence in egypt  having been awarded an exploration contract last year. the firm  which floated in 2003  recently announced a deal to buy 26% of indian firm hindustan oil exploration. the £13.8m deal gives burren energy access to the indian oil and gas industry. this latest contract expands burren energy s global exploration and production portfolio - it also holds contracts in turkmenistan and the republic of congo.  these assets significantly increase our exploration portfolio in egypt and we continue to investigate further opportunities in this region   said chief executive finian o sullivan.
2176,conservative mp defects to labour a conservative mp and former minister has defected to labour.  robert jackson  58  mp for wantage in oxfordshire  said he was disillusioned with the party s leadership and its  dangerous  views on europe. prime minister tony blair declared himself  delighted   saying mr jackson would be warmly welcomed by labour mps. mr jackson  who has clashed with his leaders over tuition fees and europe in the past  served as higher education minister between 1987 and 1990. in a letter to his constituency chairman he wrote:  it is in the country s best interest that tony blair rather than michael howard should form the next government.  while saying he admired mr blair s  courageous  leadership of the country  he bitterly criticised the conservatives stance on europe.  the conservative party s hostility to europe has now hardened to the point at which it advocates the unilateral denunciation of britain s treaty obligations   he wrote.  mr blair said mr jackson was a  decent  fair-minded and dedicated public servant... who will be warmly welcome by labour mps and members .  as he rightly says  [the conservatives] have learned nothing from their two election defeats and are  if anything  drifting further rightwards   he added. a spokesman for michael howard said mr jackson s views on policy issues were  very different  from those of the party leadership.  he believes students should pay tuition fees  that tony blair should not be criticised over his handling of the iraq war and that more powers should be given to europe   the spokesman said. he added that it was not surprising mr jackson had chosen to leave the conservatives. mr jackson is due to stand down at the next election. he is the third conservative mp to defect to labour since 1997.
1304,gamer buys $26 500 virtual land a 22-year-old gamer has spent $26 500 (£13 700) on an island that exists only in a computer role-playing game (rpg).  the australian gamer  known only by his gaming moniker deathifier  bought the island in an online auction. the land exists within the game project entropia  an rpg which allows thousands of players to interact with each other. entropia allows gamers to buy and sell virtual items using real cash  while fans of other titles often use auction site ebay to sell their virtual wares. earlier this year economists calculated that these massively multi-player online role-playing games (mmorpgs) have a gross economic impact equivalent to the gdp of the african nation of namibia.   this is a historic moment in gaming history  and this sale only goes to prove that massive multi-player online gaming has reached a new plateau   said marco behrmann  director of community relations at mindark  the game s developer.  the virtual island includes a gigantic abandoned castle and beautiful beaches which are described as ripe for developing beachfront property. deathifier will make money from his investment as he is able to tax other gamers who come to his virtual land to hunt or mine for gold. he has also begun to sell plots to people who wish to build virtual homes.  this type of investment will definitely become a trend in online gaming   said deathifier. the entopia economy lets gamers exchange real currency into ped (project entropia dollars) and back again into real money. ten peds are the equivalent to one us dollar and typical items sold include iron ingots ($5) and shogun armour ($1.70) gamers can theoretically earn money by accumulating peds through the acquisition of goods  buildings  and land in the entropia universe. mmorpgs have become enormously popular in the last 10 years with hundreds of thousands of gamers living out alternate lives in fantasy worlds. almost 200 000 people are registered players on project entropia.
1539,no election tv debate  says blair tony blair has said he will not take part in a tv debate with his political rivals ahead of the next election.   we answer this every election campaign and  for the reasons i have given before  the answer is no   he said at his monthly news conference. in october tory leader michael howard said mr blair would be running scared if he refused calls to go head-to-head. in recent years the leader of the opposition has always called for a debate  although it has never happened. before the 2001 election  plans for a debate between mr blair  william hague and charles kennedy collapsed. in 1997 a debate between mr blair and john major was also cancelled when a format could not be agreed. televised debates have become the high point of the us presidential election campaigns.
700,eu china arms ban  to be lifted  the eu embargo on arms exports to china is likely to be lifted in the next six months despite us objections  uk foreign secretary jack straw has said.  the 15-year-old ban was imposed in the aftermath of china s crackdown on protesters in tiananmen square. mr straw told a commons select committee human rights concerns over china remained. but he said it was wrong to put china under the same embargo as countries such as zimbabwe and burma.  in december  the eu pledged to work towards lifting the ban but said it was not ready to do so yet. the eu s move was welcomed at the time by beijing  which described the embargo as a  product of the cold war . german chancellor gerhard schroeder and french president jacques chirac have repeatedly called for the embargo to be lifted. britain has been more cautious on the issue  but on wednesday mr straw said he also wanted it to end.  i have long understood china s argument  that to lump them in with  say  burma and zimbabwe is not appropriate and i don t think it is   he told the joint committee on strategic export controls. he said  it is more likely than not  that the ban would be lifted before britain takes over the presidency of the eu from luxembourg in july. but he said an eu code of conduct would prevent an increase in the number of arms being exported to the country.  if it is lifted we will end up with as effective arms controls in relation to china as we have now.   mr straw said the us government was suspicious of  the motives of some other countries within the eu  in wanting the ban lifted. but he said many of washington s objections were based on a  lack of information and understanding  of how export control guidelines worked in eu countries. and  intense discussions  were taking place with us officials to convince them it was the right thing to do. washington is thought to fear it would lead to a buying spree for arms that could be used by china to threaten its diplomatic rival taiwan. us officials say they are not satisfied the mechanisms in the eu code of conduct are robust enough to prevent abuses. us undersecretary of state john bolton is meeting british officials this week to press the case for keeping the embargo.
2124,rock band u2 break ticket record u2 have smashed irish box office records with ticket sales for their dublin concerts  after more than 150 000 were sold within 50 minutes.  tickets for the two concerts at the city s croke park stadium were released at 8am on friday morning.  nothing like it has ever been seen in ireland before   said justin green  spokesman for organisers mcd promoters.  we could have sold a million tickets.  the dublin dates on june 24 and 25 form part of the worldwide vertigo tour. the tour begins in san diego on 28 march and will cover 13 us cities. the band will also play 24 european gigs  finishing in lisbon in august.  mr green said that ticket outlets had been  bombarded  by u2 fans.  unfortunately there s thousands and thousands of disappointed fans all over the country which is disappointing  but there s only two dates confirmed   he said. many fans camped on the streets of the irish capital for three days to ensure they were first in line at ticketmaster in st stephen s green shopping centre  where the tickets went on sale on friday. however the majority of tickets  priced at between 59.50 and 80 euro each  were sold online. earlier this week  bono announced that the band would play two shows at the venue  which holds almost 80 000 people  due to the phenomenal demand for tickets.
2203,local net tv takes off in austria an austrian village is testing technology that could represent the future of television.  the people of engerwitzdorf are filming  editing and producing their own regional news channel. the channel covers local politics  sports  events and anything that residents want to film and are prepared to upload for others to watch on pcs. the pilot has been so successful that telekom austria is now considering setting up other projects elsewhere.   it s growing unbelievably fast   said rudolf fischer  head of telekom austria s fixed line division. the trial of buntes fernsehen (multi-coloured tv) was started in late 2004 and creates a net-based tv station run by the 8 000 residents of engerwitzdorf. the hardware and software to turn video footage into edited programmes has been provided by telekom austria but this equipment  following training  has been turned over to the villagers. any video programme created by the villagers is uploaded to a buntes fernsehen portal that lets people browse and download what they want to watch. most people watch the tv on their home pc and a broadband connection is needed to get broadcast quality programmes. in the first four months of the project villagers have created 60 films and put together regular reports on local news items.  they have adopted it very quickly   said mr fischer.  they like the possibility to create their own content and see what s going on in the area.   it s kind of the democratisation of local tv   he said   because none of the bigger broadcasters would ever do anything like this for that region.  the buntes fernsehen project has been such a success that telekom austria is now considering setting up other schemes in similarly rural areas. mr fischer said it was taking the roll-out to other areas slowly because of the work involved in setting up the scheme  getting backers from local government and educating people how to make programmes. the engerwitzdorf scheme is an outgrowth of telekom austria s online tv channel aon which lets people watch programmes on their pc. aon streams a couple of live channels  plus sports  news and music programmes on to the net and has a pay-for-download section that lets people watch what they want when they want to watch it. in october a larger tv-on-demand project is due to launch in vienna that will let people download many programmes from the net.
781,london irish 19-33 wasps wasps made light of the absence of several internationals to sink london irish with a trio of second-half tries.  rob hoadley returned to haunt his old club at the madejski stadium  scoring the opening try in the 43rd minute. tom voyce powered through the irish defence for wasps  second try before richard birkett went over unchallenged. mark van gisbergen added 18 points. irish replied with three penalties and a mark mapletoft drop goal before scott staniforth ran in a consolation try. barry everitt  who replaced mapletoft late in the game  added the conversion to become the fourth premiership player to reach 1 000 points. he joins jonny wilkinson  tim stimpson and paul grayson in achieving that target. wasps piled on the pressure in an attempt to grab a fourth try which would have secured them a bonus point  but they were denied by some desperate defending from irish. director of rugby warren gatland revealed that harsh words at half-time inspired his wasps side to raise their game after the restart.   they got a roasting and it was a good second-half performance when they came out and played to instructions   he said. gatland also singled out stand-in flankers tom rees and john hart for special praise.  they did very well. the back row played some fantastic rugby   he added. london irish coach gary gold felt the result exposed his side s lack of consistency.  irish trailed by just two points at the break and gold said:  for 55 minutes we lived with the best but we have got to get back for the full 80 minutes.  gold will now turn his attention to next week s powergen cup semi-final at struggling leeds.  we ve got a good chance but with leeds facing possible relegation they re going to come out firing   he added.  horak  staniforth  penney  nordt  bishop; mapletoft  edwards; hatley  van der walt  hardwick; kennedy  casey; gustard  dawson  murphy.  replacements: everitt for mapletoft (53)  hodgson for edwards (77)  wheatley for hatley (71)  paice for van der walt (60)  strudwick for kennedy (60)  danaher for gustard (66)  reid for murphy (47)  van gisbergen; voyce  erinle  hoadley  roberts; king  richards; payne  greening  dowd; shaw  purdy; hart  rees  dallaglio.  replacements: priscott for roberts (71)  green for dowd (71)  skivington for shaw (71)  birkett for hart (57)  gotting for rees (39). not used: fury  brooks
1558,real in talks over gravesen move real madrid are closing in on a £2m deal for everton s thomas gravesen after the dane s agent travelled to spain to hold talks about a move.  john sivabaek told bbc sport:  i m here to listen to what real have to say. nothing has been agreed  but this is a big opportunity for any player.  the 28-year-old s contract expires in the summer  but real want a quick deal. sivabaek added:  i will be meeting real on wednesday. there is serious interest  but it is everton s hands.  everton must decide whether to cash in now on the denmark midfield man  or risk losing him for nothing in the summer. manager david moyes has defiantly claimed that he expects gravesen to still be at everton when the transfer window closes at the end of january.  moyes said:  i speak to tommy regularly and we know where we are at.  there s been no contact. we don t want to lose him.  real madrid general manager arrigo sacchi is the driving force behind the move  convincing vice-president emilio butragueno and new coach wanderley luxemburgo that gravesen is the right man for the bernabeu. everton must weigh up whether it is worth taking the money on offer for real and risk their own ambitions for european football. gravesen has been outstanding as everton have established themselves in the premiership s top four this season.
1419,clarke faces id cards rebellion charles clarke faces his first real test as home secretary on monday with a possible backbench rebellion over the controversial id cards bill.  up to 30 labour mps could oppose the scheme during a commons debate. mr clarke  who took on the post on thursday after david blunkett quit  has rejected calls to  pause  on the bill. tory leader michael howard also faces a possible rebellion after deciding to back identity cards. the liberal democrats oppose the plans.  mr clarke  writing in the times  accused some critics of  liberal woolly thinking and spreading false fears  by claiming id cards would erode civil liberties. he writes that it is actually a  profoundly civil libertarian measure because it promotes the most fundamental civil liberty in our society - which is the right to live free from fear crime and fear . mr clarke is expected to try and win over opponents to the scheme by saying officials who secretly accessed information they were not allowed to see would face up to two years in jail. he is also expected to cut the £85 cost of the card and passport  for the elderly and those on lower incomes.  mr howard last week said his front bench team had reached a  collective view  to back id cards after holding a  good discussion   but admitted it was  not an easy issue . he had decided to support the plans as the police said they would help fight terror  crime and illegal immigration. but former shadow attorney general bill cash said there was still  very deep  disquiet about the plan among senior tories. he told bbc radio 4 s today the government was  intensely authoritarian  and was creating  increasingly a big brother society . critics argue that introducing the cards would be a costly scheme with no specific aim.  ministers say it would help the fight against terrorism  illegal immigration and organised crime. but opponents say that similar schemes in other countries have not prevented attacks like the madrid rail bombing. on sunday  lib dem leader charles kennedy repeated his call for a  pause  in considering the legislation.  he told bbc s breakfast with frost programme that mr clarke had a  real opportunity  on monday following the departure of mr blunkett.  if you were running a family or a business would you have the second reading of the identity cards bill tomorrow or would you pause to reflect and see what you might do about it in the new year   that is the sensible way to go about it but i think this government has got itself so much into tram lines now that it is not behaving sensibly at all.  the first cards would be issued in 2008 and  when he was introducing the bill  mr blunkett suggested parliament could decide in 2011 or 2012 whether to make it compulsory for everybody to own the cards  although not to carry them. the new bill would also create new criminal offences on the possession of false identity documents.
1311,fosters buys stake in winemaker australian brewer fosters has bought a large stake in australian winemaker southcorp  sparking rumours of a possible takeover.  fosters bought 18.8% of southcorp  the global winemaker behind the penfolds  lindemans and rosemount brands  for 4.17 australian dollars per share. a bid at that price would value the company at a$3.1bn ($2.4bn; £1.25bn ). fosters said it was currently in discussions  which may lead to a major corporate announcement .  in a separate statement  southcorp confirmed the brewer had asked for talks. both firms asked the sydney stock market to suspend trading in their shares until monday. southcorp s shares were suspended at a$4.25.  fosters bought the 18.8% stake from reline investments  the family investment firm for the oatleys  who founded the rosemount estates label and sold it to southcorp in 2001. robert oatley and his son sandy oatley have both resigned from southcorp s board following the share deal. southcorp employs 2 700 people and is the largest single investor in rural australia  according to its website. the prospect of fosters launching a major acquisition startled investors  as the brewer said last summer that it was not looking to expand through a big buy in the near future. it has cash available  after getting a$846m from selling property business lensworth  but it has been widely expected to return cash to shareholders.   people will scratching their heads over this one. fosters has done a back-flip   said shawn burns  a fund manger at deutsche asset management. southcorp s shares have risen in recent months on speculation that it could become a takeover target. it spent two years in the red  returning to profit in 2004. consolidation in the wine industry is being driven by constellation  the world s biggest winemaker. it seized the top spot when it bought australian firm brl hardy for just over $1bn in 2003. since then  it has paid $1bn for us wine maker robert mondavi  bought last month. fosters  main wine business is beringer blass wine estate. its best known brand is fosters lager  though it makes a clutch of beer brands  and spirits. analysts were divided on thursday about whether fosters was more likely to go for a takeover or merely wanted to take a big enough chunk of southcorp to prevent it falling to a rival.  currently  i think the strategic position is more sensible rather than an outright takeover   said one analyst quoted by the agence france presse news agency. however  matt williams  a fund manager at perpetual trustees said taking the stake  is definitely a precursor to a takeover .
124,screensaver tackles spam websites net users are getting the chance to fight back against spam websites  internet portal lycos has made a screensaver that endlessly requests data from sites that sell the goods and services mentioned in spam e-mail. lycos hopes it will make the monthly bandwidth bills of spammers soar by keeping their servers running flat out. the net firm estimates that if enough people sign up and download the tool  spammers could end up paying to send out terabytes of data.   we ve never really solved the big problem of spam which is that its so damn cheap and easy to do   said malte pollmann  spokesman for lycos europe.  in the past we have built up the spam filtering systems for our users   he said   but now we are going to go one step further.    we ve found a way to make it much higher cost for spammers by putting a load on their servers.  by getting thousands of people to download and use the screensaver  lycos hopes to get spamming websites constantly running at almost full capacity. mr pollmann said there was no intention to stop the spam websites working by subjecting them with too much data to cope with. he said the screensaver had been carefully written to ensure that the amount of traffic it generated from each user did not overload the web.  every single user will contribute three to four megabytes per day   he said   about one mp3 file.  but  he said  if enough people sign up spamming websites could be force to pay for gigabytes of traffic every single day. lycos did not want to use e-mail to fight back  said mr pollmann.  that would be fighting one bad thing with another bad thing   he said.  the sites being targeted are those mentioned in spam e-mail messages and which sell the goods and services on offer.  typically these sites are different to those that used to send out spam e-mail and they typically only get a few thousand visitors per day. the list of sites that the screensaver will target is taken from real-time blacklists generated by organisations such as spamcop. to limit the chance of mistakes being made  lycos is using people to ensure that the sites are selling spam goods. as these sites rarely use advertising to offset hosting costs  the burden of high-bandwidth bills could make spam too expensive  said mr pollmann. sites will also slow down under the weight of data requests. early results show that response times of some sites have deteriorated by up to 85%. users do not have to be registered users of lycos to download and use the screensaver. while working  the screensaver shows the websites that are being bothered with requests for data. the screensaver is due to be launched across europe on 1 december and before now has only been trialled in sweden. despite the soft launch  mr pollmann said that the screensaver had been downloaded more than 20 000 times in the last four days.  there s a huge user demand to not only filter spam day-by-day but to do something more   he said  before now users have never had the chance to be a bit more offensive.
664,muslim police stops  more likely  uk muslims should accept that people of islamic appearance are more likely to be stopped and searched by police  a home office minister has said.  hazel blears said innocent muslims would be targeted because of the search for islamic extremists. qualifications for religious leaders to enter the uk could also be made tougher  she told a commons inquiry. her comments have been described as  irresponsible  and  outrageous  by the islamic human rights commission (ihrc).   the threat is most likely to come from those people associated with an extreme form of islam  or who are falsely hiding behind islam   the salford mp told the commons home affairs committee.   it means that some of our counter-terrorism powers will be disproportionately experienced by the muslim community.  it was a reality that should be recognised  she said.  if a threat is from a particular place then our action is going to be targeted at that area   she added. on ministers of religions  such as imams  she said faith groups would be asked what other qualifications and skills  such as civic knowledge and ability to engage the community  should be demanded. last year  ministers introduced a requirement that ministers should speak english to a certain level.  ihrc chairman massoud shadjareh accused ms blears of  playing an islamophobia card  in the run-up to a general election.   she is demonising and alienating our community   he said.  it is a legitimisation for a backlash and for racists to have an onslaught on our community.  this sort of comment is just music to the ears of racists.  later  the prime minister s official spokesman urged people to put ms blears  comments into context. the minister had been saying she understood there was a perception that stop and search was aimed at one community  but that was not what was happening  the spokesman said.   what is happening is that those powers are aimed at those who are suspected of carrying out or planning certain activity who happen to come from one community.  it is not aimed at a particular community  it is not police policy to aim these powers at a particular community   he added. statistics showed that of the 17 people found guilty of terrorist acts in the uk since the 11 september attacks  only four of the 12 whose ethnic backgrounds were known were muslim  he added figures published last week showed that people from ethnic minorities were increasingly likely to be targeted by police stop and search tactics.  figures showed that  for 2003/2004  asians were 1.9 times more likely to be stopped and searched  compared with 1.7 times more likely in the previous year. separate figures on police searches in england and wales carried out under the terrorism act 2000 showed that ethnic minorities were more likely to be targeted. muslim groups have repeatedly claimed that their communities are being victimised under terror laws. in 2003/2004  12.5% searches under the laws were on asian people  even though they make up 4.7% of the population. last july  the police were accused of islamophobia by muslim groups after stop and search figures showed the numbers of asians targeted had risen by 300% since the introduction of anti-terror laws.
282,thanou bullish over drugs hearing katerina thanou is confident she and fellow sprinter kostas kenteris will not be punished for missing drugs tests before the athens olympics.  the greek pair appeared at a hearing on saturday which will determine whether their provisional bans from athletics  ruling body the iaaf should stand.  after five months we finally had the chance to give explanations. i am confident and optimistic   said thanou.  we presented new evidence to the committee that they were not aware of.   the athletes  lawyer grigoris ioanidis said he believed the independent disciplinary committee set up by the greek athletics federation (segas) would find them innocent.  we are almost certain that the charges will be dropped   said ioanidis.   we believe that we have presented [a case] that the charges are unreasonable.  thanou  the 2000 olympic women s 100m silver medallist  and sydney 200m champion kenteris were suspended by the iaaf for missing three drugs tests. the third was supposed to take place on the eve of the athens games last august  but the pair could not be found in the athletes  village. they were later taken to hospital after claiming to have been involved in a motorcycle accident. thanou s coach christos tzekos was also suspended by the iaaf.  we were asked [by the disciplinary committee] all kinds of questions about the night of 12 august   said tzekos.  we did not leave any gaps. as far as i am concerned there is no such issue [of refusing to be tested]  and i am very optimistic.  tzekos  thanou and kenteris  who have all denied the charges  can expect a decision within a month.  deliberations will start after some additional documents are brought in by thursday   said committee chairman kostas panagopoulos.  i estimate that the final ruling will be issued by the end of february.
1700,record fails to lift lacklustre meet yelena isinbayeva may have produced another world pole vault record  but her achievement could not hide the fact it was not the best meet we have ever seen in birmingham.  and hey  there are not many meets that go by without the russian breaking a world record.  apparently  isinbayeva has cleared five metres in training and i would just love her to put us out of our misery and have a go at it rather than extending the indoor record by one centimetre at a time. athletics to me is all about pushing the barriers and being the best you can  and i would like to see her have a go at 5m in competition. mind you  every time she breaks the record she gets $30 000 so she can afford to be deliberate about it. world records aside  i thought it was a very encouraging evening s work for kelly holmes. she looked good and was very positive. agnes samaria  who came second  is in very good shape and is in the world s top three 800m runners this season. yes  samaria let kelly get away  but there was no coming back over the last 200m as kelly dominated the race  so beating samaria is a bit of a benchmark for kelly. my gut feeling is that kelly would like to run in the european indoor championships  but she just hasn t convinced herself she is fit enough to do so. on the other hand  i think jason gardener is struggling to come near what is going to be required to win the men s 60m in madrid. he started well in the final but still could not stay with the front-runners. jason has a lot of experience indoors but for some reason he is struggling to maintain his pace through to the finish.  it would have been nice to see what mark lewis-francis could have done in the final  if only he hadn t got himself disqualified. he was blatantly playing the false-start game to his advantage  but it tripped him up and made him look a bit silly. my view is you re meant to go when the gun goes and not before. and if you try to unsettle your rivals by employing the false-start tactic you have to remember not to false start yourself again. having said that  mark is looking in much better shape. but i haven t seen anything from mark or jason yet which suggests france s ronald pognon - who has run 6.45 seconds - will be under threat at the europeans. from a british point of view  sarah claxton s victory in the 60m hurdles was the best thing to come out of the meet.  something else that probably went unnoticed was melanie purkiss winning the women s national 400m race in a new personal best of 52.98 seconds. aaas champion kim wall came second in another lifetime best so we have a very strong 4x400m squad going to the european championships. scotland s lee mcconnell is probably going to run too  so we have a real prospect of a medal. from an international perspective  i thought meseret defar was disappointing in the 3 000m  but i don t think the pace-making was great. canadian heather hennigar set a fast early pace but could not maintain it and if jo pavey had been in last year s shape she would have given defar a real run for her money. she had a go but just could not hang in there. we were also expecting a bit more from bernard lagat in the men s 1500m. but he has only just come over from the usa  so he may not be that sharp and i still think he is in great shape. as for kenenisa bekele  he was well beaten by markos geneti. but we only had half expectations for bekele as he has been struggling this season. it was very hot in the national indoor arena and i felt uncomfortable in the commentary box. i think those conditions affected the distance runners and in fact defar complained to her coach after the race that she could not get her breath properly.
1107,tarantino  to make friday sequel  director quentin tarantino is in talks to write and direct a new instalment in the friday the 13th horror franchise  according to the hollywood reporter.  the film-maker will reportedly meet executives from new line cinema this week to discuss the 12th film in the long-running  stalk and slash  series. the original film  released in 1980  has spawned ten sequels based around mask-wearing murderer jason voorhees. the most recent  freddy vs jason  was released in summer 2003. that film saw jason battle freddy krueger  star of the nightmare on elm street franchise. according to the industry newspaper  new line had been trying to make another sequel involving ash  the hero of the evil dead movies  but was unable to agree terms with director sam raimi. tarantino is said to be intrigued by the prospect of building a new film around one of the horror genre s most recognised figures. first  however  he is scheduled to direct the season finale of us television series csi: crime scene investigation. filming is due to start in early april. tarantino s episode  for which he also wrote the original story  will be broadcast in the us on 19 may.
922,french boss to leave eads the french co-head of european defence and aerospace group eads philippe camus is to leave his post.  mr camus said in a statement that he has accepted the invitation to return full-time to the lagardere group  which owns 30% of eads.  i will give up my role as soon as the board of directors asks me to do so   he said. airbus head noel forgeard is now set to replace mr camus  bringing the company s power struggle to an end. fighting between mr camus and mr forgeard has hit the headlines in france and analysts feared that this fighting could destabilise the defence and aerospace group. french finance minister herve gaymard is on record as saying that he  deplored  the infighting at the company. the company should now be able put this dispute behind it  with the departure of mr camus and with the clear support given to mr forgeard by the lagardere group  the main french shareholder of eads. the other main shareholders of eads are the french government (15%)   who also support mr forgeard  and germany s daimlerchrysler (30%). rainer hertrich  the german co-head of eads will also step down when his contract expires next year.  mr camus recently came under pressure as it became clear that the a380 superjumbo was running over budget. eads - airbus  majority owner - admitted earlier this week that the project was running 1.45bn euros (£1bn; $1.9bn) over budget. but mr forgeard has denied this  telling french media that there is no current overrun in the budget.  but for the sake of transparency  we told our shareholders last week that if we look at the forecast for total costs of the project up to 2010  there is a risk that we will go over by around 10%  which is about 1bn euros (£686m; $1.32bn)   he told france s lci television. due to enter service in 2006  the a380 will replace the boeing 747 jumbo as the world s biggest passenger aircraft.
652,wife swap makers sue us  copycat  the british producers of us wife swap are taking legal action against a show they claim is  a blatant and wholescale copycat  of their programme.  rdf media  which makes the show for us network abc  has filed a damages claim for $18 million (£9.25 million) against fox s trading spouses. abc bought the rights to the british show  which was first aired in 2003 and became a hit on channel 4. the us network is not part of the claim  but has supported rdf s action.  we respect our producing partners  right to protect their intellectual property in whatever manner they deem most appropriate   said abc in a statement. a spokesman for fox said it had not seen the details of the legal action and could not comment.  their show was first screened in june  and was criticised in the press for its similarities to wife swap. abc originally planned to call their programme trading moms  but changed it to avoid confusion with the fox version. earlier this year  the nbc network claimed that fox s boxing show the next great champ had been hurriedly produced to ensure its programme was the first to be screened. nbc alleged that boxing regulations had been violated  but failed in their attempt to have the show pulled. the fox show proved a ratings flop  while nbc s the contender is due to begin in february.
713,blue beat u2 to top france honour irish band u2 have been honoured at france s biggest music awards  but were beaten to a prize by boy band blue.  u2 received a special achievement prize at the nrj music awards  but blue beat them to the international group award. us band maroon 5 was named best new international artist  and took the best international song title for this love. more than five million radio listeners voted in the awards. the international male and female prizes went to usher and avril lavigne respectively. collecting his band s award from model naomi campbell at the cannes ceremony  u2 frontman bono said in french:  i m not from this country but i ll make a little confession to you - it s at the cote d azur i feel at home.   hosted by radio group nrj  the ceremony featured performances from usher and jennifer lopez  who was accompanied by dancers clad in schoolgirl outfits. us pop act black eyed peas picked up the best international album gong for elephunk. singer jenifer also took home two awards  for best french female singer and best french album. french-canadian pop star roch voisine was named best francophone male artist.
1068,ethiopia s crop production up 24% ethiopia produced 14.27 million tonnes of crops in 2004  24% higher than in 2003 and 21% more than the average of the past five years  a report says.  in 2003  crop production totalled 11.49 million tonnes  the joint report from the food and agriculture organisation and the world food programme said. good rains  increased use of fertilizers and improved seeds contributed to the rise in production. nevertheless  2.2 million ethiopians will still need emergency assistance.  the report calculated emergency food requirements for 2005 to be 387 500 tonnes. on top of that  89 000 tonnes of fortified blended food and vegetable oil for  targeted supplementary food distributions for a survival programme for children under five and pregnant and lactating women  will be needed.  in eastern and southern ethiopia  a prolonged drought has killed crops and drained wells. last year  a total of 965 000 tonnes of food assistance was needed to help seven million ethiopians. the food and agriculture organisation (fao) recommend that the food assistance is bought locally.  local purchase of cereals for food assistance programmes is recommended as far as possible  so as to assist domestic markets and farmers   said henri josserand  chief of fao s global information and early warning system. agriculture is the main economic activity in ethiopia  representing 45% of gross domestic product. about 80% of ethiopians depend directly or indirectly on agriculture.
1116,blunkett sorry over murder plan david blunkett has apologised to mps after the home office announced  prematurely  via press release a review of murder laws.  the home secretary confirmed the review was to get under way in the wake of a law commission report which branded the current murder law as  a mess . he said the review would look at partial defences to murder  including provocation and at mandatory sentences. the home office has already said the review will begin next year.  on wednesday  a home office spokeswoman said the terms of reference for the review had not been established but it was likely to include only england and wales. news of the review was released because it was thought mr blunkett would make the official announcement in a commons debate on wednesday. but the announcement never came  with the home secretary saying the debate had never reached that stage. amid opposition anger  mr blunkett had to answer an emergency question in parliament on thursday. he said he had taken steps to ensure the incident was not repeated. shadow home secretary david davis welcomed his  gracious apology  and the review itself. but he argued the minister should have volunteered a formal statement instead of having to be  dragged  to face mps.  in its report  the law commission said it had found wide support among criminal justice professionals for an end to the mandatory life sentence for murder. the panel suggested different kinds of murders could be  graded  to recognise the seriousness of the offence.  but the home office said mandatory life sentences would not be abolished and argued courts already had flexibility. the commission  an independent body including two judges  a senior barrister and sentencing experts  had been asked to consider reforms to the defence of provocation in murder cases. but it said its proposals were unlikely to work without a far wider review of the law. results of a consultation exercise showed 64 respondents out of 146 - among them 21 judges - believed a mandatory life sentence for every murder was  indefensible and should cease .  a key question was whether one category should continue to cover all types of murder from mercy killings to serial or contract killings. the commission found support for the idea of grading murders so that the sentence reflected the seriousness of the offence. but speaking after the report was published  home office minister baroness scotland said:  murder is the most serious of crimes and we have no intention of abolishing the mandatory life sentence.  where an offender is convicted of murder  the court must pass a life sentence.  the commission also recommended tightening the law so that the provocation defence cannot be used in cases where someone has killed for revenge  such as a jealous husband who murders an unfaithful wife.
869,moody joins up with england lewis moody has flown to dublin to join england s camp ahead of their rbs six nations game against ireland on sunday.  despite joining the squad  the leicester flanker only has a  slim  chance of playing because of an infection in his finger. a decision will be taken on saturday as to whether the 26-year-old will be declared fit. if he fails to recover in time for the game  his place at the back of the pack will be taken by andy hazell. chris jones will then start the game on the bench.  the chances of him playing are very slim   said coach andy robinson.  the infection is deeper than was thought.   moody had to be put on a drip in an attempt to force antibiotics through his infected finger. he suffered the cut playing against france at twickenham and it became infected during a 10-minute outing as a replacement for leicester against newcastle last saturday.  the mud got into it   robinson added.  he has had a big course of antibiotics but they haven t done the job we hoped they would.  robinson has already been forced to make one change to the starting line-up with bath prop matt stevens coming in for the injured phil vickery.  the 22-year-old has only made 10 starts for his club but has made 49 appearances from the bench.  it can be frustrating but i ve had a lot more game time this season and i m ready for it   stevens said.  i ve been on tour with these boys and i ve been in the england set-up for two years so i know the calls and the way they play.  stevens will be winning his third cap on sunday after coming on twice as a replacement on the tour to new zealand last year.  robinson has confirmed that fly-half charlie hodgson will be the first-choice kicker despite his three missed penalties and a drop goal against france.  charlie s state of mind is very good   said robinson.  obviously  we are all disappointed we lost the french game and the circumstances in which we did.  but he responded well last week in his goalkicking for sale and he will be our first-choice kicker this week.   robinson also admits his side must improve their line-out work against irish duo malcolm o kelly and paul o connell  one of the most effective partnerships in the game.  in each game we ve missed a number of line-outs   he added.  it cost us the game against wales but it has improved.  it was better against france and will have to go up another notch against ireland. it will be a huge battle.  look at the way they tore us apart last year. if it doesn t function  we will be in for a torrid time.
1703,call to overhaul uk state pension the uk pension system has been branded inadequate and too complex by a leading retirement think-tank.  the pensions policy institute (ppi) said replacing the state pension with a  citizen s pension  would help tackle inequality and complexity. the change would see pensions being calculated on length of residency in the uk rather than national insurance (ni) contributions. reform could reduce poverty by aiding people with broken employment records.  the ppi added that once the state system was reformed the government should look at options to overhaul private and workplace pensions. the think tank s proposals were made in response to the recent publication of the pensions commission s initial report into uk retirement savings. according to the pensions commission s report 12 million working people are not saving enough for their retirement. as a result  living standards could fall for the next generation of uk pensioners. the report added that a combination of higher taxes  higher savings and/or a higher average retirement age was needed to solve the uk pension crisis.
1668,broadband in the uk gathers pace one person in the uk is joining the internet s fast lane every 10 seconds  according to bt.  the telecoms giant said the number of people on broadband via the telephone line had now surpassed four million. including those connected via cable  almost six million people have a fast  always-on connection. the boom has been fuelled by fierce competition and falling prices  as well as the greater availability of broadband over the phone line.  the take-up rate for broadband is accelerating at a terrific pace   said ben verwaayen  bt s chief executive.  we will be in a very strong position to hit our five million target by summer 2006 much earlier than we had previously expected.   the last million connections were made over the past four months  with thousands of people being added to the total every day of the week.  those signing up to broadband include those that get their service direct from bt or via the many companies that re-sell bt lines under their own name. part of the surge in people signing up was due to bt stretching the reach of adsl - the uk s most widely used way of getting broadband - beyond six kilometres. asymmetric digital subscriber line technology lets ordinary copper phone lines support high data speeds. the standard speed is 512kbps  though faster connections are available. according to bt  more than 95% of uk homes and businesses can receive broadband over the phone line. it aims to extend this figure to 99.4% by next summer. there are also an estimated 1.7 million cable broadband customers in the uk.
501,global digital divide  narrowing  the  digital divide  between rich and poor nations is narrowing fast  according to a world bank report.  the world bank questioned a united nation s campaign to increase usage and access to technology in poorer nations.  people in the developing world are getting more access at an incredible rate - far faster than... in the past   said the report. but a spokesman for the un s world summit on the information society said the digital divide remained very real.  the digital divide is rapidly closing   the world bank report said.  half the world s population now has access to a fixed-line telephone  the report said  and 77% to a mobile network.  the report s figures surpass a wsis campaign goal that calls for 50% access to telephones by 2015. the un hopes that widening access to technology such as mobile phones and the net will help eradicate poverty.  developing countries are catching up with the rich world in terms of access [to mobile networks]   the report said.  africa is part of a worldwide trend of rapid rollout... this applies to countries rich and poor  reformed or not  african  asian  european and latin american.   a spokesman for the world summit for the information society (wsis)  which is meeting this week in geneva  told the bbc news website:  the digital divide is very much real and needs to be addressed.  some financing has to be found to help narrow the divide.  on tuesday  a meeting of the wsis in geneva agreed to the creation of a digital solitary fund.  the fund is voluntary and will help finance local community-based projects   said the wsis spokesman. under the proposals agreed  voluntary contribution of 1% on contracts obtained by private technology service providers could be made to the digital solidarity fund. the exact financing mechanism of the fund is to be ironed out in the coming days  said the wsis. sixty percent of resources collected by the fund will be made available for projects in least developed countries  30% for projects in developing countries  and 10% for projects in developed countries.
2053,renault boss hails  great year  strong sales outside western europe helped renault boost its profits by more than 40% in 2004 although the firm warned of lower margins this year.  france s second largest carmaker enjoyed a healthy 43% rise in net profits to 2.4bn euros ($3.1bn; £2.9bn) as sales rose 8% to 40.7bn euros. the firm said strong demand outside western europe and the good performance of its megane range lifted its results. chairman louis schweitzer said 2004 had been a  great year  for the firm.  renault sold more than 2.4 million vehicles in 2004  an increase of 4% on the previous year. growth came mainly from outside western europe  with particularly strong sales in turkey  russia and north africa.  in total  sales outside western europe - renault s core market - rose 16.5%. japanese carmaker nissan - in which renault owns a 44% stake - contributed 1.7bn euros in net income over the year. nissan chairman carlos ghosn is to succeed mr schweitzer at the head of renault later this year.  renault said the outlook for the industry in europe this year was  stable   with small growth forecast in other regions. the firm will benefit from the launch of a new clio model in the coming year and the roll-out of the logan in many markets. however  the firm said it expected operating margins to be lower in 2005  at 4% of sales as opposed to 5%.  in a sluggish market and an environment impacted by the rise in raw material prices  renault intends to continue to grow its global sales   the company said in a statement.
908,butler launches attack on blair former civil service chief lord butler has criticised the way tony blair s government operates  accusing it of being obsessed with headlines.  he also attacked the way the iraq war was  sold  to the public  with important warnings on the strength of the intelligence left out. tory leader michael howard said lord butler had given the  most damaging testimony  he could remember. but downing street said mr blair should be judged by results not his style.  lord butler said mr blair bypassed the cabinet and relied instead on small  informal groups of advisers to help him make decisions. the prime minister s official spokesman said the cabinet was still used to achieve a consensus on important issues. but he added:  you cannot  in a modern government  take every decision in cabinet. it s just not possible.   lord butler said the government had too much freedom to  bring in bad bills  and  to do whatever it likes  and it relied too much on the advice of political appointees. the former cabinet secretary said in an interview with the spectator magazine:  i would be critical of the present government in that there is too much emphasis on selling  there is too much central control and there is too little of what i would describe as reasoned deliberation which brings in all the arguments.  mr howard described lord butler s intervention as  very important .  this is from someone who was an insider at the very heart of the blair government.  it is certainly the most damaging testimony i can ever remember from someone in such an eminent position.   lord butler s report earlier this year into iraq intelligence said the government s september 2002 weapons dossier did not make clear intelligence about claims that saddam hussein had stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons was  very thin . the reason for this is that it would have weakened ministers  case for war  lord butler said in his spectator interview  which was conducted by the magazine s editor  conservative mp boris johnson. he said:  when civil servants give material to ministers  they say these are the conclusions we ve drawn  but we ve got to tell you the evidence we ve got is pretty thin.  similarly  if you are giving something to the united nations and the country you should warn them.   asked why he thought the warnings were not there lord butler said:  one has got to remember what the purpose of the dossier was. the purpose of the dossier was to persuade the british why the government thought iraq was a very serious threat.   when asked whether he thought the country was well-governed on the whole  he replied:  well. i think we are a country where we suffer very badly from parliament not having sufficient control over the executive  and that is a very grave flaw.  we should be breaking away from the party whip. the executive is much too free to bring in a huge number of extremely bad bills  a huge amount of regulation and to do whatever it likes - and whatever it likes is what will get the best headlines tomorrow.  all that is part of what is bad government in this country.  lord butler s assessment was backed by his predecessor as cabinet secretary  lord armstrong. lord armstrong told bbc two s newsnight:  i agree ... there doesn t appear to be the sort of informed collective political judgement brought to bear on decision-making that those affected by decisions are entitled to expect.  liberal democrat deputy leader menzies campbell said he thought lord butler s comments were  well justified  and mr blair s style of leadership was  corrosive of the whole system of government . but labour former minister jack cunningham accused lord butler of basing his comments on the first eight months of the incoming labour administration  when he was cabinet secretary. mr cunningham told bbc radio 4 s today programme:  taken together  robin butler s comments are partial  inaccurate and cannot be taken as anything other than politically biased against the labour government.
1306,parry relishes anfield challenge bbc sport reflects on the future for liverpool after our exclusive interview with chief executive rick parry.  chief executive parry is the man at the helm as liverpool reach the most crucial point in their recent history. parry has to deliver a new 60 000-seat stadium in stanley park by 2007 amid claims of costs spiralling above £120m. he is also searching for an investment package of a size and stature that will restore liverpool to their place at european football s top table. but it is a challenge that appears to sit easily with parry  who has forged a reputation as one of football s most respected administrators since his days at the fledgling premier league.  liverpool have not won the championship since 1990  a fact that causes deep discomfort inside anfield as they attempt to muscle in on the top three of chelsea  manchester united and arsenal. throw in the small matter of warding off every top club in world football as they eye captain steven gerrard  and you can see parry is a man with a lot on his plate. but in the comfort of a conference room deep inside liverpool s heartbeat - the kop end - parry spoke to us with brutal honesty about the crucial months ahead. he only dodged one question - when asked to reveal the name of the mystery investor currently courting liverpool  a polite smile deflected the inquiry. but to his credit  he met everything else head on in measured tones that underscore the belief that liverpool still mean business.  by business he means becoming title challengers again  and locking the pieces together that will help return the trophy to liverpool is parry s mission. parry has already successfully put one of those planks in place in the form of new manager rafael benitez. and his enthusiasm for the spaniard s personality and methods is an indication of his clear feeling that he has struck gold. benitez s early work has given parry renewed optimism about the years ahead. but it remains a massive task at a club with a unique history and expectations. this will not come as news to parry  a lifelong liverpool supporter  but his quiet determination suggests he is no mood to be found wanting...  captain gerrard is central to liverpool s plans and parry s insistence that all offers will be refused is a firm statement of intent. as ever  the player will have the final say  and parry acknowledges that  but he is determined to provide the framework and environment for liverpool and gerrard to flourish.  in terms of the search for new investment  hawkpoint were appointed as advisors to flush out interest in march 2004. thailand prime minister thaksin shiniwatra came and went  while the most serious statement of intent came from tycoon and lifelong fan steve morgan. morgan had a succession of bids rejected  having come close in the summer only for talks to break down over potential costs for the new stadium. bbc sport understands morgan is still ready and willing to invest in liverpool  and parry has kept the door ajar despite currently seeking investment elsewhere.  morgan  however  has had no formal contact with liverpool or their advisors since last december  blaming indecision at board level as he publicly withdrew his £70m offer. he was also convinced his interest was being used to lure in others  so any new approach would now have to come from liverpool. morgan will certainly not be making another call. so speculation continues about the new benefactor  with trails leading to the middle east and america  but all met with an understandable veil of secrecy from anfield.  parry meanwhile sees the new ground as crucial to liverpool s future  but is refusing to become emotionally attached to the idea. he is determined the ground will only be built on an affordable basis and will not make future liverpool management hostages to the new stadium. parry will pull back the moment the figures do not stack up  but there has been a vital new development in north london that has re-shaped liverpool s thinking.  liverpool have publicly refused to entertain the idea of stadium sponsorship and potential naming rights - but the realism of arsenal s stunning £100m deal for their new emirates stadium at ashburton has changed the landscape. parry labelled the deal  an eye-opener  and admits liverpool would be missing a trick not to explore the possibilities. he knows some traditionalist liverpool fans will reel at any attempt to call the new stadium anything other than just  anfield   but the maths of modern-day football decree that multi-millions for stadium and team could ease the pain.  i would take £50m if we had no investment  but if we did  keep him. as for the stadium  if it gets us cash what difference does it make really   £50m for gerrard  i don t care who you are  the directors would take the money and it is the way it should be. we cannot let that sum of money go  despite gerrard s quality.  through a cleverly worded statement  the club has effectively forced gerrard to publicly make the decision for himself  which i think is the right thing to do.  critical time for liverpool with regards to gerrard. ideally we would want to secure his future to the club for the long term. i am hoping he doesn t walk out of the club like michael owen did for very little cash.  £50m realistically would allow rafa to completely rebuild the squad  however  if we can afford to do this and keep gerrard we will be better for it. i would however be happy with gerrard s transfer for any fee over £35m.  parry s statements are clever in that any future gerrard transfer cannot be construed as a lack of ambition by the club to not try and keep their best players. upping the ante is another smart move by parry.  i would keep gerrard. no amount of money could replace his obvious love of the club and determination to succeed.  the key is if gerrard comes out and says that he is happy. clearly  if he isn t  then we would be foolish not to sell. the worrying thing is who would you buy (or who would come) pending possible non-champions league football.
348,healthsouth ex-boss goes on trial the former head of us medical services firm healthsouth overstated earnings and assets to boost the company s share price  it was claimed in court.  richard scrushy  52  is accused of  directing  a $2.7bn (£1.4bn) accounting fraud at the company he co-founded in alabama in 1984. prosecutors said he was motivated by wealth - spending about $200m between 1996 and 2002 while earning much less. defence lawyers said mr scrushy had been deceived by other executives. several former healthsouth employees have already pleaded guilty to fraud and are expected to give evidence against mr scrushy.   we will present evidence that richard scrushy knew about the conspiracy  that he participated in the conspiracy and that he profited   prosecutor alice martin told the court. mr scrushy is the first chief executive to be tried for breaching the sarbanes oxley act - a law introduced in the wake of the enron and worldcom frauds which obliges corporate bosses to vouch for the accuracy of their companies  results. among the charges he faces are conspiracy to commit fraud  filing false statements and money laundering. after federal agents raided healthsouth s offices in march 2003  the company said none of its past financial statements could be relied on. the firm has since reorganised its board and management team and currently operates about 1 400 health clinics.
149,moya emotional at davis cup win carlos moya described spain s davis cup victory as the highlight of his career after he beat andy roddick to end the usa s challenge in seville.  moya made up for missing spain s 2000 victory through injury by beating roddick 6-2 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-5) to give the hosts an unassailable 3-1 lead.  i have woken up so many nights dreaming of this day   said moya.  all my energy has been focused on today.  what i have lived today i do not think i will live again.  spain s only other davis cup title came two years ago in valencia  when they beat australia. and moya  nicknamed charly  admitted:  the davis cup is my dream and i was a bit nervous at the outset.  some people have said that i am obsessed but i think that it is better this way. it helps me reach my goals if i am obsessed.  it s really incredible - to get the winning point is really something.  spanish captain jordi arrese said:  charly played a great game. it was his opportunity and he hasn t let us down.  he had lost three times to roddick  and this was his day to beat him.  he had been waiting years to be in this position.  spain s victory was also remarkable for the performance of rafael nadal  who beat roddick in the opening singles.  aged 18 years and 185 days  the mallorcan became the youngest player to win the davis cup.  what a great way to finish the year   said nadal afterwards. us coach patrick mcenroe wants roddick and the rest of his team to play more tennis on clay and hone their skills on the surface.  i think it will help these guys even on slow hard courts to learn how to mix things up a little bit and to play a little bit smarter and tactically better.   obviously it s unrealistic to say that we re going to just start playing constantly on clay  with the schedule.  but certainly i think we can put the work in at the appropriate time and play a couple more events and play against these guys who are the best on this stuff   said mcenroe. roddick was left frustrated after losing both his singles on the slow clay of seville s olympic stadium.  it s just tough because i felt like i was in it the whole time against one of the top three clay-courters in the world   said the american.  i had my chances and just didn t convert them. the bottom line is they were just better than us this weekend.  they came out  took care of business and they beat us. it s as simple as that.
1173,yukos bankruptcy  not us matter  russian authorities do not have to abide by any us court decisions taken with regard to troubled oil giant yukos  a houston court has been told.  legal expert william butler said there was no treaty between the us and russia to recognise the other s legal rulings. that meant moscow would not have to adhere to us rulings in the yukos case. yukos says a us court was entitled to declare it bankrupt before its yugansk unit was sold  since it has a us subsidiary and local bank accounts.  yukos made its surprise chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in houston in december in an unsuccessful attempt to halt the auction of yugansk  its main oil producing unit  by russian authorities. yugansk was sold to help pay off a $27.5bn (£14.5bn) back tax bill. it was bought for $9.4bn by a previously unknown group  which was in turn bought by state-controlled oil company rosneft. the us court s jurisdiction has been challenged by deutsche bank and gazpromneft  a former unit of russian gas monopoly gazprom which is due to merge with rosneft. deutsche bank maintains the case has no place in a us court because yukos has no assets in the us  apart from two bank accounts and a house in houston owned by its chief finance officer bruce misamore. deutsche bank is involved in the case because it is itself being sued by yukos. it had agreed to loan gazpromneft the money to bid for yugansk. us bankruptcy judge letitia clark  who issued an injunction in december to try and prevent the yugansk sale  has said she will rule  pretty promptly  however i do not anticipate ruling on it before next tuesday .  yukos has claimed it sought help in the us because other forums - russian courts and the european court of human rights - were either unfriendly or offered less protection. it has claimed that russia imposed the huge tax bill and forced the sale of yugansk as part of a campaign to destroy yukos and its former owner mihkail khodorkovsky  who is facing a 10-year prison term in russia for fraud and tax evasion. yukos  parent company  the gibraltar-based menatep group  is suing russia in europe for $28.3bn in financial damages. the company is also seeking $20bn in a separate us lawsuit against rosneft and gazprom for their role in the sale of yugansk.
6,howard hits back at mongrel jibe michael howard has said a claim by peter hain that the tory leader is acting like an  attack mongrel  shows labour is  rattled  by the opposition.  in an upbeat speech to his party s spring conference in brighton  he said labour s campaigning tactics proved the tories were hitting home. mr hain made the claim about tory tactics in the anti-terror bill debate.  something tells me that someone  somewhere out there is just a little bit rattled   mr howard said. mr hain  leader of the commons  told bbc radio four s today programme that mr howard s stance on the government s anti-terrorism legislation was putting the country at risk. he then accused the tory leader of behaving like an  attack mongrel  and  playing opposition for opposition sake .  mr howard told his party that labour would  do anything  say anything  claim anything to cling on to office at all costs .  so far this year they have compared me to fagin  to shylock and to a flying pig. this morning peter hain even called me a mongrel.  i don t know about you  but something tells me that someone  somewhere out there is just a little bit rattled.  environment secretary margaret beckett rejected mr howard s comment  telling radio 4 s pm programme that labour was not  rattled .  we have a very real duty to try to get people to focus on michael howard s record  what the proposals are that he is trying to put forward to the country and also the many examples we are seeing now of what we believe is really poor judgement on his behalf.   mr howard said tory policies on schools  taxes  immigration and crime were striking a chord with voters.   since the beginning of this year - election year - we ve been making the political weather   he told the party conference. mr howard denied he had been  playing politics  by raising the case of margaret dixon  whose operation had been cancelled seven times  which grabbed headlines for the party two weeks ago. and he hit back at labour claims he had used mrs dixon as a  human shield .  she s not a human shield mr blair  she s a human being.  mr howard said his party plans for immigration quotas  which have also been the focus of much media coverage  were not  racist  - just  common sense .  he pledged cleaner hospitals and better school discipline  with a promise to get rid of  political correctness  in the national curriculum and give everyone to the same chance of a  decent  state education as he had.  i come from an ordinary family. if the teenage michael howard were applying to cambridge today  gordon brown would love me.   and he stressed his party s commitment to cut taxes and red tape and increase the basic state pension in line with earnings. he finished with a personal appeal to party activists to go out and win the next election.  one day you will be able to tell your children and grandchildren as i will tell mine   i was there. i did my bit. i played my part. i helped to win that famous election - the election that transformed our country for the better .  labour election co-ordinator alan milburn said:  michael howard s speech today confirms what we have always said - that his only strategy is opportunism but he has no forward vision for the country. in reference to the appearance of mr howard s family on the conference stage with him  mr milburn said:  michael howard is perfectly entitled to pose with his family today.  but it is the hard working families across britain that will be damaged by his plan to cut £35bn from public spending.
1180,wal-mart to pay $14m in gun suit the world s largest retailer  wal-mart  has agreed to pay a total of $14.5m (£7.74m) to settle a lawsuit over gun sales violations in california.  the lawsuit alleged wal-mart committed thousands of gun sales violations in california between 2000 and 2003. the total payment includes $5m in fines and more than $4m to fund state compliance checks with gun laws and prevent ammunition sales to minors. wal-mart agreed to suspend firearms sales in its california stores in 2003   the alleged violations included the sale of guns to 23 people who were not allowed to possess them  and delivering 36 guns to customers who acquired them for people not allowed to own firearms. although wal-mart has suspended firearms sales in the state  california attorney general bill lockyer said he wanted to be sure the giant supermarket chain would follow state rules in future.  wal-mart s failure to comply with gun safety laws put the lives of all californians at risk by placing guns in the hands of criminals and other prohibited persons   said mr lockyer.  although wal-mart has suspended gun sales in california  this settlement will ensure that it follows state law if it renews sales and will also provide valuable public education about the importance of gun safety.  the world s largest retailer has not yet decided whether to resume firearms sales in california  company spokesman gus whitcomb said.
107,mcclaren eyes uefa cup top spot steve mcclaren wants his middlesbrough team to win their uefa cup group by beating partizan belgrade.  boro have already qualified for the knockout stages alongside partizan and villareal  at the expense of lazio. but boss mcclaren is looking for a victory which would mean they avoid a team that has played in the champions league in friday s third-round draw.  to need a win to finish top is fantastic  but it is going to be a tough one   mcclaren said.  when the draw was made  i thought it was the toughest group of them all - and so it has proved.  lazio were favourites  villarreal have been semi-finalists  and partizan have fantastic experience in europe.  the pleasing thing is we did the business in the first two games.  winning those two has put us in a great position and it has been a fantastic experience playing these teams.
