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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.

greek sprinters suspended by iaaf greek sprinters kostas kenteris and katerina thanou have been suspended after failing to take drugs tests before the athens olympics. athletics ruling body the iaaf said explanations from the pair and their former coach as to why they missed the tests were unacceptable . it added that kenteris and thanou had been provisionally suspended pending the resolution of their cases . they face two-year bans if found guilty by the greek athletics federation. the suspension also covers the athletes controversial coach christos tzekos. kenteris the 2000 olympic 200m champion and thanou the women s 100m silver medallist from the same games in sydney also face a criminal hearing in greece over the missed tests. they failed to appear to give samples in chicago and tel aviv shortly before the athens games and again in athens on 12 august the eve of the opening ceremony. greek prosecutors have also charged them with faking a midnight motorcycle crash which led to them spending four days in hospital. some medical staff have been charged with writing false medical reports. wednesday s statement said the greek federation (segas) would convene a disciplinary hearing for the trio to determine whether there had been doping violations. there will be a final right of appeal from the decision of the greek federation to the court of arbitration for sport the iaaf said. tzekos insisted he and the runners had nothing to hide. the iaaf s decision means nothing he said. we ll be presenting all our arguments to segas - we re innocent.

blair said he would stand down tony blair promised gordon brown he would stand down before the next election a new book about the chancellor claims. but the prime minister changed his mind following intervention from allies in the cabinet according to the book. the book by sunday telegraph journalist robert peston said the pair had mutual animosity and contempt for each other. the book brown s britain said tony blair felt by november 2003 he had lost voters trust. the author s sources all unnamed allies of mr blair and mr brown said the prime minister felt the iraq war had undermined him and that he was no longer an asset to the labour party. the book serialised in the sunday telegraph alleges that mr blair told the chancellor at a dinner hosted by deputy pm john prescott in november 2003 of his intention to stand down. at that stage he saw gordon brown and said look you are the next most influential member of the government i need your help to get through the next year mr peston said. i myself recognise that i m going to have to stand down before the election but help me to get through the year and i will then stand down. but he changed his mind in june 2004 following intervention from allies in the cabinet and the suspicion that the chancellor was deliberately manoeuvring against him the book claims. 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 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. there has been fresh speculation of a rift recently following their separate responses to the asian tsunami. rumours of a rift were fuelled by the sudden decision to hold mr blair s 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. former welfare minister frank field mp criticised the reported rivalry between the pair on gmtv s sunday programme. what sort of model does it give to the nation when the two most important political leaders do nothing but fight it out together or use their aides to fight it out the labour mp for birkenhead asked. he said the prime minister should sack mr brown but did not believe mr blair was strong enough to do so. conservative policy co-ordinator david cameron mp for witney added: if it wasn t so serious it would be funny. but it is serious - you ve got the two most senior people in the government not concentrating on fighting crime poverty or dirty hospitals - they are fighting each other. carol walker bbc news 24 political correspondent added: there is a real concern that this could undermine the general election campaign. and clearly it is very bad news for the government at a time when it is trying to explain what it is doing to respond to the terrible problems thrown up by the tsunami disaster.

t-mobile bets on pocket office t-mobile has launched its latest pocket office third-generation (3g) device which also has built-in wi-fi - high-speed wireless net access. unlike other devices where the user has to check which high-speed network is available to transfer data the device selects the fastest one itself. the mda iv released in the summer is an upgrade to the company s existing smartphone the 2.5g/wi-fi mda iii. it reflects the push by mobile firms for devices that are like mini laptops. the device has a display that can be swivelled and angled so it can be used like a small computer or as a conventional clamshell phone. the microsoft mobile phone with two cameras and a qwerty keyboard reflects the design of similar all-in-one models released this year such as motorola s mpx. one in five european workers are already mobile - meaning they spend significant time travelling and out of the office rene obermann t-mobile s chief executive told a press conference at the 3gsm trade show in cannes. he added: what they need is their office when they are out of the office. t-mobile said it was seeing increasing take up for what it calls office in a pocket devices with 100 000 mdas sold in europe already. in response to demand t-mobile also said it would be adding the latest phone-shaped blackberry to its mobile range. reflecting the growing need to be connected outside the office it announced it would introduce a flat-fee £20 ($38) a month wi-fi tariff for people in the uk using its wi-fi hotspots. it said it would nearly double the number of its hotspots - places where wi-fi access is available - globally from 12 300 to 20 000. it also announced it was installing high-speed wi-fi on certain train services such as the uk s london to brighton service to provide commuters a fast net connection too. the service which has been developed with southern trains nomad digital (who provide the technology) begins with a free trial on 16 trains on the route from early march to the end of april. a full service is set to follow in the summer. wi-fi access points will be connected to a wimax wireless network - faster than wi-fi - running alongside the train tracks. brian mcbride managing director of t-mobile in the uk said: we see a growing trend for business users needing to access e-mail securely on the move. we are able to offer this by maintaining a constant data session for the entire journey. he said this was something other similar in-train wi-fi services such as that offered on gner trains did not offer yet. mr obermann added that the mobile industry in general was still growing with many more opportunities for more services which would bear fruit for mobile companies in future. thousands of mobile industry experts are gathered in cannes france for the 3gsm which runs from 14 to 17 february.

newcastle line up babayaro newcastle manager graeme souness is closing in on signing chelsea defender celestine babayaro when the transfer window reopens. souness is bidding to bolster his defence and according to reports contract negotiations are at an advanced stage with the player. babayaro has been in the premiership since 1997 when he moved to chelsea for £2.25m from anderlecht. but the 26-year-old has been surplus to requirements this season. souness would not be drawn on specifics over individual players. but he said: all i can tell you is that the chairman has worked really hard in the last couple of months to try to do deals. we have said from day one we want to strengthen and that is what we are hoping to do in the coming weeks.

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.

labour s four little words labour has unveiled the four little words that will form the heart of its general election campaign which for those just returned from the planet galifray is looming . the slogan britain forward not back (no it s not an instruction from one of those inter-planetary time lords) is to become as much a part of our daily lives as the sky - it s always there but we mostly stop noticing. the word britain is cast on a red background - a nod to old labour. forward is in italics and cunningly slopes forward and along with not back is set against a mushy pea green background. as one of the journalists assembled at the unveiling declared it was all very post modern or something. great use of colour. those ad men really do earn their money. and coincidentally the ad men who came up with the abandoned flying pigs and so-called fagin posters which caused tory protests have not been sacked but as election supremo alan milburn declared are doing a very good job . mr milburn in the latest in his series of pre-election-campaign campaigning explained the slogan was the reaction to polling which suggests the public believe labour and tony blair are the future while michael howard and the tories would take the country backwards. not many people talk about the years before 1997 as the good old days he declared. it would be an aggressive campaign because things would inevitably boil down to a choice between labour and the tories. nobody he claimed could picture liberal democrat leader charles kennedy walking up downing street the day after polling. they could however picture michael howard or of course tony blair doing it. so it was only right that the campaign concentrated on rigorously examining the opposition s policies and past record. and tony blair would be in the very front line of that campaign he said. between now and the election the prime minister will be spending more time out of london than in it but in britain not overseas he promised. he will be leading the domestic debate from the front listening taking the flak. so let s get on with it then.

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.

lions blow to world cup winners british and irish lions coach clive woodward says he is unlikely to select any players not involved in next year s rbs six nations championship. world cup winners lawrence dallaglio neil back and martin johnson had all been thought to be in the frame for next summer s tour to new zealand. i don t think you can ever say never said woodward. but i would have to have a compulsive reason to pick any player who is not available to international rugby. dallaglio back and johnson have all retired from international rugby over the last 12 months but continue to star for their club sides. but woodward added: the key thing that i want to stress is that i intend to use the six nations and the players who are available to international rugby as the key benchmark. my job along with all the other senior representatives is to make sure that we pick the strongest possible team. if you are not playing international rugby then it s still a step up to test rugby. it s definitely a disadvantage. i think it s absolutely critical and with the history of the lions we have got to take players playing for the four countries. woodward also revealed that the race for the captaincy was still wide open. it is an open book he said. there are some outstanding candidates from all four countries. and following the all blacks impressive displays in europe in recent weeks including a 45-6 humiliation of france woodward believes the three-test series in new zealand will provide the ultimate rugby challenge. their performance in particular against france was simply awesome said the lions coach. certain things have been suggested about the potency of their front five but they re a very powerful unit. with his customary thoroughness woodward revealed he had taken soundings from australia coach eddie jones and jake white of south africa following their tour matches in britain and ireland. as a result woodward stressed his lions group might not be dominated by players from england and ireland and held out hope for the struggling scots. scotland s recent results have not been that impressive but there have been some excellent individual performances. eddie in particular told me how tough they had made it for australia and i will take on board their opinions. and scotland forward simon taylor looks certain to get the call provided he recovers from knee and tendon problems. i took lessons from 2001 in that they did make a mistake in taking lawrence dallaglio when he wasn t fit and went on the trip. every player has to be looked at on their own merits and simon taylor is an outstanding player and i have no doubts that if he gets back to full fitness he will be on the trip. i am told he should be back playing by march and he has plenty of time to prove his fitness for the lions - and there are other players like richard hill in the same boat.

sbc plans post-takeover job cuts us phone company sbc communications said it expects to cut around 12 800 jobs following its $16bn (£8.5bn) takeover of former parent at&t. sbc said 5 125 positions would go as a result of network efficiencies. another 1 700 will go from its sales department 3 400 from business operations and 2 600 across legal advertising and public relations. sbc currently employs 163 000 people while at&t employs 47 000. the takeover was announced on monday. the deal will be financed with $15bn of shares as well as a $1bn special dividend paid to at&t shareholders. it effectively marks the end of at&t which was founded in 1875 by telephone pioneer alexander graham bell and is one of the us s best-known companies. sbc and at&t said estimated cost savings of at least $2bn from 2008 were a main driver for the merger. at&t is a long-distance telecoms firm while sbc is mainly focused on the local market in the western us. both also have data network businesses. the takeover is subject to approval by at&t s shareholders and regulators. the companies said they expected to complete the agreement during the first half of 2006.

argentina closes $102.6bn debt swap argentina is set to close its $102.6bn (£53.51bn) debt restructuring offer for bondholders later on friday with the government hopeful that most creditors will accept the deal. the estimated loss to bondholders is up to 70% of the original value of the bonds yet the majority are expected to accept the government s offer. argentina defaulted on its debt three years ago the biggest sovereign default in modern history. yesterday argentina s economy minister roberto lavagna said that he estimated that the results of the restructuring would be ready around next thursday (3 march). argentina s president nestor kirchner said on friday: a year ago when we started the swap (negotiations) they told us we were crazy that we were irrational. but he added that his government was close to achieving: the best debt renegotiation in history. the country has been in default on the $102.6bn - based on an original debt of $81.8bn plus interest - for the past three years. if the offer does not go ahead international lawsuits on behalf of aggrieved investors could follow but analysts are optimistic that it will go through despite the tough terms for bondholders. about 70% to 80% of bondholders are expected to accept the terms of the offer. by 18 february creditors holding $41bn - or 40% of the total debt - had accepted the offer. sorting out its debt would enhance the country s credibility on international markets and enable it to attract more foreign investment. of argentina s bondholders 38.4% reside in argentina 15.6% in italy 10.3% in switzerland 9.1% in the united states 5.1% in germany and 3.1% in japan. investors in the uk holland and luxembourg have about 1% each and the remainder were not broken down by country. the deal is likely to be taken up most enthusiastically by domestic investors who will benefit if argentina s economy becomes more stable.

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.

court mulls file-sharing future judges at the us supreme court have been hearing evidence for and against file-sharing networks. the court will decide whether producers of file-sharing software can ultimately be held responsible for copyright infringement. they questioned if opening the way for the entertainment industry to sue file-sharers could deter innovation. they also said that file-trading firms had some responsibility for inducing people to piracy. the lawsuit brought by 28 of the world s largest entertainment firms has raged for several years. legal experts agree that if the supreme court finds in favour of the music and movie industry they would be able to sue file-trading firms into bankruptcy. but if the judge rules that grokster and morpheus - the file-sharers at the centre of the case - are merely providers of technology that can have legitimate as well as illegitimate uses then the music and movie industry would be forced to abandon its pursuit of file-sharing providers. instead they would have to pursue individuals who use peer-to-peer networks to get their hands on free music and movies. the hi-tech and entertainment industries have been divided on the issue. intel filed a document with the supreme court earlier this month in defence of grokster and others despite misgivings about some aspects of the file-sharing community. it summed up the attitude of many tech firms in its submission which states that its products are essentially tools that like any other tools capable of being used by consumers and businesses for unlawful purposes . asking firms to second-guess the uses that its technologies would be put to and to build in ways of preventing illegitimate use would stifle innovation it said. the electronic frontier foundation a civil rights watchdog is also defending streamcast networks the company behind the morpheus file-sharing software. the case raises a question of critical importance at the border between copyright and innovation it said. it cites as do many the landmark ruling in 1984 which found that sony should not be held responsible for the fact that its betamax video recorder could be used for piracy. defenders remain optimistic that the judges will rule in favour of the peer-to-peer networks upholding the precedent set by the sony betamax case. a small band of supporters were outside the court as the lawyers entered wearing save betamax t-shirts. the betamax principles stand as the magna carta for the technology industry and are responsible for the explosion in innovation that has occurred in the us over the past 20 years said gary shapiro chief executive of the consumer electronics association. supreme court justice stephen breyer said that inventions from printing to apple s ipod could be used to illegally duplicate copyrighted materials but had on balance been beneficial to society. he said that while file-trading software can be used to illegally trade movies and music conceptually the technology had some really excellent uses . based on tuesday s hearing it seems unlikely that the betamax ruling will be overturned but file-sharing firms might still be held responsible for encouraging or inducing piracy. grokster s lawyer argued that the company should be judged by its current behaviour rather than what it did when it first set up. but this argument was dismissed as ridiculous by justice david souter. cea boss mr shapiro thinks the case is the most important that the supreme court will hear this year. it s about preserving america s proud history of technological innovation and protecting the ability of consumers to access and utilise technology he said. the case has already been heard by two lower courts and both found in favour of the peer-to-peer networks. they ruled that despite being used to distribute millions of illegal songs file-sharing could also be used to cheaply distribute software government documents and promotional copies of music.

us interest rates increased to 2% us interest rates are to rise for the fourth time in five months in a widely anticipated move. the federal reserve has raised its key federal funds rate by a quarter percentage point to 2% in light of mounting evidence that the us economy is regaining steam. us companies created twice as many jobs as expected in october while exports hit record levels in september. analysts said a clear-cut victory for president bush in last week s election paved the way for a rise. another rise could be in store for december some economists warned. the fed s open market committee - which sets interest rate policy in the us - voted unanimously in favour of a quarter point rise. the fed has been gradually easing rates up since the summer with quarter percentage point rises in june august and september. the central bank has been acting to restrain inflationary pressures while being careful not to obstruct economic growth. the fed did not rule out raising rates once again in december but noted that any future increases would take place at a measured pace. in a statement the fed said that long-term inflation pressures remained well contained while the us economy appeared to be growing at a moderate pace despite the rise in energy prices . financial analysts broadly welcomed the fed s move and shares traded largely flat. the dow jones industrial average closed down 0.89 points or 0.01% at 10 385.48. recent evidence has pointed to an upturn in the us economy. us firms created 337 000 jobs last month twice the amount expected while exports reached record levels in september. the economy grew 3.7% in the third quarter slower than forecast but an improvement on the 3.3% growth seen in the second quarter. analysts claimed the fed s assessment of future economic growth was a positive one but stressed that the jury was still out on the prospect of a further rise in december. let s wait until we see how growth and employment bear up under the fourth quarter s energy price drag before concluding that the fed has more work to do in 2005 said avery shenfeld senior economist at cibc world markets. i think the federal reserve does not want to rock the boat and is using a gradual approach in raising the interest rate said sung won sohn chief us economist for wells fargo bank. the economy is doing a bit better right now but there are still some concerns about geopolitics employment and the price of oil he added. the further rise in us rates is unlikely to have a direct bearing on uk monetary policy. the bank of england (boe) has kept interest rates on hold at 4.75% for the past three months leading some commentators to argue that rates may have peaked. in a report published on wednesday the bank said that with rates at their current level inflation would rise to its 2% target within two years. however boe governor mervyn king warned only last month that the era of consistently low inflation and low unemployment may be coming to an end.

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.

ecb holds rates amid growth fears the european central bank has left its key interest rate unchanged at 2% for the 19th month in succession. borrowing costs have remained on hold amid concerns about the strength of economic growth in the 12 nations sharing the euro analysts said. despite signs of pick-up labour markets and consumer demand remain sluggish while firms are eyeing cost cutting measures such as redundancies. high oil prices meanwhile have put upward pressure on the inflation rate. surveys of economists have shown that the majority expect borrowing costs to stay at 2% in coming months with an increase of a quarter of a percentage point predicted some time in the second half of the year. if anything there may be greater calls for an interest rate cut especially with the euro continuing to strengthen against the dollar. the euro land economy is still struggling with this recovery said economist dirk schumacher. the ecb may sound rather hawkish but once the data allows them to cut again they will. data coming out of germany on thursday underlined the problems facing european policy makers. while germany s economy expanded by 1.7% in 2004 growth was driven by export sales and lost some of its momentum in the last three months of the year. the strength of the euro is threatening to dampen that foreign demand in 2005 and domestic consumption currently is not strong enough to take up the slack. inflation in the eurozone however is estimated at about 2.3% in december above ecb guidelines of 2%. ecb president jean-claude trichet has remained upbeat about prospects for the region and inflation is expected to drop below 2% later in 2005. the ecb has forecast economic growth in the eurozone of 1.9% in 2005.

ring of fire hit co-writer dies merle kilgore co-writer of the country hit ring of fire has died of congestive heart failure aged 70. he started out as a singer and songwriter before going into music management looking after country star hank williams jr. he wrote ring of fire with june carter cash the future wife of johnny cash who went on to score his most popular hit with the track. kilgore had heart surgery in 2004 and was also diagnosed with lung cancer. his death has been attributed to treatment he was undergoing for the cancer. his first self-penned top 10 hit was dear mama in 1959. one of the first songs he wrote for other artists was wolverton mountain which sold 10 million copies when recorded by claude king. he then wrote ring of fire with june carter cash which was about her unrequited love for johnny who she later married. it was first recorded by her younger sister anita carter before johnny went on to make such a success of it. june carter cash previously said it upset her husband when kilgore talked about the song without crediting her and believed he should not have been credited on it. last year kilgore turned up an awards dinner in a wheelchair expecting to honour hank williams jr but instead he was the surprise recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the international entertainment buyers association.

italy to get economic action plan italian prime minister silvio berlusconi will unveil plans aimed at kickstarting the country s sputtering economy on thursday night in rome. he will present an action plan for the development of italy in a meeting with industrialists and trade union leaders. mr berlusconi is expected to table reforms aimed at boosting research and development (r&d) spending and the competitiveness of small firms. also in focus will be bankruptcy laws and the slow pace of the legal system. the prime minister is scheduled to start the meeting at 1830 gmt. the government has been accused of underfunding r&d making it harder for italy to compete with other european nations and leading to a brain-drain of the country s brightest talents. analysts say that hiring and firing staff is still too difficult and expensive hampering the development of small- and medium-sized businesses. as a result they say italy s corporate landscape is filled with numerous smaller companies that are often reluctant to become bigger because of all the extra hassle that would accompany the running of a larger firm. at the same time bankruptcy laws make it difficult for failed company directors to set up new businesses and emerge from their debts a situation that is hampering italy s entrepreneurial spirit. the government says that it has set about tackling the problems adding that getting growth going was the responsibility of all of italy s 60 million population. according to il sole 24 ore italy s business newspaper the government will focus on opening up markets infrastructure research making more incentives available bankruptcy law the slow pace of the justice system . mr berlusconi has previously promised to cut taxes by 6.5bn euros ($8.6bn; £4.5bn) this year in an effort to get people and companies to spend. he has also promised to cap spending on transport education and health so as to trim the ballooning budget deficit. italy plans to raise as much as 25bn euros from privatisations in 2005 including a partial flotation of the post office and utility enel. critics argue that these moves do not go far enough and could make italy s problems worse. limiting government spending will lead to job losses they counter while the income tax cuts will have a negligible effect on sentiment and ultimately favour the wealthy. the country has been one of the eurozone s worst economic performers in recent years. growth was 1.1% in 2004 up from just 0.3% in 2003 and 0.4% in 2002 - an improvement but still a long way from ideal. at the same time business and consumer confidence has dipped and analysts have raised concerns that what little spending there is stems from italians dipping into their savings accounts or using credit cards. without a pick up in national growth they say the money could eventually run out bringing italy s economy to a juddering halt. consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of italy s economy.

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.

aviator creator in oscars snub the man who said he got oscar-nominated movie the aviator off the ground and signed up leonardo dicaprio has been shut out of the academy awards race. charles evans jr battled over his role with the people who eventually made the film and won a producer s credit. but he is not on the list of producers who can win a best film oscar due to a limit on the number of nominees. the oscars organisers have picked two of the aviator s four producers to be nominated for best film. up to three producers can be named per film but the studios behind the aviator and million dollar baby failed to trim their credits - so the academy of motion pictures arts and sciences (ampas) has done it for them. the aviator s nominated producers are michael mann and graham king - with mr evans and sandy climan mr mann s former deputy left off. mr evans sued mr mann in 2001 claiming he came up with the idea spent years developing it and persuaded dicaprio to play hughes - but said he was later excluded from the project. the two sides settled out of court in a deal that has remained secret apart from the fact mr evans name has appeared as a producer when the film s credits roll. at the golden globes mr evans - who was named among the winners when the film won best drama film - evaded a security guard to have his photo taken with dicaprio director martin scorsese mr mann and mr king. ampas decided to limit the number of producers who could be nominated after shakespeare in love s victory in 1999 saw five producers collect awards. the eligible names for the aviator and million dollar baby were decided by ampas producers branch executive committee on wednesday. the decision also saw clint eastwood get his third personal nomination for million dollar baby. he is now named in the best film category as well as being nominated for best director and best lead actor. the academy awards ceremony will be held in hollywood on 27 february. chinese actress ziyi zhang star of crouching tiger hidden dragon hero and house of flying daggers is the latest name to be added to the list of presenters on the night.

henman to face saulnier test british number one tim henman will face france s cyril saulnier in the first round of next week s australian open. greg rusedski the british number two is in the same quarter of the draw and could face andy roddick in the second round if he beats swede jonas bjorkman. local favourite lleyton hewitt will meet france s arnaud clement while defending champion and world number one roger federer faces fabrice santoro. women s top seed lindsay davenport drew spanish veteran conchita martinez. henman came from two sets down to defeat saulnier in the first round of the french open last year so he knows he faces a tough test in melbourne. the seventh seed who has never gone beyond the quarter-finals in the year s first major and is lined up to meet roddick in the last eight is looking forward to the match. he s tough player on any surface he s got a lot of ability he said. we had a really tight one in paris that went my way so i m going to need to play well from the outset because he s a dangerous competitor. switzerland s federer seeded one is the hot favourite having won three of the four grand slam titles in 2004. he has beaten santoro in five of their seven previous encounters but is taking nothing for granted. it s a tricky match federer said. i played him at the us open and won quite comfortably then. but you never know if the rhythm is a bit off he can keep you guessing and make it difficult. the most important thing though is to get used to playing five-set matches and winning them. the 23-year-old could meet four-time champion andre agassi in the quarter-finals before meeting russian marat safin the player he beat in last year s final. eighth-seeded american agassi is set to play a qualifier in round one if he can shake off a hip injury which ruled him out of the kooyong classic. second seed andy roddick will open his campaign against irakli labadze of georgia. the american could meet rusedski in the second round seventh seed henman in the quarter-finals and hewitt in the last four. hewitt is hoping to become the first australian man to win the event since mark edmondson in 1976. the 23-year-old has never been beyond round four in eight attempts at melbourne park but has at least secured the opposite half of the draw to federer who beat him in the australian open wimbledon and us open last year. safin seeded four opens his campaign against a qualifier with 16th seed tommy haas the player he beat in the semi-finals in 2002 a possible fourth-round opponent. in the women s draw davenport could encounter eighth-seeded venus williams in the quarter-finals and third-ranked anastasia myskina the french open champion in the semi-finals. bronchitis ruled davenport the 2000 australian open champion out of her sydney quarter-final on thursday. venus williams who lost to younger sister serena in the melbourne final two years ago opens against eleni daniilidou of greece. serena williams who won her fourth consecutive grand slam at the 2003 australian open was drawn in the bottom quarter with second seed amelie mauresmo a runner-up in 1999. serena will open against another frenchwoman camille pin while mauresmo plays australia s samantha stosur. wimbledon champion maria sharapova seeded fourth drew a qualifier in the first round but could meet fellow russian svetlana kuznetsova the us open winner in the last eight 1 roger federer (switzerland) 2 andy roddick (us) 3 lleyton hewitt (australia) 4 marat safin (russia) 5 carlos moya (spain) 6 guillermo coria (argentina) 7 tim henman (britain) 8 andre agassi (us) 9 david nalbandian (argentina) 10 gaston gaudio (argentina) 11 joachim johansson (sweden) 12 guillermo canas (argentina) 13 tommy robredo (spain) 14 sebastien grosjean (france) 15 mikhail youzhny (russia) 16 tommy haas (germany) 17 andrei pavel (romania) 18 nicolas massu (chile) 19 vincent spadea (us) 20 dominik hrbaty (slovakia) 21 nicolas kiefer (germany) 22 ivan ljubicic (croatia) 23 fernando gonzalez (chile) 24 feliciano lopez (spain) 25 juan ignacio chela (argentina) 26 nikolay davydenko (russia) 27 paradorn srichaphan (thailand) 28 mario ancic (croatia) 29 taylor dent (us) 30 thomas johansson (sweden) 31 juan carlos ferrero (spain) 32 jurgen melzer (austria) 1 lindsay davenport (us) 2 amelie mauresmo (france) 3 anastasia myskina (russia) 4 maria sharapova (russia) 5 svetlana kuznetsova (russia) 6 elena dementieva (russia) 7 serena williams (us) 8 venus williams (us) 9 vera zvonareva (russia) 10 alicia molik (australia) 11 nadia petrova (russia) 12 patty schnyder (switzerland) 13 karolina sprem (croatia) 14 francesca schiavone (italy) 15 silvia farina elia (italy) 16 ai sugiyama (japan) 17 fabiola zuluaga (colombia) 18 elena likhovtseva (russia) 19 nathalie dechy (france) 20 tatiana golovin (france) 21 amy frazier (us) 22 magdalena maleeva (bulgaria) 23 jelena jankovic (serbia and montenegro) 24 mary pierce (france) 25 lisa raymond (us) 26 daniela hantuchova (slovakia) 27 anna smashnova (israel) 28 shinobu asagoe (japan) 29 gisela dulko (argentina) 30 flavia pennetta (italy) 31 jelena kostanic (croatia) 32 iveta benesova (czech republic)

talks aim to avert pension strike talks aimed at averting a series of national strikes over pensions reforms will take place this weekend. five public sector unions will hold private talks with deputy prime minister john prescott at labour s spring conference in gateshead. they want the government to withdraw regulations - due to be introduced in weeks - which would raise the pension age for council workers from 60 to 65. up to 1.4m workers could take part in a strike already earmarked for 23 march. however all sides are anxious to avoid a major confrontation in the run up to the general election said bbc labour affairs correspondent stephen cape. in four days britain s biggest union unison will start balloting 800 000 local government workers on strikes. other public sector unions have pledged to follow. it is just weeks before new regulations are introduced to raise the pension age of local government workers. the five unions meeting mr prescott want the government to withdraw these regulations. this would allow months of tough negotiations to follow said our correspondent. but a spokesman for mr prescott warned that the changes to the local government pension scheme would have to go ahead in april. privately ministers believe this will be the less painful option our correspondent added. the public and commercial services union (pcs) will co-ordinate any industrial action with up to six other public sector unions. pcs leader mark serwotka warned last week that there could be further walkouts unless there was a government rethink. for a government that lectures everyone on choice - choice on public service choice on this and choice on that - isn t it ironic that they re saying to public sector workers there is no choice he said. if you want the pension you were promised when you started you must work for an extra five years - that is working until people drop. in the 20th century it s completely unacceptable. unison s 800 000 workers the transport and general workers union s 70 000 and amicus 20 000 are among those being balloted about a 23 march walkout. mr prescott held a private meeting with senior union figures last week. it is understood no deal was offered in that meeting but there was room for further negotiations.

