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kenyan school turns to handhelds at the mbita point primary school in western kenya students click away at a handheld computer with a stylus. they are doing exercises in their school textbooks which have been digitised. it is a pilot project run by eduvision which is looking at ways to use low cost computer systems to get up-to-date information to students who are currently stuck with ancient textbooks. matthew herren from eduvision told the bbc programme go digital how the non-governmental organisation uses a combination of satellite radio and handheld computers called e-slates. the e-slates connect via a wireless connection to a base station in the school. this in turn is connected to a satellite radio receiver. the data is transmitted alongside audio signals. the base station processes the information from the satellite transmission and turns it into a form that can be read by the handheld e-slates. it downloads from the satellite and every day processes the stream sorts through content for the material destined for the users connected to it. it also stores this on its hard disc. the system is cheaper than installing and maintaining an internet connection and conventional computer network. but mr herren says there are both pros and cons to the project. it s very simple to set up just a satellite antenna on the roof of the school but it s also a one-way connection so getting feedback or specific requests from end users is difficult. the project is still at the pilot stage and eduvision staff are on the ground to attend to teething problems with the linux-based system. the content is divided into visual information textual information and questions. users can scroll through these sections independently of each other. eduvision is planning to include audio and video files as the system develops and add more content. mr herren says this would vastly increase the opportunities available to the students. he is currently in negotiations to take advantage of a project being organised by search site google to digitise some of the world s largest university libraries. all books in the public domain something like 15 million could be put on the base stations as we manufacture them. then every rural school in africa would have access to the same libraries as the students in oxford and harvard currently the project is operating in an area where there is mains electricity. but mr herren says eduvision already has plans to extend it to more remote regions. we plan to put a solar panel at the school with the base station have the e-slates charge during the day when the children are in school then they can take them home at night and continue working. maciej sundra who designed the user interface for the e-slates says the project s ultimate goal is levelling access to knowledge around the world. why in this age when most people do most research using the internet are students still using textbooks the fact that we are doing this in a rural developing country is very exciting - as they need it most.

bbc leads interactive bafta wins the bbc and the national theatre have led the field at this year s interactive bafta awards. the national theatre s stagework website picked up the prize for best learning as well as top factual site. the bbc collected three awards including best online entertainment for the hitchhiker s guide to the galaxy adventure game. spooks interactive took the best interactive tv prize. the annual awards recognise the best in digital media. bbc sport interactive fought off competition from cbbc newsround and the guardian to take home the best news and sport trophy for its coverage of england s exit from euro 2004. it was recognised for its groundbreaking use of animation. bafta s grant dean chair of bafta s interactive entertainment committee said all the entrants had been of outstanding quality and that judging had been enormously difficult . without a doubt 2005 has been a landmark year for the bafta interactive awards he added. many of the top awards this year have gone to the companies we most commonly associate with traditional entertainment showing how the gap between new media film and television is closing. awards were given out in 12 different categories including interactive tv film music design as well as technical and social innovation at a london ceremony. the top music award was given to sseyo minimixa a mobile music sequencer designed to let people write edit and share compositions. warner bros was given two prizes for its inspiring efforts in film and dvd interactivity. the chaplin collection beat oasis really bend it like beckham shaun of the dead and the day today in the dvd category and trauma won best film. elsewhere fashionista and clothes designer alexander mcqueen took the accolade for the best-designed website. the awards have been running since 1997 but in 2002 the british academy of film and television decided to split them into separate games and interactive ceremonies. on tuesday half-life 2 dominated the games prizes. it collected six baftas including best game and best online game.

rich grab half colombia poor fund half of the money put aside by the colombian government to help the country s poor is benefiting people who do not need it a study has found. a total of 24.2 trillion pesos ($10.2bn; £5.5bn) is earmarked for subsidies for the poor the government department for planning said. but it also found 12.1 trillion pesos was going to the richest part of the population rather than to those in need. sound distribution of the cash could cut poverty levels to 36% from 53% the government believes. resources are more than enough to reduce poverty and there is no need for more tax reforms but a better distribution deputy planning director jose leibovich said. colombia has a population of about 44 million and half lives below poverty line. however some large properties are paying less in tax as they are situated inside poor areas which benefit from cheaper utilities such as electricity and water government research found. government expenditure in areas such as pensions public services education property and health should be revised mr leibovich said. he added that the government is now examining the report but warned there would be no easy solution to the problem. with a good distribution of such subsidies and economic growth of just 2% by 2019 poverty could fall as low as 15.3% he said.

house prices drop as sales slow house prices fell further in november and property sale times lengthened as rate rises took their toll the royal institute of chartered surveyors found. a total of 48% of chartered surveyor estate agents reported lower prices in the three months to november - the highest level in 12 years. meanwhile the number of sales dropped 32% to an average of 22 per surveyor. the amount of unsold properties on their books rose for the sixth month in a row to an average of 67 properties. the slowdown occurring in the market has given buyers more power to negotiate but this time of year is traditionally a quiet one rics housing spokesman ian perry said. the decision by the bank of england not to increase interest rates further and the healthy economy is allowing confidence to consolidate. the figures support recent data from the government and other bodies which all point to a slowdown in the housing market. on monday the council of mortgage lenders british bankers association and building societies association all said mortgage lending was slowing. the figures were published as another survey by property website rightmove said the average asking price of a home fell by more than £600 from £190 329 in november to £189 733 in december. around the uk the midlands and south saw the biggest price falls while london prices fell but at less than the national rate. in scotland where prices have remained on an upward path increases were more moderate rics added. but the news failed to dent confidence that sales will recover in future with surveyors at their most optimistic in a year - as new purchase inquiries stabilised despite holding at lower levels. sales usually pick up in the new year and i am confident this year will be no exception mr perry added. looking ahead the group is anticipating a quiet start to 2005 with the market picking up in the second half - prompting a 3% rise in prices over the coming 12 months.

what the election should really be about a general election is the best chance most pressure groups get to make a real impact on government policy. here is how six leading lobbies plan to make sure their cause is being debated ahead of an expected spring poll. we ve called for the state pension to be increased from £79.60 to the pensioner credit guarantee level of £105.45. that s what we re calling for. many pensioners are disadvantaged by the current system. if we ve got one in five pensioners below the poverty line we ve got to make it more generous or have these people living in poverty. we ve drawn up a pensioners manifesto. this will be sent to each of the candidates in the 659 constituencies. they will be asked which of the top five issues including the pension issue they would support. once we ve got their responses we will publish the results within the constituencies and nationally as well. it s our way of putting the politicians on notice. we are trying to get across the fact that there are 11m voters over 60 in the country they are more likely to vote than other sections of society and thirdly they are true swing voters. before 1997 most pensioners voted conservative. in 1997 and 2001 they voted labour. but there is no guarantee they will vote for a labour government this time around. they cannot take that vote for granted. pensions generally will certainly be a big election issue even though the government has postponed the publication of adair turner s full report into the issue. he said the uk had one of the least generous pensions systems in the developed world. that the government takes seriously the impact of aviation on the environment. we haven t worked out specific plans but i imagine we will lobby political parties and incumbent mps. various local groups will do that in their particular areas and we will provide a national briefing. we don t have any large demonstrations planned but they can t be ruled out. it is hard to say whether we will be successful. we have got the issue in the public consciousness to an extent but it is difficult to say whether an election will raise its importance in the public mind or whether it will be pushed out by big issues like iraq. repealing the hunting bill. we are challenging the use of the parliament act 1949 in a high court action. we are hoping to hear in the new year. whichever way the court rules the other side will appeal so we expect it to fall plumb in electioneering time. when the ban comes into force on 18 february we will be going to the european court because no compensation is being paid. so there s a lot of legal territory to go. we are trying to engage with the ministers by demonstrating and talking. whatever intelligence we get we will try to turn up and speak to whoever it is. (rural affairs minister) alun michael has avoided us and cancelled engagements so that makes it difficult. it is not intimidatory - on the whole it is groups of angry housewives. of course there is an element of shouting because people are angry but there is no violence because that does not achieve anything. it will fall plumb in the run up to the most important general election tony blair will ever face. it s exactly what the prime minister did not want. he wanted the issue off the table until after the election. people using live animals as targets for sport both here and abroad. the reason for including abroad is because of trophy hunting. it is another sort of form of shooting for sport. the principle is the same whether it s a tiger or a pheasant. we will widely publicise what s happening in relation to trophy hunting. we will publicise the darker aspects of the target animal industry the uk. we will seek to get pledges from individual mps and would-be mps saying that they are against the use of animals as targets for sports. we would like the support of political parties but i think a general election is very much to do with pledges mps make to their electors. with hunting we had many mps who were happy to say they were against it. i think what we will get is a very real climbing up the agenda. whether or not we will get a ban i am not sure. but it will mobilise public opinion. everything we do will reduce animal suffering and in time that will lead to a ban. the issue that we think is the most important for this election is choice. the language of consumerism is very commonplace in government and across the political spectrum. choice as an ideology is beginning to be the privatisation of this decade. it s become an issue in itself but what s really missing from the debate is the consumer s choice in that. choice is not choice at all if all you have to choose from is two failing schools. we have seen so many pensions mis-selling scandals and in the pensions industry there s a maximum of choice but a minimum quality in that. we want choice on the consumer s terms - that means clear and accessible information to operate that choice. firstly we have our website. it features our campaigns and changes every day. secondly through our 700 000 members who communicate with us. thirdly through the media and also what we will be doing is holding a pre-election conference. we will invite the opinion formers mps journalists and others. the idea is that we open up communications between members of the public and the politicians. i think we will be successful. it s very much the language being used by the main political parties. politicians on all sides are very sensitive to this issue they want to be seen to be responding to this issue. fuel duty is a large part of operational costs for road haulage workers. we have been hearing about this proposed increase of 1.92p per litre that gordon brown has been postponing and postponing. tuppence does not sound like a great deal but every year if you operate one vehicle that s an increase of about £750. if you re running 10 vehicles it s obviously 10 times that. if fuel duty does rise we will be absolutely horrified. there will be a huge effect throughout the industry and i would not be surprised if you see widespread demonstrations. what it will mean is there will be a number of firms going out of business. we will continue to do what we have always done we keep the issue in the trade press. regrettably it s one of those stories that it is getting harder to get into the national press. whatever we do the public don t like lorries - they see us as a complaining minority. but they don t realise that when you see a car on the road it is probably going to work when you see a lorry it s already at work.

holmes feted with further honour double olympic champion kelly holmes has been voted european athletics (eaa) woman athlete of 2004 in the governing body s annual poll. the briton made a dame in the new year honours list for taking 800m and 1 500m gold won vital votes from the public press and eaa member federations. she is only the second british woman to land the title after- sally gunnell won for her world 400m hurdles win in 1993. swedish triple jumper christian olsson was voted male athlete of the year. the accolade is the latest in a long list of awards that holmes has received since her success in athens. in addition to becoming a dame she was also named the bbc sports personality of the year in december. her gutsy victory in the 800m also earned her the international association of athletics federations award for the best women s performance in the world for 2004. and she scooped two awards at the british athletics writers association annual dinner in october.

emi shares hit by profit warning shares in music giant emi have sunk by more than 16% after the firm issued a profit warning following disappointing sales and delays to two album releases. emi said music sales for the year to march will fall 8-9% from the year before with profits set to be 15% lower than analysts had expected. it blamed poor sales since christmas and delays to the releases of new albums by coldplay and gorillaz. by 1200 gmt on monday emi shares were down 16.2% at 235.75 pence. emi said two major albums scheduled for release before the end of the financial year in march - one by coldplay and one by gorillaz - have now had their release dates put back. emi music s sales particularly re-orders in january have also been lower than anticipated and this is expected to continue through february and march the company added. therefore for the full year at constant currency emi music s sales are now expected to be 8% to 9% lower than the prior year. the company said it expected profits to be about £138m ($259.8m). alain levy chairman and chief executive of emi music described the performance as disappointing but added that he remained optimistic over future trends in the industry. the physical music market is showing signs of stabilisation in many parts of the world and digital music in all its forms continues to develop at a rapid pace he said. commenting on the delay to the release of the coldplay and gorillaz albums mr levy said that creating and marketing music is not an exact science and cannot always coincide with our reporting periods . while this rescheduling and recent softness is disappointing it does not change my views of the improving health of the global recorded music industry he added. paul richards an analyst at numis securities said the market would be focusing on the slump in music sales rather than the timing of the two albums. it s unusual to see this much of a downgrade just because of phasing he said.

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.

spurs to sign iceland u21 star tottenham are primed to snap up iceland under-21 international emil hallfredsson after he impressed on trial at white hart lane. the 20-year-old midfielder who plays for fh hafnarfjordur also starred in the uefa cup match against scottish side dunfermline earlier this season. spurs have agreed a fee for the player who has yet to agree personal terms. he had offers from two other clubs but he decided to come to tottenham said spurs sporting director frank arnesen. he is a left-sided player a position we have been looking at and he showed so much talent in his time here that we decided to take him. it s down the road of bringing in talent good prospects and giving them a place at tottenham where they can improve.

spurs to sign iceland u21 star tottenham are primed to snap up iceland under-21 international emil hallfredsson after he impressed on trial at white hart lane. the 20-year-old midfielder who plays for fh hafnarfjordur also starred in the uefa cup match against scottish side dunfermline earlier this season. spurs have agreed a fee for the player who has yet to agree personal terms. he had offers from two other clubs but he decided to come to tottenham said spurs sporting director frank arnesen. he is a left-sided player a position we have been looking at and he showed so much talent in his time here that we decided to take him. it s down the road of bringing in talent good prospects and giving them a place at tottenham where they can improve.

prop jones ready for hard graft adam jones says the wales forwards are determined to set the perfect attacking platform for the backs by dominating the powerful france pack in paris. the prop said: if we get stuffed in the front five our backs have had it. the mentality of the french is scrum scrum scrum . we will see how good france are and the scrum is the key. i just hope [the backs] carry on where they left off against italy. it s just up to us in the forwards to win the ball and give them the opportunity. wales have won two of their last three visits to stade de france having secured back-to-back wins under graham henry in 1999 and 2001. and with the likes of shane williams and gavin henson finding top form at the right time mike ruddock s team is now one of international rugby s most potent attacking threats. gavin is ridiculously talented. he has been bouncing around the place this week so he is up for it warned jones. france have been criticised for their uncharacteristic one-dimensional play in their victories over scotland and france. captain fabien pelous has acknowledged his side needs to show more attacking flair but stressed the game with be won or lost up front. the lock believes the welsh forwards are not big enough to trouble his side in the scrum or line-out but jones insisted his fellow front-row colleagues have nothing to fear. gethin [jenkins] won t be intimidated tomorrow none of us will said jones who will be facing france for the first time. we will go out there and front up and hopefully get the ball out to the backs. me and gethin are quite young so it is good to have someone of mefin s experience in there. mefin is a good thinker who puts things across. but what is the saying if you are good enough you are old enough and gethin certainly is. he is a really good player and i imagine he will be on the lions tour [to new zealand this summer].

virus poses as christmas e-mail security firms are warning about a windows virus disguising itself as an electronic christmas card. the zafi.d virus translates the christmas greeting on its subject line into the language of the person receiving infected e-mail. anti-virus firms speculate that this multilingual ability is helping the malicious program spread widely online. anti-virus firm sophos said that 10% of the e-mail currently on the net was infected with the zafi virus. like many other windows viruses zafi-d plunders microsoft outlook for e-mail addresses and then uses mail-sending software to despatch itself across the web to new victims. to be infected users must open up the attachment travelling with the message which bears the code for the malicious bug. the attachment on the e-mail poses as an electronic christmas card but anyone opening it will simply get a crude image of two smiley faces. the virus subject line says merry christmas and translates this into one of 15 languages depending of the final suffix of the e-mail address the infected message has been sent to. the message in the body of the e-mail reads: happy holidays and this too is translated. on infected machines the virus tries to disable anti-virus and firewall software and opens up a backdoor on the pc to hand over control to the writer of the virus. the virus is thought to have spread most widely in south america italy spain bulgaria and hungary. the original zafi virus appeared in april this year. we have seen these hoaxes for several christmases already and personally i prefer traditional pen and paper cards and we recommend this to all our clients too said mikko hypponen who heads f-secure s anti-virus team.

radcliffe yet to answer gb call paula radcliffe has been granted extra time to decide whether to compete in the world cross-country championships. the 31-year-old is concerned the event which starts on 19 march in france could upset her preparations for the london marathon on 17 april. there is no question that paula would be a huge asset to the gb team said zara hyde peters of uk athletics. but she is working out whether she can accommodate the worlds without too much compromise in her marathon training. radcliffe must make a decision by tuesday - the deadline for team nominations. british team member hayley yelling said the team would understand if radcliffe opted out of the event. it would be fantastic to have paula in the team said the european cross-country champion. but you have to remember that athletics is basically an individual sport and anything achieved for the team is a bonus. she is not messing us around. we all understand the problem. radcliffe was world cross-country champion in 2001 and 2002 but missed last year s event because of injury. in her absence the gb team won bronze in brussels.

intel unveils laser breakthrough intel has unveiled research that could mean data is soon being moved around chips at the speed of light. scientists at intel have overcome a fundamental problem that before now has prevented silicon being used to generate and amplify laser light. the breakthrough should make it easier to interconnect data networks with the chips that process the information. the intel researchers said products exploiting the breakthrough should appear by the end of the decade. we ve overcome a fundamental limit said dr mario paniccia director of intel s photonics technology lab. writing in the journal nature dr paniccia - and colleagues haisheng rong richard jones ansheng liu oded cohen dani hak and alexander fang - show how they have made a continuous laser from the same material used to make computer processors. currently says dr paniccia telecommunications equipment that amplifies the laser light that travels down fibre optic cables is very expensive because of the exotic materials such as gallium arsenide used to make it. telecommunications firms and chip makers would prefer to use silicon for these light-moving elements because it is cheap and many of the problems of using it in high-volume manufacturing have been solved. we re trying to take our silicon competency in manufacturing and apply it to new areas said dr paniccia. while work has been done to make some of the components that can move light around before now silicon has not successfully been used to generate or amplify the laser light pulses used to send data over long distances. this is despite the fact that silicon is a much better amplifier of light pulses than the form of the material used in fibre optic cables. this improved amplification is due to the crystalline structure of the silicon used to make computer chips. dr paniccia said that the structure of silicon meant that when laser light passed through it some colliding photons rip electrons off the atoms within the material. it creates a cloud of electrons sitting in the silicon and that absorbs all the light he said. but the intel researchers have found a way to suck away these errant electrons and turn silicon into a material that can both generate and amplify laser light. even better the laser light produced in this way can with the help of easy-to-make filters be tuned across a very wide range of frequencies. semi-conductor lasers made before now have only produced light in a narrow frequency ranges. the result could be the close integration of the fibre optic cables that carry data as light with the computer chips that process it. dr paniccia said the work was the one of several steps needed if silicon was to be used to make components that could carry and process light in the form of data pulses. it s a technical validation that it can work he said.

chinese dam firm defies beijing the china three gorges project corp is refusing to obey a government order to stop construction of one of its giant dams the chinese state press has said. the builder of the three gorges dam is continuing work on the sister xiluodu dam said the beijing news. the xiluodu dam is one of 30 such large-scale construction projects called to a halt because of a lack of proper environmental checks. the beijing news said the company may instead choose to pay a fine. the firm has also ignored orders to stop construction at two of its other projects - the three gorges underground power plant and the three gorges project electrical power supply plant. so far only 22 of the 30 construction projects targeted by china s state environmental protection agency (sepa) for having not carried out mandatory environmental impact assessments have complied with its shutdown order. the china three gorges project corp could now face a fine up to 200 000 yuan ($24 000; £12 700). last week it denied that its projects violated regulations. the three gorges corporation has all along abided by the law and have built our projects in accordance with the law it said. the sepa order comes as the chinese government appears to be trying to cool the country s booming economy. previously it has encouraged construction of new electricity generating capacity to solve chronic energy shortages which forced many factories into part-time working last year. in 2004 china increased its generating capacity by 12.6% to 440 700 megawatts (mw). the xiluodu dam is designed to produce 12 600 mw of electricity and is being built on the jinshajiang - or river of golden sand as the upper reaches of the yangtze are known. it is a sister project to the main three gorges dam downstream where more than half a million people have had to be relocated drawing criticism from environmental groups and overseas human rights activists.