1629,malik rejects all-black mp lists a call for ethnic minority shortlists to boost the number of black and asian mps has been rejected by one of labour s most senior asians.  shahid malik  who is on labour s ruling nec  accepted people s frustration but said there should be targets not lists to boost representation of minorities. just 13 of britain s 659 mps are from ethnic minority groups  he added. commission for racial equality chief trevor phillips argued on sunday the time had come for such shortlists. that came after it emerged that one of britain s most ethnically diverse constituency  west ham  was to get a women-only shortlist for the next election following an nec ruling.  mr phillips said changes to the race relations legislation might allow political parties to reserve seats for under-represented groups. for example in west ham  this might allow only women and minorities to seek to be candidates.  if we get to the other side of the general election and find that minorities are not represented  we have to say that after 20 or 30 years of talking about this  we cannot go on the same way   he said. he added:  it would be terribly disappointing if in the least white constituency [west ham] in the whole of europe we didn t have a minority candidate.  appearing on bbc radio 4 s today programme  mr malik  who is himself running for the seat of dewsbury  acknowledged that so far women-only shortlists had failed to deliver a boost in the number of ethnic minority candidates.  but he argued:  i do think that there currently things that parties can do and which they aren t doing... for example setting targets to ensure that existing democratic structures are more reflective.  labour mp diane abbot  who backs mr phillips  proposal of shortlists  said she had been elected along with three other ethnic minority mps - keith vaz  paul boateng and bernie grant - in 1987 but it took another 10 years before another black woman was able to win a seat. that was a rate of progress ms abbott described as  painful .  i am a little older than shahid and served on the national executive committee in the 1990s - i was the first black person on the nec ... crossing our fingers and hoping we are going to get more black and asian mp hasn t worked   she said.  the shortlist strategy works for women and i believe that it can be made to work for black and asian people.  on tuesday labour chairman ian mccartney said his party was  ambitious  to improve black and asian representation.  we haven t ruled out all-black shortlists and welcome a debate in the party about this   he said.
131,seamen sail into biometric future the luxury cruise liner crystal harmony  currently in the gulf of mexico  is the unlikely setting for tests of biometric technology.  as holidaymakers enjoy balmy breezes  their ship s crew is testing prototype versions of the world s first internationally issued biometric id cards  the seafarer s equivalent of a passport. along with the owner s picture  name and personal details  the new seafarers  identity document incorporates a barcode representing unique features of its holder s fingerprints. the cards are due to be issued in february next year  in line with the revised un convention on seafarers  identity documents of june 2003. tests currently under way in the caribbean are designed to ensure that new cards and their machine readers  produced by different companies in different countries  are working to interoperable standards. results of the current tests  which involve seafarers from a wide range of occupations and nationalities  will be published by the international labour organisation (ilo) by the end of november. crystal cruises  which operates the crystal harmony  is exploring the use of biometrics but has not yet committed to the technology.  authenti-corp  the us technology consultancy  has been working with the ilo on its technical specifications for the cards.   if you re issued a seafarer s id in your country  you want to be sure that when the ship lands in a port in  say  my country you can validate yourself using whatever equipment we have installed   authenti-corp s ceo  cynthia musselman  told the bbc s go digital programme. she said french  jordanian and nigerian nationals would be the first seafarers to get the new id cards since their countries have already ratified the convention. it aims to combat international terrorism whilst guaranteeing the welfare the one million seafarers estimated to be at sea. the convention highlights the importance of access to shore facilities and shore leave as vital elements to a sailor s wellbeing and  therefore  it says  to safer shipping and cleaner oceans.  by increasing security on the seas as well as border control and protection  the cards will hopefully reduce the number of piracy problems around the world   said ms musselman.  it should be a safer environment for seafarers to work in  and will allow people protecting their borders to have confidence that the people getting off the ship are  in fact  seafarers.
1046,italy 17-28 ireland two moments of magic from brian o driscoll guided ireland to a workmanlike victory against italy.  a pair of classic outside breaks from the ireland captain set up tries for geordan murphy and peter stringer. italy led 9-8 early in the second half but stringer s try gave ireland a lead they never lost. the hosts cut the gap to 18-12 with 10 minutes left and nearly scored through ludovico nitoglia  but denis hickie s try ensured an irish victory. italy came flying out of the blocks and took the lead through a luciano orquera penalty after seven minutes.  it could have been better for the hosts but the fly-half missed two kickable penalties and ireland drew level with a ronan o gara penalty midway through the first half. the italians were driving at the heart of the irish defence and  for the first quarter  the irish pack struggled to secure any ball for their talented backs.  when they finally did  just before the half-hour mark  o driscoll promptly created a sparkling try for murphy. the ireland captain ran a dummy scissors and made a magical outside break before drawing the full-back and putting the diving murphy in at the corner. o gara missed the twice-taken conversion and the visitors found themselves trailing once again. roland de marigny took over the kicking duties for italy from the hapless orquera  and he landed a penalty either side of the break to edge italy into a 9-8 lead.  the only ireland player offering a real threat was o driscoll  and it was his break that set up the second try for the visitors. shane horgan threw an overhead pass as he was about to be forced into touch and stringer scooted over  with o gara landing the tricky conversion. a penalty apiece saw ireland leading 18-12 as the game entered the final quarter  but they were lucky to survive when italy launched a series of attacks. winger nitoglia dropped the ball as he reached for the line and italy nearly rumbled over from a driving maul.  an o gara penalty put ireland more than a converted try ahead and they made the game safe when hickie latched onto an inside pass from murphy and crossed for a converted try. o driscoll limped off late on  joining centre partner gordon d arcy on the sidelines  and the final word went to italy. prop martin castrogiovanni powered over for a try which was fitting reward for an italian pack which had kept the irish under pressure throughout.  de marigny; mi bergamasco  canale  masi  nitoglia; orquera  troncon; lo cicero  ongaro  castrogiovanni; dellape  bortolami; persico  ma bergamasco  parisse.  perugini  intoppa  del fava  dal maso  griffen  pozzebon  robertson.  murphy  horgan  o driscoll  d arcy  hickie  o gara  stringer  corrigan  byrne  hayes  o kelly  o connell  s easterby  leamy  foley.  sheahan  horan  o callaghan  miller  g easterby  humphreys  dempsey.  p o brien (new zealand)
698,tory leader urges harry apology prince harry should personally make clear how sorry he is about wearing a nazi uniform to a friend s fancy dress party  says tory leader michael howard.  mr howard  whose grandmother died in auschwitz  said many people would be offended by the prince s actions clarence house has issued a statement saying the prince has apologised and realised it had been a poor costume. number 10 said an error was made but now harry had apologised the matter should be left to the palace. that was a message repeated by home secretary charles clarke who said the matter should now be left to lie.  but lib dem leader charles kennedy said harry was in a privileged position and said he should apologise in person.  there is a reservoir of goodwill for prince harry  and prince william with him  in this country  but i think he needs to remember that it can t last forever.  he added that sandhurst would probably be good for harry as it would teach him some self discipline. former labour mp lord janner  who is a high profile member of britain s jewish community  branded harry s action s  stupid and evil . he told itv:  the time has come for him to make a public apology. it is about common decency  of respect to the people who fought the nazis  to the families of those who were killed by the nazis and to people who suffered during the holocaust.  he added:  i would send him in the army as fast as possible. i hope that would teach him not to behave like that.   a photograph of prince harry wearing a swastika armband and german desert uniform at the party appears in thursday s sun newspaper under the headline:  harry the nazi.  mr howard acknowledged the prince s apology and said he had no doubt the prince s father and family would have much to say to him privately about the incident. but he told bbc radio 4 s today programme:  it might be appropriate to tell us himself just how contrite he is.  mr howard declined to say what form the statement should take. but former buckingham palace press spokesman dicky arbiter said the prince should make a personal  broadcast apology. mr clarke said he recognised people s concerns about the costume but argued:  he has apologised and i think we should leave the matter there.
751,s korean consumers spending again south korea looks set to sustain its revival thanks to renewed private consumption  its central bank says.  the country s economy has suffered from an overhang of personal debt after its consumers  credit card spending spree. card use fell sharply last year  but is now picking up again with a rise in spending of 14.8% year-on-year.  the economy is now heading upward rather than downward   said central bank governor park seung.  the worst seems to have passed.  mr park s statement came as the bank decided to keep interest rates at an all-time low of 3.25%. it had cut rates in november to help revive the economy  but rising inflation - reaching 0.7% month-on-month in january - has stopped it from cutting further. economic growth in 2004 was about 4.7%  with the central bank predicting 4% growth this year. other indicators are also suggesting that the country is inching back towards economic health. exports - traditionally the driver for expansion in asian economies - grew slower in january than at any time in 17 months. but domestic demand seems to be taking up the slack. consumer confidence has bounced back from a four-year low in january  and retail sales were up 2.1% in december. credit card debt is falling  with only one in 13 of the 48 million cards now in default - down from one in eight at the end of 2003. one of its biggest card issuers  lg card  was rescued from collapse in december  having almost imploded under the weight of its customers  bad debts. the government last year tightened the rules for card lending to keep the card glut under control.
1501,smartphones suffer skulls attack owners of some nokia smartphones are being warned to watch out for malicious wallpaper.  those downloading the software could find all the icons on their 7610 phone swapped for images of skulls. when installed the malicious program also locks many of the 7610 s functions making it hard to use and harder to repair. the program is only the latest in a series of viruses produced to attack mobile phones.  the file  nicknamed skulls  is thought to have surfaced on shareware sites where people can pick up free add-ons  such as wallpaper  games and ringtones  for their phones symbian said that it was not sure if the damage skulls does was intentional or simply a result of bad programming. soon after being discovered the file is thought to have been removed from the sites that were unwittingly harbouring it. the program is masquerading as software that creates new background images and themes for the main screen of the 7610 phone. the skulls program is labelled as a file called: 7610.extended.theme.manager.zip.  once installed the program replaces all the icons on the main page with skulls and replaces all the working applications  such as contacts  calendar  notebook etc with non-working versions so the phone becomes almost useless. the only thing the phone can do is make and take calls. a statement by symbian played down the significance of the malicious program and said few people would fall victim to it as users have to go through several steps to install it  one of which includes ignoring a security warning. symbian said that the spread of the skulls program was likely to be limited as the program cannot travel from one phone to another by itself. despite this finnish anti-virus lab f-secure said it had sporadic reports of 7610 owners being caught out by it. the firm has produced guidance for users caught out to help them remove the program and get their phone working again. the skulls program is thought to have been written by a malicious hacker using the alias tee-222. symbian phones produced by sony ericsson  motorola  benq  arima and fujitsu are unaffected by the skulls program.
73,parties build up poll war chests the labour party received more than £5m in donations in the final quarter of 2004  new figures show.  this is nearly half of the £11 724 929 received by 16 political parties listed by the electoral commission. the conservatives were in second place with donations totalling £4 610 849  while the liberal democrats received just over £1m. the majority of labour s donations came from affiliated trade unions. there were also large sums from individuals. lord drayson  whose company powderject won multi-million pound contracts to provide smallpox vaccine to the government after the 11 september terror attacks  gave £500 000 to the party just days before christmas.  this followed an earlier donation of the same amount earlier in 2004. he was made a lord by tony blair last year. other significant donations came from retired millionaire businessman and philanthropist sir christopher ondaatje who gave the party a sum of £500 000  and refrigerator magnate william haughey obe who gave £330 000. the totals for the fourth quarter were well up on the same period of 2003  as the parties built up their war chests for the general election campaign. the largest donation to the conservatives was a bequest from ruth beardmore of nearly £400 000. the joint founder of merchant bank hambro magan gave £325 417. there were also donations topping £250 000 for the conservatives from scottish business groups focus on scotland and the institute of international research  the world s largest independent conference company.  also among the gifts to the tories were 24 donations totalling £161 840 from bearwood corporate services. this company is controlled by the party s former treasurer lord ashcroft which has directed almost £300 000 to specific marginal constituencies over the past two years. the liberal democrats  largest donor was the joseph rowntree reform trust ltd  a company which promotes political reform and constitutional change  which gave a sum of £250 000. and fast food giants mcdonald s are listed as donating a sum of £10 575. this was a fee the firm paid for a room for an event held with the work and skills foundation during the party s conference. the uk independence party  which lost its main donor paul sykes amid the row over robert kilroy-silk s bid for the leadership last autumn  took in £63 081. just £8 170 of this was cash and the remainder came in gifts in kind  such as office space and printing. registered political parties are required to set out each quarter all donations over £5 000 to their headquarters and over £1 000 to local constituency parties they receive. it is an offence for a person to knowingly or recklessly make a false declaration about party donations.
1463,redknapp s saints face pompey tie new southampton manager harry redknapp faces an immediate reunion with his old club portsmouth after they were drawn together in the fa cup fourth round.  exeter city face a home tie against middlesbrough if they can see off holders manchester united in a replay. oldham s reward for beating manchester city is a home tie with bolton  while yeovil will be away to charlton. chelsea host birmingham  tottenham travel to west brom and arsenal will entertain championship side wolves. saints boss redknapp was upbeat about the draw despite having to face the club he walked out on just six weeks ago.  i ve said before  i can walk away from portsmouth with my head held high  i m proud of what i did there and no one can take that away from me   said redknapp.  maybe i ll be in for some stick  there s always some of that but we ll get on with it and it s only a game of football.  birmingham manager steve bruce admitted their trip to stamford bridge to face premiership leaders chelsea was the toughest draw possible. bruce said:  i m still in shock. we ve given good accounts of ourselves against chelsea in the past and played well when we lost 1-0 at home at the start of the season - but that s the past.  but it s the best competition in the world as far as i am concerned and we will give it our best shot.  brentford boss martin allen remained cautious despite his side s favourable draw - a home tie with either hartlepool or boston.  the best thing is  it s a home game. however  we know that whoever we play it is going to be a really tough game   said allen.  but it s not about the opposition  it s about us. we all want to get through to the next round and face a massive team  that s the way it is.   meanwhile  the bbc has confirmed it will be televising exeter s replay with man utd live on wednesday 19 january  from 1930 on bbc one.  derby v watford or fulham  man utd or exeter v middlesbrough  cardiff or blackburn v colchester  chelsea v birmingham  west ham v sheff utd  oldham v bolton  arsenal v wolverhampton  everton v sunderland  nottm forest v peterborough  brentford v hartlepool or boston  reading or swansea v leicester or blackpool  burnley or liverpool v bournemouth  southampton v portsmouth  west brom v tottenham  newcastle v coventry  charlton v yeovil
1856,nuclear strike  key terror risk  the uk and us must realise they cannot prevent all terror attacks and should focus on making sure they are not nuclear strikes  says a top academic.  amitai etzioni  a key influence on new labour thinking  says the us emphasis on an  axis of evil  is misplaced. the priority should instead be on  failing states   including russia and pakistan  who cannot properly control their nuclear material  he argues. his report demands a major overhaul of world rules on nuclear technology.  professor etzioni was a senior adviser to president carter s white house and is the guru behind communitarian ideas which influenced the development of blairite third way politics. in a report for the foreign policy centre think tank  he says a nuclear terrorist attack is the main danger faced by many nations.   attempts to defend against it by hardening domestic targets cannot work  nor can one rely on pre-emption by taking the war to the terrorists before they attack   he says. that means there is an urgent need to curb terrorists  access to nuclear arms and the materials used to make them.  we must recognise that we will be unable to stop all attacks and thus ensure terrorists will not be able to strike with weapons of mass destruction   prof etzioni continues.  he suggests so-called rogue states such as iran and north korea are less of a problem than  failed and failing states   which are more likely to be a source of nuclear materials. he names russia as the  failing state  of gravest concern as it has an estimated 90% of all fissile material outside america. and he is also worried about pakistan after one of its top nuclear scientists  abdul qadeer khan  admitted leaking nuclear secrets. prof etzioni criticises the us for overlooking those reports  suggesting it was done in return for pakistani help in hunting osama bin laden.  this is like letting a serial killer go because he promised to catch some jay-walkers   he says.    - upgrading security at nuclear arms stores as a temporary measure   - creating a new global safety authority to tackle nuclear terrorism  using the intelligence links established in the wake of 11 september - backed by the united nations  authority   - encouraging  pressuring and using  all available means  to persuade countries to switch their highly-enriched uranium for less dangerous less-enriched uranium   - when possible  taking fissile material away from failing states to safe havens where it can be blended down or converted   - compelling  failing and rogue states   and eventually all states  to destroy their nuclear bombs.
1074,sundance to honour foreign films international films will be given the same prominence as us films at next year s sundance film festival  with movies dominated by the theme of war.  the independent film festival will feature two new international cinema competitions  during its 20-30 january season in utah. forty-two films will debut at sundance  including the liberace of baghdad by british director sean mcallister. the prestigious festival was founded by actor robert redford in 1981.   we have always had an international component  but from next year they will enter a jury competition   festival director geoffrey gilmore said.  we wanted to give world cinema more emphasis and have now put it on par with the american dramatic and documentary competitions.  twelve films competing in the new world cinema documentary category focus on countries and people under siege.  the liberace of baghdad features an iraqi pianist hiding in a hotel as he waits for a visa  while finnish film the three rooms of melancholia looks at the war in chechnya. shake hands with the devil: the journey of romeo dallaire tells of a un mission to rwanda during the 1994 genocide  while french-israeli production wall looks at israel s controversial security wall separating it from the palestinian territories. the 16 films competing in the new world cinema dramatic category include works from germany  south korea  angola  china  denmark and australia.  several hollywood stars feature in the festival s american independent drama category  including keanu reeves and benjamin bratt. vince vaughn stars in quirky movie thumbsucker while 21 grams actress naomi watts plays a budding hollywood actress in ellie parker. the top grand jury prize at this year s festival went to low budget sci-fi thriller primer  written and directed by shane carruth. morgan spurlock earned the directing award for super size me  which became an international box office hit.
2225,souness delight at euro progress boss graeme souness felt newcastle were never really in danger of going out of the uefa cup against heerenveen.  an early own goal followed by an alan shearer strike earned them a 2-1 win and a place in the uefa cup last 16.  obviously with winning in the first leg it gave us a great advantage   he said after the 4-2 aggregate victory.  we got our goals early and in the minds of some players the job was done but then they got a goal and perhaps made us a bit nervous.  shearer s goal moved him within 12 of jackie milburn s club scoring record of 200 for the magpies. but souness said he did not think beating the record would have any bearing on his decision to retire at the end of the season.  i think if he got it this year he would want to stay next year anyway   he added.   he struck the ball very well - he always has done - and i think it was the power and pace that beat the goalkeeper.  souness also paid tribute to laurent robert  who was at the heart of much of united s attacking play.  in the first half he did really well and did everything you want from a wide player. more of the same in future please   he said.
1313,protect whistleblowers  tuc says the government should change the law to give more protection to employees who raise health and safety concerns about their workplaces  the tuc has said.  it said data from employment tribunals suggested 1 500  safety whistleblowers  had lost their jobs since 1999. some firms found it cheaper to sack a worker than to improve buildings or change working conditions  it said. the health and safety executive said it was trying to get workers more involved in helping to make workplaces safer. the tuc figures were drawn from unfair dismissal cases at tribunals were health and safety were the main issue.  safety representatives were often ignored when raising concerns because there was no legal duty to respond  claimed the union organisation. general secretary brendan barber said:  it shouldn t be a firing offence to object to unsafe work.  workers should not be placed in the situation where they are forced to choose between risking their job or risking their personal health and safety.  mr barber  who said the  problem is far worse than official statistics show   called for a legal system that  protects safety whistleblowers . he added that workers who are not in a union  as well as casual and migrant workers   stand little chance of redress.   rory o  neill  editor of union-backed hazards magazine  which conducted the research  said:  giving union safety reps more rights in more workplaces is the ultimate win-win.  death and injuries at work increased last year  for the second time since the turn of the century.  it would be a fatal mistake not to take full advantage of the union safety effect.  the tuc has called on the government to appoint  roving  safety reps and to increase spending on health and safety work inspections. the health and safety executive had said that it had launched an initiative to make factories and offices safer  with more worker involvement.
933,strong quarterly growth for nike nike has reported its best second-quarter earnings  helped by strong demand for its athletic shoes and converse sneakers.  the global sports giant said it posted a profit of $261.9m (£135.6m)  for the three months to 30 november  up from $179.1m in the same period last year. revenues increased 11% to $3.1bn  from $2.8bn for the same period in 2003. nike  whose products are endorsed by tiger woods among other sports stars  said  demand continues to grow . the results came after a strong first quarter of the year for the firm based in beaverton  oregon.  philip knight  chairman and chief executive  said:  nike s second-quarter revenues and earnings per share reached all-time high levels as a result of solid performance across our global portfolio.  our businesses in the united states and emerging markets such as china  russia and turkey  combined with favourable european exchange rates  helped drive much of this growth.  he added:  with the first half of our fiscal year in the books  we remain confident that our business strategy and consistent execution will allow us to deliver on our goals of healthy  profitable growth.  the firm reported worldwide futures orders for athletic footwear and gear  scheduled for delivery from december 2004 to april 2005  of $4.9bn. that is 9.1% higher than such orders reported for the same period last year.
1136,mixed christmas for us retailers us retailers posted mixed results for december - with luxury retailers faring well while many others were forced to slash prices to lift sales.  upscale department store nordstrom said same store sales were 9.3% higher than during the same period last year. trendy youth labels also sold well  with sales jumping 28% at young women s clothing retailer bebe stores and 32.2% at american eagle outfitters. but wal-mart only saw its sales rise after it cut prices. the company saw a 3% rise in december sales  less than the 4.3% rise seen a year earlier.  customers at the world s biggest retailer are generally seen to be the most vulnerable to america s economic woes.  commentators claim many have cut back on spending amid uncertainty over job security  while low and middle-income americans have reined in spending in the face of higher gasoline prices. analysts said wal-mart faced a  stand-off  with shoppers  stepping up its discounts as the festive season wore on  as consumers waited longer to get the best bargains. however  experts added that if prices had not been cut across the sector  christmas sales - which account for nearly 23% of annual retail sales - would have been far worse.  so far  we are faring better than expected  but the results are still split   ken perkins  an analyst at research firm retailmetrics llc  told associated press.  stores that have been struggling over the last couple of months appear to be continuing that trend. and for stores that have been doing well over the last several months  december was a good month.  overall  december sales are forecast to rise by 4.5% to $220bn - less than the 5.1% increase seen a year earlier.  one discount retailer to fare well in december was costco wholesale  which continued a recent run of upbeat results with a better-than-expected 8% jump in same store sales. however  the losers were many and varied. home furnishings store pier 1 imports saw its same store sales sink by a larger-than-forecast 8.8% as it battled fierce competition. leading electronics chain best buy  meanwhile  missed its sales target of a 3-5% rise in sales  turning in a 2.5% increase over the christmas period. accessory vendor claire s stores also suffered as an expected last minute shopping rush never materialised  leaving its same store sales 5% higher  compared to a 6% rise last year. jeweller zale also felt little christmas cheer with december sales down 0.7% on the same month last year.  this was not a good period for retailers or shoppers. we saw a dearth of exciting  new items   kurt barnard  president of industry forecaster retail consulting group  said. however  one beneficiary of the desertion of the high street is expected to be online stores. according to a survey by goldman sachs & co  harris interactive and neilsen/net ratings sales surged 25% over the holiday season to $23.2bn.
779,s korea spending boost to economy south korea will boost state spending next year in an effort to create jobs and kick start its sputtering economy.  it has earmarked 100 trillion won ($96bn) for the first six months of 2005  60% of its total annual budget. the government s main problems are  slumping consumption and a contraction in the construction industry . it aims to create 400 000 jobs and will focus on infrastructure and home building  as well as providing public firms with money to hire new workers.  the government has set an economic growth rate target of 5% for next year and hinted that would be in danger unless it took action.  internal and external economic conditions are likely to remain unfavourable in 2005   the finance and economy ministry said in a statement.  it blamed  continuing uncertainties such as fluctuating oil prices and foreign exchange rates and stagnant domestic demand that has shown few signs of a quick rebound . in 2004  growth will be between 4.7% and 4.8%  the ministry said. not everyone is convinced the plan will work.  our primary worry centres on the what we believe is the government s overly optimistic view that its front loading of the budget will be enough to turn the economy around   consultancy 4cast said in a report.  the problem facing south korea is that many consumers are reeling from the effects of a credit bubble that only recently burst. millions of south koreans are defaulting on their credit card bills  and the country s biggest card lender has been hovering on the verge of bankruptcy for months. as part of its spending plans  the government said it will ask firms to  roll over mortgage loans that come due in the first half of 2005  . it also pledged to look at ways of helping families on low incomes.  the government voiced concern about the effect of redundancies in the building trade.  given the economic spill over and employment effect in the construction sector  a sharp downturn in the construction industry could have other adverse effects   the ministry said.  as a result  south korea will give private companies also will be given the chance to build schools  hospitals  houses and other public buildings. it also will look at real estate tax system. other plans on the table include promoting new industries such as bio-technology and nano-technology  as well as offering increased support to small and medium sized businesses.  the focus will be on job creation and economic recovery  given that unfavourable domestic and global conditions are likely to dog the korean economy in 2005   the ministry said.
1315,ea to take on film and tv giants video game giant electronic arts (ea) says it wants to become the biggest entertainment firm in the world.  the us firm says it wants to compete with companies such as disney and will only achieve this by making games appeal to mainstream audiences. ea publishes blockbuster titles such as fifa and john madden  as well as video game versions of movies such as harry potter and the james bond films. its revenues were $3bn (£1.65bn) in 2004  which ea hoped to double by 2009. ea is the biggest games publisher in the world and in 2004 had 27 titles which sold in excess of one million copies each. nine of the 20 biggest-selling games in the uk last year were published by ea.  gerhard florin  ea s managing director for european publishing  said:  doubling our industry in five years is not rocket science.  he said it would take many years before ea could challenge disney - which in 2004 reported revenues of $30bn (£16bn) - but it remained a goal for the company.  we will be able to bring more people into gaming because games will be more emotional.  mr florin predicted that the next round of games console would give developers enough power to create real emotion.   it s the subtleties  the eyes  the mouth - 5 000 polygons doesn t really sell the emotion.   with ps3 and xbox 2  we can go on the main character with 30 000 to 50 000 polygons   he said.  with that increased firepower  the finding nemo video game looks just like the movie  but it will be interactive.  mr florin said that more than 50% of all ea s games were sold to adults and played by adults  but the perception remained that the video game industry was for children.  our goal is to bring games to the masses which bring out emotions.  ea said the video game industry was now bigger than the music industry.  nobody queues for music anymore.    you can t ignore an industry when people queue to buy a game at midnight because they are so desperate to play it   he said  referring to demand for titles for such as grand theft auto: san andreas and halo 2.  jan bolz  ea s vice president of sales and marketing in europe  said the firm was working to give video games a more central role in popular culture. he said the company was in advanced stages of discussions over a reality tv show in which viewers could control the actions of the characters as in its popular game the sims.  one idea could be that you re controlling a family  telling them when to go to the kitchen and when to go to the bedroom  and with this mechanism you have gamers all over the world  playing the show    said mr bolz.  he also said ea was planning an international awards show  similar to the oscars and the grammys  which would combine video games  music and movies. mr bolz said video games firm had to work more closely with celebrities.  people will want to play video games if their heroes like robbie williams or christina aguilera are in them.  mr florin said the challenge was to keep people playing in their 30s  40s and 50s.  there s an indication that a 30 year old comes home from work and still wants to play games.  if that s true  that s a big challenge for tv broadcasters - because watching tv is the biggest pastime at present.
1628,blair s hope for blunkett return the events leading to david blunkett s resignation must not  swept under the carpet   the tories have warned.  on wednesday tony blair said he hoped the former home secretary would serve again in government in the future. mr blunkett quit in december after a probe linked him to the visa application of his ex-lover s nanny. mr blair said he left  without a stain on his character  but tory dominic grieve branded the way mr blunkett s office operated as  scandalous . mr blair told bbc radio 4 s today programme:  i know david very well and i believe him to be a man of real integrity and real ability and i was very sad for him as to what happened.   he said mr blunkett still had an immense amount to offer the country but he was not making any  guarantees or definitive statements  about future jobs. but shadow attorney general mr grieve said:  while i don t rule out the possibility that mr blunkett may return as a minister  i don t think it s something that can simply be brushed under the carpet.  senior labour backbencher martin o neill  who chairs the commons trade committee  said he believed the prime minister would want one of his  praetorian guard  - a reference to the elite body guard of roman emperors - back alongside him. but colleague ian gibson  who chairs the science and technology committee  said there was a  question mark  as to whether mr blunkett could serve at cabinet level again.
432,blair backs  pre-election budget  tony blair has backed chancellor gordon brown s pre-budget report amid opposition claims he was too bullish about the state of the uk economy.  in a speech in edinburgh  the prime minister said thursday s report reinforced stability and opportunity. and that would be central to labour s next election campaign  planning for which was already well advanced. mr brown earlier denied his economic forecasts were too optimistic - but refused to rule out future tax rises.  he told bbc radio 4 s today programme:  no politician should make the mistake that john major and his colleagues made in 1992 of saying no matter what the circumstances are  they can make all sorts of guarantees on every individual thing.   that is not what politicians should do  it would not be responsible to do.  mr brown insisted his spending plans were  affordable  and he could afford to be optimistic because britain was now a stable  low-inflation economy and house prices were now stabilising. mr blair praised his chancellor for his role in creating economic stability  which he said was the  cornerstone  of labour s programme.  in a speech at edinburgh s napier university  he said labour would publish over the next few months  a rich agenda for future policy in any possible third term .   in every area of work there is a detailed plan for the future  much clearer than those in 1997 or 2001. all of it fits together around common themes of opportunity  security and stability for all   mr blair said. in his pre-budget report  mr brown surprised some city experts by forecasting uk growth at between 3% and 3.5% for next year. many believe the figure is more likely to be under 3% - and fear tax rises or spending cuts  saying tax receipts have been overestimated. carl emmerson  from the institute for fiscal studies  told bbc news:  he thinks everything will come out in the wash and it will  in fact  be ok. we re not so sure.  david page  of investec securities  said:  his forecast that he will meet the golden rule with a margin of £8bn is way too optimistic.  it s going to take a significant turnaround in the economy to meet these targets.   conservative shadow chancellor oliver letwin said:  i can t find a single economic forecaster from the imf to the institute of fiscal studies who believes anything other than the chancellor has got a black hole in his finances.  in order to deal with that he will have to raise taxes after the next general election.  mr letwin accused the chancellor of using  fancy statistics  to hide public service failures. vincent cable  for the liberal democrats  called on mr brown to open up the government s books to the national audit office  to see if he had met his  golden rule .  it is very clear that there are some serious loose ends in government public spending   mr cable told mps.
546,rusedski forced out in marseille greg rusedski was forced to withdraw from the open 13 in marseille on thursday with a rib injury.  the british number two had been scheduled to play qualifier sebastien de chaunac  who beat world number five guillermo coria 6-4 7-5 in round one. but rusedski was unable to take to the court because of a problem with the left-hand side of his rib-cage. american taylor dent caused a shock with a 7-6 6-2 victory over second seed david nalbandian. but third seed joachim johansson made it through after beating frenchman gilles simon 7-6 6-3 while in the first match of the day  sixth seed feliciano lopez defeated ivo karlovic. there were also wins for slovakia s karol beck and croatian duo ivan ljubicic and mario ancic.
1779,water firm suez in argentina row a conflict between the argentine state and water firm aguas argentinas  controlled by france s suez  is casting doubt on the firm s future.  the firm  which serves the province of buenos aires  wants a tariff rise of 60% to fund water-supply improvements. the government has rejected the 60% rise and wants aguas argentinas to make an annual investment of 400m pesos ($136m; £72.3m) in improvements. planning minister julio de vido has offered state help but not for  free .  mr de vido said that the argentine state would not make a contribution  in the form of a subsidy .  he has said a contribution could be made in return for a seat on the company s board. he added that the government is in discussions with aguas argentinas about what role it might take in the event that a state contribution is agreed. however  aguas argentinas told the argentine newspaper clarin it would not accept any change to its legal structure and  in practice  this rules out state participation on its board. the planning minister didn t rule out the possibility of cancelling aguas argentinas water concession. yet he added that he didn t like to do  futurology . but last week  argentine economic minister  roberto lavagna  told the french media in paris that the government was considering allowing a 16% increase in tariffs and the possibility of a state contribution to aguas argentinas infrastructure investments. speaking in buenos aires  mr de vido later denied the possibility of any tariff increase and insisted that the annual investment in water infrastructure was at the centre of the discussions. he added that in the coming weeks the future of aguas argentinas would be decided. suez owns 40% of aguas argentinas (39.9%)  while spain s aguas de barcelona is its second biggest shareholder with 25.01%. recently  suez lost a water concession in bolivia after mass protests in the city of el alto (the poorest in the country)  with citizens complaining of unfair water charges. this forced the government to cancel the contract.  in argentina  suez s subsidiary  which has been fined for cutting the supply of water during a recent heat wave and allegedly failing to keep up investment to meet the demand for water  has maintained a tense relationship with the argentine government. during the last financial crisis in argentina  the firm sued the state alleging that converting its tariffs from us dollars to pesos  and then freezing them during devaluation  had affected the company and made it difficult for it to meet its contractual obligations. when president nestor kirchner of argentina arrived in power he began to negotiate a solution to the disagreements with international utilities operating in argentina. but he has rejected any tariff increases  alleging this will impoverish citizens further. he has also asked for more investments to meet the growing demand for water. on may 2004  aguas argentinas and the government signed an agreement to renegotiate its buenos aires water-concession contract. the firm agreed to invest 242m pesos. the issue has attracted european interest. last week in paris  president kirchner discussed this problem and other issues with french president jacques chirac. the argentine government is also under pressure from european union countries and the international monetary fund (imf) to raise utilities tariffs  because most of the utilities operating in argentina are european.
1514,robotic pods take on car design a new breed of wearable robotic vehicles that envelop drivers are being developed by japanese car giant toyota.  the company s vision for the single passenger in the 21st century involves the driver cruising by in a four-wheeled leaf-like device or strolling along encased in an egg-shaped cocoon that walks upright on two feet. both these prototypes will be demonstrated  along with other concept vehicles and helper robots  at the toyota stand at the expo 2005 in aichi  japan  in march 2005. the models are being positioned as so-called personal mobility devices  which have few limits. the open leaf-like  i-unit  vehicle is the latest version of the concept which the company introduced last year. built using environmentally friendly plant-based materials  the single passenger unit is equipped with intelligent transport system technologies that allow for safe autopilot driving in specially equipped lanes. the model allows the user to make tight on-the-spot turns  move upright amongst other people at low speeds and can be easily switched into a reclining position at higher speeds. body colours can be customized to suit individual preferences and a personal recognition system offers both information and music.  also on display at the show will be the egg-shaped  i-foot . this is a two-legged mountable robot like device that can be controlled with a joystick.  standing at a height of well over seven feet (2.1 metres)  the unit can walk along at a speed of about 1.35km/h (0.83mph) and navigate staircases into the bargain. mounting and dismounting is accomplished with the aid of the bird-like legs that bend over backwards.  they are clearly what we call concept vehicles  innovative ideas which have yet to be transformed into potential products and which are a few years away from actual production   said dr david gillingwater from the transport studies group at loughborough university.  they clearly have eye-catching appeal  which is in part the name of the game here  and are linked to the imac and ipod-type niche which apple have been responsible for developing and leading in recent years - new  different  hi-tech  image conscious products.  as always with these concept vehicles  it is difficult to see  who  they would appeal to and what their role would be in the  personal transport  marketplace.   the personal transport arena is taking on a new dimension though with futuristic devices that augment human capabilities. toyota s prototypes represent the latest incarnation of wearable exoskeletons in a vehicular form that is specially focused on transport. powered robotic exoskeletons have been the focus of much us military research over the years and japan seems to have jumped onto the bandwagon with a wave of products being developed for specific applications. with an emerging range of devices targeted towards the ageing world population  care giving and the military  wearable exoskeletons seem to represent a new line of future technologies that meet an individual s particular mobility needs. while toyota s prototypes are geared towards mass transport  the company says that the vehicles will allow the elderly and the disabled to achieve independent mobility.  experts  though  are a bit sceptical of their acceptance in this area.   those with arguably the greatest needs for this sort of assistance  now and certainly in the future  are the elderly and infirm people   dr gillingwater told the bbc news website.  you have to ask whether these sorts of vehicles will appeal to these groups.  design considerations also exist. dr erel avineri  of the centre for transport and society at the university of the west of england in bristol said:  the design of the introduced mobility devices is not completely adjusted to the specific needs of the elderly and the disabled.  for example  one problem that many older passengers experience is limited ability to rotate the neck and upper body  making it difficult to look to the side and back when backing up.  it looks like the visual design of the device interior does not consider this need. this and other human-factors related issues in the design of such devices are not the only issues that should be considered   said dr avineri.  in general  introducing a new technology requires the passenger to change behaviour patterns that have served the older passenger for decades. elderly users might not necessarily accept such innovation.  this may be another barrier to the commercial success of such a vehicle.  such single-person vehicles may find a relatively small market niche and may be more suited towards specialised applications rather than revolutionising the face of mass transport.  the concept of personal mobility behind these sorts of innovations is great but they beg a huge number of questions   said dr gillingwater.  what s their range  how user-friendly will they really be  what infrastructure will be required to allow these vehicles to be used.  overall i think these vehicles pose a number of important questions than provide answers or solutions.
1365,evil twin  fear for wireless net people using wireless high-speed net (wi-fi) are being warned about fake hotspots  or access points.  the latest threat  nicknamed evil twins  pose as real hotspots but are actually unauthorised base stations  say cranfield university experts. once logged onto an evil twin  sensitive data can be intercepted. wi-fi is becoming popular as more devices come with wireless capability. london leads the global wi-fi hotspots league  with more than 1 000. the number of hotspots is expected to reach 200 000 by 2008  according to analysts.  users need to be wary of using their wi-fi enabled laptops or other portable devices in order to conduct financial transactions or anything that is of a sensitive or personal nature   said professor brian collins  head of information systems at cranfield university.   users can also protect themselves by ensuring that their wi-fi device has its security measures activated   he added. bt openzone  which operates a vast proportion of public hotspots in the uk  told the bbc news website that it made every effort to make its wi-fi secure.  naturally  people may have security concerns   said chris clark  chief executive for bt s wireless broadband.   but wi-fi networks are no more or less vulnerable than any other means of accessing the internet  like broadband or dial-up.  he said bt openzone  as well as others  have sophisticated encryption from the start of the login process to the service at a hotspot.  this means that users  personal information and data  logon usernames and passwords are protected and secure   said mr clark.  in the vast majority of cases  base stations straight out of the box from the manufacturers are automatically set up with the least secure mode possible  said dr nobles. cybercriminals who try to glean personal information using the scam  jam connections to a legitimate base station by sending a stronger signal near to the wireless client. anyone with the right gear can find a real hotspot and substitute it with an evil twin.  cybercriminals don t have to be that clever to carry out such an attack   said dr phil nobles  a wireless net and cybercrime expert at cranfield.  because wireless networks are based on radio signals they can be easily detected by unauthorised users tuning into the same frequency.   although wi-fi is increasing in popularity as more people want to use high-speed net on the move  there have been fears over how secure it is. some companies have been reluctant to use them in large numbers because of fears about security. a wireless network that is not protected can provide a backdoor into a company s computer system. public wi-fi hotspots offered by companies like bt openzone and the cloud  are accessible after users sign up and pay for use. but many home and company wi-fi networks are left unprotected and can be  sniffed out  and hi-jacked by anyone with the correct equipment.  bt advises that customers should change all default settings  make sure that their security settings on all equipment are configured correctly   said mr clark.  we also advocate the use of personal firewalls to ensure that only authorised users can have access and that data cannot be intercepted.  dr nobles is due to speak about wireless cybercrime at the science museum s dana centre in london on thursday.
1776,china  blocks google news site  china has been accused of blocking access to google news by the media watchdog  reporters without borders.  the paris-based pressure group said the english-language news site had been unavailable for the past 10 days. it said the aim was to force people to use a chinese edition of the site which  according to the watchdog  does not include critical reports. google told the bbc news website it was aware of the problems and was investigating the causes.  china is believed to extend greater censorship over the net than any other country in the world.  a net police force monitors websites and e-mails  and controls on gateways connecting the country to the global internet are designed to prevent access to critical information. popular chinese portals such as sina.com and sohu.com maintain a close eye on content and delete politically sensitive comments. and all 110 000 net cafes in the country have to use software to control access to websites considered harmful or subversive.   china is censoring google news to force internet users to use the chinese version of the site which has been purged of the most critical news reports   said the group in a statement.  by agreeing to launch a news service that excludes publications disliked by the government  google has let itself be used by beijing   it said. for its part  the search giant said it was looking into the issue.  it appears that many users in china are having difficulty accessing google news sites in china and we are working to understand and resolve the issue   said a google spokesperson. google news gathers information from some 4 500 news sources. headlines are selected for display entirely by a computer algorithm  with no human editorial intervention. it offers 15 editions of the service  including one tailored for china and one for hong kong. google launched a version in simplified chinese in september. the site does not filter news results to remove politically sensitive information. but google does not link to news sources which are inaccessible from within china as this would result in broken links.
109,hong kong in 2011 world cup bid hong kong is hoping to join japan as co-host of the 2011 rugby world cup.  japan has applied to host the tournament on its own  with the aim of taking it outside rugby s traditional strongholds for the first time. but hong kong rugby football union (hkrfu) chairman john molloy has called for the territory to host one of the pools and a quarter-final. the japanese rugby football union (jrfu) says it has yet to receive a formal presentation from the hkrfu.  at this stage  we are only considering hosting the event by ourselves   said jrfu secretary koji tokumasu.  we cannot examine any proposal unless we get it in a definitive form.  japan faces stiff competition in the form of south africa and new zealand to host the event in seven years  time.   until now  the world cup has been held in countries from the six nations or tri-nations   said tokumasu.  we think  and the irb thinks  that it is time for rugby to go global.  japan is ready to host the tournament and we are looking forward to welcoming the world of rugby to japan.  tokumasu added that the 2002 football world cup  co-hosted by japan and south korea  had been a huge success.  as well as having the infrastructure in place  japan also has the commercial clout to host one of sport s top competitions   he said. last year  japan launched its first professional rugby league and it has the fourth largest number of registered players (125 508) in the world after england  south africa and france.
235,itunes user sues apple over ipod a user of apple s itunes music service is suing the firm saying it is unfair he can only use an ipod to play songs.  he says apple is breaking anti-competition laws in refusing to let other music players work with the site. apple  which opened its online store in 2003 after launching the ipod in 2001  uses technology to ensure each song bought only plays on the ipod. californian thomas slattery filed the suit in the us district court in san jose and is seeking damages.   apple has turned an open and interactive standard into an artifice that prevents consumers from using the portable hard drive digital music player of their choice   the lawsuit states. the key to such a lawsuit would be convincing a court that a single brand like itunes is a market in itself separate from the rest of the online music market  according to ernest gellhorn  an anti-trust law professor at george mason university.  as a practical matter  the lower courts have been highly sceptical of such claims   prof gellhorn said. apple has sold more than six million ipods since the gadget was launched and has an 87% share of the market for portable digital music players  market research firm npd group has reported.  more than 200 million songs have been sold by the itunes music store since it was launched.  apple has unlawfully bundled  tied  and/or leveraged its monopoly in the market for the sale of legal online digital music recordings to thwart competition in the separate market for portable hard drive digital music players  and vice-versa   the lawsuit said. mr slattery called himself an itunes customer who  was also forced to purchase an apple ipod  if he wanted to take his music with him to listen to. a spokesman for apple declined to comment. apple s online music store uses a different format for songs than napster  musicmatch  realplayer and others. the rivals use the mp3 format or microsoft s wma format while apple uses aac  which it says helps thwart piracy. the wma format also includes so-called digital rights management which is used to block piracy.
162,howard s unfinished business  he s not finished yet   whispered the conservative party person as your reporter attempted to slip quietly from the hall. and indeed he wasn t. michael howard had already broken away from the printed text of his speech  at his party s spring conference in brighton  to deliver a smart rebuff to peter hain s description of him as an  attack mongrel   claiming such personal abuse meant labour was  rattled  by the tory challenge. and here he was again  moving to the front of the stage as the party faithful rose to their feet in applause  to make a personal  ad-libbed appeal to them to go out and fight for victory.  one day you will be able to tell your children and grandchildren as i will tell mine   i was there. i did my bit. i played my part. i helped to win that famous election - the election that transformed our country for the better .  the speech  which was peppered with references to mr howard s humble beginnings as the  child of immigrants   had been introduced by his son nick  a trainee vicar  who praised his father s honesty.  i always know where i am with him because all my life he has meant what he has said to me   he said. mr howard was also joined on stage by his wife sandra  daughter larissa and stepson sholto.  the audience s reaction to all of this was a little muted by party conference standards.  but mr howard s overall message - that the tories have labour on the run and that they can win the next election - did not sound quite as hollow as it might have done six months ago. mr howard claimed  with some justification  that the tories  campaign has got off to a  great start . they have had labour on the back foot over immigration  with tony blair hastily adding a sixth promise on the issue to his latest pledge card  and have even managed to score points in traditional labour territory such as health and education. the stunts involving margaret dixon with her postponed operation and maria hutchings with concerns about her son s special needs education may not have been to everyone s taste  but they succeeded in bringing the issues alive and forcing labour to react. senior tories believe they are  at long last  starting to tap into the public mood  cutting through the background noise to connect with the ordinary voter. their latest poster campaign flags up a range of policies from better school discipline  cleaner hospitals ( i mean  how hard is it to keep a hospital clean  ) and immigration ( it s not racist to impose limits on immigration ) - under the headline  are you thinking what we are thinking   this  they say  contrasts with labour s negative campaigning  such as its now infamous  flying pigs  poster.  oliver letwin  one of the men lampooned in the labour poster  affects bewilderment at what he believes is labour s loss of its once sure footing on the campaign trail. the peter hain  mongrel  attack  he says  is just the latest example of the party getting the tone wrong - a by-product  he claims  of the tories setting the agenda.   i have to say i don t understand what they are doing. the labour machine appears to be in some kind of state of shock  it doesn t seem to know what to do.  a few weeks of positive headlines have also done wonders for tory activists  morale - likely to be a crucial factor at an election which  most analysts seem to agree  will hinge on which party can get their core support out.  it has been a fantastic few weeks   said 20-year-old politics student nick vaughan.  our policies have been getting in the media and there is a sense that we can win. i wouldn t be here if i didn t think we could.  some delegates even spoke of the next election being like 1970  when ted heath  behind in the polls and written off by the pundits  snatched victory from harold wilson s labour party.  they all insisted it was not going to be a re-run of 2001.  we thought in 2001 we were going to dent that massive majority but it just didn t happen   said john murray  of aldridge browhills conservatives.  it was very disappointing. this time it really is different.  whoever is running our strategy from the top has got it bang on. blair is on the back foot.  much of the credit for the tories  recent change of fortune must go to lynton crosby  the australian strategist who succeeded in turning political veteran and apparent no-hoper john howard  of australia s liberal party  into a serial election winner. the tories still have a mountain climb if michael howard is to walk through the doors of number 10. even allowing for the natural bias against the tories in some opinion polls  they are still behind  when to have a chance of overturning labour s whopping majority  they should really be ahead. but as they gear up for the start of the campaign proper  the party at least has reason to hope that  like his australian namesake  mr howard really isn t finished yet.
2071,electronics firms eye plasma deal consumer electronics giants hitachi and matshushita electric are joining forces to share and develop technology for flat screen televisions.  the tie-up comes as the world s top producers are having to contend with falling prices and intense competition. the two japanese companies will collaborate in research & development  production  marketing and licensing. they said the agreement would enable the two companies to expand the plasma display tv market globally.  plasma display panels are used for large  thin tvs which are replacing old-style televisions. the display market for high-definition televisions is split between models using plasma display panels and others - manufactured by the likes of sony and samsung - using liquid-crystal displays (lcds). the deal will enable hitachi and matsushita  which makes panasonic brand products  to develop new technology and improve their competitiveness. hitachi recently announced a deal to buy plasma display technology from rival fujitsu in an effort to strengthen its presence in the market.  separately  fujitsu announced on monday that it is quitting the lcd panel market by transferring its operations in the area to japanese manufacturer sharp. sharp will inherit staff  manufacturing facilities and intellectual property from fujitsu. the plasma panel market has seen rapid consolidation in recent months as the price of consumer electronic goods and components has fallen. samsung electronics and sony are among other companies working together to reduce costs and speed up new product development.
412,dutch bank to lay off 2 850 staff abn amro  the netherlands  largest bank  is to cut 2 850 jobs as a result of falling profits.  the cuts - amounting to 3% of the bank s workforce - will result in a one-off charge of 790m euros ($1.1bn). about 1 100 jobs will go in investment banking while 1 200 and 550 will go in it and human resources respectively. abn amro is the third large european bank to announce cutbacks in the past month following deutsche bank and credit suisse group.  its profitability has been hit by a fall in mortgage lending in the united states - the bank s largest single market - following recent interest rate rises. abn amro s operations in the netherlands and the united kingdom will be hardest hit. jobs will also be lost in the us - which accounted for 46% of profit in the first half of 2004 - and across its operations in the americas and asia-pacific regions.  the restructuring is designed to improve efficiency by reducing administrative costs and increasing focus on client service. the bank said it was on course for a 10% rise in net income this year but operating profits are set to fall because of a fall in us revenues. abn amro currently has more than 100 000 staff.  to get any profit growth in the coming years  they will have to lower costs  so shedding jobs makes total sense   ivo geijsen  an analyst with bank oyens & van eeghen  told bloomberg. europe s leading banks seem set for a period of retrenchment. deutsche bank said earlier this month it would reduce its german workforce by 1 920 while as many as 300 jobs will be lost at credit suisse first boston.
1092,laporte tinkers with team france coach bernard laporte has made four changes to the starting line-up that beat england for saturday s six nations clash with wales.  he opted for yannick nyanga in the back row instead of grand slam winner imanol harinordoquy  who is back in the squad. other changes see julien laharrague win his first cap at full-back  aurelien rougerie return after injury on the wing and yannick jauzion in at centre. but laporte has resisted fan pressure to start frederic michalak at fly-half. the dependable yann delaigue keeps the number 10 jersey  despite clamours for the flair of michalak. the 26-year-old laharrague gets his chance despite playing on the wing for his club brive.   we are launching him into the great international level   said team manager jo maso.  he is young and this is a great opportunity for us and above all for him.  there are 25 matches left before the world cup so we must see as many players as possible. the competition is very high and open.  jauzion  france s player of the year in 2004  would probably have played in the first two matches instead of the south african-born liebeneberg had he been fit. the stade toulousain star wins his 23rd cap and is reunited with damien traille  with whom he forged an effective midfield in 2004.  the return of jauzion is going to be a plus for us   said laporte.  we are going to test him at an international level.   julien laharrague (brive)  aurelien rougerie (clermont)  yannick jauzion (stade toulousain)  damien traille (biarritz)  christophe dominici (stade francais)  yann delaigue (castres)  dimitri yachvili (biarritz)  julien bonnaire (bourgoin)  yannick nyanga (beziers)  serge betsen (biarritz)  jerome thion (biarritz)  fabien pelous (stade toulousain  capt)  nicolas mas (perpignan)  sebastien bruno (sale)  sylvain marconnet (stade francais)  replacements: william servat (stade toulousain)  olivier milloud (bourgoin)  gregory lamboley (stade toulousain)  imanol harinordoquy (biarritz)  pierre mignoni (clermont)  frederic michalak (stade toulousain)  jean-philippe grandclaude (perpignan)
1352,ethnic producers  face barriers  minority ethnic led (mel) production companies face barriers in succeeding in the film and television industries  research has suggested.  the study  commissioned by pact and the uk film council  included interviews with industry experts and individuals. they indicated that career progression and a lack of role models are among the main problems within such companies. the research indicated that about 10% of independent production companies in the uk are minority ethnic led.  a minority ethnic led company is defined as one in which the majority of decision-making power rests with an individual or individuals from a minority ethnic group. the report also explored the problems faced by such companies when attempting to compete within the film and tv industries. it said they are often smaller than other companies and lack the resources  so are often squeezed out of the market by bigger firms. the research recommended that minority ethnic led companies could benefit from such positive actions as career training and business advice  plus improved communication within the film and tv sectors.  the uk has a rich and diverse culture and it is essential that it is reflected on film and television   said arts minister estelle morris of the findings.  i welcome this report which i hope will lead to more doors being opened and all businesses in our film and television industries being given the same opportunities.
294,tory  stalking horse  meyer dies sir anthony meyer  the tory backbencher who challenged margaret thatcher for the party leadership in 1989  has died.  he was 84  had been suffering from cancer for many months  and died at his london home. that failed  stalking horse  leadership challenge made it easier for michael heseltine to mount his own bid. that in turn paved the way for john major to move into 10 downing street  after the second ballot. meyer s constituency party  clwyd north west  which he had represented as an mp for more than 20 years  deselected him as a result of that challenge. sir anthony john charles meyer was born on 27 october  1920. educated at eton  and at new college  oxford  he served in the scots guards from 1941 to 1945 and was wounded in tanks in normandy. he worked under edward heath on europe at the foreign office and subsequently won the eton and slough seat for the tories in 1964 - by 11 votes. labour regained the seat two years later  and meyer had to wait until 1970 before he could re-enter parliament. his prospects of a front bench slot remained remote because he tended to defy the party line.
1973,bat spit drug firm goes to market a german firm whose main product is derived from the saliva of the vampire bat is looking to raise more than 70m euros ($91m; £49m) on the stock market.  the firm  paion  said that it hoped to sell 5 million shares - a third of the firm - for 11-14 euros a share. its main drug  desmoteplase  is based on a protein in the bat s saliva. the protein stops blood from clotting - which helps the bat to drink from its victims  but could also be used to help stroke sufferers. the company s shares go on sale later this week  and are scheduled to start trading on the frankfurt stock exchange on 10 february. if the final price is at the top of the range  the company could be valued at as much as 200m euros. the money raised will be spent largely on developing the company s other drugs  since desmoteplase has already been licensed to one manufacturer  forest laboratories.
493,sony psp tipped as a  must-have  sony s playstation portable is the top gadget for 2005  according to a round-up of ultimate gizmos compiled by stuff magazine.  it beats the ipod into second place in the top ten essentials list which predicts what gadget-lovers are likely to covet this year. owning all 10 gadgets will set the gadget lover back £7 455. that is £1 000 cheaper than last year s list due to falling manufacturing costs making gadgets more affordable.  portable gadgets dominate the list  including sharp s 902 3g mobile phone  the pentax optio sv digital camera and samsung s yepp yh-999 video jukebox.   what this year s essentials shows is that gadgets are now cheaper  sexier and more indispensable than ever. we ve got to the point where we can t live our lives without certain technology   said adam vaughan  editor of stuff essentials. the proliferation of gadgets in our homes is inexorably altering the role of the high street in our lives thinks mr vaughan.  take digital cameras  who would now pay to develop an entire film of photos  or legitimate downloads  who would travel miles to a record shop when they could download the song in minutes for 70p   he asks. next year will see a new set of technologies capturing the imaginations of gadget lovers  stuff predicts. the xbox 2  high-definition tv and mp3 mobiles will be among the list of must-haves that will dominate 2006  it says. the spring launch of the psp in the uk is eagerly awaited by gaming fans.