lit idol begins search for author the second pop idol-style search for literary talent has begun with the help of the brother of simon cowell. writer tony cowell is among the judges who will hear aspiring writers read their work aloud. the winner gets a deal with literary agency curtis brown. i m not going to be the mr nasty of books said cowell 54 in reference to his brother s caustic remarks on tv shows pop idol and the x-factor. the 2004 winner paul cavanagh went on to sign a deal with harper collins. this year the competition is specifically looking for a crime writer. writers must submit up to 10 000 words from the opening chapters of their novels and a synopsis. professional readers will choose a shortlist of five following the competition closing date on 14 january. the final five will then have to read their work in front of judging panel. a public vote will also take place which will account for 25% of the final decision. the winner will be announced at the london book fair on 14 march next year and could be screened on tv. it s very very hard to find an agent and extremely difficult without an agent to get a publisher to look at your work said cowell. people do fall by the wayside and the more avenues we can provide for aspiring authors the better he added. paul cavanagh a former university professor and health care consultant from ontario in canada was one of 1 466 aspiring novelists to enter the first contest. he lifted the inaugural lit idol prize after reading aloud an excerpt of his work northwest passage. three film studios are said to be interested in buying film rights for the book even though it is not finished yet.

us retail sales surge in december us retail sales ended the year on a high note with solid gains in december boosted by strong car sales. seasonally adjusted sales rose 1.2% in the month compared to 0.1% a month earlier boosted by a surge in shopping just before and after christmas. sales climbed 8% for the year the best performance since an 8.5% rise in 1999 the commerce department added. the gains were led by a 4.3% jump in auto sales as dealers used enhanced offers to get cars out of showrooms. dealers were forced to cut prices in december to maintain sales growth in a tough quarter when the usual end-of-year holiday sales boom was slow to get started. the increase in sales during december pushed total spending for the month to $349.4bn (£265.9bn). sales for the year also broke through the $4 trillion mark for the first time - with annual sales coming in at $4.06 trillion however if automotives are excluded from december s data retail sales rose just 0.3% on the month. home furnishings and furniture stores also performed well rising 2.2%. but as well as hitting the shops more us consumers were going online or using mail order for their purchases - with non-store retailers seeing sales rise by 1.9%. however analysts said that the strong figures were unlikely to put the federal reserve bank off its current policy of measured interest rate rises. consumers for now remain willing to spend freely sustaining the us expansion. given that attitude the fed remains likely to continue boosting the fed funds rate at upcoming meetings ubs economist maury harris told reuters. retail sales are seen as a major part of consumer spending - which in turn makes up two-thirds of economic output in the us. consumer spending has been picking up in recent years after slumping during 2001 and 2002 as the country battled to recover from its first recession of the decade and the world trade centre attacks. during that time sales grew a lacklustre 2.9% in 2001 and 2.5% a year later. looking ahead analysts now expect improvement in jobs growth to feed through to the high street with consumer spending remaining strong. the belief comes despite the latest labor department report showing a surprise rise in unemployment. the number of americans filing initial jobless claims jumped to 367 000 the highest rate since september. however long-term claims slipped to their lowest level since 2001.

the pirates with no profit motive two men who were part of a huge network of internet software pirates known as drink or die have been convicted at the old bailey. bbc news investigates how the network worked and what motivated those involved. they called themselves drink or die (dod). they were a network of computer buffs who derived pleasure from cracking codes protecting copyrighted software such as windows 95. they would then share it with each other. there is no suggestion any of them profited financially. but the authorities in both britain and the united states considered it software piracy and took a dim view of networks such as dod one of a number of so-called warez organisations operating on the internet. in october 2000 the us customs service began an investigation into dod and other networks such as razor 1911 risciso myth and popz. fourteen months later us customs co-ordinated a series of raids across the globe as part of operation buccaneer. seventy search warrants were executed in the us britain australia norway sweden and finland. at least 60 people were arrested worldwide - 45 of them in the us. among the leaders of the network were americans john sankus - known by his internet nickname eriflleh (hellfire spelt backwards) - richard berry kent kartadinata and christopher tresco who used a server based at the prestigious massachusetts institute of technology (mit). the longest jail sentence - 46 months - was handed down to sankus a 28-year-old from philadelphia. us attorney paul mcnulty said at the time: john sankus and his techno-gang operated in the faceless world of the internet and thought they would never be caught. they were wrong. these sentences and those to follow should send a message to others entertaining similar beliefs of invincibility. but one man still in legal limbo is british-born australian hew raymond griffiths who is still fighting against extradition to the us. us customs claimed mr griffiths was one of dod s leaders but his lawyer antony townsden told the bbc news website it was a laughable suggestion and added: he was living on welfare and had such an old computer that he couldn t even download software. the allegation that he was the group s co-leader is illusory. he had the least technical skills of anyone he couldn t crack any codes and he has only been called a leader because he was a loudmouth who wrote a lot on their messageboard. mr townsden said if he had committed any crimes he should be prosecuted in australia not the us. he claimed the australian government s decision to accept the extradition request was typical of their current acquiescent attitude to the us. mr griffiths is expecting to hear this week the outcome of his appeal against the decision to extradite him. those involved would give themselves internet aliases which would act in the same way as tags used by graffiti artists. they could then brag about their code-cracking abilities without giving away their real identities. alex bell whose trial at the old bailey ended on friday was known as mr 2940 - after a computer device - while his co-defendant steven dowd s nickname curiously was tim. a spokesman for us immigration customs and enforcement dean boyd said dod did not appear to be motivated by money. their motivation was the kudos which surrounded being able to crack sophisticated software. he told the bbc news website: primarily they were just interested in how fast they could crack the code. it was all about underground notoriety. but mr boyd pointed out that once the software had been distributed on the internet it fell into the hands of organised criminals who were able to mass produce pirated software at zero cost. it cost us industries a lot of money billions of dollars he said. mr boyd said: it was truly global in scope. we raided a number of universities including duke (in north carolina) and mit and found that several of the people involved were employed by major computer corporations. they would go home from work in the evenings and get involved in this warez culture. warez groups which began to surface in the early 1990s operate according to a strict code of honour. for example if one group cracked the software first its rivals would respect that achievement and not seek to claim it themselves. mr boyd said the destruction of dod was a great coup but he added: i m not going to sit here and say we have sorted the problem. there are still hackers and people who do this for fun. internet piracy of computer software remains a gigantic problem. a spokesman for the business software alliance said: dod members claim they did not profit at all. but they did profit by getting access to very expensive servers. he said dod and other warez groups were fostering a culture of piracy on the internet. he said 29% of computer software in britain was believed to have been pirated and this cost £1bn in revenue for software companies their suppliers and distributors. it may seem like a victimless crime but it touches more people than you might care to believe.

new browser wins over net surfers the proportion of surfers using microsoft s internet explorer (ie) has dropped to below 90% say web analysts. net traffic monitor onestat.com has reported that the open-source browser firefox 1.0 released on 9 november seems to be drawing users away from ie. while ie s market share has dropped 5% since may to 88.9% mozilla browsers - including firefox - have grown by 5%. firefox is made by the mozilla foundation which was set up by former browser maker netscape in 1998. although there have been other preview versions of firefox version 1.0 was the first complete official program. it seems that people are switching from microsoft s internet explorer to mozilla s new firefox browser said niels brinkman co-founder of amsterdam-based onestat.com. mozilla browsers - including firefox 1.0 - now have 7.4% of the market share the figures suggest. mozilla said that more than five million have downloaded the free software since its official release. supporters of the open-source software in the us managed to raise $250 000 (£133 000) to advertise the release of firefox 1.0 in the new york times and support the mozilla foundation. there was a flurry of downloads on its first day of release. the figures echo similar research from net analyst websidestory which suggested that ie had 92.9% of users in october compared to 95.5% in june. microsoft ie has dominated the browser market for some time after taking the crown from netscape and its share of users has always stayed at around the 95% mark. firefox is attractive to many because it is open-source. that means people are free to adapt the software s core code to create other innovative features like add-ons or extensions to the program. fewer security holes have also been discovered so far in firefox than in ie. paul randle microsoft windows client product manager responded to the figures: we certainly respect that some customers will choose alternative browsers and that choosing a browser is about more than a handful of features. microsoft continues to make significant investments in ie including service pack 2 with advanced security technologies and continues to encourage a vibrant ecosystem of third party add-ons for internet explorer. firefox wants to capture 10% of the market by the end of 2005. other browser software like opera and apple s safari are also challenging microsoft s grip on the browser market. opera is set to release its version 7.60 by the end of the year. onestat.com compiled the statistical measurements from two million net users in 100 countries.

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.

india power shares jump on debut shares in india s largest power producer national thermal power corp (ntpc) have risen 13% on their stock market debut. the government s partial sell-off of ntpc is part of a controversial programme to privatise state-run firms. the 865 million share offer a mix of new shares and sales by the government raised 54bn rupees($1.2bn). it was india s second $1bn stock debut in three months coming after the flotation by software firm tata. the share offer was eleven times oversubscribed. it is a good investment bet said suhas naik an investment analyst from ing mutual fund. power needs in india are set to rise and ntpc will benefit from that. analysts say the success of the ntpc flotation would encourage the government to reduce stakes in more power companies. ntpc has said it will use the money from the share sale to feed the growing needs of the country s energy-starved economy. the firm is the largest utility company in india and the sixth largest power producer in the world.

us retail sales surge in december us retail sales ended the year on a high note with solid gains in december boosted by strong car sales. seasonally adjusted sales rose 1.2% in the month compared to 0.1% a month earlier boosted by a surge in shopping just before and after christmas. sales climbed 8% for the year the best performance since an 8.5% rise in 1999 the commerce department added. the gains were led by a 4.3% jump in auto sales as dealers used enhanced offers to get cars out of showrooms. dealers were forced to cut prices in december to maintain sales growth in a tough quarter when the usual end-of-year holiday sales boom was slow to get started. the increase in sales during december pushed total spending for the month to $349.4bn (£265.9bn). sales for the year also broke through the $4 trillion mark for the first time - with annual sales coming in at $4.06 trillion however if automotives are excluded from december s data retail sales rose just 0.3% on the month. home furnishings and furniture stores also performed well rising 2.2%. but as well as hitting the shops more us consumers were going online or using mail order for their purchases - with non-store retailers seeing sales rise by 1.9%. however analysts said that the strong figures were unlikely to put the federal reserve bank off its current policy of measured interest rate rises. consumers for now remain willing to spend freely sustaining the us expansion. given that attitude the fed remains likely to continue boosting the fed funds rate at upcoming meetings ubs economist maury harris told reuters. retail sales are seen as a major part of consumer spending - which in turn makes up two-thirds of economic output in the us. consumer spending has been picking up in recent years after slumping during 2001 and 2002 as the country battled to recover from its first recession of the decade and the world trade centre attacks. during that time sales grew a lacklustre 2.9% in 2001 and 2.5% a year later. looking ahead analysts now expect improvement in jobs growth to feed through to the high street with consumer spending remaining strong. the belief comes despite the latest labor department report showing a surprise rise in unemployment. the number of americans filing initial jobless claims jumped to 367 000 the highest rate since september. however long-term claims slipped to their lowest level since 2001.

gm ford cut output as sales fall us car firms general motors (gm) and ford have been forced to cut production in the face of falling car sales. us sales at gm sank 12.7% in february compared to a year ago while ford sales dropped 3% as foreign rivals took a bigger share of the market. meanwhile asian carmakers fared well - toyota sales jumped 11% while rival nissan notched up a 10% increase. overall. sales across the industry also fell to 1.25 million vehicles from 1.27 million a year earlier. gm and ford blamed high fuel prices for low sales of big trucks and gas-guzzling sports utility vehicles (suvs) - the vehicles that provide the biggest profits. gm added that us truck sales fell 9% in february while car business tumbled 17% however it did acknowledge that some new products - such as the pontiac g6 and chevrolet cobalt - had put in solid performances. the calendar year is starting off slower than expected both for gm and the industry said mark laneve gm s vice president for north american sales service and marketing. the slump in sales prompted the group to cut production in north america by 3% - it has already reduced output by around 9% in the face of growing stockpiles. meanwhile ford which posted its ninth consecutive drop in monthly us sales said it was cutting first-quarter north american production by another 10 000 vehicles or 1.2%. chrysler the us unit of germany s daimlerchrysler was the only detroit based automaker to boast an increase in market share during the month - with sales rising 8%. but america s loss was its foreign rivals gain as they continued to nibble away at the us market. while japan s top car maker toyota and nissan saw sales accelerate even the smaller suzuki motor corp snapped up a more business with sales improving 17.6% on a year ago. in 2003 the firm launched an ambitious plan to triple us sales by 2007 as it seeks to become a bigger player in the asian assault on the us market. korea s hyundai was another big gainer turning in a 19% surge in february sales. toyota put its rise in sales down to strong results for its redesigned avalon sedan and a 120% surge in sales of its gas-electric prius hybrid mid-size sedan as petrol-price conscious consumers looked to vehicles that were cheaper to run. as gas prices continue their upward march fuel efficiency catches the public eye jim press vice president and chief operating officer of toyota s us sales arm said in a statement.

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.

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.

pop band busted to take a break chart-topping pop band busted have confirmed that they plan to take a break following rumours that they were on the verge of splitting. a statement from the band s record company universal said frontman charlie simpson planned to spend some time working with his other band fightstar. however they said that busted would reconvene in due course . the band have had eight top three hits including four number ones since they first hit the charts in 2002. their singles include what i go to school for year 3000 crashed the wedding you said no and who s david the band which also includes members matt jay and james bourne made the top ten with their self-titled debut album as well as the follow-up a present for everyone in 2003. they won best pop act and best breakthrough act at the 2004 brit awards and were nominated for best british group. most recently they topped the charts with the theme from the live-action film version of thunderbirds which was voted record of the year on the itv1 show. the band have capitalised on a craze for artists playing catchy pop music with rock overtones. the trio are seen as an alternative to more manufactured artists who are not considered credible musicians because they do not write their own songs or play their own instruments. however recent rumours have suggested that simpson has been wanting to quit the band to focus on fightstar. he now plans to take fightstar on tour.

nadal marches on in mexico rafael nadal continued his run of fine form to beat guillermo canas and reach the mexican open semis in acapulco. eighth seed nadal who picked up his second atp title when he beat alberto martin in last week s brazil open saw off the argentine third seed 7-5 6-3. he now meets argentine wild card mariano puerta who followed up his win over top seed carlos moya by overcoming spain s felix mantilla 6-4 3-6 7-6. czech fifth seed czech jiri novak was eliminated 7-5 6-1 by agustin calleri. the unseeded argentine who won the tournament two years ago now plays spain s albert montanes. montanes advanced to his first semi-final of the year with a 4-6 6-3 6-4 triumph over sixth-seeded italian filippo volandri. argentina s agustin calleri beat fourth seed jiri novak 7-5 6-1 in a battle of former champions at the mexican open. calleri won his only atp title in acapulco two years ago while novak won the singles and doubles titles in 1998. calleri will face albert montanes in the semi-finals after the spaniard ousted sixth seed filippo volandri of italy 4-6 6-3 6-4. argentine wild card mariano puerta continued his improbable run outlasting felix mantilla 6-4 3-6 7-6.

playstation 3 processor unveiled the cell processor which will drive sony s playstation 3 will run 10-times faster than current pc chips its designers have said. sony ibm and toshiba who have been working on the cell processor for three years unveiled the chip on monday. it is being designed for use in graphics workstations the new playstation console and has been described as a supercomputer on a chip. the chip will run at speeds of greater than 4 ghz the firms said. by comparison rival chip maker intel s fastest processor runs at 3.8 ghz. details of the chip were released at the international solid state circuits conference in san francisco. the new processor is set to ignite a fresh battle between intel and the cell consortium over which processor sits at the centre of digital products. the playstation 3 is expected in 2006 while toshiba plans to incorporate it into high-end televisions next year. ibm has said it will sell a workstation with the chip starting later this year. cell is comprised of several computing engines or cores. a core based on ibm s power architecture controls eight synergistic processing centres. in all they can simultaneously carry out 10 instruction sequences compared with two for current intel chips. later this year intel and advanced micro devices plan to release their own multicore chips which also increase the number of instructions that can be executed at once. the cell s specifications suggest the playstation 3 will offer a significant boost in graphics capabilities but analysts cautioned that not all the features in a product announcement will find their way into systems. any new technology like this has two components said steve kleynhans an analyst with meta group. he said: it has the vision of what it could be because you need the big vision to sell it. then there s the reality of how it s really going to be used which generally is several levels down the chain from there. while the playstation 3 is likely to be the first mass-market product to use cell the chip s designers have said the flexible architecture means that it would be useful for a wide range of applications from servers to mobile phones. initial devices are unlikely to be any smaller than a games console however because the first version of the cell will run hot enough to need a cooling fan. and while marketing speak describes the chip as a supercomputer - it remains significantly slower than the slowest computer on the list of the world s top 500 supercomputers. ibm said cell was os neutral and would support multiple operating systems simultaneously but designers would not confirm if microsoft s windows was among those tested with the chip. if cell is to challenge intel s range of chips in the marketplace it will need to find itself inside pcs which predominantly run using windows.

bbc web search aids odd queries the bbc s online search engine was used a record amount in 2004 helping with enquires both simple and strange. more than 277 million enquiries were made asking for informaton of a wide range of subjects. the most requested search terms of 2004 included games eastenders cbbc john peel harry potter and olympics. but there were many strange enquiries including: what is a dog how do you say basketball and what is the biggest collection of naval fluff the search engine works by matching key words typed in to different web pages but many people still type in natural language questions. here are some of the strangest queries of 2004 - spelling and grammar errors left untouched - and their possible solutions: - how to fold a serviette like an elf s boot - how do i structure a french letter - what is better one long vacation each year or several short vacations throughout the year - what is so special about the swiss - what are the contemporary issue in nurses - what is the number 4 in this number 40052308090 - what is up - what is the name of james martin s dog search engines are key to the way people use the internet. companies such as google have become of paramount importance as they dictate how people travel through websites while online.

brando rejected godfather role late film star marlon brando is said to have repeatedly turned down his oscar-winning role in the godfather. the actor s friend budd schulberg told vanity fair magazine that brando s assistant suggested he read the novel. the actor repeatedly refused throwing the book at her and saying: for the last time i won t glorify the mafia . but brando who died last july at the age of 80 eventually took the role of don corleone winning him an oscar in 1973 which he notoriously refused. the actor sent a young woman dressed in native american costume to refuse the award on his behalf and to draw attention to the plight of native americans. schulberg told the magazine that brando s assistant realised the film star had warmed to the idea of the godfather role when he sported a drawn-on pencil moustache and asked: how do i look his assistant alice marchak said that he looked like george raft an actor famed for playing gangsters on the silver screen. every time she went to see brando from then on she added he was wearing a different gangster-style moustache. brando was asked to screen test for the role in the godfather as studio executives were said to be reluctant for the actor to play the part following problems on the set of brando s previous film mutiny on the bounty . in fact brando s academy award triumph revived his career. the actor was nominated for an oscar the following year for his role in bernardo bertolucci s last tango in paris. before his death brando granted gaming company electronic arts the rights to use his voice and image in a video game based on the godfather film and book and recorded voice-overs which closely resembled his role as don corleone. brando s co-stars from the godfather james caan and robert duvall will also reprise their roles for the video game it was confirmed on wednesday.

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.

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.

italy aim to rattle england italy coach john kirwan believes his side can upset england as the six nations wooden spoon battle hots up. the two sides both without a win meet on 12 march at twickenham and kirwan says his side will be hoping to make the most of england s current slump. we have to make sure the england and france games are tough for them. england have not been having the best of championships. that is a big one for us and them and i am sure my players will rise to the occasion he said. but kirwan admits that a lot of hard work will be needed with his kickers before the trip to london. roland de marigny and luciano orquera had a miserable time with the boot in the dire defeat to scotland as chris paterson stole the show to give the hosts a much-needed 18-10 victory. kirwan said: the kicking was the decisive factor in scotland which cost us and it could go down to the kicking again next time. but i have a lot of confidence in my players and i am positive we can put everything together against england. england meanwhile are licking their wounds and rueing what might have been had two decisions from referee jonathan kaplan not gone against them in the second half in dublin. first mark cueto was judged offside as he chased fly-half charlie hodgson s kick and then kaplan opted not to call upon video evidence to see if josh lewsey had touched down after being driven over ireland s line. but centre jamie noon believes the side at least showed better form than their previous two defeats. we definitely improved against an in-form irish side he said. we went to dublin quietly confident that we would be able to compete and i think we showed that. we have got to make sure we now take the form and positives into the italy game. we are under no illusions that it is going to be easy but we definitely need a win. england have now equalled an 18-year low of four successive championship defeats including france in paris last season and have lost four in a row under andy robinson. his predecessor sir clive woodward began his seven-year reign with three defeats and two draws.

wenger steps up row arsene wenger has stepped up his feud with sir alex ferguson by claiming the manchester united manager is guilty of bringing football into disrepute. the pair s long-running row was put back in the headlines on saturday when ferguson said his arsenal counterpart was a disgrace . wenger initially refused to bite back saying only: i will never answer any questions any more about this man. but now he claims ferguson should be punished by the football association. the latest twist in the ferguson-wenger saga came on saturday when the united boss in an interview with the independent newspaper discussed the events after the game between the two sides in october. united won 2-0 that day at old trafford but the game was followed by a now notorious food fight which saw ferguson s clothes covered in soup and pizza. the sides meet again at highbury on 1 february. in the tunnel wenger was criticising my players calling them cheats so i told him to leave them alone and behave himself ferguson said on saturday. he ran at me with hands raised saying what do you want to do about it to not apologise for the behaviour of the players to another manager is unthinkable. it s a disgrace but i don t expect wenger to ever apologise he s that type of person. those allegations were put to wenger after saturday s game at bolton which arsenal lost to slip 10 points behind chelsea in the title race. at first he said only: i ve always been consistent with that story and told you nothing happened. if he has to talk he talks. if he wants to make a newspaper article he makes a newspaper article. he doesn t interest me and doesn t matter to me at all. i will never answer to any provocation from him any more. he does what he likes in england anyway. he can go abroad one day and see how it is. but later on saturday according to the independent wenger spoke to a smaller group of reporters and expanded on his reaction. i have no diplomatic relations with him the arsenal boss is quoted as saying. what i don t understand is that he does what he wants and you (the press) are all at his feet. the situation (concerning the food fight) has been judged and there is a game going on in a month. the managers have a responsibility to protect the game before the game. but in england you are only punished for what you say after the game. now the whole story starts again. i don t go into that game. we play football. i am a football manager and i love football above all ... no matter what people say. reminded that ferguson called him a disgrace wenger added: i don t respond to anything. in england you have a good phrase. it is bringing the game into disrepute . but that is not only after a game it is as well before a game. ferguson had also claimed that united chief executive david gill and arsenal vice-chairman david dein had agreed at boardroom level not to discuss the incident in public. but ferguson added: in the ensuing weeks all you got was a diatribe from arsenal about being kicked off the pitch and all that nonsense. gill phoned dein three times to complain but nothing was done. the return is on 1 february and they will come out with another diatribe. david gill and i feel we should set the record straight because arsenal have not written to us to apologise and we would not let that happen here. meanwhile the league managers association have offered to act as peacemakers in the hope of resolving the on-going row. during that stormy game in october united striker ruud van nistelrooy caught arsenal s ashley cole with one particularly strong tackle. wenger later accused van nistelrooy of cheating and was fined £15 000 and severely reprimanded by the football association. ferguson admitted on saturday that van nistelrooy s tackle which earned the dutchman a ban could have given (cole) a serious injury but he believes arsenal were the main aggressors. wenger is always complaining the match was not played in the right spirit he added. they are the worst losers of all time they don t know how to lose. maybe it is just manchester united they don t lose many games to other teams. we tend to forget the worst disciplinary record of all time was arsenal s up until last season. in fairness it has improved and now they are seen as paragons of virtue. but to wenger it never happens it is all some dream or nightmare.

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.