apple ipod family expands market apple has expanded its ipod family with the release of its next generation of the digital music players. its latest challenges to the growing digital music gadget market include an ipod mini model which can hold 6gb compared to a previous 4gb. the company which hopes to keep its dominant place in the digital music market also said the gold coloured version of the mini would be dropped. a 30gb version has also been added to the ipod photo family. the latest models have a longer battery life and their prices have been cut by an average of £40. the original ipod took an early lead in the digital music player market thanks to its large storage capacity and simple design. during 2004 about 25 million portable players were sold 10 million of which were apple ipods. but analysts agree that the success is also down to its integration with the itunes online store which has given the company a 70% share of the legal download music market. mike mcguire a research director at analyst gartner told the bbc news website that apple had done a good job in sealing off the market from competition so far. they have created a very seamless package which i think is the idea of the product - the design function and the software are very impressive he said. he added that the threat from others was always present however. creative other microsoft-partnered devices real sony and so on are ratcheting up the marketing message and advertising he said. creative was very upbeat about how many of its creative zen players it had shipped by the end of last year he said. its second-generation models like the creative zen micro photo is due out in the summer. it will have 5gb of memory on board. digital music players are now the gadget of choice among young americans according to recent research by the pew internet and american life project. one in 10 us adults - 22 million people - now owns a digital music player of some sort. sales of legally downloaded songs also rose more than tenfold in 2004 according to the record industry with 200 million tracks bought online in the us and europe in 12 months. the ifpi industry body said that the popularity of portable music players was behind the growth. analysts say that the ease of use and growth of music services available on the net will continue to drive the trend towards portable music players. people are also starting to use them in novel ways. some are combining automatic syncing functions many of them have with other net functions to automatically distribute diy radio shows called podcasts. but 2005 will also see more competition from mobile phone operators who are keen to offer streaming services on much more powerful and sophisticated handsets. according to mr mcguire research suggests that people like the idea of building up huge libraries of music which they can do with high-capacity storage devices like ipods and creative zens. mobiles do not yet have this capacity though and there are issues about the ease of portability of mobile music. mr mcguire said apple was ensuring it kept a foot in the mobile music door with its recent deal with motorola to produce a version of itunes for motorola phones.

apple attacked over sources row civil liberties group the electronic frontier foundation (eff) has joined a legal fight between three us online journalists and apple. apple wants the reporters to reveal 20 sources used for stories which leaked information about forthcoming products including the mac mini. the eff representing the reporters has asked california s superior court to stop apple pursuing the sources. it argues that the journalists are protected by the american constitution. the eff says the case threatens the basic freedoms of the press. apple is particularly keen to find the source for information about an unreleased product code-named asteroid and has asked the journalists e-mail providers to hand over communications relevant to that. rather than confronting the issue of reporter s privilege head-on apple is going to the journalist s isps for his e-mails said eff lawyer kurt opsahl. this undermines a fundamental first amendment right that protects all reporters. if the court lets apple get away with this and exposes the confidences gained by these reporters potential confidential sources will be deterred from providing information to the media and the public will lose a vital outlet for independent news analysis and commentary he said. the case began in december 2004 when apple asked a local californian court to get the journalists to reveal their sources for articles published on websites appleinsider.com and powerpage.org. apple also sent requested information from the nfox.com the internet service provider of powerpage s publisher jason o-grady. as well as looking at how far corporations can go in preventing information from being published the case will also examine whether online journalists have the same privileges and protections as those writing for newspapers and magazines. the eff has gained some powerful allies in its legal battle with apple including professor tom goldstein former dean of the journalism school at the university of california and dan gillmor a well-known silicon valley journalist. apple was not immediately available for comment.

france v wales (sat) stade de france paris saturday 26 february 1600 gmt bbc1 radio 4 lw and this website france may have beaten scotland and england but they were tedious and uninspired throughout both matches. wales on the other hand have played some fine rugby and have made their best start since they last won the title in 1994. they also have a good record at the stade de france having won their first two games there in 1999 and 2001. wales have made two changes from the team that thrashed italy 38-8 in rome. kevin morgan takes over from his injured newport-gwent dragons colleague hal luscombe on the right wing. in the pack neath-swansea ospreys forward ryan jones bas been brought on the blind-side flank to beef up the wales back row in place of jonathan thomas. wales coach mike ruddock is determined that his team will not go into their shells after their promising start to the championship. graham henry (former wales coach) said a couple of years ago that we should be bold when going to france and he was proved right said ruddock. that is a great way to approach the game and something we will further endorse with the players this week. despite their stuttering displays in their first two games defending champions france are also unbeaten. under-pressure coach bernard laporte has made four changes with yannick nyanga the debutant julien laharrague aurelien rougerie and yannick jauzion coming into the side. france have been criticised for the absence of traditional french flair as they have ground their way to victory so far this year but captain fabien pelous sees hope on the horizon. i get the impression we are getting better he said. against wales which is different from the teams we have beaten i hope we can show our proper game. j laharrague; a rougerie y jauzion d traille c dominici; y delaigue d yachvili; s marconnet s bruno n mas; f pelous (capt) j thion; s betsen y nyanga j bonnaire (bourgoin). w servat o milloud g lamboley i harinordoquy p mignoni f michalak j-p grandclaude. g thomas (capt); k morgan t shanklin g henson s williams; s jones d peel; g jenkins m davies a jones; b cockbain r sidoli; r jones m williams m owen. r mcbryde j yapp j thomas r sowden-taylor g cooper c sweeney r williams.

stormy year for property insurers a string of storms typhoons and earthquakes has made 2004 the most expensive year on record for property insurers according to swiss re. the world s second biggest insurer said disasters around the globe have seen property claims reach $42bn (£21.5bn). 2004 reinforces the trend towards higher losses said swiss re. tightly packed populations in the areas involved in natural and man-made disasters were to partly to blame for the rise in claims it said. some 95% of insurance claims were for natural catastrophes with the rest attributed to made-made events. the largest claims came from the us which was struck by four hurricanes and japan which suffered the highest concentration of typhoons for decades plus a major earthquake. europe suffered fewer natural disasters but 191 people were killed and more than 2 000 injured in march after the terrorist attack on train stations in madrid. the damages claimed in 2004 eclipsed previous years including 2001 when the 11 september attacks pushed claims up to $37bn. swiss re said it had registered about 300 natural and man-made disasters around the world in 2004. twenty-one thousand people lost their lives in the catastrophes with a cost to the global economy of around $105bn (£54bn).

bank opts to leave rates on hold the bank of england has left interest rates on hold at 4.75% for a sixth month in a row. the bank s monetary policy committee (mpc) decided to take no action amid mixed signals from the economy. but some economists predict a further rise in the cost of borrowing will come later this year. interest rates rose five times between november 2003 and august 2004 as soaring house prices and buoyant consumer data sparked inflation fears. bank of england governor mervyn king has recently warned against placing too much weight on one month s economic data suggesting the mpc is waiting for a clearer picture to emerge. economists see next week s inflation report from the mpc as key in assessing whether a further interest rate rise is necessary to keep the economy in check. slower consumer spending and a quieter housing market are likely to have convinced the mpc that rates should be left unchanged in recent months. inflation however has been rising faster than expected hitting an annual rate of 1.6% in december - its highest level in six months. data on wednesday also showed manufacturing output rose at its fastest rate since may last month reinforcing a view that economic growth was stronger than forecasts. and recent house surveys from the halifax and nationwide have indicated prices are still rising albeit at a slower pace than in recent years. philip shaw chief economist at investec securities said he believed rates would remain at 4.75% for the rest of the year although strong economic data could lead to a further hike. the economic landscape has changed quite considerably over the last couple of months he said. growth appears stronger and the mpc may become more concerned about inflation trends. howard archer economist at global insight said the mpc may well consider that the balance of risks to the growth and inflation outlook have moved from the downside to the upside . business groups welcomed the mpc s widely-expected move to leave rates on hold and cautioned against further rises. the british chambers of commerce (bcc) said it was concerned by the clamour in some quarters for early interest rate increases. we believe that these demands should be firmly resisted said david frost bcc director general. manufacturing still faces extremely serious problems and is performing poorly in spite of the recent revised figures. ian mccafferty chief economist at the cbi said the mpc faced an interesting challenge. consumers appear to have pulled in their horns over the holiday period and exporters are struggling with the strength of sterling he said. however the broader economy continues to show healthy growth and the tight labour market and buoyant commodity prices are nudging inflation higher.

us seeks new $280bn smoker ruling the us justice department is to try to overturn a court ruling that threw out its claim for $280bn (£149bn) in damages from tobacco firms. earlier this month a three-judge appeal court panel rejected the claim - filed in 1999 by the administration of bill clinton - in a 2-1 decision. government lawyers said they would ask the full us court of appeals for the district of columbia to hear the case. the court room battle is seen as key in government attempts to fight smoking. it s pretty clear that they ve suffered a severe setback said anthony sebok a professor at brooklyn law school adding that the appeal was what the government would be expected to ask for . prosecutors had argued that tobacco firms lied about the dangers of smoking ignored research that highlighted problems looked to increase addiction by manipulating nicotine levels and targeted the young with their adverts. among the firms accused were altria group rj reynolds tobacco lorillard tobacco liggett group and brown and williamson. prosecutors went after the companies using legislation put in place to fight organised crime and accused the firms of conspiring and running racketeer influenced and corrupt organisations . the tobacco companies denied the charges saying that they never illegally conspired to promote smoking and fool the public. they also said that they have met many of the government s demands laid out in a landmark $206bn settlement hammered out in 1998 with 46 states. a three-judge panel agreed with the companies finding that the case could not be brought under federal anti-racketeering laws. central to the government s case was a meeting in the plaza hotel new york on 15 december 1953. prosecutors contend that executives from the major tobacco firms met and agreed to present a unified strategy denying the harmful effects of smoking. despite denying for decades that smoking could be linked to illness the companies have modified their stances in recent years. altria s philip morris now accepts that nicotine is harmful and the company s main lawyer william ohlemeyer told the bbc last year that earlier statements may have been wrong but they were not dishonest. government lawyers have until 21 march to file their appeal.

bank holds interest rate at 4.75% the bank of england has left interest rates on hold again at 4.75% in a widely-predicted move. rates went up five times from november 2003 - as the bank sought to cool the housing market and consumer debt - but have remained unchanged since august. recent data has indicated a slowdown in manufacturing and consumer spending as well as in mortgage approvals. and retail sales disappointed over christmas with analysts putting the drop down to less consumer confidence. rising interest rates and the accompanying slowdown in the housing market have knocked consumers optimism causing a sharp fall in demand for expensive goods according to a report earlier this week from the british retail consortium. the brc said britain s retailers had endured their worst christmas in a decade. today s no change decision is correct said david frost director general of the british chambers of commerce (bcc). but if there are clear signs that the economy slows the mpc should be ready to take quick corrective action and cut rates. dismal reports from the retail trade about christmas sales are worrying if they indicate a more general weakening in consumer spending. mr frost added: the housing market outlook remains highly uncertain. it is widely accepted that if house prices start falling more sharply the risks facing the economy will worsen considerably. cbi chief economist ian mccafferty said the economy had slowed in recent months in response to rate rises but that it was difficult to gauge from the christmas period the likely pace of activity through the summer. the bank is having to juggle the emergence of inflationary pressures driven by a tight labour market and buoyant commodity prices against the risk of an over-abrupt slowdown in consumer activity he said. interest rates are likely to remain on hold for some time. on thursday there was more gloomy news on the manufacturing front as the office for national (ons) statistics revealed british manufacturing output unexpectedly fell in november - for the fifth month in the past six. the ons said manufacturing output dropped 0.1% in november matching a similar unrevised fall in october and confounding economists expectations of a 0.3% rise. manufacturers organisation the eef said it expected the hold in interest rates to continue in the near future. it also said there was evidence that manufacturers confidence may be waning as the outlook for the world economy becomes more uncertain. so far the evidence suggests that last year s rate increases have helped to rebalance the economy without damaging the recovery in manufacturing said eef chief economist steve radley. however should the business outlook start to deteriorate the bank should stand ready to cut rates. some economists have predicted rates will drop later in the year although others feel the bank may still think there is a need for a rise to 5% before that happens. the bank remains concerned about the long-term risks posed by personal debt - which is rising at 15% a year - if economic conditions worsen.

supercomputer breaks speed record the us is poised to push japan off the top of the supercomputing chart with ibm s prototype blue gene/l machine. it is being assembled for the lawrence livermore national laboratory a us department of energy (doe) lab. doe test results show that blue gene/l has managed speeds of 70.72 teraflops. the current top machine japan s nec earth simulator clocks up 35.86. due next week the top 500 list officially charts the fastest computers in the world. it is announced every six months and is worked out using an officially recognised mathematical speed test called linpack which measures calculations per second. the speeds will most likely make it the fastest computer system on the planet yet the chip technology powering the machine is the kind which can be found in familiar devices such as games consoles. the us secretary of energy spencer abraham confirmed that the machine had reached the breakneck speed according to the linpack benchmark. until the official list is published however blue gene/l s position will not be confirmed and there are expected to be some other new entries. but the test results raise the bar of supercomputing enormously and signal a remarkable achievement. surpassing the 40 trillion calculations per second (teraflop) mark has been considered a landmark for some time. the ibm blue gene/l is only a prototype and is one 5th the speed of the full version due to be completed for the livermore labs in 2005. its peak theoretical performance is expected to be 360 teraflops and will fit into 64 full racks. it will also cut down on the amount of heat generated by the massive power a big problem for supercomputers. the final machine will help scientists work out the safety security and reliability requirements for the us s nuclear weapons stockpile without the need for underground nuclear testing. the earth simulator has held on to the top spot since june 2002. it is dedicated to climate modelling and simulating seismic activity. but in september ibm said that another blue gene/l machine clocked up 36.01 teraflops marginally surpassing the earth simulator s performance. this was achieved during internal testing at ibm s production facility in rochester minnesota though so was not an official record. another giant to enter the fray is silicon graphics columbia supercomputer based at nasa s ames research center in california. it would be used to model flight missions climate research and aerospace engineering. the linux-based machine was reported to have reached a top speed of 42.7 teraflops in october. supercomputers are hugely important for working out very complex problems across science and society. their massive simulation and processing power means they can improve the accuracy of weather forecasts help design better cars and improve disease diagnosis. ibm s senior vice president of technology and manufacturing nick donofrio believes that by 2006 blue gene will be capable of petaflop computing. this means it would be capable of doing 1 000 trillion operations a second. when you get a computer as large as a petaflop you can start to think of simulations that might complement the physical world mr donofrio recently told the bbc news website. you can start to be more proactive more interactive and more innovative. one area where mr donofrio sees supercomputing - and blue gene machines in particular - as crucial is health. he believes the machines can help scientists understand one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century: protein folding. health is one of the most important problems not just mapping the human genome but also protein structures. we are a great believer in simulation. it gives you another tool he said. once the structures of proteins are understood fully then drugs can be tailor-made to fight diseases more effectively. compared with the current fastest supercomputers blue gene is designed to consume one 15th the power and be 10 times more compact. since the first supercomputer the cray-1 was installed at los alamos national laboratory in 1976 computational speed has leaped 500 000 times. the cray-1 was capable of 80 megaflops (80 million operations a second). the blue gene/l machine that will be completed next year will be five million times faster. started in 1993 the top 500 list is decided by a group of computer science academics from around the world. it is presented at the international supercomputer conference in pittsburgh.

mp s shock at long lost daughter labour mp stephen pound has told of his shock and his joy on learning he fathered a daughter when he was out of control during the wild 1960s. lucy 36 tracked down mr pound after her birth mother told her he was known as precious at school. despite being told he was a nutter who died at sea she found a reference to mr pound on friends reunited. lucy s mother kept her pregnancy secret and had her adopted at four weeks. mr pound found out about it last year. that happened when lucy wrote to his parliamentary office saying she believed he was her father. mr pound who is now married with two other teenage children said: i was a nutter and i was a sailor but i wasn t dead. he said his first reaction was to wonder if he was victim of a set-up but he then realised all the dates fitted. it was a pretty horrible thing with a pretty happy ending. i felt guilt in the marrow of my bones said the ealing north mp. i don t blame lucy s mother. i was pretty much out of control. i was 18 when she was conceived. it was a different time - it was pretty wild. mr pound says he rang lucy as soon as he got her letter they met up and have been in contact ever since. describing that first meeting at london s king cross station he said: the earth went from under my feet ... we were walking across the euston road and i took her arm to take her across and there was an immediate connection. we were finishing each other sentences. lucy who was adopted by a family from essex wants to remain anonymous for the sake of her adoptive father and her children. mr pound said his wife maggie had been fully supportive and their two children emily 16 and pelham 14 were pleased to have an older sister.

uk youth interested in politics the majority of young people are interested in politics holding strong opinions on policies and have a keen appetite for direct action. research undertaken for voting watchdog the electoral commission suggests 81% of 16 to 20-year-olds feel strongly about issues like crime and education. the survey findings are being released to coincide with the launch of the y vote mock elections 2005 initiative. mock elections are planned to take place in schools across the uk. electoral commission boss sam younger said: we know that young people often feel disengaged from democratic life and we believe in working creatively to encourage their interest and participation. mock elections can play an extremely valuable role in helping young people understand how the democratic process works and why it matters he said. the survey of a sample of 500 british 16 to 20-year-olds and 500 21 to 25-year olds showed britain s young people are far from apathetic about issues that matter to most of their lives . the y vote initiative is being run jointly by the electoral commission the hansard society and the department for education and skills in the run-up to local elections and the general election possibly on 5 may. michael rafferty who is mock elections project manager at the hansard society said he looked forward to seeing schools and colleges across the uk participating in the mock votes.

kraft cuts snack ads for children kraft plans to cut back on advertising of products like oreo cookies and sugary kool-aid drinks as part of an effort to promote healthy eating. the largest us food maker will also add a label to its more nutritional and low-fat brands to promote the benefits. kraft rival pepsico began a similar labelling initiative last year. the moves come as the firms face criticism from consumer groups concerned at rising levels of obesity in us children. major food manufacturers have recently been reformulating the content of some calorie-heavy products. kraft s new advertising policy which covers advertising on tv radio and in print publications is aimed at children between the ages of six and 11. it means commercials for some of its most famous snacks and cereals shown during early morning cartoon shows on tv will now be replaced by food and drink qualifying for kraft s new sensible solution label. but the firm said it would continue to advertise all its products in media seen by parents and all family audiences. we re working on ways to encourage both adults and children to eat wisely by selecting more nutritionally balanced diets said lance friedmann kraft senior vice president.