45,pandas benefit from wireless net the world s dwindling panda population is getting a helping hand from a wireless internet network.  the wolong nature reserve in the sichuan province of southwest china is home to 20% of the remaining 1 500 giant pandas in the world. a broadband and wireless network installed on the reserve has allowed staff to chronicle the pandas  daily activities. the data and images can be shared with colleagues around the world. the reserve conducts vital research on both panda breeding and bamboo ecology.  using the network  vets have been able to observe how infant pandas feed and suggest changes to improve the tiny cubs  chances of survival.   digital technology has transformed the way we communicate and share information inside wolong and with the rest of the world   said zhang hemin  director of the wolong nature reserve.  our researchers now have state-of-the-art digital technology to help foster the panda population and manage our precious surroundings.  the network has been developed by intel  working closely with the staff at wolong. it includes a 802.11b wireless network and a video monitoring system using five cameras to observe pandas around the clock.  before the new infrastructure arrived at the panda park  staff walked or drove to deliver floppy disks across the reserve. infant panda health was recorded on paper notebooks and research teams in the field had little access to the data. to foster cultural links across the globe  a children s learning lab has been incorporated in the network  in collaboration with globio (federation for global biodiversity education for children)  an international non-profit organisation. it will enable children at local primary schools to hook up with their peers in portland  oregon in the us.  digital technology brings this story to life by enabling a global dialogue to help bridge cultures around the world   said globio founder gerry ellis.
2189,mexicans tracking unhappy juninho mexican outfit red sharks veracruz hope to sign juninho if the brazilian decides to leave celtic frustrated at his lack of first-team action.  their president  gustavo parente sanchez  says juninho  does not wish to remain in scottish football anymore . agent brian hassell insists that the 31-year-old brazilian midfielder is determined to win back his place.  but  if the manager is not going to pick him  that s a different ball game   he told the sun.  that s something we d have to look at. juninho deserves respect. he is not a little kid.  hassell warns that juninho could reconsider his future at celtic unless he is given a run of games by the end of the january transfer window.  juninho was signed from middlesbrough during the summer  but he has failed to live up to high expectations and has lost his place to 18-year-old aiden mcgeady.  he has 50 caps for brazil and he s the best signing celtic ever made   insisted hassell.  he wants to play for martin o neill  but does martin o neill want to play him   juninho is not someone who has come through the celtic ranks. he deserves much more respect.  sanchez is bullish about his hopes of prising juninho from the scottish champions  although hassell believes mexico would not be his preferred destination.  we have already spoken with juninho and he said  if he has no firm offer from a club in spain  veracruz will be his destination   sanchez told his club s official website. celtic manager o neill is no respecter of reputations.  the onus is on juninho to force his way into the team   he said.  players get a game on merit. that s the way it has always been and that is certainly the case at celtic park.
1417,web helps collect aid donations the web is helping aid agencies gather resources to help cope with the aftermath of the tsunami disaster.  many people are making donations via websites or going online to see how they can get involved with aid efforts. high-profile web portals such as google  yahoo  ebay and amazon are gathering links that lead people to aid and relief organisations. so many were visiting some aid-related sites that some webpages were struggling to cope with the traffic. an umbrella organisation called the disasters emergency committee (dec) has been set up by a coalition of 12 charities and has been taking many donations via its specially created website. it urged people to go online where possible to help because donations could be processed more quickly than cash donated in other ways  meaning aid could be delivered as quickly as possible. the site has so far received almost £8 million  with more than 11 000 donations being made online every hour.  telco bt stepped in to take over the secure payments on the dec site and provided extra logistical support for phone and online appeals after it was initially crippled with online donations. it has also provided space in london s bt tower for one of the call centres dealing with donations.  some of the web s biggest firms are also helping to channel help by modifying their homepages to include links to aid agencies and organisations collecting resources. on its famously sparse homepage google has placed a link that leads users to a list of sites where donations can be made. among the 17 organisations listed are oxfam  medecins sans frontieres (doctors without borders) and network for good. many of the sites that google lists are also taking online donations. online retailer amazon has put a large message on its start page that lets people donate money directly to the american red cross that will be used with relief efforts. auction site ebay is giving a list of sites that people can either donate directly to  divert a portion of their profits from anything they sell on ebay to the listed organisations or simply buy items that direct cash to those in the list. yahoo is proving links direct to charities for those that want to donate. the auction drop website is asking people to donate old digital cameras  computers and other gadgets they no longer want that can be auction to raise cash for the aid effort. sadly  the outpouring of goodwill has also encouraged some conmen to try to cash in. anti-fraud organisations are warning about e-mails that are starting to circulate which try to convince people to send money directly to them rather than make donations via aid agencies. those wanting to give cash were urged to use legitimate websites of charities and aid agencies.
2140,barclays profits hit record level barclays  the uk s third-biggest bank  has seen annual pre-tax profits climb to record levels boosted by a sharp rise in business at its investment arm.  profits for the year to 31 december rose 20% to £4.6bn ($8.6bn). barclays  chief john varley said the bank had  caught the winds  of a very strong world economy. earnings at barclays capital investment bank rose 25% to £1.04bn  but investment in branch operations held back growth in its uk retail business.  the group is the first of britain s five big banks to report 2004 results. according to analysts  forecasts  hsbc  the biggest uk bank by stock market valuation  will report profits of £9.4bn later this month.  barclays results were in line with market expectations. its global investors wing made £347m  an 82% jump on 2003 figures. profits at barclaycard rose by 5% to £801m but were said to have been affected by a series of interest rate rises and investment to grow its customer base. the bank also blamed margins pressure on its mortgage business and spending on its branches over the past year for a 1% fall in profits in its uk retail division to £1.13bn.   the outlook for 2005 is good as a result of balance sheet growth and investments made in 2004   mr varley said. barclays cautioned that growth this year may be slower than in 2004 on the back of softer us and chinese economies and the impact of interest rate rises on household spending in the uk. it added its bid to acquire a controlling stake in south africa s leading retail bank absa  was being considered by regulatory authorities. speaking on bbc radio 4  mr varley declined to be drawn on reports that barclays had held merger talks with us bank wells fargo. a tie-up between barclays and california-based wells fargo would create the world s fourth biggest bank  valued at $180bn. at 1405 gmt  shares in barclays were trading down 0.67% at 590 pence.  the headline numbers are in line  but the story is costs   said analyst alex potter at lehman brothers.  they are a bit more aggressive than we had expected. the cost overshoot is not in barclays capital but in the uk bank.
1265,poll explains free-kick decision referee graham poll said he applied the laws of the game in allowing arsenal striker thierry henry s free-kick in sunday s 2-2 draw with chelsea.  keeper petr cech was organising his defensive wall when henry s quick free-kick flew in  which angered chelsea.  the whistle doesn t need to be blown. i asked henry  do you want a wall  . he said  can i take it please   he was very polite. i said  yes    said poll.  i deal with the laws of the game. i deal with fact.  poll added:  i gave the signal for him to take it. that s what he did.  the same thing happened when i refereed chelsea against west ham in an fa cup replay two years ago - when jimmy floyd hasselbaink scored - and i don t remember them complaining about that.  henry explained why he paused before striking the ball for the goal  which put arsenal 2-1 ahead.  henry told bbc radio five live:  the ref asked me if i wanted 10 yards or if i wanted to take it straight away and i said that i wanted to take it straight away. he said to me   go .  it looks a bit strange because i took my time. i was waiting for eidur gudjohnsen to move and give me some space.  at one point  he turned and that s when i tried it.  former referees  chief philip don backed poll s decision to allow the strike.  the advantage should go to the non-offending team. on this occasion it was arsenal   don told bbc radio five live.  referees have been told to ask the player  do you want to take the quick free-kick   or  do you want me to get the wall back 9.15 metres    if they say  quick   the referee tends to move away and allow the kick.  don was head of the referees for the premier league and revealed all clubs were informed of free-kick options.  we spoke to all the premier league clubs as well as all the football league clubs in the summer of 2003 explaining what the situation was   he added  we gave them the option of either the quick free-kick or the  ceremonial  free-kick. players and clubs were aware of what referees were doing.
1353,india and russia in energy talks india and russia are to work together in a series of energy deals  part of a pact which could see india invest up to $20bn in oil and gas projects.  on the agenda are oil and gas extraction as well as transportation deals  to be led by russian energy giant gazprom and india s ongc. the indian firm is also expected to hold talks on tuesday about buying a stake in assets once owned by yukos. it is reported to be keen on buying a 15% stake in oil unit yuganskneftegas. the former yukos subsidiary was controversially sold off last year and eventually acquired by state-owned energy giant rosneft.  russian media reported that india and russia signed a memorandum of understanding on energy co-operation on tuesday during a meeting between oil and natural gas corporation chairman subir raha  gazprom chairman aleksey miller and india s petroleum minister mani shankar aiyar.  the agreement is likely to see the two companies develop refining facilities in russia  india and elsewhere and organise delivery of oil  gas and petrochemicals from russia to india and other countries across asia. ongc could invest in gas and oil fields in sakhalin  in the far east of russia  and may also take part in joint tender bids for projects in eastern siberia and the caspian sea.  india is urgently searching for fresh energy supplies - particularly liquefied natural gas - as domestic demand is growing at more than 5% a year.  ongc s mr raha said the two could work together on joint bids from next year.  at current oil and gas prices  our cash flow situation is good   he told reuters.  what we are saying is - gazprom has a huge amount of gas and we have the money.  the investment may go up to $20bn or more for a period of five years or so.   russian news agencies reported that india s petroleum minister mr aiyar and russian energy minister viktor khristenko would discuss the future of yugansk at a meeting on tuesday. ongc s mr raha declined to be drawn on his firm s reported interest in the company. however  he stressed that ongc was not interested in a  loan-for-oil deal  in connection to yugansk  similar to that concluded recently between rosneft and china s national petroleum corporation.  china s problem is it has immediate demand and they needed the oil for their coastal refineries. we do not. we would like long-term security through equity participation.  it is thought that any decision over yugansk will be delayed until a us court has decided whether to grant yukos bankruptcy protection. yukos is suing a host of companies involved in the sale of yugansk  auctioned off to pay a huge back-tax bill. it has also threatened legal action against any business which has future commercial dealings with its former subsidiary.
830,daimlerchrysler s 2004 sales rise us-german carmaker daimlerchrysler has sold 2.1% more cars in 2004 than in the previous year  as solid chrysler sales offset a weak showing for mercedes.  sales totalled 3.9 million units worldwide during 2004  the company said at the detroit motor show. a switch to new models hit luxury marque mercedes-benz  with sales down 3.1% at 1.06 million. chrysler avoided the fate of us rivals ford and general motors  both of whom lost ground to japanese firms. its sales rose 3.5% to 2.7 million units.  similarly on the up was the smart brand of compact cars  with the division s sales jumping by 21.1% during 2004 to 136 000. the future of the brand - which is controlled by the mercedes group within daimlerchrysler - remains in question  however. smart has consistently lost money since it started trading in 1998  and new model launches are now  on hold   said mercedes chief executive eckhard cordes. in europe  the smart will now go on sale through regular mercedes dealerships as well as its own dealer network  mr cordes said.
448,weak data buffets french economy a batch of downbeat government data has cast doubt over the french economy s future prospects.  official figures showed on friday that unemployment was unchanged at 9.9% last month  while consumer confidence fell unexpectedly in october. at the same time  finance minister nicolas sarkozy warned that high oil prices posed a threat to french growth.  [oil prices] will weigh on consumer spending in the short term  and potentially on confidence   he said. world oil prices have risen by more than 60% since the start of the year as production struggles to keep pace with soaring demand.  analysts said french companies  keen to protect their profit margins at a time of rising energy costs  were reluctant to take on extra staff.  [the unemployment figures] show the main problem of the french economy: we have growth but without an improvement in employment   said marc touati  an economist at natexis banques populaires.  politicians must have the will and guts to solve structural unemployment with thorough reforms  otherwise in five or ten years  it will be too late.  obligatory employer contributions to worker welfare programmes mean that it costs more to hire staff in france than in many other european economies. many economists have urged the government to stimulate employment by reducing non-wage payroll costs  and by scrapping restrictions on working hours. the french statistics agency  insee  expects the economy to grow by about 2.4% this year  buoyed by strong consumer spending and business investment. that is above the projected eurozone average of just above 2%.
535,scots smoking ban details set out smoke-free areas will save lives and improve scotland s health  first minister jack mcconnell has insisted.  he told the scottish parliament on wednesday that a  comprehensive ban  on smoking in public places would be introduced by the spring of 2006. mr mcconnell said the country s health rates were  lamentable  not least because of smoking. he said fines of up to £2 500 would be levied on employers and licences would be removed for non-compliance. earlier  the scottish executive considered a range of options but agreed unanimously to introduce an all-out ban on smoking in public places. in a statement to parliament  mr mcconnell said that the licensed trade would be asked to join an expert committee prior to the ban coming into force.  the health arguments far outweighed lingering public disquiet about a complete ban and claims by the licensed trade that jobs would be lost  he told msps. he said there would be an international marketing campaign whereby  tourists can enjoy smoke free environment and the sick man of europe image becomes a thing of the past .  there are still national habits which hold us back - the time has come for this parliament to accelerate improvements in health   he declared.  health rates are lamentable because of a lack of exercise  drugs abuse  excessive drinking and over-eating.  they all make us one of the most unhealthy countries in europe  and too many smoke.  it is clear that scotland must not be held back by poor public health - the single biggest contribution devolved government can make is to reduce the toll of preventable death caused by smoking.  the legislation will be introduced as part of the health service (miscellaneous provisions) bill  which will be considered by parliament before christmas. main points of the plan:    - a comprehensive ban on smoking in all enclosed public places in scotland   - the legislation will be enforced by environmental health and local licensing officers   - licensees or employers who fail to enforce the law will face fines up to a maximum of £2 500   - licensees who persistently refuse to comply with the law will face the ultimate sanction of losing their liquor licence   - a system of issuing fixed penalty notices for those individuals who break the law will be examined   - individuals who persistently break the law will face a maximum fine of £1 000.     mr mcconnell claimed there was evidence that smoking bans had helped smokers to either give up quicker or smoke less. he said there had been falling cigarette sales of 13% in new york and 16% in ireland. mr mcconnell added that there had been a near nine per cent rise in tax revenues from new york bars and restaurants and  in ireland  only a one point three per cent volume sales fall  where they were declining before the ban. the afternoon announcement  following a cabinet meeting on wednesday morning  won broad support from opposition parties.  the scottish national party s holyrood leader  nicola sturgeon  welcomed the move but added that the public should be consulted as the clock ticked towards the ban date. she said:  the time has come for a ban on smoking in public places.  there is evidence a ban can cut deaths from passive smoking and makes it easier for the 70% of smokers who desperately want to give up the habit.  but we must also recognise that some people have concerns and reservations - there are people who are yet to be persuaded.  the scottish conservative party leader  david mcletchie  questioned what would be exempted from the ban. he was keen to know if inmates in scottish prisons would continue to be allowed to smoke. mr mcletchie asked:  would it not be ironic and perhaps entirely typical of the first minister s brave new scotland that the criminals can be smokers but the smokers will become criminals   the scottish green party s health spokeswoman  eleanor scott  said she was pleased scotland would be following the  success stories of new york and ireland . she believed the majority of people in scotland wanted to go out without having to breathe in harmful tobacco smoke.
1656,retirement age could be scrapped the  myth that ageing is a barrier  to contributing to society needs to be  exploded   the work and pensions minister has said.  this was why the government was considering scrapping the retirement age entirely  alan johnson said. it was also committed to  stamping out  age discrimination and would outlaw it  he told a conference on ageing. all three parties have been wooing older voters with both the tories and lib dems pledging higher pensions.  mr johnson told age concern s age agenda in london the government was  seriously considering  introducing pensions based on residency rather than national insurance contributions. this idea has been adopted by the lib dems as policy  while the tories have pledged to boost pensions by restoring the link between earnings and pensions. mr johnson s speech comes after he last week unveiled plans to find a consensus on how to reform the country s pension system. this would be based on a series of principles including tackling pensioner poverty and fairer pensions for women  he said. speaking at the london conference he said:  generalised stereotypes of people past state pension age as dependant  incapable and vulnerable are a particularly pernicious form of age discrimination .  the government wanted to tackle this by moving to a culture where retirement ages were  increasingly consigned to the past .  we re sweeping them away entirely for people under 65  and we re giving those above that age a right to request to work past 65 which their employers will have to engage with seriously.  and the review in 2011  which will look at whether it is time to sweep retirement ages away entirely  is to be tied to evidence ... showing that retirement ages are increasingly outmoded . mr johnson said his department had a long-term aspiration of moving towards an 80% employment rate. this would involve an extra one million older people joining the work force  he said.
996,lasting influence of legend charles ray charles  who has won a string of posthumous grammy awards  belonged to a pioneering generation of artists that had a huge influence on the course of rock and pop music.  his sound encompassed so many styles - blues  gospel  jazz  rock  n  roll  even country - and had a real impact on the nascent uk beat and r&b scenes.  compared in stature to elvis presley by some commentators  charles  songs cast their spell on such 1960s stalwarts as joe cocker  steve winwood  eric burdon and van morrison. his influence has extended to contemporary artists such as norah jones  with whom he recently recorded a duet. if james brown was the godfather of soul  then ray charles was indisputably one of its founding fathers. along with sam cooke  he was instrumental in bringing together the gospel fervour of the deep south baptist church with the  devil s  music of r&b to pave the way for a new generation of soul artists.  without charles  it is hard to imagine the tear-stained atlantic r&b sound of aretha franklin  otis redding or wilson pickett. he was also a talented jazz composer  arranger and band leader  playing at the newport jazz festival and carnegie hall and recording with noted jazz musicians such as milt jackson and david  fathead  newman. unfortunately  he also shared another trait common among many jazz artists of the era - that of heroin addiction  which led to him being arrested in 1965. his string of 1950s atlantic r&b successes included songs that would be covered by the first-generation rock  n  roll greats  including i ve got a woman (roy orbison  elvis presley) and hallelujah  i love her so (eddie cochran). after the exuberance of his 1959 signature song what d i say  charles turned towards a more pop-oriented style  recording hoagy carmichael s sentimental string ballad georgia on my mind  and the upbeat hit the road jack.  he also won acclaim in the country arena with his interpretations of hank williams standards such as your cheating heart and you win again. more than 40 years after its release  his 1962 abc album modern sounds in country and western music is still regarded as a classic. his version of don gibson s i can t stop loving you topped the pop and r&b charts in the us. in 1972  he made a rare foray into protest songs with his album a message from the people.  on it  he took a stand on poverty and civil rights - echoing similar recordings of the era from progeny such as stevie wonder  james brown  curtis mayfield and marvin gaye. more than 20 years later  he would embrace contemporary production with his 1993 album my world  which featured hip-hop beats - although charles claimed at the time not to know what hip-hop was. among the tributes that poured in from all sections of the music world when charles died aged 73 in june 2004 was one from his friend  the producer quincy jones  who described him as a  brother in every sense of the word .  there will never be another musician who did as much to break down the perceived walls of musical genres as much as ray charles did   he said. former manfred mann singer paul jones  who sang on 1960s hits such as come tomorrow and sha la la  said charles was one of his heroes.  i m quite sure my own writing was influenced by him   he told bbc news online.  i would put money on the proposition that ray charles will have an influence on music forever.
1246,howl helps boost japan s cinemas japan s box office received a 3.8% boost last year  with ticket sales worth 211bn yen (£1.08bn).  the surge was led by animated movie howl s moving castle  which took 20bn yen (£102m) to become the biggest film in japan in 2004. it is expected to match the 30.7bn yen (£157m) record of hayao miyazaki s previous film spirited away. japan motion picture producers figures showed that 170 million cinema admissions were made in japan in 2004. the last samurai  starring tom cruise  was the biggest foreign movie hit in japan last year  taking 13.8bn yen (£70.7m).  it was followed by harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban  finding nemo and the lord of the rings: the return of the king. the second highest-grossing japanese film was romantic drama crying out love in the centre of the world  followed by be with you and pocket monsters advanced generation. japanese films accounted for 37.5% of japan s box office total last year  with foreign films taking the remaining 62.5%. this represented a 4.5% gain for the proportion of japanese films in 2004 compared to 2003. the number of japanese films released rose to 310 in 2004 from 287 the previous year. sales of movies on dvd and video amounted to 497bn yen (£2.54bn) for the year.
161,goodrem wins top female mtv prize pop singer delta goodrem has scooped one of the top individual prizes at the first australian mtv music awards.  the 21-year-old singer won the award for best female artist  with australian idol runner-up shannon noll taking the title of best male at the ceremony. goodrem  known in both britain and australia for her role as nina tucker in tv soap neighbours  also performed a duet with boyfriend brian mcfadden. other winners included green day  voted best group  and the black eyed peas. goodrem  green day and the black eyed peas took home two awards each. as well as best female  goodrem also took home the pepsi viewers choice award  whilst green day bagged the prize for best rock video for american idiot. the black eyed peas won awards for best r  n  b video and sexiest video  both for hey mama. local singer and songwriter missy higgins took the title of breakthrough artist of the year  with australian idol winner guy sebastian taking the honours for best pop video. the vh1 first music award went to cher honouring her achievements within the music industry. the ceremony was held at the luna park fairground in sydney harbour and was hosted by the osbourne family. artists including carmen electra  missy higgins  kelly osbourne  green day  ja rule and natalie imbruglia gave live performances at the event.
1267,blunkett row should end - blair prime minister tony blair said it was time to draw a line under the controversy surrounding david blunkett.  the tories and the lib dems have called for a second inquiry into the fast-tracking of a visa application for mr blunkett s ex-lover s nanny. sir alan budd found a  chain of events  linked mr blunkett to leoncia casalme s indefinite leave to remain application. at the end of his middle east trip  mr blair said he still admired mr blunkett and thought his integrity was intact.  on tuesday sir alan said the application for leave to remain in the uk made by kimberly quinn s nanny was processed in 52 days  120 days faster than the average. but he could not find evidence to show whether mr blunkett s intervention was intended to give special help for his then lover s nanny - or if he was raising the case as an example of poor departmental performance. in his first comments since sir alan s announcement  mr blair told bbc news he had not yet read the report in detail. but told bbc news:  as far as i m concerned  we have drawn a line under that.   asked if mr blunkett could return to frontline politics at some point  he replied:  i have made my admiration for david very clear and it remains.  he s been a tremendous colleague  he s done a great job for us  first as home secretary then as education secretary. the future is something we will have to approach in the future.  the prime minister shrugged off claims from conservative leader michael howard that he led a  grubby government . he said mr blunkett s integrity remained intact:  he was the person first of all who asked for this inquiry to be set up. he accepted that what he originally thought had happened had not happened  he said.  but i think sir alan budd also accepted there wasn t some conspiracy or cover-up and i just think a line should be drawn under now and we should move on.   earlier  mr howard said:  there does need to be another inquiry  a judge-led inquiry. there were so many questions that weren t answered.  there was  deceit at the heart of government  which was not limited to the visa affair  he argued. lib dem home affairs spokesman mark oaten also said there was  a strong case for a judge-led judicial review .  he said:  next time it happens it may not be about a nanny and their visa. it may be about something even more important than that.  mr blunkett quit as home secretary last week after being told in advance of sir alan s findings. in a statement  the ex-home secretary said he accepted the inquiry s findings. he said he had told the truth throughout and had raised the nanny case as an example of unacceptable backlogs in the system.
138,2d metal slug offers retro fun like some drill sergeant from the past  metal slug 3 is a wake-up call to today s gamers molly-coddled with slick visuals and fancy trimmings.  with its hand-animated sprites and 2d side-scrolling  this was even considered retro when released in arcades four years ago. but a more frantic shooter you will not find at the end of your joypad this year. and yes  that includes halo 2. simply choose your grunt and wade through five 2d side-scrolling levels of the most hectic video game blasting you will ever encounter. it is also the toughest game you are likely to play  as hordes of enemies and few lives pile the pressure on.  players must battle soldiers  snowmen  zombies  giant crabs and aliens  not to mention the huge  screen-filling bosses that guard each of the five levels.  the shoot-anything-that-moves gameplay is peppered with moments of old-school genius. fans of robotic gastropods should note the title refers  instead  to the vast array of vehicles on offer in a game stuffed with bizarre hardware. tanks  jets and submarines can be commandeered  as well as cannon-toting camels  elephants and ostriches - more weaponry on offer than in an acre of iraq. doling out justice is a joy thanks to ultra responsive controls  and while this is a tough nut to crack  it is addictive enough to have you gagging for that one last go. and at a mere £20  metal slug 3 is as cheap as sliced  fried spuds  as the man says. of course  most of you will ignore this  lacking as it does the visual fireworks of modern blasters. but at a time when blockbuster titles offer only a fresh lick of paint in favour of real innovation  metal slug 3 is a fresh gasp of air from an era when the xbox was not even a twinkle in bill gates  eye.
1575,games  deserve a place in class  computer games could enhance learning and have a legitimate place in the classroom  say researchers.  academics from the institute of education at london university found that  games literacy  was a key skill for youngsters. as well as being used in different areas of the curriculum  games are a legitimate area of study in their own right  researchers say. pupils should also be able to create their own games  they say.   like all games  computer and video games entertain while promoting social development  and playing and talking about games is an important part of young people s lives   said project manager caroline pelletier.   games literacy is a way of investigating how games are means of expression and representation  just like writing or drawing   she said. the researchers conducted two studies into the impact of games on education  the first looking at how they can be used in different curriculum subjects to enhance learning. researchers found that girls were often excluded from the male-dominated world of game playing.  without first-hand experience of how much fun a game can be  they have little motivation to play and remain disengaged from an engrossing and sociable activity   said research fellow diane carr.  the second project looked at how games can be integrated into media education and concluded that writing games should be a core part of studying them. sixth-form teacher barney oram already teaches computer games alongside the more traditional study of film  tv and popular music at the a-level course he runs at long road sixth form college in cambridge.  for parents  the idea that computer games could be brought into the classroom environment  could cause controversy. dr andrew burn  associate director of the institute of education s centre for the study of children  youth and media moved to reassure anxious parents.  games are a legitimate cultural form that deserve critical analysis in schools just as film  television and literature do   he said.  but we also want to argue that full understanding only comes when children have the tools to create their own games.  the games industry welcomed the report  saying it showed how games had a positive impact on children.  at a time of hysterical and inaccurate reporting it is heartening to see the cultural  social and educational value of computer and video games being assessed intelligently   said roger bennett  director general of the entertainment and leisure software publishers association.  this report is further evidence  if it were needed  about the excellence and imagination that thrives in gaming. they have much to offer to the education of our children and they have much to offer as a career.  the three-year research project  which is being presented at a seminar on tuesday in london  was partly funded by the department of trade and industry.
1810,golden rule  intact  says ex-aide chancellor gordon brown will meet his golden economic rule  with a margin to spare   according to his former chief economic adviser.  formerly one of mr brown s closest treasury aides  ed balls hinted at a budget giveaway on 16 march. he said he hoped more would be done to build on current tax credit rules. any rate rise ahead of an expected may election would not affect the labour party s chances of winning  he added. last july  mr balls won the right to step down from his treasury position and run for parliament  defending the labour stronghold of normanton in west yorkshire.  mr balls rejected the allegation that mr brown had been sidelined in the election campaign  saying he was playing a  different  role to the one he played in the last two elections. he rejected speculation that mr brown was considering becoming foreign secretary  saying his recent travels had been linked to efforts to boost international development. gordon brown s decision to announce the date of the budget while on a trip to china was a  sensible thing to do   since he was talking about skills and investment at the time  mr balls told the bbc. commenting on speculation of an interest rate rise  he said it was not within the remit of the bank of england s monetary policy committee (mpc) to factor a potential election into its rate decisions. expectations of a rate rise have gathered pace after figures showed that house prices are still rising. consumer borrowing rose at a near-record pace in january.  i don t believe it would be a big election issue in britain or a problem for labour   mr balls said. prime minister tony blair has yet to name the date of the election  but most pundits are betting on 5 may as the likely day.
2065,george michael to perform for bbc george michael is to perform live at london s abbey road studios as part of a bbc radio 2 special next month.  the session  which will broadcast on 18 december  will also see him talk about how his biggest hits came about. michael s appearance is part of the station s sold on song initiative  which explores the art of songwriting. the station also confirmed that chris tarrant will be hosting a one-off new year s eve programme. he left london s capital fm this year after 17 years. the former breakfast show host - who attracted some of the highest ratings in britain  despite only broadcasting to london - will offer his own individual take on the year in the two-hour show.  this should be great fun   tarrant said.  i ve had a fantastic year and i know that lots of other people have as well. i m definitely looking forward to being on radio 2.  other christmas specials from radio 2 include singer jamelia hosting a christmas day concert from the london community gospel choir  while actor christopher lee will read fireside tales from the likes of edgar allan poe  e nesbit and ambrose bierce. comedian harry hill will host a spoof nostalgia show on christmas day  while singer jamie cullum will perform a live concert for the station.
768,lse doubts boost bidders  shares shares in deutsche boerse have risen more than 3% after a shareholder fund voiced opposition to the firm s planned takeover of the london stock exchange.  tci  which claims to represent owners of 5% of deutsche boerse s (db) shares  has complained that the £1.35bn ($2.5bn) offer for the lse is too high. opposition from tci has fuelled speculation that the proposed takeover could fail. rival exchange operator euronext has also said it may bid for the lse. euronext operates the paris  amsterdam  brussels and lisbon bourses  while deutsche boerse runs the frankfurt exchange.  bbc news spoke to a number of analysts on monday morning about shareholder worries over deutsche boerse s bid for lse. although none were prepared to speak on the record  most thought it was unlikely that tci s opposition would halt the deal   obviously we ll have to wait and see  but i don t think it will make much difference. deutsche boerse appears very committed   said one london-based broker. he forecast the takeover bid would succeed and was more concerned to see improvements in the daily running of the lse. in voicing its opposition to the planned takeover  tci said it would prefer to see deutsche boerse return $500m (£350m) to shareholders. the deutsche boerse was prepared to pay for the lse  exceeds the potential benefits of this acquisition   said tci.  another deutsche boerse shareholder on monday also appeared to back tci s call. another investor in deutsche boerse has supported the view that a payout to shareholders would be preferable to deutsche boerse overpaying for the lse  reuters news agency reported.  we prefer a sensible entrepreneurial solution at a price that is not too high   said rolf dress  a spokesman for union investment.  if that cannot be achieved  then we would wish for a distribution of liquid assets to shareholders.  the financial times also reported a third deutsche boerse shareholder as opposed to the deal. it quoted a spokesman for us-based hedge fund atticus capital complaining that the planned takeover appeared to be motivated by  empire-building  rather than the best interests of shareholders.  tci has called for deutsche boerse to hold an emergency general meeting to discuss the bid for lse. yet under german business law  db does not have to gain shareholder approval before making a significant acquisition. deutsche boerse said tci s opposition would not change its bid approach.  deutsche boerse is convinced that its contemplated cash acquisition of the london stock exchange is in the best interests of its shareholders and the company   it said. db s shares were up 3.4% to 45.25 euros by 1030 gmt  the highest gainer in frankfurt.
1507,collins banned in landmark case sprinter michelle collins has received an eight-year ban for doping offences after a hearing at the north american court of arbitration for sport (cas).  america s former world indoor 200m champion is the first athlete to be suspended without a positive drugs test or an admission of drugs use. collins  ban is a result of her connection to the federal inquiry into the balco doping scandal. the 33-year-old was found guilty of using performance-enhancing drugs. the us anti-doping agency (usada) decided to press charges against collins in the summer. the sprinter has consistently protested her innocence but the cas has upheld usada s findings.  the usada has proved  beyond a reasonable doubt  that collins took epo  the testosterone/epitestosterone cream and thg   said a cas statement.  collins used these substances to enhance her performance and elude the drug testing that was available at the time.  so far a total of 13 athletes have been sanctioned for violations involving drugs associated with the balco doping scandal. world record holder tim montgomery is also facing a lifetime ban after being charged by the usada. his hearing before the csa has been rescheduled for june next year.  drug enforcement chiefs in the us have vowed to crack down on cheats. usada chief executive officer terry madden said the action taken against collins was further proof of that.  the cas panel s decision confirms that those who violate the rules will be sanctioned as part of usada s ongoing efforts to protect the rights of the overwhelming majority of us athletes that compete drug-free   said madden. the usada has built its cases on verbal evidence given to the federal investigation into balco rather than test results. the san francisco-based balco laboratory faces steroid distribution and money laundering charges. the trial is expected to open next march.
1520,vickery out of six nations england tight-head prop phil vickery has been ruled out of the rest of the 2005 rbs six nations after breaking a bone in his right forearm.  vickery was injured as his club side  gloucester  beat bath 17-16 in the west country derby on saturday. he could be joined on the sidelines by bath centre olly barkley  who sat out the derby due to a leg injury. barkley will have a scan on sunday and might miss england s trip to six nations leaders ireland next weekend. the news is just the latest blow for coach andy robinson  who has seen his side lose their opening two matches in the 2005 six nations. robinson is already without world cup winners jonny wilkinson  will greenwood  mike tindall  richard hill and trevor woodman through injury. vickery has broken the radius  a large bone in his forearm. he only returned to the england side last weekend after a long-term back injury  which was followed by a fractured eye socket. and the gloucester prop was only recalled after leicester tight-head julian white suffered a neck injury which has already seen him ruled out of the ireland game.  bath prop matt stevens is the only remaining tight-head in england s training squad and could be involved against ireland. but he has to play second fiddle at club level to duncan bell  who excelled for england a against france and may now be called into the squad. the extent of barkley s injury is not yet clear but bath boss john connolly rates him no better than  50-50  to face ireland. barkley played at inside cente in england s defeat by france and if he is unable to play  england s constantly-changing midfield will once again have to be altered.  robinson could choose to recall mathew tait or henry paul  although tait endured a nightmare for newcastle against leicester on saturday and paul limped off with an ankle injury against bath. in-form leicester centre ollie smith is the other outstanding candidate  and two tries against newcastle will have boosted his chances. fly-half andy goode is also a strong contender for the match-day 22 after an immaculate kicking display on saturday. england  fourth in the six nations table with zero points  play ireland  top of the table  in dublin on 27 february  kick-off 1500 gmt.
71,wales  must learn health lessons  the new health minister for wales says there are lessons to learn from england in tackling waiting lists.  dr brian gibbons  on his first full day in the job after jane hutt was sacked  admitted  big challenges  but insisted the  essentials  were in place. but both plaid cymru and the liberal democrats said dr gibbons needed to change policy. meanwhile ms hutt defended her record  saying waiting times and lists were  only 10% of the health agenda. dr gibbons  who was a gp in blaengwynfi  in the upper afan valley  before becoming am for aberavon  said nhs staff wanted a period of consolidation after  tremendous change and reform . one of the biggest problems which had faced ms hutt during her five-and-a-half years as the assembly s first health minister was the length of waiting lists in wales.  in november the british medical association said nhs staff were  weeping with despair  as figures showed 311 000 people were waiting for treatment in wales  up by 2 400 on the previous month. in the same month lists in england were at their lowest for 17 years  with 856 600 people waiting for treatment. dr gibbons told radio wales:  there is no doubt that  in managing waiting lists  england has done a lot of very very useful work  and we do need to learn from that.   but he said the nhs in wales also needed to create a healthier population rather than respond only to ill health  and a balanced view of priorities was important.  we do need a consistent across-the-board approach  recognising the patients  experience of how they use the service is going to be  at the end of the day  the main test of how the service is working.  he said nhs staff wanted a period of consolidation after  tremendous change and reform . later  dr gibbons praised the work of ms hutt  saying he  agreed with everything she s done  to change the health service in wales. dr gibbons said he accepted there was a problem  but his job now was to build on the foundations put in place by his predecessor. he also acknowledged that until the waiting list issue was sorted out  the rest of the assembly government s health policy would be overshadowed.  opposition members and some labour mps had long called for ms hutt s removal after sustained criticism over extended hospital waiting times. first minister rhodri morgan told bbc wales he had agreed with ms hutt in 2003 that she would not be health minister in the run-up to the 2007 elections.  she s been doing the job for five years and eight months and  apart from nye bevan himself  (architect of the nhs)  i don t think anybody has ever done the job for so long.  mr morgan said he had only told ms hutt of the reshuffle on monday morning  and said the nhs in wales was dr gibbons   baby  now. in response to dr gibbons  comments  ieuan wyn jones  leader of the plaid cymru group in the assembly  said:  it is apparent that this reshuffle by the first minister was just changing the deckchairs on a sinking titanic.  kisrty williams  for the lib dems  added:  if the underlying policy is going to continue  then changing the minister will serve no purpose  other than to deflect flak from labour s mps   she said. meanwhile ms hutt said she hoped  that the people of wales would benefit from my investment of the past five years and eight months  asked about waiting lists  she said that waiting times and lists were  only 10% of the health agenda  and that the welsh assembly government had  turned the corner  on the issue.
1484,oasis star fined for german brawl oasis singer liam gallagher has been fined 50 000 euros (£35 000) after a fight in a german hotel two years ago.  gallagher was arrested along with drummer alan white and three other members of the band s entourage after the brawl in munich in december 2002. the band said they were victims of an  unprovoked attack  in a nightclub. but police said gallagher kicked an officer in the chest and had large amounts of alcohol and drugs - possibly cocaine - in his blood. gallagher lost two front teeth in the fight  which led to the band abandoning their german tour. his brother and bandmate noel was in bed at the time.   the process has stopped by paying 50 000 euros   said anton winkler  spokesman for the munich prosecutor. at the time  police said a  physical altercation  broke out among the musicians at about 0200 local time. that led to one of the group being  jostled  and falling onto the table of five italian guests - causing the fight  they said. the fight continued outside  where  one of the officers was kicked in the chest with full force by liam gallagher... and suffered minor injuries   they said.
163,custody death rate  shocks  mps deaths in custody have reached  shocking  levels  a committee of mps and peers has warned.  the joint committee on human rights found those committing suicide were mainly the most vulnerable  with mental health  drugs or alcohol problems. members urged the government to set up a task force to tackle deaths in prisons  police cells  detention centres and special hospitals. there was one prison suicide every four days between 1999 and 2003  mps said. the report  which followed a year-long inquiry by the committee  found the high death rate  amounts to a serious failure to protect the right to life of a highly vulnerable group .  many of those who ended up taking their own lives had  presented themselves  to the authorities with these problems before they even offended  the report said. it questioned whether prison was the most appropriate place for them to be kept and whether earlier intervention would have meant custody could have been avoided.  increased resources and a reduction in the use of imprisonment was needed to address the issue in the longer term  the report said. committee chairman labour mp jean corston said:  each and every death in custody is a death too many  regardless of the circumstances.   yet throughout our inquiry we have seen time and time again that extremely vulnerable people are entering custody with a history of mental illness  drug and alcohol problems and potential for taking their own lives.   these highly vulnerable people are being held within a structure glaringly ill-suited to meet even their basic needs.  crime levels are falling but we are holding more people in custody than ever before. the misplaced over-reliance on the prison system for some of the most vulnerable people in the country is at the heart of the problems that we encountered.  until we change our whole approach to imprisoning vulnerable people we cannot begin to meet our positive obligations under article 2 of the european convention on human rights and meet our duty of care to them.   the committee also highlighted  deeply worrying  cases of children and young people taking their own lives. between 1990 and 2004  25 children have taken their own lives in prison and two have died in secure training centres. it picked out the case of joseph scholes  who hanged himself from the bars of his cell in stoke heath young offender institution in march 2002  and urged the home secretary to hold a public inquiry. it revealed that two weeks before his court appearance for a series of robberies  the 16-year-old was depressed  exhibiting suicidal tendencies and slashed his face with a knife about 30 times. even though the trial judge had been alerted to his experience of sexual abuse and mental illness  he was sentenced to a two-year detention and training order. nine days into his sentence  joseph hung himself from the bars of his cell window with a sheet.
1171,brizzel to run aaa s in sheffield ballymena sprinter paul brizzel will be among eight of ireland s european indoor hopefuls competing in this weekend s aaa s championships.  us-based alistair cragg and mark carroll are the only irish athletes selected so far for the europeans who will not run in sheffield. brizzel will defend his 200m title in the british trials. in-form james mcilroy will hope to confirm his place in the british team for madrid by winning the 800m title. mcilroy has been in tremendous form on the european circuit in recent weeks. he is one of the fastest 800m runners in the world this winter and already seems assured of a place in madrid. corkman mark carroll confirmed in midweek that he would join cragg in the european championships. carroll is ranked number three in the world 3000m ranking at the moment with cragg occupying top spot. meanwhile  nine-times champion dermot donnelly will not be coming out of retirement to compete in the northern ireland cross country championships in coleraine on saturday. an injury crisis in the annadale striders squad led to donnelly being entered by coach john mclaughlin but the athlete told bbc sport on friday evening that he would not be running. willowfield s paul rowan will go in as individual favourite but annadale could have a tough job holding on to their team title as andrew dunwoody and noel pollock are unlikely to run.
769,us insurer marsh cuts 2 500 jobs up to 2 500 jobs are to go at us insurance broker marsh & mclennan in a shake up following bigger-than-expected losses.  the insurer said the cuts were part of a cost-cutting drive  aimed at saving millions of dollars. marsh posted a $676m (£352m) loss for the last three months of 2004  against a $375m (£195.3m) profit a year before. it blamed an $850m payout to settle a price-rigging lawsuit  brought by new york attorney general elliot spitzer. under the settlement announced in january  marsh took a pre-tax charge of $618m in the october-to-december quarter  on top of the $232m charge from the previous quarter.  clearly 2004 was the most difficult year in mmc s financial history   marsh chief executive michael cherkasky said.  an ongoing restructuring drive at the group also led to a $337m hit in the fourth quarter  the world s biggest insurer said.  analysts expect its latest round of cuts to focus on its brokerage unit  which employs 40 000 staff. the latest layoffs will take the total number of jobs to go at the firm to 5 500 and are expected to lead to annual savings of more than $375m. as part of its efforts to cut costs  the company said it was halving its dividend payment to 17 cents a shares from 34 cents  a move which should enable it to save $360m. looking ahead  mr cherkasky forecast profitable growth for the year ahead  with an operating margin in the upper-teens  and with the opportunity for further margin expansion . meanwhile  the company also announced it would spin-off its mmc capital private equity unit  which manages the $3bn trident funds operation  to a group of employees. marsh did not say when the move would take place  but said it had signed a letter of intent.  the insurer hit the headlines in october last year when it faced accusations of price rigging. new york attorney general elliot spitzer sued the company  accusing it of receiving illegal payments to steer clients to selected firms as well as rigging bids and fixing prices. in january  marsh agreed to pay $850m to settle the suit - a figure in line with the placement fees it collected in 2003 - and agreed to change its business practices. in february  a former senior executive pleaded guilty to criminal charges in a wide-ranging probe of fraud and bid-rigging in the insurance industry. in january  a former senior vice president also pleaded guilty to criminal charges related to the investigation. in an effort to reform its business practises  marsh said it has already introduced new leadership  new compliance procedures and new ways of dealing with customers.  as a result  we are ready to put these matters behind us and move ahead in 2005 to restore the trust our clients have placed in us and to rebuild shareholder value   mr cherkasky said.
77,yukos sues four firms for $20bn russian oil firm yukos has sued four companies for their role in last year s forced state auction of its key oil production unit yuganskneftegas.  yukos is claiming more than $20bn (£11bn) in damages after yugansk was sold in december to settle back taxes. the four companies named in the law suit are gas giant gazprom  its unit gazpromneft  investment company baikal  and state oil firm rosneft. yukos submitted the suit in houston  where it filed for bankruptcy. as well as suing for damages  yukos has asked the us court to send its tax dispute with the russian government to an international arbitrator. it also has submitted a reorganisation plan as part of its chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.  the clash between yukos and the kremlin came to a head last year when yukos was hit with a bill of more than $27bn in back taxes and unpaid fines. to settle the bill  russia forced yukos to sell off yuganskneftegas.  yukos called the sale illegal and has turned to courts in the us in an effort to regain control of the oil production business. it also has vowed to use all legal means at its disposal to go after any firm that tries to buy or take control of its assets. earlier this month it sued the russian government for $28.3bn. analysts have questioned whether a us court has any jurisdiction over russian companies  while moscow officials have dismissed yukos  legal wrangling as meaningless. in houston  bankruptcy judge letitia clark will start a two-day hearing on 16 february to hear arguments on whether a us court is the proper forum for the case.  the threat of legal action from yukos and its bankruptcy filing in houston did have an effect on last year s auction  however. concerned that it would be caught up in a court battle  gazprom and gazpromneft withdrew from the auction  and yuganskneftegas was sold to little-known investment firm baikal finance group. a few days later  baikal gave control of the company to state-run oil group rosneft for $9.3bn. rosneft  meanwhile  has agreed to merge with gazprom  bringing a large chunk of russia s very profitable oil business back under state control. yukos claims that the rights of its shareholders have been ignored and that is has been punished for the political ambitions of its founder mikhail khodorkovsky. mr khodorkovsky  once russia s richest man  is in prison  having been charged with fraud and tax evasion and repeatedly denied bail.
1252,china bans new tobacco factories the world s biggest tobacco consumer  china  has said it will not allow any new tobacco factories to be built.  china already has more than enough cigarette-making capacity  according to a spokesman for the tobacco industry regulator quoted in china daily. the ban threatens to reignite tensions between the regulator and british american tobacco  which plans to become china s first foreign cigarette maker. a spokeswoman for bat declined to comment on the report.   china won t allow any new tobacco factories to be built  including joint ventures   said xing wangli  a spokesman for the state tobacco administration monopoly quoted in china daily. he also said that the state would retain its monopoly on cigarette distribution. china has 350 million smokers who consumer 1.7 trillion cigarettes a year. smoking is fashionable in china  where it is seen as an essential - and manly - sociable touch for some jobs  such as salesmen. more young  urban woman are taking up smoking too. in july 2004  bat announced it had won approval for to build a $1.5bn (£800m) joint venture factory in china which would make it the first foreign cigarette maker to manufacture there.  the state tobacco monopoly administration said a week later that it had not approved the deal  leading to an embarrassing public row. bat told the bbc at that time that it had not negotiated with the stmc  and secured approval from  the highest levels of government . since then  the row has flared occasionally  most recently at a forum in november. bat consistently declines to comment.  xing s statement comes as especially bad news for british american tobacco   the china daily newspaper said of the latest development. the bat spokeswoman said:  there is nothing for us to add...since our announcement in july last year. the central government of china is the authority that approved our strategic investment.  the decision to ban further tobacco factories does not apply to deals made before 2005  according to the french news agency afp. the joint venture factory was expected to take till 2006 to build. the bat spokeswoman would not comment on its progress. however  if the stma continues to take a tough stance  expansion opportunities could be limited.  china s tobacco market is increasingly valuable as anti-smoking campaigners target public smoking in the west. china daily said the market was currently enjoying steady growth  making more than 210bn yuan ($25.4bn) in pre-tax profits last year  almost double the figure in 2000. the paper made no mention of health concerns. the stma is trying to restructure the domestic tobacco industry  closing some factories  though such moves can be unpopular with local governments.
532,rapper films music video in jail a us rapper awaiting trial for murder has filmed part of a music video in jail  angering a sheriff who says he was tricked into letting tv crews in.  c-murder  a former member of rap group tru  was filmed in his orange prison suit for the video for his y all heard of me single in a new orleans jail. he is awaiting a second trial after an original conviction was thrown out.  i m not pleased   jefferson parish sheriff harry lee said.  he will not make another video in my jail.  footage for the video was filmed by two crews who had permission to interview c-murder - one from court tv and one from a local cable show.  but mr lee said he did not know the rapper had filmed the video and made an album behind bars  and said he was fooled into letting the cameras in. the rapper s lawyer ron rakosky said:  the bottom line is  we didn t do anything wrong.  mr rakosky said it was better than c-murder  real name corey miller   just sitting there  wasting away .  here s a guy in jail  making constructive use of his time instead of withering away   he said.  he s lost more than three years of his life  locked up for a crime he did not commit.   but local group victims and citizens against crime said he should not be working behind bars.  he is a suspect in a murder case. i don t think he should be allowed these privileges  especially earning money  until his name is totally cleared   the group s president beverly siemssen said. in 2003  c-murder was found guilty of killing a 16-year-old in a nightclub  but that decision was thrown out last april. he is now facing a second trial on a charge of second-degree murder. with two brothers in the group tru  he had two us top 10 albums in the late 1990s before going solo  when he scored another three top 10 albums.
1975,multi-purpose tv aids india two-thirds of the world s population  4 billion people  live on $2 000 a year or less.  you might think that the last thing on their minds would be getting a television set or a computer. but that s not the case. many people in the developing world give up one of their daily meals so they can afford to buy a tv. and now  an indian-born computer engineer thinks he s come up with a way to give them cheap access to the internet. carnegie mellon professor raj reddy has spent the bulk of his professional career trying to find ways to make technology accessible to poor people. the first step is to figure out why poor people would want a personal computer and professor reddy thinks he has a pretty good idea of why they might.  i come from a village   says prof reddy   i know what the population is like  many of them are illiterate  and many of them have other concerns.   there  nobody will use it for the conventional uses of a pc  word processing and powerpoint   he said.  so it s clear to me that if people wanted to use pcs in a village - it has to usable by illiterate people and it must be primarily for entertainment  education  telemedicine  and access to expert advice.   prof reddy also thinks that tying it into some kind of aid package was the wrong approach. after all  he asked -- what aid group could possibly give expensive computers to 250 million less fortunate indians  let alone the billions of poor people around the world   instead  prof reddy decided to think of those 250 million indians as a potential market. the problem then becomes one of making the product compelling enough.  it must be so compelling that you would give up your third meal in order to have this   prof reddy says.  people do this today with television sets. if you go to india  and many other countries  they will first go get a television set before they worry about one more meal. why  because personalized entertainment has become very important.  this hatched a completely new idea. he calls it a pctvt - a personal computer  television and telephone all in one that runs on a normal desktop machine. literate users can surf through the applications with a keyboard and mouse but illiterate users can use what looks like a television remote control.  on the screen  pictures - not words - designate applications like tv  voice mail  and video e-mail. this dependence on graphics  video and audio means that a computer for an illiterate person needs 100 times more power and more memory than one for a phd. prassana rambathla  one of prof reddy s graduate students  says that  when you re talking illiterate you re talking audio and video  and that demands exponentially high bandwidth.   it can t choke at any point in time  and it has to withstand anything no matter what you re pressing.   the major part is making it foolproof  very tough  so that it never breaks   he says. the carnegie mellon team says this project is only possible because pcs are now so much cheaper and have built-in audio and video hardware and software. limited trials of the pctvt are due to start this month in the indian state of andhra pradesh.  although andhra pradesh has a fairly good infrastructure but work has to be done to ensure reliable connections to the net. prof reddy has teamed up with eric brewer at the university of california at berkeley. the answer  says prof brewer  is wi-fi.   we re looking at the thing you ll see in starbuck s or many other hotspots   he says.  we re doing a lot of work on long-distance wireless and how to make the network work better in the presence of intermittency  when the power goes up and down  and the links go up and down  and the computers you re connected to just get turned off for no reason.  prof reddy says he hopes to lease the pctvts for about $10 a month  and thinks indians will rent the units for the television and dvd capabilities. reddy says he can then introduce the pctvt s other technologies - such as video mail. for example  a farmer could use the pctvt s webcam to send a picture of a harmful insect to a local official who could send back a proposed course of action to the farmer. prof reddy thinks this kind of communication is the real pay-off.  the underlying problem   he says   is how you can increase their wealth and reduce their poverty and reduce their illiteracy  and improve their health care.   and what i m postulating is that this is the technology that will enable them. if i didn t have it  it would be an uphill battle. even with the technology it s an uphill battle. but i have a tool. there is hope. i can reach them in ways that have not been possible before.   clark boyd is technology correspondent for the world  a bbc world service and wgbh-boston co-production
178,gb quartet get cross country call four british athletes have been pre-selected to compete at the world cross country championships in march after impressive starts to the season.  hayley yelling  jo pavey  karl keska and adam hickey will represent team gb at the event in france. yelling clinched the women s european cross country title last month and pavey followed up with bronze. keska helped the men s team to overall third place while hickey finished in 10th place on his junior debut.  winning the european cross country title meant so much to me   said yelling.  and being pre-selected for the worlds means that i can focus on preparing in the best way possible.  the 32-year-old will race alongside olympic 5 000m finalist pavey in the women s 8km race on 19 march. keska  who has made a successful return from a long-term injury lay-off  contests the men s 12km race on 20 march  while 16-year-old hickey goes in the junior men s 8km on the same day. the rest of the team will be named after the trials at wollaton park in nottingham  which take place on 5 march.
1237,malaysia lifts islamic bank limit malaysia s central bank is to relax restrictions on foreign ownership to encourage islamic banking.  banks in malaysia will now be able to sell up to 49% of their islamic banking units  while the limit on other kinds of bank remains at 30%. rhb  malaysia s third-biggest lender  is already scouting for a foreign partner for its new islamic banking unit  the firm told reuters. the moves put malaysia ahead of a 2007 deadline to open up the sector. the country s deal to join the world trade organisation set that year as a deadline for liberalisation of islamic banking. also on tuesday  the central bank released growth figures showing malaysia s economy expanded 7.1% in 2004. but growth slowed sharply in the fourth quarter to 5.6%  and the central bank said it expected 6% expansion in 2005.  malaysia changed the law to allow islamic banking in 1983. it has granted licences to three middle eastern groups  which - along with local players - mean there are eight fully-operational islamic banking groups in the country. islamic banks offer services which permit modern banking principles while sticking to islamic law s ban on the payment of interest. most of the malays which make up half the country s population are muslims.