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.

could rivalry overshadow election tony blair and gordon brown are desperately trying to stuff the genie of their rivalry back into the bottle. along with any number of senior cabinet colleagues they are insisting their only job is to win the next election and govern in the best interests of britain. it is a message they are aiming directly at their backbenchers who are becoming irritated and even unnerved by the continuing claims and counter claims surrounding this alleged rift. ian gibson for example urged the two men to stop squabbling declaring: for goodness sake sometimes you have to rise above petulance and make sure that you do your job as effectively as you can. those with slim majorities are particularly fearful that the rift could hit their own hopes of re-election. tony blair will seek to reassure labour mps on monday evening at their first meeting of the new year at westminster - a behind-closed doors meeting which gordon brown is thought likely to also attend to show unity. meanwhile the likes of health secretary john reid and labour peer lord haskins are warning of the electoral dangers of allowing this soap opera to continue. and they have both warned the rival camps to stop spreading the poison. lord haskins even suggested mr blair should reinstate mr brown as the central figure in the election planning. but this particular genie is unusually reluctant to return to captivity and many fear it is simply too late to repair the damage. they believe they will be fighting the next election with the sounds of open warfare between the two men ringing in their ears. and it matters little whether the rift is real or as some try to suggest simply the product of newspaper headlines and westminster gossip. few in westminster actually believe that simply because the evidence appears to contradict it. for example the weekend s attempts by both men to play down the divisions failed to do the trick. even as they were both insisting on their unity of purpose and claiming they would not be swayed by newspaper stories they still managed to stir the speculation with their comments. mr blair talked about the new labour manifesto - a move which seemed calculated to irritate the chancellor who has long rejected the label. and mr brown pointedly refused to deny claims the prime minister had reneged on a deal to hand him the premiership last year. that claim was repeated in robert peston s book a book which amply demonstrates this corrosive downing street soap opera is nowhere near its final act. for his part mr brown insists his only motivation was to get labour re-elected. the trouble is both men have fallen short of offering simple straightforward denials of the central claims. so they have both been accused of actually making matters worse by feeding the speculation with their own behaviour. the first thing to be said is that these suggestions have not come from nowhere. they started with and are sustained by friends of the two men. one only had to listen to the chancellor s friend and former spin chief charlie whelan last week to understand that there is a real anger from this camp at the prime minister s apparent attempts to confound mr brown s leadership ambitions. but it is not just public pronouncements from ex-aides. there are whispered briefings to selected journalists from both sides. it is no secret in westminster for example that downing street believes the chancellor is indulging in a mammoth sulk and acting in a petty and deliberately provocative manner. then there are the actions of the men themselves. gordon brown sets out what is seen as a rival manifesto then appears to embark on his own personal campaign. the prime minister responds by scheduling his monthly press conference to clash with a keynote speech by the chancellor. meanwhile large numbers of backbench mps insist voters are either entirely uninterested in the chatter which they believe is a media-only obsession or that they fear for the efficient running of a government beset by such rivalry. either way there is universal agreement that if this goes on through the general election it can only do the labour party serious damage. there are signs that the two men appreciate the dangers and both want to put a lid on all the speculation. but with probably only four months to the next election that looks like being a particularly difficult trick to pull off.

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.

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.

eu referendum could cost £80m it could cost £80m to run a uk referendum on the european constitution ministers have revealed. in a written parliamentary answer constitutional affairs minister chris leslie said the poll was likely to cost the same as a general election. mr leslie said the cost could not be compared with the only previous british referendum held 30 years ago. ministers say the constitution would make the european union work better but critics fear creating a super state . labour mp john cryer whose question revealed the price estimate said the cost surprised him but was not a central factor as it was important people had their say. but he said it would have been better to have rejected the constitution so avoiding the need for a referendum. the 2001 election cost £80m. no date for the vote has been set but foreign secretary jack straw has suggested it is unlikely to be held until early 2006 - after the predicted date for the next election. most voters said the uk should stay in the common market in the 1975 referendum.

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.

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.

film production falls 40% in uk the number of british films produced in the uk fell 40% in 2004 with movies starring johnny depp and jude law among those affected screen daily has said. twenty-seven british films were made in the uk last year following a drop in funding compared with 45 in 2003 according to the trade weekly. it attributed the drop to tighter tax laws and reduced funding from sources such as the national lottery. uk and us co-productions in britain fell from 102 in 2003 to 81 last year. last year the government closed tax loopholes that many film investors had taken advantage of to fund films in the uk. several projects were shelved as they faced the implications of this clampdown coupled with the reduction in movie funding from traditional sources including the lottery and miramax films. shooting on period drama tulip fever which was to star jude law and keira knightley was postponed indefinitely while shooting of the libertine starring johnny depp was moved to the isle of man. there isn t anything coming in to replace (the funds) said the libertine s executive producer marc samuelson. we are in a hiatus. films with medium budgets of up to £9m a similar level to box office hits vera drake calendar girls and enduring love are expected to be worst hit by the tax clampdown. the strength of the pound against the dollar is expected to have resulted in a fall in the number of us films shot in the uk during 2004 screen international added. big budget co-productions such as the harry potter series continued to be shot in the uk however. the uk film council said the drop was partly due to 2003 being an especially good year for british film production when bridget jones: the edge of reason wimbledon and thunderbirds were all filmed in the uk. the drop was expected as there was no way 2003 s record level of production could be bettered the council s spokesperson said. the reduction in indigenous film production in 2004 was due to a variety of factors including the continuing long-term trend towards co-production of films in more than one country and changes to financing arrangements. it was too early to predict whether the downward trend in uk production would continue throughout 2005 the uk film council said. in september the government introduced subsidies worth up to £4m per film for medium budget films under new treasury measures. it is also due to announce a replacement for uk film tax relief scheme section 48 in july.

japanese banking battle at an end japan s sumitomo mitsui financial has withdrawn its takeover offer for rival bank ufj holdings enabling the latter to merge with mitsubishi tokyo. sumitomo bosses told counterparts at ufj of its decision on friday clearing the way for it to conclude a 3 trillion yen ($29bn) deal with mitsubishi. the deal would create the world s biggest bank with assets of about 189 trillion yen ($1.8 trillion). sumitomo s exit ends the most high profile fight in japanese bank history. ufj holdings japan s fourth-largest bank has been at the centre of a fierce bid battle over the last year. sumitomo japan s third-largest bank tabled a higher offer for ufj than its rival valuing the company at $35bn. however ufj s management was known to prefer the offer from mitsubishi tokyo financial group (mtfg) japan s second-largest bank. concerns were also raised about sumitomo s ability to absorb ufj and the former has now admitted defeat. we believe the market and most investors accept a ufj-mtfg merger sumitomo said in a statement. given the ongoing integration of ufj and mtfg operations persisting with our proposal may not be in the best interests of our shareholders or ufj s. mitsubishi s takeover of ufj - which will be japan s largest-ever takeover deal - will still have to be approved by shareholders of the two firms. however this is expected to be a formality. sumitomo may now turn its attention to deepening its ties with daiwa securities another japanese financial firm. the two are set to merge their venture capital operations and there has been speculation that this could lead to a full-blown merger. japanese banks are increasingly seeking alliances to boost profits.

nortel in $300m profit revision telecoms equipment maker nortel networks has sharply revised downwards its profits for the 2003 fiscal year. in a long-awaited filing nortel said it had made $434m (£231m) compared to the previously reported $732m. but the figures - revised after an audit which led to the sacking of the canadian firm s chief - showed revenue was about 4% higher than first thought. nortel shares which have lost nearly 50% of their value since last year climbed 1.46% in toronto on tuesday. nortel s head frank dunn and two other executives were fired in january last year after the company announced it had conducted the internal audit. securities and police authorities in both the us and canada are still conducting inquiries into the accounts. nortel also issued new figures for the 2001-2002 period which they had previously indicated had understated losses. with the completion of our restatements we have a solid foundation on which to move forward with our business said nortel president and chief executive bill owens. the restatement has been a monumental task both complex and demanding. the company also said 12 senior executives - none of whom were involved directly in the accounting of the revised figures - have voluntarily agreed to repay to bonuses awarded in 2003 totalling $8.6m. nortel added: these members of the core executive team share the board s deep disappointment over the circumstances that led to the restatement.

south bank awards honour hit soap coronation street has become the first soap to triumph at the south bank show awards which traditionally reward highbrow and groundbreaking culture. the soap beat fellow itv1 show filthy love and channel 4 s shameless to win the best tv drama prize on thursday. little britain was named best comedy while franz ferdinand beat morrissey and the libertines to the music award. shane meadows dead man s shoes picked up the best film award beating shaun of the dead and my summer of love. the two award ceremonies reflect the achievements the industry believes have been made in the last year. in 2004 coronation street pulled away from its bbc one rival eastenders in the ratings and dominated other tv awards. last year the south bank award for best tv drama went to steven poliakoff s period piece the lost prince while bloody sunday about the 1972 killings in northern ireland won in 2003. in other south bank categories little britain s second series beat nighty night and the green wing to the comedy trophy while alan bennett s the history boys won in the theatre category. author david mitchell made up for losing out in the booker prize to alan hollinghurst by beating him to the literary award with his book cloud atlas. shameless state of play and clocking off creator paul abbott got a lifetime achievement award while former grange hill actress amma asante won the breakthrough award for writing and directing her first film a way of life.

angels favourite funeral song angels by robbie williams is the song britons would most like played at their funeral a survey has suggested. while the melancholy hit topped the uk poll europeans favoured queen s more upbeat anthem the show must go on as their first choice. frank sinatra s my way was second in the uk vote with monty python s always look on the bright side of life in third place. more than 45 000 people were surveyed by digital tv station music choice. the european chart which included denmark france and germany put led zeppelin s stairway to heaven in second and ac/dc s highway to hell in third. queen s who wants to live forever was highly favoured by both uk and european voters. both lists featured only one traditional or classic song each with britons requesting the royal scots dragoon guards amazing grace and their continental counterparts opting for mozart s requiem. wanting to share your most treasured musical gem with those you re leaving behind is the perfect way to sign off and leave a lasting impression music choice music and marketing manager simon george said.

could rivalry overshadow election tony blair and gordon brown are desperately trying to stuff the genie of their rivalry back into the bottle. along with any number of senior cabinet colleagues they are insisting their only job is to win the next election and govern in the best interests of britain. it is a message they are aiming directly at their backbenchers who are becoming irritated and even unnerved by the continuing claims and counter claims surrounding this alleged rift. ian gibson for example urged the two men to stop squabbling declaring: for goodness sake sometimes you have to rise above petulance and make sure that you do your job as effectively as you can. those with slim majorities are particularly fearful that the rift could hit their own hopes of re-election. tony blair will seek to reassure labour mps on monday evening at their first meeting of the new year at westminster - a behind-closed doors meeting which gordon brown is thought likely to also attend to show unity. meanwhile the likes of health secretary john reid and labour peer lord haskins are warning of the electoral dangers of allowing this soap opera to continue. and they have both warned the rival camps to stop spreading the poison. lord haskins even suggested mr blair should reinstate mr brown as the central figure in the election planning. but this particular genie is unusually reluctant to return to captivity and many fear it is simply too late to repair the damage. they believe they will be fighting the next election with the sounds of open warfare between the two men ringing in their ears. and it matters little whether the rift is real or as some try to suggest simply the product of newspaper headlines and westminster gossip. few in westminster actually believe that simply because the evidence appears to contradict it. for example the weekend s attempts by both men to play down the divisions failed to do the trick. even as they were both insisting on their unity of purpose and claiming they would not be swayed by newspaper stories they still managed to stir the speculation with their comments. mr blair talked about the new labour manifesto - a move which seemed calculated to irritate the chancellor who has long rejected the label. and mr brown pointedly refused to deny claims the prime minister had reneged on a deal to hand him the premiership last year. that claim was repeated in robert peston s book a book which amply demonstrates this corrosive downing street soap opera is nowhere near its final act. for his part mr brown insists his only motivation was to get labour re-elected. the trouble is both men have fallen short of offering simple straightforward denials of the central claims. so they have both been accused of actually making matters worse by feeding the speculation with their own behaviour. the first thing to be said is that these suggestions have not come from nowhere. they started with and are sustained by friends of the two men. one only had to listen to the chancellor s friend and former spin chief charlie whelan last week to understand that there is a real anger from this camp at the prime minister s apparent attempts to confound mr brown s leadership ambitions. but it is not just public pronouncements from ex-aides. there are whispered briefings to selected journalists from both sides. it is no secret in westminster for example that downing street believes the chancellor is indulging in a mammoth sulk and acting in a petty and deliberately provocative manner. then there are the actions of the men themselves. gordon brown sets out what is seen as a rival manifesto then appears to embark on his own personal campaign. the prime minister responds by scheduling his monthly press conference to clash with a keynote speech by the chancellor. meanwhile large numbers of backbench mps insist voters are either entirely uninterested in the chatter which they believe is a media-only obsession or that they fear for the efficient running of a government beset by such rivalry. either way there is universal agreement that if this goes on through the general election it can only do the labour party serious damage. there are signs that the two men appreciate the dangers and both want to put a lid on all the speculation. but with probably only four months to the next election that looks like being a particularly difficult trick to pull off.

federer joins all-time greats the last year has seen one player dominate men s tennis and one country dominate the women s game. roger federer became the first man since mats wilander in 1988 to win three grand slams in one season. and after anastasia myskina became the first russian woman to win a grand slam at the french open two more followed at wimbledon and the us open. meanwhile briton tim henman enjoyed his best year while greg rusedski fought back superbly from adversity. federer began the year as world number one and holder of the wimbledon and masters cup titles and set about conquering new ground. the swiss sounded warning of the dominance to come at the australian open. he ripped through the draw before beating marat safin in the final. andy roddick was the only player to put up any real resistance at wimbledon and federer s performance against lleyton hewitt in the us open final was breathtaking. federer again got the better of hewitt in the season-ending masters cup. his victory in houston proved to be his 13th successive win in a final an open era record. the only major let-down was a third-round loss to gustavo kuerten at the french open and roland garros will be his main target in 2005. there was also a surprise loss to the unheralded tomas berdych at the olympic games which saw chile dominate as nicoals massu took the singles and then paired up with fernando gonzaelz to win doubles gold. another major trophy that looks beyond federer is the davis cup which was won by spain in a 3-2 home success over the usa in seville. roddick struggled on the clay losing to rafael nadal on the opening day before going down to carlos moya in the all-important fourth rubber. henman broke new ground by reaching the semis on clay at the french open - a stunning effort - and also at the us open. a quarter-final defeat to mario ancic at wimbledon was disappointing for the limp manner of the briton s defeat but he remains optimistic of going further next year. british number two rusedski endured a rollercoaster year returning to the circuit after being cleared of a doping offence in march. with his ranking down at 168 many feared the 31-year-old s career was over but he battled back in the second half of the season to re-enter the top 50. the russian women finally delivered on their long-recognised promise in 2004 with myskina maria sharapova and svetlana kuznetsova winning grand slams before taking the season-ending fed cup. but while the young russians were on the way up it was a different story for the belgians and the williams sisters. only veteran lindsay davenport held the new wave at bay a stunning run of form after wimbledon taking her to number one ahead of amelie mauresmo whose grand slam drought goes on. the year started in regulation fashion as justine henin-hardenne beat compatriot kim clijsters at the australian open. a virus ruined the rest of henin-hardenne s year although she was fit enough to win olympic gold but clijsters had an even more miserable 2004. she suffered a serious wrist injury and then announced the end of her relationship with lleyton hewitt and will be happy to see the year end. in their absence myskina thrashed elena dementieva in a historic but woeful all-russian final at the french open. wimbledon was a more refreshing affair as sharapova captivated sw19 showing nerves of steel as she battled past davenport and serena williams to take the title. davenport was a strong favourite for the us open but hampered by injury lost to the powerful and unflappable kuznetsova in the semis. kuznetsova went on to give dementieva another grand slam final thrashing with the latter s wayward serve becoming one of the talking points of the year. with the russians still improving the likes of henin-hardenne clijsters davenport mauresmo venus and serena will need to be fully fit and motivated in 2005. and it may take their compatriot safin to challenge federer on the men s side.

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.

text messages aid disaster recovery text messaging technology was a valuable communication tool in the aftermath of the tsunami disaster in asia. the messages can get through even when the cell phone signal is too weak to sustain a spoken conversation. now some are studying how the technology behind sms could be better used during an emergency. sanjaya senanayake works for sri lankan television. the blogging world though might know him better by his online name morquendi. he was one of the first on the scene after the tsunami destroyed much of the sri lankan coast. cell phone signals were weak. land lines were unreliable. so mr senanayake started sending out text messages. the messages were not just the latest news they were also an on-the-ground assessment of who needs what and where . blogging friends in india took mr senanayake s text messages and posted them on a weblog called dogs without borders. thousands around the world followed the story that unfolded in the text messages that he sent. and that s when mr senanayake started to wonder if sms might be put to more practical use. sms networks can handle so much more traffic than the standard mobile phone call or the land line call he says. in every rural community there s at least one person who has access to a mobile phone or has a mobile phone and can receive messages. half a world away in the caribbean nation of trinidad and tobago taran rampersad read morquendi s messages. mr rampersad who used to work in the military knew how important on the ground communication can be in times of disaster. he wondered if there might be a way to automatically centralise text messages and then redistribute them to agencies and people who might be able to help. mr rampersad said: imagine if an aid worker in the field spotted a need for water purification tablets and had a central place to send a text message to that effect. he can message the server so the server can send out an e-mail message and human or machine moderators can e-mail aid agencies and get it out in the field. he added: or send it at the same time to other people who are using sms in the region and they might have an excess of it and be able to shift supplies to the right places. mr rampersad and others had actually been thinking about such a system since hurricane ivan ravaged the caribbean and the southern united states last september. last week he sent out e-mail messages asking for help in creating such a system for asia. in only 72 hours he found dan lane a text message guru living in britain. the pair along with a group of dedicated techies are creating what they call the alert retrieval cache. the idea is to use open-source software - software can be used by anyone without commercial restraint - and a far-flung network of talent to create a system that links those in need with those who can help. this is a classic smart mobs situation where you have people self-organizing into a larger enterprise to do things that benefit other people says paul saffo a director at the california-based institute for the future. you may be halfway around the world from someone but in cyberspace you re just one click or one e-mail away he said that s put a whole new dimension on disaster relief and recovery where often people halfway around the world can be more effective in making something happen precisely because they re not right on top of the tragedy. it is still very early days for the project though. in an e-mail dan lane calls it an early proof of concept. right now the alert retrieval cache can only take a text message and automatically upload it to a web-page or distribute it to an e-mail list. in the near future the group says it hopes to take in messages from people in affected areas and use human moderators to take actions based on the content of those messages. but there s still another challenge. you have to get people to know that the system is there for them to use. it s amazing how difficult it is to find someone to pass it along to and say look this is what we re trying to do and everything like that says mr rampersad. so the big problem right now is the same problem we re trying to solve - human communication. he is optimistic however. he thinks that the alert retrieval cache is an idea whose time has come and he hopes governments too will sit up and take notice. and he stands by his motto courtesy of michelangelo: criticise by creating. clark boyd is technology correspondent for the world a bbc world service and wgbh-boston co-production.

cairn energy in indian gas find shares in cairn energy rose 3.8% to 1 088 pence on tuesday after the uk firm announced a fresh gas discovery in northern india. the firm which last year made a number of other new finds in the rajasthan area said the latest discovery could lead to large gas volumes. however chief executive bill gammell cautioned that additional evalution was first needed at the site. cairn has also been granted approval to extend its rajasthan exploration area. this approval has come from the indian government. a spokesman said the company s decision to carry out further investigations at the new find showed that it believed there was significant gas. but he added: it s still too early to say what the extent of it is. cairn s string of finds in rajasthan last year saw it elevated to the ftse 100 index of the uk s leading listed companies. the company had bought the rights to explore in the area from oil giant shell. mr gammell is a former scottish international rugby player.

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.

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.

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.

little britain two top comic list little britain stars matt lucas and david walliams have been named the most powerful people in tv comedy in a poll by listings magazine radio times. the duo kept phoenix nights creator peter kay at number two and the office star ricky gervais in third place. a radio times panel compiled the list taking the comedians critical acclaim and financial success into account. newcomers to the annual list included nighty night star julia davis at seven and black books tamsin greig at 19. lucas and walliams won numerous awards for little britain in 2004 including national television royal television society and british comedy awards. more than 1.8 million people watched the first episode of the latest series of little britain on bbc three in october giving the digital channel its highest rating ever. they topped the radio times list after rising from 10th position last year. other big risers over the past year included presenting duo ant and dec at five up from 13 in 2004 stephen fry rising nine places to 15 and bbc three controller stuart murphy who moves to number 18 from 32 last year. last year s winner chat show host graham norton fell to number 16 following relatively few television appearances in 2004. production companies also featured in the top 50 including steve coogan s baby cow which created nighty night among others hat trick - behind the kumars at number 42 - and the vicar of dibley production company tiger aspect.

msps hear renewed climate warning climate change could be completely out of control within several decades the scottish environment protection agency is warning a committee of msps. experts are giving evidence on the subject to the scottish parliament s environment committee. officials believe nuclear energy and wind farms may be better options than trying to tackle global warming. solutions suggested by conservationists include reducing internal uk air travel and boosting electric trains. the evidence is part of the committee s inquiry into the impact of climate change in scotland. sepa is attempting to curb global warming gases as pollution from transport emissions increases. ecologists are warning msps that scotland may have to accept significant intrusion from wind farms. it is likely also that nuclear power will be needed for possibly several decades. sepa predict that the two methods will remain as energy sources until climate change is under control. experts studying the seas off scotland s west coast have already forecast more devastating weather of the type which caused havoc across the country last month. they predicted that damaging storms will become more frequent. researchers from the university of the highlands and islands and southampton have been looking at wave heights in the atlantic over the last nine years. the project was conducted jointly by the environmental research institute in thurso which is part of the university of the highlands and islands (uhi) millennium institute network and the southampton oceanography centre. scientists carried out a series of studies including the use of satellites to assess wave heights in the seas around the west coast and the hebrides.

mobiles not media players yet mobiles are not yet ready to be all-singing all-dancing multimedia devices which will replace portable media players say two reports. despite moves to bring music download services to mobiles people do not want to trade multimedia services with size and battery life said jupiter. a separate study by gartner has also said real-time tv broadcasts to mobiles is unlikely in europe until 2007. technical issues and standards must be resolved first said the report. batteries already have to cope with other services that operators offer like video playback video messaging megapixel cameras and games amongst others. bringing music download services based on the success of computer-based download services will put more demands on battery life. fifty percent of europeans said the size of a mobile was the most important factor when it came to choosing their phone but more power demands tend to mean larger handsets. mobile phone music services must not be positioned to compete with the pc music experience as the handsets are not yet ready said thomas husson mobile analyst at jupiter research. mobile music services should be new and different and enable operators to differentiate their brands and support third generation network launches. other problems facing mobile music include limited storage on phones compared to portable players which can hold up to 40gb of music. the mobile industry is keen to get into music downloading after the success of apple s itunes napster and other net music download services. with phones getting smarter and more powerful there are also demands to be able to watch tv on the move. in the us services like tivo to go let people transfer pre-recorded tv content onto their phones. but the gartner report on mobile tv broadcasting in europe suggests direct broadcasting will have to wait. currently tv-like services where clips are downloaded are offered by several european operators like italy s tim and 3. mobile tv will have to overcome several barriers before it is widely taken up though said the report. various standards and ways of getting tv signals to mobiles are being worked on globally. in europe trials in berlin and helsinki are making use of terrestrial tv masts to broadcast compressed signals to handsets with extra receivers. a service from the norwegian broadcasting corporation lets people watch tv programmes on their mobiles 24 hours a day. the service uses 3gp technology one of the standards for mobile tv. but at the end of 2004 the european telecommunications institute (etsi) formally adopted digital video broadcasting handheld (dvb-h) as the mobile tv broadcasting standard for europe. operators will be working on the standard as a way to bring real-time broadcasts to mobiles as well as trying to overcome several other barriers. the cost and infrastructure needs to set up the services will need to be addressed. handsets also need to be able to work with the dvb-h standard. tv services will have to live up to the expectations of the digital tv generation too which expects good quality images at low prices according to analysts. people are also likely to be put off watching tv on such small screens said gartner. digital video recorders like europe s sky+ box and video-on-demand services mean people have much more control over what tv they watch. as a result people may see broadcasting straight to mobiles as taking away that control. more powerful smartphones like the xda ii nokia 6600 sonyericsson p900 and the orange e200 offering web access text and multimedia messaging e-mail calendar and gaming are becoming increasingly common. a report by analysts instat/mdr has predicted that smartphone shipments will grow by 44% over the next five years. it says that smartphones will make up 117 million out of 833 million handsets shipped globally by 2009.

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.

fox attacks blair s tory lies tony blair lied when he took the uk to war so has no qualms about lying in the election campaign say the tories. tory co-chairman liam fox was speaking after mr blair told labour members the tories offered a hard right agenda . dr fox 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. he would not discuss reports the party repaid £500 000 to lord ashcroft after he predicted an election defeat. the prime minister ratcheted up labour s pre-election campaigning at the weekend with a helicopter tour of the country and his speech at the party s spring conference. he insisted he did not know the poll date but it is widely expected to be 5 may. in what was seen as a highly personal speech in gateshead on sunday mr blair said: i have the same passion and hunger as when i first walked through the door of 10 downing street. he described his relationship with the public as starting euphoric then struggling to live up to the expectations and reaching the point of raised voices and throwing crockery . he warned his supporters against complacency saying: it s a fight for the future of our country it s a fight that for britain and the people of britain we have to win. mr blair said that whether the public chose michael howard or mr kennedy it would result in a tory government not a labour government and a country that goes back and does not move forward . dr fox accused mr blair and other cabinet ministers of telling lies about their opponents policies and then attacking the lies. what we learned at the weekend is what labour tactics are going to be and it s going to be fear and smear he told bbc news. the tory co-chairman attacked labour s six new pledges as vacuous and said mr blair was very worried voters would take revenge for his failure to deliver. dr fox refused to discuss weekend newspaper reports that the party had repaid £500 000 to former tory treasurer lord ashcroft after he said the party could not win the election. we repay loans when they are due but do not comment to individual financial matters he said insisting he enjoyed a warm and constructive relationship to lord ashcroft. meanwhile lib dem leader charles kennedy is expected to attack mr blair s words as he begins a nationwide tour on monday. mr kennedy is accelerating lib dem election preparations this week as he visits manchester liverpool leicester somerset basingstoke shrewsbury dorset and torbay. he said: this is three-party politics. in the northern cities the contest is between labour and the liberal democrats. in southern and rural seats - especially in the south west - the principal contenders are the liberal democrats and the conservatives who are out of the running in scotland and wales. the lib dems accuse mr blair of making a touchy-feely speech to labour delegates which will not help him regain public trust.

us adds more jobs than expected the us economy added 337 000 jobs in october - a seven-month high and far more than wall street expectations. in a welcome economic boost for newly re-elected president george w bush the labor department figures come after a slow summer of weak jobs gains. jobs were created in every sector of the us economy except manufacturing. while the separate unemployment rate went up to 5.5% from 5.4% in september this was because more people were now actively seeking work. the 337 000 new jobs added to us payrolls in october was twice the 169 000 figure that wall street economists had forecast. in addition the labor department revised up the number of jobs created in the two previous months - to 139 000 in september instead of 96 000 and to 198 000 in august instead of 128 000. the better than expected jobs data had an immediate upward effect on stocks in new york with the main dow jones index gaining 45.4 points to 10 360 by late morning trading. it looks like the job situation is improving and that this will support consumer spending going into the holidays and offset some of the drag caused by high oil prices this year said economist gary thayer of ag edwards & sons. other analysts said the upbeat jobs data made it more likely that the us federal reserve would increase interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 2% when it meets next week. it should empower the fed to clearly do something said robert macintosh chief economist with eaton vance management in boston. kathleen utgoff commissioner of the bureau of labor said many of the 71 000 new construction jobs added in october were involved in rebuilding and clean-up work in florida and neighbouring deep south states following four hurricanes in august and september. the dollar rose temporarily on the job creation news before falling back to a new record low against the euro as investors returned their attention to other economic factors such as the us s record trade deficit. there is also speculation that president bush will deliberately try to keep the dollar low in order to assist a growth in exports.

student fee factor played down a rise has been recorded in the number of students from south of the border applying to universities in scotland. however lifelong learning minister jim wallace said that this would not result in scottish students missing out. applications from england and wales rose by 17% between january 2005 and the previous year up 23 600 to 27 700. fears had been expressed that a flood of fee refugees would try to avoid top-up fees of up to £3 000 a year being introduced in england. in june last year mr wallace announced proposals to increase tuition fees for english students studying in scotland by £2 000 in an attempt to prevent a cross-border flood although no figure has yet been agreed. legislation to introduce the top-up fees in england is not due to take effect until autumn 2006 and students who start before then will not have to pay additional fees at all. the figures were made public on thursday by admissions service ucas. universities scotland which represents university principals claimed that an increase in applications did not amount to scottish students being squeezed out. director david caldwell said some students could be applying in an attempt to avoid the possible increase in annual fees at english universities but this was not a major factor. he told bbc radio scotland s good morning scotland programme: the reason people are opting for scottish universities is that they are perceived as being of very high quality they offer very attractive courses and scotland is seen as a very attractive place to study. they know that when they take up their studies in 2006 they will be hit by top-up fees if they are going to a university in england and that may be part of the reason why the numbers coming to scotland are so inflated. however it does not mean that we will see thousands of additional students from england studying here. mr wallace agreed and said the figures had to be looked at in context. he explained that when applications were translated into acceptances the number was not huge - an additional figure of about 200. also the picture was further blurred by the fact that applications from wales where there are no plans for top-up fees have also risen by 19%. mr wallace said: accepting students from all parts of the world does show the high regard in which scottish higher education is held not just in britain. we want to make sure that when students are making their choice they do so on the nature of the course and not because they are under some sort of financial pressure to go to scotland. we do not want to have a situation where it becomes impossible for scottish students to get places at scottish universities because we are seen as the cheap option. very often the quality of the university experience is enhanced by the fact there are students coming from a wide range of backgrounds so it would be wrong to go the other way and start excluding students.

fast moving phone viruses 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.