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.

voters reject eu by two to one british voters would reject the european constitution by two to one according to a poll posing the question the government will put to the country. the daily telegraph poll suggests that 45% of people would vote against the constitution and 24% in favour. however the yougov poll which questioned 1 943 british adults online found 25% did not know how they would vote if forced to decide tomorrow. only 51% of those polled had made up their minds about the constitution. another 7% said they would not vote at all. the poll is believed to be the first to pose the question which the government has chosen for the upcoming referendum expected in 2006. the constitution will be incorporated into uk law if there is a yes vote. ballot papers in the poll will ask: should the united kingdom approve the treaty establishing a constitution for the european union the government unveiled the question which will be asked earlier in the week. the treaty was signed by all 25 current eu members in rome last october and is due to come into force in november 2006 providing it is ratified by all member states - several of which will hold a referendum. critics say the constitution is a further step towards a federal europe but advocates say it ensures effective operation of the enlarged 25-state eu. if we reject this treaty britain will be isolated and weak in europe said foreign secretary jack straw after the question was unveiled. mr straw along with the rest of the cabinet will back a yes vote. meanwhile conservative shadow foreign secretary michael ancram said the referendum question seems straightforward . but he accused the government of trying to confuse the issue by putting the eu referendum question in the same bill as the ratification of the constitution when they should be treated as two separate issues .

fed warns of more us rate rises the us looks set for a continued boost to interest rates in 2005 according to the federal reserve. minutes of the december meeting which pushed rates up to 2.25% showed that policy-makers at the fed are worried about accelerating inflation. the clear signal pushed the dollar up to $1.3270 to the euro by 0400 gmt on wednesday but depressed us shares. the markets are starting to fear a more aggressive fed in 2005 said richard yamarone of argus research. the dow jones index dropped almost 100 points on tuesday with the nasdaq also falling as key tech stocks were hit by broker downgrades. the dollar also gained ground against sterling on tuesday reaching $1.8832 to the pound before slipping slightly on wednesday morning. the release of the minutes just three weeks after the 14 december meeting was much faster than usual indicating the fed wants to keep markets more apprised of its thinking. this too is being taken in some quarters as a sign of aggressive moves on interest rates to come. the key fed funds rate has risen 1.25 percentage points during 2004 from the 46-year low of 1% reached not long after the 9/11 attacks in 2001. that long trough might be contributing to signs of potentially excessive risk-taking in financial markets said the federal open markets committee (fomc) which sets interest rates. the odds now favour a further boost to rates at the next meeting in early february economists said. but the respite for the dollar which spent late 2003 being pushed lower against other major currencies by worries about massive us trade and budget deficits may be short-lived. you can t rule out a further correction... but we don t think it s a change in direction in the dollar said jason daw at merrill lynch. nothing fundamental has changed.

liberian economy starts to grow the liberian economy started to grow in 2004 but sustained and deep reform efforts are needed to ensure long term growth the international monetary fund (imf) has said. an imf mission made the comments in a report published following 10 days of talks with the transition government. the imf said that according to data provided by the liberians the country s gdp rose by 2% in 2004 after a 31% decline in 2003. liberia is recovering from a 14-year civil war that came to an end in 2003. the power-sharing national transition government of liberia will remain in place until elections on 11 october the first presidential and parliamentary ballots since the conflict ended. the imf said liberia s economy started to grow last year thanks to a continued strong recovery in rubber production domestic manufacturing and local services including post-conflict reconstruction . the imf however remains cautious about what it sees as a lack of transparency in government actions. in particular it pointed to mystery surrounding the sale of iron ore stockpiles and the alleged disappearance of some import and export permits. these matters are now being investigated by the liberian authorities and the imf has called for their findings to be made public. the imf also said it was crucial that the central bank of liberia be strengthened the national budget be effectively managed and a sound economic basis built to allow the country s large external debt to be addressed. the imf team stands ready to assist the (liberian) authorities in strengthening the areas mentioned said the report. the team agreed with the (liberian) authorities that the period until elections and the inauguration of a new government will pose exceptional challenges to fiscal management and expresses its willingness to provide...continued support.

bennett play takes theatre prizes the history boys by alan bennett has been named best new play in the critics circle theatre awards. set in a grammar school the play also earned a best actor prize for star richard griffiths as teacher hector. the producers was named best musical victoria hamilton was best actress for suddenly last summer and festen s rufus norris was named best director. the history boys also won the best new comedy title at the theatregoers choice awards. partly based upon alan bennett s experience as a teacher the history boys has been at london s national theatre since last may. the critics circle named rebecca lenkiewicz its most promising playwright for the night season and eddie redmayne most promising newcomer for the goat or who is sylvia paul rhys was its best shakespearean performer for measure for measure at the national theatre and christopher oram won the design award for suddenly last summer. both the critics circle and whatsonstage.com theatregoers choice award winners were announced on tuesday. chosen by more than 11 000 theatre fans the theatregoers choice awards named us actor christian slater best actor for one flew over the cuckoo s nest. diana rigg was best actress for suddenly last summer dame judi dench was best supporting actress for the rsc s all s well that ends well and the history boys samuel barnett was best supporting actor.

hong kong in 2011 world cup bid hong kong is hoping to join japan as co-host of the 2011 rugby world cup. japan has applied to host the tournament on its own with the aim of taking it outside rugby s traditional strongholds for the first time. but hong kong rugby football union (hkrfu) chairman john molloy has called for the territory to host one of the pools and a quarter-final. the japanese rugby football union (jrfu) says it has yet to receive a formal presentation from the hkrfu. at this stage we are only considering hosting the event by ourselves said jrfu secretary koji tokumasu. we cannot examine any proposal unless we get it in a definitive form. japan faces stiff competition in the form of south africa and new zealand to host the event in seven years time. until now the world cup has been held in countries from the six nations or tri-nations said tokumasu. we think and the irb thinks that it is time for rugby to go global. japan is ready to host the tournament and we are looking forward to welcoming the world of rugby to japan. tokumasu added that the 2002 football world cup co-hosted by japan and south korea had been a huge success. as well as having the infrastructure in place japan also has the commercial clout to host one of sport s top competitions he said. last year japan launched its first professional rugby league and it has the fourth largest number of registered players (125 508) in the world after england south africa and france.

brown outlines third term vision gordon brown has outlined what he thinks should be the key themes of new labour s next general election bid. he said ensuring every child in britain had the best start in life could be a legacy to match the nhs s creation. the chancellor has previously planned the party s election strategy but this time the role will be filled by alan milburn - a key ally of tony blair. the premier insisted mr brown will have a key role in labour s campaign and praised his handling of the economy. writing in the guardian newspaper mr brown outlined his view of the direction new labour should be taking. as our manifesto and our programme for the coming decade should make clear labour s ambition is not simply tackling idleness but delivering full employment; not just attacking ignorance disease and squalor but promoting lifelong education good health and sustainable communities. bbc political editor andrew marr said that mr brown s article was a warning shot to mr blair not to try and cut him out of the manifesto writing process. it was as always coded and careful... but entirely deliberate was mr marr s assessment. the prime minister was asked about mr brown s article and about his election role when he appeared on bbc radio 4 s today programme. mr blair said a decision had yet to be taken over how the election would be run but the chancellor s role would be central . mr blair argued that under new labour the country had changed for the better and that was in part because of mr brown s management of the economy. and he pledged childcare would be a centrepiece of labour s manifesto. he also predicted the next general election will be a tough tough fight for new labour. but the prime minister insisted he did not know what date the poll would take place despite speculation about 5 may. mr blair said he was taking nothing for granted ahead of the vote - warning that the tory strategy was to win power via the back door by hinting they were aiming to cut labour s majority instead of hoping for an outright win.

india unveils anti-poverty budget india is to boost spending on primary schools and health in a budget flagged as a boost for the ordinary citizen. india s defence budget has also been raised 7.8% to 830bn rupees ($19bn). the priority for finance minister palaniappan chidambaram is to fight poverty and keep the government s communist allies onside. but his options are limited by a new law which makes him cut the budget deficit which he said would be 4.5% of gdp in the year to march 2005. the country s overall deficit is thought to be more than 10% if the spending of india s 35 states and territories is included. under the fiscal responsibility law mr chidambaram has to trim the deficit by 0.3 percentage points each year a target he says he has now met for the current year. but the heavy spending on poverty reduction means the 2005-6 target for the deficit will be 4.3% mr chidambaram said - falling short of the new law s requirement. i was left with no option but to press the pause button vis a vis the act he said. the following year though would have to be back on track he warned. i may add that we are perilously close to the limits of fiscal prudence and there is no more room for spending beyond our means he said. the coming year s reduction has meant bringing more of the businesses in india s burgeoning services sector into the tax system and restructuring the personal tax system although there are numerous corporate tax and duty reductions built into the budget. presenting his budget in the lower house of parliament mr chidambaram said the indian economy was performing strongly and that inflation has been reined in. he said india s economy grew 6.9% in 2004. in his budget mr chidambaram has: - increased spending on primary education to 71.56bn rupees ($1.6bn) - increased spending on health to 102.8bn rupees ($2.35bn) - announced that 80bn rupees ($1.8bn) will be spent on building rural infrastructure - pledged 102.16bn rupees ($2.3bn) for tsunami victims - increased flow of funds to agriculture by 30% - announced a package for the sugar industry in addition up to 100bn rupees ($2.3bn) to be spent on infrastructure will be sourced by borrowing against the country s foreign exchange reserves keeping budgeted spending under control. given the resilience of the indian economy... it is possible to launch a direct assault on poverty mr chidambaram said. the whole purpose of democratic government is to eliminate poverty. the new indian government led by the congress party was voted into power last may after it pledged to introduce economic reforms with a human face . the finance minister says he is committed to continue reforming india s tax system while expanding the tax base. as part of his reforms he has announced: - duty cuts on capital goods and raw materials - expanded service tax net - raised the income-tax threshold to 100 000 rupees ($2 300) - reduced income tax for those earning less than 250 000 rupees ($5 700) to 20% - reduced corporate tax rates to 30% an annual economic survey released on friday said india needed to ease limit restriction on foreign investment reform labour laws and cut duties apart from widening the tax base for long-term economic growth. but mr chidambaram is under pressure from the communist parties to focus on increasing social spending. the communists are also hostile to measures seeking to increase foreign investment and allow companies to hire and fire employees at will. in recent months they have expressed their displeasure at the government s economic reform plans including increasing foreign direct investment in telecommunication and aviation. in his last budget mr chidambaram had pledged billions of dollars for improving education and health services for the poor as well as special assistance for farmers.

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.

european losses hit gm s profits general motors (gm) saw its net profits fall 37% in the last quarter of 2004 as it continued to be hit by losses at its european operations. the us giant earned $630m (£481.5m) in the october-to-december period down from $1bn in the fourth quarter of 2003. gm s revenues rose 4.7% to $51.2bn from $48.8bn a year earlier. the fourth-quarter losses at general motors europe totalled $345m up from $66m during the same period in 2003. gm s main european brands are opel and vauxhall. excluding special items gm s global income from continuing operations totalled $569m during the quarter down from $838m a year earlier. the results were in line with wall street expectations and shares in gm rose by about 1% in pre-market trade. for the whole of 2004 gm earned $3.7bn down from $3.8bn in 2003 while its annual revenue rose 4.5% to $193bn. gm said its profits were also hit by higher healthcare costs in the us. gm reported solid overall results in 2004 despite challenging competitive conditions in many markets around the globe gm chairman and chief executive rick wagoner said in a statement. the company recently announced that it expected profits in 2005 to be lower than in 2004.

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.

poll explains free-kick decision referee graham poll said he applied the laws of the game in allowing arsenal striker thierry henry s free-kick in sunday s 2-2 draw with chelsea. keeper petr cech was organising his defensive wall when henry s quick free-kick flew in which angered chelsea. the whistle doesn t need to be blown. i asked henry do you want a wall . he said can i take it please he was very polite. i said yes said poll. i deal with the laws of the game. i deal with fact. poll added: i gave the signal for him to take it. that s what he did. the same thing happened when i refereed chelsea against west ham in an fa cup replay two years ago - when jimmy floyd hasselbaink scored - and i don t remember them complaining about that. henry explained why he paused before striking the ball for the goal which put arsenal 2-1 ahead. henry told bbc radio five live: the ref asked me if i wanted 10 yards or if i wanted to take it straight away and i said that i wanted to take it straight away. he said to me go . it looks a bit strange because i took my time. i was waiting for eidur gudjohnsen to move and give me some space. at one point he turned and that s when i tried it. former referees chief philip don backed poll s decision to allow the strike. the advantage should go to the non-offending team. on this occasion it was arsenal don told bbc radio five live. referees have been told to ask the player do you want to take the quick free-kick or do you want me to get the wall back 9.15 metres if they say quick the referee tends to move away and allow the kick. don was head of the referees for the premier league and revealed all clubs were informed of free-kick options. we spoke to all the premier league clubs as well as all the football league clubs in the summer of 2003 explaining what the situation was he added we gave them the option of either the quick free-kick or the ceremonial free-kick. players and clubs were aware of what referees were doing.

yachvili savours france comeback france scrum-half dimitri yachvili praised his team after they fought back to beat england 18-17 in the six nations clash at twickenham. yachvili kicked all of france s points as they staged a second-half revival. we didn t play last week against scotland and we didn t play in the first half against england he said. but we re very proud to beat england at twickenham. we were just defending in the first half and we said we had to put them under pressure. we did well. yachvili admitted erratic kicking from england s charlie hodgson and olly barkley who missed six penalties and a drop goal chance between them had been decisive. i know what it s like with kicking. when you miss some it s very hard mentally but it went well for us he said. france captain fabien pelous insisted his side never doubted they could secure their first win against england at twickenham since 1997. france were 17-6 down at half-time but pelous said: no-one was down at half-time we were still confident. we said we only had 11 points against us which was not much. the plan was to keep hold of possession and pressure england to losing their composure. france coach bernard laporte accepted his side had not played well. we know we have to play better to defend the title he said. i m not happy we didn t score a try but we re happy because we won.

lse sets date for takeover deal the london stock exchange (lse) is planning to announce a preferred takeover by the end of the month newspaper reports claim. the sunday telegraph said the lse s plan was further evidence it wants to retain tight control over its destiny. both deutsche boerse and rival euronext held talks with the london market last week over a possible offer. a £1.3bn offer from deutsche boerse has already been rejected while euronext has said it will make an all cash bid. speculation suggests that paris-based euronext has the facilities in place to make a bid of £1.4bn while its german rival may up its bid to the £1.5bn mark. neither has yet tabled a formal bid but the lse is expected to hold further talks with the two parties later this week. however the sunday telegraph report added that there are signs that deutsche boerse chief executive werner seifert is becoming increasingly impatient with the lse s managed bid process. despite insisting he wants to agree a recommended deal with the lse s board the newspaper suggested he may pull out of the process and put an offer directly to shareholders instead. the newspaper also claimed mr seifert was becoming increasingly frustrated with the pace of negotiations since deutsche boerse s £1.3bn offer was rejected in mid-december in particular the lse s decision to suspend talks over the christmas period. meanwhile the german exchange s offer has come under fire recently. unions for deutsche boerse staff in frankfurt have reportedly expressed fears that up to 300 jobs would be moved to london if the takeover is successful. others claim it will weaken the city s status as europe s financial centre while german politicians are also said to be angry over the market operator s promise to move its headquarters to london if a bid is successful. a further stumbling block is deutsche boerse s control over its clearstream unit the clearing house that processes securities transactions. lse shareholders fear it would create a monopoly situation weakening the position of shareholders when negotiating lower transaction fees for share dealings. lse and euronext do not have control over their clearing and settlement operations a situation which critics say is more transparent and competitive.

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.

blinx sequel purrs nicely the original blinx was intended to convert many platform game lovers to microsoft s then new xbox console. its sharp graphics and novel gameplay with the main character able to pause slow rewind and fast-forward time were meant to lure many fans to the new machine. but poor design meant the game became a very frustrating affair with players often stranded half-way through a level without the required tools to finish. thankfully the sequel has fixed many of the original faults. this time around you do not play as blinx but instead you are given the chance to create two unique cat characters and two pig characters. the character generator is very detailed and a few minutes of tweaking and adjusting will create a unique personality to unleash on the game. as the game progresses you swap between the two rival factions pig and feline assuming the role of your created characters. the thrust of the game sees the two factions competing to recover pieces of a missing time crystal. as in the original your feline persona can control time but this time the pigs get to control space. there are a number of puzzles which require control over time to solve while the pigs can create things such as warps space bubbles and void traps in order to progress. the control over space and time is achieved through a number of vcr-style icons and is quite intuitive. annoyingly the puzzles are a little too obviously flagged up and most gamers will find it more of a chore than a challenge to solve them. the game has also tried to emulate franchises such as jak and daxter and ratchet and clank on ps2 and so there are a number of combat elements. these are a little predictable and tend to drag the general polish of the game down to a more dulled affair. but the game s excellent graphics easily the best-looking platform game around sound and dollops of humour make it an attractive game for younger platform fans. blinx 2 is out on xbox now.

mumbai bombs movie postponed the release of a film about the mumbai (bombay) blasts in 1993 has been postponed following protests by those on trial for the bombings. investigating the blasts which killed more than 250 people and wounded 1 000 the film black friday had been due to open across india on friday. but 36 people accused in connection with the blasts said it should not be screened until the trial is over. mumbai high court postponed the film s launch until 3 february. black friday is based upon the novel of the same name written by journalist s hussain zaidi which looks at the 15 explosions which rocked mumbai on 12 march 1993. director anurag kashyap said the film s release should not be delayed as the book has already been on sale for two years. if you have not gone against the book then how can you go against the movie mr kashyap s lawyer mihir desai said. this is the second time that those accused in connection with the blasts have sought legal intervention regarding the film. they previously asked that a line from the movie s poster which claimed the film portrayed the true story of the bombay bomb blasts be removed. their lawyer majeed memon said: we had argued that how can a film say it is telling the true story when the court itself is struggling to find the truth so we said they should remove the line from their promotional posters and they did give us an assurance that they would do so. the mumbai bombings case is one of india s longest-running trials. a special court was set up to hear the case and regular hearings have taken place there for the last nine years with more than six hundred witnesses questioned.

buyers snap up jet airways shares investors have snapped up shares in jet airways india s biggest airline following the launch of its much anticipated initial public offer (ipo). the ipo for 17.3 million shares was fully sold within 10 minutes of opening on friday. analysts expect jet to raise at least 16.4bn rupees ($375m; £198m) from the offering. interest in jet s ipo has been fuelled by hopes for robust growth in india s air travel market. the share offer representing about 20% of jet s equity was oversubscribed news agency reuters reported. jet which was founded by london-based travel agent naresh goyal plans to use the cash to buy new planes and cut its debt. the company has grown rapidly since it launched operations in 1993 overtaking state-owned flag carrier indian airlines. however it faces stiff competition from rivals and low-cost carriers. jet s ipo is the first in a series of expected share offers from indian companies this year as they move to raise funds to help them do business in a rapidly-growing economy.

apple attacked over sources row civil liberties group the electronic frontier foundation (eff) has joined a legal fight between three us online journalists and apple. apple wants the reporters to reveal 20 sources used for stories which leaked information about forthcoming products including the mac mini. the eff representing the reporters has asked california s superior court to stop apple pursuing the sources. it argues that the journalists are protected by the american constitution. the eff says the case threatens the basic freedoms of the press. apple is particularly keen to find the source for information about an unreleased product code-named asteroid and has asked the journalists e-mail providers to hand over communications relevant to that. rather than confronting the issue of reporter s privilege head-on apple is going to the journalist s isps for his e-mails said eff lawyer kurt opsahl. this undermines a fundamental first amendment right that protects all reporters. if the court lets apple get away with this and exposes the confidences gained by these reporters potential confidential sources will be deterred from providing information to the media and the public will lose a vital outlet for independent news analysis and commentary he said. the case began in december 2004 when apple asked a local californian court to get the journalists to reveal their sources for articles published on websites appleinsider.com and powerpage.org. apple also sent requested information from the nfox.com the internet service provider of powerpage s publisher jason o-grady. as well as looking at how far corporations can go in preventing information from being published the case will also examine whether online journalists have the same privileges and protections as those writing for newspapers and magazines. the eff has gained some powerful allies in its legal battle with apple including professor tom goldstein former dean of the journalism school at the university of california and dan gillmor a well-known silicon valley journalist. apple was not immediately available for comment.

radcliffe proves doubters wrong this won t go down as one of the greatest marathons of paula s career. but as a test of character it was the toughest race she s ever taken part in. a win in the new york marathon doesn t make up for the disappointment of athens in any shape or form but it will offer hope and reassurance for next year. if paula s last experience of the year had been athens it would have been very difficult to look forward with any optimism. she can now draw a line under this year and make plans about her future. even if she d lost this race there would have been a lot of positives to take out of it. she knows she can dig deep if she needs to. it was a strong field with a number of the girls going into the race with expectations of winning. and although two hours 23 minutes wasn t one of paula s best times it wasn t far off the record on a difficult course. i was speaking to paula in the lead-up to this race and she said that in many ways she was facing a no-win situation. she thought that if she won people would say why couldn t she do that in athens and if she lost people would say her career was over. and a lot of people were wondering what would happen if paula was forced to drop out of this race as she did in the marathon and 10 000m in athens. but that was never on the cards. she might have been beaten but she would have kept running. the reasons she was forced to pull out in athens - the niggling injuries her lack of energy and the oppressive conditions - weren t at play here. the only question was what position she could finish in. most important of all despite all the hype in the media ahead of this race there were never doubts in paula s mind. if she wasn t confident she wouldn t have run. after all if you re the best in the world at an event you ll always have expectations of winning. now paula will take part in the run london 10km race in london at the end of the year have a well-earned rest over christmas and go into next year with a lot of optimism.