1899,blair dismisses quit claim report tony blair has dismissed reports he told gordon brown he would quit before the next general election.   you don t do deals over jobs like this   the prime minister told bbc one s breakfast with frost programme. according to a new book  brown s britain  mr blair went back on a pledge to make way for mr brown after cabinet allies intervened in june 2004. mr blair said the claims were  reheated from six months ago  and that he was concentrating on running the country. mr blair said:  i ve dealt with this six months ago. i said then you don t do deals over jobs like this - you don t.   what both of us are actually concentrating on are the issues that concern the country.  the book  by sunday telegraph journalist robert peston and serialised in the newspaper  said the pair had  mutual animosity and contempt  for each other.  it claims tony blair felt by november 2003 he had lost voters  trust because of the iraq war and that he was no longer an asset to the labour party. and that at a dinner hosted by deputy prime minister john prescott he told mr brown of his intention to stand down. according to mr peston the prime minister said:  help me to get through the year and i will then stand down.  but he then changed his mind in june 2004  following intervention from allies in the cabinet and the suspicion that the chancellor was deliberately manoeuvring against him  according to the book.  mr peston told bbc news:  my understanding is that they are not nearly as close or as friendly as they once were.  what the book says is there is now a pretty profound mutual mistrust  mutual animosity.  i think in public you see this double-act pretending everything is alright  but in private i don t think the relationship is good because brown  understandably  feels deeply betrayed - particularly over this issue of the leadership.  but  in a wide-ranging bbc interview covering issues such as the asian tsunami disaster  the middle east peace process and northern ireland  mr blair said:  when you get to the top in politics you get this huge swell around you.  all sorts of people make all sorts of claims and counter-claims.  he admitted to a  sense of frustration  about the allegations which he said had been made  countless times .  there has been fresh speculation of a rift recently  following their separate responses to the asian tsunami. these rumours were fuelled by mr blair s decision to hold his monthly media conference at the same time as a long-planned speech by mr brown on uk plans to tackle global poverty with a new  marshall plan  for africa. there was speculation the pair were trying to outdo each other s response to the disaster. but the prime minister said he had discussed these claims with the chancellor and dismissed them as a  load of nonsense . former welfare minister frank field mp said the prime minister should sack mr brown  but did not believe mr blair was strong enough to do so.  tory leader michael howard accused the prime minister and mr brown of  squabbling like schoolboys . he told sky news  sunday with adam boulton:  this is the politics of the playground and britain really does deserve better.  the liberal democrat parliamentary chairman matthew taylor said the personal ambition of mr blair and mr brown was  getting in the way of good government .  either they need to grow up and put their squabbles to one side or they cannot expect the electorate to support a divided government at the next election.  during the interview mr blair also said the former home secretary david blunkett would play a  big role  at the general election.
676,kilroy launches  veritas  party ex-bbc chat show host and east midlands mep robert kilroy-silk has said he wants to  change the face of british politics  as he launched his new party.  mr kilroy-silk  who recently quit the uk independence party said  our country  was being  stolen from us  by mass immigration. he told a london news conference that veritas - latin for  truth  - would avoid the old parties   lies and spin . ukip leader roger knapman says he was glad to see the back of mr kilroy-silk.  mr kilroy-silk promised a  firm but fair  policy on immigration and said they hoped to contest most seats at the forthcoming general election. he said veritas would also announce detailed policies on crime  tax  pensions  health and defence over the next few weeks. and he announced the party would be holding a leadership election. on thursday he is due to announce which constituency he will run in at the next general election - that will come amid speculation he has his sights set on defence secretary geoff hoon s ashfield seat. he was joined in the new venture by one of ukip s two london assembly members  damien hockney who is now veritas  deputy leader. ukip s chairman petrina holdsworth has said the group will just be a parody of the party the men have left.  mr kilroy-silk announced his decision to quit ukip at a public meeting in hinckley  leicestershire last week. it came after months of tension as he vied unsuccessfully for the leadership of that party. he said he was ashamed to be a member of a ukip whose leadership had  gone awol  after the great opportunity offered by its third place at last june s european elections.  while ukip has turned its back on the british people  i shall not   he said.  i will be standing at the next general election. i shall be leading a vigorous campaign for the causes i believe in.  and  unlike the old parties  we shall be honest  open and straight.   mr hockney also left ukip saying mr kilroy-silk would  deliver better  as the leader of a eurosceptic party. a spokesman for ukip called on mr hockney to quit the london assembly. the party asserts that mr hockney  has a moral obligation  if not a legal one  to stand down. its leader  roger knapman  has said he is glad to see the back of mr kilroy-silk.  he has remarkable ability to influence people but  sadly  after the [european] election it became clear that he was more interested in the robert kilroy-silk party than the uk independence party so it was nice knowing him  now  goodbye    he said. ukip officials also argue mr kilroy-silk has not been  straightforward  in attacking the party he once wanted to lead.  this is just what the europhiles pray for. as the main eurosceptic party  ukip should try to resolve its differences with kilroy to show a united front and give the uk public a serious political voice against europe. having multiple parties with the same view point just splits the vote further.  thank goodness that kilroy-silk has gone - now ukip at least has a chance in the election!  it is very sad to see the cause of britain regaining its proper relationship with europe damaged by this split within ukip. robert kilroy-silk could have a lot to offer. instead we have a split party and a damaged cause. under the present electoral system  people must work together  and small parties have no hope of representation. last summer  ukip achieved a major advance  partly and only partly due to kilroy-silk. it is a great shame this has been dissipated in in-fighting.  ukip has a wide platform of policies  not just withdrawal from the eu. this kilroy-silk conveniently ignores in the comments surrounding the launch of his own party. neither the english democrats nor the new party were interested in letting him join them and take over their leadership speaks volumes. veritas is the beginning of the end for kilroy-silk.  if he believes in truth and democracy then he and the two assembly members should resign and force a by-elections to stand on their own platform rather than this backdoor approach to politics of being elected for one party then defecting to another.  so ukip was good enough for him to lead  not good enough for him to follow!  interesting that a party committed to plain speaking should have a latin name!  every opinion poll points to an overwhelming anti-europe feeling in this country. kilroy-silk could be on the verge of something huge if he can broaden his appeal beyond this one issue. he is an extremely able communicator with years of political experience. we wants quality schools  top hospitals  clean and efficient public transport  punishments that fit the crime  limited asylum  a purge on bureaucracy and less taxes. it needs courage and honesty  two qualities sadly lacking in our politicians. kilroy-silk may just have those very qualities. recruit the right colleagues  robert  and your time may have come!  well if you cannot get enough limelight being an ordinary mp then go out and start up your own party. it s all flash and no real policy here  let s hope this is the start of both ukip and kilroy-silk slipping into obscurity.  veritas  the name will doom it. but perhaps i am wrong for surely all modern schoolchildren will understand it since they do still learn latin in the classroom do they not  the whole essence of what rks represents is euroscepticism  so explain to me how the too-twee label of veritas symbolises that
2008,new delay hits eu software laws a fresh delay has hit controversial new european union rules which govern computer-based inventions.  the draft law was not adopted by eu ministers as planned at a brussels meeting on monday during which it was supposed to have been discussed. the fresh delay came after polish officials had raised concerns about the law for the second time in two months. critics say the law would favour large companies over small ones and could impact open-source software innovation.  there was at one point the intention to put the item on today s agenda. but in the end we could not put it on   an eu spokesman told the reuters agency. he added that no date had been chosen for more discussion of the law.  in december  poland requested more time to consider the issue because it was concerned that the law could lead to the patenting of pure computer software. its ministers want to see the phrasing of the text of the directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions changed so that it excludes software patenting. poland is a large eu member  so its backing for the legislation is vital. the eu says the law would bring europe more in line with how such laws work in the us  but this has caused some angry debate amongst critics and supporters. in the us  the patenting of computer programs and internet business methods is permitted. this means that the us-based amazon.com holds a patent for its  one-click shopping  service. critics say a similar model in europe would hurt small software developers which do not have the legal and financial might of larger companies. but supporters say current law does not let big companies protect inventions which they have spent years developing.
1807,clarke to unveil immigration plan new controls on economic migrants and tighter border patrols will be part of government plans unveiled on monday.  home secretary charles clarke wants to introduce a points system for economic migrants and increase deportations of failed asylum seekers. tony blair has said people are right to be concerned about abuses of the system but there is no  magic bullet . the tories say labour is acting too late while the lib dems say the plans may not produce an efficient system.  the government s new five-year plan is designed to show how labour would reform immigration and asylum controls if it wins the election  expected to be held in may. ministers deny they have been spurred into action by tory campaigning or because the prime minister is worried too little has been done.  instead  they say the plans are part of an  evolving  process aimed at winning public confidence. mr clarke is expected to announce an end to the automatic right to settle for immigrants  families  and the introduction of fingerprinting for all visa applicants. the prime minister on sunday said immigration would be  toughened up  to ensure only those immigrants with skills the uk really needs will be granted work permits. but he rejected the tories  call for a quota on economic migrants  saying no  arbitrary figure  could reflect the uk s needs.  mr blair told bbc radio 4 s westminster hour:  we should cut the number or increase it depending on the country s needs...  the public are worried about this  they are worried rightly  because there are abuses of the immigration and asylum system.  but he defended the uk s current regime  saying all systems around the world were subject to abuse. tory proposals to cap the number of asylum seekers and process all claims abroad would not work  argued mr blair.  he said:  we will not be... pretending there is some simple easy way of processing britain s asylum seekers in some other country  because no such other country exists.  conservative shadow home secretary david davis said the government had failed to remove 250 000 failed asylum seekers from the uk and limits on economic migrants had been a  shambles .  what we are seeing today is a rather panicky response from the government after eight years of failure   he said. liberal democrat home affairs spokesman mark oaten said labour was right to reject the tories  idea of quotas on asylum. but he said it was yet to be seen if mr clarke could deliver  a fair and efficient asylum system .
481,edwards tips idowu for euro gold world outdoor triple jump record holder and bbc pundit jonathan edwards believes phillips idowu can take gold at the european indoor championships.  idowu landed 17.30m at the british trials in sheffield last month to lead the world triple jump rankings.  it s all down to him  but if he jumps as well as he did in sheffield he could win the gold medal   said edwards.  his ability is undoubted but all his best performances seem to happen in domestic meetings.   idowu made his breakthrough five years ago but so far has only a commonwealth silver medal to his name. edwards himself kept idowu off top spot at the manchester games. but he believes the european indoors in madrid represent a chance for the 26-year-old to prove his credentials as britain s top triple jumper.  he has to start producing at international level and here is the beginning   said edwards.  phillips still needs to be much more consistent. i m sure a victory in madrid will build up his confidence and self-belief that he can be best in the world.  the qualifying round of the men s triple jump in madrid takes place on friday with the final scheduled for saturday. olympic champion christian olsson will not be taking part as he is out for the entire indoor season with an ankle injury.
17,howard backs stem cell research michael howard has backed stem cell research  saying it is important people are not frightened of the future.  the controversial issue was a feature of the recent us presidential election  where george bush opposed extending it. but the tory leader argued there was a moral case for embracing science which could help victims of alzheimer s  parkinson s and motor neurone disease.  i believe we have a duty to offer hope to the millions of people who suffer devastating illnesses   he said. the use of embryonic stem cells in the uk is already allowed. stem cells are master cells that have the ability to develop into any of the body s tissue types. scientists hope that by growing such cells in the laboratory they can programme them to form specific tissue such as kidney  heart or even brain tissue.  mr howard acknowledged there were genuine concerns about stem cell research. but he argued:  we mustn t be frightened of change or nostalgic about the past - we must be optimistic about the future.  politicians must create the right framework so that the great potential of science can be harnessed for the benefit of mankind.  with the life expectancy of the average briton now around the mid-70s  society has a responsibility to enhance the quality of people s lives as they grow older.  i know many people are concerned about stem-cell research. they are fearful of meddling with what they see as the stuff of souls.  i respect those concerns. but i also believe we have a duty to offer hope to the millions of people who suffer devastating illnesses like parkinson s  multiple sclerosis  motor neurone disease  alzheimer s and - as we saw in the papers today - now possibly heart problems.   mr howard acknowledged there were  no easy answers  over such an issue but it was necessary to  have the courage to do what we know to be morally right . he added:  of course  stem cells are still a recent discovery. more research needs to be done. but we must look at their potential in a responsible and grown-up way. the hopes of millions of people rest on what could be achieved.  former superman actor the late christopher reeve was an advocate for the research after he was paralysed in a horse riding accident. mr howard made his remarks during a speech in westminster to the conservative national women s committee on ambitions and values.
837,tsunami cost hits jakarta shares the stock market in jakarta has seen its biggest slide in a month  after the country doubled the likely cost of rebuilding from the asian tsunami.  the fall came as indonesia said it expected debt repayments of up to 30 trillion rupiah ($3.2bn; £1.7bn) to be frozen to help pay for the recovery. by monday s close  the jakarta stock exchange was down 2.1% at 1 011.15. bar a slight dip at the new year  the jse had risen steadily by 4.7% since the tsunami hit on 26 december. construction and property companies in particular have gained ground  although banks were among the main fallers on monday.  so far  more than 100 000 people are believed to have been killed in indonesia  the country closest to the earthquake which triggered the great wave.  on friday  the government said its five-year estimate of rebuilding costs for banda aceh province - much of which was flattened by the quake and the tsunami - was 20 trillion rupiah ($2.2bn; £1.1bn)  twice what it had previously estimated. that cost could be defrayed by temporary debt relief. on monday  indonesian economy minister aburizal bakrie told reporters that the paris club group of creditor countries was expected to freeze 20-30bn rupiah in payments due in 2005 and 2006.  we hope we can resume the repayments at least from 2007   mr bakrie said. french finance minister herve gaymard said on sunday that the paris club had already agreed to a moratorium on repayments for tsunami-hit countries ahead of its meeting on 12 january.
523,mobiles double up as bus tickets mobiles could soon double up as travel cards  with nokia planning to try out a wireless ticket system on german buses.  early next year travellers in the city of hanau  near frankfurt  will be able to pay for tickets by passing their phone over a smart-card reader already installed on the buses. passengers will need to own a nokia 3220 handset which will have a special shell attached to it. the system would reduce queues and make travelling easier  said nokia.  transport systems around the world are seeing the advantage of using ticketless smartcards. using a mobile phone is the next step  said gerhard romen  head of market development at nokia.  the ticketless trial will start early in 2005 and people will also be able to access transport information and timetables via their phones. nokia has worked with electronics giant philips to develop a shell for the mobile phone that will be compatible with hanau s existing ticketing system. the system opens up possibilities for mobile devices to be interact with everyday environments  said mr romen.  it could be used in shops to get product information  at bus-stops to get information about the next bus or  for example  by being passed over an advert of a rock star to find out details of concerts or get ringtones   he told the bbc news website. he is confident that the trial being run in germany could be extended to transport systems in other countries.  the technology offers access to a lot of services and makes it easy to get the information you want   he said.
2099,irish company hit by iraqi report shares in irish oil company petrel resources have lost more than 50% of their value on a report that the firm has failed to win a contract in iraq.  reuters news agency reported that iraq s oil ministry has awarded the first post-war oilfield contracts to a canadian and a turkish company. by 1700 gmt  petrel s shares fell from 97p ($1.87) to 44p ($0.85). petrel said that it has not received any information from iraqi authorities to confirm or deny the report.  iraq is seeking to award contracts for three projects  valued at $500m (£258.5m). turkey s everasia is reported by reuters to have won a contract to develop the khurmala dome field in the north of the country. a canadian company  named iog  is reported to have won the contract to run the himrin field. ironhorse oil and gas has denied to reuters that it is the company in question. these two projects aim to develop khurmala field to produce 100 000 barrels per day and raise the output of himrin. the winners of the contract are to build new flow lines and build gas separation stations. the contract to develop the suba-luhais field has not yet been awarded as iraq s oil ministry is studying the offers. if iraq s cabinet approves the oil ministry s choice of companies  then this will be the first deal that iraq has signed with a foreign oil company. iraq is still trying to boost its production capacity to match levels last seen in the eighties  before the war with iran. oil officials hope to double iraq s output by the end of the decade.
1957,trial date is set for balco case a us judge has set a preliminary trial date for the balco steroid distribution case which has rocked athletics.  us district court judge susan ilston rejected an attempt by the defence team to have the case dismissed at a pre-trial hearing in san francisco. and she set a march date for the case of the four men accused of distributing illegal performance-enhancing drugs to elite athletes to be heard. a firm decision on whether the trial takes place is expected in january. the judge said that she may conduct hearings in january into whether federal agents illegally searched the balco headquarters and wrongfully obtained statements from the company s founder victor conte and its vice-president james valente. the two men - along with personal trainer greg anderson and athletics coach remy korchemny - were all indicted earlier this year but have pleaded their innocence. the outcome of those hearings could result in some or all of the charges being dismissed. conte said that he would be telling his side of the story on an american tv show on friday.   the world deserves to know the truth about performance-enhancing drugs   he said. balco (the bay area laboratory cooperative) is the company at the centre of the scandal. the company has been accused by the united states anti-doping agency (usada) of being the source of the banned steroid thg and modafinil. the usada claims that 10 athletes have received sanctions for testing positive for thg and modafinil. former double world champion kelli white and olympic relay star alvin harrison have both been banned on the basis of materials discovered during the balco investigation. britain s former european 100m champion dwain chambers is currently serving a two-year ban after testing positive for thg in an out-of-competition test in 2003.
1470,legendary dutch boss michels dies legendary dutch coach rinus michels  the man credited with developing  total football   has died aged 77.  referred to in the netherlands as  the general   michels led the dutch at the 1974 world cup - when they reached the final only to lose 2-1 to germany. however  he guided his side to the 1988 european championship title with a 2-0 win over the soviet union in the final. michels played for ajax and coached the side to four national titles between 1965-71 and a european cup in 1971. his 1970s dutch team was built around johan cruyff and johan neeskens and introduced the concept of  total football  to the world. the strategy was to foster team coherence and individual imagination - with all players possessing the skills to play in any part of the pitch. cruyff was the on-field organiser of a team whose players rotated in and out of defence at will and was encouraged to play creative attacking football. michels had recently undergone heart surgery and dutch football federation (knvb) spokesman frank huizinga said:  he was one of the best coaches we had in history.  the no-nonsense coach also enjoyed spells at barcelona  who he took to a spanish title in 1974  fc cologne and bayer leverkusen. michels  named coach of the century by world football s governing body fifa in 1999  also won five caps for the netherlands as a bruising centre forward. dutch sports minister clemence ross-van dorp said:  he was the man who  together with cruyff  made dutch football big.
1151,intel unveils laser breakthrough intel has said it has found a way to put a silicon-based laser on a chip  raising hopes of much faster networks.  scientists at intel have overcome a fundamental problem that before now has prevented silicon being used to generate and amplify laser light. the breakthrough should make it easier to interconnect data networks with the chips that process the information. the intel researchers said products exploiting the breakthrough should appear by the end of the decade.   we ve overcome a fundamental limit   said dr mario paniccia  director of intel s photonics technology lab. writing in the journal nature  dr paniccia - and colleagues haisheng rong  richard jones  ansheng liu  oded cohen  dani hak and alexander fang - show how they have made a continuous laser from the same material used to make computer processors. currently  says dr paniccia  telecommunications equipment that amplifies the laser light that travels down fibre optic cables is very expensive because of the exotic materials  such as gallium arsenide  used to make it.  telecommunications firms and chip makers would prefer to use silicon for these light-moving elements because it is cheap and many of the problems of using it in high-volume manufacturing have been solved.  we re trying to take our silicon competency in manufacturing and apply it to new areas   said dr paniccia. while work has been done to make some of the components that can move light around  before now silicon has not successfully been used to generate or amplify the laser light pulses used to send data over long distances. this is despite the fact that silicon is a much better amplifier of light pulses than the form of the material used in fibre optic cables. this improved amplification is due to the crystalline structure of the silicon used to make computer chips. dr paniccia said that the structure of silicon meant that when laser light passed through it  some colliding photons rip electrons off the atoms within the material.  it creates a cloud of electrons sitting in the silicon and that absorbs all the light   he said. but the intel researchers have found a way to suck away these errant electrons and turn silicon into a material that can both generate and amplify laser light. even better  the laser light produced in this way can  with the help of easy-to-make filters  be tuned across a very wide range of frequencies. semi-conductor lasers made before now have only produced light in a narrow frequency ranges. the result could be the close integration of the fibre optic cables that carry data as light with the computer chips that process it. dr paniccia said the work was the one of several steps needed if silicon was to be used to make components that could carry and process light in the form of data pulses.  it s a technical validation that it can work   he said.
489,pavey focuses on indoor success jo pavey will miss january s view from great edinburgh international cross country to focus on preparing for the european indoor championships in march.  the 31-year-old was third behind hayley yelling and justyna bak in last week s european cross country championships but she prefers to race on the track.  it was great winning bronze but i m wary of injuries and must concentrate on the indoor season   she said.  because of previous injuries i don t even run up hills in training.  pavey  who came fifth in the 5 000m at the athens olympics  helped the british cross country team win the team silver medal in heringsdorf last week. she is likely to start her 3 000m season with a race in either boston or stuttgart at the end of january.
823,johnny depp: the acting outlaw johnny depp  whose latest role was peter pan creator jm barrie in finding neverland  is celebrated as one of hollywood s most maverick talents. depp has become an unlikely major star  given his preference for taking dark and idiosyncratic roles instead of surefire box office hits. he has had a long-running working relationship with the equally unconventional director tim burton. depp was born in kentucky in 1963 and at first wanted to be a rock star  playing in a number of bands and supporting acts such as iggy pop and the b-52s in florida. on a visit to los angeles  his former wife introduced him to actor nicolas cage.  in 1984 he started his film career playing a doomed teenager in horror film nightmare on elm street. two years later he played a soldier in oliver stone s vietnam epic platoon. but it was tv that first made depp a star. he played undercover cop tommy hanson in the us series 21 jump street for three years from 1987.  in 1990 he began his partnership with burton in the dark fairy tale edward scissorhands  about a young man with blades for hands. he won plaudits in 1993 for the downbeat film what s eating gilbert grape  where he played a sensitive youth looking after an overweight mother and a retarded younger brother  played by leonardo dicaprio. another role under burton  ed wood  starred depp as the crazed cult film-maker wood  in 1994. he played a much more serious  sensitive role in his next major film  donnie brasco  where he portrayed an undercover cop infiltrating a mafia ring. in 1997 he directed his only film to date - the brave  the story of an indian man offered money to appear in a snuff film.  two years later he played hunter s thompson in terry gilliam s ambitious but poorly-received big screen adaptation of fear and loathing in las vegas. he worked again with tim burton in the 1999 horror film sleepy hollow  and appeared opposite dame judi dench and juliette binoche in chocolat. his performance in pirates of the caribbean  which earned him golden globe and bafta nominations  had many critics thinking he based it upon the mannerisms of his friend  rolling stones guitarist keith richards. his latest role in finding neverland explored jm barrie s relationship with sylvia (kate winslet) and her children. depp s charismatic performance drew an audience of adults and children alike into barrie s vivid imagination  and he was called the  fifth child of the group  by the film s director marc forster.  he has two children of his own with french singer vanessa paradis  having previously been in a long-term relationship with british model kate moss. the theme of children s literature in depp s career - and his long association with tim burton - are set to continue in his next role  playing willy wonka in a remake of roald dahl s classic charlie and the chocolate factory. british tv comedy fans might also remember depp s guest role in the final episode of bbc sketch programme the fast show  cited as his favourite show. it was another surprise move in depp s varied and intriguing career.
1743,technology gets the creative bug the hi-tech and the arts worlds have for some time danced around each other and offered creative and technical help when required.  often this help has come in the form of corporate art sponsorship or infrastructure provision. but that dance is growing more intimate as hi-tech firms look to the creative industries for inspiration. and vice versa. uk telco bt is serious about the idea and has launched its connected world initiative. the idea  says bt  is to shape a  21st century model  which will help cement the art  technology  and business worlds together.  we are hoping to understand the creative industry that has a natural thirst for broadband technology   said frank stone  head of the bt s business sector programmes. he looks after several  centres of excellence  which the telco has set up with other institutions and organisations  one of which is focused on creative industries.  to mark the initiative s launch  a major international art installation is to open on 15 april in brussels  with a further exhibit in madrid later in the summer. they have both been created using the telco s technology that it has been incubating at its research and development arm  including a sophisticated graphics rendering program. using a 3d graphics engine  the type commonly used in gaming  bafta-winning artists langlands & bell have created a virtual  story-based  3d model of brussels  coudenberg cellars.  they have recently been excavated and are thought to be the remnants of coudenberg palace  an historical seat of european power. the 3d world can be navigated using a joystick and offers an immersive experience of a landscape that historically had a river running through it until it was bricked up in the 19th century.  the river was integral to the city s survival for hundreds of years and it was equally essential to the city that it disappeared   said the artists.  we hope that by uncovering the river  we can greater understand the connections between the past and the present  and appreciate the flow of modernity  once concealing  but now revealing the river senne.  in their previous works they used the quake game graphics engine. the game engine is the core component of a video game because it handles graphics rendering  game ai  and how objects behave and relate to each other in a game. they are so time-consuming and expensive to create  the engines can be licensed out to handle other graphics-intensive games. bt s own engine  tara (total abstract rendering architecture) has been in development since 2001 and has been used to recreate virtual interactive models of buildings for planners. it was also used in 2003 in encounter  an urban-based  pervasive game that combined both virtual play in conjunction with physical  on-the-street action. because the artists wanted video and interactive elements in their worlds  new features were added to tara in order to handle the complex data sets. but collaboration between art and digital technology is by no means new  and many keen coders  designers  games makers and animators argue that what they create is art itself.  as more tools for self-expression are given to the person on the street  enabling people to take photos with a phone and upload them to the web for instance  creativity will become an integral part of technology. the orange expressionist exhibition last year  for example  displayed thousands of picture messages from people all over the uk to create an interactive installation.  technology as a way of unleashing creativity has massive potential  not least because it gives people something to do with their technology. big businesses know it is good for them to get in on the creative vein too. the art world is  fantastically rich   said mr stone  with creative people and ideas which means traditional companies like bt want to get in with them. between 1997 and 2002  the creative industry brought £21 billion to london alone. it is an industry that is growing by 6% a year too. the partnership between artists and technologists is part of trying to understand the creative potential of technologies like broadband net  according to mr stone.  this is not just about putting art galleries and museums online   he said.  it is about how can everyone have the best seat in house and asking if technology has a role in solving that problem.  with broadband penetration reaching 100% in the uk  businesses with a stake in the technology want to give people reasons to want and use it. the creative drive is not purely altruistic obviously. it is about both industries borrowing strategies and creative ideas together which can result in better business practices for creative industries  or more patent ideas for tech companies.  what we are trying to do is have outside-in thinking.  we are creating a future cultural drive for the economy   said mr stone.
1035,jackson film  absolute disaster  a pr expert has told the michael jackson child abuse trial that the tv documentary at the heart of the case was an  absolute disaster .  ann kite told the court in the californian town of santa maria she was hired to  crisis manage  the fallout after the programme had aired in 2003. jurors saw the film  in which the pop star held hands with the alleged victim  on tuesday. mr jackson denies 10 charges of child abuse and false imprisonment. if convicted  he could face up to 21 years in prison.  ms kite suggested jackson s associates had been intent on launching a smear campaign against the accuser s family after the airing of martin bashir s film living with michael jackson. she told the court that in the aftermath of the broadcast  a jackson lawyer had told her the boy s mother would be made to look like a  crack whore . jackson s defence questioned ms kite s credibility  pointing that she worked for the singer s team for less than a week before being fired  and had never met or spoken to the star.  ms kite said she received a phone call on 13 february 2003 from a jackson associate  marc schaffel  who said the boy and his family had left the neverland ranch where they had been staying.  ms kite told the court she had later asked jackson s lawyer  david legrand  what had happened.  i said  `don t make me believe that these people were hunted down like dogs and brought back to the ranch    she said. ms kite began to work for mr jackson in february 2003  after the controversial film was televised in the us and europe. the documentary sparked a media storm and the subsequent investigation into mr jackson s relationship with the boy. in the film  the singer said he did not see anything wrong with sharing a bed with a child.  questioned by the prosecution  ms kite said her plan had been to move media coverage of the star away from a focus on his human frailties to concentrate more on his musical genius. ms kite said that an additional problem was the release of documents relating to a previous allegation of child abuse against mr jackson. the smoking gun website publication was  beyond disaster   ms kite said. correspondents say the reference is important because it was unclear whether the prosecution would be able to bring up the previous case in front of the jury.  the judge is studying whether the prosecution s first witness  reporter martin bashir  is in contempt of court. the defence protested after mr bashir  who interviewed jackson for the tv documentary  refused to answer nearly all their questions  citing a california  shield  law intended to allow journalists to protect their sources. in the prosecution s opening statement on monday  tom sneddon told the court that mr jackson had shown the boy porn and plied him with wine  in order to molest him. he said the singer had visited sexually explicit websites and showed the boy - who was 13 at the time - and his younger brother pornography at his ranch.
2103,hacker threat to apple s itunes users of apple s music jukebox itunes need to update the software to avoid a potential security threat.  hackers can build malicious playlist files which could crash the program and let them seize control of the computer by inserting trojan code. a new version of itunes is now available from the apple website which solves the problem. security firm idefence  which notified users of the problem  recommended that users upgrade to itunes version 4.7.1. the problem affects all users of itunes - windows and mac os - running versions 4.7 and earlier. users can automatically upgrade itunes by opening the  look for updates  window in the program. the security firm says users should avoid clicking on or accessing playlist files - which have the file extension of .pls or .m3u - which have come from unknown sources. itunes is the world s most popular online music store with more than 200 million songs downloaded since it launched in 2003.
1230,newcastle 2-1 bolton kieron dyer smashed home the winner to end bolton s 10-game unbeaten run.  lee bowyer put newcastle ahead when he fed stephen carr on the right flank  then sprinted into the area to power home a header from the resultant cross. wanderers hit back through stelios giannakopoulos  who ended a fluid passing move with a well-struck volley. but dyer had the last word in a game of few chances  pouncing on a loose ball after alan shearer s shot was blocked and firing into the top corner. neither side lacked urgency in the early stages of the game  with plenty of tackles flying in  but opportunities in front of goal were harder to come by. bolton keeper jussi jaaskelainen had to make two saves in quick succession midway through the first-half - keeping out shearer s low shot and dyer s close-range header - but that was the only goalmouth action of note. and it was almost out of nothing that the magpies took the lead on 35 minutes. bowyer found space with a neat turn on the half-way line and striding forward picked out carr to his right. he then continued his run and with perfect timing made his way into the box where he met carr s cross with a downward header into the far corner. bolton had produced little going forward at this point but they responded well.  they were level within six minutes thanks to a smart finish from giannakopoulos. jay-jay okocha twisted and turned on the edge of the area and after a neat exchange of passes involving kevin davies and gary speed  the greek striker found the bottom corner with a first-time strike. the magpies were opened up again before half-time as davies set giannakopoulos in space and given had to block at his near post. but the home side survived  and they should have re-taken the lead with the first meaningful attack of the second half. fernando hierro cynically chopped down dyer on the edge of the area with the midfielder clean through. but the veteran defender escaped with a booking as there were other defenders nearby  and from the resultant free-kick laurent robert curled the ball just wide. bolton were creating little going forward and they seemed content to frustrate the magpies. their strategy seemed to be working until the 69th minute. alan shearer s snap-shot was charged down and dyer reacted first to smash the ball past the despairing jaaskelainen from six yards.  - bolton boss sam allardyce  i am bitterly disappointed with the result  but i am probably more disappointed with the second-half performance.  in the first half we had put them under a lot of pressure  and our goal matched theirs in quality.  i thought it would lift us and that they might be tired after playing a lot of games  but unfortunately we were not up for the battle in the second half.  we allowed them to heap too much pressure on us  and in the end we cracked.    - newcastle boss graeme souness  we deserved the win. we had a really good second half.  bolton are a difficult side to play. you have to match them physically first but we did that  and then we played some football.  we had a slow first 45 minutes when we looked a bit tired but we got going after that. the scoreline flattered them and we could have had one or two more goals.  newcastle: given  carr  boumsong  bramble  babayaro  dyer  faye  bowyer  robert (jenas 77)  ameobi  shearer. subs not used: butt  harper  milner  hughes. goals: bowyer 35  dyer 69. bolton: jaaskelainen  hunt (fadiga 14)  n gotty  ben haim  candela  giannakopoulos  okocha (vaz te 77)  hierro (campo 64)  speed  gardner  davies. subs not used: jaidi  poole. booked: ben haim  hierro. goals: giannakopoulos 41. att: 50 430 ref: s dunn (gloucestershire).
1636,super union  merger plan touted two of britain s big trade unions could merge to form a  super union  of two million members.  the move by amicus and the transport and general workers union (tgwu) would be a seen as a bid to carry more weight with ministers and employers. amicus has 1.2 million members and the tgwu has 800 000. any merger would have to be approved by the unions  executives and their membership. it is understood meetings will be held on wednesday about the proposal. along with the gmb and unison  the tgwu and amicus worked closely together in the last year to hammer out a 56-point deal with labour s leadership over equality at work  holidays and pensions - the warwick agreement. both unions are remaining tight-lipped about the merger rumours  but one insider pointed out to the bbc news website that  nobody is denying suggestions a merger could be on the agenda  when the two unions  executives hold their meetings on wednesday. amicus s executive was due to meet in any case although the tgwu is holding specially scheduled talks.
103,why few targets are better than many the economic targets set out at the lisbon summit of european union leaders in 2000 were meant to help europe leapfrog its way past the united states to become the world s leading economy by 2010.  but the lisbon targets are about much more than just economic prestige. for many economists and analysts they are about ensuring europe doesn t become a global economic laggard. they are also about ensuring europe can continue to compete as an equal with the growing economic giants of asia  india and china  as well as with the economic might of the united states. that s why there was a tone of urgency in the report  out on wednesday  by the former dutch prime minister wim kok. mr kok was commissioned by the european commission in march this year to assess how far the eu has come towards meeting the lisbon targets  five years on from their inception. his conclusion was simple: too many of the targets will be seriously missed.  lisbon risks becoming a  synonym for missed objectives and failed promises   his report said.  the status quo is not an option.   at risk in the medium to long run is nothing less than the sustainability of the society europe has built  it said. the report comes at a time when europe s competitive position is waning. the eu s economic growth rate is projected to be 2% this year and 2.4% next. while there has been growth in overall employment rates in europe  productivity lags behind that of the us. but meeting the lisbon targets requires a political commitment that no eu member state has volunteered so far. that has in part been due to the state of the global economy in the past few years.  as mr kok s report noted:  the ink had scarcely dried on the [lisbon] agreement before the worldwide stock market bubble imploded.   the us suffered two years of economic slowdown and recession and the european economy followed suit.   the circumstances weren t conducive to creating the 20 million new jobs promised by eu leaders in lisbon in 2000. neither were they conducive to getting governments to spend more on research and development  money needed if the eu was to meet its target of becoming a so-called  knowledge-based economy .  the [lisbon] vision is a compelling one  but in order to do it society has to change   said paul hofheinz of the lisbon council  a brussels-based citizen action group.  what you find is that a lot of people have been fighting change. you find trade unions fighting change. but also the employers  associations.  even though they tell you they re in favour of change  many are actually pushing for less competition  more subsidy and less free market activity.   but part of the problem was also linked to the original targets set out in lisbon five years ago. targets have a habit of coming back to haunt you and in the lisbon case  they covered too much  according to the wim report. economic growth and job creation were linked to issues ranging from environmental protection to social inclusion  and even safety at sea. the agenda was just too broad and as a result nothing was prioritised.   lisbon is about everything and thus about nothing   the kok report said.  everybody is responsible and thus no one.  that s why the kok report recommends that the lisbon targets be narrowed down to 14 key indicators  with an emphasis on creating jobs and economic growth. it also recommends that the european commission draw up a league table which ranks countries according to the steps they re taking towards meeting the targets  effectively  naming  shaming and faming .  rhetoric and delivery don t necessarily go hand in hand   mr kok said in a press conference alongside the publication of his report.  we don t have the luxury anymore just to exchange politeness with one another.   on one point mr kok was very clear: the european union should not try to emulate the us economy. the european economic and social model needs to change  but not so much so that social and environmental issues take a backseat to economic growth. in that sense  the lisbon agenda is sailing into unchartered waters. the kok report tries to do away with a belief that jobs need to be sacrificed at the altar of economic growth.  it s very ambitious   said john palmer  political director at the european policy centre  a brussels-based think-tank.  this is something that no advanced economy in the world has tried to do. it s going to require quite new and innovative policies.  but some analysts believe that the kok report doesn t come up with the sort of innovative policies and thinking needed to make the lisbon targets a reality. for example  it recommends putting in place policies which encourage women and older people to remain in the workforce. but it doesn t say how companies should be convinced to do this. it will be up to the incoming president of the european commission  jose manuel barroso  to adopt mr kok s recommendations and press them on eu governments. mr barroso has said that the eu s competitiveness will be his top priority. he expects his five-year term in office to be judged on europe s success in meeting the lisbon agenda.
927,microsoft makes anti-piracy move microsoft says it is clamping down on people running pirated versions of its windows operating system by restricting their access to security features.  the windows genuine advantage scheme means people will have to prove their software is genuine from mid-2005. it will still allow those with unauthorised copies to get some crucial security fixes via automatic updates  but their options would be  limited . microsoft releases regular security updates to its software to protect pcs. either pcs detect updates automatically or users manually download fixes through microsoft s site. those running pirated windows programs would not have access to other downloads and  add-ons  that the software giant offers.  people who try to manually download security patches will have to let microsoft run an automated checking procedure on their computer or give an identification number.  microsoft s regular patches which it releases for newly-found security flaws are important because they stop worms  viruses and other threats penetrating pcs. some security experts are concerned that restricting access to such patches could mean a rise in such attacks and threats  with more pcs left unprotected. but graham cluley  senior consultant at security firm sophos  told the bbc news website that it was a positive decision.  it sounds like their decision to allow critical security patches to remain available to both legitimate and illegitimate users of windows is good news for everyone who uses the net   he said. windows genuine advantage was first introduced as a pilot scheme in september 2004 for english-language versions of windows.  microsoft s windows operating system is heavily exploited by virus writers because it is so widespread and they are constantly seeking out new security loopholes to take advantage of. the company is trying to tackle security threats whilst cracking down on pirated software at the same time. software piracy has cost the company billions  it says. the company announced earlier in january that it was releasing security tools to clean up pcs harbouring viruses and spyware  which 90% of pcs are infected with. the virus-fighting program  updated monthly  is a precursor to microsoft s dedicated anti-virus software. last year it introduced the windows xp counterfeit project  a uk-based pilot scheme  which ran from november to december. the scheme meant that anyone with pre-installed copies of the operating system in pcs bought before november could replace counterfeit versions of windows xp with legal ones for free. it is also increasing efforts to squash software piracy in china  norway and the czech republic  where pirated software is a huge problem  by offering discounts on legitimate software to users of pirated copies windows.  china in particular is a problem  with piracy estimated at 92%   said mr cluley.
379,parents face video game lessons ways of ensuring that parents know which video games are suitable for children are to be considered by the games industry.  the issue was discussed at a meeting between uk government officials  industry representatives and the british board of film classification. it follows concerns that children may be playing games aimed at adults which include high levels of violence. in 2003  britons spent £1 152m on games  more than ever before. and this christmas  parents are expected to spend millions on video games and consoles.  violent games have been hit by controversy after the game manhunt was blamed by the parents of 14-year-old stefan pakeerah  who was stabbed to death in leicester in february. his mother  giselle  said her son s killer  warren leblanc  17 - who was jailed for life in september - had mimicked behaviour in the game.  police investigating stefan s murder dismissed its influence and said manhunt was not part of its legal case. the issue of warnings on games for adults was raised on sunday by trade and industry secretary patricia hewitt. this was the focus of the talks between government officials  representatives from the games industry and the british board of film classification.  adults can make informed choices about what games to play. children can t and they deserve to be protected   said culture secretary tessa jowell after the meeting.  industry will consider how to make sure parents know what games their children should and shouldn t play.  roger bennett  director general of entertainment and leisure software publishers association  said:  a number of initiatives were discussed at the meeting.  they will be formulated to create specific proposals to promote greater understanding  recognition and awareness of the games rating system  ensuring that young people are not exposed to inappropriate content.   among the possible measures could be a campaign to explain to parents that many games are made for an adult audience  as well as changes to the labelling of the games themselves.  according to industry statistics  a majority of players are over 18  with the average age of a gamer being 29. academics point out that there has not been any definitive research linking bloodthirsty games such as manhunt with violent responses in players. in a report published this week for the video standards council  dr guy cumberbatch said:  the research evidence on media violence causing harm to viewers is wildly exaggerated and does not stand up to scrutiny.  dr cumberbatch  head of the social policy think tank  the communications research group  reviewed the studies on the issue. he concluded that there was an absence of convincing research that media violence caused harm.
1789,muslim group attacks tv drama 24 a british muslim group has criticised the new series of us drama 24  which is about to be aired on sky one  claiming it portrays islam unfairly.  the muslim council of britain has complained to broadcasting watchdog ofcom. it says the programme breaches editorial guidelines. the group s members met with sky executives on tuesday after viewing previews of the first five episodes. the drama  now in its fourth series  begins on sunday evening. the new series portrays a muslim family as a sleeper terrorist cell. the muslim council of britain said in a statement:  we are greatly concerned by the unremittingly hostile and unbalanced portrayal of muslims in this series of 24 based upon a preview of the first five episodes that we have seen.   there is not a single positive muslim character in the storyline to date. at a time when negative stereotypes of muslims are on the increase we feel that sky - as a major uk broadcaster - has a responsibility to challenge these insidious views  not help to reinforce them.  but sky denied the programme breached broadcasting guidelines. a spokesperson said:  during a useful meeting yesterday  sky listened to the concerns raised by representatives of the council. sky does not believe that the episodes that it has reviewed to date breach ofcom s programme code.  fox tv  which shows the series in the us  is broadcasting public service announcements showing muslims in a positive light after complaints about the series.
278,band aid retains number one spot the charity single by band aid 20 has held on the chart top spot for a second week  strengthening its chances of becoming the christmas number one.  do they know it s christmas  featuring artists including chris martin and jamelia  held off kylie minogue to remain the week s biggest single. next week s chart will reveal who will have the festive chart-topper minogue s latest release i believe in you went in at number two  pushing down ice cube s you can do it to three. destiny s child also slipped one place to four with lose my breath  followed by girls aloud at five with the children in need record i ll stand by you.  the only other new entry in the top 10 came from robbie williams track misunderstood  a new track written for his greatest hits album. there were no new releases in the entire top 40 album charts as record companies put out all the big releases early hoping to cash in on the lucrative christmas market. u2 s how to dismantle a bomb remains at number one for a third week in a row  followed by williams  greatest hits. opera band il divo have moved up one place with their eponymous album to number three. maroon 5 s album songs about jane has moved up to number seven despite being released 47 weeks ago. and the abba gold greatest hits album has crept back into the top 40 more than nine years after it was first released.
887,blair backs  pre-election budget  tony blair has backed chancellor gordon brown s pre-budget report amid opposition claims he was too bullish about the state of the uk economy.  in a speech in edinburgh  the prime minister said thursday s report reinforced stability and opportunity. and that would be central to labour s next election campaign  planning for which was already well advanced. mr brown earlier denied his economic forecasts were too optimistic - but refused to rule out future tax rises.  he told bbc radio 4 s today programme:  no politician should make the mistake that john major and his colleagues made in 1992 of saying no matter what the circumstances are  they can make all sorts of guarantees on every individual thing.   that is not what politicians should do  it would not be responsible to do.  mr brown insisted his spending plans were  affordable  and he could afford to be optimistic because britain was now a stable  low-inflation economy and house prices were now stabilising. mr blair praised his chancellor for his role in creating economic stability  which he said was the  cornerstone  of labour s programme.  in a speech at edinburgh s napier university  he said labour would publish over the next few months  a rich agenda for future policy in any possible third term .   in every area of work there is a detailed plan for the future  much clearer than those in 1997 or 2001. all of it fits together around common themes of opportunity  security and stability for all   mr blair said. in his pre-budget report  mr brown surprised some city experts by forecasting uk growth at between 3% and 3.5% for next year. many believe the figure is more likely to be under 3% - and fear tax rises or spending cuts  saying tax receipts have been overestimated. carl emmerson  from the institute for fiscal studies  told bbc news:  he thinks everything will come out in the wash and it will  in fact  be ok. we re not so sure.  david page  of investec securities  said:  his forecast that he will meet the golden rule with a margin of £8bn is way too optimistic.  it s going to take a significant turnaround in the economy to meet these targets.   conservative shadow chancellor oliver letwin said:  i can t find a single economic forecaster from the imf to the institute of fiscal studies who believes anything other than the chancellor has got a black hole in his finances.  in order to deal with that he will have to raise taxes after the next general election.  mr letwin accused the chancellor of using  fancy statistics  to hide public service failures. vincent cable  for the liberal democrats  called on mr brown to open up the government s books to the national audit office  to see if he had met his  golden rule .  it is very clear that there are some serious loose ends in government public spending   mr cable told mps.
1300,troubled marsh under sec scrutiny the us stock market regulator is investigating troubled insurance broker marsh & mclennan s shareholder transactions  the firm has said.  the securities and exchange commission has asked for information about transactions involving holders of 5% or more of the firm s shares. marsh has said it is co-operating fully with the sec investigation. marsh is also the focus of an inquiry the new york attorney-general into whether insurers rigged the market. since that inquiry was launched in october  marsh has replaced its chief executive and held a boardroom shake-out to meet criticism by lessening the number of company executives on the board. prosecutors allege that marsh - the world s biggest insurance broker - and other us insurance firms may have fixed bids for corporate cover. this is the issue at the heart of the inquiry by new york s top law officer  eliot spitzer  and a separate prosecution of five insurers by the state of california. the sec s investigation into so-called related party transactions includes dealings in the trident funds  managed by mmc capital  the company s private equity firm. marsh s new chief executive  michael cherkasky  is trying to negotiate a settlement with mr spitzer. mr spitzer has built up a reputation as a fierce critic and campaigner against corporate america s misdeeds.  the uncertainty unleashed by the scandal has prompted three credit rating agencies - standard & poor s  moody s and fitch - to downgrade marsh in recent weeks. according to the financial times  insurance analysts are now questioning whether marsh will be able to maintain its strong record of earning growth as they draw up forecasts for the first quarter of next year. doubts also exist over how much the company may have to pay regulators and lawyers to put the scandal behind.
394,markets signal brazilian recovery the brazilian stock market has risen to a record high as investors display growing confidence in the durability of the country s economic recovery.  the main bovespa index on the sao paolo stock exchange closed at 24 997 points on friday  topping the previous record market close reached the previous day. the market s buoyancy reflects optimism about the brazilian economy  which could grow by as much as 4.5% in 2004. brazil is recovering from last year s recession - its worst in a decade.  economic output declined 0.2% in 2003 and president luiz inacio lula da silva - elected as brazil s first working-class president in 2002 - was strongly criticised for pursuing a hardline economic policy.  investors have praised his handling of the economy as foreign investment has risen  unemployment has fallen and inflation has been brought under control. analysts believe the stock market will rise above the 25 000 mark for the first time before too long.  there should be more space for gains until the end of the year  somewhere up to 27 000 points   said paschoal tadeu buonomo  head of equities trading at brokers tov. brazil s currency  the real  also rose to its highest level against the dollar in more than two years on friday. although interest rates still stand at a punitive 17.25%  inflation has fallen from 9% to 7% while exports are booming  particularly of agricultural products.  for the first time in decades  we have all three economic policy pillars in line during a recovery   finance minister antonio palocci told the associated press news agency.  government accounts are in surplus  we have a current account surplus and inflation is under control.   investors were deeply suspicious of president da silva  a former trade union leader who campaigned on a programme of extensive land redistribution and a large rise in the minimum wage. however  mr da silva has stuck to an orthodox monetary policy inherited from his predecessor even in the face of last year s economic crisis. this has earned him the disapproval of rural farm workers  thousands of whom who took to the streets of brasilia on thursday to protest against government policies. president da silva has defended his policies  arguing that brazil cannot afford to continue the cycle of boom and bust which afflicted it in recent decades.
625,games enter the classroom video games could soon be transplanted from their natural habitat to the more academic atmosphere of the classroom.  with violent titles continuing to top the charts  gaming and learning have not always sat well together but the tide could be beginning to turn. recent research by the london institute of education concluded that games have a valid place in the classroom.  games teach life skills such as decision making  problem solving   said martin owen  at futurelab. mr owen said games could also help children make quick assessments of situations and learning by trial and error.  futurelab is a non-profit organisation looking at ways of using technology for innovative learning. most game firms are too busy turning a profit in the lucrative commercial market to consider developing games for use in schools but liverpool-based games firm lateral visions saw a gap in the market.  learning games were somewhat old-fashioned and we didn t see anyone else doing what we wanted to do   said dr carl gavin  managing director of lateral visions. the company set out to write something that had all the look and feel of a commercial game but with an educational and learning element. the result is racing academy  a massively multiplayer car racing game  which requires not only a thirst for speed but a working knowledge of physics and engineering as well.  it is being used by futurelab to test the viability of using gaming in the classroom.  we are keen to find out whether alongside learning a game  we can also learn something that the rest of the world can understand as being educational   said mr owen. players will have to understand how a car works in order to win races and the knowledge of physics and engineering that they gather along the way will be done in a way that no text book can teach. the game requires users to build and maintain their vehicles and to monitor and analyse performance using data from a variety of outputs  before and after racing. teamwork is essential and a chat area allows students to exchange information and data  work collaboratively and review their own performances. this fusion of chatrooms and gaming is of special interest to futurelab as it is through talking to others that much of the learning can be achieved  thinks mr owen.  the game has been trialled in two secondary schools in bristol and feedback from students has been positive.  pupils used the statistics to work out the best way to build their cars and the online message board to share ideas and support each other   said ben williamson  a researcher at futurelab charged with testing the game in real schools. dr gavin thinks the game satisfies both teachers  need for learning outcomes and the children s desire to rise to a challenge.  games in the classroom need to support the teacher. it is not about giving children free rein to play game but recognising that games attract attention and offer a challenge   he said. professor angela macfarlane  based at bristol university  has spent several years researching how games can be incorporated into classrooms.  use of games in schools has been patchy she found  with sim city proving the most popular. traditionally schools have eschewed mainstream games in favour of used so-called edu-tainment software in a belief that such packages help to make learning fun  she found in her research.  it is perhaps in a compromise between edutainment and mainstream games that the greatest potential for classroom useable games lies   she wrote in a paper entitled games and learning.  lite  versions of existing games could be the way forward and would overcome one of the biggest hurdles - persuading developers to write for the educational market. this would appeal to developers because of the low costs involved in adapting them as well as offering a new opportunity for marketing. already there are games on the market  such as civilisation and age of empire  that have educational elements said mr owen.  even in grand theft auto it is not just the violence that engages people   he said. it could be some time until that particular game makes it into the classroom though.
1770,eu ministers to mull jet fuel tax european union finance ministers are meeting on thursday in brussels  where they are to discuss a controversial jet fuel tax.  a levy on jet fuel has been suggested as a way to raise funds to finance aid for the world s poorest nations. airlines and aviation bodies have reacted strongly against the plans  saying they would hurt companies at a time when earnings are under pressure. the eu said a tax would only be passed after full consultation with airlines. it was keen to point out earlier this week that any new tax on jet fuel should not hurt the  competitiveness of the airlines . ministers will also be discussing reforms to regulations governing european public spending.  global leaders have focused attention on poverty reduction and development at recent meetings of the g7 group and world economic forum. the world s richest countries have said they want to boost the amount of aid they give to 0.7% of their annual gross national income by 2015. many eu ministers are thought to support the plan to tax jet fuel - tabled by france and germany following the recent g7 meeting. at present  the fuel used by airlines enjoys either a very low tax rate or is untaxed in eu member states.
1959,irish duo could block man utd bid irishmen jp mcmanus and john magnier  who own a 29% stake in manchester united  will reportedly reject any formal £800m offer for the club.  the sunday times and the sunday telegraph say they will oppose any formal £800m takeover bid from us tycoon malcom glazer. mr glazer got permission to look at the club s accounts last week. irish billionaires mr mcmanus and mr magnier are said to believe that an £800m bid undervalues club prospects.  mr magnier and mr mcmanus  who hold their stake through their cubic expression investment vehicle have the power to block a bid. mr glazer s financial backers  including jp morgan  the us investment bank have said they won t back a bid unless it receives backing from the owners of at least 75% of the club s shares. however  there has been much speculation that the irish duo simply do not think the price offered - 300p a share - is high enough. mr glazer has been stalking the premier league football club since 2003.  mr magnier and mr mcmanus issued a statement late on friday saying that they remained  long-term investors  in man utd. the sunday telegraph says the board of manchester united also considered a management buyout at just over 300p but did not go ahead with it.
1371,markets fall on weak dollar fears rising oil prices and the sinking dollar hit shares on monday after a finance ministers  meeting and stern words from fed chief alan greenspan.  the london ftse fell 0.8% while tokyo s nikkei 225 dropped 2.11%  its steepest fall in three months. g20 finance ministers said nothing about supporting the dollar  whose slide could further jeopardise growth in japan and europe. and mr greenspan warned asian states could soon stop funding the us deficit.  on monday afternoon  the euro was close to an all-time high against the dollar at above $1.30. oil pushed higher too on monday  as investors fretted about cold weather in the us and europe and a potential output cut from oil producers  group opec  although prices had cooled by the end of the day. in london  the benchmark brent crude price closed down 51 cents at $44.38 a barrel  while new york light sweet crude closed down 25 cents at $48.64 a barrel. the slide comes as the us has been attempting to talk up the traditional  strong dollar  policy.  the latest to pitch in has been president george w bush himself  who told the asia pacific economic co-operation (apec) summit in chile that he remained committed to halving the budget deficit. together with a $500bn trade gap  the red ink spreading across america s public finances is widely seen as a key factor driving the dollar lower. and last week us treasury secretary john snow told an audience in the uk that the policy remained unaltered. but he also said that the rate was entirely up to the markets - a signal which traders took as advice to sell the dollar. some had looked to the g20 meeting for direction. but mr snow made clear exchange rates had not been on the agenda.  for the us government  letting the dollar drift is a useful short-term fix.  us exports get more affordable  helping perhaps to close the trade gap. in the meantime  the debt keeps getting bigger  with congress authorising an $800bn rise in what the us can owe - taking the total to $8.2 trillion. but in a speech on friday  federal reserve chairman alan greenspan warned that in the longer term things are likely to get tricky. at present  much of gap in both public debt is covered by selling bonds to asian states such as japan and china  since the dollar is seen as the world s reserve currency. similarly  asian investment helps bridge the gap in the current account - the deficit between what the us as a whole spends and what it earns. but already they are turning more cautious - an auction of debt in august found few takers. and mr greenspan said that could turn into a trend  if the fall of the dollar kept eating into the value of those investments.  it seems persuasive that  given the size of the us current account deficit  a diminished appetite for adding to dollar balances must occur at some point   he said.
1359,player burn-out worries robinson england coach andy robinson says english rugby has to act now to prevent injury destroying players  careers.  he will be without a host of big names for the six nations as the intensity of professional rugby union hits players.  injuries are part of the sport but we have to have a look at the amount of injuries that occur in the english season   robinson told bbc sport.  i think players are probably going to have three or four years taken off their careers.  robinson will be missing an entire midfield for the six nations with the likes of jonny wilkinson  mike tindall and will greenwood injured.  rugby union has become far more physically demanding since the game went professional nearly 10 years ago. as a result three of the major stakeholders in english rugby have launched an  injury audit  to find out how players are coping. the audit is jointly funded by the professional rugby players  association  the rugby football union and premier rugby. as far as robinson is concerned its findings must not be ignored.  i think there s an injury audit coming out in march that s got some great information in there that i think everybody in the english game has got to look at   he said.  if we don t the situation is going to get worse and not better  so i think rugby as a whole has got to look at this.