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.

text messages aid disaster recovery text messaging technology was a valuable communication tool in the aftermath of the tsunami disaster in asia. the messages can get through even when the cell phone signal is too weak to sustain a spoken conversation. now some are studying how the technology behind sms could be better used during an emergency. sanjaya senanayake works for sri lankan television. the blogging world though might know him better by his online name morquendi. he was one of the first on the scene after the tsunami destroyed much of the sri lankan coast. cell phone signals were weak. land lines were unreliable. so mr senanayake started sending out text messages. the messages were not just the latest news they were also an on-the-ground assessment of who needs what and where . blogging friends in india took mr senanayake s text messages and posted them on a weblog called dogs without borders. thousands around the world followed the story that unfolded in the text messages that he sent. and that s when mr senanayake started to wonder if sms might be put to more practical use. sms networks can handle so much more traffic than the standard mobile phone call or the land line call he says. in every rural community there s at least one person who has access to a mobile phone or has a mobile phone and can receive messages. half a world away in the caribbean nation of trinidad and tobago taran rampersad read morquendi s messages. mr rampersad who used to work in the military knew how important on the ground communication can be in times of disaster. he wondered if there might be a way to automatically centralise text messages and then redistribute them to agencies and people who might be able to help. mr rampersad said: imagine if an aid worker in the field spotted a need for water purification tablets and had a central place to send a text message to that effect. he can message the server so the server can send out an e-mail message and human or machine moderators can e-mail aid agencies and get it out in the field. he added: or send it at the same time to other people who are using sms in the region and they might have an excess of it and be able to shift supplies to the right places. mr rampersad and others had actually been thinking about such a system since hurricane ivan ravaged the caribbean and the southern united states last september. last week he sent out e-mail messages asking for help in creating such a system for asia. in only 72 hours he found dan lane a text message guru living in britain. the pair along with a group of dedicated techies are creating what they call the alert retrieval cache. the idea is to use open-source software - software can be used by anyone without commercial restraint - and a far-flung network of talent to create a system that links those in need with those who can help. this is a classic smart mobs situation where you have people self-organizing into a larger enterprise to do things that benefit other people says paul saffo a director at the california-based institute for the future. you may be halfway around the world from someone but in cyberspace you re just one click or one e-mail away he said that s put a whole new dimension on disaster relief and recovery where often people halfway around the world can be more effective in making something happen precisely because they re not right on top of the tragedy. it is still very early days for the project though. in an e-mail dan lane calls it an early proof of concept. right now the alert retrieval cache can only take a text message and automatically upload it to a web-page or distribute it to an e-mail list. in the near future the group says it hopes to take in messages from people in affected areas and use human moderators to take actions based on the content of those messages. but there s still another challenge. you have to get people to know that the system is there for them to use. it s amazing how difficult it is to find someone to pass it along to and say look this is what we re trying to do and everything like that says mr rampersad. so the big problem right now is the same problem we re trying to solve - human communication. he is optimistic however. he thinks that the alert retrieval cache is an idea whose time has come and he hopes governments too will sit up and take notice. and he stands by his motto courtesy of michelangelo: criticise by creating. clark boyd is technology correspondent for the world a bbc world service and wgbh-boston co-production.

blair sets date for africa report the commission for africa s report will be released on 11 march - comic relief day tony blair has said. july s g8 summit in gleneagles in perthshire - chaired by the prime minister - will use the report as the basis for talks on africa. the announcement followed the final meeting of the commission - which includes singer bob geldof - in london. as well as more aid fairer trade and less debt the commission is likely to demand action on corruption in africa. mr blair told a news conference: it will be a report that s brutally frank about the reality but i hope idealistic about what can be done if the will is there. it s an ambitious project we have set ourselves and you will have to judge on its outcome when we publish it. mr blair has vowed to put africa at the top of his agenda during his time at the helm of the g8. he acknowledged he would have a a job of persuading to do on other nations to get the necessary commitment to debt relief. bob geldof in characteristically blunt style promised that the commission would not just be a talking shop but would deliver radical new thinking to change direction for africa. the former rock star s presence on the commission has been interpreted as a sign that it will be uncompromising in its demands. the people involved include two african government leaders and a range of other african politicians as well as experts from some other developed countries.

eminem beats elvis to number one rapper eminem has denied elvis his fourth number one of the year after his song like toy soldiers stormed to the top of the singles charts. the track claimed the top spot ahead of the king s latest re-release are you lonesome tonight. it is the fifth in a series of 18 reissues to mark the 70th anniversary of presley s birth. almost here the duet from former westlife star brian mcfadden and delta goodrem went in at number three. like toy soldiers from eminem s encore album is sampled from martika s 1980s hit toy soldiers. it takes a swipe at hip-hop feuds and follows the success of just lose it. last week s number one elvis s it s now or never slipped 13 places to number 14 but all five of his re-released songs are in the top 40. one world project tsunami fundraiser grief never grows old slipped four places to number eight. featuring cliff richard and boy george the song was written by former dj mike read. in the album charts athlete s latest offering tourist claimed the top spot toppling the chemical brother s push the button down which fell to number six.

gebrselassie in london triple bid double olympic 10 000m champion haile gebrselassie will race in the london marathon for the next three years. the ethiopian legend won sunday s almeria half-marathon in spain on his return from an operation on his achilles tendon. he was third in london in 2002 in his first serious attempt at the marathon. it is a coup for us to secure haile s presence for the next three years and it guarantees a quality race said race director david bedford. gebrselassie will face olympic champion stefano baldini world champion jaouad gharib and arch-rival paul tergat the current world record holder. if i didn t think i could win i would not be here said gebrselassie who has set world records on 18 occasions in his illustrious career and is keen to add the marathon record to his collection. there are a lot of fantastic runners in the race but i shall be doing my utmost to upset them.

chris evans back on the market broadcaster chris evans has begun selling thousands of his possessions from a stall in camden market london. evans perched on a stool as shoppers wandered around the open-fronted shop packed with his furniture. among the items from his homes in los angeles and london were countless sofas chairs pictures beds and memorabilia from his past tv shows. asked the reason for the sale evans said: i just want to get rid of it all it s just a headache. he added: it feels good to be selling this stuff it s a weight off my mind. look at it all there s so much clutter. i ve enjoyed every bit of furniture and every poster but it s not important anymore. the normally gregarious evans cut a peculiarly unshowbusiness-like figure as he sipped coffee and smoked cigarettes wrapped in a big coat and scarf in front of his aladdin s cave. however the ostentation of some of the items on sale painted a picture of the eccentricity that endeared him to the british public in shows such as channel 4 s gameshow don t forget your toothbrush. the most striking thing about many of the pieces was their sheer size. sofas looked like they could seat a small party and a bed seemed big enough for four. the elaborate nature of the pieces many custom-made had to be admired particularly a huge red and gold upholstered throne and a stripy deckchair from the queen mary liner. to help people in their browsing evans had given the pieces labels with not only the price but a helpful often comic aside. isn t it great was the comment on the £1 950 throne and bob dylan s old sofa - honest was written on a dark wood couch priced £4 250. the prices were steep by a lot of people s standards but evans said it was not deterring shoppers. i ve sold quite a lot already. everything here is on sale for less than i bought it for but it s not really about the money. it s about getting rid of it all. we ve all been bartering that s what it s all about. he added that he was not going to reveal what he was going to do with the money he was making. vintage tv and film posters also lined the walls including a rare portrait of raquel welch and an original advertising print from the benny hill show. and almost hidden at the back of the lock-up were the two giant toothbrushes from his former channel 4 show although these were not for sale. despite the sheer curiosity value of the sale there was a healthy trickle of interest from the public rather than the perhaps expected crowds. some wandered in just to browse as they would any of the other stalls not knowing that it belonged to evans. paul burgess said: i didn t realise. i thought it was just a load of junk. i should go back and have a better look. but local resident francesca detakats came specially to the stall and left happy with her purchase of an original 1960s photograph of the who by david wedgburg. ms detakats said she was a collector and did not mind paying £350 for the print. if you like something you don t really count it like that she said. martin hellewell who had also made a point of visiting evans shop said he thought it was a great idea. why not if you ve got stuff to get rid of it s a good place to do it said mr hellewell. evans has taken out the stall with business partner pete winterbottom. they plan to open every day if possible although evans did not know how often he would be there. we ll stay definitely until christmas and then maybe a week after that said evans.

us crude prices surge above $53 us crude prices have soared to fresh four-month highs above $53 in the us as refinery problems propelled petrol prices to an all-time high. us light sweet crude futures jumped to $53.09 a barrel in new york before closing at $53.03. the gains tracked a surge in us gasoline futures to a record high of $1.4850 a gallon. the jump followed a fire at western refining company s refinery in texas which shut down petrol production. a spokesman for the group was unable to say when the production unit would be back up and running. this market simply wants to go up citigroup global markets analyst kyle cooper told reuters news agency. ed silliere analyst at energy merchant added: gasoline is up because of the refinery issues in texas which means there will be a scramble for product in the (us) gulf coast. elsewhere a refinery in houston was closed due to mechanical problems while on tuesday production at bp s texas city refinery was taken down for a short time. in the approach to spring the market becomes much more sensitive to problems with petrol production as dealers anticipate rising demand for fuel ahead of the holiday season. the rise in prices came despite a us government report that showed domestic supplies of fuel oil and fuel were rising. meanwhile oil production cartel opec s recent announcement that it was now unlikely to cut production levels has also failed to calm fears on the market. oil prices are roughly 45% higher than a year ago and have risen sharply in recent weeks due to a combination of colder weather the declining value of the dollar and fears that opec could rein in production to head off a seasonal drop in demand. instability in iraq and underlying fears about terrorism have also played a part in the rally.

france starts digital terrestrial france has become the last big european country to launch a digital terrestrial tv (dtt) service. initially more than a third of the population will be able to receive 14 free-to-air channels. despite the long wait for a french dtt roll-out the new platform s backers hope to emulate the success of its uk free-to-air counterpart freeview. recent figures from the uk s regulator ofcom showed freeview was more popular than the sky digital satellite service. in the three months to september 2004 almost five times as many people signed up to the uk s free-to-air dtt service compared with sky. almost 60% of uk households have gone digital on at least one television set through cable satellite or freeview. the french dtt platform is known as tnt which stands for tv numerique terrestre or digital terrestrial television. but it is being branded as television numerique pour tous or digital television for all . tnt is a joint venture between public broadcaster france televisions and a handful of cable and satellite operators. digital terrestrial tv will launch as a free-to-air platform to start with adding pay-tv channels later. thirty-five contenders have bid for an additional eight frequencies on top of the 14 already allocated. a couple of years ago dtt had a bad image said olivier gerolami chief operating officer of tnt. but everyone s impressed with dtt in the uk italy and germany and they realise it is a very good idea. france is the poorest market in europe in terms of free-to-air national channels so it has the potential to be one of the biggest dtt markets mr gerolami added in remarks quoted by the us entertainment industry paper variety. tnt aims to reach 35% of france s population at launch from 17 transmission sites. the transmission area will initially include paris lille lyon and toulouse. eventually there will be 115 sites reaching over 80% of homes. digital terrestrial set-top boxes are available from as little as 70 euros (£50). a recent survey by mediametrie found that 70% of people interviewed were aware of dtt and 25% were planning to buy a digital receiver. consumer electronics companies such as nokia sagem sony and thomson are gearing up for production. the conseil superieur de l audiovisuel (csa) the french broadcasting regulator said: following the recent success of freeview in the uk some manufacturers are optimistic about sales prospects . media analysts believe that initially the majority of viewers will buy inexpensive set-top boxes that are unable to support interactive services. the csa said the current aim of reaching 85% of the population by 2007 was achievable but the future of the remaining tv viewers required action by the public sector. for the most part they are people living in mountainous or border areas which will remain beyond the reach of digital terrestrial tv for years. up to 15 pay-tv channels will launch on dtt between september 2005 and march 2006. leading pay-tv operators canal plus and tps have submitted bids to market bouquets of channels. free-to-air services will be broadcast in mpeg-2 format. but pay-tv operators will be allowed to broadcast in mpeg-4 - a much better compression technology - which will potentially allow for high-definition (hd) subscription services in the future. tnt expects between 700 000 and one million dtt set-top boxes to be sold in 2005. it is difficult to tell how quickly it will take off said mr gerolami but we re optimistic that it will revolutionise television in france. other analysts were less optimistic predicting consumers would now be less likely to sign up for pay-tv subscriptions. we think free dtt could put brakes on the underlying growth of pay-tv in france said henri de bodinat vice-president of the arthur d. little consultancy.

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.

england 17-18 france england suffered an eighth defeat in 11 tests as scrum-half dimitri yachvili booted france to victory at twickenham. two converted tries from olly barkley and josh lewsey helped the world champions to a 17-6 half-time lead. but charlie hodgson and barkley missed six penalties between them while yachvili landed six for france to put the visitors in front. england could have won the game with three minutes left but hodgson pushed an easy drop goal opportunity wide. it was a dismal defeat for england coming hard on the heels of an opening six nations loss in wales. they should have put the game well beyond france s reach but remarkably remained scoreless for the entire second half. a scrappy opening quarter saw both sides betray the lack of confidence engendered by poor opening displays against wales and scotland respectively. hodgson had an early opportunity to settle english nerves but pushed a straightforward penalty attempt wide. but a probing kick from france centre damien traille saw mark cueto penalised for holding on to the ball in the tackle yachvili giving france the lead with a kick from wide out. france twice turned over england ball at the breakdown early on as the home side struggled to generate forward momentum one ben kay charge apart. a spell of tit-for-tat kicking emphasised the caution on both sides until england refused a possible three points to kick a penalty to the corner only to botch the subsequent line-out. but england made the breakthrough after 19 minutes when a faltering move off the back of a scrum led to the opening try. jamie noon took a short pass from barkley and ran a good angle to plough through yann delaigue s flimsy tackle before sending his centre partner through to score at the posts. hodgson converted and added a penalty after one of several french infringements on the floor for a 10-3 lead. the fly-half failed to dispense punishment though with a scuffed attempt after france full-back pepito elhorga scragged by lewsey threw the ball into touch. barkley also missed two longer-range efforts as the first half drew to a close but by then england had scored a second converted try. after a series of phases lock danny grewcock ran hard at the french defence and off-loaded out of sylvain marconnet s tackle to lewsey. the industrious wing cut back in on an angle and handed off hooker sebastien bruno to sprint over. after a dire opening to the second half france threw on three forward replacements in an attempt to rectify the situation wing jimmy marlu having already departed injured. yachvili nibbled away at the lead with a third penalty after 51 minutes. and when lewis moody was twice penalised - for handling in a ruck and then straying offside - the scrum-half s unerring left boot cut the deficit to two points. barkley then missed his third long-range effort to increase the tension. and after seeing another attempt drop just short yachvili put france ahead with his sixth penalty with 11 minutes left. england sent on ben cohen and matt dawson and after barkley s kick saw christophe dominici take the ball over his own line the stage was set for a victory platform. but even after a poor scrummage hodgson had the chance to seal victory but pushed his drop-goal attempt wide. england threw everything at the french in the final frantic moments but the visitors held on for their first win at twickenham since 1997. j robinson (capt); m cueto j noon o barkley j lewsey; c hodgson h ellis; g rowntree s thompson p vickery; d grewcock b kay; j worsley l moody m corry. a titterrell a sheridan s borthwick a hazell m dawson h paul b cohen. p elhorga; c dominici b liebenberg d traille j marlu; y delaigue d yachvili; s marconnet s bruno n mas; f pelous (capt) j thion s betsen j bonnaire s chabal. w servat j milloud g lamboley y nyanga p mignoni f michalak j-p grandclaude. paddy o brien (new zealand)

cairn shares slump on oil setback shares in cairn energy a uk oil firm have closed down 18% after a disappointing drilling update and a warning over possible tax demands. the company said tests had shown no significant finds in one of its indian oil fields but was upbeat about the potential of other areas. it also said the indian government had told it to pay a production tax for which cairn argues it is not liable. cairn s shares have jumped by almost 400% this year. investors had piled into cairn after the company announced significant oil finds in india this year. chief executive bill gammell said on friday he was disappointed with exploration in the so-called n-c extension area in rajasthan. investors had held high hopes of major oil finds in this area. but cairn said estimates had been revised in what was a significant downgrade of the initial expectation . cairn also said that the government believed the company was liable to pay taxes under its production-sharing contract. the company said the rate would be about 900 rupees ($20.40; £10.50) per tonne or seven barrels of oil. a spokesman for the firm said that the tax would wipe 5% of the field s current value. cairn refutes the government s position mr gammell said. he insisted that the contract made it clear that the tax should be shouldered by the licensee - india s state-run oil & natural gas corp (ongc) - and not the contractor. we have a pretty strong legal case here he added saying it would only become an issue once the firm started production. investors took a dim view of the statements though. the shares closed down 247p or 18% at 1115 pence. i think people were slightly over-ambitious for how quickly cairn would be able to develop and potentially offload these reserves said analyst jason kenney at ing. the disappointments overshadowed increased production targets for cairn s existing oilfields. the company raised targets for its mangala and aishwariya fields in india from 60 000 barrels a day to between 80 000 and 100 000 barrels a day. its mangala field thought to contain a billion barrels is its biggest find to date. these two fields will provide the core of the future developments in rajasthan mr gammell said. cairn added that it would be appraising another field early next year. mr gammell set up the company in the 1980s and has successfully switched its focus to south asia from interests in the us and europe. cairn which also operates in nepal and bangladesh was catapulted into the ftse 100 index of leading uk shares earlier this year after the sharp rise in its share price.

opposition grows to house arrests the conservatives have expressed serious misgivings about government plans for keeping uk and foreign terror suspects under house arrest. michael howard said he would not back the home secretary s plans for control orders which include home detention. i do not believe that anyone should be deprived of their liberty on the say so of a politician he said. the lib dems also oppose the proposals but ministers insist they are proportionate to the terror threat. the government proposed the idea and a range of other new powers after the laws lords said current detentions without trial broke human rights laws. new metropolitan police commissioner sir ian blair has backed the control orders saying: i m sorry. it is a dilemma but there is only one choice. but mr howard said: we have serious misgivings about both their effectiveness in protecting life and their consequences for the british way of life. he argued that people accused of terrorist offences should be brought to trial and be held in prison - not at home - while they await trial. mr howard said he feared internment without trial creates martyrs and could be a very effective recruiting sergeant for terrorists . his party plans to move an amendment to the serious organised crime and police bill next week that would give a judge responsibility for assessing evidence and ensuring a balanced case is presented to the court. he called on the prime minister to enter into constructive discussions with his party to find a better way forward . controversy over the issue continues after a foreign terror suspect held in the uk without trial or charge since december 2001 was freed from jail. home secretary charles clarke said there was not enough evidence to keep the egyptian man known only as c certified as a terrorist suspect. on monday the legal team for two algerian suspects being held without trial told a court the men did not want bail if it meant being put under house arrest. most of the terror suspects are detained at belmarsh prison in london. the liberal democrats say they also oppose house arrests and questioned the human rights implications of the measure. home affairs spokesman mark oaten told bbc radio 4 s today programme: it s a matter of principle for us that we can t have a situation where the home secretary is able to impose house detention now on uk nationals as well as foreign nationals. the lib dems believe the home secretary should allow phone tapping evidence in prosecutions. we think there could be a role for some form of control order - tagging surveillance limitation on use of mobile phones - but not with the home secretary s say so. that must be done with a proper judicial process a judge involved in making those decisions said mr oaten. mr clarke has rejected that idea saying intercept evidence is only a small part of the case against terror suspects and could put the lives of intelligence sources at risk. he said prosecutions were the government s first preference and promised the powers would only be used in serious cases with independent scrutiny from judges.

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.

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.

campbell to extend sprint career darren campbell has set his sights on running quicker than ever after deciding not to retire from sprinting. campbell who won olympic 4x100m relay gold had been unsure about his future. but he told five live s sportsweek: i had to get back into training before i could decide because if i didn t have the same hunger i d have to walk away. i ve started back and i m thoroughly enjoying it. i m looking forward to it. i ve got to run under 10 seconds (for 100m) and under 20 seconds (for 200m). campbell was part of the british quartet who shocked the americans to win relay gold in athens in august. the newport-based athlete and team-mates jason gardener marlon devonish and mark lewis-francis were rewarded with mbes in the new year honours list. campbell s relay triumph made up for his disappointing displays in the individual 100m and 200m events in athens when he failed to reach the finals. the 31-year-old who won olympic 200m silver in sydney in 2000 said during the games that a hamstring injury had stopped him from running at his best. he was criticised at the time by former olympic champion michael johnson who cast doubt on campbell s injury claims. to go to athens and finally get the gold i ve been trying to get for 24 years was a big relief said campbell. it was a chance for me to prove that if i d been fit i would have been challenging for the (individual) medals. every season i go and challenge for the medals so why would last season have been any different it s just unfortunate that i picked up that injury just before the olympics. campbell set his 100m personal best of 10.04secs when he won the european title in budapest in 1998. and he ran 20.13secs in the quarter-finals of the 200m in sydney on the way to olympic silver.

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.

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.

lib dems predict best ever poll the lib dems are set for their best results in both the general election and the local council polls one of their frontbenchers has predicted. local government spokesman ed davey was speaking as the party launched its campaign for the local elections being held in 37 english council areas. the flagship pledge is to replace council tax with a local income tax. the tories say the lib dems would make people pay more tax and labour says the party s sums do not add up. looking to the coming elections which are all expected to be held on 5 may mr davey said: we are going to be winning more votes and winning more seats. i think we are going to have the best general election results and local election results we have ever had under [party leader] charles kennedy. i couldn t think of a stronger endorsement of a leader.

mobiles rack up 20 years of use mobile phones in the uk are celebrating their 20th anniversary this weekend. britain s first mobile phone call was made across the vodafone network on 1 january 1985 by veteran comedian ernie wise. in the 20 years since that day mobile phones have become an integral part of modern life and now almost 90% of britons own a handset. mobiles have become so popular that many people use their handset as their only phone and rarely use a landline. the first ever call over a portable phone was made in 1973 in new york but it took 10 years for the first commercial mobile service to be launched. the uk was not far behind the rest of the world in setting up networks in 1985 that let people make calls while they walked. the first call was made from st katherine s dock to vodafone s head office in newbury which at the time was over a curry house. for the first nine days of 1985 vodafone was the only firm with a mobile network in the uk. then on 10 january cellnet (now o2) launched its service. mike caudwell spokesman for vodafone said that when phones were launched they were the size of a briefcase cost about £2 000 and had a battery life of little more than 20 minutes. despite that they were hugely popular in the mid-80s he said. they became a yuppy must-have and a status symbol among young wealthy business folk. this was also despite the fact that the phones used analogue radio signals to communicate which made them very easy to eavesdrop on. he said it took vodafone almost nine years to rack up its first million customers but only 18 months to get the second million. it s very easy to forget that in 1983 when we put the bid document in we were forecasting that the total market would be two million people he said. cellnet was forecasting half that. now vodafone has 14m customers in the uk alone. cellnet and vodafone were the only mobile phone operators in the uk until 1993 when one2one (now t-mobile) was launched. orange had its uk launch in 1994. both newcomers operated digital mobile networks and now all operators use this technology. the analogue spectrum for the old phones has been retired. called global system for mobiles (gsm) this is now the most widely used phone technology on the planet and is used to help more than 1.2 billion people make calls. mr caudwell said the advent of digital technology also helped to introduce all those things such as text messaging and roaming that have made mobiles so popular.

blair looks to election campaign tony blair s big speech will be looked back on as the performance that kicked off the election campaign. that poll may still be about 16 weeks away but there can be little doubt left that the campaign is now in full swing. the prime minister used his speech to a selected audience in the south east to set out his broad brush election manifesto. there was a detailed account of the government s past record with a major emphasis on the economy and public services. there was an attempt to draw the line under the gossip surrounding his rift with chancellor gordon brown. and there was an insistence on the importance of the party continuing to operate as unremittingly new labour - although that may continue to irritate his chancellor. there was little in terms of concrete proposals or what might form manifesto pledges although the prime minister talked about a new labour manifesto that will be aimed at all sections of society . his was more a speech designed to remind people and some in his own party precisely what new labour stood for and to leave them in no doubt there would not be any shrinking away from that approach. and for some that means showing that new labour actually does stand for something - that it is as he said more than an electoral device . to that end he set out a broad programme aimed to appeal to both middle england voters who switched to the party in 1997 and stuck with it possibly through some gritted teeth in 2001 and to more traditional lower income old labour supporters. in a key section he declared: in our third term we can achieve an unprecedented widening of opportunity and prosperity. for the first time ever a whole generation growing up with unbroken economic stability. every family - not just the fortunate few - knowing their children will have an inheritance at adulthood. every pupil in every secondary school guaranteed a place in university or a quality apprenticeship. every adult - including those who missed out at school - able to get the skills then need to advance. home ownership extended to its highest ever level and to families who have never before been able to afford it. the highest ever level of employment with everyone in work guaranteed a decent wage and decent conditions . under what is to be the general election slogan britain is working the prime minister time and again insisted the future direction would be unremittingly new labour. that might get under the skin of mr brown but he also heaped praise on him as the most successful post-war chancellor britain has had. probably the greatest ideological divide between the two men in so far as there is one is about the degree of private finance allowed into the public services. an unremittingly new labour manifesto as the prime minister is happy to make plain will stress the importance of that - the belief patients and parents for example want a choice of good services before they start worrying about who has provided them. the chancellor is said to be far more sceptical about private finance although there is no suggestion he opposes it in principle. with an election looming the next big speech from gordon brown will be closely examined for any signs of divisions and in particular the use of that little three letter word. but for now all eyes have been focused on the next general election. and for many in westminster mr blair s performance has only succeeded in hardening the belief that will be on 5 may.