kennedy looks to election gains they may not know quite how to describe their position in british politics - the real opposition the valid opposition the effective opposition or the authentic opposition. but the liberal democrats are entering the expected 2005 election campaign determined to prove it is they not the tories who are now the real threat to labour. as tory leader michael howard kicked off his election campaign the lib dem leader charles kennedy dismissed the conservatives as a fading force. and he insisted there was no limit to his party s ambitions in the coming poll. and he can produce some pretty impressive recent election results to back up his optimism for an election which he believes might just see his party doing big things. sensible third party leaders are usually cautious about making any predictions about how they will do come the big test. and mr kennedy was not falling into that trap when he fired up his campaign from the party s westminster hq. he would make no predictions other than that he expected the lib dems to increase both their votes and their commons seats at the election. the gap between labour and the tories was now so narrow - as proved he claimed by the defection to labour of robert jackson - that only his party offered a genuine alternative. on the war on iraq identity cards student fees and the council tax there was nothing to chose between the two big parties whereas the liberal democrats offered costed sensible alternatives. he was also happy to break the two party consensus on taxation by promising to increase income tax on those earning more than £100 000 a year to pay for the scrapping of student fees the introduction of free personal care for the elderly and replacing the council tax with a local income tax. he was also happy to offer a pledge that he would be doing no deals to prop up either of the other big parties after the election. there was a time when such optimistic sounds coming from the third party could be dismissed as self-delusion. that is no longer the case with the liberal democrats. the other parties will still insist that the lib dems are no hopers whose greatest effect on the poll will be to boost the hopes of their opponents by denying them otherwise winnable seats. labour in particular fears that disillusioned supporters may switch to the lib dems allowing the tories to win some seats. but mr kennedy is clearly hoping for a more significant outcome than that. he will not talk about the big breakthrough although there are those who believe this could well be the election that sees his party crossing some sort of symbolic threshold. they would argue that by the time of the election after next the liberal democrats may genuinely have replaced the tories as the party challenging labour for power. the lib dems will hope to have made advances because of their consistent stand against the war on iraq. but mr kennedy believes his new manifesto will also offer sensible costed and achievable policies on things like the council tax crime and asylum that will underpin his claim that his party really is the only opposition worth the name.

split-caps pay £194m compensation investors who lost money following the split-capital investment trust scandal are to receive £194m compensation the uk s financial watchdog has announced. eighteen investment firms involved in the sale of the investments agreed the compensation package with the financial services authority (fsa). splits were marketed as a low-risk way to benefit from rising share prices. but when the stock market collapsed in 2000 the products left thousands of investors out of pocket. an estimated 50 000 people took out split-capital funds some investing their life savings in the schemes. the paying of compensation will be overseen by an independent company the fsa said. further details of how investors will be able to claim their share of the compensation package will be announced in the new year. this should save investors from having to take their case to the financial ombudsman service something no doubt that will be very welcome rob mcivor fsa spokesman told bbc news. agreeing to pay compensation did not mean that the eighteen firms involved were admitting any guilt the fsa added. any investor accepting the compensation will have to waive the right to take their case to the financial ombudsman service. the fsa has been investigating whether investors were misled about the risks posed by split-capital investment trusts. the fsa s 60 strong investigation team looked into whether fund managers colluded in a so-called magic circle in the hope of propping up one another s share prices. firms involved were presented with 780 files of evidence detailing 27 000 taped conversations and over 70 interviews. in may the fsa was widely reported as having asked firms to pay up to £350m in compensation. mr mcivor told the bbc that the final settlement figure was smaller because two unnamed firms had pulled out of the compensation negotiations. investors in these two firms may now have to take any compensation claim to the financial ombudsman service or the courts.

anti-spam screensaver scrapped a contentious campaign to bump up the bandwidth bills of spammers by flooding their sites with data has been dropped. lycos europe s make love not spam campaign began in late november but its tactics proved controversial. lycos has shut down the campaign saying it had been started to stimulate debate about anti-spam measures and had now achieved this aim. the anti-spammer screensaver came under fire for encouraging vigilante activity and skirting the edge of the law. through the make love not spam website users could download a screensaver that would endlessly request data from the net sites mentioned in many junk mail messages. more than 100 000 people are thought to have downloaded the screensaver that lycos europe offered. the company wanted to keep the spam sites running at near total capacity to make it much less financially attractive to spammers to operate the sites. but the campaign was controversial from the moment it kicked off and many net veterans criticised it for using spamming-type tactics against the senders of junk mail. some net service firms began blocking access to the lycos europe site in protest at the action. monitoring firm netcraft found that the anti-spam campaign was proving a little too successful. according to response-time figures gathered by netcraft some of the sites that the screensaver targeted were being knocked offline by the constant data requests. in a statement from lycos europe announcing the scrapping of the scheme the company denied that this was its fault. there is nothing to suggest that make love not spam has brought down any of the sites that it has targeted it said. at the time that netcraft measured the sites it claims may have been brought down they were not in fact part of the make love not spam attack cycle it added. the statement issued by lycos also said that the centralised database it used ensured that traffic to the target sites left them with 5% spare capacity. the idea was simply to slow spammers sites and this was achieved by the campaign the company said. many security organisations said users should not participate in the lycos europe campaign. the closure comes only days after the campaign was suspended following the outbreak of criticism.

looks and music to drive mobiles mobile phones are still enjoying a boom time in sales according to research from technology analysts gartner. more than 674 million mobiles were sold last year globally said the report the highest total sold to date. the figure was 30% more than in 2003 and surpassed even the most optimistic predictions gartner said. good design and the look of a mobile as well as new services such as music downloads could go some way to pushing up sales in 2005 said analysts. although people were still looking for better replacement phones there was evidence according to gartner that some markets were seeing a slow-down in replacement sales. all the markets grew apart from japan which shows that replacement sales are continuing in western europe mobile analyst carolina milanesi told the bbc news website. japan is where north america and western european markets can be in a couple of years time. they already have tv music ringtones cameras and all that we can think of on mobiles so people have stopped buying replacement phones. but there could be a slight slowdown in sales in european and us markets too according to gartner as people wait to see what comes next in mobile technology. this means mobile companies have to think carefully about what they are offering in new models so that people see a compelling reason to upgrade said gartner. third generation mobiles (3g) with the ability to handle large amounts of data transfer like video could drive people into upgrading their phones but ms milanesi said it was difficult to say how quickly that would happen. at the end of the day people have cameras and colour screens on mobiles and for the majority of people out there who don t really care about technology the speed of data to a phone is not critical. nor would the rush to produce two or three megapixel camera phones be a reason for mobile owners to upgrade on its own. the majority of camera phone models are not at the stage where they can compete with digital cameras which also have flashes and zooms. more likely to drive sales in 2005 would be the attention to design and aesthetics as well as music services. the motorola razr v3 phone was typical of the attention to design that would be more commonplace in 2005 she added. this was not a women s thing she said but a desire from men and women to have a gadget that is a form of self-expression too. it was not just about how the phone functioned but about what it said about its owner. western europe has always been a market which is quite attentive to design said ms milanesi. people are after something that is nice-looking and together with that there is the entertainment side. this year music will have a part to play in this. the market for full-track music downloads was worth just $20 million (£10.5 million) in 2004 but is set to be worth $1.8 billion (£94 million) by 2009 according to juniper research. sony ericsson just released its walkman branded mobile phone the w800 which combines a digital music player with up to 30 hours battery life and a two megapixel camera. in july last year motorola and apple announced a version of itunes online music downloading service would be released which would be compatible with motorola mobile phones. apple said the new itunes music player would become motorola s standard music application for its music phones. but the challenge will be balancing storage capacity with battery life if mobile music hopes to compete with digital music players like the ipod. ms milanesi said more models would likely be released in the coming year with hard drives. but they would be more likely to compete with the smaller capacity music players that have around four gigabyte storage capacity which would not put too much strain on battery life.

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.

wilkinson to lead england fly-half jonny wilkinson has been named as england s new rugby union captain for the three november tests. the 25-year-old newcastle star takes over from lawrence dallaglio who retired from internationals in august. england s acting head coach andy robinson said: he is a natural leader holds the respect of the squad and is a formidable talent on the pitch. and he consistently demonstrates the energy and commitment i feel is essential to be captain of england. robinson added: there are several players in the squad i would feel comfortable in calling upon to be england captain but for me jonny is in every way the right player to take on this challenge. captaincy offers a challenging environment for any player especially following in the footsteps of lawrence dallaglio and before him the world cup captain martin johnson. but i am confident jonny has what it takes to do an outstanding job as we look ahead towards the next rugby world cup in france and i look forward to working with him. wilkinson who has scored 817 points in 52 internationals kicked the winning drop-goal in the final seconds of extra-time in england s 2003 rugby world cup triumph against australia. but he then missed the entire 2004 six nations campaign while recuperating from shoulder surgery before making his comeback for newcastle in the zurich premiership in august. it s the ambition of so many players to one day be captain of england and today i have realised a dream he said. i m honoured andy wants me to be his captain and to follow lawrence and martin means a lot to me as they are inspirational men who have given so much to england rugby over many years. getting my first england cap against ireland six years ago was something i ll never forget because to play for your country is very special. taking on the captaincy is another important step in my career and i do so with immense pride. wilkinson made his international debut in the 1998 six nations championship against ireland when he came off the bench to replace paul grayson. he has been a regular in the england starting line-up ever since played in all three lions tests in 2001 and all but one of england s games in the 2003 world cup. he becomes the 117th captain of england since fred stokes held the position in 1871. england s first autumn test is against canada on 13 november followed by the visit of tri-nations champions south africa a week later and then a world cup re-match with australia.

soaring oil hits world economy the soaring cost of oil has hit global economic growth although world s major economies should weather the storm of price rises according to the oecd. in its latest bi-annual report the oecd cut its growth predictions for the world s main industrialised regions. us growth would reach 4.4% in 2004 but fall to 3.3% next year from a previous estimate of 3.7% the oecd said. however the paris-based economics think tank said it believed the global economy could still regain momentum. forecasts for japanese growth were also scaled back to 4.0% from 4.4% this year and 2.1% from 2.8% in 2005. but the outlook was worst for the 12-member eurozone bloc with already sluggish growth forecasts slipping to 1.8% from 2.0% this year and 1.9% from 2.4% in 2005 the oecd said. overall the report forecast total growth of 3.6% in 2004 for the 30 member countries of the oecd slipping to 2.9% next year before recovering to 3.1% in 2006. there are nonetheless good reasons to believe that despite recent oil price turbulence the world economy will regain momentum in a not-too-distant future said jean-philippe cotis the oecd s chief economist. the price of crude is about 50% higher than it was at the start of 2004 but down on the record high of $55.67 set in late october. a dip in oil prices and improving jobs prospects would improve consumer confidence and spending the oecd said. the oil shock is not enormous by historical standards - we have seen worse in the seventies. if the oil price does not rise any further then we think the shock can be absorbed within the next few quarters vincent koen a senior economist with the oecd told the bbc s world business report. the recovery that was underway and has been interrupted a bit by the oil shock this year would then regain momentum in the course of 2005. china s booming economy and a spectacular comeback in japan - albeit one that has faltered in recent months - would help world economic recovery the oecd said. supported by strong balance sheets and high profits the recovery of business investment should continue in north america and start in earnest in europe it added. however the report warned: it remains to be seen whether continental europe will play a strong supportive role through a marked upswing of final domestic demand. the oecd highlighted current depressed household expenditure in germany and the eurozone s over-reliance on export-led growth.

chelsea ridiculed over complaint barcelona assistant coach henk ten cate has branded chelsea s expected complaint to uefa as pathetic . the blues are poised to complain about an alleged half-time incident during wednesday s 2-1 loss at the nou camp. the source of chelsea s anger was an alleged talk between barca boss frank rijkaard and referee anders frisk who later dismissed didier drogba. to react the way chelsea have is pathetic. mourinho lied with the line-ups and now this ten cate said. uefa has said its own tunnel representative witnessed nothing unusual out of the ordinary during the half-time break. spokesman william gaillard said: frisk says rijkaard greeted him and apologised he had not had the opportunity to say hello before the game. we had two uefa officials there and neither witnessed it. the referee s dressing room was locked and he and his assistants were the only people allowed in. indeed it is the londoners who could be on the receiving end of any punishment after failing to turn up for the compulsory press conference after the defeat. uefa delegate thomas giordano added: the only unusual thing that happened as far as we are concerned is that chelsea failed to present themselves in the press conference. the referee is not expected to include any of the alleged incidents in his report to uefa - weakening chelsea s case. rijkaard was critical of mourinho s decision not to speak to the media after the match. there was a lot of talking before the game and now surprisingly there is a lot of talking after the game. it is not good behaviour after a match he said. maybe they want to start something and make it worse than than it is. i really don t understand it. i am very calm about it. barca midfielder deco formerly managed by mourinho at porto agreed that it was not typical of his fellow portuguese to lodge a protest. it s not normal behaviour on his part. it was not logical he did not give a news conference he said. rijkaard added: chelsea is the team which has conceded fewest goals in the english league and they defend very well so i am very pleased with the win. my men deserved victory and i am pleased to have won this match. i congratulate my players.

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.

oscars steer clear of controversy the oscars nominations list has left out some of the most controversial films of the past year in favour of safer less contentious cinema. if best film nominees were drawn on the basis of column inches two of the front-runners would have had to be michael moore s bush-baiting documentary fahrenheit 9/11 and mel gibson s the passion of the christ. both films polarised opinion but had critics talking and the public turning up to see them - fahrenheit 9/11 breaking us box office records for a documentary and the passion of the christ making more than us$370m (£196m) in the us alone. but this year s academy awards have shied away from the big name controversies with the passion of the christ - a film accused of being anti-semitic - receiving nominations only in the minor categories of cinematography makeup and musical score. fahrenheit 9/11 has also been overlooked despite winning the palme d or at the cannes international film festival in 2004. moore s caustic documentary may have been affected by its distributors decision to enter it in the best picture category rather than best documentary says tim dams the news editor of trade magazine screen international. but he also believes the strong political viewpoint of moore s film does not sit well with the academy. if you look at past oscar winners and nominees the very conservative oscar voters tend to go for very conservative epic-style pictures. fahrenheit 9/11 didn t really fit in to that category. they tend to go for films like titanic gladiator and the lord of the rings films with scale that often aren t too contentious he said. while he said the oscar voting panel were not snubbing moore s film he thought it was unlikely a documentary could ever seriously compete in a best film category. i think it s more a misjudgement by the people putting it out rather than a deliberate snub he said. the problem with mel gibson s film he believed was that the voting panel may have been cautious in nominating a film with dialogue in aramaic an ancient middle eastern language. hollywood doesn t tend to like foreign-language films - no-one s ever tried doing a film in a dead language he said. but aside from these two films some potentially contentious pictures have won nominations. the german film the downfall a biopic tracing the final days of nazi leader adolf hitler in his berlin bunker has been recognised in the best foreign film category. the film has caused some controversy in showing hitler as a fallible but human man rather than a semi-mythical historical monster. but mr dams said: it s not an inflammatory film. it has done very well in germany and it s a film that portrays hitler as a human rather than some kind of devil or monster. another contentious film mr dams said has gained a nomination in the best documentary section through the force of its charm. independent film-maker morgan spurlock may have forced fast-food giant mcdonalds to withdraw its super size portions in the us after he went on a month-long diet eating nothing but mcdonalds meals - and filmed his progress. the film has been a hit around the world. mr dams said: it s a political film but it s quite fun and punky and well-paced. morgan spurlock is a really likeable guy. it s a very accessible film and it doesn t beat you over the head with its views. while in fahrenheit 9/11 there are moments of comedy i think the way that super size me is put together - the fact it s a very likeable film - means it s won through on charm. dam s pick at this year s oscars the aviator martin scorsese s biopic of aviation pioneer and hollywood player howard hughes. tinseltown it seems likes nothing more than a picture about one of its own.

tsunami to cost sri lanka $1.3bn sri lanka faces a $1.3bn (£691m) bill in 2005 for reconstruction after the tsunami which killed more than 30 000 of its people its central bank says. this estimate is preliminary bank governor sunil mendis told reporters and could rise in 2006. the island state is asking for about $320m from the international monetary fund to help pay for relief he said. the bank has 5bn rupees ($50m; £27m) set aside to lend at a lower interest rate to those who lost property. according to mr mendis half the imf support could come from a freeze on debt repayments which would free up resources immediately. the rest could come from a five-year emergency loan. sri lanka is hoping for a wider freeze from other creditors. the paris club of 19 creditors meets on 12 january to discuss a debt moratorium for the nations hit by the tsunami which ravaged south and east asia on 26 december. some 150 000 people across the region are feared to be dead and millions have been left homeless and destitute. a full reckoning of the economic cost to sri lanka of the tsunami will not be clear for some time to come. but already it looks likely that growth in the first half of 2005 will slow mr mendis told reporters although he would not say by how much. one side-effect of the disaster has been that the value of the rupee has risen as foreign funds have flooded into the country. the currency has strengthened 4% since late december coming close to 100 rupees to the us dollar for the first time in more than six months.

bets off after big brother leak a bookmaker has stopped taking bets on celebrity big brother after claiming sensitive information about the channel 4 show had been leaked. william hill made the move after four people tried to place bets on friday s surprise double eviction. this is highly unlikely to have been an inspired guess william hill spokesman rupert adams said. however a big brother spokeswoman was satisfied that sensitive information about the show remained confidential. the bookmaker said its suspicions had been aroused by betting for the last two contestant evictions when people were still trying to place large sums despite odds as short as 1/14. but william hill s overwhelming evidence came on friday when four unknown callers asked to place bets on the show s surprise double eviction. shortly afterwards model caprice and actor jeremy edwards left the show. mr adams believed someone had gained access to figures which revealed how viewers were voting and was using them to predict which celebrity would be evicted next. we think somebody somewhere has got them and has been trying very hard to take us to the cleaners he said. the bets were not taken. mr adams did not believe anyone from channel 4 or big brother producer endemol had tried to place the queried bets. but he added: they need to look at how many people are privy to the sensitive information. big brother s spokeswoman said: only a handful of senior production executives are privy to any sensitive information regarding eviction voting and there are strict procedures in place to keep this information strictly confidential. we do not feel the need to investigate this further as we are satisfied that these measures are effective. the show s independent adjudicator - the electoral reform services - was also satisfied she added. the current series of celebrity big brother ends on sunday with happy mondays star bez actress brigitte nielsen and blazin squad rapper kenzie competing for a £50 000 charity prize. bookmaker ladbrokes said it would continue to accept bets on the final with kenzie its favourite at 2/9. we felt no need whatsoever to close the book spokesman warren lush said. we ve seen absolutely no suspicious betting patterns. mr lush added that people sometimes vote on short odds because they think it s like buying money . you do have to risk quite a lot of money for a very small gain but if they think there s no chance of an upset they will still do it he said.

wales want rugby league training wales could follow england s lead by training with a rugby league club. england have already had a three-day session with leeds rhinos and wales are thought to be interested in a similar clinic with rivals st helens. saints coach ian millward has given his approval but if it does happen it is unlikely to be this season. saints have a week s training in portugal next week while wales will play england in the opening six nations match on 5 february. we have had an approach from wales confirmed a saints spokesman. it s in the very early stages but it is something we are giving serious consideration to. st helens who are proud of their welsh connections are obvious partners for the welsh rugby union despite a spat in 2001 over the collapse of kieron cunningham s proposed £500 000 move to union side swansea. a similar cross-code deal that took iestyn harris from leeds to cardiff in 2001 did go through before the talented stand-off returned to the 13-man code with bradford bulls. kel coslett who famously moved from wales to league in the 1960s is currently saints football manager while clive griffiths - wales defensive coach - is a former st helens player and is thought to be the man behind the latest initiative. scott gibbs the former wales and lions centre played for st helens from 1994-96 and was in the challenge cup-winning team at wembley in 1996.