921,oscar nominees lack pulling power this year s clutch of oscar nominees have been the least popular for 20 years according to box office figures.  in the us the five nominated for best film have been seen by 50% fewer people than movies in previous years. while the awards are not based on box office popularity there is concern for the ratings of the televised ceremony.  we don t have a titanic or a lord of the rings out there. i think it s fair to say it does concern us a bit   said academy executive director bruce davis. about 51 million people in the us have seen this year s nominees  compared with between 100 million and 118 million in recent years. the last time combined attendance was so low was in 1984 when amadeus beat the killing fields  a passage to india  places in the heart and a soldier s story to best picture  when 41 million saw the five films. last year s ceremony attracted the highest audience in four years as viewers tuned in to see lord of the ring: return of the king sweep the board.  and the show reaped its biggest audience in 1997 when titanic took home 11 oscars.  the film had taken $500m (£264m) worldwide before the ceremony  and eventually took $1.8bn (£952m).  eyeballs starring at the movie screen translates to eyeballs staring at the tv screen   said paul dergarabedian of box office tracker exhibitor relations.  people like to have a vested interest in what they re watching.  when titanic does $1.8bn in worldwide box office  you ve got a lot of people with a vested interest.  past years have also seen blockbusters such as saving private ryan  forrest gump and ghost compete for oscars. the biggest box office hitter among this year s nominees is the aviator  which has taken $90m (£48m) in the us  although takings in the uk have reached only £7m so far.  low-budget move sideways and finding neverland have so far grossed about $45m (£24m) each. the year s biggest blockbusters do actually feature in the oscar nominees but in the animation category. shrek 2 and the incredibles took $436m (£231m) while the incredibles took $259m (£137m). mel gibson s the passion of the christ  which took $370m (£196m) in the us  was largely ignored by academy voters.  but many in the film industry do not equate award and box office success.  i have never equated the academy awards with how much money a movie takes in   said nikki rocco  head of distribution at universal which released nominee ray.  that s the people s choice awards. this is not about the public. this is about the industry bestowing awards on what they think are the best films of the year.
404,russian oil merger excludes yukos the merger of russian gas giant gazprom and oil firm rosneft is to go ahead  but will not include yugansk  which was controversially bought last year.  the merger  backed by russian authorities  will allow foreigners to trade in gazprom shares. gazprom chief alexei miller confirmed rosneft-owned yugansk was not part of the deal and will instead be spun off. under the agreement  the state will get a controlling share of gazprom in exchange for rosneft. the state wanted to control gazprom before allowing foreigners to trade. speaking on ntv television  which is controlled by gazprom  mr miller added that yugansk  which was swallowed up by rosneft late last year  will operate as a separate  state-owned oil firm headed by current rosneft chief sergei bogdanchikov. according to reports from russian news agency interfax  the deal should go through in the next two to three months.   obtaining majority control over gazprom is the beginning of the liberalisation of the market in gazprom shares   mr miller added. by opening up trading in gazprom to foreigners  the firm will become a top emerging market play for traders. currently  foreigners can only trade in gazprom via a small issue of london-listed proxy shares.  this is positive news for the international investment community   global asset management investment chief david smith said.  the majority of investors are going to be happy   he added.  however  analysts were disappointed that yugansk would not be included in the deal.  yugansk is a heavy cashflow generator and would have been a much better asset for gazprom   renaissance capital energy analyst adam landes told reuters news agency. but he said the latest development was simply an interim step to allow foreigners to trade in gazprom.  ultimately and industrially  gazprom needs yugansk   he added. analysts said the deal would give gazprom control of 8% of russia s total oil production  an improvement on its current 2.5%  but still far less than the 20% share it would have gained had it also taken over yugansk. however  the merged group will still remain outside russia s top five oil producers - led by lukoil with 11% of the market   followed by tnk-bp which is half owned by bp  and surgutneftegaz. instead  the merged gazprom-rosneft group will rank alongside sibneft with 7% of the market. yugansk was sold to a little-known shell company in a disputed auction in december  following what many thought was a politically-motivated attack on yukos. the shell company was then snapped up by rosneft. yukos unsuccessfully sought to halt the auction by applying for bankruptcy through the us courts. the unit was auctioned by russian authorities to help pay off a $27.5bn back-tax bill.
422,spurs to sign iceland u21 star tottenham are primed to snap up iceland under-21 international emil hallfredsson after he impressed on trial at white hart lane.  the 20-year-old midfielder  who plays for fh hafnarfjordur  also starred in the uefa cup match against scottish side dunfermline earlier this season. spurs have agreed a fee for the player  who has yet to agree personal terms.  he had offers from two other clubs but he decided to come to tottenham   said spurs sporting director frank arnesen.  he is a left-sided player  a position we have been looking at and he showed so much talent in his time here that we decided to take him.  it s down the road of bringing in talent  good prospects and giving them a place at tottenham where they can improve.
503,kraft cuts snack ads for children kraft plans to cut back on advertising of products like oreo cookies and sugary kool-aid drinks as part of an effort to promote healthy eating.  the largest us food maker will also add a label to its more nutritional and low-fat brands to promote the benefits. kraft rival pepsico began a similar labelling initiative last year. the moves come as the firms face criticism from consumer groups concerned at rising levels of obesity in us children. major food manufacturers have recently been reformulating the content of some calorie-heavy products.  kraft s new advertising policy  which covers advertising on tv  radio and in print publications  is aimed at children between the ages of six and 11. it means commercials for some of its most famous snacks and cereals shown during early morning cartoon shows on tv will now be replaced by food and drink qualifying for kraft s new  sensible solution  label. but the firm said it would continue to advertise all its products in media seen by parents and  all family  audiences.  we re working on ways to encourage both adults and children to eat wisely by selecting more nutritionally balanced diets   said lance friedmann  kraft senior vice president.
1773,athens memories soar above lows well  it s goodbye to another olympic year and as usual there were plenty of highs and lows in athens.  obviously  there s no getting away from the differing fortunes of kelly holmes and paula radcliffe. but i want to remind you of a few more events that made 2004 another year to remember - or forget - for athletics.      one of my favourite olympic moments was kelly s success in the 800m.  winning that race was the key to her success because if she won that then the 1500m would be a bit of a formality. kelly had been full of  should i  shouldn t i   thoughts about going for the double in athens. i thought why wouldn t you do the 800m  it s your best event  it was such good fun to commentate on her 1500m and it was nice to be able to be part of her athens story.      the victory for the british men s 4x100m relay team was a bit of a surprise but a great climax to the games. i think the four of them - jason gardener  darren campbell  marlon devonish and mark lewis-francis - knew deep down that it was their best chance of a medal. the lads had run poorly in the individual sprints so maybe they did lift their game when they knew something was really at stake.      hicham el guerrouj s olympic double is a much bigger achievement than kelly s on a global scale.  he was the first man since for 80 years to win both the 1500m and 5 000m titles. as soon as he had added the 5 000m crown and i had finished commentating  i jumped up  ran down the stairs  pushed everyone out the way and just gave him a big hug. he is one of the few african runners who has embraced the tradition of the mile and he loves to hear all the roger bannister stories. hicham is someone i enjoy having a bit of time with  even though my french and his english are not very good.      what happened to paula in athens this year is the obvious low on a personal level and for the expectations of the nation as well. there were a set of circumstances around athens that conspired to produce a very dramatic ending which i think has been greatly misunderstood. dropping out of the marathon was the right thing to do but starting in the 10 000m five days later was not wise. that was her heart and not her head reacting. paula had a lot of little things going wrong in her preparation and on the day.  things like niggling injuries  not being able to do all her running sessions and feeling the pressure of the race looming ahead of her. i think she came to the start line in athens physically and emotionally drained. and if even the smallest thing doesn t feel right when you are preparing to race a marathon  10 miles down the road it will hit you like a brick wall. the positive thing to take from paula s olympics it that she will have learned a lot from it and so will a lot of people - including me.      purely as a race  paula s victory in the new york marathon has to go down as one of the most thrilling. it was so nip-and-tuck between her and kenya s susan chepkemei and you don t usually get that kind of excitement in marathons. it was also a real delight for all athletics fans because  to use one of my favourite words  paula showed real  bouncebackability . and it was a bit of a rarity for me too because i genuinely did not have an inkling how the race was going to pan out.      kelly and the 4x100m boys  victories papered over the cracks in the general performance of the british team. we should be concerned that we re not producing enough people who are capable of reaching finals at senior level.  the only individual men s finalist on the track was michael east in the 1500m. i am beginning to look down and wonder where are the new breed  and that s where things begin to look even gloomier for british athletics as we did not win any medals at the world junior championships in italy. dani barnes came fourth in the 1500m and she was the highest finisher for team gb. the thing is if we don t have athletes getting into the finals at junior level then it really doesn t look good for the beijing olympics and beyond.      i tell you what i really enjoyed this year  benita johnson winning the world cross country championships back in march. in the absence of paula  we tend to think of the event as something of an african preserve. so to have an australian come up and deliver such a surprise was something special.      to be honest  i m getting bored with all the drug scandals  especially balco. i just wish the whole thing would come to a head so we can move on.  having said that  i m always pleased when drugs cheats are caught because it shows the sport is standing up to it and not turning a blind eye anymore. and one of the positive things to come out of balco is people are starting to blow the whistle. we need more people to come forward and help the authorities kick out the cheats. as regards the case against greek sprinters kostas kenteris and katerina thanou  well suspicions have been hanging over kenteris for a while. the bottom line is we cannot keep letting drugs damage the sport because if we do then it stops everyone enjoying it.
2174,mobile tv tipped as one to watch scandinavians and koreans  two of the most adventurous groups of mobile users  are betting on mobile tv.  anders igels  chief executive of nordic operator teliasonera  tipped it as the next big thing in mobile in a speech at the 3gsm world congress  a mobile trade fair  in cannes this week. nokia  the finnish handset maker  is planning a party in singapore this spring to launch its tv to mobile activities in the region. consultancy strategy analytics of boston estimates that mobile broadcast networks will have acquired around 51 million users worldwide by 2009  producing around $6.6bn (£3.5bn) in revenue.  sk telecom of south korea  which is launching a tv to mobile service (via satellite) in may plans to charge a flat fee of $12 a month for its 12 channels of video and 12 channels of audio. it will be able to offer an additional two pay tv channels using conditional access technology. mr shin-bae kim  chief executive of sk telecom  also at 3gsm  said:  we have plans to integrate tv with mobile internet services.   this will enable viewers to access the mobile internet to get more information on adverts they see on tv.  there will be 12 handsets available for the launch of the korean service. lg electronics of south korea was demonstrating one at 3gsm that could display video at 30 frames a second. footage shown on the handset was clear and watchable. a speech on mobile tv by angel gambino of the bbc also drew a large crowd  suggesting that even those mobile operators and equipment vendors which are not particularly active in mobile tv yet are starting to look into it.  but all is not simple and straightforward in the mobile tv arena. there is a battle for supremacy between two competing standards: dvb-h for digital video broadcasting for handsets and dmb for digital multimedia broadcasting. dr chan yeob yeun  vice president and research fellow in charge of mobile tv at lg electronics  said:  dmb offers twice the number of frames a minute as dvb-h and does not drain mobile batteries as quickly.  the japanese  koreans and ericsson of sweden are backing dmb.  samsung of south korea has a dmb phone too that will be one of those offered to users of the tu media satellite mobile tv service to be launched in korea in may. nokia  by contrast  is backing dvb-h  and is involved in mobile tv trials that use its art-deco style media phone  which has a larger than usual screen for tv or visual radio (a way of accompanying a radio programme with related text and pictures). mobile operators o2 and vodafone are among the operators trialling mobile tv. but even if the standards battle is resolved  there is the thorny issue of broadcasting rights. ms gambino says the bbc now negotiates mobile rights when it is negotiating content.  for those not convinced mobile users will want to watch tv on their handsets  digital audio broadcasting may provide a good compromise and better sound quality than conventional radio. developments in this area are continuing. at a dab conference in cannes  several makers of dab chips for mobiles announced smaller  lower- cost chips which consume less power. among the chip companies present were frontier silicon and radioscape. the jury is still out on whether tv and digital radio on mobiles will make much money for anyone. but with many new services going live soon  it won t be long before the industry finds out.
1086,sluggish economy hits german jobs the number of people out of work in europe s largest economy has risen for the tenth straight month as growth remains stubbornly slow.  german unemployment rose 7 000 in november to 4.464 million people  or 10.8% of the workforce. the seasonally adjusted rise showed a smaller rise than expected  as government measures to encourage job creation began to take effect. but officials said stagnant growth was still stifling the job market.  there are clear signs of a revival in domestic demand   said frank-juergen weise  head of the federal labour agency  in a statement.  but growth of 0.1%... in the third quarter is still insufficient to deliver positive momentum to the labour market.  high oil prices and the soaring euro - which damages the competitiveness of exporters - were also having a negative effect  he said. the brunt of the unemployment is still being felt in the eastern part of germany  where the rate is 18.8%.  with unemployment stuck above 4 million for years  the government of chancellor gerhard schroeder has put job creation at the top of the agenda. a controversial package of measures to shake up incentives to get back to work  paid for by cutting some cherished benefits  has sparked anger among some german workers. strikes in a number of industries  notably among the country s iconic carmakers  have demonstrated the displeasure - as well as fears about further job losses as outsourcing takes hold. among the new initiatives are the so-called  one-euro jobs  which top up unemployment benefit. the scheme s formal launch is january  but hirings for these positions are already taking place and affecting the unemployment statistics  economists said.  the deterioration of the labour market does not come as a surprise   said isabelle kronawitter at hypovereinsbank.  job creation measures probably prevented a stronger increase in the seasonally adjusted numbers.
1986,ban on hunting comes into force fox hunting with dogs is now illegal in england and wales after a ban on the activity came into force overnight.  the law faces a stiff test this weekend  with the countryside alliance saying many hunts will be out in force. chief police officers spokesman nigel yeo said he expected most people would obey the law - by drag hunting or chasing foxes then shooting them. he said police would challenge the  one of two isolated hunts  which are threatening to break the law.  but simon hart of the countryside alliance has questioned how police will ensure there are no violations.  the definitions of legal and illegal hunting are so blurred that the police are being asked to make impossible judgements.  you can hunt a rat  but not a mouse  a rabbit but not a hare  an artificial scent  but not a real one   he said.  the attorney general  lord goldsmith  has so far issued no instructions to police on how they should deal with hunters who violate the law. he said he will consult the director of public prosecutions and the police  in the near future  to decide what measures to take with regards to hunting prosecutions. he has rejected a  blanket policy  of not enforcing the ban until the house of lords has considered its legality. john cooper  a barrister and chairman of the league against cruel sports  said the anti-hunting lobby expects the authorities to prosecute wherever there is clear evidence of illegal hunting practices. he said police had  acknowledged their duty to investigate allegations of hunting offences .  the beaufort hunt had one pack out on thursday and has promised a hunt this weekend. under the new law hunters have a number of legal options available to them.  as well as being able to mount a hunt for an artificial scent  it will still be legal for the hunts to  flush out  foxes  as long as they shoot their quarry rather than set the hounds on them.  we are not going away. we will keep these hounds going  we will keep this community going and in the end we will come back and hunt when hunting is legal again   hunt master  captain ian farquhar  said. but tony banks  labour mp for west ham  said the issue would soon disappear  and that  people in a few years time will be wondering what it was all about . he said had the government not prevaricated since 1997 in introducing the ban  hunting with dogs would have passed into history like other former country pursuits such as otter hunting and badger baiting.  let the election decide this because the conservatives have made clear that if they get elected into government they will restore hunting   he said.
2007,mirza shocks kuznetsova sania mirza continued her remarkable rise with victory over us open champion svetlana kuznetsova at the dubai championships on tuesday.  the 18-year-old indian  who is already a huge star in her home country  won 6-4 6-2 in front of a delirious crowd. it was mirza s sixth straight victory following her first wta tournament win in hyderabad last month. earlier  daniela hantuchova built on her improving form with a 7-6 6-2 win over sixth seed alicia molik. mirza needed attention to an ankle injury after the second game against kuznetsova.  she quickly slipped 4-0 down but staged a dramatic comeback that thrilled the large indian contingent in the crowd.  i really didn t expect that after my ankle turn   said mirza.  i played a great match and i think (the crowd) did it again. i knew that i had to play an all-round game and that s what happened.  i did everything well but i wasn t missing the ball - i don t know how that happened.  mirza plays silvia farina elia or jelena jankovic next. hantuchova has risen from 31 in the world at the turn of the year to number 22  having reached the quarter-finals and semi-finals at her last two events.  it was such a tough first-round match and i am glad to come through   said hantuchova.  she was serving so well. i just decided to hang in there and keep fighting.  the slovakian will meet elena likhovtseva in the second round after the russian struggled past tunisian wild card selima sfar 2-6 6-2 7-6. likhovtseva needed nine match points before seeing off sfar  who got a point penalty for swearing in the third set. seventh seed nathalie dechy and elena bovina were among other first-round winners on tuesday.
13,crude oil prices back above $50 cold weather across parts of the united states and much of europe has pushed us crude oil prices above $50 a barrel for the first time in almost three months.  freezing temperatures and heavy snowfall have increased demand for heating fuel in the us  where stocks are low. fresh falls in the value of the dollar helped carry prices above the $50 mark for the first time since november. a barrel of us crude oil closed up $2.80 to $51.15 in new york on tuesday. opec members said on tuesday that it saw no reason to cut its output.  although below last year s peak of $55.67 a barrel  which was reached in october  prices are now well above 2004 s average of $41.48.  brent crude also rose in london trading  adding $1.89 to $48.62 at the close. much of western europe and the north east of america has been shivering under unseasonably low temperatures in recent days. the decline in the us dollar to a five-week low against the euro has also served to inflate prices.  the dollar moved sharply overnight and oil is following it   said chris furness  senior market strategist at 4cast.  if the dollar continues to weaken  oil will be obviously higher.   several opec members said a cut in production was unlikely  citing rising prices and strong demand for oil from asia.  i agree that we do not need to cut supply if the prices are as much as this   fathi bin shatwan  libya s oil minister  told reuters.  i do not think we need to cut unless the prices are falling below $35 a barrel   he added. opec closely watches global stocks to ensure that there is not an excessive supply in the market. the arrival of spring in the northern hemisphere will focus attention on stockpiles of us crude and gasoline  which are up to 9% higher than at this time last year. heavy stockpiles could help force prices lower when demand eases.
796,desailly backs blues revenge trip marcel desailly insists there is no chance of history repeating itself when chelsea take on barcelona on wednesday.  the french star was part of the chelsea side crushed 5-1 at the nou camp in the champions league quarter-final second leg in 2000.  things will be totally different this time   he told bbc sport.  now everyone knows about chelsea and is a little bit afraid of them. they are one of the major clubs in europe and the pressure will be on barcelona.  chelsea have not played barcelona since that quarter-final tie five years ago. the blues had looked destined to progress after winning the first leg at stamford bridge 3-1  courtesy of two goals from tore andre flo and one by gianfranco zola. but they collapsed in the second leg  going down to strikes from rivaldo (2)  luis figo  dani and patrick kluivert.  former chelsea captain desailly  who is now playing for al-gharafa in qatar  says there is no comparison between that side and the current blues team  who are top of the premiership.  mentally they are much stronger  even though a lot of their players are young   the 36-year-old said.  we made some mistakes at the nou camp in 2000 - a lot of them were individual mistakes.  it would not happen now. this team has a new motivation and a different mentality.  world cup winner desailly saw huge changes during his time at stamford bridge. he was signed for £4.6m from ac milan in 1998 by ruud gullit and went on to play under gianluca vialli and claudio ranieri. but the biggest change occurred when billionaire roman abramovich bought the club in 2003. desailly says the russian s arrival helped to instil a winning mentality at the club as well as a demand for success.  the whole of chelsea is different now - the chairman  the manager and all the players   he said.   everything is new and there is a huge determination to win.  since that game in 2000  chelsea have gained more experience in europe and were very close to reaching the champions league final last season.  desailly is one of the most decorated players in the history of football. he won the 1998 world cup and 2000 european championship with france  the champions league in 1993 with marseilles and 1994 with ac milan  two serie a titles and the fa cup in 2000 with chelsea.  he is now winding down his career in qatar  alongside the likes of frank lebeouf  josep guardiola  titi camara  gabriel batistuta and christophe dugarry. so he is full of admiration for two of his colleagues from the great milan side of the mid-90s who are likely to line up against manchester united on wednesday - paolo maldini and alessandro costacurta.  i m happy that they have managed to play so long at a high level   he said.  i made a vow to costacurta that as long as he plays  i will continue to play.  and it s amazing that paolo has managed to play at such a high level for such a long time.
585,fa decides not to punish mourinho the football association will take no action against chelsea boss jose mourinho following his sending-off in sunday s carling cup final.  mourinho  who was sent from the touchline for appearing to taunt liverpool fans  has been  reminded of his responsibilities to the game . but the fa confirmed:  there will be no further action taken in this matter.  mourinho claimed his  silence  gesture was aimed at the media  although they were on the other side of the ground. the former porto coach was forced to watch the climax of his side s 3-2 victory over liverpool on television after being ushered away from the touchline by fourth official phil crossley. his gesture came after chelsea s equaliser on 79 minutes courtesy of a steven gerrard own goal. mourinho still faces an fa investigation into his allegation that manchester united s players  cheated  during january s carling cup semi-final at stamford bridge.  and uefa could also launch disciplinary action following mourinho s failure to attend a compulsory post-match press conference after chelsea s champions league defeat at barcelona last week. in addition  some time this month  chelsea must also answer a charge of failing to control their players during the premiership win at blackburn in february. and a charge of failing to control their supporters following a carling cup meeting with west ham earlier this season is still to be heard. the premier league is also continuing investigations into allegations chelsea officials tapped up arsenal defender ashley cole in january.
1200,church anger over bollywood film roman catholic organisations in india have demanded the withdrawal of a film that depicts a priest having an affair with a girl half his age.  indian television channels are now refusing to run the promotional material for the film  sins  ahead of its release on friday. the director of the film  vinod pande  says the movie is not offensive and has refused to withdraw it. catholics are planning a protest in mumbai (bombay) on wednesday. the president of one of mumbai s main catholic organisations  dolphy d souza  says the portrayal of an ordained priest as a man of loose moral character has hurt the religious sentiments of india s catholic community.  he called the film  pornographic and sensational . mr d souza  who is also the vice-president of the catholics  national body  has accused the director of the film of portraying a priest in bad light for commercial gains. catholics have urged mr pande to withdraw the film to show respect to the christian community s hurt sentiments.  religion needs to be a personal affair and should not be a subject for entertainment or for commercial use   joseph dias  general secretary of the catholic secular forum  said in a statement.  but mr pande said that if the critics were to see the film they would not protest against it and would not insist on its withdrawal. he says he has no plans to cancel the film ahead of its scheduled screening on friday.   it s about forbidden love. there was no agenda whatsoever to hurt anyone   he said. the bbc s zubair ahmed in mumbai says that the controversial film shows a priest in steamy scenes with a girl half his age. she apparently goes to him for help but he falls in love with her. it takes place in the picturesque southern indian state of kerala. the film has already been cleared by the censor board with an  a  (adults only) certificate. mr d souza says he is shocked at the censor board s decision to clear the film. our correspondent says that india s tv channels have so far refused to be dragged into the controversy and have not screened the film s promotional material. most of the catholic community s anger has come after watching newspaper advertisements and hoardings of the film. christians make up about two per cent of india s population of more than a billion people.
642,kennedy predicts bigger turnout voters   pent up passion  could confound predictions of a low turnout in the coming general election  charles kennedy has said.  the liberal democrat leader predicted concerns over iraq and other international and domestic issue would express themselves during the campaign. his comments come as an inquiry looks at how best to boost voter turnouts. ex-foreign secretary robin cook said people were not apathetic but fed up of  pager politics  and not being heard. he  like mr kennedy  pointed to the hundreds of thousands of people who demonstrated against plans for the iraq war.  mr cook  who is giving evidence to the power inquiry into voter turnout rates  told bbc radio 4 s today programme it was not fair to blame the public who were  more interested in politics than ever before .  they are turned off by the way we do politics in britain. there s a message there for politicians.  he urged politicians to avoid negative campaigning and to  speak more from the heart .  we should be not so afraid to say what we stand for.  he also criticised the cult of personality politics:  there s far too much interest in celebrities.  politics are in danger of becoming another branch of the celebrity industry.  the government has tried a number of things in an attempt to boost voter turnout  which fell to 59% in the last general election in 2001. this has included bringing in directly elected mayors to head local authorities and trialling postal voting.
237,kenyan school turns to handhelds at the mbita point primary school in western kenya students click away at a handheld computer with a stylus.  they are doing exercises in their school textbooks which have been digitised. it is a pilot project run by eduvision  which is looking at ways to use low cost computer systems to get up-to-date information to students who are currently stuck with ancient textbooks. matthew herren from eduvision told the bbc programme go digital how the non-governmental organisation uses a combination of satellite radio and handheld computers called e-slates.  the e-slates connect via a wireless connection to a base station in the school. this in turn is connected to a satellite radio receiver. the data is transmitted alongside audio signals.  the base station processes the information from the satellite transmission and turns it into a form that can be read by the handheld e-slates.  it downloads from the satellite and every day processes the stream  sorts through content for the material destined for the users connected to it. it also stores this on its hard disc.   the system is cheaper than installing and maintaining an internet connection and conventional computer network. but mr herren says there are both pros and cons to the project.  it s very simple to set up  just a satellite antenna on the roof of the school  but it s also a one-way connection  so getting feedback or specific requests from end users is difficult.   the project is still at the pilot stage and eduvision staff are on the ground to attend to teething problems with the linux-based system.  the content is divided into visual information  textual information and questions. users can scroll through these sections independently of each other.  eduvision is planning to include audio and video files as the system develops and add more content. mr herren says this would vastly increase the opportunities available to the students. he is currently in negotiations to take advantage of a project being organised by search site google to digitise some of the world s largest university libraries.  all books in the public domain  something like 15 million  could be put on the base stations as we manufacture them. then every rural school in africa would have access to the same libraries as the students in oxford and harvard  currently the project is operating in an area where there is mains electricity. but mr herren says eduvision already has plans to extend it to more remote regions.  we plan to put a solar panel at the school with the base station  have the e-slates charge during the day when the children are in school  then they can take them home at night and continue working.  maciej sundra  who designed the user interface for the e-slates  says the project s ultimate goal is levelling access to knowledge around the world.  why in this age when most people do most research using the internet are students still using textbooks  the fact that we are doing this in a rural developing country is very exciting - as they need it most.
1826,robertson out to retain euro lure hearts manager john robertson hopes a place in the knock-out stages of the uefa cup could help keep some of his out-of-contract players at the club.   it could help. if we get through and have another european tie it may encourage players to stay at least until the end of the season   he said.  if we manage to get through it shows how well the club s progressing.  they have to think whether they are going to get other clubs like that should they decide to move on.  a win for robertson s side against ferencvaros would put them through to the last 32 if basle fail to beat feyenoord.  it s very much the player s prerogative but the fact that we ve been playing european football for the last three or four years is obviously an incentive   added robertson.  but we want players who want to play for the football club  who are committed and a run in europe always helps a little bit.  with the game being played at murrayfield instead of tynecastle because of uefa regulations  robertson sees both positive and negative aspects to the change of venue.   the pitch is not in the greatest condition. the heineken cup game was there at the weekend and the pitch is a bit threadbare   he said.  it s not ideal but it s the same for both teams so we just have to go out and there and perform. that s the most important thing.  but he added:  if tynecastle could have hosted 30 000 it would have been fantastic but that s one of the benefits of murrayfield - it allows us to bring even more of our supporters into it.  there will be a good atmosphere and the hearts fans have an important role to play.  we need their encouragement  we need them to get right behind the side and make it as good an atmosphere as possible.  hopefully the players will respond to that and i know they will because it s a fantastic european night for the club.
43,house prices show slight increase prices of homes in the uk rose a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in february  says the nationwide building society.  the figure means the annual rate of increase in the uk is down to 10.2%  the lowest rate since june 2001. the annual rate has halved since august last year  as interest rises have cooled the housing market. at the same time  the number of mortgage approvals fell in january to a near 10-year low  official bank of england figures have shown.  nationwide said that in january house prices went up by 0.4% on the month and by 12.6% on a year earlier.  we are not seeing the market collapsing in the way some had feared   said nationwide economist alex bannister. there have been a number of warnings that the uk housing market may be heading for a downturn after four years of strong growth to 2004. in november  barclays  which owns former building society the woolwich  forecast an 8% fall in property prices in 2005  followed by further declines in 2006 and 2007. and last summer  economists at pricewaterhousecoopers (pwc) warned house prices were overvalued and could fall by between 10% and 15% by 2009.  the price of an average uk property now stands at £152 879. homeowners now expect house prices to rise by 1% over the next six months  mr bannister said. he said if the growth continued at this level then the bank of england may increase interest rates from their current 4.75%.   i think the key is what the bank expects to happen to the housing market. we always thought we would see a small rise  they thought they would see a small decline.  house prices have risen 0.9% this year  nationwide said  and if this pace of increase persists  prices would rise by just under 6% in the year to december. this is slightly above the 0-5% range nationwide predicts.  further evidence of a slowdown in the housing market emerged from bank of england lending figures released on tuesday. new mortgage loans in january fell to 79 000 from 82 000 in december  the bank said. the past few months have seen approvals fall to levels last seen in 1995. the bank revealed that 48 000 fewer mortgages were approved in january than for the same month in 2004. overall  mortgage lending rose by £7.2bn in january  marginally up on the £7.1bn rise in december.
1594,farrell saga to drag on - lindsay wigan chairman maurice lindsay says he does not expect a quick solution to the on-going saga of captain andy farrell s possible switch to rugby union.  leicester and saracens are leading the chase for the player  but lindsay told the bbc it was not yet a done deal.  as well as the rugby football union  the league  the individual club and the england coaching team have a say  so it s not a quick decision   he said.  he s given us 12 years service so if he wants to go  we d support him.  the prospect of farrell switching codes has been the main talking point of the super league season so far.  it came as a bolt out of the blue to us   admitted lindsay.  but he s a very loyal friend to the club  so there s no question that he s deserting us. he just fancies a challenge.   although the move would be a lucrative one for both farrell and wigan  lindsay said money was not a motivating factor for the club.  the money side of things hasn t been concluded  but it s not the point for wigan   he told radio five live.  a shortage of money has never been a problem for us.  even if we did have it  under the salary cap we can t spend a penny of it anyway - we d rather have the player.   lindsay also said he understood why rugby union was so interested in signing up farrell.  it d be a great loss for us but a great boost for them   said the warriors chief.  this guy is an absolute sporting icon. he s been at the top for so long and has demonstrated so many attributes that you need to make it in a tough contact sport.  athletes like him - ellery hanley and martin johnson - don t come along very often. you re very lucky to have them whilst you ve got them.
594,share boost for feud-hit reliance the board of indian conglomerate reliance has agreed a share buy-back  to counter the effects of a power struggle in the controlling family.  the buy-back is a victory for chairman mukesh ambani  whose idea it was. his brother anil  the vice-chairman  said had not been consulted and that the buy-back was  completely inappropriate and unnecessary . the board hopes the move will reverse a 13% fall in reliance s shares since the feud became public last month. the company has been fractious since founder dhirubhai ambani died in 2002  leaving no will.  today s round has gone to [mukesh]  there is no doubt about it   said nanik rupani  president of the indian merchants chamber  a bombay-based traders  body. the company plans to buy back 52 million shares at 570 rupees (£6.80; $13) apiece  a premium of more than 10% to its current market price.
1084,off-colour gardener storms to win britain s jason gardener shook off an upset stomach to win the 60m at sunday s leipzig international meeting.  gardener clocked 6.56 seconds to equal the meeting record and finished well ahead of germany s marc blume  who crossed the line in 6.67 secs. the world indoor champion said:  i got to the airport and my stomach was upset and i was vomiting. i almost went home.  i felt a little better sunday morning but decided i d only run in the main race. then everything went perfectly.  gardener  part of the great britain 4x100m quartet that won gold at the athens olympics  will now turn his attention to next weekend s norwich union european indoor trials in sheffield.   given i am still off-colour i know there is plenty more in the tank and i expect to get faster in the next few weeks   he said.  it s just a case of chipping away as i have done in previous years and the results will come.  scotland s ian mackie was also in action in leipzig. he stepped down from his favoured 400m to 200m to finish third in 21.72 secs. germany s alexander kosenkow won the race in 21.07 secs with dutchman patrick van balkom second in 21.58 secs. there were plenty of other senior british athletes showing their indoor form over the weekend. promising 60m hurdler  clocked a new uk record of 7.98 seconds at a meeting in norway. the 24-year-old reached the mark in her heat but had to settle for joint first place with former aaa champion diane allahgreen in the final.    who broke onto the international scene at the olympic games last season  set an indoor personal best of 16.50m in the triple jump at a meeting in ghent. that leap - 37cm short of brazilian winner jadel gregorio s effort - was good enough to qualify for the european indoor championships. at the same meeting   finished third in 7.27 seconds in a high-class women s 60m. the event was won by european medal favourite christine arron of france while belgium rival kim gevaert was second. britain s joice maduaka finished fifth in 7.35. olympic bronze heptathlon medallist  made a low-key return to action at an indoor meeting in birmingham. the 28-year-old cleared 1.76m to win the high jump and threw 13.86m in the women s shot put.
1859,bristol city 2-1 milton keynes leroy lita took his goal tally to 13 for the season as his double earned city an ldv vans trophy win.  the striker finished off scott murray cross from close range just seconds before half-time. lita then made it 2-0 on 52 minutes  but dons  substitute serge makofo then netted a great volley to make it 2-1. the visitors almost took the tie to extra time with a late 30-yard bullet from richard johnson which was well held by steve phillips.  phillips  amankwaah  coles  hill  fortune  murray (anyinsah 59)  doherty (harley 45)  dinning  bell  lita (cotterill 72)  gillespie. subs not used: orr  brown.  hill.  lita 45  52.  bevan  oyedele  ntimban-zeh  crooks  puncheon  kamara (makofo 64)  chorley  herve (mckoy 45)  tapp (johnson 45)  mackie  pacquette. subs not used: martin  palmer.  pacquette  chorley  johnson  mckoy.  makofo 66.  3 367  j ross (essex).
524,tory leader  cleared  over work scottish conservative party leader david mcletchie claims he has been cleared over a potential conflict of interest.  the edinburgh msp earns up to £30 000 a year from the law firm tods murray  where he is a partner. mr mcletchie said he has taken advice from holyrood officials about what details he needs to declare. he was advised to exercise judgement to avoid the perception of a conflict and said he had done nothing wrong. as an msp  mr mcletchie signed a parliamentary motion questioning expansion plans for edinburgh airport.  it then emerged tods murray has a client which opposes the development. mr mcletchie then sought guidance from the standards committee to clarify his position. bbc scotland s political correspondent glenn campbell said no complaint had been made against mr mcletchie  but questions were raised about his dual role. glenn said msps are advised to guard against a conflict of interests and a perception of a conflict.  mr mcletchie said:  i m quite clear that no conflicts of interest arise in my case  that the judgement i took has effectively been vindicated when you look at the advice that has been given to me and that these allegations are unfounded.  he said nothing had changed in respect of his work with the law firm and it was a matter he would have to discuss with the other partners at tods murray.  the firm and i have a very good working relationship and we have done for the last six years   said mr mcletchie.  i don t suppose i ll be working forever as a lawyer or a politician. i deserve to retire from both  but i m not willing to put time limits on them.
463,musical future for phones analyst bill thompson has seen the future and it is in his son s hands.  i bought my son max a 3g phone  partly because they are so cheap and he needed a phone  and partly because i am supposed to know about the latest technology and thought i should see how they work in real life. after using it for a while i am not at all tempted to get rid of my sonyericsson p800 smart phone. that has a relatively large screen  even if it does only have slower gprs access to the network. i can read my e-mail  surf the web using a proper browser and write stuff using the stylus on its touch screen. last week someone e-mailed me a document that had been compressed into a zip file  and i was pleasantly surprised to discover that my phone even knew how to decompress it for me. by contrast the confusing menus  complicated keyboard and truly irritating user interface of max s 3g phone simply get in the way  and i did not see much value in the paid-for services  especially the limited web access. the videos of entertainment news  horoscopes and the latest celebrity gossip did not appeal  and i did not see how the small screen could be useful for any sort of image  never mind micro-tv.  but then max started playing  and i realised i was missing the point entirely.  it is certainly not a great overall experience  but that is largely due to the poor menu system and the phone layout: the video content itself is compelling. the quality was at least as good as the video streaming from the bbc website  and the image is about the same size. max was completely captivated  and i was intrigued to discover that i had nearly missed the next stage of the network revolution. it is easy to be dismissive of small screens  and indeed anyone of my generation  with failing eyesight and the view that  there s never anything worth watching on tv   is hardly going to embrace these phones. but just as the world wide web was the  killer application  that drove internet adoption  music videos are going to drive 3g adoption. with vodafone now pushing its own 3g service  and 3 already established in the uk  video on the phone is clearly going to become a must-have for kids sitting on the school bus  adults waiting outside clubs and anyone who has time to kill and a group of friends to impress.  this will please the network operators  who are looking for some revenue from their expensively acquired 3g licences. but it goes deeper than that: playing music videos on a phone marks the beginning of a move away from the  download and play  model we have all accepted for our ipods and mp3 players. after all  why should i want to carry 60gb of music and pictures around with me in my pocket when i can simply listen to anything i want  whenever i want  streamed to my phone  oh - and of course you can always use the phone to make voice calls and send texts  something which ensures that it is always in someone s pocket or handbag  available for other uses too. i have never really approved of using the internet protocol (ip)  to do either audio or video streaming  and i think that technically it is a disaster to make phone calls over the net using  voice over ip .  but i have to acknowledge that the net  at least here in the developed western countries  is fast and reliable enough to do both.  i stream radio to my computer while i work  and enjoy hearing the bizarre stations from around the world that i can find online but nowhere else. i am even playing with internet telephony  despite my reservations  and i appear on go digital on the world service  streamed over the web each week. but 3g networks have been designed to do this sort of streaming  both for voice and video  which gives them an edge over net-based ip services. the 3g services aren t quite there yet  and there is a lot to be sorted out when it comes to web access and data charges. vodafone will let you access its services on vodafone live! as part of your subscription cost but it makes you pay by the megabyte to download from other sites - this one  for example. this will not matter to business users  but will distort the consumer market and keep people within the phone company s collection of partner sites  something that should perhaps be worrying telecoms regulator ofcom. but we should not see these new phones simply as cut-down network terminals. if i want fast access to my e-mail i can get a 3g card for my laptop or hook up to a wireless network. the phone is a lot more  and it is as a combination of mini-tv  personal communications device and music/video player that it really works. there is certainly room in the technology ecosystem for many different sorts of devices  accessing a wide range of services over different networks. 3g phones and ipods can co-exist  at least for a while  but if i had to bet on the long term i would go for content on demand over carrying gigabytes in my pocket. or perhaps some enterprising manufacturer will offer me both. an mp3g player  anyone   bill thompson is a regular commentator on the bbc world service programme go digital.
1085,gsk aims to stop aids profiteers one of the world s largest manufacturers of hiv/aids drugs has launched an initiative to combat the smuggling of cheaper pills - supplied to poorer african countries - back into europe for resale at far higher price.  the company  glaxosmithkline  is to alter the packaging and change the colour of the pills  currently provided to developing nations under a humanitarian agreement. it is estimated that drugs companies are losing hundreds of millions of dollars each year as a result of the diversion of their products in this way. this is a very sensitive area for the big drugs companies. they want to maintain their profits  but have been put under tremendous pressure to provide cheap anti-aids drugs to the world s poorest nations.  the result is that drugs supplied to africa are now more than thirty times cheaper than those sold in europe; bringing these medicines within the reach of millions of hiv-positive africans through their government s health care systems.  but the wide difference in price also means that there are big gains to be made from illegally diverting these cheaper drugs back into wealthier countries and re-selling them at a higher price. glaxosmithkline believes that by coating the pills destined for africa in a red dye and adding new identification codes both onto the pills and on the packaging  then this trade can be substantially reduced. the company says that it will then be possible to identify specific distributors in africa who have re-sold humanitarian drugs for profit  as well as those suppliers in europe that have also been involved in the trade. glaxo says distribution of the new-look drugs has already begun and that their chemical content is identical to those currently being sold in europe.
668,dvd copy protection strengthened dvds will be harder to copy thanks to new anti-piracy measures devised by copy protection firm macrovision.  the pirated dvd market is enormous because current copy protection was hacked more than five years ago. macrovision says its new ripguard technology will thwart most  but not all  of the current dvd ripping (copying) programs used to pirate dvds.  ripguard is designed to... reduce dvd ripping and the resulting supply of illegal peer to peer   said the firm. macrovision said the new technology will work in  nearly all  current dvd players when applied to the discs  but it did not specify how many machines could have a problem with ripguard. some bbc news website users have expressed concerns that the new technology will mean that dvds will not work on pcs running the operating system linux. the new technology will be welcomed by hollywood film studios which are increasingly relying on revenue from dvd sales.  the film industry has stepped up efforts to fight dvd piracy in the last 12 months  taking legal action against websites which offer pirated copies of dvd movies for download.   ultimately  we see ripguard dvd... evolving beyond anti-piracy  and towards enablement of legitimate online transactions  interoperability in tomorrow s digital home  and the upcoming high-definition formats   said steve weinstein  executive vice president and general manager of macrovision s entertainment technologies group. macrovision said ripguard would also prevent against  rent  rip and return  - where people would rent a dvd  copy it and then return the original. ripguard is expected to be rolled out on dvds from the middle of 2005  the company said. the new system works specifically to block most ripping programs - if used  those programs will now most likely crash  the company said. macrovision has said that rip guard can be updated if hackers find a way around the new anti-copying measures.
2132,millions go missing at china bank two senior officials at one of china s top commercial banks have reportedly disappeared after funds worth up to $120m (£64m) went missing.  the pair both worked at bank of china in the northern city of harbin  the south china morning post reported. the latest scandal at bank of china will do nothing to reassure foreign investors that china s big four banks are ready for international listings. government policy sees the bank listings as vital economic reforms. bank of china is one of two frontrunners in the race to list overseas. the other is china construction bank. both are expected to list abroad during 2005.  they shared a $45bn state bailout in 2003  to help clean up their balance sheets in preparation for a foreign stock market debut.  however  a report in the china-published economic observer said on monday that the two banks may have scrapped plans to list in new york because of the cost of meeting regulatory requirements imposed since the enron scandal. bank of china is the country s biggest foreign exchange dealer  while china construction bank is the largest deposit holder. china s banking sector is burdened with at least $190bn of bad debt according to official data  though most observers believe the true figure is far higher. officially  one in five loans is not being repaid. attempts to strengthen internal controls and tighten lending policies have uncovered a succession of scandals involving embezzlement by bank officials and loans-for-favours. the most high-profile case involved the ex-president of bank of china  wang xuebing  jailed for 12 years in 2003. although  he committed the offences whilst running bank of china in new york  mr wang was head of china construction bank when the scandal broke. earlier this month  a china construction bank branch manager was jailed for life in a separate case.  china s banks used to act as cash offices for state enterprises and did not require checks on credit worthiness. the introduction of market reforms has been accompanied by attempts to modernise the banking sector  but links between banks and local government remain strong. last year  china s premier  wen jiabao  targeted bank lending practices in a series of speeches  and regulators ordered all big loans to be scrutinised  in an attempt to cool down irresponsible lending. china s leaders see reforming the top four banks as vital to distribute capital to profitable companies and protect the health of china s economic boom. but two problems persist. first  inefficient state enterprises continue to receive protection from bankruptcy because they employ large numbers of people. second  many questionable loans come not from the big four  but from smaller banks. another high profile financial firm  china life  is facing shareholder lawsuits and a probe by the us securities and exchange commission following its 2004 new york listing over its failure to disclose accounting irregularities at its parent company.
1970,juninho demand for o neill talks juninho s agent has confirmed that the player is hoping for talks with martin o neill as the brazilian midfielder comes closer to departing celtic.  brian hassell says no official approach has been received from manchester city but that the english club had been earmarked as a possible destination. but it was being stressed to bbc sport that juninho would prefer to remain with the scottish champions. juninho wants assurances that he will return to o neill s first-team plans. he has become frustrated with his lack of first-team action since his move from middlesbrough in the summer. hassel says juninho  who has just bought a new home  would  desperately like to stay at celtic  but will seek a move if it is made clear that he is not wanted.  the agent also stressed that nothing should be read into the 30-year-old s father being in scotland and talk of a move back to botafogo in brazil. juninho s father was simply in the country to see his son and grandchildren.  i know there is interest from a brazilian club  but i know juninho doesn t want to go there   said hassel.  he wants to stay in britain. in fact  he wants to stay at celtic.  hassall made it clear that a move to manchester city  who are badly in need of a midfield play-maker  was more of a possibility than botafogo  or mexican outfit red sharks veracruz  who also expressed an interest.  it was a thought at one stage   he said.  if you are not going to get a game under one manager  you look for another whose style of play suits you.  he is a fan of kevin keegan s style of play. it would not be a bad move for him.  juninho had earlier told the daily record:  the manager has had a lot of chances to put me in his team but it hasn t happened.  if that is the case then this is the opportunity for me to go. that would be good for the club and good for me.  if i have no part in his plans  there is no point in remaining here waiting for a chance that never comes.  the attacking midfielder also claims he has not had the backing of boss martin o neill since his move to celtic park.  i can t understand why i am in this situation   he continued.  when a manager brings a new player to the club  he gives that player support.
260,podcasters  look to net money nasa is doing it  14-year-old boys in bedrooms are doing it  couples are doing it  gadget lovers - male and female - are definitely doing it.  it is podcasting - diy radio in the form of downloadable mp3 audio files. they can done by anyone who has a microphone  simple software  the net  and something to say. some liken them to talking  audioblogs  because many complement text-based weblogs - diary-like sites where people share their thoughts. they are essentially amateur radio shows on the net  on demand  and the  movement  is at very early stages.  it s about real people saying real things and communicating   says adam curry  former mtv vj and the pied piper of podcasting. he was one of a community of people who created ipodder  a small computer program  known as an  aggregator .  it collects and automatically sends mp3 files to any digital music-playing device that can play wmp formats. those with digital music players can select which podcasts they like  and subscribe - for free - to that show s  feed . when a new podcast is available  it is automatically sent to the device when connected to a computer.  it is totally going to kill the business model of radio   thinks curry.  i just did a tour of madison avenue where all the big brands and advertising agencies of the world are   he says.  and they are scared to death of the next generation - like my daughter who is 14 - who don t listen to radio.  they are on msn  they ve got their ipod  their mp3 player  they ve got their xbox - they are not listening to radio.  so how are they going to reach these audiences   it is the distribution that is changing and the barriers are being brought down so everyone can be part of it.   it is a fledgling movement  but it is gaining momentum now that people have started thinking about how to make a business from it. ian fogg  jupiter research analyst  thinks there could be potential for business  but it could take an interesting turn if big companies  like apple and microsoft  get involved.  it is a nascent area but quite exciting. it is yet another area that demonstrates the move to a digital lifestyle and digital home is not over   he says.   podcasting is one of those interesting areas that bridges what you do at home and what you do out and about - a classic hybrid. it is another aspect of the  time-shifting  of content - the latest industry buzzword for being able to listen to what you want  when  and wherever you want. audiences are in the 10s  100s  and 1 000s rather than millions. more than 4 300 podcasts are currently listed. curry s daily source code - which he committed to doing daily to inspire the community - has 10s of thousands of listeners.  but dave winer is doubtful. he designed the format called rss (really simple syndication)  which gives web users an easy way to keep updated automatically on sites they like. podcasts rely on his technology because it is the way they are distributed. he is also writer of the longest-running weblog on the net  scripting news. he thinks its power lies in its democratising potential  not in its  over-hyped  business promise.   we re the sources  the people doing stuff  and podcasting is a way to tell people who care what we re doing.  no matter how you look at it  commercialising this medium isn t going to make very much money   he says.  podcasting is going to be a medium of niches  with  audiences  measured in the single digits  like e-mail or blogs.  maybe in a few years  maybe six or seven digits. but it will have to sustain interest beyond the hype balloon.  curry and associate ron bloom s new venture  called podshow  is to help ordinary people produce  post  distribute and market their podcasts. because of the way podcasts work  based on rss  the latest podcasts which people can select mean that they are ready-made targets.  when you look at podcasting - wow this is a pretty interesting audience. the audience is pre-selected. they have decided to subscribe to your program   explains curry. advertising  in his eyes  can be tailored to podcasts  to make it more imaginative and unobtrusive.  how i believe this will work  is to create a network that  in aggregation  will have enough numbers to support a return on investment for the advertisers and for the podcasters.  i have 50  60  70 000 listeners. i could make a couple of bucks off that  but not much. if you are talking a million podcasters  and then you can kind of divide that amongst ourselves  then that is kind of interesting.  essentially  he says  if you are doing a bass fishing podcast  someone who is selling bait and tackle will probably want to advertise on your show. he is clear the ads will not be the traditional  in-your-face  type familiar to commercial radio now.  we are really going to see these microcosms and commerce will be all over the place.   it is happening already. coffee-loving curry has sold $4 000 worth of coffee machines through a referral link to amazon from his site.  others use in-show promotions  like the dawn and drew show. one  eric rice  has won sponsorship from warner bros. he can now legally play the music of a band warner bros wants to push. some commentators on the net say it has a similar feel to the dotcom days. others say it is just another element of setting media free from big companies and letting people be creative. one thing is for sure; they are not about to disappear in a hurry. the creative forces behind radio are elated  says curry. for now  he tunes out the negative comments within the podcasting community.  i should be knighted for this   he adds  with a wry chuckle   people are going to be so happy to sit at home  make their podcast  and make a little money.
141,disaster claims  less than $10bn  insurers have sought to calm fears that they face huge losses after an earthquake and giant waves killed at least 38 000 people in southern asia.  munich re and swiss re  the world s two biggest reinsurers  have said exposure will be less than for other disasters. rebuilding costs are likely to be cheaper than in developed countries  and many of those affected will not have insurance  analysts said. swiss re has said total claims are likely to be less than $10bn (£5.17bn). swiss re believes that the cost would be substantial but that it is unlikely to be in double-digit billions  the financial times reported. munich re  the world s largest reinsurance company  said that its exposure is less than 100m euros (£70m; $136m).  at least 10 countries have been affected  with sri lanka  indonesia  india and thailand among the worst hit. the region s resorts and western tourists are expected to be among the main claimants.  lloyds of london told the financial times it expected its exposure to be limited to  holiday resorts  personal accident  travel insurance and marine risks . a spokeswoman for hanover re  europe s fifth-largest reinsurance firm  estimated tsunami-related damage claims would be in the low double-digit millions of euros. the company has paid out about 300 million euros (£281m; $400m) to cover damage caused recently by four major hurricanes in the us.  but insurers have not had long to assess the economic impact of the damage and reports of more casualties and destruction are still coming through.   so many things are unclear  it is just too early to tell   said serge troeber  deputy head of swiss re s natural disasters department.  you need very complicated processes to estimate damages. unlike the hurricanes  you can t just run a model.  he anticipated that his own company s total claims would be less then those from the hurricanes  which the company put at $640m. allianz  a leading german insurer  said it did not know yet what its exposure would be. however  it said the tidal waves were unlikely to have a  significant  impact on its business. zurich financial said they could not yet assess the cost of the disaster.  the impact on us insurance companies is not expected to be heavy  analysts said.  most us insurers have relatively little exposure to asia and those that do  pass on a lot of the risk to reinsurance companies or special catastrophe funds. insured damage could be a fraction of the  billions of dollars worth of destruction in sri lanka  india  thailand  indonesia  the maldive islands and malaysia   said prudential equity group insurance analyst jay gelb.  us insurers are likely to have only minimal to no exposure. it s more likely the bermuda-based reinsurance [companies] might have some exposure   said paul newsome  an insurance analyst at ag edwards & co.  many of the affected countries  such as indonesia  sri lanka or the maldives  do not usually buy insurance for these kinds of disasters  said a us-based insurance expert. early estimates from the world bank put the amount of aid needed for the worst affected countries including sri lanka  india  indonesia and thailand  at about $5bn (£2.6bn)  similar to the cash offered to central america after hurricane mitch.  mitch killed about 10 000 people and caused damage of about $10bn in 1998. but the cost of the tsunamis on the individuals involved is incalculable.  we cannot fathom the cost of these poor societies and the nameless fishermen and fishing villages ... that have just been wiped out. hundreds of thousands of livelihoods have gone   said jan egeland  head of the un office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs. tourists cutting short their holidays in affected areas may suffer a financial impact too. the association of british insurers warned that travel insurance does not normally cover cutting short a holiday. it said loss of possessions will usually be covered  but the association stressed the importance of checking the wording of travel policies.
468,dirty den s demise seen by 14m more than 14 million people saw  dirty  den watts killed off on friday  marking eastenders  20th anniversary  according to unofficial figures.  den s death came 16 years after he was supposedly shot in 1989. but he came back to the show in september 2003. the audience for bbc one s one-hour special averaged 13.7 million and peaked at 14.2 million in the last 15 minutes  overnight figures showed. den died after being confronted by zoe  chrissie and sam in the queen vic.  if the ratings are confirmed  the episode will have given the soap its highest audience for a year. the overnight figures showed almost 60% of the viewing public tuned into eastenders between 2000 and 2100 gmt  leaving itv1 with about 13%.  we are very pleased with the figures   a bbc spokesman said.  it shows viewers have really enjoyed the story of den s demise.  the show s highest audience came at christmas 1986  when more than 30 million tuned in to see den  played by leslie grantham  hand divorce papers to wife angie.  two years later  24 million saw him apparently shot by a man with a bunch of daffodils by a canal. more than 16 million viewers watched his return in 2003. the show s ratings have since settled down to about 12 million per episode. grantham hit the headlines in may after a newspaper printed photographs of him apparently exposing himself via a webcam from his dressing room. he also allegedly insulted four co-stars. he apologised for his  deplorable actions  and  a moment s stupidity .