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.

stars gear up for bafta ceremony film stars from across the globe are preparing to walk the red carpet at this year s bafta award ceremony. the 2005 orange british academy film awards are being held at the odeon in london s leicester square. a host of hollywood stars including cate blanchett leonardo dicaprio keanu reeves and richard gere are expected to attend saturday s ceremony. hosted by stephen fry the glittering ceremony will be broadcast on bbc one at 2010 gmt. other actors expected to add to the glamour of the biggest night in uk film are gael garcia bernal imelda staunton diane kruger christian slater anjelica huston helen mirren and former james bond star pierce brosnan. hollywood blockbuster the aviator starring dicaprio leads the field with 14 nominations including best film. it is up against eternal sunshine of the spotless mind finding neverland the motorcycle diaries and british film vera drake which has 11 nominations. british hope imelda staunton is one of the favourites to land the best actress award for her gritty role as a backstreet abortionist in the small-budget film. other nominees in the best actress category include charlize theron for monster ziyi zhang for house of flying daggers and uk star kate winslet who has two nods for her roles in eternal sunshine of the spotless mind and finding neverland. dicaprio faces competition from bernal jamie foxx jim carrey and johnny depp in the best actor category. and british actor clive owen is hoping to repeat his golden globe success with a best supporting actor award for his role in closer. his co-star natalie portman is up against blanchett heather craney julie cristie and meryl streep in the best supporting actress category. mike leigh is up for the best director award for vera drake alongside martin scorsese for the aviator michael mann for collateral michel gondry for eternal sunshine of the spotless mind and marc forster for finding neverland.

economy strong in election year uk businesses are set to prosper during the next few months - but this could trigger more interest rate rises according to a report. optimism is at its highest since 1997 and business will reap the benefits of a continuing rise in public spending say researchers at bdo stoy hayward. the bank of england is expected to keep rates on hold this week - but they could go up later in the year. rates are likely to rise after the anticipated general election in may. the bdo optimism index - a leading indicator of gdp growth two quarters ahead edged up in january to 102.5 from 102.2 in october. the rise is due in part to an increase in public spending and increased merger and acquisition activity. the only thing blighting business optimism this year will be uncertainties associated with the general election bdo said. its bdo s output index - which predicts gdp movements a quarter in advance - remained at 100.8 for january implying gdp growth at 2.9% in the second quarter of 2005. however the output index is being held back by recent interest rate rises sterling s strength against the dollar and high oil prices the group noted. its inflation index which has risen continuously over the last 8 months climbed to 110.0 in january from 108.0 in october last year. the uk is looking strong going into the general election but businesses need to prepare themselves for a jolt ahead as the bank of england reacts to growth and inflationary pressures said peter hemington partner at bdo stoy hayward. growth will probably slow by the end of 2005 and it is likely that we will see higher interest rates or a sharp drop in demand for products and services.

giving financial gifts to children your child or grandchild may want the latest toy this christmas but how about giving them a present that will help their financial future gifts of the financial variety might have a longer lasting impact. it may encourage children to save or start a fund which could count towards university costs for example. the government is trying to encourage saving at an early age through its new child trust fund. the first vouchers worth £250 or £500 for low-income families will be distributed from january. all children born after 1st september 2002 will be eligible. parents will need to decide which financial institution will manage this gift in time for the start of the scheme in april 2005. parents and relatives will be able to top up the fund with up to £1 200 a year which will grow free of income and capital gains tax. as the child trust fund will not be in force in time for christmas relatives could invest their gifts in a higher rate children s deposit account and use this as a feeder fund. there are accounts designed to start children off in the savings habit and they often pay a higher rate of interest. some of the best instant-access accounts currently available include the ladybird account from the saffron walden building society paying 5.35% for a minimum balance of £1 and the alliance & leicester firstsaver which pays 5.25% also starting at £1. interest earned by children is subject to income tax. however children like adults have a personal income tax allowance (£4 745 for the current tax year). if the account holds money gifted by friends and relatives - but not parents - any interest earned from the savings account may be set against the allowance. as long as the total amount of interest falls within the allowance then no tax will be payable. when the account is opened a form r85 available from the bank or building society should be completed. this confirms that the account holder is a non-taxpayer and allows interest to be received without the deduction of income tax. the tax rules are different for parents who save on behalf of a child. only £100 of interest (per parent) can be tax-free. where interest exceeds this level the whole of the interest will be taxed on the parent. this is to prevent parents from holding their own cash savings in their children s names and taking advantage of the tax allowances. where both parents and other relatives are saving on behalf of a child consideration should be given to opening separate accounts - one for parents gifts and one for gifts from other relatives. therefore it may be preferable for parents to contribute to the child trust fund which is tax free with any gifts from relatives that take the total above the annual £1 200 limit being directed to a deposit account. another favourite solution is premium bonds. with the promise of riches far greater than a mere deposit account they make great presents. the parent or guardian will be responsible for the bonds and will receive notification of the purchase. any prizes will be sent to the parent or child s guardian. the minimum for each purchase is £100 and bonds are sold in multiples of £10. there are gift opportunities beyond cash accounts and these should not be ignored. over the longer term stock market funds have outperformed other types of investment although in the shorter term they can be volatile. one of the benefits of investing for children is that investment is generally for the longer term - more than ten years - which helps to reduce the risks associated with investing in shares. one way to spread the risk is to invest in the stock market through a unit or investment trust. these are pooled investment funds which give access to a wide range of shares. these funds may be actively managed where a fund manager picks individual stocks based on a view of their future potential or passive where a manager invests in all the shares that comprise a stock market index for example the ftse 100. exchange traded funds offer an alternative way to track a stock market. these are single shares that give the return of an underlying index (so are really another form of tracker). the difference is that the charges are quite low. the only drawback with all financial gifts is that the children gain an absolute right to the money at age 18 and parents will have no control over how it is spent. for larger gifts it may be worthwhile taking professional advice on the establishment of a suitable trust that will allow ongoing control over the capital and income.

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.

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.

more power to the people says hp the digital revolution is focused on letting people tell and share their own stories according to carly fiorina chief of technology giant hewlett packard. the job of firms such as hp now she said in a speech at the consumer electronics show (ces) was to ensure digital and physical worlds fully converged. she said the goal for 2005 was to make people the centre of technology. ces showcases 50 000 new gadgets that will be hitting the shelves in 2005. the tech-fest the largest of its kind in the world runs from 6 to 9 january. the digital revolution is about the democratisation of technology and the experiences it makes possible she told delegates. revolution has always been about giving power to the people. she added: the real story of the digital revolution is not just new products but the millions of experiences made possible and stories that millions can tell. part of giving people more control has been about the freeing up of content such as images video and music. crucial to this has been the effort to make devices that speak to each other better so that content can be more easily transferred from one device such as a digital camera to others such as portable media players. a lot of work still needs to be done however to sort out compatibility issues and standards within the technology industry so that gadgets just work seamlessly she said. ms fiorina s talk also touted the way technology is being designed to focus on lifestyle fashion and personalisation something she sees as key to what people want. special guest singer gwen stefani joined her on-stage to promote her own range of hp digital cameras which ms stefani has helped design and which are heavily influenced by japanese youth culture. the digital cameras which are due to go on sale in the us by the summer are based on the hp 607 model. the emphasis on personalisation and lifestyle is a big theme at this year s ces with tiny wearable mp3 players at every turn and rainbow hues giving colour to everything. ms fiorina also announced that hp was working with nokia to launch a visual radio service for mobiles which would launch in europe early this year. the service will let people listen to radio on their mobiles and download relevant content like a track s ringtone simultaneously. the service is designed to make mobile radio more interactive. among the other new products she showcased was the digital media hub a big upgrade to hp s digital entertainment centre. coming out in the autumn in the us the box is a networked high-definition tv cable set-top box digital video recorder and dvd recorder. it has a removable hard drive cartridge memory card slots and light scribe labelling software which lets people design and print customised dvd labels and covers. it is designed to contain all a household s digital media such as pre-recorded tv shows pictures videos and music so it can all be managed in one place. the hub reflects the increasing move to re-box the pc so that it can work as part of other key centres of entertainment. research suggests that about 258 million images are saved and shared every day equating to 94 billion a year. eighty per cent of those remain on cameras. media hubs are designed to encourage people to organise them on one box. ms fiorina was one of several keynote speakers who also included microsoft chief bill gates to set out what major technology companies think people will be doing with technologies and gadgets in the next 12 months. in a separate announcement during the keynote speech ms fiorina said that hp would be partnering mtv to replace this year s mtv asia music award. mtv s asia aid will be held in bangkok on 3 february and is aimed at helping to raise money for the asian tsunami disaster.

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.

bank set to leave rates on hold uk interest rates are set to remain on hold at 4.75% following the latest meeting of the bank of england. the bank s rate-setting committee has put up rates five times in the past year but rates have been on hold since september amid signs of a slowdown. economic growth slowed in the previous quarter as manufacturing output fell while consumer confidence has slipped. there is also growing evidence that the previously booming uk housing market is now cooling. house prices fell 0.4% in october according to the nationwide their biggest monthly fall since february 2001. last month bank of england governor mervyn king said that the economy had hit a softer patch after rapid economic growth in the first half of 2004. richard jeffrey chief economist at bridgewell securities said it was very unlikely that the bank of england would put rates up again this time around. there have been sufficient signs in the economy of a slowdown to stay the bank of england s hand he told bbc radio 4 s today programme. however mr jeffrey said he believed the slowdown in economic activity was temporary and it was dangerous to assume that rates had peaked. i still think interest rates are going up he said. we are not out of the woods.

chelsea clinch cup in extra-time (after extra-time - score at 90 mins 1-1) john arne riise volleyed liverpool ahead after 45 seconds but steven gerrard scored a 79th-minute own goal. blues boss jose mourinho was sent off for taunting liverpool fans after the goal and he watched on television as his side went on to win the game. drogba and kezman scored from close range before antonio nunez s header made for a tense finale. it was an amazing climax which gave mourinho his first silverware as chelsea manager. yet it was controversial too after mourinho s sending off apparently for putting his finger to his lips to hush the liverpool fans. there was no hushing them after the extraordinary opening in which the reds took a stunning lead inside the first minute. riise could not have connected any better with morientes cross as he smashed a left-foot volley past petr cech. the goal the quickest-ever in a league cup final stunned a blues side whose previously rock-solid confidence had been shaken by consecutive losses to newcastle and barcelona in the previous week. the blues attacking chances were limited and jerzy dudek was equal to frank lampard s powerfully-struck drive and drogba s low shot. despite their frustration chelsea began to dominate midfield without seriously threatening to break liverpool s well-organised defence. joe cole had a shot blocked and a promising damien duff break was halted by a good tackle from djimi traore but the reds reached half-time without any major scares. the blues began the second half with more urgency and pegged liverpool back. nevertheless liverpool were living dangerously and they needed a fantastic double save from dudek on 54 minutes first at full stretch from gudjohnsen s header then to smother william gallas follow-up. and despite chelsea s possession it was liverpool who fashioned the next clear opportunity as luis garcia fed dietmar hamann whose shot forced a superb save from cech. and the blues increasingly adventurous approach saw liverpool earn another chance on the break on 75 minutes as paulo ferreira denied gerrard with a last-ditch tackle. but gerrard was on the scoresheet minutes later - in the most unfortunate fashion - as he inadvertently deflected ferrerira s free-kick past his own keeper and in off the post to bring chelsea level. that prompted mourinho s reaction which saw him sent off but chelsea still pressed and duff had a chance to win the game with seven minutes remaining. dudek saved bravely at the irishman s feet while milan baros shot wildly at the other end to ensure extra time. drogba almost headed chelsea in front two minutes into extra-time but the striker saw the ball rebound off the post. but seconds after the half-time interval drogba made no mistake picking the ball up from glen johnson s long throw inside the six-yard box and sidefooting home. and kezman appeared to have made the game safe as he netted from close range after gudjohnsen s cross in the 110th minute. there was still drama as nunez beat cech to a high ball with six minutes remaining to head his side level but despite liverpool s desperate attacks chelsea clung on to win. dudek finnan carragher hyypia traore (biscan 67) luis garcia gerrard hamann riise kewell (nunez 56) morientes (baros 74). subs not used: pellegrino carson. hyypia traore hamann carragher. riise 1 nunez 113. cech paulo ferreira ricardo carvalho terry gallas (kezman 74) jarosik (gudjohnsen 45) lampard makelele cole (johnson 81) drogba duff. subs not used: pidgeley tiago. lampard kezman drogba duff. gerrard 79 og drogba 107 kezman 112. 78 000 s bennett (kent).

howard attacks cost of asylum michael howard has launched an attack on the cost of britain s chaotic asylum system under tony blair. the tory leader said english local authorities have spent more than £3bn - or £140 per household - on asylum since labour won power in 1997. mr howard is expected to tell activists in kent that voters tolerance and desire to help others are being abused. other parties and refugee agencies have already attacked tory plans for annual limits on numbers. mr howard said britain should take its fair share of the world s genuine refugees . the anniversary of the liberation of auschwitz - where my grandmother was murdered along with over a million others - has reminded all of us that we have a moral responsibility to those fleeing persecution he was due to say. but if we are to fulfil responsibility we have to get a grip of the system. fair play matters. people want a government that upholds the rules - not one that turns a blind eye when they are bent and abused he said. and let s be clear. our asylum system is being abused - and with it britain s generosity. earlier this week mr howard said his party s plans to cut immigration were not racist arguing they would make the asylum system fairer for genuine refugees. if elected his party would institute an annual limit on asylum and all claims would be processed overseas. that prompted some charities to say the plans would put refugees lives at risk if they were turned away once quotas were filled. if we have a moral responsibility towards people fleeing persecution then these policies will not provide a safe haven said hannah ward of the refugee council. if people turn up in the uk asking for help they will be turned away. michael howard s policy effectively means there is no safe haven in the uk. when it comes to costs then perhaps we should start with how decisions are made on asylum seekers. so many of them are shown to be wrong - one in five decisions that are appealed are successfully overturned rising to half for some nationalities. we need good quality decision-making on asylum applications because it is delays in the system which cost so much. tony blair said labour would set out workable plans for tackling immigration abuse in the next few weeks and attacked the tory plans. by cutting the number of front-line immigration staff at our borders they will actually make the problem worse said mr blair. liberal democrat chairman matthew taylor said there needed to be a quick fair and firm asylum system. but he said it was absolutely disgusting to propose a system which could turn away genuine refugees. the conservatives say there is little risk of this happening as demand for asylum will be considered when quotas are set. on monday mr howard said: it s not racist as some people to claim to talk about controlling immigration far from it.

man utd to open books to glazer manchester united s board has agreed to give us tycoon malcolm glazer access to its books. earlier this month mr glazer presented the board with detailed proposals on an offer to buy the football club. in a statement the club said it would allow mr glazer limited due diligence to give him the opportunity to take the proposal on to a formal bid. but it said it continued to oppose mr glazer s plans calling his assumptions aggressive and his plan damaging . many of manchester united s supporters own shares in the club and the fan-based group shareholders united is strongly opposed to any takeover by mr glazer. about 300 fans protested outside the old trafford ground two days ago. rival local club manchester city has pleaded with visiting fans not to protest inside its ground when the two teams play a televised match on sunday. manchester united s response comes as little surprise as the board made clear. any board has a responsibility to consider a bona fide offer proposal the club said in its statement. should it become a firm offer it should be at a price that the board is likely to regard as fair and on terms which may be deliverable . but it also stressed that it stayed opposed to mr glazer s proposal. the board continues to believe that mr glazer s business plan assumptions are aggressive the statement said and the direct and indirect financial strain on the business could be damaging. whether or not the bid is attractive in monetary terms in the case of manchester united many investors hold the stock for sentimental rather than financial reasons. at present mr glazer and his family hold a 28.1% stake making them manchester united s second biggest shareholders. they own the successful tampa bay buccaneers american football team based in florida. if the family makes a formal offer they will need the support of the club s biggest shareholders. irish horse racing millionaires jp mcmanus and john magnier own 29% of united through their investment vehicle cubic expression and have yet to express a view on the bid approach. a group of five mps are calling on the department of trade and industry to block any takeover of the club by the us football magnate on public interest grounds. they have signed a house of commons motion and tony lloyd the manchester central mp whose constituency includes the club s old trafford ground has pledged to take the matter to tony blair if necessary . the commons motion says any takeover designed to transform the club into a private company would be against the interests of those supporters and football . however the dti has dismissed the proposal. a spokesman said the department did not believe there was a case for changing the enterprise act so that takeovers of football clubs could be looked at on non-competition grounds. mr glazer s offer values the club at £800m ($1.5bn). pitched at 300p per share it also relies less on debt to finance it than an earlier approach from the us tycoon which was rejected out of hand. manchester united shares closed at 270.25p on friday down 3.75p on the day.

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.

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.

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.

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)

commodore finds new lease of life the once-famous commodore computer brand could be resurrected after being bought by a us-based digital music distributor. new owner yeahronimo media ventures has not ruled out the possibility of a new breed of commodore computers. it also plans to develop a worldwide entertainment concept with the brand although details are not yet known. the groundbreaking commodore 64 computer elicits fond memories for those who owned one back in the 1980s. in the chronology of home computing commodore was one of the pioneers. the commodore 64 launched in 1982 was one of the first affordable home pcs. it was followed a few years later by the amiga. the commodore 64 sold more than any other single computer system even to this day. the brand languished somewhat in the 1990s. commodore international filed for bankruptcy in 1994 and was sold to dutch firm tulip computers. in the late 1980s the firm was a great rival to atari which produced its own range of home computers and is now a brand of video games formerly known as infogrames. tulip computers sold several products under the commodore name including portable usb storage devices and digital music players. it had planned to relaunch the brand following an upsurge of nostalgia for 1980s-era games. commodore 64 enthusiasts have written emulators for windows pc apple mac and even pdas so that the original commodore games can be still run. the sale of commodore is expected to be complete in three weeks in a deal worth over £17m.

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.

berlin cheers for anti-nazi film a german movie about an anti-nazi resistance heroine has drawn loud applause at berlin film festival. sophie scholl - the final days portrays the final days of the member of the white rose movement. scholl 21 was arrested and beheaded with her brother hans in 1943 for distributing leaflets condemning the abhorrent tyranny of adolf hitler. director marc rothemund said: i have a feeling of responsibility to keep the legacy of the scholls going. we must somehow keep their ideas alive he added. the film drew on transcripts of gestapo interrogations and scholl s trial preserved in the archive of communist east germany s secret police. their discovery was the inspiration behind the film for rothemund who worked closely with surviving relatives including one of scholl s sisters to ensure historical accuracy on the film. scholl and other members of the white rose resistance group first started distributing anti-nazi leaflets in the summer of 1942. they were arrested as they dropped leaflets at munich university calling for a day of reckoning with adolf hitler s regime. the film focuses on the six days from scholl s arrest to the intense trial which saw scholl initially deny the charges and ended with a defiant appearance. it is one of three german films vying for a top prize at the festival. a south african film version of bizet s tragic opera carmen shot in cape town in the xhosa language has also premiered at the berlin festival. the film is entitled u-carmen ekhayelitsha or carmen in khayelitsha after the township in which the story is set. it is performed by a 40-strong music and theatre troupe in their debut film performance. the film is the first south african feature in 25 years and only the second to be nominated for a golden bear award.

pountney handed ban and fine northampton coach budge pountney has been fined £2 000 and banned from match-day coaching for six weeks for calling a referee a disgrace . pountney was found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute at a rugby football union disciplinary hearing in london on thursday night. pountney criticised referee steve lander s performance in northampton s defeat by saracens on 5 february. the last two weeks of the six-week ban are suspended. pountney pleaded guilty to the offence before a panel consisting of chairman robert horner nigel gillingham and jeff probyn. the ban means former scotland international pountney cannot enter the playing enclosure technical areas or go near the touchline tunnel or players and officials areas on the day of a game.

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.

building giant in asbestos payout australian building products group james hardie has agreed to pay $1.1bn (£568m) to victims of asbestos-related diseases. the landmark deal could see thousands of people suffering from lung diseases - caused by asbestos the company once made - receive compensation. the move follows angry protests after the firm said a previous compensation fund was running out of money. a subsequent new south wales state inquiry criticised hardie s actions. in september the inquiry found that the company had misled the public about the amount of money set aside to cover its asbestos-related liabilities sparking the resignation of its then chief executive peter macdonald. campaigners welcomed news of the preliminary agreement. this is a momentous day in the fight for victims and their families said asbestosis sufferer bernie banton who leads a victims association. there is still a long way to go but we are getting there. james hardie chairwoman meredith hellicar said the deal provided for a funding arrangement that is affordable sensible and workable . at the end of the day we are dealing with compensation for people who are terminally ill. we don t know exactly how many of them there will be we don t know over what exact period they will fall ill she said. however the deal still has to receive the approval of hardie s shareholders. hardie which currently makes more than 80% of its revenues in the us was once australia s biggest supplier of asbestos building materials. in 2001 the company set up a fund to compensate asbestos victims but it later admitted the fund was running short of money. a decision by hardie to move its headquarters to the netherlands - while remaining a listed company in australia - provoked a damaging public outcry. victims groups accusing it of trying to escape its responsibilities by moving abroad a charge the company denies. australia s securities watchdog is currently investigating hardie s former chief executive and former chief financial officer over allegations of misleading investors and the general public.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

bp surges ahead on high oil price oil giant bp has announced a 26% rise in annual profits to $16.2bn (£8.7bn) on the back of record oil prices. last week rival shell reported an annual profit of $17.5bn - a record profit for a uk-listed company. bp added that it was increasing its fourth-quarter dividend by 26% to 8.5 cents and that it would continue with share buybacks. bp chief executive lord browne said the results were strong both operationally and financially. the company is earning about $1.8m an hour. despite the record annual profits figure bp s performance was below the expectations of some city analysts. however bp s share price rose 4p or nearly 1% in morning trading to 548p. its profit rise for the year included profits of $3.65bn (£1.97bn) for the final three months of 2004 - up from $2.89bn a year ago but below its third quarter. speaking on the bbc s today programme on tuesday lord browne said the profits were not solely down to the high oil price alone. the profits are up more than the price of oil is up he said. lord browne pointed out that bp was reaping the benefits of its investment in oil exploration. we have spent many years buying (assets) when the price is low he said. the company has made new discoveries in egypt the gulf of mexico and angola. however lord browne rejected calls for a windfall tax on his company s huge profits saying that in the north sea it paid progressively more tax the more profits it made. lord browne believes oil prices will remain quite high. currently above $40 a barrel he said: the price of oil will be well supported above $30 a barrel for the medium term. bp put production for the year at 3.997 billion barrels of oil up 10% on 2003 but slightly lower than the four billion barrels it had initially aimed for.

more power to the people says hp the digital revolution is focused on letting people tell and share their own stories according to carly fiorina chief of technology giant hewlett packard. the job of firms such as hp now she said in a speech at the consumer electronics show (ces) was to ensure digital and physical worlds fully converged. she said the goal for 2005 was to make people the centre of technology. ces showcases 50 000 new gadgets that will be hitting the shelves in 2005. the tech-fest the largest of its kind in the world runs from 6 to 9 january. the digital revolution is about the democratisation of technology and the experiences it makes possible she told delegates. revolution has always been about giving power to the people. she added: the real story of the digital revolution is not just new products but the millions of experiences made possible and stories that millions can tell. part of giving people more control has been about the freeing up of content such as images video and music. crucial to this has been the effort to make devices that speak to each other better so that content can be more easily transferred from one device such as a digital camera to others such as portable media players. a lot of work still needs to be done however to sort out compatibility issues and standards within the technology industry so that gadgets just work seamlessly she said. ms fiorina s talk also touted the way technology is being designed to focus on lifestyle fashion and personalisation something she sees as key to what people want. special guest singer gwen stefani joined her on-stage to promote her own range of hp digital cameras which ms stefani has helped design and which are heavily influenced by japanese youth culture. the digital cameras which are due to go on sale in the us by the summer are based on the hp 607 model. the emphasis on personalisation and lifestyle is a big theme at this year s ces with tiny wearable mp3 players at every turn and rainbow hues giving colour to everything. ms fiorina also announced that hp was working with nokia to launch a visual radio service for mobiles which would launch in europe early this year. the service will let people listen to radio on their mobiles and download relevant content like a track s ringtone simultaneously. the service is designed to make mobile radio more interactive. among the other new products she showcased was the digital media hub a big upgrade to hp s digital entertainment centre. coming out in the autumn in the us the box is a networked high-definition tv cable set-top box digital video recorder and dvd recorder. it has a removable hard drive cartridge memory card slots and light scribe labelling software which lets people design and print customised dvd labels and covers. it is designed to contain all a household s digital media such as pre-recorded tv shows pictures videos and music so it can all be managed in one place. the hub reflects the increasing move to re-box the pc so that it can work as part of other key centres of entertainment. research suggests that about 258 million images are saved and shared every day equating to 94 billion a year. eighty per cent of those remain on cameras. media hubs are designed to encourage people to organise them on one box. ms fiorina was one of several keynote speakers who also included microsoft chief bill gates to set out what major technology companies think people will be doing with technologies and gadgets in the next 12 months. in a separate announcement during the keynote speech ms fiorina said that hp would be partnering mtv to replace this year s mtv asia music award. mtv s asia aid will be held in bangkok on 3 february and is aimed at helping to raise money for the asian tsunami disaster.

chepkemei joins edinburgh line-up susan chepkemei has decided she is fit enough to run in next month s great edinburgh international cross country. the kenyan was initially unsure if she would have recovered from her gruelling tussle with paula radcliffe in the new york marathon in time to compete. but she has declared herself up to the task and joins a field headed by world cross country champion benita johnson. race director matthew turnbull said: susan will add even more strength in depth to the world-class line up. chepkemei who won the six kilometre event three years ago when it was staged in newcastle endured an epic battle with radcliffe in the big apple until the briton outsprinted her in the final 400m. tirunesh dibaba of ethiopia will defend the title she won last year in tyneside - before the race was moved north of the border. recently-crowned european cross country champion briton hayley yelling also competes in edinburgh on 15 january as does in-form scot kathy butler.