s korea spending boost to economy south korea will boost state spending next year in an effort to create jobs and kick start its sputtering economy. it has earmarked 100 trillion won ($96bn) for the first six months of 2005 60% of its total annual budget. the government s main problems are slumping consumption and a contraction in the construction industry . it aims to create 400 000 jobs and will focus on infrastructure and home building as well as providing public firms with money to hire new workers. the government has set an economic growth rate target of 5% for next year and hinted that would be in danger unless it took action. internal and external economic conditions are likely to remain unfavourable in 2005 the finance and economy ministry said in a statement. it blamed continuing uncertainties such as fluctuating oil prices and foreign exchange rates and stagnant domestic demand that has shown few signs of a quick rebound . in 2004 growth will be between 4.7% and 4.8% the ministry said. not everyone is convinced the plan will work. our primary worry centres on the what we believe is the government s overly optimistic view that its front loading of the budget will be enough to turn the economy around consultancy 4cast said in a report. the problem facing south korea is that many consumers are reeling from the effects of a credit bubble that only recently burst. millions of south koreans are defaulting on their credit card bills and the country s biggest card lender has been hovering on the verge of bankruptcy for months. as part of its spending plans the government said it will ask firms to roll over mortgage loans that come due in the first half of 2005 . it also pledged to look at ways of helping families on low incomes. the government voiced concern about the effect of redundancies in the building trade. given the economic spill over and employment effect in the construction sector a sharp downturn in the construction industry could have other adverse effects the ministry said. as a result south korea will give private companies also will be given the chance to build schools hospitals houses and other public buildings. it also will look at real estate tax system. other plans on the table include promoting new industries such as bio-technology and nano-technology as well as offering increased support to small and medium sized businesses. the focus will be on job creation and economic recovery given that unfavourable domestic and global conditions are likely to dog the korean economy in 2005 the ministry said.

day-lewis set for berlin honour actor daniel day-lewis is to be presented with an award for his career in film at the berlin film festival. the 47-year-old whose credits include his oscar-winning performance in my left foot will be presented with the berlinale camera award on 15 february. the honour awarded since 1986 honours figures in cinema that the festival feels particularly indebted to . man to man a historical epic starring kristin scott thomas opens the german festival on 10 february. a candid documentary about the life and career of singer george michael a different story will also be screened at the 10-day event. day-lewis has competed four times at the berlin film festival with films in the name of the father (1994) the crucible (1997) the boxer (1998) and martin scorsese s gangs of new york (2003). the festival praises him for his sensational start with roles in my beautiful launderette and costume classic a room with a view and a great number of celebrated roles in subsequent productions. japan s oldest film studio will also be honoured along with day-lewis. shochiku film studios which was founded 110 years ago will become the first cinematic institution to receive the berlinale camera award. famous japanese directors including akira hurosawa have had films produced at the studio.

watchdog probes vivendi bond sale french stock market regulator amf has filed complaints against media giant vivendi universal its boss and another top executive. it believes the prospectus for a bond issue was unclear and that executives may have had privileged information. amf has begun proceedings against vivendi its chief executive jean-rene fourtou and chief operating officer jean-bernard levy. vivendi advisor deutsche bank was also the subject of a complaint filing. deutsche bank which was responsible for selling the convertible bonds to investors could face penalties if the complaint is upheld. vivendi has said it believes there is no legal basis for the complaints. the watchdog is said to believe the executive pair were party to privileged information surrounding the issue of the bonds. both men bought some of the bonds the associated press news agency reported. amf is investigating claims that the duo were aware of an interest in vivendi s us assets from investor marvin davis at the time of the bond sale. vivendi however has said that the information was public knowledge as mr davis offer for the us assets had already been rejected by vivendi s board. amf is also looking into whether the executives knew that vivendi was considering exercising its right to buy british telecom s shares in cegetel. vivendi has rejected the charge saying the decision to buy the cegetel shares was no more than a possibility of which the public was perfectly aware at the time of the bond issue. back in december vivendi and its former chief executive jean-marie messier were each fined 1m euros ($1.3m; £690 000) by amf. the fines came after a 15-month probe into allegations that the media giant misled investors after a costly acquisition programme went wrong.

eminem secret gig venue revealed rapper eminem is to play an intimate gig in london on saturday following a show on the river thames on friday. the us star will play just two songs at a night showcasing his label shady records at the islington academy. eminem performed on hms belfast on friday which is docked on the river thames where he filmed two songs for bbc one s top of the pops. he arrived in the uk on friday following his appearance at the mtv europe music awards in rome. other rap acts who may appear at the islington gig include stat quo proof dj green lantern swift and obie trice. eminem s latest album soared to the top of the us chart after just three days on sale in record shops. encore is now a chart-topper on both sides of the atlantic following its debut at number one in the uk. the fourth album from the rap star was on sale for two days before it outsold all of its rivals. the album was released early in an effort to combat both physical and online piracy. eminem s album includes the track mosh which is a tirade against us president bush and the presence of us troops in iraq. the rapper was criticised earlier this year after a performance on bbc one s top of the pops in april led 12 viewers to complain he was lewd and offensive . the complaints about the star grabbing his crotch were upheld by the bbc. the performer had been asked to tone his act down after rehearsal but ignored this request during the live broadcast a bbc statement read. although his gestures were part of the rap culture they had gone beyond what is expected.

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.

brown in appeal for labour unity gordon brown has made an appeal for unity after reports claimed mr blair went back on a pledge to stand down before the next general election. the chancellor would not comment on the reports but insisted he would not be diverted or distracted from tackling the challenges faced by the country. his only motivation was to ensure labour was re-elected he insisted. mr blair earlier dismissed the claim he had reneged on a promise to stand aside for gordon brown as old news. according to a new book brown s britain by sunday telegraph journalist robert peston mr blair went back on a pledge to make way for mr brown after cabinet allies intervened in june 2004. in an interview with bbc one s breakfast with frost mr blair said: i ve dealt with this six months ago. i said then you don t do deals over jobs like this - you don t. what both of us are actually concentrating on are the issues that concern the country. in a separate interview with bbc political editor andrew marr mr brown said: it s very important that we all do what we can in a unified way to ensure the election of a labour government. i think it is very important to stress that that is the motivation that i have. that is my purpose in politics and that is what every day i seek to do. and i am not going to be diverted or distracted nor is tony blair by newspaper stories or books or rumours or gossip. the only reason why we are in government is to get on with the job in a unified way to deal with the challenges facing this country. mr brown also said he had discussed the general election campaign with the prime minister on saturday and pledged to play his part as he had been asked to do. but mr peston said the pair had mutual animosity and contempt for each other and that mr blair had decided in november 2003 he would quit because he felt he had lost voters trust because of the iraq war. he then changed his mind in june 2004 following intervention from allies in the cabinet and the suspicion that the chancellor was deliberately manoeuvring against him according to the book. andrew marr said: this is enormously damaging. gordon brown knows it as well as tony blair. i think the relationship is genuinely privately very poor indeed. things are very difficult. he added: lots of ministers believe tony blair will attempt to move gordon brown out of the treasury after the election. that depends on whether there s still a labour government and their majority. senior mps are expected to raise concerns about the latest reports of infighting at the regular meeting of labour backbenchers on monday. health secretary john reid said those fuelling such reports were damaging labour s re-election chances and would not be easily forgiven. fresh speculation of a rift recently followed mr blair and mr brown s separate responses to the asian tsunami. these rumours were fuelled by mr blair s decision to hold his monthly media conference at the same time as a long-planned speech by mr brown on uk plans to tackle global poverty with a new marshall plan for africa. there was speculation the pair were trying to outdo each other s response to the disaster. but the prime minister said he had discussed these claims with the chancellor and dismissed them as a load of nonsense . tory leader michael howard accused the prime minister and mr brown of squabbling like schoolboys . liberal democrat parliamentary chairman matthew taylor said the personal ambition of mr blair and mr brown was getting in the way of good government .

games maker fights for survival one of britain s largest independent game makers argonaut games has been put up for sale. the london-based company behind the harry potter games has sacked about 100 employees due to a severe cash crisis. the administrators told bbc news online that selling argonaut was the only way to save it as it had run out of cash. argonaut warned that it was low on cash 10 days ago when its shares were suspended from trading on the london stock exchange. argonaut has been making games for some 18 years and is one the largest independent games developers in the uk. along with its headquarters in north london it operates studios in cambridge and sheffield. argonaut was behind the harry potter games which provided a healthy flow of cash into the company. but like all software developers argonaut needed a constant flow of deals with publishers. signs that it was in trouble emerged in august when it warned it was heading for losses of £6m in the financial year due to delays in signing new contracts for games. those new deals were further delayed leading argonaut to warn in mid-october that it was running out of cash and suspend trading of its shares on the london stock exchange. as part of cost-cutting measures some 100 employees were fired. when the news about the £6m loss came out we knew there were going to be redundancies said jason parkinson one of the game developers sacked by argonaut. a lot of people suspected that argonaut had been in trouble for some time he told bbc news online. mr parkinson said staff were told the job losses were necessary to save argonaut from going under. at the start of the year the company employed 268 people. after the latest round of cuts there are 80 staff at argonaut headquarters in edgware in north london with 17 at its morpheme offices in kentish town london and 22 at the just add monsters base in cambridge. argonaut called in administrators david rubin & partners on friday to find a way to rescue the company from collapse. it spent the weekend going over the company s finances and concluded that the only way to save the business was to put it up for sale. the administrator told bbc news online that the costs of restructuing would be too high partly because of the overheads from the company s four premises across the uk. it said it was hopeful that it could save some 110 jobs by selling the business saying it had had expressions of interest from several quarters and were looking for a quick sale. the administrator said it would ensure that staff made redundant would receive any wages redundancy or holiday pay due to them hopefully by christmas.

oasis star fined for german brawl oasis singer liam gallagher has been fined 50 000 euros (£35 000) after a fight in a german hotel two years ago. gallagher was arrested along with drummer alan white and three other members of the band s entourage after the brawl in munich in december 2002. the band said they were victims of an unprovoked attack in a nightclub. but police said gallagher kicked an officer in the chest and had large amounts of alcohol and drugs - possibly cocaine - in his blood. gallagher lost two front teeth in the fight which led to the band abandoning their german tour. his brother and bandmate noel was in bed at the time. the process has stopped by paying 50 000 euros said anton winkler spokesman for the munich prosecutor. at the time police said a physical altercation broke out among the musicians at about 0200 local time. that led to one of the group being jostled and falling onto the table of five italian guests - causing the fight they said. the fight continued outside where one of the officers was kicked in the chest with full force by liam gallagher... and suffered minor injuries they said.

o leary agrees new villa contract aston villa boss david o leary signed a three-and-a-half year contract extension on thursday securing his future at the club until summer 2008. o leary s future was in question but villa chairman doug ellis said he was happy to secure the deal. david s record since his arrival in 2003 is excellent and he shares the board s amibitions in taking this club forward he told villa s website. for this reason it was important we got this right. o leary put pen to paper after deals were sorted for his right-hand men roy aitken and steve mcgregor. it was important to me roy and steve an integral part of my team should stay for the same time o leary said on thursday ahead of signing his new deal. someone has to try and put aston villa back where they should belong and i m up for the challenge. earlier in december there were rumours o leary would quit if he is not offered a new deal before the end of the season. but he denied that saying he was happy to take on the challenge of improving villa s fortunes in the long term. i want to make sure by the end of the five years i would have been in charge that villa are achieving top six finishes in the premiership on a regular basis said o leary who took over at villa park in may 2003. but to achieve that and take the next step forward we do need to bring in quality players. i would like a couple next month if at all possible to set us on the way. meanwhile o leary has rapped skipper olof mellberg for his comments before sunday s derby with birmingham. mellberg spoke of his dislike of villa s rivals ahead of the match which steve bruce s side won 2-1. i ve had more than a quiet word with olof. it s been said within the whole group not as a one-to-one he told villa s website. you shouldn t leave yourself open to be shot down. you shouldn t give people the chance to take cheap shots at you and he set himself up for that.

microsoft makes anti-piracy move microsoft says it is clamping down on people running pirated versions of its windows operating system by restricting their access to security features. the windows genuine advantage scheme means people will have to prove their software is genuine from mid-2005. it will still allow those with unauthorised copies to get some crucial security fixes via automatic updates but their options would be limited . microsoft releases regular security updates to its software to protect pcs. either pcs detect updates automatically or users manually download fixes through microsoft s site. those running pirated windows programs would not have access to other downloads and add-ons that the software giant offers. people who try to manually download security patches will have to let microsoft run an automated checking procedure on their computer or give an identification number. microsoft s regular patches which it releases for newly-found security flaws are important because they stop worms viruses and other threats penetrating pcs. some security experts are concerned that restricting access to such patches could mean a rise in such attacks and threats with more pcs left unprotected. but graham cluley senior consultant at security firm sophos told the bbc news website that it was a positive decision. it sounds like their decision to allow critical security patches to remain available to both legitimate and illegitimate users of windows is good news for everyone who uses the net he said. windows genuine advantage was first introduced as a pilot scheme in september 2004 for english-language versions of windows. microsoft s windows operating system is heavily exploited by virus writers because it is so widespread and they are constantly seeking out new security loopholes to take advantage of. the company is trying to tackle security threats whilst cracking down on pirated software at the same time. software piracy has cost the company billions it says. the company announced earlier in january that it was releasing security tools to clean up pcs harbouring viruses and spyware which 90% of pcs are infected with. the virus-fighting program updated monthly is a precursor to microsoft s dedicated anti-virus software. last year it introduced the windows xp counterfeit project a uk-based pilot scheme which ran from november to december. the scheme meant that anyone with pre-installed copies of the operating system in pcs bought before november could replace counterfeit versions of windows xp with legal ones for free. it is also increasing efforts to squash software piracy in china norway and the czech republic where pirated software is a huge problem by offering discounts on legitimate software to users of pirated copies windows. china in particular is a problem with piracy estimated at 92% said mr cluley.

could yukos be a blessing in disguise other things being equal the notion of entrepreneurs languishing in jail while their companies are sold off for a song ought to be bad for business. but in the looking-glass world of modern russia the opposite might just be true a new report* has argued. the study from the centre for economic policy research does not praise the rough handling of oil company yukos. but it argues that more rigorous tax policing has benefited all russian firms even targets of the tax police. an increase in tax enforcement can increase the amount [of dividends and other income] outside shareholders will receive even accounting for increased levels of taxation the authors say. the paper s reasoning is complex and is based on a sophisticated model of the relationship between tax regimes and corporate governance - in particular the propensity of management to steal from the company. the calculations demonstrated what many russian analysts already knew: that increasing the tax rate increases the amount that managers steal since undeclared income becomes relatively more valuable. in the west meanwhile higher tax rates translate far more smoothly into higher government revenues. on the other hand increasing the rigour with which taxes are collected encourages companies to become more transparent forcing them to be able to demonstrate their financial position far more accurately. the net result the authors say is that the extra amount companies pay in tax is more than compensated for by greater efficiency and financial soundness. after vladimir putin became president in 2000 he did not raise taxes but put a lot of effort - too much critics argue - into enforcement. since then the russian stock market has more than trebled in value a rise the authors attribute at least in part to the newly tough approach. the report highlights the case of sibneft a russian oil company that came close to merging with yukos last year. after mr putin came to power the company s overall effective tax rate rose from 2.6% to 10.4% and sibneft was the target of a series of aggressive raids by fiscal police. but shareholders benefited hugely: sibneft started to pay dividends - $53m in 2000 and almost $1bn in 2001 - and closed down the network of opaque subsidiaries it had previously used for siphoning off unofficial funds. according to the authors although a variety of changes were sweeping through russian industry at the time the increase in tax enforcement is the only likely explanation for the change of fortunes at sibneft and many of its peers. does this analysis make sense in part certainly. for all its faults corporate russia has become far more orderly and law-abiding since 2000. companies have rushed to list their shares on international stock exchanges - something unthinkable in the wilder days of the 1990s - and most large firms now produce their accounts to international standards. foreign direct investment long negligible is starting to flow in serious amounts - $7bn in 2003 - and stock market returns have been among the healthiest in europe. but the authors model does not quite cover all the complexities. for a start the model assumes that the various parties have clearly-defined motivation: companies want to maximise profit governments want to maximise tax revenue. in fact the alarmingly close connections between big business and government in russia - connections often greased by bribery - blur the apparently antagonistic relationship. companies can for example persuade officials to overlook non-payment of taxes. and the authors definition of tax enforcement seems unrealistically western. genuine disinterested tax collection might well work wonders in russia; the problem with recent examples has been the erratic and unpredictable way laws are enforced. the case against yukos for example has moved in fits and starts with little clarity from the government about its intentions and little faith from investors that the letter of the law would be followed. as far as most commentators are concerned the state is pursuing yukos out of a political vendetta rather than simply to enforce fiscal rectitude. since yukos founder mikhail khodorkovsky was arrested a year ago the russian market has dropped by 10% - an indication that few investors feel optimistic about the salutary effect on corporate performance.

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.