269,ex-boeing director gets jail term an ex-chief financial officer at boeing has received a four-month jail sentence and a fine of $250 000 (£131 961) for illegally hiring a top air force aide.  michael sears admitted his guilt in breaking conflict of interest laws by recruiting darleen druyun while she still handled military contracts. ms druyun is currently serving a nine month sentence for favouring boeing when awarding lucrative contracts. boeing lost a $23bn government contract after a pentagon inquiry into the case. the contract  to provide refuelling tankers for the us air force  was cancelled last year.  the pentagon revealed earlier this week that it would examine eight other contracts worth $3bn which it believes may have been tainted by ms druyun s role in the procurement process. boeing sacked mr sears and ms druyun in november 2003 after allegations that they had violated company recruitment policy. ms druyun had talks with mr sears in october 2002 about working for boeing  while she was still a top procurement official within the pentagon. she subsequently joined the company in january 2003. ms druyun admitted that she had steered multi-billion dollar contracts to boeing and other favoured companies.  in documents filed in a virginia court ahead of mr sears  sentencing  prosecutors blamed boeing s senior management for failing to ask key questions about the  legal and ethical issues  surrounding ms druyun s appointment. mr sears told prosecutors that no other boeing officials were aware that ms druyun was still responsible for major procurement decisions at the time she was discussing a job with boeing. however  analysts believe boeing may yet face civil charges arising from the scandal. the pentagon has investigated 400 contracts  dating back to 1993  since the allegations against ms druyun came to light.  boeing s corporate ethics have come under scrutiny on several occasions in recent years. boeing was sued by lockheed martin after its rival accused it of industrial espionage during a 1998 contract competition. boeing apologised publicly for the affair - although it claimed it did not gain any unfair advantage - and pledged to improve its procedures. the pentagon subsequently revoked $1bn worth of contracts assigned to boeing and prohibited the seattle-based company from future rocket work.
414,artists  secret postcards on sale postcards by artists including damien hirst and tracey emin have sold just hours after the opening of the royal academy of arts annual secrets sale.  the identity of the artist remains unknown until each work is bought and the signature is revealed on the back.  there are still some big names left  such as mario testino   said rca spokeswoman sue bradburn. all postcards are priced at £35. the sale opened at 8am on friday and will close at 6pm on saturday. ms bradburn said there was a big queue at the start of the sale but it had now gone down.  she said the people that had bought the famous name postcards had arrived early and had spent time studying each work.  they would have known what to look for.  the exhibition has been open for viewing since 19 november. film director ken loach  fashion designer hussein chalayan and former blur guitarist graham coxon have all designed postcards for the sale. some of the contributing artists are students or recent graduates of the royal college of art and other leading art colleges. money raised from the sale will go towards the rca s fine art student award fund which supports students with grants and bursaries. the famous sale is now in its 11th year.
2097,kewell waits as injury drags on liverpool winger harry kewell is struggling to recover from his achilles tendinitis problem and may not recover until march  claims his agent.  kewell  26  had hoped to play against fulham last weekend and to be ready for the champions league tie against bayer leverkusen on 22 february. but bernie mandic said:  he s had scans which don t show anything substantial.  but despite his best efforts at the moment he simply can t shake off the discomfort and get back on the park.   mandic continued in the sydney morning herald:  harry s struggling a bit but the club are doing everything they can to get him right.  harry was desperate to be fit for the fulham game as part of his plan to play himself in for the leverkusen match.  kewell has not played since december 19 and misses out on international duty this week  with australia facing south africa in durban on wednesday.
1420,millions buy mp3 players in us one in 10 adult americans - equivalent to 22 million people - owns an mp3 player  according to a survey.  a study by the pew internet and american life project found that mp3 players are the gadget of choice among affluent young americans. the survey did not interview teenagers but it is likely that millions of under-18s also have mp3 players. the american love affair with digital music players has been made possible as more and more homes get broadband.  of the 22 million americans who own mp3 players  59% are men compared to 41% of women. those on high income - judged to be $75 000 (£39 000) or above - are four times more likely to have players than those earning less than $30  000 ( £15 000). broadband access plays a big part in ownership too. almost a quarter of those with broadband at home have players  compared to 9% of those who have dial-up access. mp3 players are still the gadget of choice for younger adults. almost one in five us citizens aged under 30 have one. this compares to 14% of those aged 30-39 and 14% of those aged 40-48. the influence of children also plays a part. sixteen percent of parents living with children under 18 have digital players compared to 9% of those who don t. the ease of use and growth of music available on the net are the main factors for the upsurge in ownership  the survey found. people are beginning to use them as instruments of social activity - sharing songs and taking part in podcasting - the survey found.  ipods and mp3 players are becoming a mainstream technology for consumers  said lee rainie  director of the pew internet and american life project.  more growth in the market is inevitable as new devices become available  as new players enter the market  and as new social uses for ipods/mp3 players become popular   he added.
1472,glazer makes new man utd approach malcolm glazer has made a fresh approach to buy manchester united  which could lead to a bid valuing the premiership club at £800m.  the us tycoon  who has been wooing the club for the last 12 months  has approached the united board with  detailed proposals   it has confirmed. mr glazer  who owns the tampa bay buccaneers team  hopes this will lead to a formal bid being accepted. his new offer is expected to contain substantially less debt. mr glazer has already had one takeover attempt turned down by the red devils and responded by using his 28.1% shareholding to vote off three board members last november.  man united had turned down the bid because it was based on a high level of borrowing. but newspapers have speculated recently that the tycoon had gained the support of leading banks to come up with a stronger and less debt-laden bid. last week  however  mr glazer issued a statement to the stock exchange distancing himself from a new bid.  meanwhile  united s chief executive david gill said in december that talks would not resume unless glazer came up with  definitive proposals . now the board has confirmed that the us bidder is back  with a statement issued on sunday reading:  the board can confirm it has now received a detailed proposal subject to various preconditions which may form the basis of an offer.  a further announcement will be made in due course.   to succeed malcolm glazer will still need the approval of major shareholders john magnier and jp mcmanus  who own 28.9% of the club. but the irish duo have cut off talks with glazer over the proposed sale of their stake and have so far made no comment on his latest approach. united fans have reacted with anger at the announcement. they have vehemently opposed any proposed takeover by glazer since he first showed interest in the club in september 2003 and after sunday s announcement they vowed to fight on.  we will fight tooth and nail to stop him whatever his offer says. we do not want him or anybody else taking over united   said mark longden of the independent manchester united supporters  association.  the campaign against this proposed takeover will continue as it has done since glazer first showed interest in the club.
1757,laura ashley chief stepping down laura ashley is parting company with its chief executive ainum mohd-saaid.  the clothing and home furnishing retailer said ms mohd-saaid had resigned for personal reasons. her departure will come into effect on 1 february and follows the departure of co-chief executive rebecca navarednam on 1 january. ms mohd-saaid is to be replaced by lillian tan  presently a non-executive director of the company and head of a malaysian retailer.  in a statement issued on thursday  laura ashley thanked ms mohd-saaid for her services to the company. its shares were down 8.51% to 10.75p in late thursday morning trading on the london stock exchange.  since 2002  ms tan has been managing director and chief executive of metrojaya  one of the largest retail groups in malaysia. laura ashley  which is due to issue its next trading statement in the next few weeks  has in recent months been hit by reports of poor sales. in october last year  it announced the closure of one of its two welsh factories. in september  the company had said that its half-year clothing sales had been  below expectations . in recent times  it has put renewed focus on home furnishings rather than clothing  but last september it reported that interim six month losses had risen from £1m to £1.2m  while sales had fallen from £138m to £118m.  laura ashley  which floated on the london stock exchange for £200m ($376m) in 1995  is majority-owned by malaysia entrepreneur dr khoo kay peng. in 1996  its share price was more than 200p. it has long been reported that dr khoo intends to take the company private  but he has always denied this.  laura ashley is a bit of a shrivelled husk of a company   said retail analyst nick bubb of evolution securities.  it is all pretty odd with its malaysian owners seemingly just shuffling the deckchairs.  laura ashley was founded by its late namesake in kent in 1955  before moving to mid wales in 1961 where it still has its main uk factory.
243,china now top trader with japan china overtook the us to become japan s biggest trading partner in 2004  according to numbers released by japan s finance ministry on wednesday.  china accounted for 20.1% of japan s trade in 2004  compared with 18.6% for the us. in 2003  the us was ahead with 20.5% and china came second with 19.2%. the change highlights china s growing importance as an economic powerhouse. in 2004  japan s imports from and exports to china (and hong kong) added up to 22 201bn yen ($214.6bn;£114.5bn). this is the highest figure for japanese trade with china since records began in 1947. it compares with 20 479.5bn yen in trade with the us.  trade with the us during 2004 was hurt by one-off factors  including a 13-month ban on us beef imports following the discovery of a cow infected with mad cow disease (bse) in the us. however  economists predict china will become an even more important japanese trading partner in the coming years. on tuesday  figures showed china s economy grew by 9.5% in 2004 and experts say the overall growth picture remains strong. analysts see two spurs to future growth as being china s membership of the world trade organisation and lower trade tariffs. during 2004  japan s trade surplus grew 17.9% to 12.011 trillion yen  with more than half the surplus  6.962 trillion yen  accounted for by its trade with the us. in december  the surplus grew 1.8% on a year ago to 1.14 trillion yen thanks to stronger-than-expected exports.
1142,mandelson warns bbc on campbell the bbc should steer away from  demonising  ex-downing street media chief alastair campbell  peter mandelson has said.  the european commissioner and former labour minister was speaking amid claims that mr campbell is part of a labour  dirty tricks  campaign. that charge was denied by mr mandelson  who said the tories were afraid of mr campbell s campaigning skills. he warned the bbc that attacking mr campbell had brought it trouble before. that was a reference to the hutton inquiry following a bbc story claiming downing street  sexed up  iraq s weapons of mass destruction dossier.  the affair prompted the resignation of bbc chairman gavyn davies  director-general greg dyke and reporter andrew gilligan. labour has attracted media criticism for using new freedom of information laws to dig up information about tory leader michael howard s past.  mr mandelson  a former labour communications director  told bbc radio 4 s today programme:  i understand why the tories will be gunning for alastair campbell because they fear his campaigning skills.  what i understand less is why the bbc should be joining with the tories in driving that agenda.  in my experience of these things  parties which shout about dirty tricks and the like tend to do so because they fear a direct hit in some vulnerable part of their political anatomy.  i suggest the bbc concentrates on the issues and helps the public to understand the policies and the choices that are at stake in the election rather than engages in the process politics  the trivialisation of the campaign.  i think the bbc would be much better advised to leave all this stuff well alone  concentrate on the issues as i say  not resume their demonisation of alastair campbell - we all know where that led before.   mr campbell is acting as an adviser for labour  which denies engaging in personal campaigning. conservative co-chairman liam fox said mr campbell s return and labour poster plans attacking mr howard - recently withdrawn from the party s website - were a sign of  abusive politics .  the government  despite the fact that they would say want to go forward  not back  seem intent on talking about history rather than their own record or even more importantly  about the future   he said on sunday. labour peer baroness kennedy  who is chairing the power inquiry into political disengagement  said people already thought politicians engaged in dirty tricks.  this feeling of distrust is going to be enlarged if this campaigning on all sides is conducted in the way that it looks as if it just might   she said.
1295,o driscoll/gregan lead aid stars ireland s brian o driscoll will lead the northern hemisphere team in the irb rugby aid match at twickenham.  o driscoll heads a star-studded cast for the contest to raise funds for the tsunami appeal. the south will be led by george gregan  one of four wallabies  alongside five springboks and four all blacks including captain tana umaga. south african flanker schalk burger has shaken off a leg injury to take his place in the starting line-up. he will join fellow springboks john smit  cobus visagie and victor matfield in the south pack  with jacque fourie among the centres. the north side have been hit by the withdrawals of scotland duo gordon bulloch and chris cusiter  plus france captain fabien pelous.  but leicester s england centre ollie smith has been added to the squad  giving him an opportunity to impress lions coach sir clive woodward  who takes charge of the north side.  i think it s fantastic for ollie   tigers coach john wells told bbc radio leicester.  he was probably going to have the weekend off this week and i hope clive gets the chance to see the qualities that leicester and england have been seeing all year.  woodward will also assess other potential lions candidates such as scotland pair simon taylor and chris paterson  wales scrum-half dwayne peel and ireland lock paul o connell.  i m looking forward to working with such outstanding players   woodward said.  both teams are fielding top-quality sides and i really hope that the rugby public and community get behind this game to raise as much money as possible for such a deserving cause.  despite the withdrawal of wales wing rhys williams  who is required for the blues  celtic league match with munster  three other members of their six nations squad - ceri sweeney  john yapp and jonathan thomas - will also play.  not only it is for a good cause but it gives these players the opportunity to play with and against some of the best players in the world   said wru general manager steve lewis. supporters can watch the teams train for free at twickenham on friday  4 march. woodward will put his north team through their paces at 1030 gmt  with the south side  coached by former wallabies coach rod macqueen  due at the stadium at 1330.  c paterson (scotland)  b cohen (england)  b o driscoll (ireland  capt)  d traille (france)  o smith (england)  c sweeney (wales)  d humphreys (ireland)  d peel (wales); a lo cicero (italy)  p de villiers (france)  j yapp (wales)  r ibanez (france)  p o connell (ireland)  m bortolami (italy)  j thomas (wales)  s taylor (scotland)  l dallaglio (england)  s parisse (italy)  others to be added.  c latham (australia); b lima (samoa)  j fourie (sa) t umaga (new zealand)  s bobo (fiji); a mehrtens (nz) g gregan (aus  capt); c hoeft (nz)  j smit (sa)  c visagie (sa)  s maling (nz)  v matfield (sa)  s burger (sa)  p waugh (aus)  t kefu (aus).  e taukafa (tonga)  e guinazu (argentina)  s sititi (samoa)  o palepoi (samoa)  m rauluni (fiji)  t delport (sa)  a n other.
1660,beatles suits sell for $110 000 four suits worn by the beatles on their please please me album cover have sold for $110 00 (£59 000) at a us auction.  but some of elvis presley s earliest recordings - including takes of all shook up - failed to sell at the bonhams and butterfields two-day sale. a private collection of six tape recordings of presley valued at between $30 000 (£16 000) and $50 000 (£27 000) did not meet their reserve price. a signed presley photograph managed to fetch $2 115 (£1 140).  auction spokesman erik simon said the presley tapes were withdrawn because  they did not meet the minimum price set by the owners .  he said the family of sound engineer thorne nogar did not want to divulge the price they had set or the offers they had received. the rca tapes date from september 1956 to september 1957. the  pre-masters  include a take of jailhouse rock  religious songs  material for his first christmas album  and banter between presley  members of his band and mr nogar.   we ve had them for a lot of years  and i think the people should enjoy them. and frankly  we could use the money   mr nogar s son stephen  57  said before the auction. mr nogar  who died in 1994 aged 72  always used to make two tapes of sessions as a back-up in case rca producers wanted to make late changes to songs.  he called them his  ass-saver  tapes   his son said. the quality is said to be noticeably crisper than that of a new vinyl record. because the family does not own the copyright to the music  the tapes could only be sold for  personal enjoyment  and cannot be copied for commercial gain. the auction made a total of $1.1m (£600 000).
1635,sony psp handheld console hits us the latest handheld gaming gadget  sony s playstation portable  goes on sale in the us on thursday.  the entertainment device  which also stores images  music and video  is intended to compete with nintendo s ds  released earlier this month in the uk. gamers have been queuing outside shops across the us to get their hands on the gadget  which costs $250 (about £132). the first million sold will come with the spider-man 2 film on umd  sony s own disc format for the device. the psp can be linked up with others for multiplayer gaming  via a wireless connection. sony has touted the machine as the walkman of the 21st century and has sold more than 800 000 units in japan since its launch there last year.  but it faces stiff competition from the nintendo ds  which sold more than the gamecube in its first few days on release in europe. it too allows for multiplayer gaming over the air. nintendo dominates the handheld market  with more than a 90% share of the market in the us alone. the gizmondo combined media player  phone and gaming gadget also went on sale in the uk last week. it hopes to take a share of the handheld gaming market too.   the story of the psp is it s not a gaming device as much as it is a portable entertainment device   said michael pachter  analyst at wedbush morgan securities. he told the reuters news agency that he expected sony to sell about 10 million psps in enough time to rival apple s ipod. there is no date for the psp s release in europe yet. sony has promised to have a million units ready for its us launch  but there are fears demand may not be met. it also said it expected to ship three million psps worldwide by the end of its fiscal year ending 31 march.  the machine s european launch was put back  a few months  last week in order to make sure enough of the devices were ready for its us launch  as well as satisfying the japanese market. the psp has almost as much processing power in it as the playstation 2 console. hundreds of gamers gathered at us shops  some waiting for more than 36 hours  to be the first to get their hands on the gadget. a spokesman for one us shop said it expected the device to sell out on its first day. the 24 games for the mini console include ape academy  formula one  wipeout pure and fired up. movie studios  including lions gate entertainment and disney  have also announced forthcoming film titles that will be made available on the umd format.
2200,wall street cool to ebay s profit shares in online auction house ebay fell 9.8% in after-hours trade on wednesday  after its quarterly profits failed to meet market expectations.  despite seeing net profits rise by 44% to $205.4m (£110m) during october to december  from $142m a year earlier  wall street had expected more. ebay stock fell to $92.9 in after-hours trade  from a $103.05 end on nasdaq. ebay s net revenue for the quarter rose to $935.8m from $648.4m  boosted by growth at its paypal payment service.  excluding special items  ebay s profit was 33 cents a share  but analysts had expected 34 cents.   i think wall street has gotten a bit ahead of ebay this quarter and for the 2005 year.  said janco partners analyst martin pyykkonen. for 2004 as a whole  ebay earned $778.2m on sales of $3.27bn. ebay president and chief executive meg whitman called 2004 an  outstanding success  that generated  tremendous momentum  for 2005.  i m more confident than ever that the decisions and investments we re making today will ensure a bright future for the company and our community of users around the world   she said. ebay now forecasts 2005 revenue of $4.2bn to $4.35bn and earnings excluding items of $1.48 to $1.52 per share. analysts had previously estimated that ebay would achieve 2005 revenues of $4.37bn and earnings of $1.62 per share  excluding items.
2146,wales coach elated with win mike ruddock paid tribute to his wales side after they came from 15-6 down to beat france 24-18 in the six nations.   after going two tries down in 12 minutes we had to show character   said the national team coach.  i didn t have to tell them anything at half-time because those players have stared down the barrel of a gun before.  they decided they didn t want to do that again and came out fighting. it was a great team effort and we showed great character to come back.  man-of-the-match stephen jones  who kicked three penalties  a drop goal and conversion  was ecstatic following after the win at stade de france.   it s just a special moment. two years ago we didn t win a single game in the six nations. but we re a very happy camp now   he said.  we worked hard as a squad and i m a proud welshman. we ve got hard matches to come  so we re just happy with the start.  double try scorer martyn williams was keen not to talk about a possible grand slam for wales.  we ve got more self-belief these days. two or three years ago we might have collapsed after going behind so early.  there s no mention of a grand slam among the players. we ve got a tough game against scotland at murrayfield. they could bring us crashing down to earth.
5,ocean s twelve raids box office ocean s twelve  the crime caper sequel starring george clooney  brad pitt and julia roberts  has gone straight to number one in the us box office chart.  it took $40.8m (£21m) in weekend ticket sales  according to studio estimates. the sequel follows the master criminals as they try to pull off three major heists across europe. it knocked last week s number one  national treasure  into third place. wesley snipes  blade: trinity was in second  taking $16.1m (£8.4m). rounding out the top five was animated fable the polar express  starring tom hanks  and festive comedy christmas with the kranks.  ocean s twelve box office triumph marks the fourth-biggest opening for a december release in the us  after the three films in the lord of the rings trilogy. the sequel narrowly beat its 2001 predecessor  ocean s eleven which took $38.1m (£19.8m) on its opening weekend and $184m (£95.8m) in total. a remake of the 1960s film  starring frank sinatra and the rat pack  ocean s eleven was directed by oscar-winning director steven soderbergh. soderbergh returns to direct the hit sequel which reunites clooney  pitt and roberts with matt damon  andy garcia and elliott gould. catherine zeta-jones joins the all-star cast.  it s just a fun  good holiday movie   said dan fellman  president of distribution at warner bros. however  us critics were less complimentary about the $110m (£57.2m) project  with the los angeles times labelling it a  dispiriting vanity project . a milder review in the new york times dubbed the sequel  unabashedly trivial .
1256,britannia members  £42m windfall more than 800 000 britannia building society members are to receive a profit share worth on average £52 each.  members of the uk s second largest building society will share £42m  with 100 000 receiving a windfall of more than £100. depending on how much they borrow or invest  members earn  reward  points which entitle them to a share of the society s profits. the payouts are bigger than last year  because of stricter eligibility rules. last year  britannia members shared £42m  but the average payment was only £38.  to qualify for this year s payment  customers must have been members for at least two years on 31 december 2004. britannia has also stopped making payments to members if they are worth less than £5.  to qualify for the profit share  members must have either a mortgage  or an investment account other than a deposit account. customers can also qualify if they have permanent interest bearing shares (pibs). the profit share scheme was introduced in 1997 and has paid out more than £370m. britannia will unveil its results on wednesday.
2090,little britain vies for tv trophy bbc hits little britain and strictly come dancing are among numerous british shows nominated for the prestigious golden rose television awards.  homegrown reality programmes dominated that category  including channel 4 s supernanny and itv1 s hell s kitchen. eastenders and coronation street were overlooked in the soap category  but doctors and family affairs gained nods. the festival  which honours the best tv from around the globe  will take place in lucerne  switzerland from 3-8 may.  little britain  which is now in its second series  faces competition from bbc two s the catherine tate show and sacha baron cohen s creations borat and bruno. in the separate sitcom category  dark comedy nighty night - which began life on bbc three - will do battle with mainstream bbc one show my family.  bbc one s strictly come dancing  which saw celebrities compete against each other to become champions of the dancefloor  is among five british nominations in the varirty category. lenny henry  who won a golden rose for his in pieces series in 2001  picks up another nomination for his recent bbc show. british television music shows have picked up six nominations  with bbc three s flashmob - the opera up against the uk music hall of fame series  which was screened on channel 4. british television has performed very well in the arts and specials category  gaining a total of 11 nominations. the bbc leads the way with its programmes on the sound of music  agatha christie and rolf on art - the big event - which saw harris lead an effort to produce a life-size painting in london s trafalgar square.  british shows - which picked up a total of 48 nominations - will have to overcome competition from a host of other countries  including the us  canada  japan and across europe. uk nominee tv diaries  which is shown around the world  is owned by a british company but has yet to be screened in this country. previous uk winners have included ant & dec s saturday night takeaway  pop idol  channel 4 show faking it and comedy duo french and saunders  who became the first winners to receive and honorary golden rose. individual performers will also be rewarded  with prizes for best comics  best sitcom actor and actress and best gameshow host. last year actor shane richie won an award for his portrayal of alfie moon in eastenders.
1816,weak end-of-year sales hit next next has said its annual profit will be £5m lower than previously expected because its end-of-year clearance sale has proved disappointing.   clearance rates in our end-of-season sale have been below our expectations   the company said. the high street retailer said it now expected to report annual profits of between £415m and £425m ($779m-798m). next s shares fell more than 3% following the release of the trading statement.  next chief executive simon wolfson admitted that festive sales were  below where we would expect a normal christmas to be   but said sales should still top analyst expectations.  among areas where next could have done better  mr wolfson said menswear ranges were  a little bit too similar to the previous year . mr wolfson also said that disappointing pre-christmas sales were  more to do with the fact that we went in with too much stock rather than (the fact that) demand wasn t there for the stock . next s like-for-like store sales in the five months from 3 august to 24 december were up 2.9% on a year earlier. this figure is for existing next stores  which were unaffected by new next store openings. like-for-like sales growth at the 49 next stores directly affected by new store openings in their locality was 0.5%.  overall sales across both its retail and mail order divisions were up 12.4%  next said. its next directory mail order division saw sales rise 13.4% during the five-month period.  in terms of all the worries about their trading pre-christmas  it s a result   said nick bubb  an analyst at evolution securities.  profits of around £420m would be well within the comfort zone.  however  one dealer  who asked not to be named  told reuters the seasonal sales performance was  not what people had hoped for .  christmas has been tough for the whole sector  and this is one of the best retailers   he said. next s trading statement comes a day after house of fraser and woolworths disappointed investors with their figures.
1991,tories opposing 24-hour drinking the tories say plans to extend pub opening times should be put on hold until binge drinking is under control  despite backing a law change last year.  spokesman david davis said ministers had failed to make his party aware of concern among senior police that plans would cause more anti-social behaviour. notts police chief steve green said innocent people would suffer. but culture secretary tessa jowell said a delay would be  disastrous  and she accused the tories of opportunism. the government would go ahead with the changes which would give police more power to tackle excessive drinking  she added. earlier chief constable green questioned how his officers would be able to practically apply powers allowing them to shut down problem premises.  if you look at the market square in nottingham  if a fight takes place which licensed premises do you go and lay the responsibilty at the door of   he asked on bbc radio 4 s world at one programme.  he warned that if drinking establishments were allowed to open until three or four in the morning the police would have to take officers off day shifts in order to do their job effectively at night. earlier this year the royal college of physicians said it opposed the plan to extend drinking hours when there was already an  epidemic  of binge drinking. minister richard caborn said the government was tackling the causes and the symptoms of the problem by allowing more powers to close down problem premises. it is hoped that allowing pubs and clubs to stay open longer will stagger closing times and end the current situation where drinkers spill on to the streets all at once. earlier tony blair defended the plans against criticism from one of his own backbenchers.   my view of this is very clear: we should have the same flexibility that other countries have and then we should come down really hard on those who abuse that freedom and don t show the responsibility   he told mps.  the law-abiding majority who want the ability  after going to the cinema or theatre say  to have a drink at the time they want should not be inconvenienced  we shouldn t have to have restrictions that no other city in europe has  just in order to do something for that tiny minority who abuse alcohol  who go out and fight and cause disturbances.  to take away that ability for all the population - even the vast majority who are law abiding - is not  in my view  sensible.  this week a judge claimed easy access to drink was breeding  urban savages  and turning town centres into no go areas. judge charles harris qc made his remarks as he sentenced three men for assaults carried out while drunk and high on drugs after a night out.
1310,owen determined to stay in madrid england forward michael owen has told the bbc he is happy in spain and has no plans to quit real madrid to return to the premiership in the near future.  but the 25-year-old  who has spent much of his time coming off the bench in la liga  did not rule out a return to the premiership at some stage.  i m pleased with the start i ve made here   he told bbc radio five live.  england is my country. it s definitely part of me but who knows whether  if or when i ll be playing there again.  owen  who moved to the bernabeu from liverpool last summer  has grabbed 11 goals for real but has been unable to replace raul or ronaldo in the starting line-up. however  he said he was delighted with the way his time in spain was going and dismissed criticism of his decision to join real.  when i first came there was a lot of scepticism back in england  any maybe some out here   he said.  people were saying  fourth-choice striker  what are you going there for  you ll be sat on the bench all the time .   but as much as our press like to build it up as if i ve permanently had my backside on the bench  i ve played as many games as anyone else in the team this year.  for a fourth-choice striker at the start i m more than happy with the way i ve settled in.  recent speculation has linked owen with a move back to england  with newcastle expressing their interest  but the england striker said he is not ready to return home. he added:  i ve got nothing against the premiership  i mean that s where i first performed  that s where i made my name.   i can t keep my eyes off the premiership on television when i m at home.  when asked if it would have to be liverpool if he returned owen said:  i ve not really given it much thought.  i ve got great memories of liverpool. no matter what happens it ll always be a club i have fond memories of and it will always have a place in my heart.  it s very flattering to be linked to top clubs in england - i m glad that no-one is forgetting me!  but i couldn t have wished for a better start in madrid.   - listen to the full interview with garry richardson on bbc radio five live s sportsweek at 0900 gmt on sunday.
1162,israeli club look to africa four african players  including zimbabwe goalkeeper energy murambadoro  are all ready to play for israeli club hapoel bnei sakhnin in the uefa cup.  bnei sakhnin are the first arab side ever to play in european competition and will play english premiership side newcastle united in the first round. warriors  goalkeeper murambadoro  who made a name for himself at the african nations cup finals in tunisia  helped bnei sakhnin overcome albania s partizani tirana 6-1 in the previous round. murambadoro moved to israel recently after a brief stint with south african club hellenic. the club won the israeli cup final last season and are based in sakhnin  which is near haifa. the club have a strong ethic and are high profile promoters of peace and co-operation within israel. the three other africans at the club are former cameroon defender ernest etchi  dr congo s alain masudi and nigerian midfielder edith agoye  who had a stint with tunisian side esperance.
499,g7 backs africa debt relief plan g7 finance ministers have backed plans to write off up to 100% of the debts of some of the world s poorest countries.  uk chancellor gordon brown said the london meeting of the world s seven richest nations would be remembered as  the 100% debt relief summit . some 37 countries could benefit after a case-by-case review by bodies including the world bank and the imf  he said. but the us says it cannot support mr brown s international finance facility to boost aid to developing countries. bbc correspondents said the meeting had produced some movement towards the uk s ambitions  but much work was needed. mr brown said it was a major breakthrough for the international organisations to offer up to 100% multilateral debt relief -  the vast bulk  of money owed by the poorest countries.   we could be at the beginning of the final stage of the process where the debts that were owed by the poorest countries  built up over 20 or 30 years  debts that are simply unpayable in the real world  are finally taken care of   he said. he added:  it is the richest countries hearing the voices of the poor.  but he said they would insist on government reforms and the need for transparency  tackling corruption and openness from both the poorest and richest nations. bbc correspondent patrick bartlett said while it was an agreement in principle  the organisations involved now have to look at how it would work in practice. oxfam senior policy adviser max lawson welcomed the statement and said g7 ministers had  passed the first hurdle of 2005 .  but he added:  they need to move quickly to turn their proposals into real change for the world s poorest.  two million children will die needlessly between now and the next meeting in april. if rich countries are going to keep their promises to tackle obscene poverty they need deliver - and deliver quickly.  talks are continuing on how to finance increased overseas development assistance. the international monetary fund (imf) is to look at a proposal to use its gold supplies to help the debt relief effort when it meets in april. mr brown said g7 ministers had agreed to defer debt interest payments and repayments for some countries affected by the tsunami until the end of 2005. but uk plans for an international finance facility (iff) to help deal with debt in the developing world have not been agreed. mr brown wanted to provide $10bn (£5.38bn) a year over a decade  using g7 backing so the money could be borrowed up front on financial markets.  it is a key element of his proposals for a modern version of the marshall plan  which brought us aid to rebuild europe after world war ii  for the developing world. mr brown said it was  winning support every day  and said a programme had been agreed to draw up more details in time for the g8 summit in july. but us treasury under-secretary john taylor said the us could not support the iff because of its  legislative process .  the us is completely committed to poverty reduction and providing financing to do that   he said.  but this particular mechanism does not work for the united states. it works for other countries  and that is fine.  earlier  he told bbc radio 4 s today programme the us had increased support for africa in the past four years from $1.1bn per year to $4.6bn per year. but south africa finance minister trevor manuel told the bbc s talking point programme what was needed was one approach  with all wealthy nations on board. he said much of the money pledged by the us had not yet been dispensed.  the uk has made poverty in the poorest nations a key theme for its 2005 presidency of the group of eight (g8)  which comprises the g7 and russia. the g8 countries will meet at gleneagles in scotland. at a dinner on friday night  former south african president nelson mandela backed mr brown s plan when he urged the finance chiefs to write-off african debt and provide an extra $50bn (£26.69bn) a year in aid for the next decade. talks also centred on the impact of the rising economies of china and india  the us budget and trade deficits  how the us  europe and japan can act to boost global economic growth  and hiv/aids. g7 ministers called for more flexibility in international exchange rates and said  excess volatility  would impede economic growth. representatives from china  india  russia  south africa and brazil were invited to attend some of the sessions. a g8 summit is set to take place in july.
285,anti-tremor mouse stops pc shakes a special adaptor that helps people with hand tremors control a computer mouse more easily has been developed.  the device uses similar  steady cam  technology found in camcorders to filter out shaking hand movements. people with hand tremors find it hard to use conventional mice for simple computer tasks because of the erratic movements of the cursor on the screen. about three million britons have some sort of hand tremor condition  said the uk national tremor foundation.  using a computer mouse is well known for being extremely hard for people with tremors so we re delighted to hear that a technology has been developed to address this problem   said karen walsh  from the uk national tremor foundation. most commonly associated with tremors is parkinson s disease  but they can also be caused by other conditions like essential tremor (et). tremors more often affect older people  but can hit all ages. et  for example  is genetic and can afflict people throughout their lives.  the assistive mouse adapter (ama) is the brainchild of ibm researcher jim levine who developed the prototype after seeing his uncle  who has parkinson s disease  struggle with mouse control.  i knew that there must be way to improve the situation for him and the millions of other tremor sufferers around the world  including the elderly.   the number of elderly computer users will increase as the population ages  and at the same time  the need for computer access grows   he said. computer users plug the device into a pc  and it can be adjusted depending on how severe the tremor is. it is also able to recognise multiple clicking on a mouse button caused by shaky digits. ibm said it would partner up with a small uk-based electronics firm  montrose secam  to produce the devices which will cost about £70. james cosgrave  one of the company s directors  said it would make a big difference to those with tremors.  i m a pilot and my tremor condition has not limited my ability to fly a plane   he said.  but using a pc has proven almost impossible simply because everything revolves around using the mouse to accurately manipulate the tiny cursor on the screen.  he said a prototype of the gadget had transformed his life.  the device could help open up computing to millions more people who have found shaking to be a barrier. last year  the office for national statistics reported that for the first time  more than half of all households in britain had a home computer. with prices getting cheaper to get online too  computer ownership is increasing. but although 62% of british people have tried the internet  only 15% of britons aged 65 or over have been online. more than six million uk households now have a broadband net. by the middle of 2005  it is estimated that 50% of all uk net users will be on broadband. there are still millions using the net through dial-up connections too.
1216,wru proposes season overhaul the welsh rugby union wants to restructure the northern hemisphere season into four separate blocks.  the season would start with the celtic league in october  followed by the heineken cup in february and march  and the six nations moved to april and may. after a nine week break  the wru then proposes a two-month period of away and home international matches. wru chairman david pickering said the structure would end problems of player availability for club and country. he added:  we feel sure that spectator interest would respond to the impetus of high intensity rugby being played continuously rather than the fragmented timetable currently in operation.  equally  we suspect that the sponsors would prefer the sustained interest in a continuous tournament and hopefully  the broadcasters would also enjoy increased exposure.  moving the six nations from its traditional february beginning should also ensure better weather conditions and  stimulate greater interest in the games and generally provide increased skills and competition and attract greater spectator viewing   pickering argued. the plan will be put before the international rugby board next month  where four other plans drawn up by independent consultants for a global integrated season will also be discussed. pickering added:  it s very early days and there are a number of caveats associated with it - not least the revenue from the broadcasters  which is extremely important.  we ve got a good plan and one which should be judged on its merits.
745,wal-mart fights back at accusers two big us names have launched advertising campaigns to  set the record straight  about their products and corporate behaviour.  the world s biggest retailer wal-mart took out more than 100 full page adverts in national newspapers. the group is trying to see off criticism over it pay deals  benefits package and promotion strategy. meanwhile  drugs group eli lilly is planning a campaign against  false  claims about its product prozac. wal-mart kicked off the battle with adverts in newspapers like the wall street journal  using an open letter from company president lee scott saying it was time for the public to hear the  unfiltered truth .   there are lots of  urban legends  going around these days about wal-mart  but facts are facts. wal-mart is good for consumers  good for communities and good for the us economy   mr scott said in a separate statement.  its adverts - and a new website - outlined the group s plans to create more than 10 000 us jobs in 2005. wal-mart s average pay is almost twice the national minimum wage of $5.15 (£3.90) an hour  while employees are offered health and life insurance  company stock and a retirement plan  the adverts say. unions accuse wal-mart of paying staff less than its rivals do  with fewer benefits. in california  the company is fighting opposition to new stores amid allegations it forces local competitors out of business. lawmakers in the state are also examining allegations that the firm burdens the state with an unfair proportion of employee health care costs.  i think they are going to have a tough time suddenly overcoming the perceptions of some people   said larry bevington  chairman of save our community - a group fighting to prevent wal-mart opening a store in rosemead  california. wal-mart is also fighting two lawsuits - one accusing it of discriminating against women and another alleging it discriminates against black employees.  meanwhile eli lilly is launching a series of adverts in a dozen major newspapers  to present what is says are the true facts about its anti-depressant drug prozac.  the move is in response to a british medical journal article that claimed  missing  lilly documents linked prozac to suicide and violent behaviour. in the averts  entitled an open letter from chief executive sidney taurel  the company says the article continues to  needlessly spread fear among patients who take prozac .  it was simply wrong to suggest that information on prozac was missing  or that important research data on the benefits and possible side effects of the drug were not available to doctors and regulators   the letter added. eli lilly s chief medical officer alan breier said that the article was  false and misleading  as the documents it referred to were actually created by officials at the us food and drug administration (fda) and presented to an fda meeting in 1991. later  fda medical advisors agreed the claims were based on faulty data and there was no increased risk of suicide.
421,small firms  hit by rising costs  rising fuel and materials costs are hitting confidence among the uk s small manufacturers despite a rise in output  business lobby group the cbi says.  a cbi quarterly survey found output had risen by the fastest rate in seven years but many firms were seeing the benefits offset by increasing expenses. the cbi also found spending on innovation  training and retraining is forecast to go up over the next year. however  firms continue to scale back investment in buildings and machinery.  the cbi said companies are looking to the government to lessen the regulatory load and are hoping interest rates will be kept on hold.  smaller manufacturers are facing an uphill struggle   said hugh morgan williams  chair of the cbi s sme council.  the manufacturing sector needs a period of long-term stability in the economy.  the cbi found some firms managed to increase prices for the first time in nine years - but many said increases failed to keep up the rise in costs. of the companies surveyed  30% saw orders rise and 27% saw them fall. the positive balance of plus 3 compared with minus 10 in the previous survey. when firms were questioned on output volume  the survey returned a balance of plus 8 - the highest rate of increase for seven years - and rose to plus 11 when looking ahead to the next three months.
2068,us industrial output growth eases us industrial production continued to rise in november  albeit at a slower pace than the previous month.  the us federal reserve said output from factories  mines and utilities rose 0.3% - in line with forecasts - from a revised 0.6% increase in october. analysts added that if the carmaking sector - which saw production fall 0.5% - had been excluded the data would have been more impressive. the latest increase means industrial output has grown 4.2% in the past year. many analysts were upbeat about the prospects for the us economy  with the increase in production coming on the heels of news of a recovery in retail sales.  this is very consistent with an economy growing at 3.5 to 4.0%. it is congruent with job growth and consumer optimism   comerica chief economist david littman said of the figures.  the us economy grew at a respectable annual rate of 3.7% in the three months between july and september  while jobs growth averaged 178 000 during the same period. while the employment figures are not spectacular  experts believe they are enough to whittle away at america s 5.4% jobless rate. a breakdown of the latest production figures shows mining output drove the increase  surging 2.1%  while factory output rose 0.3%. but utility output dropped 1.4%. meanwhile  the amount of factory capacity in use during the month rose to 77.6% - its highest level since may 2001.  many investors think that product market inflation won t be a problem until the utilisation rates are at 80% or higher   cary leahy  senior us economist at deutsche bank securities  said.  so there is still a lot of inflation-fighting slack in the manufacturing sector    overall i d say manufacturing at least away from autos continues to improve and i would bet that it improves at a faster rate in coming months given how lean inventories are   citigroup senior economist steven wieting added.
1145,mcdonald s to sponsor mtv show mcdonald s  the world s largest restaurant chain  is to sponsor a programme on music channel mtv as part of its latest youth market promotion.  the show advance warning highlights new talent and mtv reckons it will give mcdonald s access to nearly 400 million homes in 162 countries. mcdonald s golden arches  name and  i m loving it  catchphrase will be used throughout the half-hour programme. the move comes amid growing concerns about obesity in europe and the us.  the european union has called on the food industry to reduce the number of adverts aimed at young children  warning that legislation would be introduced. unless voluntary steps were taken. in the us  food group kraft is among firms that already have cut back on promoting sugar and fattening products to the young. mcdonalds has also been taking steps to improve its junk food reputation  revamping its menu and providing clients with health-related products such as pedometers. as well as burgers like the big mac and quarter pounder with cheese  the company now sells healthier options such as salads and fresh fruit. chief executive jim skinner attributed an 8.3% increase in january worldwide sales to the  vitality of our menu   among other things.  hooking up with mtv is expected to add extra momentum to mcdonald s recent revival. mtv  which played a key role in the emergence of the music video  is to show advance warning on all 25 of its channels across the world. the programme can at present only been seen in the us  where it has featured artists like british stars joss stone and franz ferdinand. mcdonald s has targeted the youth market in the past with its advertisements  signing up stars like jelly-legged dancer justin timberlake and all-woman singing group destiny s child.
681,buyers snap up jet airways  shares investors have snapped up shares in jet airways  india s biggest airline  following the launch of its much anticipated initial public offer (ipo).  the ipo for 17.3 million shares was fully sold within 10 minutes of opening  on friday. analysts expect jet to raise at least 16.4bn rupees ($375m; £198m) from the offering. interest in jet s ipo has been fuelled by hopes for robust growth in india s air travel market.  the share offer  representing about 20% of jet s equity  was oversubscribed  news agency reuters reported. jet  which was founded by london-based travel agent naresh goyal  plans to use the cash to buy new planes and cut its debt. the company has grown rapidly since it launched operations in 1993  overtaking state-owned flag carrier indian airlines. however  it faces stiff competition from rivals and low-cost carriers. jet s ipo is the first in a series of expected share offers from indian companies this year  as they move to raise funds to help them do business in a rapidly-growing economy.
556,the sound of music is coming home the original stage production of the sound of music is to be performed for the first time in the austrian capital  40 years after the film was released.  the first full-scale theatrical production of the musical will make its debut in vienna on saturday. julie andrews starred in the 1965 film version of the rogers and hammerstein classic set in the alpine country. but despite being one of the most successful musicals of all time  it is barely known inside austria.  the film was never shown in any cinema in austria and was not broadcast on television until the early 1990s. the musical is based on the true story of the von trapp family who formed a singing troupe and escaped from nazi-occupied austria in 1938.  sensitivities about nazism during wartime austria and issues towards the von trapp family themselves could explain austria s reluctance to embrace the musical. another source of irritation for austrians is the song edelweiss  which is considered an traditional folk song by many filmgoers. the song was actually an invention by rodgers and hammerstein. many also consider the film to portray a kitsch image of austria  including yodelling  goat-herds and lederhosen. the production is being staged at a viennese opera house  the volksoper  beginning on saturday. maria  the novice nun who falls in love with baron von trapp  will be played by austro-australian actress and singer sandra pires.
1063,a question of trust and technology a major government department is without e-mail for a week  and technology analyst bill thompson wants to know what happened.  a couple of weeks ago i wrote about how my girlfriend had suffered when her cable modem blew up and she was offline for several days. it seems that thousands of civil servants at the uk s department of work and pensions went through the same thing last week. it has emerged that the internal network crashed in a particularly horrible way  depriving staff of e-mail and access to the application software they use to calculate people s benefit and pension entitlement or note changes in personal circumstances. senior consultants from eds  the computer firm which manage the system  and microsoft  which supplied the software  were running around trying to figure out what had to be done to fix it all  while staff resorted to phone  fax and probably carrier pigeon to get work done. fortunately the back-office systems which actually pay people their money were still working  so only new claims and updates were affected done properly. this is bad enough for those affected  but it does mean that the impact is not devastating for millions of pensioners. i am sure regular readers will be expecting one of my usual diatribes against poor software  badly specified systems and inadequate disaster recovery plans.  although the full story has not yet been told  it seems that the problem started when a plan to upgrade some of the computers from windows 2000 to windows xp went wrong  and xp code was inadvertently copied to thousands of machines across the network.  this is certainly unfortunate  but i have a lot of sympathy for the network managers and technology staff involved. today s computer networks are large  complex and occasionally fragile. the interconnectedness that we all value also gives us a degree of instability and unpredictability that we cannot design out of the systems. it is the network equivalent of godel s theorem - any system sufficiently complex to be useful is also able to collapse catastrophically. so i will reserve judgment on the technology aspects until we all know what actually happened and whether it was a consequence of software failure or just bad luck. what is really disturbing  and cannot be excused  is the fact that it took four days for news of this systems failure to leak out into the technical press.  it is  without a doubt  a major story and was the second or third lead item on bbc radio 4 s today programme throughout friday morning.  so why did not the prime minister s official spokesman mention it at any lobby briefings before friday  why was not the pensions minister in parliament to make an emergency statement on tuesday  when it was clear that there was a serious problem  if there had been an outbreak of legionnaire s disease in the air conditioning system we would have been told  but it seems that major technology problems do not merit the same treatment. while eds and microsoft will no doubt be looking for technical lessons to learn from their week of pain  we can learn some political lessons too. and the most important is that in this digital world  technology failures are matters of public interest  not something that can be ignored in the hope that nobody will notice  care or understand. that means we need a full report on what went wrong and what was done to fix it. it would be unacceptable for any of the parties involved to hide behind commercial confidentiality or even parliamentary privilege. a major system has evidently collapsed and we need to know what went wrong and what is being done differently. anything less is a betrayal of public trust.  bill thompson is a regular commentator on the bbc world service programme go digital.
55,rovers reject third ferguson bid blackburn have rejected a third bid from rangers for scotland captain barry ferguson  bbc sport has learnt.  it is thought blackburn want £6m for the midfielder but chief executive john williams has confirmed the club are still  in dialogue  with rangers. the 26-year-old has already handed in a transfer request at ewood park as he seeks a return to ibrox. but the clubs have been unable to reach agreement over a fee for ferguson  who moved to lancashire in 2003 for £6.5m. on thursday rangers said they would not be increasing their offer of £4m.  blackburn have said all along that they want £6m for the midfielder and williams has rejected proposals from rangers over a player-swap deal. williams said:  we are in dialogue with glasgow rangers but we have no agreement.  the negotiations will have to be concluded by midnight on monday  when the winter transfer window shuts. williams conceded any deal for ferguson was looking  unlikely  before the close of the transfer window but rangers still had a chance to seal the deal.  we have no comment to make other than we have not got an agreement with glasgow rangers   he added.  the way things are looking  i think it is unlikely we are going to.  the ball is in their court but we have not got an offer that is acceptable at this moment.  it is understood that blackburn accepted a £5m offer for ferguson from everton at the weekend. but the player is determined to return to scotland and rejected a move to goodison park. ferguson did not play in the fa cup win over colchester on saturday despite recovering from a groin injury with rovers boss mark hughes claiming it had been an  emotional and difficult time  for the player.
910,campaign  cold calls  questioned labour and the conservatives are still telephoning the millions of people who have signed up to make sure they do not get marketing  cold calls .  the parties say they can stick to the rules by ensuring that their calls are not marketing - for instance by asking about people s voting intentions. the lib dems are asking the watchdog overseeing the rules to stop the calls. the information commissioner s office says surveys are allowed but there is a  grey  area if personal data is kept. telephone call centres are expected to be used as never before by all the three major parties in the run-up to the general election.  but seven million telephone numbers are on the telephone preference service (tps) lists  which ban unsolicited sales and marketing calls. both schemes are run by the direct marketing association and backed by eu directives on privacy and electronic communications.  the rules on marketing calls apply as much to politicians as to private sector companies. but that does not mean labour and the tories are not calling people signed up to the tps. a labour party spokesman told the bbc news website the party avoided those on tps lists when telephoning people about membership or fundraising. but that did not happen for  voter identification  calls.  when we ask which party they will vote for  that is not marketing and we have very clear legal advice that it is not   he said.  so it is not covered by the telephone preference service.   he said the party always asked people if they would be happy to be contacted again and if they said no  they were not rung again. a conservative spokeswoman said the party stuck to the rules when it rang tps subscribers. she said:  we do apply tps but in line with the law. we would not do things that are not allowed in the law.  a spokesman for the information commissioner s office said it would be classed as marketing if political parties telephoned people to encourage them to vote for them. but the rules did allow polling organisations to telephone people about their voting intentions if they recorded them only as part of a bigger set of statistics  not person by person.  if a political party was doing that than it may be that also would not be marketing   he said.  the spokesman said it might be considered unsolicited marketing if a party recorded voting preferences with a view to marketing information in the future. the spokesman said there was  no yes or no  answer and the area was  pretty grey . he added:  if someone complained  then we would investigate that. political parties are aware of the regulations. at the last by-elections  we reminded them.  lib dem chairman matthew taylor has now written to the watchdog saying:  the advice we have received on several previous occasions is that such phone calls are illegal.  he says evidence from local lib dem parties around the country suggests there are  significant  numbers of such calls.  i hope you can therefore take swift and efficient action to ensure that this ceases   he tells the commissioner. mr taylor argues there should be new guidelines so all parties can act in the same way if the watchdog believes the rules allow parties to ring tps numbers about voting intentions and later urge those people to vote for them.
2066,microsoft launches its own search microsoft has unveiled the finished version of its home-grown search engine.  the now formally launched msn search site takes the training wheels off the test version unveiled in november 2003. the revamped engine indexes more pages than before  can give direct answers to factual questions  and features tools to help people create detailed queries. microsoft faces challenges establishing itself as a serious search site because of the intense competition for queries.  google still reigns supreme as the site people turn to most often when they go online to answer a query  keep up with news or search for images. but in the last year google has faced greater competition than ever for users as old rivals  such as yahoo and microsoft  and new entrants such as amazon and blinkx  try to grab some of the searching audience for themselves. this renewed interest has come about because of the realisation that many of the things people do online begin with a search for information - be it for a particular web page  recipe  book  gadget  news story  image or anything else. microsoft is keen to make its home-grown search engine a significant rival to google. to generate its corpus of data  microsoft has indexed 5 billion webpages and claims to update its document index every two days - more often than rivals. the microsoft search engine can also answer specific queries directly rather than send people to a page that might contain the answer.  for its direct answer feature  microsoft is calling on its encarta encyclopaedia to provide answers to questions about definitions  facts  calculations  conversions and solutions to equations. tony macklin  director of product at ask jeeves  pointed out that its search engine has been answering specific queries this way since april 2003.  the major search providers have moved beyond delivering only algorithmic search  so in many ways microsoft is following the market   he said. tools sitting alongside the msn search engine allow users to refine results to specific websites  countries  regions or languages. microsoft is also using so-called  graphic equalisers  that let people adjust the relevance of terms to get results that are more up-to-date or more popular. the company said that user feedback from earlier test versions had been used to refine the workings of the finished system. the test  or beta  version of the msn search engine unveiled in november had a few teething troubles. on its first day many new users keen to try it were greeted with a page that said the site had been overwhelmed.
1025,labour attacked on howard poster labour has been accused of using anti-semitic images in posters which critics claim depict tory leader michael howard as fagin.  the poster shows mr howard hypnotising people with a pocket watch  saying:  i can spend the same money twice.  the image prompted concern from the editor of the jewish chronicle but labour insists it is simply anti-tory. labour later took the image off its website  saying an alternative idea had proved more popular with party members. the party will now use focus groups to test a poster showing mr howard and shadow chancellor oliver letwin with a blackboard reading:  2+2=5 .  the hypnotism poster has been compared to the portrayal of the dickens character fagin in the stage version of the musical oliver! there was controversy over another poster choice offered to labour members. it showed mr howard and mr letwin - who are both jewish - as flying pigs. mr howard did not comment on the anti-semitism claims when asked about the poster on monday. instead  he pointed to how tony blair had in 1997 complained about  personalised abusive campaigning . mr howard told greater manchester radio:  it is such a pity that mr blair doesn t practise what he preaches.   jewish chronicle editor ned temko said there had been a mixed reaction to the first poster but e-mails from jewish chronicle readers showed deeper concern about the hypnotism image.  shylock and fagin are inextricably linked to notions of centuries-old prejudice   he told bbc radio 4 s world at one.  whatever the idea is  i think it s a difficult exercise to use images like that and to argue that you can divorce them from their historical context or meaning.  mr temko said he blamed  cock-up not conspiracy   saying he did not detect inherent anti-semitism in any of the parties  election campaigns.  the poster is among one of a series of ideas shown to labour members  who have been asked to choose which one should be used ahead of the election. labour mp louise ellman said the hypnotism image was insensitive but urged people not to rush to call things anti-semitic when they only challenged tory economic policies. labour campaign spokesman fraser kemp said the poster had been misunderstood. the image simply portrayed mr howard as a hypnotist  he argued.  concern has been expressed and clearly we have to take those views on board but i would emphasise that if you see the posters  the common theme... is that the tories are trying to con you.  a labour spokesman later said the timing of removing the controversial image from the party s website was not affected by the row.  this has been up on the website for two weeks and there has only been a fuss in the last four days so a substantial number of people voted before there was any fuss   he said. but a conservative spokeswoman said:  this poster campaign - which was offensive to many people - was a big misjudgement by labour s campaign team.
2154,set your television to wow television started off as a magical blurry image. then came the sharpness  the colour and the widescreen format. now the tv set is taking another leap forward into a crystal clear future  although those in europe will have to be patient.  after years of buzz about high-definition tv (hdtv) it is finally taking off in a handful of countries around the world  mainly the us and japan. if you believe the hype  then hdtv will so wow you  that you will never want to go back to your old telly.  hdtv is just the latest must-have technology in viewers  homes   says jo flaherty  a senior broadcaster with the cbs network in the us. all television images are made up of pixels  going across the screen  and scan lines going down. british tv pictures are made up of 625 lines and about 700 pixels. by contrast  hdtv offers up to 1 080 active lines  with each line made up of 1 920 pixels. the result is a picture which can be up to six times as sharp as standard tv. but to get the full impact  programmes need to be broadcast in this format and you need a hdtv set to receive them. most new computer displays are already capable of handling high-resolution pictures. viewers in japan  the us  australia  canada and south korea are already embracing the new tv technology  with a selection of primetime programmes being broadcast in the new format  which includes 5.1 digital surround sound.  but tv viewers in europe will have to wait to enjoy the eye-blasting high-definition images.  many high-end european tv programmes  such as the recent athens olympics  are already being produced in high-definition. but they still reach your screen in the old 625 lines. the prospects for getting sharper images soon do not seem very encouraging. according to consultants strategy analytics  only 12% of homes in europe will have tvs capable of showing programmes in high-definition by 2008. but the hdtv hype spilling out of the us and japan has spurred european broadcasters and consumer electronic companies to push for change. big sports and entertainment events are set to help trigger the general public s attention. the 2006 world cup in germany will be broadcast in high-definition.  in the uk  satellite broadcaster bskyb is planning hdtv services in 2006. there is already a hdtv service in europe called euro1080. other european broadcasters  especially in france and germany  also aiming to launch similar services.  in britain  digital satellite and cable are largely seen as the natural home for hdtv  at least while a decision is taken regarding terrestrial broadcast options. the communications watchdog ofcom could hand over some terrestrial frequencies freed up when the uk switches off its analogue tv signal. for now  broadcasters like the bbc are working on their own hdtv plans  although with no launch date in sight.  the bbc will start broadcasting in hdtv when the time is right  and it would not be just a showcase  but a whole set of programming   says andy quested  from the bbc s high-definition support group.  we have made the commitment to produce all our output in high-definition by 2010  which would put us on the leading edge.  one of the options under consideration is to offer high-definition pictures on the web. the bbc has already dipped its toe into this  including some hdtv content in recent trials of its interactive media player - a video player for pcs. it is planning to offer special releases of selected flagship programmes online in the near future. according to mr quested  this could help put europe back into the running in the race to switch to hdtv. this is backed by recent research which suggests that the number of europeans with broadband has exploded over the past 12 months  with the web eating into tv viewing habits.