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.

parties plans for council tax anger at council tax rises spilled over into mass protests in 2003 when the average english bill rose 12.9%. pensioners protests spread - some marched others simply refused to pay the increase. some such as 83-year-old elizabeth winkfield said they would rather go to jail. the audit commission found the whole local government finance system was fundamentally flawed and all three of the main parties have said the system has to change. labour says it wants to retain the property-based tax but reform it to make it fairer and says there is scope for councils to become more efficient. they say they are already helping pensioners with council tax bills with a £100 lump sum for the over-70s and last year the government capped some local councils budgets to keep demands down. deputy prime minister john prescott has said the current system is not sustainable in the long term and said there would be radical reform . the party says this year s increases will be the lowest in a decade. a report last year looked at increasing the number of council tax bands and other forms of local taxation such as reformed business rates although no decisions have been made. an independent inquiry into its findings the lyons review is due to report back at the end of 2005. the tories have promised a reduction on bills for pensioners who they say have been hardest hit by year-on-year increases in council tax. they say they can save £4bn on government waste of which £1.3bn could be used to cut pensioners bills by an average of £340. it would not be means tested say the tories because that would create more bureaucracy and could discourage people from saving for their retirement. instead households where council tax payers are over 65 would get a rebate covering half their bill up to a maximum of £500. the tories also say they are suspicious about any proposals to revalue homes - currently graded according to their value in 1991 - because they believe seven million of homes could move up a band. the liberal democrats want to do away with the council tax altogether and switch to a local income tax of the kind seen in the usa norway and switzerland. the rate would be set locally but administered by the inland revenue which they say would save at least £300m. they say the council tax is the most unpopular and most unfair tax in britain because it puts a ceiling on what the richest pay. the party says it would aim for a £5 000 tax-free personal allowance or a £7 000 allowance for the over-65s. after that income would be taxed up to £100 000. the lib dems say their plan is fairer more efficient has already been tested abroad and offers more accountability.

the ticking budget facing the us the budget proposals laid out by the administration of us president george w bush are highly controversial. the washington-based economic policy institute which tends to be critical of the president looks at possible fault lines. us politicians and citizens of all political persuasions are in for a dose of shock therapy. without major changes in current policies and political prejudices the federal budget simply cannot hold together. news coverage of the bush budget will be dominated by debates about spending cuts but the fact is these will be large cuts in small programs. from the standpoint of the big fiscal trends the cuts are gratuitous and the big budget train wreck is yet to come. under direct threat will be the federal government s ability to make good on its debts to the social security trust fund. as soon as 2018 the fund will begin to require some cash returns on its bond holdings in order to finance all promised benefits. the trigger for the coming shock will be rising federal debt which will grow in 10 years by conservative estimates to more than half the nation s total annual output. this upward trend will force increased borrowing by the federal government putting upward pressure on interest rates faced by consumers and business. even now a growing share of us borrowing is from abroad. the us government cannot finance its operations without heavy borrowing from the central banks of japan and china among other nations. this does not bode well for us influence in the world. the decline of the dollar is a warning sign that current economic trends cannot continue. the dollar is already sinking. before too long credit markets are likely to react and interest rates will creep upwards. that will be the shock. interest-sensitive industries will feel pain immediately - sectors such as housing automobiles other consumer durables agriculture and small business. some will recall the news footage of angry farmers driving their heavy equipment around the us capitol in the late 1970s. there will be no need for constitutional amendments to balance the budget. the public outcry will force congress to act. whether it will act wisely is another matter. how did this happen by definition the deficit means too little revenue and too much spending - but this neutral description doesn t adequately capture the current situation. federal revenues are at 1950s levels while spending remains where it has been in recent decades - much higher. in addition the united states has two significant military missions. the bush administration s chosen remedy is the least feasible one. reducing domestic spending or eliminating waste fraud and abuse is toothless because this slice of the budget is too small to solve the problem. indeed if congress were rash enough to balance the budget in this way there would hardly be any such spending left. law enforcement space exploration environmental clean-up economic development the small business administration housing veterans benefits aid to state and local governments would all but disappear. it s fantasy to think these routine government functions could be slashed. the biggest spending growth areas are defence (including homeland security) and health care for the elderly and the poor. to some extent increases in these areas are inevitable. the us population is aging and the nation does face genuine threats in the world. but serious savings can only be found where the big money is. savings in health care spending that do not come at the expense of health can only be achieved with wholesale reform of the entire system public and private. brute force budget cuts or spending caps would ill-serve the nation s elderly and indigent. on the revenue side the lion s share of revenue lost to tax cuts enacted since 2000 will have to be replaced. some rearranging could hold many people harmless and focus most of the pain on those with relatively high incomes. finally blind allegiance to a balanced budget will have to be abandoned. there is no good reason to fixate on it anyway. moderate deficits and slowly rising federal debt can be sustained indefinitely. borrowing for investments in education and infrastructure that pay off in future years makes sense. the sooner we face that reality the sooner workable reforms can be pursued. first on the list should be tax reform to raise revenue simplify the tax code and restore some fairness eroded by the bush tax cuts. second should be a dispassionate re-evaluation of the huge increase in defence spending over the past three years much of it unrelated to afghanistan iraq or terrorism. third must be the start of a serious debate on large-scale health care reform. one thing is certain - destroying the budget in order to save it is not going to equip the us economy and government for the challenges of this new century.

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.

robots march to us cinema summit animated movie robots has opened at the top of the us and canada box office chart taking $36.5m (£19m) on its first weekend on release. featuring the voices of ewan mcgregor halle berry robin williams and mel brooks robots follows a robot inventor who moves to a big city. vin diesel s family comedy the pacifier fell to the number two spot taking $18.1m (£9.4m). new bruce willis movie hostage opened at number four with $9.8m (£5.1m). however a recut version of mel gibson s the passion of the christ which featured less violence than last year s original movie took just $239 850 (£125 000) despite opening in 957 cinemas. the new version of the film received little publicity and the original version is available across the us on dvd. we certainly had higher expectations than what we got said rob schwartz head of distribution for newmarket films which released the passion of the christ. we were trying to get the film out there hoping it would reach an audience that it didn t quite reach the first time around. it doesn t seem to have worked out quite as well as we had hoped. meanwhile will smith comedy hitch has become the top film at the global box office after taking an estimated $30.1m (£15.6m) over the weekend at cinemas outside north america according to industry website screen daily. it has taken $65.5m (£34.1m) so far buoyed by opening at number one in the uk last weekend and a successful run in germany. the movie which cost a reported $70m (£36.4m) to make has taken $138m (£72m) in the us so far.

jowell confirms casino climbdown tessa jowell has announced plans to limit the number of new casinos in the uk to 24 in a move branded a humiliating retreat by the tories. it puts an end to plans for up to 40 super casinos originally outlined in the government s gambling bill. instead there will be a cap of eight new casinos in each size category - small medium and large. the culture secretary said the move showed she listened to critics who feared an explosion in gambling. but conservative shadow culture secretary john whittingdale said the way the government had handled the bill was a shambles . this announcement is a further humiliating retreat by the government. instead of the initial intention of the gambling bill to liberalise the rules governing gambling the bill now imposes a more restrictive regime than exists at present. shares in british casino operators london clubs international rank group and stanley leisure who had been hoping the bill would pave the way for a big expansion in smaller casinos fell by between 10 and 25% following the announcement. ms jowell s deputy richard caborn said the government had adopted a cautious approach to the issue and responded to the concerns raised. limiting the number of regional casinos to eight in the first phase is a cautious move that will allow us to test the impact of a new kind of casino on the levels of problem gambling he said. we also believe it s right to apply this same level of caution to small and large casinos. he added that local authorities would still be able to stop new casinos coming to their areas. church groups welcomed the limit on the number of casinos. salvation army spokesman jonathan lomax said: the proliferation of these casinos on high streets across the country was a real concern and the [three year] trial period which we think should last at least five years will enable research into the potentially severe social consequences of an increase in hard and addictive forms of gambling. but british british casino association chairman penny cobham said her members were outraged by the decision which followed a campaign in the daily mail newspaper. there was never going to be a massive explosion of casinos. talk of a casino on every high street was just a scaring tactic.

yahoo moves into desktop search internet giant yahoo has launched software to allow people to search e-mail and other files on their pcs. the firm is following in the footsteps of microsoft google and ask jeeves which have offered similar services. search has become a lucrative and hotly-contested area of expansion for net firms looking to extend loyalty beyond the web. with hard drives providing bigger storage users could need more help to locate important files such as photos. the desktop search technology has been licensed from a us-based firm x1 technologies. it is designed to work alongside microsoft s outlook and outlook express e-mail programs. searching e-mail effectively is becoming increasingly important especially as the amount of spam increases. according to research from message analysts the radicati group up to 45% of businesses critical information is stored in e-mail and attachments. yahoo s software can also work separately on the desktop searching for music photos and other files. users can search under a variety of criteria including file name size date and time. it doesn t yet incorporate web searching although yahoo has promised that future versions will allow users to search both web-based and desktop data. we are all getting more and more files on our desktop but the real commercial opportunity lies with linking this through to web content said julian smith an analyst with research firm jupiter. it is all about extending the idea of search and getting a closer relationship with consumers by organising not just how they search on the internet but the files on your computer as well he said. search engines are often the first port of call for users when they go onto the web. the new foray into desktop search has rung alarm bells for human rights groups concerned about the implications to privacy. and not everyone is impressed with the functionality of such services. alexander linden vice president of emerging technologies at analyst firm gartner downloaded the google product but has since removed it. it was just not very interesting he said. he believes the rush to enter the desktop business is just a way of keeping up with rivals. desktop search is just one of many features people would like but i m suspicious of its usefulness he said. more useful would be tools that can combine internet intranet and desktop search alongside improvements to key word searching he said.

redknapp poised for saints southampton are set to unveil harry redknapp as their new manager at a news conference at 1500 gmt on wednesday. the former portsmouth boss replaces steve wigley who has been relieved of first-team duties after just one win in 14 league games in charge. redknapp 57 quit his fratton park position on 24 november and vowed: i will not go down the road - no chance. pompey coach kevin bond is poised to join redknapp who will be saints third boss of the season. redknapp s first game in charge will be at home to middlesbrough on saturday. portsmouth chairman milan mandaric said he was disappointed by the news and claimed redknapp had been in talks with southampton for some time . it would appear that negotiations over this have been going on for some time mandaric said on portsmouth s official website. i am surprised and a little shocked that the chairman of southampton has not picked up the phone and kept me informed. according to mandaric redknapp vowed he would not join their south coast rivals when he left portsmouth. i said to harry i hope you don t go to southampton and he told me absolutely not he said. i m wouldn t say i m bitter disgusted or angry just disappointed but it s harry s life and it s his decision. redknapp became a cult hero after leading portsmouth into the premiership for the first time and then masterminding their survival in their debut season. but he left the club claiming he needed a break from football though many believed he was upset with mandaric s decision to bring in velimir zajec as executive director. southampton chairman rupert lowe was desperate to give former academy director wigley who replaced paul sturrock just two games into the season every chance to succeed at st mary s. but results under wigley have been poor and southampton are deep in trouble near the foot of the table. when redknapp s appointment is confirmed he will be saints ninth manager in eight years.

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.

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.

blair returns from peace mission prime minister tony blair has arrived back from his diplomatic mission to the middle east to try to resurrect the peace process. mr blair held talks with his israeli counterpart ariel sharon and the palestinian leader mahmoud abbas. he confirmed that a renewed drive to reform the palestinian authority and address security issues would come at a london conference in march. mr blair also made a surprise trip to iraq this week. the israelis described the meeting as important but said they would not need to attend. mr blair briefly visited the tomb of yasser arafat in ramallah - the first world leader to do so. he nodded briefly towards the tomb rather than lay a wreath in what palestinian officials said was a compromise gesture agreed at the last minute. the bbc s paul reynolds says the london conference will be a limited measure to shore up the leadership of mahmoud abbas also known as abu mazen who is expected to win the palestinian presidential election on 9 january. at a news conference following talks with mr blair mr abbas said the british prime minister was in a unique position to help us progress in our peaceful pursuit . he added: your endeavour to hold a conference in london is another example of your deep commitment to this purpose. in an interview with the bbc s political editor andrew marr mr blair said getting progress between israelis and palestinians would be tough but at least we have got the first step . mr blair acknowledged some people believed he was too close to the israelis but said the israelis were entitled to expect palestinians to give up terrorism. he argued that mr sharon was committed to the internationally-agreed roadmap peace plan and said his bid to disengage from gaza had to be part of the peace process not the end of it. earlier mr sharon again said he had not seen the slightest step the palestinians were working to end terror attacks - though he acknowledged palestinian leaders were in the middle of an election campaign that could be hampering their efforts. before visiting israel mr blair made a surprise visit to iraq where he met leaders in baghdad during his first trip to the city. he was briefed on preparations for the national poll which is scheduled for next month but is threatened by a deadly campaign of insurgent violence. he also flew to basra in southern iraq where british forces are stationed.

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.

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.

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.

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.

beckham rules out management move real madrid midfielder david beckham has no plans to become a manager when his playing career is over. i am not interested in being a coach but i would like to have football schools the england captain said on television station canal plus. i have wanted to do that since i went to the bobby charlton school. i m going to open one in london and one in la. my second passion is charity work - i am an ambassador for unicef and it gives me great pride. but beckham revealed that his immediate priority was winning the spanish league title with real madrid. real slipped to 13 points behind leaders barcelona with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of sevilla on wednesday. beckham admitted: it s disappointing and frustrating to see the results considering the team we have. i would really like to win la liga with real madrid - i have been here two years and we still have not done it. in a wide-ranging interview beckham also revealed that his sending-off against argentina - and the resulting media storm - had been the most significant moment in his career. asked for his worst memory he said: to be sent off against argentina - it was not for the sending-off but for what happened afterwards. i was lucky because i had a manager sir alex ferguson who supported me and a strong family behind me but i believe that changed me. i believe it changed me for the better.

lions blow to world cup winners british and irish lions coach clive woodward says he is unlikely to select any players not involved in next year s rbs six nations championship. world cup winners lawrence dallaglio neil back and martin johnson had all been thought to be in the frame for next summer s tour to new zealand. i don t think you can ever say never said woodward. but i would have to have a compulsive reason to pick any player who is not available to international rugby. dallaglio back and johnson have all retired from international rugby over the last 12 months but continue to star for their club sides. but woodward added: the key thing that i want to stress is that i intend to use the six nations and the players who are available to international rugby as the key benchmark. my job along with all the other senior representatives is to make sure that we pick the strongest possible team. if you are not playing international rugby then it s still a step up to test rugby. it s definitely a disadvantage. i think it s absolutely critical and with the history of the lions we have got to take players playing for the four countries. woodward also revealed that the race for the captaincy was still wide open. it is an open book he said. there are some outstanding candidates from all four countries. and following the all blacks impressive displays in europe in recent weeks including a 45-6 humiliation of france woodward believes the three-test series in new zealand will provide the ultimate rugby challenge. their performance in particular against france was simply awesome said the lions coach. certain things have been suggested about the potency of their front five but they re a very powerful unit. with his customary thoroughness woodward revealed he had taken soundings from australia coach eddie jones and jake white of south africa following their tour matches in britain and ireland. as a result woodward stressed his lions group might not be dominated by players from england and ireland and held out hope for the struggling scots. scotland s recent results have not been that impressive but there have been some excellent individual performances. eddie in particular told me how tough they had made it for australia and i will take on board their opinions. and scotland forward simon taylor looks certain to get the call provided he recovers from knee and tendon problems. i took lessons from 2001 in that they did make a mistake in taking lawrence dallaglio when he wasn t fit and went on the trip. every player has to be looked at on their own merits and simon taylor is an outstanding player and i have no doubts that if he gets back to full fitness he will be on the trip. i am told he should be back playing by march and he has plenty of time to prove his fitness for the lions - and there are other players like richard hill in the same boat.

no ads for passion oscar campaign producer mel gibson will not be using paid advertisements to promote the passion of the christ to voters in next year s academy awards. gibson and his icon productions partner bruce davey said they would not be campaigning in print radio or tv for success at the oscars in february. this film should be judged on its artistic merit not who spends more money on advertising davey said. but dvds will be sent to oscar voters who will be invited to screenings. icon spent very little on advertising the film which deals with the last hours of jesus christ s life when it was released earlier this year - instead it made the film available for special screenings at churches. it went on to gross over $600m (£322m) in ticket sales worldwide. over recent years marketing films to the members of the academy of motion picture arts and sciences has become a multi-million dollar industry. last year the academy formed a committee to tighten the rules after the campaigns spilled over into personal attacks between studios. academy president frank pierson praised gibson s move for working to restore the oscars as a celebration and appreciation of excellence and resisting the crass commercialisation that was threatening the integrity of the award .

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

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.

o gara revels in ireland victory ireland fly-half ronan o gara hailed his side s 19-13 victory over england as a special win. the munster number 10 kicked a total of 14 points including two drop goals to help keep alive their grand slam hopes. he told bbc sport: we made hard work of it but it s still special to beat england. i had three chances to win the game but didn t. we have work to do after this but we never take a victory over england lightly. ireland hooker shane byrne echoed o gara s comments but admitted the game had been england s best outing in the six nations. byrne said: it was a really really hard game but from one to 15 in our team we worked really really hard. we just had to stick to our defensive pattern trust ourselves and trust those around us. all round it was fantastic. ireland captain brian o driscoll who scored his side s only try said: we are delighted we felt if we performed well then we would win but with england also having played very well it makes it all the sweeter. we did get the bounce of the ball and some days that happens and you ve just got to jump on the back of it. ireland coach eddie o sullivan was surprised that england coach andy robinson said he was certain mark cueto was onside for a disallowed try just before the break. andy was sitting two yards from me and i couldn t see whether he was offside or not so i don t know how andy could have known said o sullivan. what i do know is that england played well and when that happens it makes a very good victory for us. we had to defend for long periods and that is all good for the confidence of the team. i think our try was very well worked it was a gem as good a try as we have scored for a while. o sullivan also rejected robinson s contention england dominated the forward play. i think we lost one lineout and they lost four or five so i don t know how that adds up to domination he said. o driscoll also insisted ireland were happy to handle the pressure of being considered favourites to win the six nations title. this season for the first time we have been able to play with the favourites tag he said. hopefully we have proved that today and can continue to keep doing so. as for my try it was a move we had worked on all week. there was a bit of magic from geordan murphy and it was a great break from denis hickie.

sales fail to boost high street the january sales have failed to help the uk high street recover from a poor christmas season a survey has found. stores received a boost from bargain hunters but trading then reverted to december levels the british retail consortium and accountants kpmg said. sales in what is traditionally a strong month rose by 0.5% on a like-for-like basis compared with a year earlier. consumers remain cautious over buying big-ticket items like furniture said brc director general kevin hawkins. higher interest rates and uncertainty over the housing market continue to take their toll on the retail sector the brc said. but clothing and footwear sales were said to be generally better than december while department stores also had a good month. in the three-months to january like-for-like sales showed a growth rate of -0.1% the same as in the three months to december the brc said. following a relatively strong new year s bank holiday trading then took a downward turn said mr hawkins. even extending some promotions and discounts and the pay-day boost later in the month could not tempt customers. the previous brc survey found christmas 2004 was the worst for 10 years for retailers. and according to office for national statistics data sales in december failed to meet expectations and by some counts were the worst since 1981.

wales win in rome 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).

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.

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.

west end to honour finest shows the west end is honouring its finest stars and shows at the evening standard theatre awards in london on monday. the producers starring nathan lane and lee evans is up for best musical at the ceremony at the national theatre. it is competing against sweeney todd and a funny thing happened on the way to the forum for the award. the goat or who is sylvia by edward albee the pillowman by martin mcdonagh and alan bennett s the history boys are shortlisted in the best play category. pam ferris victoria hamilton and kelly reilly are nominated for best actress. ferris - best known for her television roles in programmes such as the darling buds of may - has made the shortlist for her role in notes on falling leaves at the royal court theatre. meanwhile richard griffiths who plays hector in the history boys at the national theatre will battle it out for the best actor award with douglas hodge (dumb show) and stanley townsend (shining city). the best director shortlist includes luc bondy for cruel and tender simon mcburney for measure for measure and rufus norris for festen. festen is also shortlisted in the best designer category where ian macneil jean kalman and paul arditti will be up against hildegard bechtler for iphigenia at aulis and paul brown for false servant. the milton shulman award for outstanding newcomer will be presented to dominic cooper (his dark materials and the history boys) romola garai (calico) eddie redmayne (the goat or who is sylvia ) or ben wishaw (hamlet). and playwrights david eldridge rebecca lenkiewicz and owen mccafferty will fight it out for the charles wintour award and a £30 000 bursary. three 50th anniversary special awards will also be presented to an institution a playwright and an individual.

podcasts mark rise of diy radio an apple ipod or other digital music players can hold anything up to 10 000 songs which is a lot of space to fill. but more and more ipod owners are filling that space with audio content created by an unpredictable assortment of producers. it is called podcasting and its strongest proponent is former mtv host and vj (video jockey) adam curry. podcasting takes its name from the apple ipod although you do not need an ipod to create one or to listen to a podcast. a podcast is basically an internet-based radio show which podcasters create usually in the comfort of their own home. they need only a microphone a pc and some editing software. they then upload their shows to the internet and others can download and listen to them all for free. using technology based on xml computer code and rss - really simple syndication - listeners can subscribe to podcasts collected automatically in a bit of software which mr curry has pioneered. the latest mp3 files of shows can then be picked up by a music playing device automatically. mr curry records hosts edits and produce a daily 40 minute podcast called the daily source code. he wants to make podcasting the next big thing and says it is an extension of his childhood love of radio gadgetry. i was always into technologies and wires he explains. my parents gave me the radio shack 101 project kit which allows you to build an am transmitter and subsequently an fm transmitter. i had my mom drive me around the block see how far it would reach on the car radio. mr curry is american but he grew up in the netherlands where he hosted illegal pirate radio shows in the dutch capital. he tried university in the us and ended up back in holland where he hosted a music video show. he spent the next seven years in new york where he worked at mtv hosting the top 20 video countdown but spent most of his hours tinkering with this new thing called the internet. at a certain point in 1995 i was driving in on a friday afternoon beautiful blue sky one of those beautiful days thinking this is so stupid. you know i m going do the top 20 countdown take the cheque go home and sit on the internet until three in the morning. so after i finished the show i quit. i said on air it s been great i ve been here for seven years at that point there s something on the internet i ve got to go find it and i ll see you later. but mr curry s technology and broadcast interests started to gel a couple of years ago when computer storage was growing exponentially and high-speed internet connections were becoming more widely available. the mp3 format also meant that people could create and upload audio more cheaply and efficiently than ever before. most importantly mr curry says people across the globe were bored with the radio they were hearing. listen to 99% of the radio that you hear today it s radio voices and it s fake it s just fake. he wanted to make it easier for people to find real voices on the internet. he wanted software that would automatically download new audio content directly onto players like ipods. mr curry is not a computer programmer so he asked others to create one for him. no one did so he tried to write one himself. he finished it a few months ago and says it totally sucked. he put it up on the net as open source software and now dozens of coders and audio junkies are refining it; the result is a work in progress called ipodder . doug kaye a california-based podcaster praises the former mtv vj for what he has done. adam created a simple script that solved what we call the last mile problem. ipodder takes audio from the web and brings it all the way down to the mp3 player he explains. people can wake up in the morning pick up their ipods as they go to work or before they go exercise and discover that there s all this new content automatically put onto their players. it is created an explosion in podcasting content and podcasters are springing up in australia finland brazil even malaysia. one couple broadcasts theirs the dawn and drew show from wisconsin in the us sometimes even from the comfort of their own bed. topics range from the comfort of their bed to the latest films or music and have thousands of listeners. already websites are springing up that point listeners in the right direction of good podcasts. chris mcintyre runs podcast alley and says that there are good sites out there but that not everyone has the technological know-how to simply listen. if i were to tell my mom or my mother-in-law to copy an xml or rss file to their podcast aggregator they would think i was speaking a foreign language mr mcintyre says. along with technical challenges there may be legal challenges to podcasters who air their favourite albeit copyrighted music. some in podcasting also worry that too much attention may turn what they see as the anti-radio into something that is more like conventional broadcasting. already there is interest in podcasting from the corporate world. heineken is doing its own podcast now and so is playboy. for his part adam curry s pressing ahead with his own vision of what podcasting should be. he loves doing the daily source code because it is about introducing good music and cool ideas to new audiences. he has even been called the ed sullivan or johnny carson of podcasting which he says is a badge i ll wear with great honour. to be the johnny carson or ed sullivan of anything is wonderful. and you know what you don t need a hell of a lot of talent. you just have to be nice have your ears open and let people shine. and that s good for me. clark boyd is technology correspondent for the world a bbc world service and wgbh-boston co-production.

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.

arnesen denies rift with santini tottenham sporting director frank arnesen has denied that coach jacques santini resigned because of a clash of personalities at white hart lane. there had been newspaper speculation that santini had felt undermined by arnesen s role at the club. it is absolutely not true arnesen told bbc radio five live. there is only one thing that made him resign and that is his own personal problems. he has talked to me recently and said this matter is absolutely for himself. arnesen said he was unable to throw any light onto the problems that caused santini to quit after just 13 games in charge. he added: jacques has never gone into exactly what it was. but i trust him in that; you have to accept it. i think we should respect it. the plan is now that over the weekend we will have talks with the board and then on monday we will clarify the situation. arnesen countered criticism at the timing of the announcement coming less than 24 hours before tottenham s premiership fixture with charlton. when it comes down to personal problems i don t think we should talk about timing he said. and he also denied reports that santini had been given a £3m pay-off. that is absolute nonsense. he is the one who said i will go and so he went said the spurs sporting director. tottenham s structure of having a sporting director working alongside a coach is based on a continental model and arnesen sees no reason why they should change it. i have confidence in this structure. i am confident that we have started something here in july and i still have a lot of confidence in tottenham and what we are doing he said. however former spurs and england defender gary stevens said he would not be surprised if the system had caused a rift. i think the problems go a lot deeper between the director of football at white hart lane and santini stevens told five live. on paper they could have worked together. but frank arnesen was a very creative forward-thinking and expansive player - whereas i think santini was very much the opposite more a case of being organised disciplined and happy not conceding goals. that sort of arrangement can work if the two people have the same principles and ideals and work very closely. but it seems that has not happened.

newest eu members underpin growth the european union s newest members will bolster europe s economic growth in 2005 according to a new report. the eight central european states which joined the eu last year will see 4.6% growth the united nations economic commission for europe (unece) said. in contrast the 12 euro zone countries will put in a lacklustre performance generating growth of only 1.8%. the global economy will slow in 2005 the unece forecasts due to widespread weakness in consumer demand. it warned that growth could also be threatened by attempts to reduce the united states huge current account deficit which in turn might lead to significant volatility in exchange rates. unece is forecasting average economic growth of 2.2% across the european union in 2005. however total output across the euro zone is forecast to fall in 2004 from 1.9% to 1.8%. this is due largely to the faltering german economy which shrank 0.2% in the last quarter of 2004. on monday germany s bdb private banks association said the german economy would struggle to meet its 1.4% growth target in 2005. separately the bundesbank warned that germany s efforts to reduce its budget deficit below 3% of gdp presented huge risks given that headline economic growth was set to fall below 1% this year. publishing its 2005 economic survey the unece said central european countries such as the czech republic and slovenia would provide the backbone of the continent s growth. smaller nations such as cyprus ireland and malta would also be among the continent s best performing economies this year it said. the uk economy on the other hand is expected to slow in 2005 with growth falling from 3.2% last year to 2.5%. consumer demand will remain fragile in many of europe s largest countries and economies will be mostly driven by growth in exports. in view of the fragility of factors of domestic growth and the dampening effects of the stronger euro on domestic economic activity and inflation monetary policy in the euro area is likely to continue to wait and see the organisation said in its report. global economic growth is expected to fall from 5% in 2004 to 4.25% despite the continued strength of the chinese and us economies. the unece warned that attempts to bring about a controlled reduction in the us current account deficit could cause difficulties. the orderly reversal of the deficit is a major challenge for policy makers in both the united states and other economies it noted.