brits debate over urban music joss stone a 17-year-old soul singer from devon beat dizzee rascal jamelia lemar and the streets to win best british urban act at the brit awards. her victory has reignited the debate about what urban music is. i m not really comfortable with the word urban. it s a word that s been manufactured in this country and america to describe black music. the word urban seems to cover such a broad range of black music that it s wrong. how far are the brits removed from inner-city music and what people are doing it s so far removed that i don t expect them to get it bang on. the music industry isn t championing music from our particular genre very well anyway. people don t feel like that s anything to do with us. i don t feel like urban music s just been celebrated by [joss stone] winning or her being nominated or by the brits acknowledging that there s an urban music scene because it s all a kick in the teeth at the end of the day. it s not really relevant. if joss stone is the closest thing that they feel comfortable championing because of what she looks like and how she sounds and who she s signed to then so be it. it s got nothing to do with what s really going on. urban as a genre is very broad. if you look underneath urban there are a number of core elements that include hip-hop r&b garage and into that obviously comes soul. joss stone is a soul artist. her first album was called the soul sessions. so urban is a very broad brushstroke that is the umbrella over the top of sub-genres and there are offshoots of all of those. joss stone has had amazing success [in the us] given that she s a uk artist. what has really captured everybody s imagination is that here you have a 17-year-old from devon with a voice to die for and a bunch of really really good tunes and she looks good - i think that s what s done it. the award for best british urban act was voted for by viewers of mtv base. i don t think joss was not a worthy winner. she makes soul music and that definitely comes under the category of what we describe as urban. the fact that she s from devon is the interesting thing because most of the music we cover is made in large cities and she s literally rural. the great thing about urban music is that there s a big range. if there is some sort of root with black music or dance music in britain i think that s where you can call it urban - that s where this new sub-category or uber-category has come from. joss stone is certainly not old enough to have had some of the experiences of an older soul singer but you couldn t argue that she was being inauthentic with her emotions - it is coming from somewhere genuine. it has to come across as real. that s the only cut-off point we have here and that s the only way by which we judge people. what urban means to us as an organisation is the politically correct term to describe music which originated from a black background. music should become inclusive and if we are fighting for a multi-cultural britain then we should be fighting for inclusion rather than exclusion. if joss stone can be accepted within the urban music community i think acts from other ethnicities doing classical music and rock should be accepted too. race doesn t make a difference if everyone is included. out of all the awards dished out yesterday i m still trying to find out what people of other races received any sort of recognition or award. a type of music (especially street music) that originates from a city and typically reflects or is characteristic of urban life. she might not be urban but when did r&b become the hip hop tainted thing it is now r&b stands for rhythm and blues remember! that joss stone is rubbish is certain. if anyone deserves to win an award for urban music (i think probably should include hip-hop soul & funk at least but not rock or pop) this year its the streets although dizzee rascal stakes a good claim she definitely deserved to win a prize joss stone s albums are quite simply amazing easily better than anything else that was released last year. this whole debate about what is urban what isnt urban is completely pointless and probably fueled by urban artists who weren t nominated or didn t win. i cant see why people can t just congratulate her for the talent that she is. she did deserve it but i agree with the comments about urban music. its a stupid phrase and particularly british. in the states they tend to use hip hop and r&b if i say hip hop here a lot of people have no idea what i m talking about. very strange. what s in a name a rose by any other name etc... if people want to call it urban why not if we really analysed it the term dance music is misleading because it doesn t describe everything you can dance to. whilst i agree that the term urban is open to interpretation it strikes me as simply weird that joss stone has won. urban to me is what i hear being played in parties in the inner cities - i live in brixton and have never heard the soul sessions pumping out of of a bass heavy sound system in any parties i ve been to. good luck to joss stone let s celebrate her victory - let s also question why with artists so successful and talented as jamelia lemar kanye west dizzee rascal alicia keys and outkast - we didn t see a single black artist on stage collecting an award. so what you re saying is that any music that has black heritage is not allowed to be sung by anyone who isn t black. and if it is then they shouldn t be acknowledged for it even if they re pretty dam good at it she s 17 has an amazing voice and won. good on her. oh but she s not black well let s make her feel real bad about it then. how dare she! though hang on didn t the so-called public vote on this one this idea of pigeonholing whatever is popular at the time is no different than what was happening in the 1940s and 50s in relation to what jazz was. the media then called anything that had a swinging beat syncopated melody or soulful feeling jazz much to the chagrin of the artists. it would mean that blues would be put in the same mould as bebop cool and ragtime all very different styles at that time. jazz was and remains such a massively misunderstood term. and so what of urban music in truth it s a lazy term to categorise music that you don t really understand. soul and garage are worlds apart musically (marvin gaye v tuff jam ) but no doubt have their connections. if we just let the music speak for itself and not judge the success of an artist by the number of awards won then maybe we can enjoy the music for what it is rather than what it represents. i demand a prize for rural music! sucks to the cities- it s way better out here. we have hay for one thing. excluding her from what has become known as urban music would be as bad as excluding lenny kravitz or hendrix from rock music for being black surely i dont understand the point that ty is making. if lemar who makes music which is less soulful than joss work won he might have said nothing. (btw i m black too) how can she be urban if she spent most of her life in the devon countryside nonsense. i love joss to bits and don t care what her branding is - it s amazing music full stop. stop puting it all in brackets and let s just call it music and let s especially drop the black / urban tag - nearly all music came from black origin this just sets an example that it is ok to pigeonhole people and their music by their colour. surely the point of having an urban music category is simply to acknowledge artists that are making what is (historically) considered urban music irrelevent of the colour of their skin or where they originate from. joss stone is simply singing a certain type of music that can be considered urban in style just as someone from an inner city and indeed not from the usa could sing country music. if that person was good at it and authentic in sound would we criticise it being referred to as country music or the artist for representing that style the term urban in reference to a music genre in uk has developed in part from the controversy surrounding the branding of the mobo awards. the very term music of black origin has confused and offended many people. this is particularly strange given the existence of the asian music awards. it appears that the use of black or white in relation to music makes people feel uncomfortable. the term urban therefore has been invoked to sidestep the debate of which type of music came first black or white thereby rendering the issue colourblind. the result is now a redundant new debate as to what urban also means. perhaps we should have created a new term altogether to describe the various strains of soul/rnb and hip-hop one which does not also mean something else - as we have done with crunk . urban is just a word that s come about recently to describe black music that s become popular now. the word wasn t even in use or common use five of six years ago. it s just a way of the industry clumping it all together without having to call it black music because some people are oversensitive and might call them racist for it. i m in a band that has been called urban and i despise the label. i d hate to think i belonged to any neat marketing niche because that s all it is. ever since the music channels and record comapnies tried to fracture what they consider music of black origin these labels have been used to undermine the status of good music into a commodity. look at all the tv broadcasters unable to reach young people without condesending they simply play some urban music on the soundtrack as if its some dreadful cheap lift music. ignore the labels it is what it is just music. as a black man i think i agree with some of the statements at least the statements made by the key executives. black people should lead the music they invented . we should stop calling a genre meaningless northing is meaningless. the real question is would joss stone would have been that successful doing the music she was doing if she were black same thing with streets amy winehouse etc. who s ever heard of terri walker or rhian benson.. they are both 10 times better than joss stone and both of them have won urban music awards and i think mobos but why not brits so what if joss stone won the urban awards. her music is great soul and surely that is under the urban banner what if the streets had won would people be whining because mike skinner is white... it seems that a lot of the fuss is about race where the real issue should be music and nothing else. urban is pc version for saying black music. i m not doubting ms stone s talent but why didn t jamelia or lemar get a brit this reminds me of what happened to craig david and soul ii soul in the past getting nominations are easy to get but picking up a brit seems to be the hardest thing. refreshing to see people making reasonable intelligent comments on any topic these days. more power to you people! you have said it: there is music you like and music you don t like - who cares what label you put on it that entire category was a mess. how can you have people like dizzee rascal up against joss stone its like putting eminem against bob geldof. she should have been nominated for best british r & b act. joss stone deserved to win an award for her talents but i don t think it was very urban of her to sing angels with robbie williams. urban is a nonsense term - music of black origin well doesn t that include rock music made in the inner cities well almost all bands end up making music in london/manchester etc. and doesn t that make some weird implication that all black people live in cities it doesn t make any sense. why does music have to be put into a genre it s music you like it or you don t. simple as that. i play in a heavy metal band. we are urban music as far as i m concerned. we live in cities and spend our working life in an urban environment; it therefore directly shapes what we write musically. urban seems to be the new name for all styles of black music. why it needed a rebrand i don t know as the name is misleading. oasis originate from a city and characterise the urban life they know therefore more than fit the term urban yet as they re a white rock band they won t be described as such. joss stone has a fantastic voice and great timing and delivery - what other reason do they need to award her the brit all this urban and other such categorisation is just the red-tape of the music business and is best ignored. yeah she deserved it. she is talented. urban is a crap meaningless politically correct and probably actually racist marketing term though. there s only two kinds of music: good and bad.

first look at playstation 3 chip some details of the chip inside sony s playstation 3 have been revealed. sony ibm and toshiba have released limited data about the so-called cell chip that will be able to carry out trillions of calculations per second. the chip will be made of several different processing cores that work on tasks together. the playstation 3 is expected in 2006 but developers are expecting to get prototypes early next year to tune games that will appear on it at launch. the three firms have been working on the chip since 2001 but before now few details have been released about how it might function. in a joint statement the three firms gave hints about how the chip will work but fuller details will be released in february next year at the international solid state circuits conference in san francisco. the three firms claim that the cell chip will be up to 10 times more powerful than existing processors. when put inside powerful computer servers the cell consortium expects it to be capable of handling 16 trillion floating point operations or calculations every second. the chip has also been refined to be able to handle the detailed graphics common in games and the data demands of films and broadband media. ibm said it would start producing the chip in early 2005 at manufacturing plants in the us. the first machines off the line using the cell processor will be computer workstations and servers. a working version of the ps3 is due to be shown off in may 2005 but a full launch of the next generation console is not expected to start until 2006. as well as being inside the playstation 3 the chip will also be used inside high-definition tvs and powerful computers. in the future all forms of digital content will be converged and fused onto the broadband network said ken kutaragi chief operating officer of sony. current pc architecture is nearing its limits.

moya emotional at davis cup win carlos moya described spain s davis cup victory as the highlight of his career after he beat andy roddick to end the usa s challenge in seville. moya made up for missing spain s 2000 victory through injury by beating roddick 6-2 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-5) to give the hosts an unassailable 3-1 lead. i have woken up so many nights dreaming of this day said moya. all my energy has been focused on today. what i have lived today i do not think i will live again. spain s only other davis cup title came two years ago in valencia when they beat australia. and moya nicknamed charly admitted: the davis cup is my dream and i was a bit nervous at the outset. some people have said that i am obsessed but i think that it is better this way. it helps me reach my goals if i am obsessed. it s really incredible - to get the winning point is really something. spanish captain jordi arrese said: charly played a great game. it was his opportunity and he hasn t let us down. he had lost three times to roddick and this was his day to beat him. he had been waiting years to be in this position. spain s victory was also remarkable for the performance of rafael nadal who beat roddick in the opening singles. aged 18 years and 185 days the mallorcan became the youngest player to win the davis cup. what a great way to finish the year said nadal afterwards. us coach patrick mcenroe wants roddick and the rest of his team to play more tennis on clay and hone their skills on the surface. i think it will help these guys even on slow hard courts to learn how to mix things up a little bit and to play a little bit smarter and tactically better. obviously it s unrealistic to say that we re going to just start playing constantly on clay with the schedule. but certainly i think we can put the work in at the appropriate time and play a couple more events and play against these guys who are the best on this stuff said mcenroe. roddick was left frustrated after losing both his singles on the slow clay of seville s olympic stadium. it s just tough because i felt like i was in it the whole time against one of the top three clay-courters in the world said the american. i had my chances and just didn t convert them. the bottom line is they were just better than us this weekend. they came out took care of business and they beat us. it s as simple as that.

yangtze electric s profits double yangtze electric power the operator of china s three gorges dam has said its profits more than doubled in 2004. the firm has benefited from increased demand for electricity at a time when power shortages have hit cities and provinces across the country. as a hydroelectric-power generator it has not been hurt by higher coal costs. net income jumped to 3bn yuan in 2004 ($365m; £190m) compared with 1.4bn yuan in 2003. sales surged to 6.2bn yuan from 3bn yuan a year earlier. the figures topped analysts expectations even though the rate of growth has slowed from 2003. analysts forecast that it is likely to decline further this year to a rate of expansion of closer to 20%. yangtze electric has been expanding its output to meet demand driven by china s booming economy. the government has delayed the building of a number of power plants in an effort to rein in growth amid concerns that the economy may overheat. that has led to an energy crunch with demand outstripping supply. earlier this month work was halted on an underground power station and a supply unit on the three gorges dam as well as a power station on its sister xiluodu dam because of environmental worries. a total of 30 large-scale projects have been halted across the country for similar reasons. the three gorges dam project has led to more than half a million people being relocated and drawn criticism from environmental groups and overseas human rights activists. its sister project the xiluodu dam is being built on the jinshajiang - or river of golden sand as the upper reaches of the yangtze are known.

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.

all black magic: new zealand rugby playing colours: all black the haka and more! the all blacks charles john munro discovered rugby at london s christ college and on his return to nelson he staged new zealand s first game. nelson town met nelson college on 14 may 1870 the town triumphing by two goals to nil instigating a game that would become a national obsession and come to dominate the country s sporting passions. the game appealed to the kiwi psyche and quickly spread the native maoris finding a particular empathy with the sport s warrior ethos. in 1888 a british team led by ae stoddart toured new zealand and australia and soon after a maori named joe warbrick and an english ex-pat called thomas eyton decided to gather a combined new zealand team. twenty-two maori and four pakiha formed the new zealand native team who played a total of 107 matches in new zealand australia and the uk. the integration of white and maori was a reflecion of enlightened new zealand rugby and society even if the british press were somewhat mystified by the pre-match tradition of the maori war dance the haka! the other great symbol of new zealand rugby the all black kit with the silver fern on the breast was proposed by tom ellison at the first annual meeting of the new zealand rugby football union in 1893. new zealand played their first international against australia in 1903 the kiwis triumphing 22-3 in sydney and the following year an official british touring team came to new zealand for the first time. the tourists had gone through australia undefeated but their captain david revell bedell-sivright created animosity in new zealand with his patronising attitude. the kiwis shocked the rugby world with a 9-3 triumph in wellington sparking great celebrations across the country but bedell-sivright churlishly suggested that the victors would have no chance when they visited the uk. their opportunity to prove him wrong came in 1905 with the first official new zealand tour to europe. the tourists won their early games with a quick-thinking inventive approach but press criticism began to grow over their 2-3-2 scrum formation that left a roving forward free to disrupt opposition attacks. the tactic was effective two late tries seeing the kiwis to a 12-7 win over scotland before ireland were despatched 15-0 in dublin. a huge crowd at crystal palace convulsed with laughter at the sight of the haka - but the smiles were soon wiped from their faces when the tourists ran in five tries in a 15-0 hammering of england. new zealand headed to wales to meet a country in the midst of its first golden age and the encounter would be the first in a series of controversial clashes between the sides. an excellent try on the left wing by teddy morgan sealed a 3-0 win in a hard-fought encounter at cardiff arms park but post-match talk was dominated by a bob deans try that was ruled out by scottish referee john dallas. dallas said that deans was tackled short but the kiwi said he was dragged back into the field of play after grounding a try - on his death-bed three years later he exclaimed: i did score that try in cardiff. four of the 1905 all blacks went over to the newly formed all golds rugby league side soon after the tour but new zealand were strong enough to crush an anglo-welsh touring team in 1908. the first south africa tour of new zealand in 1921 saw honours shared in a three-test series starting the greatest rivalry in rugby - and the long-running controversy between the countries over the all blacks inclusion of maori players. the awesome 1924-5 all black tourists became known as the invincibles after winning all 30 of their games in france britain and ireland including a crushing 19-0 victory over wales at st helen s. despite their success the all blacks 2-3-2 scrum formation left them somewhat short of possession at times and the flaws were exploited by the springboks in south africa in 1928. employing the modern 3-4-1 scrum line-up against the new zealand rover system for the first time south african teams defeated the all blacks in five games and the test series was drawn two-all. the controversial new zealand scrum method finally disappeared after the 1930 lions tour (a series won 3-1 by new zealand) the lions manager describing the tactic as cheating prompting the international rugby board to rule that three men had to pack down in the front row of the scrum. the all blacks 1935 european tour started inauspiciously with an 11-3 loss to a swansea side inspired by teenage schoolboy half-backs hayden tanner and willie davies. a thrilling test at cardiff arms park went to wales 13-12 although the winning try from geoffrey rees-jones was controversial following an illegal claude davey tackle in the build-up. new zealand s next visit to wales in 1953 proved difficult as they lost 8-3 to cardiff and drew 6-6 at swansea. the all blacks were on top in the test with wales at the arms park but the teams were locked at 8-8 when a clem thomas cross kick was gathered by ken jones for a famous match-winning try. the tourists made some amends with wins over the other home nations before a 19-5 success over the barbarians in an arms park thriller. new zealand built from that tour and by the time they returned in 1963-4 they were undoubtedly the leading side in the world. that made the shock all the greater when a drop goal by student john uzzell gave newport an unlikely 3-0 win over the tourists at rodney parade. wilson whinneray s side rallied to beat wales 6-0 their first win at the arms park in four attempts and went unbeaten through the rest of the tour but when they returned home the first question put to them was: what happened in newport the only blemish on the record of the awesome 1967 tourists was a draw with east wales as they beat the full wales team 13-6 in cardiff to take the lead in the series between the countries for the first time. that lead was increased with two comfortable wins for the home side in new zealand in 1969 the first time wales had toured the country as an independent team. a ferocious game at the arms park in 1972 was edged 19-16 by the all blacks a measure of revenge for the defeat inflicted on new zealand by the carwyn james-inspired lions of 1971. james guided llanelli to a famous 9-3 win over the tourists at stradey park though and in the final game of the tour the barbarians defeated the all blacks 23-11 in cardiff in a game regarded by many as the greatest ever played. new zealand defeated a wales xv 12-3 at the arms park in a non-cap game in 1974 but it was the 1978 game in cardiff that would reignite the history of controversy between the two countries. wales were leading 12-10 with one minute left when andy haden flew to the floor from a line-out. television pictures clearly showed that he dived but english referee roger quittenton was fooled and awarded a penalty duly converted by brian mckechnie for a 13-12 win. since that infamous game the competition has largely left wales v new zealand fixtures as the men in red have slipped from the pinnacle of the world game. a crushing 23-3 win for new zealand in cardiff in the welsh rugby union s 1980 centenary game was a sign of things to come. the new professionalism in the southern hemisphere game that had left europe behind was shown as the all blacks swatted wales aside 49-6 in brisbane in the semi-final of the inaugural world cup. the kiwis went on to claim the cup and would inflict further misery on wales on their ill-fated 1988 tour of new zealand. a young talented wales side left britain full of confidence as triple crown winners but one of the greatest ever new zealand teams demolished them 52-3 and 54-9. after also taking some fearful beatings in the provincial games wales captain jonathan davies returned home calling for urgent change in the national game but as his views were ignored he - along with a generation of wales best players - chose to head north to rugby league. a 34-9 win in cardiff followed for new zealand in 1989 and at the 1995 world cup wales big talk was made to look embarrassing as the all blacks eased to victory in johannesburg. a crushing 42-7 kiwi triumph in wembley followed in 1997 and as wales misery increased they turned to new zealand for their salvation in the shape of coaches graham henry and steve hansen. there was a temporary resurgence in the welsh game but when an experimental new zealand side came to cardiff s new millennium stadium in 2002 they left with a 43-17 victory. a bruising 55-3 defeat followed for wales in hamilton in 2003 as hansen built towards the world cup but in australia it was a remarkable performance against the all blacks that gave his side renewed hope. wales were given no chance going into the game but in the course of the match they rediscovered the value of attacking flair to lead 37-33 early in the second half. new zealand rallied to a 53-37 win but the style shown by wales has been used as an inspiration as they look to a better future. they now face an all blacks team led by henry and hansen coming to europe with a weakened squad at the end of a long season. an encouraging display against south africa has inspired a confident wales camp to believe they can claim their first win over the men in black for over 50 years. they have a chance but clearly history is not on their side.

lawyer attacks anti-terror laws a senior barrister who has resigned in protest over the government s anti-terror laws says the current system is giving britain a bad name. ian macdonald qc quit when the government failed to recognise a house of lords ruling that detaining terror suspects indefinitely is unlawful. he was part of a 19-strong panel who have special security clearance to act for suspected terrorists. five more barristers are now reported to be threatening to resign. mr macdonald told bbc news: the reason why i am resigning is because i fundamentally disagree with locking people up without any trial for an indefinite period on reasonable suspicion. the current legal system is certainly having a very adverse effect on the muslim community in britain and the whole asian community. i think it is giving britain a bad name internationally . under the anti-terrorism crime and security act introduced by the government in 2001 in response to the 11 september attacks foreign nationals suspected of involvement in terrorism who cannot be deported can be held indefinitely without trial. but mr macdonald believes that detainees currently being held should be entitled to a trial by jury. my own view is we need to have a full return to trial by jury a proper criminal trial with proper accusations. as far as i m concerned the government have to start all over again and rethink their whole strategy for dealing with this. he added. the attorney general lord goldsmith will receive a letter of resignation from mr macdonald on monday. according to the independent his resignation is expected to be followed by those of five other barristers - nicholas blake qc andrew nicol qc manjit singh gill qc rick scannell and tom de la mare. they are all believed to be carefully considering their positions on the panel of special advocates who represent detainees before the special immigration appeals commission (siac) - a secure court without a jury which tries terror suspects. mr macdonald said he had no idea whether further resignations would follow. but barry hugill a spokesman for the campaign group liberty told radio 4 s today programme that more lawyers may go. i can assure that there is a distinct possibilty that more lawyers may be resigning he said. they are now in a situation where everything they have been trained to believe in the right to trial by jury has been abandoned and that is what gives some of them sleepless nights. helena kennedy a labour peer and a human rights lawyer said the special advocates main concern was that once they had seen any special intelligence they were not allowed to speak to the detainees. when this whole procedure was being considered immediately after 11 september there was a great deal of argument particularly in the house of lords about whether there really was a process that could be considered a judicial review she said. without that you are having detention with no habeus corpus and really a blot as ian mcdonald has said on our legal landscape something really quite shocking with regard to the rule of the law.

japan narrowly escapes recession japan s economy teetered on the brink of a technical recession in the three months to september figures show. revised figures indicated growth of just 0.1% - and a similar-sized contraction in the previous quarter. on an annual basis the data suggests annual growth of just 0.2% suggesting a much more hesitant recovery than had previously been thought. a common technical definition of a recession is two successive quarters of negative growth. the government was keen to play down the worrying implications of the data. i maintain the view that japan s economy remains in a minor adjustment phase in an upward climb and we will monitor developments carefully said economy minister heizo takenaka. but in the face of the strengthening yen making exports less competitive and indications of weakening economic conditions ahead observers were less sanguine. it s painting a picture of a recovery... much patchier than previously thought said paul sheard economist at lehman brothers in tokyo. improvements in the job market apparently have yet to feed through to domestic demand with private consumption up just 0.2% in the third quarter.