64,hingis to make unexpected return martina hingis makes her return to competitve tennis after two years out of the game at the volvo women s open in pattaya  thailand  on tuesday.  she faces german marlene weingartner in the first round.  as a competitor and athlete  i always want to win. i hope my body will hold up   said hingis.  you miss being out there in a grand slam final and not competing. it s a big difference between playing and commenting for tv. i miss it a lot.  the former world number one was 22 when she retired after having surgery on both ankles  and her last wta event was in filderstadt  germany  in october 2002  when she lost to elena dementieva. only last year she insisted that a comeback was unlikely  but speaking in thaliand hingis admitted:  i said that because i didn t know what would happen with my body.  her appearance will also benefit charities in the region and the swiss star will donate her prize money.
2218,rings of steel combat net attacks gambling is hugely popular  especially with tech-savvy criminals.  many extortionists are targeting net-based betting firms and threatening to cripple their websites with deluges of data unless a ransom is paid. but now deep defences are being put in place by some of the uk s biggest net firms to stop these attacks. increasing numbers of attacks and the huge amounts of data being used to try to bump a site off the web are prompting firms to adopt the measures.  net firms are realising that it s not just about anti-virus and firewalls   said paul king  chief security architect at cisco.  there are more things that can be done in the network to protect data centres.  mr king said the only way to properly combat these so-called distributed denial-of-service attacks was with intelligent net-based systems. many of the gambling sites suffering ddos attacks are in offshore data and hosting centres  so any large scale data flood could knock out access to many more sites than just the one the criminals were targeting  said mr king. this overspill effect was only likely to grow as attacks grow in size and scale.  malcolm seagrave  security expert at energis  said the most common types of attacks hit sites with 10 megabytes of data over short periods of time. bigger attacks sending down 200 megabytes of traffic or more were rarely seen  he said.  it does feel like they are turning the dial because you see this traffic gradually growing   he said.  so far there have been no attacks involving gigabytes of data  said mr seagrave. however  he added that it was only a matter of time before such large attacks were mounted. maria capella  spokeswoman for net provider pipex  said that when ddos attacks were at their height  customers were getting hit every four to five days. the defences being put in place constantly monitor the streams of data flowing across networks and pluck out the traffic destined for target sites.  it s about understanding what s genuine traffic and keeping attack traffic from going to the site   she said.  we study the profile of their traffic and as soon as we see an anomaly in the profile that s when we start to get the backbone engineering boys to see if we are going to sustain an attack   said ms capella. this traffic can be hard to spot because ddos attacks typically use thousands of computers in many different countries  each participating machine only sends a small part of the entire data flood.  typically these computers have been infected by a virus or worm which reports its success and the net address of compromised machines back to the malicious hacker or hi-tech criminal that set off the virus. hijacked computers are known as zombies or  bots and collections of them are called  bot nets. many spammers rent out  bot nets to help them anonymously send junk mail.  most of the zombies are based outside the country that hosts the target site so getting the attacking pcs shut off can be difficult. often pipex and other net suppliers do get advance notice that an attack is about to happen.  the serious players tend to precede an attack with some kind of ransom e-mail   said ms capella.  we ask  as part of the service we provide  that customers notify us of anything they have in advance that would give us forewarning.  once an attack is spotted dedicated net hardware takes over to remove the attack traffic and ensure that sites stay up. energis took a similar approach  said mr seagrave.  we have technology out there that allows us to detect attacks in minutes rather than let network engineers spend hours pulling the information together   said mr seagrave. also net firms were starting to work more closely together on the problem of ddos attacks and pool information about where they are coming from. information gathered on attacks and where they originated has led to some arrests. he said energis also did its own intelligence work to get in insight into which sites criminal gangs plan to target.  we have people in places where they shouldn t be  monitoring tech sites   he said. sometimes though  he said  spotting the next victim was easy.  you can see them going alphabetically through the list with the gambling sites  trying one after another   said mr seagrave.
2013,boogeyman takes box office lead the low-budget horror film boogeyman has knocked robert de niro thriller hide and seek from the top spot at the uk box office.  the film  in which a young man is forced to revisit a traumatic childhood experience  took £788 439 in its first three days on release. hide and seek  which was knocked off the top of the us box office by boogeyman last month  fell one place. oscar nominee hotel rwanda was also a new entry in the chart  at number five. the film  which scored oscar nominations for don cheadle and british actress sophie okonedo  made £507  596 in its first week of nationwide release.  comedy sequel meet the fockers and shall we dance   starring jennifer lopez and richard gere  completed the top five. clint eastwood s million dollar baby re-entered the charts at number eight  following its recent success at the oscars. the boxing drama  which won four awards including best film and best director  has made £4.4m to date. two other new entries  a remake of the 1965 film flight of the phoenix  and the teen comedy harold and kumar get the munchies  debuted outside the top 10.
1105,unilever shake up as profit slips anglo-dutch consumer goods giant unilever is to merge its two management boards after reporting  unsatisfactory  earnings for 2004.  it blamed the poor results on sluggish decision making  a rise in discounted retailers and a wet european summer. the company also cited difficult trading conditions and a lack of demand for goods such as its slimfast range. unilever  which owns brands including dove soap  said annual pre-tax profit fell 36% to 2.9bn euros (£1.99bn). shares fell 1% to 510.75 pence in london  and dropped by 1.2% to 50.50 euros in amsterdam.  under the restructuring plans  patrick cescau  the uk-based co-chairman  will become group chief executive. dutch co-chairman antony burgmans will take on the role of non-executive chairman.   we have recognised the need for greater clarity of leadership and we are moving to a simpler leadership structure that will provide a sharper operational focus   mr burgmans said.  we are leaving behind one of the key features of unilever s governance but this is a natural development following the changes introduced last year.  the company  which has had dual headquarters in rotterdam and london since 1930  will announce the location of its head office at a later date. unilever is not alone in trying to simplify its business. oil giant shell last year dismantled its dual-ownership structure  after a series of problems relating to the size of its oil reserves that hammered its share price and led to the resignation of key board members.  the best part of the news this morning was that the company announced a structure simplification   said arjan sweere  an analyst at petercam.  the company said the organizational changes would speed decision making  and it also may make further changes.  the company said its main focus will be on improving profits  and it is planning to accelerate and increase investment in its 400 main brands.  while it is certainly the case that markets have been tougher in the past eighteen months than we had expected  we have also lost some market share   said mr cescau.  we let a range of targets limit our ability flexibility and did not adjust our plans quickly enough to a more difficult business environment.   our objective is to reverse the share loss that we experienced in some markets in 2004 and return to growth.   unilever said european sales fell 2.8% last year  dragged down by below part sales at its beverage division  where revenues dipped by almost 4%.  sales of ice cream and frozen food dipped by 3.4% in the us last year  revenue grew by 1.5%  despite disappointing sales in slimfast   the company said. in asia  leading products came under  attack  from rivals such as procter & gamble. unilever took a 1.5bn euro one-time charge in the fourth quarter  including a 650m euro write-down on slimfast diet foods. sales of slimfast products have been hit in recent years by the popularity of the atkins diet. but looking ahead  unilever said it was optimistic about prospects for its slimming products saying that demand is on the wane for rival low-carbohydrate diets. the company also said it planned to spend 500m euros this year buying back shares.
669,sec to rethink post-enron rules the us stock market watchdog s chairman has said he is willing to soften tough new us corporate governance rules to ease the burden on foreign firms.  in a speech at the london school of economics  william donaldson promised  several initiatives . european firms have protested that us laws introduced after the enron scandal make wall street listings too costly. the us regulator said foreign firms may get extra time to comply with a key clause in the sarbanes-oxley act.  the act comes into force in mid-2005. it obliges all firms with us stock market listings to make declarations  which  critics say  will add substantially to the cost of preparing their annual accounts.  firms that break the new law could face huge fines  while senior executives risk jail terms of up to 20 years. mr donaldson said that although the act does not provide exemptions for foreign firms  the securities and exchange commission (sec) would  continue to be sensitive to the need to accomodate foreign structures and requirements . there are few  if any  who disagree with the intentions of the act  which obliges chief executives to sign a statement taking responsibility for the accuracy of the accounts. but european firms with secondary listings in new york have objected - arguing that the compliance costs outweigh the benefits of a dual listing. the act also applies to firms with more than 300 us shareholders  a situation many firms without us listings could find themselves in.  the 300-shareholder threshold has drawn anger as it effectively blocks the most obvious remedy  a delisting. mr donaldson said the sec would  consider whether there should be a new approach to the deregistration process  for foreign firms unwilling to meet us requirements.   we should seek a solution that will preserve investor protections  without turning the us market into  one with no exit   he said. he revealed that his staff were already weighing up the merits of delaying the implementation of the act s least popular measure - section 404 - for foreign firms. seen as particularly costly to implement  section 404 obliges chief executives to take responsibility for the firm s internal controls by signing a compliance statement in the annual accounts. the sec has already delayed implementation of this clause for smaller firms - including us ones - with market capitalisations below $700m (£374m).  a delegation of european firms visited the sec in december to press for change  the financial times reported.  it was led by digby jones  director general of the uk s confederation of british industry (cbi) and included representatives of basf  siemens and cadbury schweppes. compliance costs are already believed to be making firms wary of us listings. air china picked the london stock exchange for its secondary listing in its $1.07bn (£558m) stock market debut last month. there are also rumours that two chinese state-run banks - china construction bank and bank of china - have abandoned plans for multi-billion dollar listings in new york later this year. instead  the cost of sarbanes-oxley has persuaded them to stick to a single listing in hong kong  according to press reports in china.
827,media seek jackson  juror  notes reporters covering singer michael jackson s trial in california have asked to see questionnaires completed by potential jurors.  lawyers for news organisations said it was  really vital  for the responses of 250 potential jurors to be made public  to serve as a check on the process . santa barbara county superior court is due to consider the request on monday. mr jackson denies child molestation. it is estimated his trial will cost santa barbara county up to $4m (£2.13m).  meanwhile michael jackson s mother has said she is  100% certain  her son did not commit the child abuse charges he faces. the court is currently selecting 12 jurors and eight stand-by jurors for the trial  a process delayed until at least thursday after a member of the star s legal team was hit by family illness. defence lawyers argued against the bid by associated press and other news organisations to have potential jurors  responses made public.   the release of the completed jury questionnaires does not serve any purpose other than to add to the sensationalist coverage of this case   a motion by mr jackson s lawyers stated. the estimated total costs of the trial  expected to last five months  range from $2.5m (£1.33m) to $4m (£2.13m) of local taxpayers  money. those estimates do not include costs to the city of santa maria  the superior court or for the investigation and prosecution of the case. the cost of security and other needs around the courthouse has been estimated at $40 000 (£21 000) per day  said jason stilwell  a special projects manager at the county administrator s office.  mr jackson  46  denies plying a boy with alcohol and molesting him. his mother katherine jackson told us tv network fox news on sunday that her pop star son told her he was innocent.  i believe that for one reason - i know his character   she said.  he loves children. you don t molest anything that you love.  describing mr jackson as  a good person   the mother-of-nine said she feared he would not be given a fair trial.  i can t sleep thinking about what these wicked people might try to do to him   she said.
1335,clarke defends terror detentions the home secretary has defended his decision not to release foreign terror suspects despite a legal ruling their detention breached human rights laws.  house of lords law lords ruled against the detention measures last week. they said it was wrong to have one set of laws for foreign suspects and another for british suspects. new home secretary charles clarke said he would carefully consider the ruling and would return to parliament early in the new year with proposals.  he insisted that he would not be rushed into judgement but would examine the law lords  findings in detail.  my duty is to look at first of all the security of this country and in so doing to consider very carefully the precise legal measures that there are.  mr clarke s comments came in response to an emergency question from liberal democrat constitutional affairs spokesman david heath. mr heath said the judgement contained  unprecedented condemnation and could not have been more unequivocal . he said he accepted the difficult balance between the nation s security and human rights but questioned why the home office had made  no contingency plans for the present circumstances .   these detainees should be prosecuted and tried. simply renewing the present deeply unsatisfactory legislation is not an option.  shadow home secretary david davis said it was not possible to overstate the importance of the judgment and urged the government to move as fast as  competently possible  to sort the problem out in the interests of natural justice.  if you do  we will give you every support.  the law lords  ruling came on charles clarke s first day as home secretary last thursday following david blunkett s resignation. in a statement on the same day  mr clarke said:  i will be asking parliament to renew this legislation in the new year.  in the meantime  we will be studying the judgment carefully to see whether it is possible to modify our legislation to address the concerns raised by the house of lords.   but the government was widely criticised for insisting the detentions would continue following the ruling last week. lord bingham - a senior law lord - said the rules were incompatible with the european convention on human rights as they allowed detentions  in a way that discriminates on the ground of nationality or immigration status  by justifying detention without trial for foreign suspects  but not britons. lord nicholls of birkenhead  in his ruling  said:  indefinite imprisonment without charge or trial is anathema in any country which observes the rule of law.  the detainees took their case to the house of lords after the court of appeal backed the home office s powers to hold them without limit or charge. the government opted out of part of the european convention on human rights concerning the right to a fair trial in order to bring in anti-terrorism legislation in response to the 11 september attacks in the us.
1426,iaaf launches fight against drugs the iaaf - athletics  world governing body - has met anti-doping officials  coaches and athletes to co-ordinate the fight against drugs in sport.  two task forces have been set up to examine doping and nutrition issues. it was also agreed that a programme to  de-mystify  the issue to athletes  the public and the media was a priority.  nothing was decided to change things - it was more to have a forum of the stakeholders allowing them to express themselves   said an iaaf spokesman.  getting everyone together gave us a lot of food for thought.  about 60 people attended sunday s meeting in monaco  including iaaf chief lamine diack and namibian athlete frankie fredericks  now a member of the athletes  commission.  i am very happy to see you all  members of the athletics family  respond positively to the iaaf call to sit together and discuss what more we can do in the fight against doping   said diack.  we are the leading federation in this field and it is our duty to keep our sport clean.  the two task forces will report back to the iaaf council  at its april meeting in qatar.
2196,owen delighted with real display michael owen revelled in his return to the to the real madrid starting line-up and inspired a 3-1 win over real betis on wednesday by scoring the first goal.  he said:  i am happy i could play a game from the start again.  i felt good all though the game and it is obvious that i am happy to have scored another goal.  people have talked a lot about my performances and i think i have had some months that were not so good and others that were very good.  owen  starting his third successive la liga match  converted a low cross from santiago solari. robert carlos made it 2-0 at the break  smashing home an indirect free-kick. midfielder edu reduced the deficit after half-time but ivan helguera headed past keeper antonio doblas to seal victory for his team. victory took real to within six points of leaders barcelona and owen is confident real can close the gap. he added:  we had several chances against betis and i think we can get back in touch with barcelona.  it is only six points between barcelona and us and that is nothing. if we can beat them at the bernabeu (on 10 april)  then it will be just three.  owen has scored nine league goals  one behind real s top scorer ronaldo. real had lost their previous two league games.
368,safin slumps to shock dubai loss marat safin suffered a shock loss to unseeded nicolas kiefer in round one of the dubai tennis championships.  playing his first match since winning the australian open  safin showed some good touches but was beaten 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 by the in-form kiefer. the german got on top in the first-set tie-break  striking a sweet forehand to win the first point against serve. and he maintained the momentum early in the second set  breaking the russian with the help of an inspired volley. spain s feliciano lopez lined up a second round clash with andre agassi by beating thailand s paradorn srichaphan. lopez  who lost in three sets to roger federer in last year s final  won 6-2 3-6 6-3. former champion fabrice santoro of france was beaten 6-3 6-0 by sixth seeded russian nikolay davydenko. there were also wins for two other russians  igor andreev and seventh seed mikhail youzhny.
1535,oscar nominees gear up for lunch leonardo dicaprio  jamie foxx and hilary swank are among those due to attend this year s oscar nominees luncheon on monday.  they will join more than 100 nominees from the 24 oscar categories at the annual event  which will take place at the beverly hilton hotel  los angeles. british hopefuls  including kate winslet  imelda staunton and sophie okonedo are also expected to attend. this year s oscar ceremony will be held on sunday 27 february.  martin scorsese s the aviator is leading the field at this year s oscars with 11 nominations  while other multiple nominees include million dollar baby and sideways. oscar nominees swank and foxx were among the winners at the screen actors guild awards at the weekend  one of the many ceremonies held in the run-up to the oscars. swank won best actress for million dollar baby while foxx triumphed for his performance as ray charles in the biopic ray. sideways was also among the winners  taking the prize for best cast performance. the next major film award ceremony of the season is the bafta awards  which take place at london s odeon leicester square on 12 february. many of those nominated for oscars including dicaprio  foxx and staunton - an oscar nominee for her performance in vera drake - have also been nominated for baftas.
1672,us cyber security chief resigns the man making sure us computer networks are safe and secure has resigned after only a year in his post.  amit yoran was director of the national cyber security division within the us department of homeland security created following the 9/11 attacks. the division was tasked with improving us defences against malicious hackers  viruses and other net-based threats. reports suggest he left because his division was not given enough clout within the larger organisation.  mr yoran took up his post in september 2003 and his first task was to get the cyber security division up and running. the organisation had a staff of about 60 people and a budget of about $80m (£44.54m). the division was charged with thinking up and carrying out action to make us networks more impervious to attack and disruption by the viruses  worms and hack attacks that have become commonplace.  in the last 12 months mr yoran oversaw the creation of a cyber alert system that sends out warnings about big hitting viruses and net attacks as they occur. the warnings also contained information about how firms and organisations could protect themselves against these attacks. the cyber security division also audited us government networks to discover exactly what was sitting on which network. the next step was to be the creation of a scanning system to identify vulnerabilities that made federal networks and machines susceptible to attack by malicious hackers and virus writers. mr yoran s division was also doing work to identify the networks and machines that had been broken into by cyber criminals. despite this success mr yoran left his post abruptly at the end of last week  reportedly only giving one day s notice to bosses at the department of homeland security.  amit yoran has been a valuable contributor on cyber security issues over the past year  and we appreciate his efforts in starting the department s cybersecurity program   said a department of homeland security spokeswoman. some reports have suggested that mr yoran felt frustrated by the lack of prominence given to work to protect against net-based threats in the wider homeland organisation. an attempt by us politicians to pass a law to promote mr yoran and raise the profile of his department s work is now mired in congress.
599,teenagers to be allowed to be mps teenagers will be able to become mps under plans unveiled by ministers.  in a written statement  constitutional affairs minister christopher leslie said the current minimum age of 21 for an mp would be reduced to 18. the proposals follow a recommendation last year by elections watchdog the electoral commission.  the government intends to legislate  when parliamentary time allows  to lower the age   said mr leslie  who was elected in 1997 at the age of 24. even if the move does go ahead it is unlikely it will be in place before the next general election  widely predicted for may.  the announcement from mr leslie - who was elected in 1997 in a formerly safe tory seat - prompted calls for a lowering of the voting age to 16. the votes at 16 alliance said it was a good thing to  engage people  by lowering the candidacy age but argued lowering the voting age would be much more effective.  candidacy affects only politicians. the voting age affects millions of younger people   said spokesman alex folkes.  we would hope that the government will table a bill that is broad enough to allow for amendments to be brought to test support for a reduction in the voting age.   currently candidates in both local and national votes must be 21 while the voting age is 18. that is because the age of majority was reduced to 18 in 1969 but laws dating from 1695 which determine the current voting age stayed in place. irish republican bernadette devlin was one of just a handful of 21-year-olds elected to parliament in the 20th century winning a seat in 1969. but the youngest is understood to have been tory edward turnour  who won the 1904 horsham by-election aged 21 and 144 days and served in parliament for 47 continuous years. last april s report by the electoral commission said there was no strong argument for leaving the age for standing for election at 21. the commission found the most common approach around the world is for the voting age to be the same as the candidacy age.
2085,franz ferdinand s art school lesson scottish rock band franz ferdinand  who shot to prominence in 2004  have won two brit awards.  with their self-titled debut  franz ferdinand have achieved what most rock bands crave - high credibility and critical acclaim while also selling stacks of cds. they have risen to the head of the uk s art rock ranks with an album of songs that are catchy  creative and original enough to sound fresh. with a cool  spiky  fun sound previously associated with bands like talking heads  they hit upon a style that had been out of fashion for a while and so was ripe for another airing. their first uk single hit number three last january  followed by two more top 20 hits  while the album has sold more than 600 000 copies in 11 months on release. in september it was named album of the year winning the prestigious mercury music prize.  on the festivals circuit  they have been one of the main attractions for huge crowds at glastonbury  t in the park and reading/leeds. they have also found success in japan  europe and the us. by september the album had sold 500 000 in the states and total sales were pushing two million worldwide. they have been nominated for three grammy awards in the us as well as the us music industry s shortlist award  but lost the shortlist prize to us band tv on the radio. nevertheless franz ferdinand were the only uk band to win an mtv video music award this year  taking the breakthrough video crown for take me out.  the four-piece met two years ago when drummer paul thomson was working at the glasgow art school where bassist bob hardy was studying. singer alex kapranos was studying english at university but had friends at art school  and the line-up was completed when guitarist nick mccarthy moved from munich  germany  to the city. at the turn of the year  kapranos told bbc news online the band were fed up with serious bands in  that post-rock thing that seemed to be doing its damndest to avoid any bloody tune .   we want people to go away from the gigs humming the tunes that we were singing. but at the same time bringing an edge to it.  franz ferdinand had a question they asked themselves every time they wrote a song  kapranos said.  where s the fun in that   they pondered at every stage  making enjoyment the top priority and ensuring they did not disappear up their own muso posteriors. the band started out with a diy ethic that saw them take over a disused art-deco warehouse in glasgow and rename it the chateau. the venue soon became legendary - so well-known that the police spent a month trying to find it  eventually raiding it and arresting kapranos. but the charges of running an illegal bar and contravening health and safety  fire hazard and noise abatement laws were dropped.  the band took over an abandoned victorian courtroom and jail instead  and named that the chateau. the buzz about the band soon spread around the music industry and 40 record labels turned up to one gig in glasgow - which the band thought was  totally ridiculous .  i m really glad it was almost comical because we weren t overwhelmed by the seriousness of it   kapranos said. they signed with independent label domino  home of smog  sebadoh and four tet  in june 2003.
1577,edgy agassi struggles past dent andre agassi put in an erratic display before edging into the fourth round of the australian open with victory over taylor dent.  the 34-year-old american  seeded eighth  made a poor start  dropping serve early on and later needing two chances to serve out the set. having secured the lead  agassi still failed to take control as both players forced a succession of breaks. but agassi won the tie-break before wrapping up a 7-5 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 win. fourth seed  survived an injury scare as he battled past mario ancic 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-4. the russian turned his right ankle in the third game of the fourth set and called for treatment immediately. but he showed no sign of the problem when he returned to the court to wrap up victory in two hours 45 minutes.  ancic  wimbledon semi-finalist in 2004  looked set to push safin all the way when he took the second set but safin raised his game to sink the croatian. safin said he was trying to keep his temper under control at this year s tournament. the russian hit himself on the head repeatedly in one second-set outburst but was otherwise largely calm in his victory.  i try to stay calm because if you go crazy against players like ancic  you might never come back because he s a tough opponent   he said.  i m a little bit calmer than i was before because i d had enough.  the russian added that he was not worried by his ankle injury.  i have had a lot of problems with that ankle before - it will be ok   he said.   s route to the fourth round was made easy when opponent jarkko nieminen was forced to retire from their match.  the top seed and defending champion was leading 6-3 5-2 when nieminen pulled out with an abdominal injury. federer had been in patchy form until then - mixing 19 unforced errors with 19 winners. the world number one will play cypriot  next after the former world junior champion beat tommy robredo 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 6-1. federer admitted he was under extra pressure after extending his winning streak to a career-best 24.  they are so used to me winning  but it s not that simple   he said.  i had a feeling this could be a tough match. i had a bad start but i bounced back. i always want to play better than i am  but i thought i was pretty ok.  french open champion  is out of the tournament after a five-set defeat by dominik hrbaty. hrbaty defeated the 10th seed 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (8-10) 6-7 (3-7) 6-1 6-3 in a match lasting four hours and 21 minutes. the pair traded 16 service breaks during an exhausting baseline battle  with hrbaty taking a decisive advantage in the eighth game of the final set. hrbaty will now play 2002 champion    who outlasted american kevin kim 3-6 6-2 6-7 6-2 6-2.
724,weir poised for sunderland move larne s teenage star robbie weir is poised to join sunderland after turning down a move to stoke city.  the 17-year-old irish league midfielder was also being chased by rangers and fulham  but mick mccarthy s side appear to have won the race. but larne boss jimmy mcgeough has yet to confirm that weir is on his way from inver park.  i heard on sunday that he has joined sunderland  but not from the lad himself   he said.   robbie has an agreement with larne that he can negotiate with interested clubs.    personally  i would rather see him making an impact at local level to build up his physique before moving into the full-time game.   he has been on trial with a number of clubs. but it would be great to see him making it at sunderland.
568,brown hits back in blair rift row gordon brown has criticised a union leader who said conflict between himself and tony blair was harming the workings of government.  jonathan baume  of the top civil servants  union  spoke of  competing agendas  between mr brown and mr blair. but the chancellor said mr baume was never at meetings between himself and the prime minister so could not judge. he said the union leader was trying to block civil service reform which threatened his members  jobs. it suited the purpose of mr baume s union  the first division association  to suggest there were two agendas battling against each other because the union was trying to resist the planned reforms  mr brown told bbc radio 4 s today programme.  under the plans  unveiled in the gershon report  some 84 000 civil servants jobs will be axed or changed and the savings ploughed back into frontline services. mr brown said:  to be honest i don t think you can rely on his [mr baume s] judgement on this matter when it comes to the decisions that the government are making.  mr blair and i are making exactly the same decisions on civil service reforms. we are determined to go on with the gershon reforms.  he also said that as mr baume was never present at meetings between himself and the prime minister  he was not in a position to judge. on wednesday  ahead of the chancellor s pre-budget report  mr baume told bbc news there were sometimes  conflicting and competing agendas for government  between number 10 and the treasury.  what the chancellor wanted was  not by any means what alan milburn and the prime minister want to see   mr baume said.  government departments get their money from the treasury on the basis of public service agreements they sign up to  but at the same time the prime minister also has an agenda and that s not necessarily the same as the treasury s and the prime minister is of course a very powerful figure in any government.  he also sends instructions and messages and directions to departments about how he would like each secretary of state and each department to implement a policy agenda.  the problem is that on many occasions these two don t add up and individual cabinet ministers as well as departments have to make sense of this battle.  number 10 said ministers were interested in governing and not a  soap opera  about mr blair and mr brown. tory shadow chancellor oliver letwin said:  the battle royal that the top civil servants are now reporting on between the chancellor and tony blair is preventing them both from getting on with the business of getting taxpayers value for money.
2018,sony psp console hits us in march us gamers will be able to buy sony s playstation portable from 24 march  but there is no news of a europe debut.  the handheld console will go on sale for $250 (£132) and the first million sold will come with spider-man 2 on umd  the disc format for the machine. sony has billed the machine as the walkman of the 21st century and has sold more than 800 000 units in japan. the console (12cm by 7.4cm) will play games  movies and music and also offers support for wireless gaming. sony is entering a market which has been dominated by nintendo for many years.  it launched its ds handheld in japan and the us last year and has sold 2.8 million units. sony has said it wanted to launch the psp in europe at roughly the same time as the us  but gamers will now fear that the launch has been put back. nintendo has said it will release the ds in europe from 11 march.  it has gaming at its core  but it s not a gaming device. it s an entertainment device   said kaz hirai  president of sony computer entertainment america.
1543,tories unveil quango blitz plans plans to abolish 162 quangos have been unveiled by the conservatives as part of their effort to show how government red tape can be cut.  six government units would also be scrapped under proposals which the tories say would save more than £4.3bn. among the targets are strategic health authorities and the new fair access regulator for universities. tory frontbencher john redwood said britain needed a slimmer government and lower taxes to be competitive.  the plans would abolish regional assemblies and other regional bodies  such as boards tackling industrial development and housing. their powers would be returned to elected local councils or national government. the tories say the strategic health authorities are not needed as it is better that local people  rather than officials  run hospitals and surgeries.  announcing the plans  mr redwood said:  mr blair has forgotten the interests of taxpayers  and has broken the pledges he made.  far from improving public services  spending taxpayers  money on quangos has led only to more bureaucrats  more regulation and higher taxes.  his party leader  michael howard  argued a change in direction was needed to get a grip on spending.  labour are creating two britains: the britain of the forgotten majority and bureaucratic britain   he said.  in the real world  people are working harder just to stand still. they ve seen their pensions knocked for six.  they re being squeezed by extra taxes. the forgotten majority are paying the price of bureaucratic britain.  the government has announced plans to cut 100 000 civil servants as part of its efficiency drive. the liberal democrats have said they would cut the number of whitehall departments to make sure money reaches frontline services.
308,top gig award for scissor sisters new york band scissor sisters have won a gig of the year award for their performance at this year s v festival.  the award was voted for by listeners of virgin radio  which compiled a top 10 which was mostly dominated by newcomers on the music scene this year. the quirky disco-rock band beat the red hot chili peppers who came second for their hyde park performance in june. virgin radio dj pete mitchell said:  this year has seen an amazing array of talent come into the mainstream.  he added:  the scissor sisters are one of the most original  eccentric bands to come through and it s no surprise the british public are lapping up their performances.  newcomers keane came in third place for their august gig at the v festival  followed by maroon 5 and snow patrol.  music veterans the who and david bowie  both earned places on the list  at number eight and 10 respectively. at number seven was oxfam s make fair trade gig at london s hammersmith apollo in october  which featured performances by rem  razorlight and coldplay s chris martin. glasgow s franz ferdinand earned a place at number nine for their home-town performance in april. the annual survey was voted for by nearly 4 000 listeners.
1356,smith aims to bring back respect scotland manager walter smith says he wants to restore the national team s respectability in world football.  smith has joined his first squad for a three-day get-together near manchester in preference to playing a friendly. while qualification for the 2006 world cup appears to be beyond scotland  smith is anxious that the remainder of the campaign should be positive.  i think we have got to try to get a bit of respectability back in whatever way we can   he said.  we will have to approach each game differently. obviously we will have to approach the italian game away from home in a different manner to moldova at home.  we have to meet the challenge of each match.  smith  meeting a number of his squad for the first time  brought them together on monday to outline his ideas for improving the nation s fortunes.  he said:  i pointed out how i see the international team going forward and that was the main topic.  this is a relaxed gathering and i don t think there is a lot of doom and gloom about the squad that a lot of people think exists.  a 25-man squad will spend the next three days based at the mottram hall hotel in cheshire and will train at manchester united s nearby carrington complex. smith will be absent for the final sessions  however  as he is due to fly out to sardinia on wednesday to watch italy s friendly with russia.
573,russian film wins bbc world prize russian drama the return (vozvrashchenie) has been named winner of the bbc four world cinema award.  the film tells the story of two adolescent boys who are subjected to a harsh regime when their strict father returns after a 10-year absence. directed by andrey zvyagintsev  the return previously won the 2003 golden lion award at the venice film festival. the prize was presented at an awards ceremony held in london on thursday and hosted by jonathan ross. the winner was chosen by a panel which included x files actress gillian anderson  critic roger clarke and touching the void director kevin mcdonald.  ross  who is the presenter of bbc one s film 2005  was also involved in the deliberations. a shortlist of six films from around the world had been drawn up from which the panel chose. other nominees included the motorcycle diaries  zatoichi and hero. a viewer poll saw director zhang yimou s martial arts epic hero emerge as the favourite with 32% of votes cast. tragedy struck the production of the return when one of the young stars  15-year-old vladimir girin  drowned in a lake where some of the film s scenes were set. the winner of the world cinema award last year was the french animated feature belleville rendezvous
1746,federer forced to dig deep top seed roger federer had to save two match points before squeezing past juan carlos ferrero at the dubai open.  the world number one took two hours 15 minutes to earn his 4-6 6-3 7-6 victory  saving match points at 6-4 in the tiebreak before claiming it 8-6. federer made a number of unforced errors early on  allowing ferrero to take advantage and claim the first set. but the swiss star hit back to reach the quarter-finals  where he will face seventh seed russian mikhail youzhny. the russian beat germany s rainer schuettler 7-5 6-4. federer was not unduly worried despite being taken to three sets for the third consecutive match. the world number one was forced to go the distance against ivan ljubicic in the rotterdam final and against ivo minar in the first round in dubai.  i definitely had a slow start again and to come back every time is quite an effort   he said.  i haven t been playing well  but i ve been coming through. i m winning the crucial points and that shows i m on top of my game when i have to be.
1290,poles play with gameboy  blip-pop  a group of artists in poland has taken the cacophony of blips  boops and beeps created as players bash buttons on nintendo s handheld gameboy console to a new level.  the gameboyzz orchestra project has taken the game sounds to put together music tunes they have dubbed  blip-pop.  think of it as donkey kong meets norman cook  or maybe tetris takes on kraftwerk. any way you slice it  the sound is distinct. all the sounds are made by six nintendo gameboys  with a mixture of older models and newer advance sp handhelds. the gameboyzz orchestra project tweaks the software a bit  and then connects the units through a mixing board.  jarek kujda  one of the project s founding members has been into electronic music and video games  for a while now.   i was playing some experimental music and three  four years ago when i first used a gameboy in my band as a drum machine   said kujda. he realised that the console could be used as a rudimentary synthesizer. he wondered  if one gameboy can make music  what would happen if he put six of them together  kujda found five other people who were interested and the gameboyzz orchestra project was born.  gameboyzz orchestra project is more of an improvisational project   said kudja.  we prepare some patterns before a concert  and then improvise during the concert.  the group plays maybe four or five shows a year. malgorzata kujda  jarek s younger sister and a fellow band member  describes a gameboyzz orchestra project concert as a lot of noise.  for example  i make music with more hard beats and noises   she said.  but each of us makes another music  a different sound. and then in the concert we just improvise  and that i think is more fun for us.   the gameboyzz orchestra project admits they get mixed reactions from audiences. some love the group s music  and others are not quite sure what to make of it.  in the world of electronic music  these purveyors of blip-pop are not unique. but jarek kujda says they try to be unique.  we have lots of people making music on old school stuff  electronic old school stuff like commodore  atari  spectrum   he said.  we want to play only experimental music  not cover songs. we re something like an electronic jam session.  the gameboyzz orchestra project s tracks are available online and the group hopes to make a cd next year. and they have sponsorship  courtesy of the polish distributor of nintendo products. the members of the gameboyzz orchestra project do not expect serious competition anytime soon. a gameboy advance costs about us $200 in poland these days  which is still way beyond the reach of most polish gamers  or musicians.  clark boyd is technology correspondent for the world  a bbc world service and wgbh-boston co-production
272,apple unveils low-cost  mac mini  apple has unveiled a new  low-cost macintosh computer for the masses  billed as the mac mini.  chief executive steve jobs showed off the new machine at his annual macworld speech  in san francisco. the $499 macintosh  sold for £339 in the uk  was described by jobs as the  most important mac  made by apple. mr jobs also unveiled the ipod shuffle  a new music player using cheaper flash memory rather than hard drives  which are used in more expensive ipods.  the new computer shifts the company into new territory - traditionally  the firm is known as a design and innovation-led firm rather than as a mass-market manufacturer. the mac mini comes without a monitor  keyboard and mouse  and a second version with a larger hard drive will also be sold for $599.  the machine - which will be available from 22 january - was described by jobs as  byodkm... bring your own display  keyboard  and mouse . in an attempt to win over windows pc customers  mr jobs said it would appeal to people thinking of changing operating systems.  people who are thinking of switching will have no more excuses   he said.  it s the newest and most affordable mac ever.  the new computer has been the subject of speculation for several weeks and while few people will be surprised by the announcement many analysts had already said it was a sensible move. in january  apple sued a website after it published what it said were specifications for the new computer. ian harris  deputy editor of uk magazine mac format  said the machine would appeal to pc-owning consumers who had purchased an ipod.   they want a further taste of mac because they like what they have seen with ipod.  harris added:  everybody thought that apple was happy to remain a niche maker of luxury computers  and moving into a market dominated by low margin manufacturers like dell is a bold move.  but it shows that apple is keen to capitalise on the mass market success it s had with the ipod. the mac mini will appeal to pc users looking for an attractive   no fuss  computer.  the new ipod shuffle comes in two versions - one offering 512mb of storage for $99 (£69 in the uk) and a second with one gigabyte of storage for $149 (£99) - and went on sale tuesday. the music player has no display and will play songs either consecutively or shuffled. the smaller ipod will hold about 120 songs  said mr jobs. mr jobs told the delegates at macworld that ipod already had a 65% market share of all digital music players.
139,safin relieved at aussie recovery marat safin admitted he thought he was suffering another australian open final nightmare when he lost the opening set to lleyton hewitt.  the russian  who lost the 2002 and 2004 finals  fought back brilliantly to win 1-6 6-3 6-4 6-4.  i was nervous and i couldn t play tennis   said safin.  he started really well. he wasn t as nervous as i was because i was thinking of the two finals that i played and wasn t successful.  he added:  you really have to deal with the pressure because normally it never happens but when you come to the final you are so tight because you want to win.  i tried to play some tennis but i couldn t. he has huge experience  he s won two grand slam titles  he s won 24 titles  he s a great player and he deals with pressure.   from 4-1 down in the third set  safin played some of his best tennis to reel off seven games and take control of the match.  in the third set  just all of a sudden  it all turn around completely in a way i couldn t expect   said safin.  because he made a couple of mistakes  i was a little bit lucky at some point  then the confidence came back and i was back in the game.  and the russian revealed that the victory  and his semi-final win over world number one roger federer  had given him a massive boost for the future.  you get huge confidence because roger is a great player   said safin.  once i beat him  and then lleyton  it s like you get so much confidence in yourself that you really can play great.  you can win big titles and you can beat huge players in the finals and semi-finals.
2191,newry to fight cup exit in courts newry city are expected to discuss legal avenues on friday regarding overturning their ejection from the nationwide irish cup.  the ifa upheld its original decision to throw newry out of the cup following the andy crawford registration row.   a law firm will put a case forward for newry fc  and see what the legal implications of all this is are    said newry boss roy mccreadie.   this is a big issue  now that we have an appeal pending    on wednesday  a fresh ifa hearing into crawford registration saga  ruled that last week s original verdict had been correct. it meant that bangor  beaten 5-1 by newry on the field  will take on portadown in the sixth round. newry had claimed they had uncovered  fresh evidence   in respect of the dates relating to the registration. but mccreadie is not further annoyed that full details of wednesday s meeting was not relayed to the club.   even to this day  we have as much information about what happened during the meeting on wednesday as that told to the media. we are being kept in the dark    mccreadie told the  news letter  .   we want an explanation. there is no good sending us the same fax message the press people received.   it s a real sad case. if we are not back in the irish cup after our appeal  and guided by our legal advise  we will seek to lodge an injunction in the courts to stop bangor playing portadown.
1255,israeli economy picking up pace israel s economy is forecast to grow by 4.2% in 2004 as it continues to emerge from a three-year recession.  the main driver of the faster-than-expected expansion has been exports  with tourism seeing a strong rebound  the statistical office said. the economy is benefiting from a quieter period in palestinian-israeli violence and a pick-up in global demand for technology products. the outlook is better than it has been for a number of years  analysts said.  many companies have focused on cost cutting and greater efficiency  while the government has been trying to trim public spending and push through reforms. the growth figures come about despite a strike earlier this year by about 400 000 public sector worker which closed banks  hospitals  postal services and transport facilities. growth did slow in the second half  but only slightly. exports for the year rose by 14%  while tourist revenues were up by 30%. imports gained by 13%  signalling that domestic demand has picked up again. in 2003  imports declined by 1.8%. in 2003  the economy expanded by 1.3%
1699,chip maker backs net phone calls rich templeton  the head of giant chip maker texas instruments  has given his backing to the growing sector of voice over internet telephony (voip)  voip allows pc users  and in some cases those with just a broadband connection  to make telephone calls via the net. mr templeton said voip would be the next major application to drive broadband connections into homes. internet service provider wanadoo has announced it is launching its own broadband telephony service in the uk.  subscribers to wanadoo s broadband service will be able to use the service to make free evening and weekend calls to any uk landline  and free calls at any time to other wanadoo users. the service will cost an extra £4 a month and will come with a free livebox  the broadband hub which wanadoo plans will be used in future to provide video-on-demand and home security services. the secondary phone line will mean customers can have an extra home phone number and will also provide wireless internet access around the home. eventually the service will replace existing landline services as wanadoo goes head to head with bt.  voice-over broadband is a key trend across europe and is set to have a dramatic impact on the telecommunications industry    eric abensur  wanadoo s chief executive told the bbc news website. mr templeton said he agreed.  voice-over-packet is going to be the second killer application after broadband internet access   he said. the world s largest maker of chips for mobile phones believes the technology will grow rapidly from the relatively small user base it has currently.  almost 83 million people have downloaded the software that powers the skype voip service  according to the net telephony firm s website. skype lets people make free calls to other skype users and also make low-cost calls to ordinary phone numbers. us firm vonage also offers a voip service  but one which lets people plug an ordinary phone into a broadband router to make calls. bill simmelink  general manager of ti s voip business  said the technology would only take off when people were making net calls with the ease of making a normal call.  it s not about the pipe  if you will  or the silicon per se  it s about the application   he said.   we want to communicate freely  effortlessly and economically wherever we are.  in a sign that voip is seeping into the mainstream  giant isp aol announced on tuesday that it had plans to launch a net-based phone service for some of its members within the month. customers will continue to use their traditional phones  but they will plug them into adapters connected to their broadband source rather than the jack provided by the telephone company. calls are received and placed just like on the old telephone network.  we can help mass-market adoption of voip   said aol chief executive jonathan miller.  we can utilise our national footprint. we can help the entire industry become well known.
1616,scissor sisters triumph at brits us band scissor sisters led the winners at the uk music industry s brit awards  walking off with three prizes. the flamboyant act scored a hat-trick in the international categories  winning the best group  best album and best newcomer awards. glasgow group franz ferdinand won two prizes  as did keane and joss stone  who was voted best urban act by digital tv viewers. robbie williams  angels was named the best song of the past 25 years. scissor sisters frontwoman ana matronic collected the best international album prize from singer siouxsie sioux. she told the audience:  if you told us a year ago we would be getting these awards today we would have called you crazy. you guys made our dream come true.   the band - whose self-titled lp was 2004 s biggest-selling album - thanked  all the members of the sisterhood   adding:  we wouldn t be here without you.  the us band  who opened the show with take your mama  won the best international act and newcomer awards  as well as best international album.  franz ferdinand  who were shortlisted in five categories  won best rock act and best british group  an award they dedicated to late dj john peel. but they missed out on best british live act  which went to muse. keane won best british album and breakthrough act. will young won the best single prize for your game. mcfly won the best pop act prize  and gwen stefani picked up the best international female artist award. eminem won the male prize.  best british male artist winner mike skinner - aka the streets - does not usually attend award ceremonies  but the birmingham hip-hop artist performed his hit dry your eyes at the ceremony. however  he did not collect his prize. a bandmate informed the crowd skinner was  in the toilet . after beating amy winehouse  jamelia  natasha bedingfield and pj harvey to the best british female prize  joss stone said:  i don t know what to say. i don t like doing this at all. i d like to thank my family for being really supportive and everybody that made my record with me.   i don t even know what to do right now. thank you all you guys for voting for me  i feel sick right now.  viewers of digital music tv channel mtv base voted stone the winner in the best urban act category.  little britain comedy duo matt lucas and david walliams presented the best song prize to robbie williams dressed as his former take that colleagues gary barlow and howard donald  leading him to quip he was  always the talented man of the band .  williams  track beat songs by will young  queen  kate bush and joy division in a vote by bbc radio 2 listeners to mark 25 years of the uk music industry ceremony. it is his 15th brit award  having already received 10 solo awards and four with take that. he told the audience:  i m just amazed that my career keeps going.  keane frontman tom chaplin thanked fans for enduring  rubbish gigs  after they won the british breakthrough act prize. he added:  a lot of people don t think it s cool that we ve had the guts to be ourselves but it s a vital part of who we are as a band and receiving this is recognition of that.   natasha bedingfield - in the running for best british female and best pop act - performed with her brother daniel for the first time at wednesday s event.  the chart-topping siblings duetted on the chaka khan hit ain t nobody. meanwhile  joss stone performed right to be wrong backed by a gospel choir  while lemar and jamelia performed the robert palmer track addicted to love. bob geldof won a prize for his outstanding contribution to music. of the 15 brit awards for achievements in 2004  10 were won by artists tipped in the bbc news website s sound of 2004 list of artists to watch  published at the start of last year. scissor sisters  franz ferdinand  keane  joss stone and mcfly were all in the sound of 2004 top 10. the other five brits winners were already established before sound of 2004 was compiled. the ceremony will be televised on itv1 on thursday.    i m speechless. best song of the last 25 years  yeah right.  i very much doubt that  angels  was even the best song of the week that it came out. like every track robbie has released as a single  it s a blatant but poor facsimile of something that someone else has done better before.  give us a break...!!!  best song in 25 years  you must be joking. its good if you like that sort of thing  but really!  listened to angels on radio 1 this morning when i was driving into work. had not heard it for a while. i love robs voice  the lyrics and tune. perfection!  as usual  the public have short memories when it comes to voting for  the greatest . there must be more than a dozen songs in the last 25 years that deserve this award more. it s not exactly groundbreaking. presumably  the age range that could be bothered to vote is is pretty low...  i m actually embarrassed to be british if that is the best song we have produced in the last 25 years!!  what about the specials - ghost town  the buzzcocks - ever fallen in love with someone... happy mondays - kinky afro  mcalmont & butler - yes  joy division - love will tear us apart... angels is middle-of-the-road rubbish.  angels is a awful piece of sentimental claptrap. it s musically and lyrically inept; and fantastically overrated  a bit like mr williams himself. this result isn t very surprising though  the brits has a long history of celebrating rubbish music!  best of the last 25 years  maybe. cunning to make the timescale not include stairway to heaven or bohemian rhapsody  but it does kind of make it a bit of a hollow award really. not much competition in the last 25 years after all.  it s alright for a pop song - but the best song of the last 25 years     there is no way on earth that song should have been voted the best of the last 25 years....it s a travesty.  rubbish! who voted it for it to be included in any list  i am a regular listener to radio 2 but i don t recall the invitation to vote for this bland  slushy rubbish which might appeal to the masses who wouldn t know a good song if it jumped up and bit them on the nose but is certainly not the best song of the last 25 years. how depressing and just when we thought manufactured  pop  was on the way out - where on earth did this dreadful list appear from   while i am biassed in that i thought love will tear us apart should have won  in all seriousness  i think that the best song of the last 25 years should not include songs less than 5 years old as that would exclude songs which are popular because of novelty. then again  well done robbie  good show.  you ve got to be kidding.  angels is a great song  but not the best song of the last 25 years. only the best song to be up for nomination at the brits.  i think angels is a great song and deserved to be in the run up for this award but i don t think its the best song from the past 25 years! right enough  it is better than some of the others in this catergory  for example  what was will young doing being nominated in the first place - he is alright but the song isn t that good! i m happy for robbie himself though!  best song in the last 25 years  what a joke! think of all the great rock and pop songs released in the 80s and pretty much all of them are better than angels. phil collins doesn t deserve awards for all the good songs he wrote  angels is an overrated song  that got tiresome even before you had finished listening to it. soppy rubbish at best. hopefully manufactured rubbish will die down soon  and let the real artists who worked hard for there glory receive awards.  so boringly obvious and typical of the bland nature of mainstream music in britain today  for me it s proof that music and democracy just don t mix. still  at least it wasn t will young...  oh it s all just a bit of fun. people take these awards too seriously! robbie has millions of loyal fans  while even non-fans know the words to angels. him winning obviously reflects who votes in these awards. personally i wanted will young to win  but that was not really due to his musical talent!  i hate the song  all it brings back is memories of school discos and no-one to slow-dance with!  i agree about angels. i never get fed up hearing it. whenever the song comes on the radio i turn the radio up  smile and sing along (very badly  that is why the radio has to be turned up to drown my voice out). the song makes me calm and serene and happy. well done robbie.  i think that although robbie williams is a good performer  that angels isn t really that good a song. it certainly isn t anywhere near as good as love will tear us apart by joy division or wuthering heights by kate bush.  angels is a fantastic song. all credit to robbie williams and guy chambers. it s a song that will be played forever and bridges all age groups.  robbie did in no way deserve that mantle. whenever we have these awards it is always  artists  from the past five years that seem to win the best of the best...we forget about the late 80s and early 90s for example. they weren t cool at the time  but because they are cool again now shows that the songs have greater longevity than people think.  yes angels is the best song since the past 25 years  because it touches the soul as it carries a lot of meaning.  i ve always disliked angels intensely. i believe it to be symbolic of the general capacity of british pre-teens  teens and middle aged women to accept low quality/ low aspirational music as  classic  songwriting. it s  orrible. it seems obvious to me that people who like robbie are people who don t particularly like music all that much. folks without collections; folks who have never engaged in that madness one experiences when falling under the spell of pop music. angels adds nothing - it is merely an irritating distraction - a wasp that refuses to go away on a summer s afternoon picnic. what a dreadful result. if you voted for it - you should feel ashamed of yourself - you probably only know a dozen songs or so don t you - so where do get off applying this uninformed filter and casting this ridiculous vote. booo hisss  angels  best song  you are kidding  right  last five years i might be willing to accept  but 25  no way. did whoever voted for this actually have any music knowledge prior to  say  1995  really quite insulting to the british music industry of the past quarter of a century.  no surprise about robbie williams considering the list. where on earth did the nominations list come from     compiled by an eleven year-old girl perhaps   i mean  will young  come on.  what a load of crap  best song in the last 25 years - i don t think so!! what about all the real artists out there over the last 25 years - the list is endless  but robbie williams doesn t even come close.  what a joke. that song has become such a bane to me that i have developed a pavlovian response to the word  angels  where i thrash around  and scream  no no no no no  until someone tells me  the radio s off . why a half-baked cheesy ditty like angels  which has become the anthem for millions of romantic sops (think how many times it was sung on pop idol for example  and by whom)  should be voted the best song of the past 25 years  is beyond me. if this is the song against which all others are judged  then musicians may as well give up.  why do we reward mediocrity so highly in this country   the initial list was very weak anyway  but angels the best song of the last 25 years!!!! i think not  i didn t realize radio 2 had so many listeners under the age of 10!!  people have such short memories! a great song yes  but the best of the last 25 years  not a chance. i think the person as opposed to the song has been voted for here.  the great british public at work again. it s a mediocre  sentimental and safe song. granted  it s not too bad  either. but can it stand up against anything by the smiths (in particular  how soon is now  ) or anything from the stone roses  first album  nope.  no  because i m not female and i m not 10!  ok i like robbie and angels is a decent song. but it is no way the best song of the past 25 years! the shortlist wasn t great but him winning it is a joke!  predictable and laughable.  the success of angels at this years brits reflects poorly on the state of british music over the last 25 years. the british public are brainwashed by the corporate pulp that is presneted to them as cutting edge music and true talent is being sadly missed. whilst angels is a popular song it is not even the best song in robbie s repertoire never mind best song of the last 25 years.  i am a huge robbie fan and love that song. but i think there are a lot more outstanding songs / music out there that influenced music today  unfortunately they were left out of the list.  have radio 2 listeners even heard of joy division  a band who  through two albums  have had a bigger impact on music  and continue to do so  over the last 25 years than robbie williams ever will.  no doubt about it. there s not a song done by anyone with more emotion and feeling. some people will adopt their slightly snobby stances  but angels has hit home with a far larger audience than any other song.  it should have been joy division.those guys have played an influential part in shaping modern day music while angels remains yet another pop song. i sincerely do not believe that in 25 years from now  the most influential artists will argue that robbie williams inspired their art in the way that the byrds  the beatles and nick drake have done for music today.  yes!! i think its a brilliantly written song with different meanings to different people. there were other great songs in the category... but somebody had to win! robbie was a deserved winner.  i am astounded that such a second-rate record has beaten such a line up of amazing songs! it s a terrible song  voted for by the masses who don t have the brains to appreciate innovative and exciting music.  the best song of the past 25 years  really  come on  this is surely a joke  no  i think i need a long lie down...  it just goes to show that the british public do not have a clue about good quality music when they pick robbie williams over the beautifully talented kate bush and joy division. i suppose it s confirmed one thing - the british public are consistently dull :- <(  no offence robbie  but pleeease! there must be a thousand better songs than a formulated cheesy pop song for kids. no one agrees with this and quite frankly it is an embarassment to the integrity of british music  and a further nail in the coffin!  i think robbie deserves it  he has been the most iconic of any stars we have had in britain since john lennon and is an idol to millions worldwide. anybody who says he doesn t deserve it is jealous of his success. the only real challenger was queen but hey  another one bites the dust!!  obviously all the karaoke singers in the uk voted for it.  if this is the best song of the last 25 years then the british music industry is in trouble. sure robbie is talented and produces excellent material  but this is not the best record.  a sad day for music  it s not the type of music i normally like  but even as a diehard rock fan  i recognise that it is a good song and appelas to most people. that s why it has been voted best song of the last 25 years. it s a good all-rounder. just like robbie.  best song in 25 years  since 1980  i m confused.  angels  isn t a bad song. it s a nice  catchy  formulaic anthem that ticks all the boxes. but this is not great music. if anything it s regressive. bland even. i suppose it s just more evidence of how redundant the brit awards have become.  granted angels is a good song  however it really wasn t up against any other proper competition. the queen s song was lackluster  and apart from kate bush  the other choices were pathetic! also  why weren t the stones there  david bowie  etc  there are so many greater songs than angels...i wonder if it was simply the fact that robbie wasn t getting more awards so they had to make one up for him!  best song of the last 25 years  what a ridiculuous concept  and an even more ridiculous winner. sigh. on the upside  at least it wasn t bohemian rhapsody  for which we should all be thankful.  angels is without doubt a great song but i really don t think it deserves the title of best song in 25 years.perhaps the vote had more to do with teenage opinion on robbies  goodlooks than the actual song!!! don t get me wrong  i m not disputing his looks  but there are more deserved winners.  it would have been a travesty had angels not won. without angels  robbie williams may well not be where he is now  and britain would have been deprived of one of its most charismatic and talented performing artists. it has to be seen performed live  with 125 000 people singing along to be fully appreciated. well done rob.  i find it hard to believe that  angels  is the best we have to show for the past 25 years! i m rapidly redifining  best  in my own head now to mean  most gratuitously played at weddings and funerals because people think it has deep meaning . what about britpop  blur  oasis  suede  pulp... not only making fantastic songs but also making changes  doing something different. why must  best  always come down to most commercially popular   i ve nothing against robbie  i actually like his music  but how can this possibly be the best song from the last 25year  the brits has proved to be nothing more than a bargaining tool between the pop moguls to boost band profiles and record sales. the same goes with the scissor sisters  i think this is a superb record and thoroughly deserves the newcomer award  but the album comes no where near u2 s new record  neither are they in the same league. once again there have been some baffling discisions made  they are not for artisic reasons  but for profit.  no surprise really  it s voted for by the general public. since when did they have taste in music   personally i find angels by robbie williams to be one of the most irritating songs i have ever heard!  it absolutely deserved to win. it is a song that has united the generations and will continue to be played for many years to come.  it s an absolute joke  however most of the original 25 were very poor choices as well. all in all a pretty pointless exercise !  the song is overplayed and oversentimental. out of the rather poor five choices that were left  it should have gone to either joy division or queen. i suppose we should be thankful that it didn t end up in the hands of will young though.  although it has nostalgia value  there is no way it deserved to win. everybody knows the words to bohemian rhapsody  nothing compares 2 u  etc. much better songs and more timeless. give it to someone with real talent.  although angels is a good song i think that anyone with the slightest musical taste will realise that this is not the best song of the last 25 years. this is just another example of record company manipulation to keep an artist in the public eye. why not give him an award for the greatest pair of trousers if that s all it means!