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.

aviator wins top globes accolades the aviator has been named best film at the golden globe awards with its star leonardo dicaprio named best actor. hollywood veteran clint eastwood took the best director prize for million dollar baby while its star hilary swank was best actress. quirky comedy sideways was named best screenplay and best comedy. ray star jamie foxx was best actor in a musical/comedy while briton clive owen and natalie portman won prizes for best supporting roles in closer. the aviator in which dicaprio plays millionaire howard hughes edged ahead of its rivals at the beverly hills ceremony by winning the best original score prize. this give it a total of three awards while million dollar baby sideways and closer took two golden globes each. accepting his best dramatic actor prize dicaprio described director martin scorsese as one of the greatest contributors to the world of cinema of all time . annette bening won best actress in a musical/comedy for being julia while spanish movie the sea inside was named best foreign language film. swank who previously won the golden globe and oscar for boys don t cry paid tribute to million dollar baby director and co-star clint eastwood. you guided us so brilliantly while you also in my humble opinion gave the performance of your career she said. foxx was nominated for three awards but was beaten to the best supporting actor title by owen and the best actor in a tv movie prize by geoffrey rush in the life and death of peter sellers. a bbc co-production the life and death of peter sellers was also named best tv movie. mick jagger and dave stewart won the best original song award for old habits die hard from movie re-make alfie while ian mcshane was named best actor in a tv drama for his lead role in deadwood. other uk hopes kate winslet and imelda staunton went home empty-handed despite lead actress nominations for eternal sunshine of the spotless mind and vera drake respectively. winning a golden globe is said to improve a film or performer s chance of subsequently winning an academy award. unlike the oscars the golden globes split awards by genre - one prize for dramas and the other for musicals and comedies. the globes also honour the best in television with suburban series desperate housewives named best tv comedy show. actress teri hatcher beat fellow desperate housewives stars marcia cross and felicity huffman to the best comedy actress prize. hatcher thanked the show s cast crew and a network who gave me a second chance at a career when i couldn t have been a bigger has been . cosmetic surgery series nip/tuck beat the sopranos and deadwood to the best television drama title. arrested development star jason bateman was named best tv actor in a musical or comedy series. the golden globes are awarded by the hollywood foreign press association comprising film reporters based in los angeles and working for overseas outlets. robin williams a five-time globe winner for such films as the fisher king and good morning vietnam received the cecil b demille award for career achievement. he dedicated his prize to superman actor christopher reeve who died last year.

premier league planning cole date the premier league is attempting to find a mutually convenient date to investigate allegations chelsea made an illegal approach for ashley cole. both chelsea and arsenal will be asked to give evidence to a premier league commission but no deadline has been put on when that meeting will convene. it s hard to put a date on it a premier league spokesman confirmed to bbc sport. it s not a formal situation where they ve got so much time to respond. arsenal and england defender cole reportedly met blues boss jose mourinho and chief executive peter kenyon in a london hotel 11 days ago. chelsea have yet to officially confirm or deny the meeting which would be in breach of premier league rule k3. now the gunners have asked for an inquiry to look into claims that their player has been tapped up . both clubs have pledged to co-operate with the inquiry which will be conducted on a single day as opposed to being run as an ongoing evaluation. cole is in negotiations with the gunners over extending his current deal which ends in 2007. and his arsenal team-mate robert pires has urged the england left-back to stay at highbury. pires told the evening standard: he has been at arsenal for ever. he is a very attacking left-back and i think he is enjoying his football because at arsenal he plays in an offensive team. i am not sure he will get the same pleasure at chelsea even though they are doing so well at the moment. i have built a fantastic playing relationship with ashley. we play together so well - we could do it with our eyes shut. but you have to respect the decision of the player. everybody has that right.

tory candidate quits over remark a conservative election challenger is quitting after being quoted as wanting a period of creative destruction in the public services . danny kruger who also works in the tory research unit had been due to take on tony blair in sedgefield. he says his remark last week was misrepresented but he will not contest the election for fear of damaging the conservative cause. tory leader michael howard accepted his decision with regret . mr kruger was quoted in the guardian newspaper saying: we plan to introduce a period of creative destruction in the public services. in a statement the party said the comment had been taken out of context. he fully supports the party s policies on and approach to the public services said the statement. however in order to avoid any further misrepresentation of his views and any damage to the party he has decided not to stand in the sedgefield constituency at the next election. mr kruger is continuing in his job at the tory campaign headquarters. labour election coordinator alan milburn claimed mr kruger had exposed the tory agenda for £35bn of cuts to public services. mr milburn said: he is not some unknown hopeful fighting an unwinnable seat. he is a man who has worked at the heart of conservative policy development... his claim that the tories were planning a period of creative destruction in the public services is not a rogue claim. it is the authentic and shocking voice of the conservative party. it reveals the true picture of what they would do.

british library gets wireless net visitors to the british library will be able to get wireless internet access alongside the extensive information available in its famous reading rooms. broadband wireless connectivity will be made available in the eleven reading rooms the auditorium café restaurant and outdoor piazza area. a study revealed that 86% of visitors to the library carried laptops. the technology has been on trial since may and usage levels make the library london s most active public hotspot. previously many were leaving the building to go to a nearby internet café to access their e-mail the study found. at the british library we are continually exploring ways in which technology can help us to improve services to our users said lynne brindley chief executive of the british library. surveys we conducted recently confirmed that alongside the materials they consult here our users want to be able to access the internet when they are at the library for research or to communicate with colleagues she said. the service will be priced at £4.50 for an hour s session or £35 for a monthly pass. the study conducted by consultancy building zones found that 16% of visitors came to the library to sit down and use it as a business centre. this could be because of its proximity to busy mainline stations such as kings cross and euston. the study also found that people were spending an average of six hours in the building making it an ideal wireless hotspot. since may the service has registered 1 200 sessions per week making it london s most active public hotspot. the majority of visitors wanted to be able to access their e-mail as well as the british library catalogue. the service has been rolled out in partnership with wireless provider the cloud and hewlett packard. it will operate independently from the library s existing network. the british library receives around 3 000 visitors each day and serves around 500 000 readers each year. people come to view resources which include the world s largest collection of patents and the uk s most extensive collection of science technology and medical information. the library receives between three and four million requests from remote users around the world each year.

putting a face to big brother literally putting a face on technology could be one of the keys to improving our interaction with hi-tech gadgets. imagine a surveillance system that also presents a virtual embodiment of a person on a screen who can react to your behaviour and perhaps even alert you to new e-mails. basic versions of these so-called avatars already exist. together with speech and voice recognition systems they could replace the keyboard and mouse in the near future. some of these ideas have been showcased at the london s science museum as part of its future face exhibition. one such avatar is jeremiah. it is a virtual man which you can download for free and install in your computer. his creator richard bowden lecturer at the centre for vision speech and signal processing at the university of surrey refers to jeremiah as him rather than it. jeremiah is a virtual face that attempts to emulate humans in the way it responds to activity. he is very childlike he likes visual stimulus he told the bbc news website. when he sees children running and laughing and waving at him he smiles at them. if you ignore him he gets angry. if you leave he gets sad. and you can also even surprise him. jeremiah is not actually intelligent. it works on vision reacting in a preset way to the information provided by a surveillance tracker system. it is not able to talk or to hear you at least not yet. the surrey team is already working on jeremiah s next version that will replace the human face with an underwater and more interactive creature: finn the fish. i am interested in the interaction providing the ability of a system to watch what s going on and make decisions based on that explained dr bowden. the research comes at a time when people are having to cope with an increasing number of hi-tech gadgets. experts say a much more natural way to interact with these devices such as a virtual human could make it much easier to make the most of all those new gizmos. if you get up at three o clock in the morning and you go downstairs there are probably two things you are going to do: either going to the bathroom or maybe you are going to make a cup of tea said dr bowden. now if the system can watch your behaviour over time it can learn this so it would predict what you are going to do turn on the lights for you or before you even get to the kettle it could have switched it on. you might even be able to tell your home surveillance system that you will be going away on holiday and ask if it could make sure that the house is secure once you have left. this might sound like a scary vision of an orwellian future. but it might all depend on the face that is watching you. when we put the surveillance cameras in our centre a lot of people were very unhappy about the fact that there was a system watching them said dr bowden. but when jeremiah s camera went in nobody minded because although it s still watching them they could see what it was watching.

euro firms miss out on optimism more than 90% of large companies around the world are highly optimistic about their economic prospects a survey of 1 300 bosses suggests. their biggest worries are not terror threats but over-regulation low-cost competition and the wild ups and downs of oil prices. there is one exception: firms in western europe - but not the uk - are lacking confidence after years of slow growth. when business advisers pricewaterhousecoopers (pwc) conducted the same survey two years ago nearly 30% of bosses were gloomy about their prospects. global business leaders say that they are facing a two-pronged regulatory assault. after a string of corporate scandals in the united states - from enron to worldcom - the sarbanes-oxley act forces companies to be much more transparent but doing all the paperwork costs a lot of time and money. across europe meanwhile all stock exchange-listed companies are currently in the process of moving to new and complex accounting standards called ifrs. hacking through the red tape can hardly be avoided but many chief executives around the world appear to have decided on how to deal with low-cost competitors. already about 28% of the bosses polled for the survey say that they have moved parts of their business into low-wage countries and another 11% plan to do so in the future. possibly as a result the worry about low-cost competition has slightly fallen from last year with just 54% of companies calling it a significant threat or one of the biggest threats . but pwc s global chief executive samuel dipiazza said a growing number of companies were also concerned that moves to outsource work to cheaper countries could both hurt their reputation in their home markets and harm the quality of service they provide to their customers. according to frank brown global advisory leader at pwc the trend of large companies to have global operations has one clear upside: one risk in one region - for example the middle east - won t kill your business anymore. surprisingly the survey suggests that the rapid decline of the us dollar is not seen as a huge threat anymore unlike even a year ago when it was cited as the third-largest problem. mr dipiazza said the interviews with chief executives suggested that companies had adjusted to the new reality of a euro that buys $1.30 and more while others had successfully hedged their positions and locked in more favourable exchange rates. - for the survey pricewaterhousecoopers interviewed 1 324 chief executives throughout the world during the last three months of 2004.

gangsters dominate gaming chart video games on consoles and computers proved more popular than ever in 2004. gamers spent more than £1.34bn in 2004 almost 7% more than they did in 2003 according to figures released by the uk gaming industry s trade body. sales records were smashed by the top title of the year gta: san andreas - in which players got the job of turning central character cj into a crime boss. the game sold more than 1 million copies in the first nine days that it was on sale. this feat made it the fastest selling video game of all time in the uk. although only released in november the sprawling story of guns gangsters game beat off strong competition and by year end had sold more than 1.75 million copies. there were also records set for the number of games that achieved double-platinum status by selling more than 600 000 copies. five titles including sony eyetoy play and ea s need for speed: underground 2 managed this feat according to figures compiled by chart-track for the entertainment and leisure software publishers association (elspa). electronic arts the world s biggest games publisher had 9 games in the top 20. 2004 was a stellar year said roger bennett director general of elspa. in a year with no new generation consoles being released the market continued to be buoyant as the industry matured and the increasingly diverse range of games reached new audiences and broadened its player base - across ages and gender he said. part of the success of games in 2004 could be due to the fact that so many of them are sequels. 16 out of the top 20 titles were all follow-ups to established franchises or direct sequels to previously popular games. halo the sims driver need for speed fifa football burnout were just a few that proved as popular as the original titles. despite this fondness for older games doom 3 did not make it to the top 20. movie tie-ins also proved their worth in 2004. games linked to shrek the incredibles spider-man harry potter and lord of the rings were all in the top 20. elspa noted that sales of xbox games rose 37.9% during the year. however sony s playstation 2 was the top seller with 47% of the £1.34bn spent on games in 2004 used to buy titles for that console. despite winning awards and rave reviews half-life 2 did not appear in the list. this was because it was only released on pc and compared to console titles sold in relatively small numbers. also the novel distribution system adopted by developer valve meant that many players downloaded the title rather than travel to the shops to buy a copy. valve has yet to release figures which show how many copies of the game were sold in this way.

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.

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.

german jobless rate at new record more than 5.2 million germans were out of work in february new figures show. the figure of 5.216 million people or 12.6% of the working-age population is the highest jobless rate in europe s biggest economy since the 1930s. the news comes as the head of germany s panel of government economic advisers predicted growth would again stagnate. speaking on german tv bert ruerup said the panel s earlier forecast of 1.4% was too optimistic and warned growth would be just 1% in 2005. the german government is trying to tackle the stubbornly-high levels of joblessness with a range of labour market reforms. at their centre is the hartz-iv programme introduced in january to shake up welfare benefits and push people back into work - even if some of the jobs are heavily subsidised. the latest unemployment figures look set to increase the pressure on the government. widely leaked to the german newspapers a day in advance they produced screaming headlines criticising chancellor gerhard schroeder s social democrat-green party administration. mr schroeder had originally come into office promising to halve unemployment. still some measures suggest the picture is not quite so bleak. the soaring official unemployment figure follows a change in the methodology which pushed up the jobless rate by more than 500 000 in january. adjusted for seasonal changes the overall unemployment rate is 4.875 million people or 11.7% up 0.3 percentage points from the previous month. using the most internationally-accepted methodology of the international labour organisation (ilo) germany had 3.97 million people out of work in january. and ilo-based figures also suggest that 14 000 new net jobs were created that month taking the number of people employed to 38.9 million. the ilo defines an unemployed person as someone who in the previous four weeks had actively looked for work they could take up immediately.

student fee factor played down a rise has been recorded in the number of students from south of the border applying to universities in scotland. however lifelong learning minister jim wallace said that this would not result in scottish students missing out. applications from england and wales rose by 17% between january 2005 and the previous year up 23 600 to 27 700. fears had been expressed that a flood of fee refugees would try to avoid top-up fees of up to £3 000 a year being introduced in england. in june last year mr wallace announced proposals to increase tuition fees for english students studying in scotland by £2 000 in an attempt to prevent a cross-border flood although no figure has yet been agreed. legislation to introduce the top-up fees in england is not due to take effect until autumn 2006 and students who start before then will not have to pay additional fees at all. the figures were made public on thursday by admissions service ucas. universities scotland which represents university principals claimed that an increase in applications did not amount to scottish students being squeezed out. director david caldwell said some students could be applying in an attempt to avoid the possible increase in annual fees at english universities but this was not a major factor. he told bbc radio scotland s good morning scotland programme: the reason people are opting for scottish universities is that they are perceived as being of very high quality they offer very attractive courses and scotland is seen as a very attractive place to study. they know that when they take up their studies in 2006 they will be hit by top-up fees if they are going to a university in england and that may be part of the reason why the numbers coming to scotland are so inflated. however it does not mean that we will see thousands of additional students from england studying here. mr wallace agreed and said the figures had to be looked at in context. he explained that when applications were translated into acceptances the number was not huge - an additional figure of about 200. also the picture was further blurred by the fact that applications from wales where there are no plans for top-up fees have also risen by 19%. mr wallace said: accepting students from all parts of the world does show the high regard in which scottish higher education is held not just in britain. we want to make sure that when students are making their choice they do so on the nature of the course and not because they are under some sort of financial pressure to go to scotland. we do not want to have a situation where it becomes impossible for scottish students to get places at scottish universities because we are seen as the cheap option. very often the quality of the university experience is enhanced by the fact there are students coming from a wide range of backgrounds so it would be wrong to go the other way and start excluding students.

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).

mps to debate euthanasia laws mps are preparing to debate a bill which critics claim would legalise euthanasia by the back door . the bill would give legal force to living wills where people say they want medical treatment withheld if they become severely incapacitated. the mental capacity bill has broad support from charities who say it would give better safeguards over treatment. but christian groups say it could mean doctors withholding food and fluids even if they think it inappropriate. ministers insist the mental capacity bill - for england and wales - would not change laws on assisted suicide and contains a presumption in favour of preserving life. the bill would establish a legal presumption that everybody can make decisions about their own treatment unless proved otherwise. it would allow people to give somebody the power of attorney to make decisions on their behalf which could be challenged by doctors. critics fear it could allow killing by omission through withdrawing treatment. an amendment to the bill - specifically preventing decisions that would bring about death - has been tabled by former conservative leader iain duncan smith. ninety one mps have signed a petition backing the amendment. mps could vote on it later on tuesday during the bill s report stage debate. the bill will then go to a third reading and be debated in the lords before becoming law. the christian medical fellowship (cmf) and lawyers christian fellowship (lcf) said the mental capacity bill would allow euthanasia by the back door . peter saunders of the cmf said it believed advance refusals should be only advisory not legally binding. cmf is concerned that patients will make unwise and hasty advance decisions to refuse food and fluids without being properly informed about the diagnosis and the expected course their illness will take he said. the lcf s andrea williams said there were too many loopholes that could be abused by unscrupulous doctors . ex-labour minister frank field told bbc two s newsnight programme there was a danger people would feel under pressure to do away with themselves so relatives could inherit their assets. constitutional affairs minister david lammy said laws affecting 750 000 people with dementia needed updating. mr lammy told bbc news labour mps would not get a free vote as the law was being strengthened not changed. we are against euthanasia we are against assisted suicide but we are in a situation now where people can make living wills and that has the force of the common law he said. doctors are saying they want more clarity. patients are saying they want more clarity. the making decisions alliance which includes the alzheimer s society age concern mencap and the national autistic society said misunderstandings over the bill had to be cleared up. it will not change the current law on euthanasia and will actually provide a series of better safeguards when decisions are made for people who lack capacity the alliance said in a statement. the british medical association also backs the bill saying it just gives incapacitated people the same rights as others. debate on legalising euthanasia has intensified in the uk because of cases like that of motor neurone patient diane pretty. she died two years ago after losing a legal battle to allow her husband to help her commit suicide.

joy division story to become film the life of late joy division singer ian curtis is to be made into a film it has been announced. the manchester-based production is called touching from a distance after a book by curtis s widow deborah which forms the basis for the film. music mogul tony wilson who headed the record company joy division were signed to will be co-executive producer. the musician committed suicide in 1980 aged 23 shortly before the band were due to go on tour in the us. mr wilson who has remained friends with curtis s widow and daughter natalie who he says asked for his involvement to make the film official . people have different ideas as to why ian committed suicide so maybe the film will reflect those different views he told the bbc news website. plans for a separate joy division film had been announced at the cannes film festival earlier this year but the project did not get off the ground as it failed to get the backing of curtis s family. mr wilson who was also involved with joy division s sucessor band new order as well as the happy mondays said he would rather not appear in the film. he made a cameo appearance in 24 hour party people in which his leading role was played by steve coogan. i m not an actor and i did a lousy job playing my part in 24 hour party people said the factory records founder who has been associated with the manchester music scene since the 1970s. film people have a tendency to mess up when they touch music but i hope this one works. this is much more than the music - they want to do the real story of ian he said. the film is to be directed by dutch-born anton corbijn who has made music movies for depeche mode and u2. it will be produced by a us production company while the widow of ian curtis will also be an executive producer.

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.

tories would cut number of mps the conservative party would cut the number of mps by about one-fifth if they were elected tory leader michael howard has said. the plan forms part of the party s smaller government bill to be unveiled later this week. mr howard told the sunday times the party would also reduce the number of government special advisers. and he said a referendum would be held in wales to decide whether or not to scrap the welsh assembly. the changes would all take place within five years of the conservatives winning a general election mr howard told the paper. the precise number of mps to go would depend on the result of the welsh referendum but it would probably mean a reduction of around 120 from the current total of 659. if wales decided to keep its assembly it would stand to lose more mps. mr howard said as both parties planned to cut the number of civil servants at whitehall - labour by more than 80 000 and the tories by almost 100 000 - they should accept a similar drop in their own numbers. it is all very well saying government departments should be reduced but what about ministers parliament and special advisers he said. shadow leader of the commons oliver heald said: this will be part of our aim to reduce unnecessary and costly interference in people s lives by reducing the size and role of the state . mr howard said the plan would also even out the great unfairness of there being proportionately more scottish and welsh mps at westminster than those from england. the average size of an english constituency was 70 000 people mr howard said. in northern ireland it was just over 66 000 in wales just over 59 000 and in scotland 53 000. the number of welsh mps would be set at an amount that was consistent and fair in terms of representation with the rest of the united kingdom if the assembly was scrapped. mr howard said the changes should be carried out quickly and could even be implemented by the election after next. you have got to have a big bang. we don t want this like the house of lords reform getting to one stage and then not having the next stage.

stock market eyes japan recovery japanese shares have ended the year at their highest level since 13 july amidst hopes of an economic recovery during 2005. the nikkei index of leading shares gained 7.6% during the year to close at 11 488.76 points. in 2005 it will rise toward 13 000 predicted morgan stanley equity strategist naoki kamiyama. the optimism in the financial markets contrast sharply with pessimism in the japanese business community. earlier this month the quarterly tankan survey of japanese manufacturers found that business confidence had weakened for the first time since march 2003. slower economic growth rising oil prices a stronger yen and weaker exports were blamed for the fall in confidence. despite this traders expect strength in the global economy to benefit japan which has been close to sliding into recession in recent months. structural reform within japan and an anticipated end to the banking sector s bad debt problems should also help they say.

lennon brands rangers favourites celtic s neil lennon admits rangers could be considered slight favourites for the old firm cis cup clash but insists his side can still win. lennon concedes rangers are in good form at the moment but they have failed to beat celtic in their last seven meetings. rangers are on the up and have been on a good run in recent weeks he said. but it s a game we believe we re capable of winning if we play our best he told the evening times. all the boys are looking forward to it because they are brilliant games to be involved in. without playing at the top of our game we have still been winning matches. at the minute we are at the top of the league and still in with a chance of staying in europe so i don t think it is the crisis people have been trying to make out. of course it is a concern when you are losing goals because we have been notorious for being a team that is hard to beat and keeping clean sheets but hopefully we are over that wee run. considering we lost henrik larsson at the end of last season we have still been scoring a lot of goals which is pleasing.

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.

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. .

windows worm travels with tetris users are being warned about a windows virus that poses as the hugely popular tetris game. the cellery worm installs a playable version of the classic falling blocks game on pcs that it has infected. while users play the game the worm spends its time using the machine to search for new victims to infect on nearby networks. the risk of infection by cellery is thought to be very low as few copies of the worm have been found in the wild. the cellery worm does not spread via e-mail like many other viruses. instead it browses computer networks for pcs that have not shut off all the insecure ways they connect to other machines. when it infects a machine cellery installs a version of tetris that users can play. as the game starts up the worm also starts a music file to accompany it. at the same time the virus starts scouring networks for other vulnerable machines. the virus does no damage to machines but heavily infected networks could slow down as scanning traffic builds. productivity may suffer too if users spend time playing tetris. pcs running windows 95 98 me nt 2000 and xp could be vulnerable to the worm. if your company has a culture of allowing games to be played in the office your staff may believe this is simply a new game that has been installed - rather than something that should cause concern said graham cluley spokesman for anti-virus firm sophos. so far the number of people infected by cellery is thought to be very small and the risks of further infection is very low. sophos urged users and companies to update their anti-virus software to keep themselves protected.

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.

christmas song formula unveiled a formula for the ultimate christmas single has been revealed by chart bible british hit singles and albums. the recipe includes a reference to father christmas sleigh bells a children s choir and a charity element. the song should also include christmas in the title wishes for peace on earth and lots of airplay at office parties. there are common musical elements linking nearly all the big christmas number ones of recent times said editor david roberts. the book s analysts commissioned chart prank group moped to create the first christmas single using the whole formula - the song is called gonna have a no 1 this christmas by moped vs santa. everybody says that christmas number ones are formulaic but gonna have a number one this christmas is the first song to crack the formula and combine all these elements into one ultimate christmas track said mr roberts. surprisingly there s no santa listed among the 8 000 top 75 chart performers in the book so this is our chance to help santa to his rightful place in british recording history. big festive hits over the years include band aid s do they know it s christmas slade s merry christmas everybody wham s last christmas and sir cliff richards mistletoe and wine. band aid 20 s remake of do they know it s christmas is set to be confirmed as number one in the charts on sunday.