games win for blu-ray dvd format the next-generation dvd format blu-ray is winning more supporters than its rival according to its backers. blu-ray backed by 100 firms including sony is competing against toshiba and nec-backed hd-dvd to be the format of choice for future films and games. the blu-ray association said on thursday that games giants electronic arts and vivendi would both support its dvd format. the next generation of dvds will hold high-definition video and sound. this offers incredible 3d-like quality of pictures which major hollywood studios and games publishers are extremely keen to exploit in the coming year. in a separate press conference at the consumer electronics show in las vegas toshiba announced that dvd players for its technology would be on the market by the end of 2005. as we move from standard definition video images to high-definition images we have a much greater need for storage richard doherty from panasonic s hollywood laboratories one of the pioneers of blu-ray told the bbc news website. so by utilising blue laser-based technology we can make an optical laser disc that can hold six times as much as today s dvd. a blu-ray disc will be able to store 50gb of high-quality data while toshiba s hd-dvd will hold 30gb. mr doherty added that it was making sure the discs could satisfy all high-definition needs including the ability to record onto the dvds and smaller discs to fit into camcorders. both toshiba and blu-ray are hopeful that the emerging dvd format war akin to the betamax and vhs fight in the 1980s can be resolved over the next year when next-generation dvd players start to come out. when players do come out they will be able to play standard dvds too which is good news for those who have huge libraries of current dvds. but the support from vivendi and electronics arts is a big boost to blu-ray in the battle for supremacy. gaming is a $20 billion industry worldwide so is as crucial as the film industry in terms of money to be made. the technical requirement for game development today demands more advanced optical-disc technologies said michael heilmann chief technology officer for vivendi universal. blu-ray offers the capacity performance and high-speed internet connectivity to take us into the future of gaming. ea a leading games developer and publisher added that the delivery of high-definition games of the future was vital and blu-ray had the capacity functionality and interactivity needed for the kinds of projects it was planning. sony recently announced it would be using the technology in its next generation of playstations. mr doherty said gamers were ravenous for high-quality graphics and technology for the next generation of titles. gamers especially those working on pcs are always focused on more capacity to deliver textures deeper levels for delivering higher-resolution playback. he added: the focus for games moving forward on increased immersion. gaming companies really like to focus on creating a world which involves creating complicated 3d models and textures and increasing the resolution increasing the frame rate - all of these are part of getting a more immersive experience. fitting these models on current dvd technologies means compressing the graphics so much that much of this quality is lost. as games move to more photo-real capability the current technology is limiting. they are thrilled at the advanced capacity to start to build these immersive environments said mr doherty. currently graphics-intensive pc games also require multiple discs for installation. high-definition dvds will cut down on that need. likewise consoles rely on single discs so dvds that can hold six times more data mean much better high-resolution games. blu-ray has already won backing from major hollywood studios such as mgm studios disney and buena vista as well as top technology firms like dell lg samsung and phillips amongst others. while toshiba s hd-dvd technology has won backing from paramount universal and warner bros. the real world benefits (of hd-dvd) are apparent and obvious said jim cardwell president of warner home video. mr cardwell added that rapid time to market and dependability were significant factors in choosing to go with hd-dvd. both formats are courting microsoft to be the format of choice for the next generation xbox but discussions are still on-going. next generation dvds will also be able to store images and other data. ces is the largest consumer electronics show in the world and runs from 6 to 9 january.

scotland 18-10 italy six chris paterson penalties gave scotland victory in a dour but clinical encounter against italy at murrayfield. coach matt williams side were outmuscled and outplayed in a tense first half but led 6-3 at the break. paterson slotted four more second-half penalties and scotland were denied a try when wing sean lamont s touchdown was ruled out for a forward pass. a late andrea masi try was small consolation for italy chasing their first away win in the six nations. scotland came out on top of the early exchanges and took a quick 3-0 lead through the boot of full-back paterson. but the more powerful azzurri pack eventually rumbled into life. a series of drives into scottish territory set up a penalty attempt missed by full-back roland de marigny and a wayward drop-goal effort from luciano orquera. scotland defended the initial thrusts but on 20 minutes italy after coming up yards short of the line equalised through a de marigny penalty. italy were offered another penalty when scottish flanker simon taylor was offside but the left-footed de marigny pushed his kick wide. scotland finally made the most of a rare foray into the italian half and snatched three points from paterson when an italian forward handled the ball in a ruck. as the half wore on both sides squandered promising spells of momentum with sloppy penalties and the period fizzled out with scotland numerically if not psychologically on top. italy s de marigny narrowly missed a chance to level the scores again shortly after the break but his long-range kick shaved the right upright. and scotland capitalised with a third paterson penalty on 50 minutes. williams side seemed to have found a spark from somewhere and after a couple of probing attacks paterson was able to slot another three points to widen the gap. with the pendulum of possession swinging towards scotland lamont thought he had wriggled over in the left corner after 65 minutes but play was recalled for a marginal forward pass from paterson. another paterson penalty on 70 minutes kept the pressure on the wilting visitors. but john kirwan s men had the last laugh when gordon ross attempted clearance was charged down and masi pounced for the try converted by de marigny. : c paterson; s webster a craig h southwell s lamont; d parks c cusiter; t smith g bulloch (capt) g kerr; s grimes s murray; s taylor j petrie a hogg. r russell b douglas n hines j dunbar m blair g ross b hinshelwood. r de marigny; mirco bergamasco c stoica a masi l nitoglia; l orquera a troncon; a lo cicero f ongaro m castrogiovanni; s dellape m bortolami (capt); a persico d dal maso s parisse. g intoppa s perugini ca del fava s orlando p griffen r pedrazzi kp robertson.

gerrard plays down european hopes steven gerrard has admitted that liverpool have little chance of winning the champions league this season. the 24-year-old reds skipper spoke out ahead of tuesday s first leg at home to bayer leverkusen in the last 16 which he will miss through suspension. let s be realistic there are some fantastic teams left in the champions league he told bbc radio five live. we are just going to try to stay in as long as possible but we realise that maybe it is not our year this year. gerrard has made no secret of his desire to be involved in europe s premier club competition. last season he described qualification for the champions league as the be all and end all - and rumours persist that he will leave anfield if the reds fail to secure a place in the competition. he has consistently been linked with a move away from liverpool with chelsea the favourites to snap up the england midfielder. and blues boss jose mourinho backed gerrard s view that rafael benitez s team could struggle to progress this season. rafa has still time in front of him to build an even better team maybe he s a little bit behind (right now) he told bbc radio five live. gerrard who fired liverpool into the last 16 of this season s competition with a brilliant goal in december s win over olympiakos insisted he was still fully focused on helping liverpool to glory this season. the reds are currently fifth in the premiership table five points off the crucial fourth spot which brings champions league qualification - and they face chelsea in sunday s carling cup final. it s big couple of months for liverpool he added. we re fighting for the fourth spot for the champions league for next season but we are still involved in two cup competitions which are very important. we are confident we can upset chelsea in the carling cup final and get to the last eight of the champions league because financially it is big for the club and personally for myself it is very good.

brown hits back in blair rift row gordon brown has criticised a union leader who said conflict between himself and tony blair was harming the workings of government. jonathan baume of the top civil servants union spoke of competing agendas between mr brown and mr blair. but the chancellor said mr baume was never at meetings between himself and the prime minister so could not judge. he said the union leader was trying to block civil service reform which threatened his members jobs. it suited the purpose of mr baume s union the first division association to suggest there were two agendas battling against each other because the union was trying to resist the planned reforms mr brown told bbc radio 4 s today programme. under the plans unveiled in the gershon report some 84 000 civil servants jobs will be axed or changed and the savings ploughed back into frontline services. mr brown said: to be honest i don t think you can rely on his [mr baume s] judgement on this matter when it comes to the decisions that the government are making. mr blair and i are making exactly the same decisions on civil service reforms. we are determined to go on with the gershon reforms. he also said that as mr baume was never present at meetings between himself and the prime minister he was not in a position to judge. on wednesday ahead of the chancellor s pre-budget report mr baume told bbc news there were sometimes conflicting and competing agendas for government between number 10 and the treasury. what the chancellor wanted was not by any means what alan milburn and the prime minister want to see mr baume said. government departments get their money from the treasury on the basis of public service agreements they sign up to but at the same time the prime minister also has an agenda and that s not necessarily the same as the treasury s and the prime minister is of course a very powerful figure in any government. he also sends instructions and messages and directions to departments about how he would like each secretary of state and each department to implement a policy agenda. the problem is that on many occasions these two don t add up and individual cabinet ministers as well as departments have to make sense of this battle. number 10 said ministers were interested in governing and not a soap opera about mr blair and mr brown. tory shadow chancellor oliver letwin said: the battle royal that the top civil servants are now reporting on between the chancellor and tony blair is preventing them both from getting on with the business of getting taxpayers value for money.

giant waves damage s asia economy governments aid agencies insurers and travel firms are among those counting the cost of the massive earthquake and waves that hammered southern asia. the worst-hit areas are sri lanka india indonesia and thailand with at least 23 000 people killed. early estimates from the world bank put the amount of aid needed at about $5bn (£2.6bn) similar to the cash offered central america after hurricane mitch. mitch killed about 10 000 people and caused damage of about $10bn in 1998. world bank spokesman damien milverton told the wall street journal that he expected an aid package of financing and debt relief. tourism is a vital part of the economies of the stricken countries providing jobs for 19 million people in the south east asian region according to the world travel and tourism council (wttc). in the maldives islands in the indian ocean two-thirds of all jobs depend on tourism. but the damage covers fishing farming and businesses too with hundreds of thousands of buildings and small boats destroyed by the waves. international agencies have pledged their support; most say it is impossible to gauge the extent of the damage yet. the international monetary fund (imf) has promised rapid action to help the governments of the stricken countries cope. the imf stands ready to do its part to assist these nations with appropriate support in their time of need said managing director rodrigo rato. only sri lanka and bangladesh currently receive imf support while indonesia the quake s epicentre has recently graduated from imf assistance. it is up to governments to decide if they want imf help. other agencies such as the asian development bank have said that it is too early to comment on the amount of aid needed. there is no underestimating the size of the problem however. the united nations emergency relief coordinator jan egeland said that this may be the worst national disaster in recent history because it is affecting so many heavily populated coastal areas... so many vulnerable communities. many people will have [had] their livelihoods their whole future destroyed in a few seconds. he warned that the longer term effects many be as devastating as the tidal wave or the tsunami itself because of the risks of epidemics from polluted drinking water. insurers are also struggling to assess the cost of the damage but several big players believe the final bill is likely to be less than the $27bn cost of the hurricanes that battered the us earlier this year. the region that s affected is very big so we have to check country-by-country what the situation is said serge troeber deputy head of the natural disasters department at swiss re the world s second biggest reinsurance firm. i should assume however that the overall dimension of insured damages is below the storm damages of the us he said. munich re the world s biggest reinsurer said: this is primarily a human tragedy. it is too early for us to state what our financial burden will be. allianz has said it sees no significant impact on its profitability. however a low insurance bill may simply reflect the general poverty of much of the region rather than the level of economic devastation for those who live there. the international federation of the red cross and red crescent societies told the reuters news agency that it was seeking $6.5m for emergency aid. the biggest health challenges we face is the spread of waterborne diseases particularly malaria and diarrhoea the aid agency was quoted as saying. the european union has said it will deliver 3m euros (£2.1m; $4.1m) of aid according to the wall street journal. the eu s humanitarian aid commissioner louis michel was quoted as saying that it was key to bring aid in those vital hours and days immediately after the disaster . other countries also are reported to have pledged cash while the us state department said it was examining what aid was needed in the region. getting companies and business up and running also may play a vital role in helping communities recover from the weekend s events. many of the worst-hit areas such as sri lanka thailand s phuket island and the maldives are popular tourist resorts that are key to local economies. december and january are two of the busiest months for the travel in southern asia and the damage will be even more keenly felt as the industry was only just beginning to emerge from a post 9/11 slump. growth has been rapid in southeast asia with the world tourism organisation figures showing a 45% increase in tourist revenues in the region during the first 10 months of 2004. in southern asia that expansion is 23%. india continues to post excellent results thanks to increased promotion and product development but also to the upsurge in business travel driven by the rapid economic development of the country the wto said. arrivals to other destinations such as... maldives and sri lanka also thrived. in thailand tourism accounts for about 6% of the country s annual gross domestic product or about $8bn. in singapore the figure is close to 5%. tourism also brings in much needed foreign currency. in the short-term however travel companies are cancelling flights and trips. that has hit shares across asia and europe with investors saying that earnings and economic growth are likely to slow.

buyers snap up jet airways shares investors have snapped up shares in jet airways india s biggest airline following the launch of its much anticipated initial public offer (ipo). the ipo for 17.3 million shares was fully sold within 10 minutes of opening on friday. analysts expect jet to raise at least 16.4bn rupees ($375m; £198m) from the offering. interest in jet s ipo has been fuelled by hopes for robust growth in india s air travel market. the share offer representing about 20% of jet s equity was oversubscribed news agency reuters reported. jet which was founded by london-based travel agent naresh goyal plans to use the cash to buy new planes and cut its debt. the company has grown rapidly since it launched operations in 1993 overtaking state-owned flag carrier indian airlines. however it faces stiff competition from rivals and low-cost carriers. jet s ipo is the first in a series of expected share offers from indian companies this year as they move to raise funds to help them do business in a rapidly-growing economy.

aids and climate top davos agenda climate change and the fight against aids are leading the list of concerns for the first day of the world economic forum in the swiss resort of davos. some 2 000 business and political leaders from around the globe will listen to uk prime minister tony blair s opening speech on wednesday. mr blair will focus on africa s development plans and global warming. earlier in the day came an update on efforts to have 3 million people on anti-aids drugs by the end of 2005. the world health organisation (who) said 700 000 people in poor countries were on life-extending drugs - up from 440 000 six months earlier but amounting to only 12% of the 5.8 million who needed them. a $2bn funding gap still stood in the way of hitting the 2005 target the who said. the themes to be stressed by mr blair - whose attendance was announced at the last minute - are those he wants to dominate the uk s chairmanship of the g8 group of industrialised states. other issues to be discussed at the five-day conference range from china s economic power to iraq s future after this sunday s elections. aside from mr blair more than 20 other world leaders are expected to attend including french president jacques chirac - due to speak by video link after bad weather delayed his helicopter - and south african president thabo mbeki whose arrival has been delayed by ivory coast peace talks. the ukraine s new president viktor yushchenko will also be there - as will newly elected palestinian leader mahmoud abbas. showbiz figures will also put in an appearance from u2 frontman bono - a well-known campaigner on trade and development issues - to angelina jolie a goodwill campaigner for the un on refugees. unlike previous years protests against the wef are expected to be muted. anti-globalisation campaigners have called off a demonstration planned for the weekend. at the same time about 100 000 people are expected to converge on the brazilian resort of porto alegre for the world social forum - the so-called anti-davos for campaigners against globalisation for fair trade and many other causes. in contrast the davos forum is dominated by business issues - from outsourcing to corporate leadership - with bosses of more than a fifth of the world s 500 largest companies scheduled to attend. a survey published on the eve of the conference by pricewaterhousecoopers said four in ten business leaders were very confident that their companies would see sales rise in 2005. asian and american executives however were much more confident than their european counterparts. but the political discussions focusing on iran iraq and china are likely to dominate media attention.

willis sues over movie injury actor bruce willis is suing revolution studios over an injury he said he suffered while making tears of the sun. willis is seeking medical expenses after he said he was hit in the head by a firework during the filming of the 2002 movie produced by the firm. the lawsuit said the star has endured mental and physical injuries as a result of the alleged incident. we are not able to comment on pending litigation revolution studios spokesman sean dudas said. in tears of the sun willis plays a us military commander who disobeys orders to try and help save a doctor and patients trapped in the nigerian jungle. directed by antoine fuqua the film was poorly received by critics and did not perform strongly at the box office. according to the lawsuit the injury was suffered during the firing of explosions as part of a special effect. the explosions known as squibs were intended to simulate the appearance of bullets striking the ground . the lawsuit said willis has endured extreme mental physical and emotional pain and suffering. there were no specific details on the injuries. while willis does not seek specific monetary damages the lawsuit noted that the star was required to and did employ physicians and other medical personnel . it stated he will incur additional future medical expenses. the lawsuit said revolution studios and special effects foreman joe pancake had a duty to willis to ensure that the squibs were inspected set up placed and detonated in a safe manner and to employ technicians who were trained and competent in their use .

my memories of marley... to mark the 60th anniversary of the birth of reggae star bob marley rob partridge - marley s former head of press at island records - remembers the man behind the legend. partridge worked with marley from 1977 until the jamaican musician s death in 1981. : i joined island records in 1977 and the first week i was there i worked on his show at the rainbow theatre. it was one of the last dates he did in london. : the album exodus came out in 1977 and that provided five hits and confirmed his global superstar status. by 1979 he was the biggest touring attraction in the world. i remember going to see dates in milan and turin and they were enormous concerts. : bob was one of the most mesmeric people i ve ever had the privilege to work with. he must have had an iron will to succeed. bob was a very driven individual. you realised from the start there was a manifest destiny within him that he believed in. he didn t suffer fools gladly. at the risk of stating the obvious he was an extraordinary song writer and his stage act was perhaps the greatest i ve ever seen. i saw him many times. : i recall in 1978 he came to the uk for top of the pops and a daily mirror journalist did a half-hour interview. it was interrupted to do a rehearsal. he came back into the dressing room to resume the interview but saw a world cup match on tv. he sat down in front of the tv and after 10 minutes it was obvious he wasn t going to move. that was the end of it. the mirror had a very truncated interview. the last time i saw him was in london in 1980. i arranged for him to play four days of football indoors in fulham. bob was a good player. we are talking about jamaican-style football. he was an attacking midfield player. his team assembled wherever his gigs were. we played in brazil against some world cup-winning players. : it was always a struggle for him to connect with black america. reggae did not correspond with disco in the 70s. but bob in the 1990s became one of the great icons in america and the third world. in 1991 ten years after his death he sold more records than at any time during his life. we saw black america taking bob into their hearts for the first time. : bob in worldwide terms is the greatest music star there has ever been. if you went to africa he would be recognised everywhere in places john lennon or elvis wouldn t be. no disrespect to the other artists but a case can be made for him as the greatest the best and the most influential artist in popular music. : well 1981 was to be the year he toured africa with stevie wonder. he had only performed in zimbabwe and guinea before. of course the 1981 tour never happened but the whole of africa would have embraced him. we can t speculate but he was at the height of his powers and just 36 years old. i had no sense his career was going to go downhill. : bob was endlessly optimistic about the way africa would turn out. he realised that nothing was perfect but he had total belief in the power of mankind. i m sure if he were alive today he would believe africa would firstly become politically free and secondly be able to defeat the aids epidemic. : the final tune of his final album was redemption song - one of the most incredible classics of all time.

volcano drama erupts on bbc one supervolcano a docu-drama about a volcanic eruption in yellowstone national park in the us is among the highlights on the bbc one this winter. the £178m winter schedule also includes the return of doctor who and a drama about angela cannings who was wrongly convicted of killing two of her babies. sarah lancashire and timothy spall will star in the real-life drama cherished. itv also unveiled their festive season on tuesday which includes stephen fry in a remake of tom brown s schooldays. supervolcano follows in the footsteps of last year s pompei which drew 10 million viewers to bbc one in october 2003. the programme merges science drama and computer imagery to reveal what could happen if yellowstone - home to the only currently active supervolcano in the world - were to erupt again. bbc two will run a two-part documentary the science behind supervolcano in conjunction with the transmission. other educational highlights include a documentary about infamous mongolian warrior genghis khan and grandchild of the holocaust. grandchild of the holocaust part of the bbc commitment to holocaust memorial day follows adrian 13 on a journey to uncover the truth about what happened to his grandmother in auschwitz and belsen. new drama includes archangel an adaptation of the robert harris best-seller which stars daniel craig on the trail of stalin s diaries in communist russia. and sarah waters gets her second adaptation on bbc one with imelda staunton and charles dance lined up to star in fingersmith. the adaptation about a conman in victorian england will make an interesting contrast to julie burchill s sugar rush - a lesbian teenage drama part of channel four s winter season. on a lighter note jessica stevenson will star in new bbc one sitcom the world according to bex penned by my family creator fred barron and the two ronnies return for a celebration of their classic comedy series. fry s portrayal of headmaster dr arnold dominates a muted christmas schedule on itv1 which sees the channel retreat from broadcasting blockbuster movies in favour of extended soap episodes and popular quiz shows. sir paul mccartney wife heather mills and manchester united manager sir alex ferguson will join a celebrity edition of who wants to be a millionaire on christmas day. also on christmas day john nettles will return in a one-off edition of midsomer murders while two episodes of the new miss marple drama will air over the festive period. films on itv1 include gus van sant s finding forrester starring sean connery and classics such a mary poppins star wars and the good the bad and the ugly. in contrast bbc s christmas season includes terrestrial debuts of the first harry potter film shrek and steven spielberg s ai as well as new epipsodes of the vicar of dibley and the final auf wiedersehen pet.

s korean consumers spending again south korea looks set to sustain its revival thanks to renewed private consumption its central bank says. the country s economy has suffered from an overhang of personal debt after its consumers credit card spending spree. card use fell sharply last year but is now picking up again with a rise in spending of 14.8% year-on-year. the economy is now heading upward rather than downward said central bank governor park seung. the worst seems to have passed. mr park s statement came as the bank decided to keep interest rates at an all-time low of 3.25%. it had cut rates in november to help revive the economy but rising inflation - reaching 0.7% month-on-month in january - has stopped it from cutting further. economic growth in 2004 was about 4.7% with the central bank predicting 4% growth this year. other indicators are also suggesting that the country is inching back towards economic health. exports - traditionally the driver for expansion in asian economies - grew slower in january than at any time in 17 months. but domestic demand seems to be taking up the slack. consumer confidence has bounced back from a four-year low in january and retail sales were up 2.1% in december. credit card debt is falling with only one in 13 of the 48 million cards now in default - down from one in eight at the end of 2003. one of its biggest card issuers lg card was rescued from collapse in december having almost imploded under the weight of its customers bad debts. the government last year tightened the rules for card lending to keep the card glut under control.

india s deccan gets more planes air deccan has signed a deal to acquire 36 planes from avions de transport regional (atr). the value of the deal has not been revealed because of a confidentiality clause in the agreement. but air deccan s managing director gorur gopinath has said the price agreed was less than the catalogue price of $17.6m (£9.49m) per plane. recently india s first low-cost airline ordered 30 airbus a320 planes for $1.8bn. under the agreement air deccan will buy 15 new atr 72-500 and lease another 15. atr will also provide six second hand airplanes. in a statement atr has said deliveries of the aircraft will begin in 2005 and will continue over a five-year period. mr gopinath said the planes will connect regional indian cities. after an evaluation of both atr and bombardier aircraft we have chosen the atr aircraft as we find it most suitable for our operations and for the indian market for short haul routes. filippo bagnato atr s chief executive has said that his firm will also work with air deccan to create a training centre in bangalore. the potential of the indian budget market has attracted attention from businesses at home and abroad. air deccan has said it will base its business model on european firms such as ireland s ryanair. beer magnate vijay mallya recently set up kingfisher airlines while uk entrepreneur richard branson has said he is keen to start a local operation. india s government has given its backing to cheaper and more accessible air travel.