1619,diageo to buy us wine firm diageo  the world s biggest spirits company  has agreed to buy californian wine company chalone for $260m (£134m) in an all-cash deal.  although diageo s best-known brands include smirnoff vodka and guinness stout  it already has a us winemaking arm - diageo chateau & estate wines. diageo said it expects to get us regulatory approval for the deal during the first quarter of 2005. it said chalone would be integrated into its existing us wine business.   the us wine market represents a growth opportunity for diageo  with favourable demographic and consumption trends   said diageo north america president ivan menezes. in july  diageo  which is listed on the london stock exchange  reported an annual turnover of £8.89bn  down from £9.28bn a year earlier. it blamed a weaker dollar for its lower turnover. in the year ending 31 december 2003  chalone reported revenues of $69.4m.
1032,games firms  face tough future  uk video game firms face a testing time as they prepare for the next round of games consoles  the industry warns.  fred hasson  head of tiga  which represents independent developers  said that more uk firms would go under due to greater risks in making new titles. three leading uk video game companies also predicted that more firms would close as they struggled to adapt. microsoft  sony and nintendo are expected to release new consoles in the next 18 months. microsoft has said repeatedly that it wants to be first to the market and some analysts predict that xbox 2 will be released in the us before the end of 2005.  the new machines will all have much greater processing and graphical power which will have a huge impact on development of next generation games. mr hasson said:  in the last four years we have probably lost a third of independent developers.  he said there were about 150 independent developers left in the industry and more were likely to close.  once the cull has finished its likely to present those still standing with great opportunities   he said.  mr hasson said the industry was predicting that developments costs and teams were likely to need to double in order to cope with the demands of the new machines. that figure was endorsed by three independent companies contacted by the bbc news website - codemasters  climax and rebellion.   as consoles get more powerful  the content gets more detailed and that means more cost   said gary dunn  development director at codemasters  which develops games in house and also publishes titles. jason kingsley  chief executive of rebellion  said the transition from the current generation of consoles to the new machines was difficult because  the production quality expected by consumers will be that much bigger . he added:  we have been through five technology transitions and survived so far.  each one has involved the death of some people. all companies said they were investing in new tools - called middleware - in order to try and avoid staff numbers spiralling out of control.  simon gardner  president of climax s action studio  said:  we are investing in superior tools and editors. we are investing upfront to generate this content without the need for huge teams.  it s vital we avoid huge teams.  he said climax was already directing about 20% of its resources to preparation for next generation titles. mr dunn warned that companies could face a short supply of programming  development and artistic talent.  if companies are hiring bigger and bigger teams  at some point the talent is going to run out.  mr hasson said games developers were beginning to realise that they had to be more  business-like .  there are still some developers who were involved in games from the bedroom coding days.  some of them are still making games for peer group approval - that has to stop.
287,us firm  bids for lacroix label  a us firm has said it is in final negotiations with luxury goods group lvmh to buy the loss-making christian lacroix haute-couture house.  paris-based lvmh has been selling non-core businesses and focusing on its most profitable labels including moet & chandon champagne and louis vuitton. privately-held falic group bought two cosmetics brands  hard candy and urban decay  from lvmh in early 2003. the florida company also own a chain of 90 duty free stores in the us. lvmh refused to comment on the reports. but one of the three brothers behind the falic group said the firm had also held talks with the designer christian lacroix  and wished to retain him.  we are buying his name   simon falic told the reuters news agency.  we have plans to increase the exposure of the brand and increase the volume of business.
2194,us consumer confidence up consumers  confidence in the state of the us economy is at its highest for five months and they are optimistic about 2005  an influential survey says.  the feel-good factor among us consumers rose in december for the first time since july according to new data. the conference board survey of 5 000 households pointed to renewed optimism about job creation and economic growth. us retailers have reported strong sales over the past 10 days after a slow start to the crucial festive season.  according to figures also released on tuesday  sales in shopping malls in the week to 25 december were 4.3% higher than in 2003 following a last minute rush. wal-mart  the largest us retailer  has said its december sales are expected to be better than previously forecast because of strong post-christmas sales.  it is expecting annual sales growth of between 1% and 3% for the month. consumer confidence figures are considered a key economic indicator because consumer spending accounts for about two thirds of all economic activity in the united states.  the continuing economic expansion  combined with job growth  has consumers ending this year on a high note   said lynn franco  director of the conference board s consumer research centre.  and consumers  outlook suggests that the economy will continue to expand in the first half of next year.  the overall us economy has performed strongly in recent months  prompting the federal reserve to increase interest rates five times since june.
928,wilkinson to lead england fly-half jonny wilkinson has been named as england s new rugby union captain for the three november tests.  the 25-year-old newcastle star takes over from lawrence dallaglio  who retired from internationals in august. england s acting head coach andy robinson said:  he is a natural leader  holds the respect of the squad and is a formidable talent on the pitch.  and he consistently demonstrates the energy and commitment i feel is essential to be captain of england.  robinson added:  there are several players in the squad i would feel comfortable in calling upon to be england captain but for me jonny is in every way the right player to take on this challenge.  captaincy offers a challenging environment for any player  especially following in the footsteps of lawrence dallaglio and before him the world cup captain  martin johnson.   but i am confident jonny has what it takes to do an outstanding job as we look ahead towards the next rugby world cup in france and i look forward to working with him.  wilkinson  who has scored 817 points in 52 internationals  kicked the winning drop-goal in the final seconds of extra-time in england s 2003 rugby world cup triumph against australia. but he then missed the entire 2004 six nations campaign while recuperating from shoulder surgery  before making his comeback for newcastle in the zurich premiership in august.  it s the ambition of so many players to one day be captain of england and today i have realised a dream   he said.  i m honoured andy wants me to be his captain  and to follow lawrence and martin means a lot to me as they are inspirational men who have given so much to england rugby over many years.   getting my first england cap against ireland six years ago was something i ll never forget because to play for your country is very special. taking on the captaincy is another important step in my career and i do so with immense pride.  wilkinson made his international debut in the 1998 six nations championship against ireland when he came off the bench to replace paul grayson.  he has been a regular in the england starting line-up ever since  played in all three lions tests in 2001 and all but one of england s games in the 2003 world cup. he becomes the 117th captain of england since fred stokes held the position in 1871. england s first autumn test is against canada on 13 november  followed by the visit of tri-nations champions south africa a week later and then a world cup re-match with australia.
584,triple triumph for little britain top tv cult hit little britain has triumphed over the office at the 15th annual british comedy awards.  the bbc show beat the office christmas special in the best tv comedy category and took the people s choice award. matt lucas and david walliams also jointly won best tv comedy actor over the office creator ricky gervais  who won a special award for writing. it was also a good night for ant and dec who clinched two awards  including best comedy entertainment personality. the geordie duo also secured best comedy entertainment programme for saturday night takeaway  beating i m a celebrity... get me out of here!  which they also host  and the bbc s have i got news for you.  the ceremony was presented by jonathan ross from itv s london studios headquarters on the capital s south bank. little britain began life as a radio series on radio 4  with walliams and lucas playing a range of misfit characters from an alternative britain. it was later commissioned for bbc three  where it proved a huge success  with the second series also shown on bbc one. after receiving his award for best tv comedy actor with walliams  lucas said:  it s a great honour to be nominated alongside ricky gervais and martin clunes.   the show also won the people s choice award  which is the only gong on the night voted for by viewers. speaking after receiving the award for best comedy  walliams said:  it was a real shock but i don t think we deserved to beat the office which is a great show and more than just a comedy. it s a beautiful piece of work.  gervais and the office co-writer stephen merchant received a special award for writing  presented by noel gallagher and tom stoppard. gervais said:  the show has won an awful lot of awards in the last couple of years  too much. it s got embarrassing to be honest.  other winners at the awards included caroline quentin  who took home best tv comedy actress for life begins and von trapped.  catherine tate  from the catherine tate show  was also nominated for the same award  but she did walk away with best comedy newcomer  over james mcavoy from shameless (channel 4) and julian barratt and noel fielding from the mighty boosh (bbc three). nighty night was named britain s best new tv comedy over itv1 shows doc martin and life begins. but doc martin won best tv comedy drama  over jonathan creek (bbc one) and shameless. winner in the best international comedy category was the simpsons  beating sex and the city and curb your enthusiasm. the prize was accepted by matt groening  creator of the simpsons  who also received an outstanding contribution award from scientist stephen hawking  who has been featured in the series. school of rock was voted best comedy film beating shaun of the dead and shrek 2.  matt lucas & david walliams (little britain  bbc three)  caroline quentin (life begins/ von trapped  itv1)  ant & dec (ant & dec s saturday night takeaway/ i m a celebrity  get me out of here!  itv1)  catherine tate (the catherine tate show  bbc two)  nighty night (baby cow productions  bbc three)  little britain (bbc three)  doc martin (buffalo productions  itv1)  ant & dec s saturday night takeaway (granada  itv1)  the simpsons (twentieth century fox  bbc two/sky one/channel 4)  school of rock
1722,tory leader quits legal position david mcletchie has resigned from his post as a partner in a legal firm following criticism over his dual role.  the scottish conservative leader had insisted that his legal work with tods murray did not influence the causes he supports. but on friday he said:  i have tendered my resignation as a partner with immediate effect.  mr mcletchie had received advice from holyrood officials about what details he needed to declare. labour said he had  cleverly  not asked about paid advocacy. a tory spokesman  totally refuted  any wrongdoing.  mr mcletchie received advice from the clerk to the standards committee after concern over him signing a parliamentary motion questioning expansion plans for edinburgh airport. the msp had been a partner for tods murray which has a client opposing the development. mr mcletchie did not have a complaint made against him  but when concerns were raised he sought guidance from the standards committee to clarify his position. he was advised to exercise judgement to avoid the perception of a conflict and said he had done nothing wrong.  explaining his reason for quitting the post  mr mcletchie said:  i have been greatly concerned by the recent publicity surrounding my association with tods murray.  however  i have no wish to see a similar situation arise again.  to avoid any misconceptions in the future and be mindful of the good name of tods murray and the confidentiality to which its clients are entitled  i have brought forward the date of my retirement from the firm which would otherwise have happened later this year.  i am proud to have been a part of tods murray for the last 29 years and wish it well in the future.   labour msp christine may had said mr mcletchie was  very clever  to ask the clerk to consider his conduct in respect of section 5 of the code.  he was almost bound to get the answer he wanted from this enquiry since he stands accused of breaching section 6  the section on paid advocacy   she said. section 5 of the members interest order legally obliges msps to declare registrable interests before taking part in related parliamentary proceedings  where the interest would prejudice or give the appearance of prejudicing their ability to participate in a disinterested manner . however  msps  code of conduct  recognises a wider definition  of parliamentary proceedings  including a non-statutory requirement to make a declaration in relation to written notices  such as motions.  but a letter from holyrood s chamber office chief ken hughes also made clear that mr mcletchie did not need to list any of the clients for whom he worked as a solicitor. commenting on mr mcletchie s decision to stand down  a scottish labour party spokesman said:  this should mean mr mcletchie doesn t breach the paid advocacy rules in future.  however it doesn t change the fact that there should be a full investigation into whether he has done this in the past.   scottish national party holyrood leader nicola sturgeon accused mr mcletchie of failing to properly serve his constituents. ms sturgeon said:  i think this whole episode has been very damaging for mr mcletchie and i m sure he will be reflecting on it.  she added that she thought that the tories were an irrelevant party so she would not  lose any sleep over it . peter misselbrook  executive partner of tods murray said mr mcletchie had been considering retirement later in the year. he added:  david has decided that this announcement should be made now and we fully understand and appreciate his reasons for doing so.
1685,tautou  to star in da vinci film  french actress audrey tautou  star of hit film amelie  will play the female lead in the film adaptation of the da vinci code  it has been reported.  the movie version of dan brown s best-selling novel is being directed by ron howard and also stars tom hanks. tautou will play hanks  code-cracking partner  according to various newspapers. she is currently starring in a very long engagement  directed by jean-pierre jeunet. jeunet was also responsible for directing tautou in amelie in 2001  which launched the actress into the mainstream.  she also starred as the lead role in critically-acclaimed film dirty pretty things in 2002. oscar-winning director ron howard chose tautou for the part  preferring a french actress to a big name hollywood star. uk actress kate beckinsale had been widely tipped as a possibility for the role alongside vanessa paradis and juliette binoche. the thriller upon which the movie is based has sold more than 17 million copies and is centred on a global conspiracy surrounding the holy grail mythology. the louvre museum  scene of the gruesome murder at the beginning of the novel  recently gave permission for filming to take place there  showbusiness newspaper variety reported. the $100m movie will be produced by columbia/sony pictures and is due for release on may 19  2006 in the united states and france.
1828,cash gives way to flexible friend spending on credit and debit cards has overtaken cash spending in the uk for the first time.  the moment that plastic finally toppled cash happened at 10.38am on wednesday  according to the association for payment clearing services (apacs) apacs chose school teacher helen carroll  from portsmouth  to make the historic transaction. the switch over took place as she paid for her groceries in the supermarket chain tesco s cromwell road branch.  mrs carroll was born in the same year that plastic cards first appeared in the uk.  i pay for most things with my debit card  with occasional purchases on one of my credit cards   said mrs carroll  who teaches at peel common infants school in gosport.  spending patterns for the year and estimates for december led apacs to conclude that 10.38am was the time that plastic would finally rule the roost. shoppers in the uk are expected to put £269bn on plastic cards during the whole of 2004  compared with £268bn paid with cash  apacs said. when the first plastic cards appeared in the uk in june 1966  issued by barclaycard  but only a handful of retailers accepted them and very few customers held them.  but in less than 40 years  plastic has become our most popular way to pay  due to the added security and flexibility it offers   said apacs spokeswoman jemma smith.  the key driver has been the introduction of debit cards  which now account for two-thirds of plastic card transactions and are used by millions of us every day.
692,economy focus for election battle britain s economic future will be at the heart of labour s poll campaign  chancellor gordon brown has said.  he was speaking after cabinet members held their last meeting at no 10 before the expected election announcement. he said voters would recognise that labour had brought stability and growth  and would continue to do so. meanwhile the tories outlined their plans to tackle  yob culture  and the lib dems gave more details about their proposals to replace council tax. earlier the archbishop of canterbury wrote to all three parties urging them not to fight the election by exploiting people s fears.  in an open letter  he called on them not to turn the election into a competition about who can most effectively frighten voters about terrorism  asylum  and crime. he said they should concentrate instead on issues such as the environment  international development and the arms trade  family policy  and the reform of the criminal justice system.  shadow foreign secretary michael ancram said:  we have fought a very positive campaign. i think he will want to look quite carefully at what jack straw said about michael howard.   in a speech to the foreign policy centre mr straw said of the tory leader:  he is clever  fluent and tactical  but he is not wise.  he lacks strategy and good judgment  and his quick temper and impetuosity too often get the better of him.  the foreign secretary told the bbc:  i was making the observation that because of michael howard s impetuosity you can get lurches of policy.  liberal democrat chairman matthew taylor said:  people are already really turned off by the kind of campaign the others are fighting and you will see us putting emphasis on some of these huge issues facing the world  particularly the environment.   labour s focus on the economy as their key message - came on the day a new report was published by the institute of fiscal studies  suggesting that household incomes have fallen for the first time in more than a decade. the ifs says the drop partly reflects measures announced in what it called the chancellor s tax-raising budget of 2002. the treasury dismissed the research as  complete rubbish . party election supremo alan milburn said the apparent drop in average incomes was because self-employed people had been affected by a  world downturn  which hit their profits. since 1997  the reported average take-home income had  risen by 20% in real terms  if you took out the self-employed  mr milburn told bbc radio 4 s today programme. mr brown also dismissed the figures insisting that the  typical family  has been much better off under labour.
1393,wall street cheers bush victory the us stock market has closed higher in response to george w bush s victory in the presidential elections.  the benchmark dow jones share index closed more than 1% higher at 10 137  while the nasdaq rose 0.9% to 2 004. many investors believe that mr bush s policies are more business-friendly than those of his democrat challenger  john kerry. the higher share prices also reflect relief that a clear winner has emerged from what proved to be a tight poll.  investors had worried that the outcome of the poll would be inconclusive  paving the way for a repeat of the legal wrangling that marred the 2000 election.  the dow lost 5% of its value in the three weeks immediately after that election  when it was unclear who would occupy the white house. mr kerry conceded defeat on wednesday  abandoning last-ditch hopes of carrying the vote in the swing state of ohio.  the relief for the markets may be that we have a decision and can move forward   said tim ghriskey  chief investment officer of solaris asset management. some analysts predicted that the jump in share prices would be short-lived  saying investors would quickly focus once again on the health of the us economy.  i would look at the stock market rally for bush as kind of a one-day event   said ken mayland at clearview economics. the us  recent economic performance has been mixed  with solid growth offset by disappointingly low job creation figures  and mounting worries over a record budget deficit. elsewhere in the financial markets on wednesday  the dollar dipped slightly against the euro and climbed against the yen  while us oil prices closed up $1.26 at $50.88 a barrel in new york. the rise in oil prices partly reflects the view that president bush is less likely than mr kerry to release supplies from the us  strategic oil reserve. share prices in london  frankfurt and paris also closed higher.  successive polls in the run-up to tuesday s election had shown the two candidates running neck and neck.  economic issues  as well as the war in iraq  were the forefront of the campaign. in key swing states such as ohio  which has suffered substantial job losses in the past four years  president bush s handling of the economy became a crucial election issue. senator kerry attacked president bush s economic record during his campaign  hammering home the fact that a net 800 000 jobs were lost during his term in office. president bush focused on the fact that two million jobs have been created in the past year  claiming that it has vindicated his tax-cutting agenda. as for future policies  both candidates pledged to bring america s $422bn federal budget deficit under control. senator kerry planned to increase taxes on those earning more than $200 000 a year. president bush has placed reform of the pensions system at the heart of his economic agenda for a second term. however  economists have said both candidates  economic programmes rested on questionable assumptions about future growth.
540,more to do  on adult literacy the government will only hit its target for improving adult maths and literacy skills if courses are made more attractive  a report says.  the national audit office praised ministers for reaching the benchmark of 750 000 adults in england gaining basic qualifications by this year. but a target of 1.5 million more by 2010 needed  creative  ideas. some 26 million adults lack maths or english skill levels expected of school-leavers.  according to the report   more than half  the qualifications achieved were by learners aged 16 to 18. these are defined as  adults  by the government for the purpose of compiling these figures. normally adults are defined as being aged over 19. the number of these people gaining qualifications was  rising slowly . auditor general sir john bourn said:  higher levels of literacy and numeracy will benefit england both socially and economically.  more people will have the opportunity to live richer lives.  in 2001  the government launched the get on scheme - aimed at reducing illiteracy and innumeracy. sir john said  substantial progress  had been made since  adding that this was  only the beginning . the government and its partners would  need to be creative and responsive . some £3.7bn will be spent on implementing the programme by 2006. the report recommends gathering more details on the educational needs of areas  so courses can be set to meet local demand. existing adult learners could use their  enthusiasm  commitment and local knowledge  to attract other people. the department for education and skills could also use more  personalised learning  and work with voluntary groups  councils and employers.  it should also assess adult learners  progress  at frequent intervals   the report adds. when the government announced it had reached its 2004 target earlier this month  prime minister tony blair said it was  only the start of the journey . an estimated 5.2 million adults have worse literacy than that expected of 11 year olds  while 14.9 million have numeracy skills below this level. this is thought to cost the uk economy hundreds of millions of pounds each year. the qualifications achieved by those taking part in the government s scheme range up to gcse equivalents. get on s participation target has been set at 2.25 million by 2010  with an interim figure of 1.5 million by 2007. education minister ivan lewis said:  we will continue to use creative ways of involving people with the lowest skill levels and the report shows that our efforts are gathering pace.  shadow education secretary tim collins said:  this is the third report in two days to highlight labour s failure to ensure young people acquire the necessary levels of literacy and numeracy for their working life.  employers and business leaders have repeatedly voiced concern over the number of school-leavers without these basic skills  but all the government have offered is more talk.  liberal democrat education spokesman phil willis added:  far too little has been done to enable adult learners to fit learning into their busy lives.
1317,hearts 2-1 livingston hearts wrapped up their scottish cup quarter-final tie against livingston with two goals in the first 10 minutes.  lee miller scored inside the opening 60 seconds  heading over colin meldrum and into the net from a jamie mcallister free kick. mcallister himself scored the second when he met saul mikoliunas  cross at the back post to put the game beyond the visitors. craig easton headed in a controversial goal after an hour but hearts held on. the opening goal came after gus bahoken had clumsily fouled miller 35 yards from goal. mcallister floated the free kick into the livi box and miller outjumped the static visiting defence to loop his header from 10 yards over meldrum. with just 10 minutes on the clock  the home side doubled their lead. mikoliunas sprinted down the right  crossed to the back post where mcallister raced in to head past meldrum. moments later miller came close to grabbing his second with a first-time drive from 16 yards  which skimmed the bar.  then mcallister picked up a pass from stephen simmons and drove an angled shot from 20 yards narrowly past meldrum s far post. the impressive mikoliunas twice went close before half time - a low drive was comfortably gathered by meldrum and then he curled a left-footed shot past the keeper s right-hand post. livi manager richard gough made three changes at the interval  bringing on defender goran stanic  midfielder gabor vincze  and striker ferenc horvath for bahoken  derek lilley and mark wilson. but  in the opening stages of the second period  little changed. however  the west lothian side gave themselves a lifeline with a controversial goal. eric deloumeaux sent jason dair away on the right and he tried to give the ball to mcpake  who looked to be in an offside position. the livi striker ignored the pass  however  and dair ran on to it and played easton in at the back post and he headed home from close range. the home side called for offside against mcpake but referee alan freeland ignored their claims and pointed to the centre-circle. livi went all out for the equaliser. in the 87th minute  burton o brien was hauled back at the edge of the box by neil macfarlane  but dair sent his shot just inches wide.  gordon  webster  miller  hartley  neilson  mcallister  simmons (macfarlane 64)  berra  burchill (wyness 82)  mikoliunas (cesnauskis 77)  wallace.  moilanen  kizys.  berra  webster.  miller 1  mcallister 10.  meldrum  mcnamee  bahoken (stanic 45)  deloumeaux  strong  dair  easton  mark wilson (vincze 45)  lilley (horvath 45)  o brien  mcpake.  mckenzie  hand.  : vincze  horvath.  easton 60.  9 796  a freeland
152,slim playstation triples sales sony playstation 2 s slimmer shape has proved popular with uk gamers  with 50 000 sold in its first week on sale.  sales have tripled since launch  outstripping microsoft s xbox  said market analysts chart-track. the numbers were also boosted by the release of the ps2-only game grand theft auto: san andreas. the title broke the uk sales record for video games in its first weekend of release. latest figures suggest it has sold more than 677 000 copies.   it is obviously very  very encouraging for sony because microsoft briefly outsold them last week   john houlihan  editor of computerandvideogames.com told bbc news.  and with halo 2 [for xbox] out next week  it really is a head-to-head contest between them and xbox.   although xbox sales over the last week also climbed  ps2 sales were more than double that. the figures mean sony is reaching the seven million barrier for uk sales of the console. edinburgh-based developer  rockstar  which is behind the gta titles  has seen san andreas pull in an estimated £24m in gross revenues over the weekend. in comparison  blockbuster films like harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban took £11.5m in its first three days at the uk box office. the lord of the rings: the return of the king took nearly £10m over its opening weekend  although games titles are four to five times more expensive than cinema tickets.  gangster-themed gta san andreas is the sequel to grand theft auto vice city which previously held the record for the fastest-selling video game ever. the xbox game halo 2  released on 11 november in the uk  is also widely tipped to be one of the best-selling games of the year. the original title won universal acclaim in 2001  and sold more than four million copies.  mr houlihan added that sony had done well with the ps2  but it definitely helped that the release of san andreas coincided with the slimline ps2 hitting the shelves. the run-up to christmas is a huge battlefield for games consoles and titles. microsoft s xbox had been winning the race up until last week in sales. the sales figures also suggest that it may be a largely adult audience driving demand  since gta san andreas has an 18 certificate. sony and microsoft have both reduced console prices recently and are preparing the way for the launches of their next generation consoles in 2005.  both have hit crucial price points at around £100 and that really does open up new consoles to new audience  plus the release of two really important games in terms of development are also driving those sales   said mr houlihan.
650,mobile networks seek turbo boost third-generation mobile (3g) networks need to get faster if they are to deliver fast internet surfing on the move and exciting new services.  that was one of the messages from the mobile industry at the 3gsm world congress in cannes last week. fast 3g networks are here but the focus has shifted to their evolution into a higher bandwidth service  says the global mobile suppliers association. at 3gsm  siemens showed off a system that transmits faster mobile data. the german company said data could be transmitted at one gigabit a second - up to 20 times faster than current 3g networks. the system is not available commercially yet  but motorola  the us mobile handset and infrastructure maker  held a clinic for mobile operators on hsdpa (high speed downlink packet access)  a high-speed  high bandwidth technology available now. early hsdpa systems typically offer around two megabits per second (mbps) compared with less than 384 kilobits per second (kbps) on standard 3g networks.   high-speed downlink packet access (hsdpa) - sometimes called super 3g - will be vital for profitable services like mobile internet browsing and mobile video clips   according to a report published by uk-based research consultancy analysys. a number of companies are developing the technology. nokia and canada-based wireless communication products company sierra wireless recently agreed to work together on high speed downlink packet access. the two companies aim to jointly market the hsdpa solution to global network operator customers.   while hsdpa theoretically enables data rates up to a maximum of 14mbps  practical throughputs will be lower than this in wide-area networks   said dr alastair brydon  author of the analysys report: pushing beyond the limits of 3g with hsdpa and other enhancements.  the typical average user rate in a real implementation is likely to be in the region of one megabit per second which  even at this lower rate  will more than double the capacity... when compared to basic wcdma [3g]   he added. motorola has conducted five trials of its technology and says speeds of 2.9mbps have been recorded at the edge of an outdoor 3g cell using a single hsdpa device. but some mobile operators are opting for a technology called evolution  data optimised (ev-do).  us operator sprint ordered a broadband data upgrade to its 3g network at the end of last year. we are  expanding our network and deploying ev-do technology to meet customer demand for faster wireless speeds   said oliver valente  sprint s vice president for technology development  when the contract was announced. as part of $3bn in multi-year contracts announced late last year  sprint will spend around $1bn on ev-do technology from lucent technologies  nortel networks and motorola that provides average data speeds of 0.3-0.5 megabits a second  and peak download rates of 2.4mbps. mmo2  the uk-based operator with services in the uk  ireland and germany  has opted for technology based on the high speed downlink packet access (hsdpa) standard. using technology from lucent  it will offer data speeds of 3.6mbps from next summer on its isle of man 3g network  and will eventually support speeds of up to 14.4mbps. us operator cingular wireless is also adopting hsdpa  using technology from lucent alongside equipment from siemens and ericsson.  siemens  plans for a one gigabit network may be more than a user needs today  but christoph caselitz  president of the mobile networks division at the firm says that:  by the time the next generation of mobile communication debuts in 2015  the need for transmission capacities for voice  data  image and multimedia is conservatively anticipated to rise by a factor of 10.  siemens - in collaboration with the fraunhofer german-sino lab for mobile communications and the institute for applied radio system technology - has souped up mobile communications by using three transmitting and four receiving antennae  instead of the usual one. this enables a data transmission  such as sending a big file or video  to be broken up into different flows of data that can be sent simultaneously over one radio frequency band. the speeds offered by3g mobile seemed fast at the time mobile operators were paying huge sums for 3g licences. but today  instead of connecting to the internet by slow  dial-up phone connection  many people are used to broadband networks that offer speeds of 0.5 megabits a second - must faster than 3g. this means users are likely to find 3g disappointing unless the networks are souped up. if they aren t  those lucrative  power users   such as computer geeks and busy business people will avoid them for all but the most urgent tasks  reducing the potential revenues available to mobile operators. but one gigabit a second systems will not be available immediately. siemens says that though the system works in the laboratory  it still has to assess the mobility of multiple-antennae devices and conduct field trials. a commercial system could be as far away as 2012  though siemens did not rule out an earlier date.
191,kinnock to urge reform in lords neil kinnock has said his acceptance of a seat in the house of lords will allow him to help  achieve further progress with substantial democratic reform.   on the bbc s breakfast with frost it was put to mr kinnock that he had once referred to lords members as  brigands  muggers  bribers and gangsters . but the outgoing european commissioner said his comments - made some 26 years ago - needed to be put in context. he said advocates for reform needed to be inside the lords to vote for it.  it was pointed out to me that if the additional democratic reform is going to take place it is going to require advocates in the lords and people there willing to vote for it.   mr kinnock added that the second factor behind his acceptance of the peerage was his appointment as chairman of the british council.  history demonstrates that it s immensely useful for the british council to have its chairman in the house of lords and that was a conclusive factor.  mr kinnock said he thought about the decision for  quite a long time  because he had long had reservations about the lords. but he added:  the process of reform has developed substantially but not sufficiently  and consequently i did take all these factors into consideration because it s not a decision to be made glibly.  the former labour leader said he would probably take the title of lord kinnock of bedwellty - his first constituency for which he was selected in 1969.
1719,famed music director viotti dies conductor marcello viotti  director of venice s famous la fenice theatre  has died in germany at 50.  viotti  director of la fenice since 2002  conducted at renowned opera houses worldwide including milan s la scala and the vienna state opera. his time at la fenice coincided with its reopening in 2003 after it was destroyed by fire in 1996. he fell into a coma after suffering a stroke during rehearsals for jules massenet s manon last week.  he conducted some of the best orchestras in the world including the berlin philharmonic and the english chamber orchestra. viotti was born in switzerland and studied the piano  cello and singing at the lausanne conservatory. his career breakthrough came in 1982 when he won first prize at the gino marinuzzi conducting competition in italy. viotti established himself as chief conductor of the turin opera and went on to become chief conductor of munich s radio orchestra. at la fenice viotti was widely acclaimed for his production of the french composer massenet s thais and some of his other productions included giuseppe verdi s la traviata and richard strauss s ariadne auf naxos.  the last opera he directed at la fenice was massenet s le roi de lahore. viotti s debut at the new york s metropolitan opera came in 2000 with giacomo puccini s madame butterfly  followed by la boheme  la traviata and fromental halevy s la juive. giampaolo vianello  superintendent of the fenice theatre foundation  said:  i am filled with extreme sadness because  other than a great artist  he is missed as a friend - a main character in the latest joyous times  during the rebirth of our theatre.  viotti s last public performance was on 5 february when he conducted vincenzo bellini s norma at the vienna state opera.
1564,chinese wine tempts italy s illva italy s illva saronno has agreed to buy 33% of changyu  the largest wine maker in china.  changyu said in a statement to the shenzhen stock exchange that illva will pay 481.42m yuan ($58.16m; £30.7m)  once the government approves the deal. the italian liqueur maker will acquire the shares from the yantai state asset management bureau. chinese wine sales are growing  the us agriculture department said  with wine sales in 2003 up 25% at 61.1bn yuan.  china is encouraging state-owned companies to sell shares to foreign investors. anheuser-busch  heineken and scottish & newcastle have all invested in the chinese beer industry in the last two years and now illva saronno is betting on the chinese wine market. yantai state asset management bureau - a government agency in the north-eastern city of yantai - owns 55% of changyu. the state agency will also sell 10% of its stake in changyu to another overseas company  although it didn t say who. the remaining 12% will be retained by the yantai city government. the consumption of wine in china is still low  at just 0.22 litres per capita  said the us agriculture department. this compares with 59 litres in france  12 litres in the us and three litres in japan.
350,speak easy plan for media players music and film fans will be able to control their digital media players just by speaking to them  under plans in development by two us firms.  scansoft and gracenote are developing technology to give people access to their film and music libraries simply by voice control. they want to give people hands-free access to digital music and films in the car  or at home or on the move. huge media libraries on some players can make finding single songs hard.  voice command-and-control unlocks the potential of devices that can store large digital music collections   said ross blanchard  vice president of business development for gracenote.  these applications will radically change the car entertainment experience  allowing drivers to enjoy their entire music collections without ever taking their hands off the steering wheel   he added.  gracenote provides music library information for millions of different albums for jukeboxes such as apple s itunes. the new technology will be designed so that people can play any individual song or movie out of a collection  just by saying its name. users will also be able to request music that fits a mood or an occasion  or a film just by saying the actor s name.  speech is a natural fit for today s consumer devices  particularly in mobile environments   said alan schwartz  vice president of speechworks  a division of scansoft.  pairing our voice technologies with gracenote s vast music database will bring the benefits of speech technologies to a host of consumer devices and enable people to access their media in ways they ve never imagined.  the two firms did not say if they were developing the technology for languages other than english. users will also be able to get more information on a favourite song they have been listening to by asking:  what is this   portable players are becoming popular in cars and a number of auto firms are working with apple to device interfaces to control the firm s ipod music player. but with tens of thousands of songs able to be stored on one player  voice control would make finding that elusive track by elvis presley much easier. the firms gave no indication about whether the ipod  or any other media player  were in mind for the use of the voice control technology. the companies estimate that the technology will be available in the fourth quarter of 2005.
116,byrds producer melcher dies at 62 record producer terry melcher  who was behind hits by the byrds  ry cooder and the beach boys  has died aged 62.  the son of actress doris day  he helped write kokomo for the beach boys  which was used in the movie cocktail  earning a 1988 golden globe nomination. he also produced mr tambourine man for the byrds  as well as other his such as turn  turn turn. melcher died on friday night at his home in beverly hills  california  after a long battle with skin cancer. he joined columbia records as a producer in the mid-1960s  and also worked with gram parsons and the mamas and the papas.  earlier in his career  melcher had hits as part of duo called bruce & terry  with future beach boy bruce johnston  which evolved into the rip chords group. melcher also worked closely with his mother  producing the doris day show and helping to run her charitable activities. in 1969 his name became linked with the charles manson murders  which saw the deaths of actress sharon tate and four of her friends at a home which melcher once rented. rumours circulated that melcher - who knew manson - was the killer s real target  because he had turned him down for a record contract. but los angeles police discounted the rumours  pointing out melcher had moved to malibu  and manson knew of his new address.
1000,buffy creator joins wonder woman the creator of buffy the vampire slayer is to take on a new female superhero after signing up to write and direct the wonder woman movie.  joss whedon described the dc comics character as  the most iconic female heroine of our time .  in a way  no one has met her yet   he said.  what i love most about icons is finding out what s behind them  exploring the price of their power.  linda carter played the character in the 1970s tv series. the character of wonder woman  famed for her red and gold costume  was born on paradise island  and was blessed with the powers of strength and flight. the film is being produced by joel silver  producer of the matrix trilogy.   there s no one better than joss to adapt the legendary wonder woman comic book character created in the 1940s into a dynamic feature film for 21st century audiences   said silver.  wonder woman was the first great female superhero to emerge from comic books and later inspire millions of fans in her television incarnation... but this groundbreaking heroine has yet to be reinvented for the feature film arena.  whedon created the character of buffy in the screenplay for the 1992 film. he distanced himself from the movie because of the direction it eventually took  and the film bombed. but he did not give up on the slayer and went on to write and executive produce seven seasons of the cult tv series. he also produced the spin-off angel series. he is currently directing the film serenity  based on his short-lived sci-fi series firefly.
36,sayeed to stand down as tory mp tory mp jonathan sayeed is to stand down on the grounds of ill health.  the decision comes after mr sayeed survived an attempt to de-select him in a row over allegations he had profited from private tours of parliament. the mid-bedfordshire mp had denied a claim that he was paid for guiding visitors around the palace of westminster. conservative leader michael howard has now accepted the mp s resignation  it has been announced.  mr sayeed was suspended from parliament for two weeks last month after the commons standards and privileges committee said his conduct had fallen  well below the standards expected . the conservative party had already been withdrawn the whip for a month. but his constituency association voted against a move to deselect him  with mr sayeed winning 173 of the 299 votes. after the vote  mr sayeed said only a fifth of association members had voted against him and he intended to get on with winning the election. but the vote prompted constituency association president sir stanley odell to resign in protest. the standards and privileges committee inquiry was launched after the sunday times alleged english manner limited charged clients for access to westminster through mr sayeed. mr sayeed had denied the claims  saying the suspension was  unjust and wrong  but he made an  unreserved  apology to mps in the commons chamber. he insisted that the committee s report had contained a  few errors of fact . mr sayeed has been mp for mid-bedfordshire since 1997. he represented bristol east from 1983 to 1992.
1225,tobacco giants hail court ruling us tobacco companies have welcomed an appeal court s decision to reject the government s $280bn (£155bn) claim for alleged deceit about smoking dangers.  tobacco stocks rose sharply on wall street after the 2-1 decision. the court in washington found the case - filed by the clinton administration in 1999 - could not be brought under federal anti-racketeering laws. anti-smoking groups urge the government to fight on  but the justice department has not said if it will appeal. among the accused were altria group  rj reynolds tobacco  lorillard tobacco  liggett group and brown and williamson. they were delighted by the decision  which sent reynolds shares up 4.5% and altria shares up 5.11%.  charles a blixt  executive vice-president of rj reynolds tobacco  said the ruling  dramatically transforms  the government s lawsuit. altria group said  in a statement  the government now  must not only prove that the companies have engaged in fraudulent behaviour in the past  but that they are likely to do so in the future.   the government had claimed tobacco firms    - manipulated nicotine levels to increase addiction   - targeted teenagers with multi-billion dollar advertising campaigns   - lied about the dangers of smoking and ignored research to the contrary.     prosecutors wanted the cigarette firms to  disgorge  $280bn in profits accumulated over the past 50 years and impose tougher rules on marketing their products. they brought the case under racketeering laws  which were passed to deny mafia gangs the profits of their crimes. but the tobacco companies denied that they illegally conspired to promote smoking and defraud the public. they also said they had already met many of the government s demands in a landmark $206bn settlement reached with 46 states in 1998. the three-judge panel in the district of columbia s court of appeals ruled on friday that the us government could not sue the firms under the anti-racketeering laws. judge david sentelle  in his ruling  said such laws were aimed at putting an end to illegal conduct going forward.  we hold that the language of (the law) and the comprehensive remedial scheme of (the law) preclude disgorgement as a possible remedy in this case   he wrote. the justice department refused to say if it would appeal.  all we re saying today is that we have received the ruling and are reviewing it   a spokeswoman said on friday. but william corr of the campaign for tobacco-free kids urged the government to continue pressing its case.  today s ruling should not be an excuse for this administration to seek a weak settlement that lets the tobacco industry off the hook   he said.
2155,green reports shun supply chain nearly 20% more uk top 250 firms produced non-financial reports on social and environment issues than last year.  but of the 145 companies reporting  76% didn t examine their supply chains  says the annual directions survey. green groups say putting pressure on supply chains is a major way companies can reduce their environmental impact. the survey is published by corporate social responsibility firm context and branding firm salterbaxter.  blake lee-harwood  campaigns director at greenpeace in the uk  said:  it s fairly meaningless to talk about your company s direction in terms of sustainability without having detailed knowledge of your supply chain.  it s also important to get some kind of independent assessment of your reporting.   less than a quarter of companies (24%) get their corporate social responsibility (csr) reports independently verified to provide assurances they are accurate and complete  says the survey. to date there are no set standards for non-financial reporting  although the global reporting initiative  an independent pro-sustainability institution  is planning to establish some. the reports surveyed by directions are published voluntarily. they are usually called corporate social responsibility (csr) reports  sustainability reports  or social and environmental reports.  peter knight  director of context  says 24 uk top 250 companies reported for the first time this year and  in general  the quality of reports has improved.  the corporate lexicon of homilies  generalities and soft assurances - fluff - is on its way out. there are less pictures of smiling children and butterflies.  the uk government will soon require all quoted companies to report their social and environmental risks in a chapter in their annual reports  called the operating and financial review. the regulation is not expected until 2005 and the first reports under this scheme will not be published before 2006. the us seems to lag europe in producing corporate social responsibility reports. the majority of european top 50 companies (44) publish them and only 27 of the us top 50.
553,the memory driving brown s mission the memory gordon brown says keeps returning to him - the one that he says is burnt into him - is that of a 12 year-old girl  whose parents died of aids  and who is hiv positive herself.  mr brown seems haunted by her eyes  desolate of all hope. and then he talks of those eyes that do inspire optimism: an extraordinary performance by schoolgirls of kenya s largest slum  advancing with crowded menace  flicking their hips in a manner almost as disturbing  before the finale of a clenched fist salute and shout of  free education - free education for all . mr brown s message generally  that compassion must become action before that hope is squandered. but he is such a pivotal figure in british politics  it is almost impossible not to ask him why he is doing this. his answer  in part  is because of the missionaries that used to come to his father s church. ever since  he says  africa has been important to him.  i ve absolutely no doubt whatsoever this is heartfelt. but he also believes it is time for the world to see a new gordon brown. not the dull  reassuring bank manager but a man driven by a moral passion - and it just so happens the labour party feels an awful lot happier ridding the world of debt than ridding the world of dictators.  there s also a sense of liberation. if mr blair won t allow him to run the election campaign then he can at least pretend it was all getting tedious and he d much rather be out examining social problems in the raw. it also goes some way to solving one of the overarching problems for all politicians of all parties: scepticism sliding into cynicism about politics itself. if he can help the world s poor just a little  then it shows politics isn t worthless. but is his vision for africa too grand  can poverty in the continent really be halved  brown replies that no one thought the berlin wall would ever come down either. he s still got to overcome - not only the reluctance of other finance ministers in the world - but also the cynicism of experts who wonder whether debt relief will just be squandered by governments that just won t in the end spend wisely.
551,labour accused of broken pledge labour has already broken its pre-election promise on immigration before the ink has dried on its new pledge card  the tories have claimed.  home secretary charles clarke has been quoted as telling labour members he wants more migrants to come to the uk. tory co-chairman liam fox said the comments were at odds with tony blair s prediction of a net cut in immigration. but mr clarke accused him of trying to score  cheap political points  by muddling immigration with asylum.  london s evening standard quoted mr clarke telling labour activists at a question and answer session in gateshead that he wanted britain to offer refuge for those fleeing tyranny.  that s not only a moral duty and a legal duty  but something which is part of the essence of this country   he said.   we want more migration  more people come to study and to work.  we want more people coming to look for refuge.  mr blair s was asked last wednesday if the government s new immigration plans  including a point system for economic migrants  would reduce net migration. the prime minister told mps:  the abusers will be weeded out  and as a result of the end of chain migration [where families have an automatic right to settle]  the numbers will probably fall.   on monday  dr fox told reporters:  the prime minister has broken his word so many times in the past but now his promises do not even last a week.  the labour party election pledges  even when they are so incredibly vague  do not even last four days.   the tories want quotas for economic migrants and refugees and on tuesday will outline more details of their plans for health checks on migrants. mr clarke dismissed the latest tory attack.  this is simply a scurrilous attempt by the tories to score cheap political points   he said.  the tories are purposely mixing together two separate issues of immigration and asylum.   mr clarke said he had made clear the uk would welcome genuine economic migrants for key jobs on a strict points based system. and only asylum seekers genuinely fleeing death or persecution would be admitted.  under our plans we expect unfounded applications to continue to fall   he added. earlier  dr fox accused mr blair and other cabinet ministers of telling lies about tory policies and then attacking the lies. he told bbc radio:  if you are willing to lie about the reasons for going to war  i guess you are going to lie about anything at all.  the latest pre-election spats come after mr blair told labour members the tories offered a  hard right agenda  which would take britain backwards. lib dem leader charles kennedy accelerating lib dem election preparations this week as he visits manchester  liverpool  leicester  somerset  basingstoke  shrewsbury  dorset and torbay.
1724,pc photo printers challenge pros home printed pictures can be cheaper and higher quality than those from high street developers  tests shows.  a survey carried out by pc pro magazine looked at which of 100 home photo printers offered a better deal than handing your snaps to a photo lab. the tests found that images from top pc printers kept their colour longer than professionally produced photographs. but using the wrong printer cartridge could means snaps fade in months  warned the magazine.  the group test of 100 home photo printers for pcs discovered how much it costs to create images using the devices compared to online developers as well as high street names such as jessops  boots and snappy snaps. the comprehensive test also revealed how quickly different printers produced images  the quality of the finished image and how resistant finished pictures were to smudging or water damage. it found that although some ink for printers now costs more than £2 per millilitre it can still be cheaper to produce prints from photographs at home than it is to send them off to a high street store.  if you really like your photos  then it s definitely worth printing at home instead of going to the high street  but only if you choose the right printer   said nick ross  top tester at pc pro.  mr ross said that a new generation of printers produced images with brighter colours and that were less likely to fade than many high street developers or even some professional wedding photographers. some high street photo shops can be the cheapest when it came to developing prints that were 6x4in  said mr ross  but the test revealed that images 7x5in and 8x10in in size were cheaper to produce at home. according to pc pro  producing a print 8x10in on an epson r800 printer using top quality paper costs £1.87. at jessops the same image would cost £2.50 and at snappy snaps £9.99. a 10x7in snap at boots would cost £4.99.  considering how inconvenient it can be to go to the high street and how silver-halide prints can fade in the sun  we re adamant that it s now better  cheaper and more convenient to print at home   he said. ann simpson  marketing manager at snappy snaps believes the convenience of high street printing will continue to attract customers.  some people will want to do their own thing on their computer but the feedback to us is that customers often have to print two or three pictures at home in order to get a good one   she said.  many people are not skilled at getting the colour  contrast and cropping right and they don t want the hassle   she added. the magazine test found that which ink consumers use determined how long their prints lasted before they started fading. it recommended avoiding so-called third-party inks not produced by printer makers because they tended to produce prints that fade the quickest.
1512,dogged federer claims dubai crown world number one roger federer added the dubai championship trophy to his long list of successes - but not before he was given a test by ivan ljubicic.  top seed federer looked to be on course for a easy victory when he thumped the eighth seed 6-1 in the first set. but ljubicic  who beat tim henman in the last eight  dug deep to secure the second set after a tense tiebreak. swiss star federer was not about to lose his cool  though  turning on the style to win the deciding set 6-3. the match was a re-run of last week s final at the world indoor tournament in rotterdam  where federer triumphed  but not until ljubicic had stretched him all the way.  i really wanted to get off to a good start this time  and i did  and i could really play with confidence while he still looking for his rhythm   federer said.   that took me all the way through to 6-1 3-1 0-30 on his serve and i almost ran away with it. but he came back  and that was a good effort on his side.  ljubicic was at a loss to explain his poor showing in the first set.  i didn t start badly  but then suddenly i felt like my racket was loose and the balls were flying a little bit too much. and with roger  if you relax for a second it just goes very quick   he said.  after those first three games it was no match at all. i don t know  it was really weird. i was playing really well the whole year  and then suddenly i found myself in trouble just to put the ball in the court.  but despite his defeat  the world number 14 was pleased with his overall performance.  i had a chance in the third  and for me it s really positive to twice in two weeks have a chance against roger to win the match.  it s an absolutely great boost to my confidence that i m up there and belong with top-class players.
1923,eu to probe alitalia  state aid  the european commission has officially launched an in-depth investigation into whether italian airline alitalia is receiving illegal state aid.  commission officials are to look at rome s provision of a 400m euro ($495m; £275m) loan to the carrier. both the italian government and alitalia have repeatedly denied that the money - part of a vital restructuring plan - is state aid. the investigation could take up to 18 months. however  transport commissioner jacques barrot said he wanted it to be carried out as swiftly as possible.  the italian authorities have presented a serious industrial plan   said mr barot.  we now have to verify certain aspects to confirm that this plan contains no state aid. i would like our analysis to be completed swiftly.   the matter of possible state aid was brought to the commission s attention by eight of alitalia s rivals  including germany s lufthansa  british airways and spain s iberia. while alitalia needs to restructure to bring itself back to profitability  the rival carriers say it has both violated state aid rules and threatened competition. alitalia lost 330m euros in 2003 as it struggled to get to grips with high costs  spiralling oil prices  competition from budget carriers and reduced demand. it plans to split into az fly and az services  which will handle air and ground services respectively. alitalia already enjoyed state aid in 1997. eu rules prevent that from happening again in what is known as the  one time  last time  rule for airlines. otherwise  eu regulations on state aid stipulate that governments may help companies financially  but only on the same terms as a commercial investor. the airline declined to comment on the commission decision.
373,u2 to play at grammy awards show irish rock band u2 are to play live at the grammy awards presentation in the us next month  organisers have said.  other acts to play include soul singer alicia keys  country singer tim mcgraw and punk band green day at the event on 13 february in los angeles. u2 are nominated twice for their recent single vertigo  including a nomination for best rock song. this year the grammys have been dominated by rap star kanye west  who is in contention for 10 awards. us comedian ellen degeneres and singer christine milian will present awards at the event. last week grammy producers announced the show will be hosted by rap star and chicago actress queen latifah. it will be held at the staples center. u2 had number one success in the album charts on both sides of the atlantic in november when their latest studio album  how to dismantle an atomic bomb  topped the us and uk charts. the band  who are also dominated for best international album at this year s brit awards  are to undertake a major world tour this year  their first for four years.
1704,sport betting rules in spotlight a group of mps and peers has called for a tightening of regulations controlling betting on sport.  the parliamentary group on betting and gaming held a substantial inquiry into betting last year. it followed fears that a massive increase in betting on sport  such as that done using the internet and mobile phones  has led to more cheating. the all-party group recommended 15 ways to protect punters and improve the integrity of sports betting. they include a proposal for raising the maximum jail sentence for gambling cheats above the current two years. lord condon  head of the international cricket council s anti-corruption unit  who originally made the call for longer prison sentences  said the two-year penalty was  derisory .  you could get a bigger sentence for failing to pay your hotel bill criminally than you could for corruption in major sports.  symbolically  a higher penalty  perhaps as the bill passes through the two houses  might be appropriate.   the report recommended the governing bodies of sports have a say in the type of bets offered to punters  and for bookmakers to set up  audit trails  - something the new betting exchanges already do - to allow suspicious betting patterns to be traced.  lord faulkner of worcester  who chaired the inquiry  said:  whilst we accept that the greater part of sports betting is neither corrupt nor unfair to punters  the evidence convinces us that the growth of betting exchanges - because of the facility they provide to bet against a result - has increased the potential for corruption.  it is important that the government works with sporting administrators to review the difficulties faced by governing bodies in convicting the guilty and penalising them appropriately.  the panel s aim was to try to define what constitutes cheating  assess how much might be going on and suggest what the government might do to put it right. as well as the growth of internet and mobile phone betting  there has been the creation of betting exchanges which allow punters to fix odds between themselves. betting exchanges allow punters to back (to win) but also lay (to lose) a horse. this means they can control their odds at winning by placing their money both ways.
206,alfa romeos  to get gm engines  fiat is to stop making six-cylinder petrol engines for its sporty alfa romeo subsidiary  unions at the italian carmaker have said.  the unions claim fiat is to close the fiat powertrain plant at arese near milan and instead source six-cylinder engines from general motors. fiat has yet to comment on the matter  but the unions say the new engines will be made by gm in australia. the news comes a week after gm pulled out of an agreement to buy fiat. gm had to pay former partner fiat 1.55bn euros ($2bn; £1.1bn) to get out of a deal which could have forced it to buy the italian carmaker outright. fiat and gm also ended their five-year alliance and two joint ventures in engines and purchasing  but did agree to continue buying each other s engines.   powertrain told us today that alfa romeo engines will no longer be made in arese   said union leader vincenzo lilliu  as reported by the reuters news agency.  the assembly line will be dismantled and the six-cylinder alfa romeo motor will be replaced with an engine gm produces in australia.  reuters also said that mr lilliu and other union bosses shouted insults at fiat chairman luca di montezemolo  following a meeting on tuesday regarding the future of the arese plant. the unions said the end of engine production at the facility would mean the loss of 800 jobs. all alfa romeo models can be bought with a six-cylinder engine - the 147  156  156 sportwagon  166  gtv  gt and spider.
471,citizenship event for 18s touted citizenship ceremonies could be introduced for people celebrating their 18th birthday  charles clarke has said.  the idea will be tried as part of an overhaul of the way government approaches  inclusive citizenship  particularly for ethnic minorities. a pilot scheme based on ceremonies in australia will start in october. mr clarke said it would be a way of recognising young people reaching their voting age when they also gain greater independence from parents. britain s young black and asian people are to be encouraged to learn about the nation s heritage as part of the government s new race strategy which will also target specific issues within different ethnic minority groups. officials say the home secretary wants young people to feel they belong and to understand their  other cultural identities  alongside being british. the launch follows a row about the role of faith schools in britain. on monday school inspection chief david bell  accused some islamic schools of failing to teach pupils about their obligations to british society.  the muslim council of britain said ofsted boss mr bell s comments were  highly irresponsible . the home office started work on its community cohesion and race equality strategy last year and the outcome  launched on wednesday  is called  improving opportunity  strengthening society . it is aimed at tackling racism  exclusion  segregation and the rise in political and religious extremism.  it represents a move away from the one-size-fits-all approach to focus on specifics within cultural groups   said a home office spokesman.  it is not right to say that if you are from a black or ethnic minority group you must be disadvantaged.  the spokesman highlighted specific issues that affect particular communities - for example people of south asian origin tend to suffer from a high incidence of heart disease.   it is about drilling down and focusing on these sorts of problems   the spokesman added. launching the initiative mr clarke said enormous progress had been made on race issues in recent years. he added:  but while many members of black and minority ethnic communities are thriving  some may still find it harder to succeed in employment or gain access to healthcare  education or housing.  this strategy sets out the government s commitment to doing more to identify and respond to the specific needs of minorities in our society.  som