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%.

uk bank seals south korean deal uk-based bank standard chartered said it would spend $3.3bn (£1.8bn) to buy one of south korea s main retail banks. standard chartered said acquiring korea first bank (kfb) fulfilled a strategic objective of building a bigger presence in asia s third largest economy. its shares fell nearly 3% in london as the bank raised funds for the deal by selling new stocks worth £1bn ($1.8bn) equal to 10% of its share capital. standard chartered expects about 16% of future group revenue to come from kfb. the south korean bank will also make up 22% of the group s total assets. the move a year after citigroup beat standard chartered to buy koram bank would be the south korean financial sector s biggest foreign takeover. this time around standard chartered is thought to have beaten hsbc to the deal. kfb is south korea s seventh largest bank with 3 million retail customers 6% of the country s banking market and an extensive branch network. the country s banking market is three times the size of hong kong s with annual revenues of $44bn. standard chartered has its headquarters in london but does two thirds of its business in asia and much of the rest in africa. we re comfortable with the price paid...the key here has been speed and decisiveness in making sure that we won said standard chartered chief executive mervyn davies at a london press conference. standard chartered said kfb was a well-managed conservatively run bank with a highly skilled workforce and represented a significant acquisition in a growth market . in london standard chartered s sale of 118 million new shares to institutional investors pushed its share price down and contributing to the ftse 100 s 0.3% decline. standard chartered s shares were 28 pence lower at 925p by midday. some analysts also queried whether standard chartered had overpaid for kfb. the deal which requires regulatory approval is expected to be completed by april 2005 and to be earnings accretive in 2006 standard chartered said. rival banking giant hsbc which is based in london and hong kong was also in the running. standard chartered is believed to have gained the initiative by putting together a bid during the christmas break. they were able to move so quickly it caught hsbc by surprise the financial times newspaper quoted an insider in the talks as saying. hsbc will now have to wait for the next south korean bank in line to be sold off - thought likely to be korea exchange bank also currently in the hands of a us group. standard chartered said it was buying 100% of kfb an agreement that would bring an end to the bank s complex dual ownership. the south korean government owns 51.4% of kfb while the remaining shareholding and operational control are in the hands of us private equity group newbridge capital. newbridge bought its stake during the government s nationalisation of several banks in the wake of the 1997 asia-wide currency crisis which crippled south korea s financial institutions. south korea s economy is expected to grow by 4.5% this year. although often thought of an export-driven economy south korea s service sector has overtaken manufacturing in the last decade or so. services now make up roughly 40% of the economy and consumer spending and retail banking have become increasingly important. in the aftermath of the asian financial crisis the government encouraged the growth of consumer credit. bad loan problems followed; lg card the country s biggest credit card provider has been struggling to avoid bankruptcy for months for instance. but analysts believe south korea s financial services industry is still in its infancy offering plenty of scope for new products. standard chartered sees the opportunity to create value by the introduction of more sophisticated banking products . since 1999 kfb has been restructured from a wholesale bank into a retail bank focused on mortgage lending which makes up 45% of its loans.

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.

parker s saxophone heads auction a saxophone belonging to legendary jazz musician charlie parker is expected to fetch up to $1m (£535 000) at an auction of jazz memorabilia next month. the sale at guernsey s auction house in new york will feature instruments from other musicians including john coltrane and benny goodman. other items will include an evening gown belonging to ella fitzgerald. organisers said the auction was the first in the us to be devoted to items belonging to jazz musicians. other items that will be auctioned include unreleased tape recordings of music by parker as well as handwritten sheet music by jazz composers john coltrane and theolonius monk. among the instruments in the sale will be a trumpet which belonged to dizzy gillespie which is expected to fetch around $500 000 (£267 000) as well as jj johnson s trombone and a vibraphone which beloned to lionel hampton. works of art by musicians including miles davis and bruni sablan will also be featured. the proceeds from the auction which will take place on 20 february will go towards several organisations including the john coltrane foundation a foundation set up in memory of benny goodman and the red cross.

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.

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.

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.

preview: ireland v england (sun) lansdowne road dublin sunday 27 february 1500 gmt bbc1 radio 4 lw and this website ireland are going for their first grand slam since 1948 after two opening wins and england represent their sternest test of the championship so far. england were sloppy and leaderless in the defeats against wales and france and another loss would be unthinkable. the pressure is on coach andy robinson and his side have to deliver. despite england s dramatic dip in form since the world cup final - they have lost eight of their last 13 matches - ireland coach eddie o sullivan says his side should not underestimate the visitors. had they kicked their points they would have beaten france and that would have created a different landscape for sunday he said. this is england we are talking about. they have a depth of talent and a very good record against ireland. they will target a victory in dublin as the turning point in their six nations. the differences between the sides is also highlighted in the team selections for the dublin encounter. ireland despite having gordon d arcy still out injured have been boosted by the return of star skipper brian o driscoll who missed the scotland game with a hamstring injury. the knowledge that the england game was coming up really helped during rehabilitation he said. the will to play in this game was enormous. it doesn t get much bigger than england at home. as well as entering the tournament without players like jonny wilkinson mike tindall and richard hill england have now lost two tighthead props in julian white and phil vickery while blind-side flanker lewis moody is a major concern. robinson who received a lot of flak for the inclusion and then dropping of centre mathew tait has kept faith with kicking fly-half charlie hodgson despite his horror show at twickenham. if england slump in dublin it will be their worst run of results in the championship since 1987. but robinson was bullish during the week about the game saying that his side are going there to get in their faces and has identified the line-out and tackle area as the key to england s chances. and despite the recent results skipper jason robinson believes there is nothing wrong with the mood in the camp. there is no lack of confidence in the team said the sale full-back. we have had a good week s training and we are all looking forward to the challenge. i still believe in this team. i know if we get our game right we will win the games. g murphy; g dempsey b o driscoll s horgan d hickie; r o gara p stringer; r corrigan s byrne j hayes; m o kelly p o connell; s easterby j o connor a foley. f sheahan m horan d o callaghan e miller g easterby d humphreys k maggs. j robinson (capt); m cueto j noon o barkley j lewsey; c hodgson h ellis; g rowntree s thompson m stevens; d grewcock b kay; j worsley l moody m corry. a titterrell d bell s borthwick a hazell m dawson a goode o smith.

musical treatment for capra film the classic film it s a wonderful life is to be turned into a musical by the producer of the controversial hit show jerry springer - the opera. frank capra s 1946 movie starring james stewart is being turned into a £7m musical by producer jon thoday. he is working with steve brown who wrote the award-winning musical spend spend spend. a spokeswoman said the plans were in the very early stages with no cast opening date or theatre announced. a series of workshops have been held in london and on wednesday a cast of singers unveiled the musical to a select group of potential investors. mr thoday said the idea of turning the film into a musical had been an ambition of his for almost 20 years. it s a wonderful life was based on a short story the greatest gift by philip van doren stern. mr thoday managed to buy the rights to the story from van doren stern s family in 1999 following mr brown s success with spend spend spend. he later secured the film rights from paramount enabling them to use the title it s a wonderful life.

ink helps drive democracy in asia the kyrgyz republic a small mountainous state of the former soviet republic is using invisible ink and ultraviolet readers in the country s elections as part of a drive to prevent multiple voting. this new technology is causing both worries and guarded optimism among different sectors of the population. in an effort to live up to its reputation in the 1990s as an island of democracy the kyrgyz president askar akaev pushed through the law requiring the use of ink during the upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. the us government agreed to fund all expenses associated with this decision. the kyrgyz republic is seen by many experts as backsliding from the high point it reached in the mid-1990s with a hastily pushed through referendum in 2003 reducing the legislative branch to one chamber with 75 deputies. the use of ink is only one part of a general effort to show commitment towards more open elections - the german embassy the soros foundation and the kyrgyz government have all contributed to purchase transparent ballot boxes. the actual technology behind the ink is not that complicated. the ink is sprayed on a person s left thumb. it dries and is not visible under normal light. however the presence of ultraviolet light (of the kind used to verify money) causes the ink to glow with a neon yellow light. at the entrance to each polling station one election official will scan voter s fingers with uv lamp before allowing them to enter and every voter will have his/her left thumb sprayed with ink before receiving the ballot. if the ink shows under the uv light the voter will not be allowed to enter the polling station. likewise any voter who refuses to be inked will not receive the ballot. these elections are assuming even greater significance because of two large factors - the upcoming parliamentary elections are a prelude to a potentially regime changing presidential election in the autumn as well as the echo of recent elections in other former soviet republics notably ukraine and georgia. the use of ink has been controversial - especially among groups perceived to be pro-government. widely circulated articles compared the use of ink to the rural practice of marking sheep - a still common metaphor in this primarily agricultural society. the author of one such article began a petition drive against the use of the ink. the greatest part of the opposition to ink has often been sheer ignorance. local newspapers have carried stories that the ink is harmful radioactive or even that the ultraviolet readers may cause health problems. others such as the aggressively middle of the road coalition of non-governmental organizations have lauded the move as an important step forward. this type of ink has been used in many elections in the world in countries as varied as serbia south africa indonesia and turkey. the other common type of ink in elections is indelible visible ink - but as the elections in afghanistan showed improper use of this type of ink can cause additional problems. the use of invisible ink is not without its own problems. in most elections numerous rumors have spread about it. in serbia for example both christian and islamic leaders assured their populations that its use was not contrary to religion. other rumours are associated with how to remove the ink - various soft drinks solvents and cleaning products are put forward. however in reality the ink is very effective at getting under the cuticle of the thumb and difficult to wash off. the ink stays on the finger for at least 72 hours and for up to a week. the use of ink and readers by itself is not a panacea for election ills. the passage of the inking law is nevertheless a clear step forward towards free and fair elections. the country s widely watched parliamentary elections are scheduled for 27 february. david mikosz works for the ifes an international non-profit organisation that supports the building of democratic societies.

williams stays on despite dispute matt williams insists he has no thoughts of quitting as national coach as a result of the power struggle currently gripping scottish rugby. the chairman chief executive and three non-executive directors all departed in a row over the game s future direction. but williams said: i want to make it clear that i m committed totally to scottish rugby. i ve brought my family here and we ve immersed ourselves in scottish life. there s no way that i m walking away. however he attempted to steer clear of taking sides in the dispute. i d like to stress that the national team is separate to the political situation he said. when you come to an undertaking like this and you are trying to make a difference then there are always people who will begrudge you who are jealous and want to try to drag you down. when you have that situation you have to have the courage of your convictions to see it through. there was some very unhelpful and uninformed comment that the national team had received a massive increase in budget at the expense of other parts of scottish rugby and that is simply not the case. like all good coaches you go and ask for an increase. but we were told in no uncertain terms that the financial situation did not allow that. the idea that we are lighting cigars with £20 notes while the rest of scottish rugby flounders is absolutely untrue. we also attracted criticism because of the number of days players spent with the national team. but let me give you the truth. our irish counterparts whom we have to compete with in a few days time had 70 days together at the summer. they are currently in camp now and they will have another 21 days in camp before the six nations. that means they will have 91 days away from their club from july until the six nations. we on the other hand will have 16. there must be a win-win philosophy and attitude within scottish rugby and that is what we are after - both groups winning not competing.

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.

japanese banking battle at an end japan s sumitomo mitsui financial has withdrawn its takeover offer for rival bank ufj holdings enabling the latter to merge with mitsubishi tokyo. sumitomo bosses told counterparts at ufj of its decision on friday clearing the way for it to conclude a 3 trillion yen ($29bn) deal with mitsubishi. the deal would create the world s biggest bank with assets of about 189 trillion yen ($1.8 trillion). sumitomo s exit ends the most high profile fight in japanese bank history. ufj holdings japan s fourth-largest bank has been at the centre of a fierce bid battle over the last year. sumitomo japan s third-largest bank tabled a higher offer for ufj than its rival valuing the company at $35bn. however ufj s management was known to prefer the offer from mitsubishi tokyo financial group (mtfg) japan s second-largest bank. concerns were also raised about sumitomo s ability to absorb ufj and the former has now admitted defeat. we believe the market and most investors accept a ufj-mtfg merger sumitomo said in a statement. given the ongoing integration of ufj and mtfg operations persisting with our proposal may not be in the best interests of our shareholders or ufj s. mitsubishi s takeover of ufj - which will be japan s largest-ever takeover deal - will still have to be approved by shareholders of the two firms. however this is expected to be a formality. sumitomo may now turn its attention to deepening its ties with daiwa securities another japanese financial firm. the two are set to merge their venture capital operations and there has been speculation that this could lead to a full-blown merger. japanese banks are increasingly seeking alliances to boost profits.

solskjaer raises hopes of return manchester united striker ole gunnar solskjaer said he hoped to return next season following a career-threatening injury to his right knee. the 31-year-old norway international had surgery in sweden in august to transplant cartilage into the joint. i m in no doubt that i ll play again solskjaer told aftenposten daily. the problem will be the speed but we re talking about eight months time. it s going as it should with the knee. i m slavishly following a programme. solskjaer last played for united as a late substitute in may s fa cup final win over millwall. his contract with united runs out in 2006 by which time he will have been at the premier league club for 10 years.

microsoft gets the blogging bug software giant microsoft is taking the plunge into the world of blogging. it is launching a test service to allow people to publish blogs or online journals called msn spaces. microsoft is trailing behind competitors like google and aol which already offer services which make it easy for people to set up web journals. blogs short for web logs have become a popular way for people to talk about their lives and express opinions online. msn spaces is free to anyone with a hotmail or msn messenger account. people will be able to choose a layout for the page upload images and share photo albums and music playlists. the service will be supported by banner ads. this is a simple tool for people to express themselves said msn s blake irving. this is microsoft s first foray into blogging which has taken off as a web phenomenon in the past year. competitors like google already offer free services through its blogger site while aol provides its members with journals. accurate figures for the number of blogs in existence are hard to come by. according to blog analysis firm technorati the so-called blogosphere has doubled every five and a half months for the last 18 months. it now estimates that the number of blogs in existence has exceeded 4.8 million although some speculate that less than a quarter are regularly maintained.

merritt close to indoor 400m mark teenager lashawn merritt ran the third fastest indoor 400m of all time at the fayetteville invitational meeting. the world junior champion clocked 44.93 seconds to finish well clear of fellow american bershawn jackson in arkansas. only michael johnson has gone quicker setting the world record of 44.63secs in 1995 and running 44.66secs in 1996. kenyan bernard lagat missed out on the world record by 1.45secs as he ran the third quickest indoor mile ever to beat canada s nate brannen by almost 10secs. the olympic silver medallist s time of three minutes 49.89secs was inferior only to the 1997 world record of moroccan hicham el guerrouj and former world record holder eamonn coghlan of ireland s 3:49.78. lagat was on course to break el guerrouj s record through 1200m but could not maintain the pace over the final 400m. ireland s continued his excellent form by winning a tight 3 000m in 7:40.53. cragg who recently defeated olympic 10 000m champion kenenisa bekele in boston held off bekele s ethiopian colleague markos geneti by only 0.19secs to secure his victory. mark carroll who will join cragg in the european indoor championships next month finished a solid third in 7:46.78. olympic 200m gold medallist of jamaica ran the fastest women s 60m in the world this year as she equalled her personal best of 7.09secs. world indoor 60m hurdles champion also won improving his season-leading time to 7.51secs.

loyalty cards idea for tv addicts viewers could soon be rewarded for watching tv as loyalty cards come to a screen near you. any household hooked up to sky could soon be using smartcards in conjunction with their set-top boxes. broadcasters such as sky and itv could offer viewers loyalty points in return for watching a particular channel or programme. sky will activate a spare slot on set-top boxes in january marketing magazine new media age reported. sky set-top boxes have two slots. one is for the viewer s decryption card while the other has been dormant until now. loyalty cards have become a common addition to most wallets as high street brands rush to keep customers with a series of incentives offered by store cards. now similar schemes look set to enter the highly competitive world of multi-channel tv. viewers who stay loyal to a particular tv channel could be rewarded by free tv content or freebies from retail partners. broadcasters aiming content at children could offer smartcards which gives membership to exclusive content and clubs. parents could pre-pay for some content as a kind of tv pocket money card said nigel whalley managing director of media consultancy decipher. viewers could even be rewarded for watching ad breaks with ideas such as ad bingo being touted by firms keen to make money out of the new market said mr whalley. credit cards that have been chipped could be used in set-top boxes to pay for movies gambling and gaming. the idea of an intelligent card in boxes offers a lot of possibilities. it will be down to the ingenuity of the content players said mr whalley. for the bbc revenue-generating activity will be of little interest but the new development may prompt changes to freeview set-top boxes said mr whalley. currently most freeview boxes do not have a slot which would allow viewers to use a smartcard. some 7.4 million households have sky boxes and sky is hoping to increase this to 10 million by 2010. loyalty cards could play a role in this particularly in reducing the number of people who cancel their sky subscriptions said ian fogg an analyst with jupiter research.

pc ownership to double by 2010 the number of personal computers worldwide is expected to double by 2010 to 1.3 billion machines according to a report by analysts forrester research. the growth will be driven by emerging markets such as china russia and india the report predicted. more than a third of all new pcs will be in these markets with china adding 178 million new pcs by 2010 it said. low-priced computers made by local companies are expected to dominate in such territories forrester said. the report comes less than a week after ibm a pioneer of the pc business sold its pc hardware division to china s number one computer maker lenovo. the $1.75bn (£900m) deal will make the combined operation the third biggest pc vendor in the world. today s products from western pc vendors won t dominate in those markets in the long term simon yates a senior analyst for forrester said. instead local pc makers like lenovo group in china and aquarius in russia that can better tailor the pc form factor price point and applications to their local markets will ultimately win the market share battle he said. there are currently 575 million pcs in use globally. the united states europe and asia-pacific are expected to add 150 million new pcs by 2010 according to the study. the report forecast that there will be 80 million new pc users in india by 2010 and 40 million new users in indonesia.

domain system scam fear a system to make it easier to create website addresses using alphabets like cyrillic could open a back door for scammers a trade body has warned. the internationalised domain names system has been a work in progress for years and has recently been approved by the internet electronic task force. but the uk internet forum (ukif) is concerned that the system will let scammers create fake sites more easily. the problem lies in the computer codes used to represent language. registering names that look like that of legitimate companies but lead users to fake sites designed to steal passwords and credit card details could become a whole lot easier for determined scammers says stephen dyer director of ukif. domain names are the real language addresses of websites rather than their internet protocol address which is a series of numbers. they are used so people can more easily navigate the web. so-called ascii codes are used to represent european languages but for other languages a hybrid of a system called unicode is used. so for example website paypal could now be coded using a mixture of the latin alphabet and the russian alphabet. the resulting domain as displayed to the users would look identical to the real site as a russian a look just like an english a . but the computer code would be different and the site it would lead users to could be a fake. this is more than just a theory. a fake paypal.com has already been registered with net domain giant verisign by someone who has followed the debate around the internationalised domain name (idn) system said mr dyer. as the idea was to prove a point rather than be malicious the fake domain has now been handed back to paypal but it sets a worrying precedent mr dyer said. although the idn problem is well known in technical circles the commercial world is totally unaware how easily their websites can be faked said mr dyer. it is important to alert users that there is a new and invisible and almost undetectable way of diverting them to what looks like a perfectly genuine site he added. there are solutions. for instance browsers could spot domains that use mixed characters and display them in different colours as a warning to users. mr dyer acknowledged that it would be a huge undertaking to update all the world s browsers. another solution to introduce idn-disabled browsers could be a case of throwing out the baby with the bath water he said. centr the council of european national top level domain registries agrees. a rush to introduce idn-disabled browsers into the marketplace is an overly-zealous step that will harm public confidence in idns - a technology that is desperately needed in the non-english speaking world the organisation said in a statement.

douglas set for indian adventure actor michael douglas is to co-produce and star in an adventure film about a diamond robbery set in india. the new picture is expected to be similar to douglas s action films of the 1980s romancing the stone and the jewel of the nile. another hollywood star is being lined up to co-star while the rest of the cast will be indian. aishwarya rai star of bride and prejudice is the preferred choice of the indian studio involved in the film. on a visit to india the 60-year-old actor said he hoped to start shooting racing the monsoon next year. douglas added that it had been inspired by a wall street journal article about india s angadias who courier money and diamonds around india. the actor s own production company further films is working in partnership with two indian film-making concerns to bring the picture to the screen. shailendra singh the founder of india s percept films said there would be a lot of india in the movie - and that an indian train would play a big role. the train will be a crucial part of the film. the chase and most of the stunts will be on the train said mr singh. swashbuckling adventure film romancing the stone saw douglas s female co-star kathleen turner win a golden globe award for her performance in 1985.

halloween writer debra hill dies screenwriter and producer debra hill best known for her work on the 70s horror classic halloween has died in los angeles aged 54. hill who had been suffering from cancer co-wrote the 1978 film which starred jamie lee curtis as a babysitter terrorised by a psychopath. directed by john carpenter it made over $60m (£31.3m) worldwide - a record for independent film at that time. hill also worked with carpenter on escape from new york and the fog. born in new jersey hill began her career as a production assistant and worked her way through the ranks becoming an assistant director and second-unit director before she began collaborating with carpenter. she was regarded by many as a pioneering woman in film taking on jobs in the 70s that were more commonly taken by men. back when i started in 1974 there were very few women in the industry she said in 2003. i was assumed to be the make-up and hair person or the script person. i was never assumed to be the writer or producer. i took a look around and realised there weren t that many women so i had to carve a niche for myself. carpenter said that working with hill was one of the greatest experiences of my life . the ground that she trailblazed in the beginning can now be followed by anyone. she was incredibly capable and talented he said. carpenter and hill collaborated on a number of halloween sequels including halloween ii halloween: resurrection and halloween: the curse of michael myers. later in her career hill formed a production company with her friend lynda obst making a string of hit films including oscar nominee the fisher king and teen comedy adventures in babysitting. other films included the stephen king adaptation the dead zone in 1983 and 1985 s clue a comedy based on the board game cluedo. in the 90s she pursued work in tv although she was reunited with carpenter in 1996 for escape from la the sequel to escape from new york. at the time of her death she was working on a film about the last two men pulled from the rubble of the twin towers following the 11 september terror attacks in 2001. she was also co-producing the remake of the fog which is due for release early next year.

worldcom director ends evidence the former chief financial officer at us telecoms firm worldcom has finished giving evidence at the trial of his ex-boss bernie ebbers. scott sullivan admitted to jurors he was willing to commit fraud to meet wall street earnings projections. mr ebbers is on trial for fraud and conspiracy in relation to worldcom s collapse in 2002. he pleads not guilty. mr sullivan has spent two days being cross-examined by lawyers for former worldcom chief executive mr ebbers. attorney reid weingarten has attempted to portray mr sullivan as a liar and on thursday quizzed him about his decision to commit fraud to meet analysts profit estimates. at that point in time mr sullivan said referring to the first false entries in late 2000 i knew it was wrong and i knew it was against the law but i thought we would get through it in the short term. mr sullivan 42 has already pleaded guilty to fraud and will be sentenced following mr ebbers trial where he is appearing as a prosecution witness. mr ebbers 63 has always insisted that he was unaware of any hidden shortfalls in worldcom s finances. the former finance officer said mr ebbers knew about the improper accounting entries that were made between 2000 and 2002 to conceal soaring expenses and inflate revenue. mr ebbers could face a sentence of 85 years if convicted of all the charges he is facing. worldcom s problems appear to have begun with the collapse of the dotcom boom which cut its business from internet companies. prosecutors allege that the company s top executives responded by orchestrating massive fraud over a two-year period. worldcom emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2004 and is now known as mci. on monday mci agreed to a buyout by verizon communications in a deal valued at $6.75bn.

steel firm to cut 45 000 jobs mittal steel one of the world s largest steel producers could cut up to 45 000 jobs over the next five years its chief executive has said. the netherlands-based company is due to complete its $4.5bn acquisition of us firm isg next month making it one of the largest global firms of its kind. however lakshmi mittal has told investors the combined company will have to shed thousands of jobs. the indian-born magnate did not say where the job losses would fall. mr mittal told us investors that once the acquisition of international steel group was completed the company would aim to reduce its workforce by between 7 000 and 8 000 annually. this could see its workforce trimmed from 155 000 to 110 000 staff by 2010. we are investing in modernisation so employees will go down mr mittal told the conference in chicago. mittal steel was formed last year when mr mittal s lnm holdings merged with dutch firm ispat. a combination of mittal steel and isg would have annual sales of $32bn (£16.7bn; 24.1bn euros) and a production capacity of 70 million tonnes. a mittal steel spokeman said that no decisions on job cuts have been made yet. we are trying to create a sustainable steel industry and if we want to do that we have to invest in new technology a spokesman said. mittal steel has operations in 14 countries. many of its businesses - particularly those in eastern europe - were previously state owned and have huge workforces. it employs 50 000 staff in kazakhstan alone and has large operations in romania the czech republic south africa and the united states.

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.

blair told to double overseas aid tony blair is being urged to use all his negotiating powers to end poor countries debt and double aid. some 45 million children will die needlessly before 2015 and aid budgets are half their 1960 levels oxfam says in a report paying the price. the call comes as the prime minister prepares to assume the presidency of the g8 of top industrialised nations. as rich countries get richer they re giving less and less. this scandal must stop oxfam s barbara stocking said. the world s poorest children are paying for rich countries policies in aid and debt with their lives. 2005 offers the chance for an historic breakthrough but unless world leaders act now the year will end in shameful failure the charity s director added. the report said: for rich countries providing aid to help to end global poverty is an obligation and a matter of justice not an act of charity. it also points out that in 1970 the g8 of top industrialised nations agreed to spend 0.7% of their incomes on aid. but 34 years later none of the organisations members have reached this target and many have not yet set a timetable the report says. it argues that the price of not investing in poor countries sustainable development will be felt across the world. the report said: global poverty threatens our shared prosperity and security. environmental crises and natural disasters disease and drug trafficking know no national borders. poverty heightens the likelihood of conflict and unrest. new threats to the peace and security of rich nations arise from poverty and gross inequalities. criminal and terrorist networks are more likely to operate where state institutions are weak. both the prime minister and chancellor gordon brown have called for urgent action to fight world poverty. mr blair who has described africa as a scar on the world s conscience has already said tackling world poverty would be one his g8 priorities along with climate change and the aids epidemic. mr brown has also pledged to write off the debt owed to britain by the world s poor nations. a spokeswoman for the department for international development said: the government had made a clear commitment to reaching 0.7% of gross national income for overseas development aid by 2013. if britain s proposal for an international finance facility were adopted the objective of 0.7% could be achieved earlier by 2008-09. these additional resources will be used to increase uk bilateral aid to africa to at least £1.25bn a year by 2008 and spend at least £1.5bn on hiv/aids related work over the next three years.

krispy kreme shares hit shares in krispy kreme doughnuts have taken a dunking on wall street after the firm revealed it would have to restate its 2004 financial reports. the company warned the move would cut its profits by $3.8m to $4.9m (£2m to £2.6m) - or between 6.6% and 8.6%. krispy kreme said accounting errors had forced the move adding that its board of directors made the decision to restate its accounts on 28 december. however the company was unavailable to comment on why it had delayed the news. it also warned it might have to further restate results for 2004 and 2005. shares in krispy kreme sank 14.87% - or $1.83 - to close at $10.48 on the news. the revelation comes just a month after the firm warned earnings would be cut by as much as 7.6% as a result of accounting errors. krispy kreme said the latest adjustments involved the way it accounted for the repurchase of three franchise restaurants. it added it would now be reviewing how it accounts for its leases. in a further blow the firm said it had been advised that some of its franchise owners were not in compliance with their loan agreements and warned it might need to borrow extra money if it was required to honour agreements on franchisee debts or operating leases. krispy kreme added that it had enough cash to fund its current operations but it could not borrow any more under its existing agreements. there are many more questions than answers especially given increased concerns regarding company liquidity jp morgan securities analyst john ivankoe said in a research note on the firm. the announcement is the latest blow for the one-time darling of wall street which has lost 80% of its stock value in just over a year. the firm is currently facing securities and exchange commission investigation of its accounts. shareholders have also launched lawsuits against the group claiming it made false statements and inflated sales.