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.

dvd copy protection strengthened dvds will be harder to copy thanks to new anti-piracy measures devised by copy protection firm macrovision. the pirated dvd market is enormous because current copy protection was hacked more than five years ago. macrovision says its new ripguard technology will thwart most but not all of the current dvd ripping (copying) programs used to pirate dvds. ripguard is designed to... reduce dvd ripping and the resulting supply of illegal peer to peer said the firm. macrovision said the new technology will work in nearly all current dvd players when applied to the discs but it did not specify how many machines could have a problem with ripguard. some bbc news website users have expressed concerns that the new technology will mean that dvds will not work on pcs running the operating system linux. the new technology will be welcomed by hollywood film studios which are increasingly relying on revenue from dvd sales. the film industry has stepped up efforts to fight dvd piracy in the last 12 months taking legal action against websites which offer pirated copies of dvd movies for download. ultimately we see ripguard dvd... evolving beyond anti-piracy and towards enablement of legitimate online transactions interoperability in tomorrow s digital home and the upcoming high-definition formats said steve weinstein executive vice president and general manager of macrovision s entertainment technologies group. macrovision said ripguard would also prevent against rent rip and return - where people would rent a dvd copy it and then return the original. ripguard is expected to be rolled out on dvds from the middle of 2005 the company said. the new system works specifically to block most ripping programs - if used those programs will now most likely crash the company said. macrovision has said that rip guard can be updated if hackers find a way around the new anti-copying measures.

blair up for it ahead of poll tony blair says his personal standing in the eyes of voters will be an issue in the general election. the prime minister said he was up for it as the country waits to go to the polls possibly in a matter of weeks. he told the observer government life was a constant barrage of attack but said he would not stay in charge if he felt unable to contribute. mr blair also spoke of meeting many people across the country with concerns about the compensation culture. he said britain was in danger of needless panic over public safety issues. speaking amid a flurry of pre-election campaigning the prime minister said: i am an issue i always will be. whoever is the prime minister will be. he added: if you are afraid to take criticism you should go and do another job. asked if he would quit as leader if he felt like a liability to labour he said: it s important always not to do the job unless you feel you have something to contribute. whether he still had something to offer he said was a judgement for people to make. mr blair s assessment is likely to be seen as a signal that replacing him would not bring an upsurge in fortunes for the labour administration. his comments come as the co-chairman of the conservative party liam fox on saturday called him a disappointment of historic proportions as a prime minister. mr blair said he had learned from a series of at times tough encounters with members of the public during question and answer sessions across the country in recent weeks. he pledged to clamp down on britain s growing compensation culture which has brought concerns that doctors teachers and other professionals are being hampered in their work by the fear of frivolous lawsuits. i was quite shocked to be told by people who were running a nursery that they were worried about letting the kids out into the playground when it was wet in case one of them slipped and fell and they ended up having a legal case [against them] he said. we have got to look at a way of getting people protection on that. mr blair said the government was also looking at how to make sure that legal aid is not abused with actions against doctors and others as part of a review being carried out by the lord chancellor s department. and there should be real debate about the risk posed by public safety threats he said. we are in danger of - depending on whatever is the media campaign of the day - ending up spending literally hundreds sometimes millions of pounds meeting quite a small risk. his comments come after the government announced it is to spend £200m on drugs to treat a possible outbreak of bird flu and the sudan 1 food scare. meanwhile commons leader peter hain has warned that on the campaign trail he has seen dangerous complacency being displayed by labour voters convinced of a general election victory. if labour voters stayed at home in marginal seats they could see tory leader michael howard coming in the back door to number 10 with the tradesman s key to number 10 getting into power he added.

jones medals must go if guilty world anti-doping agency (wada) chief dick pound says marion jones should be stripped of all her medals if found guilty of taking banned substances. victor conte of balco laboratories claims the american sprinter regularly used drugs to enhance her performance. if she is found guilty she should be stripped of all her medals and banned for two years said pound. asked if there was a timescale as to what medals could be taken pound said: that is not an issue at all. however under international olympic committee (ioc) rules athletes can only be stripped of their medals if caught within three years of the event. jones who won five medals at the 2000 olympics denies using drugs and says she will take legal action over conte s allegations. balco laboratories is the firm at the centre of a wide-reaching investigation into doping in the us. pound continued: if she has indeed taken drugs it is going to be a big disappointment for a lot of people.

bid to cut court witness stress new targets to reduce the stress to victims and witnesses giving evidence in courts in england and wales have been announced by the lord chancellor. lord falconer wants all crown courts and 90% of magistrates courts to have facilities to keep witnesses separate from defendants within four years. more video links will also be made available so that witnesses do not have to enter courtrooms. it is part of a five-year plan to help build confidence in the justice system. ministers say the strategy is aimed at re-balancing the court system towards victims and increasing the number of offenders brought to justice. launching the department for constitutional affairs plan lord falconer said: one of the top priorities will be a better deal for victims. the needs and safety of victims will be at the heart of the way trials are managed. courts judges magistrates prosecutors police and victim support - all working together to ensure the rights of victims are put first without compromising the rights of the defendant. he went on: giving evidence is a nerve-wracking experience especially when you re a victim. yet with a will and with support it can be done. lord falconer told bbc radio 4 s today programme it was impossible for some elderly people to go to court to give evidence. other witnesses could be intimidated by sitting alongside defendants outside courts. you are never going to get rid of some element of the trauma of giving evidence he said. but you can make people believe that the courts understand the problem it s not some kind of alien place where they go where they are not thinking about them. the plan comes as the lord chancellor also considers allowing cameras into courts for the first time since 1925 as long as they were used for cases that did not involve witnesses. another feature of the strategy is constitutional reform with a government bill to set up a supreme court and a judicial appointments commission returning to the house of lords on tuesday. ministers had proposed getting rid of the title of lord chancellor but the lords have over-ruled this. lord falconer said it was right for the highest court to be completely distinct from parliament. the person in charge of the court system should not also be speaker of the house of lords he said and should be the best person chosen from either house of parliament. what they did not what they were called was the critical issue he added.

nuclear dumpsite plan attacked plans to allow foreign nuclear waste to be permanently stored in the uk have been branded deeply irresponsible by the liberal democrats. the government has confirmed intermediate level waste (ilw) that was to have been shipped back to its home countries will now be stored in the uk. the cash raised will go towards the uk s nuclear clean-up programme. but lib dem norman baker accused ministers of turning britain into a nuclear dumpsite . under current contracts british nuclear fuels should return all but low level waste but none has ever been sent back. in future only highly-radioactive waste will be sent back to its country of origin normally germany or japan under armed guard. intermediate waste from countries such as japan germany spain italy switzerland and sweden will be stored permanently in the uk. at the moment this waste is stored at sellafield in cumbria in the form of glass bricks untreated liquid waste or solid material in drums. in a statement the department of trade and industry said the new policy meant there would be a sixfold reduction in the number of waste shipments to overseas countries . and it said highly-radioactive waste would be returned to its home country sooner ensuring there would be no overall increase in radioactivity. trade secretary patricia hewitt said the new arrangements revealed in a commons written statement would raise up to £680m for britain s nuclear clean-up programme under the new nuclear decommissioning agency. but the move has been criticised by environmental groups and the liberal democrats. mr baker the lib dem environment spokesman said: i have been warning for months that this would happen and raised it with government several times. but now our worst fears have been confirmed. once again britain s environmental and health needs are being ignored in policies driven by the treasury and dti. this is a terrible attempt to offload some of the £48bn cost of cleaning up nuclear sites. the energy act was supposed to help britain clean up but in order to pay for it we are becoming a nuclear dumpsite. the nuclear industry is an economic social and environmental millstone that hangs around britain s neck.

what now for british tennis tim henman s decision to quit davis cup tennis has left the british team with a gargantuan void to fill. the world number seven is tied for fourth among his countrymen for wins in the history of the tournament (he has 36 from his 50 rubbers). and great britain s last davis cup win without henman came against slovenia as far back as 1996. worse could follow according to former british team member chris bailey. bailey told bbc sport: after tim s announcement i doubt greg rusedski will be that far behind him. but without their top two where does that leave british ambitions in the sport s premier team event captain jeremy bates has singled out alex bogdanovic and andrew murray as potential replacements. the yugoslavian-born bogdanovic though is 184 places below henman in the world rankings and has played just two cup ties - winning one and losing the other. murray on the other hand is 407th in the current atp entry list and yet to make his cup debut. but bailey does see some hope for the future. he said: now we ve dropped down to the euro-africa zone the time was right for him to step down and let the young guys come to the fore. britain s next opponents israel are hardly likely to be quaking in their boots ahead of the 4-6 march match against a likely trio of bogdanovic murray and the 187th-ranked arvind parmar. bailey said: it will be tough for gb to move up but there comes a time when our young players have to step up. this was always going to be inevitable with tim and greg s growing years. i m confident about the future. i wouldn t lay money on us getting back into the world group next year but i d imagine in five years time we ll be competing for the major honours. of those lining up to replace henman the 17-year-old murray with four futures titles under his belt last year looks the best long-term bet. murray is the one that looks likeliest to take over tim s mantle said bailey. he has an enormous amount of self-confidence judging by what he s said in the past. bogdanovic three years murray s senior has had a more troubled time under britain s davis cup umbrella. while murray has been marked out as britain s golden boy bogdanovic was warned by the lawn tennis association for a lack of drive at the end of 2003. and bailey said: despite that alex is clearly talented as well while arvind is another contender. they re among the guys who have experienced the intensity of davis cup tennis - whether as players or on the sidelines. the lta has always done an exceptional job of ensuring that. now they ll finally get to play regularly in the cauldron of the cup. and i m confident that will springboard team gb to greater success.

businesses fail to plan for hiv companies fail to draw up plans to cope with hiv/aids until it affects 20% of people in a country new research says. the finding comes in a report published on thursday by the world economic forum harvard and the un aids agency. too few companies are responding proactively to the social and business threats said dr kate taylor head of the wef s global health initiative. nearly 9 000 business leaders in 104 countries were surveyed for business and hiv/aids: commitment and action dr taylor described the level of action taken by businesses as revealed by the report as too little too late . the issue will be highlighted to business and world leaders at the world economic forum which meets in davos switzerland next week. the wef report shows that despite the fact that 14 000 people contract hiv/aids every day concern among businesses has dropped by 23% in the last 12 months. most (71%) have no policies in place to address the disease. nor could over 65% of the business leaders surveyed say or estimate the prevalence of hiv among their staff. the un programme tackling aids unaids pointed out that having a clear strategy for dealing with hiv/aids was a good investment as well as being socially responsible. one company that does have a plan is anglo-american the international mining company which estimates an hiv prevalence of 24% among its 130 000-strong southern african workforce. over the last two years the company has implemented extensive voluntary counselling and testing for hiv infection coupled with anti-retroviral therapy for employees progressing to aids. over 90% of the 2 200 employees who have accessed and remained on treatment are well and have returned to normal work. effective action on hiv/aids is synonymous with good business management and leads to more profitable and sustainable operations said brian brink senior vice-president health at anglo-american. companies should encourage all workers to know their hiv status making it as routine as monitoring blood pressure or cholesterol he said. providing access to treatment is a critical part of this. across sub-saharan africa even in countries with an hiv prevalence of 10-19% only around 7% of companies have formal hiv/aids policies in place according to the report. the gap is even wider in china ethiopia india nigeria and russia the so-called next wave countries which are predicted to experience the highest numbers of new hiv/aids cases worldwide by 2010. the report adds an important building block to our understanding of how the business community is experiencing the hiv/aids epidemic and to whether and how it is reacting said david bloom professor of economics and demography at the harvard school of public health. the wef report concludes that businesses need to understand their exposure to hiv/aids risks and come up with good local practices to manage them. a key priority in both high and low-prevalence settings said the wef is to establish a policy based on non-discrimination and confidentiality.

god cut from dark materials film the director and screenwriter of the film adaptation of philip pullman s his dark materials is to remove references to god and the church in the movie. chris weitz director of about a boy said the changes were being made after film studio new line expressed concern. the books tell of a battle against the church and a fight to overthrow god. they have expressed worry about the possibility of perceived anti-religiosity weitz told a his dark materials fans website. pullman s trilogy has been attacked by some christian teachers and by the catholic press as blasphemy. weitz who admitted he would not be many people s first choice to direct the films said he regarded the film adaptation as the most important work of my life . in part because it is one of the few books to have changed my life he told bridgetothestars.net. the award-winning trilogy - northern lights the subtle knife and the amber spyglass - tell the story of oxford school child lyra belacqua. she is drawn into an epic struggle against the church which has been carrying out experiments on children in an attempt to remove original sin. as the books progress the struggle turns into a battle to overthrow the authority a figure who is god-like in the books. weitz who directed american pie and about a boy said new line feared that any anti-religiosity in the film would make the project unviable financially . he said: all my best efforts will be directed towards keeping the film as liberating and iconoclastic an experience as i can. but there may be some modification of terms. weitz said he had visited pullman who had told him that the authority could represent any arbitrary establishment that curtails the freedom of the individual whether it be religious political totalitarian fundamentalist communist what have you . he added: i have no desire to change the nature or intentions of the villains of the piece but they may appear in more subtle guises. there are a number of christian websites which attack the trilogy for their depiction of the church and of god but pullman has denied his books are anti-religious. his agent told the times newspaper that pullman was happy with the adaptation so far. of course new line want to make money but mr weitz is a wonderful director and philip is very supportive. you have to recognise that it is a challenge in the climate of bush s america

casino royale is next bond movie casino royale author ian fleming s first james bond book is to be the next bond film with goldeneye director martin campbell behind the camera. it will be the 21st james bond film to hit the big screen and speculation has been rife over who will play the lead. casino royale was turned into a spoof spy movie by john huston in 1967 with david niven in the lead role. pierce brosnan led the past four bond films but said producers axed him after offering him the chance to return. among the favourites to take over the coveted role are scottish actor dougray scott oscar nominee clive owen and australian star hugh jackman. producers say no decision has yet been made on who will become the seventh actor including niven to play bond on film. kill bill director quentin tarantino had talked of wanting to take on the casino royale project and said he had spoken to brosnan about it. shooting on casino royale is expected to begin once campbell has finished work on the legend of zorro a sequel to the mask of zorro starring catherine zeta jones and antonio banderas. producers barbara broccoli and michael g wilson expect the film to be released in 2006. the script will once again be developed by neal purvis and robert wade who have both worked on two previous bond movies. fleming s book saw the introduction of bond pitted against a russian spy in a game of baccarat. simultaneously a woman arrives on the scene to take his eye off the game. the novel is one of fleming s most violent and sadistic stories with 007 suffering a savage beating from his nemesis le chiffre. in addition to the 1967 film it was also adapted for television in 1954 with actor barry nelson as an americanised jimmy bond. mgm vice chairman chris mcgurk said: martin (campbell) is an incredibly exciting film-maker. goldeneye was a wonderful movie and helped reinvigorate the bond franchise. we re thrilled to have him back to direct the newest bond. new zealand-born campbell moved to the uk in 1966 and directed tv series such as the professionals minder and bergerac. his film credits include edge of darkness vertical limit and beyond borders which starred angelina jolie and clive owen.

star trek fans fight to save show star trek fans have taken out a full-page ad in the los angeles times in an attempt to persuade tv executives not to scrap star trek: enterprise. made by the upn tv network the latest spin-off from the hit sci-fi show is due to end in may after four series. but fans around the world have pitched in to pay for the advert which had the headline save star trek . they are also asking the sci-fi channel to pick it up from upn and will stage a rally in los angeles on 25 february. the advert described the star trek franchise as a cultural icon . enterprise stars former quantum leap actor scott bakula as captain archer and is set before the original 1960s star trek series. captain archer and the crew of the nx-01 need your help to continue their journeys! the advert said. it also included a cut-out coupon for fans to send to upn s parent companies paramount and viacom plus the sci-fi channel. it also urged supporters to join the rally outside the paramount studios. fan website trek united is hoping to raise $32m (£17m) from donations by the end of march to pay for a fifth series. more than $23 000 (£12 000) has been pledged so far according to the site. the 98th and final episode of star trek: enterprise will air in the us on 13 may. the fourth series has averaged 2.9 million viewers per episode - half the amount it got in its first series. star trek: enterprise began in 2001 following other star trek spin-off series the next generation deep space nine and voyager.

junk e-mails on relentless rise spam traffic is up by 40% putting the total amount of e-mail that is junk up to an astonishing 90%. the figures from e-mail management firm email systems will alarm firms attempting to cope with the amount of spam in their in-boxes. while virus traffic has slowed down denial of service attacks are on the increase according to the firm. virus mail accounts for just over 15% of all e-mail traffic analysis by the firm has found. it is no longer just multi-nationals that are in danger of so-called denial of service attacks in which websites are bombarded by requests for information and rendered inaccessible. email systems refers to a small uk-based engineering firm which received a staggering 12 million e-mails in january. the type of spam currently being sent has subtlety altered in the last few months according to email systems analysis. half of spam received since christmas has been health-related with gambling and porn also on the increase. scam mails offering ways to make a quick buck have declined by 40%. january is clearly a month when consumers are less motivated to purchase financial products or put money into dubious financial opportunities said neil hammerton managing director of email systems. spammers seem to have adapted their output to reflect this focussing instead on medically motivated and pornographic offers presumably intentionally intended to coincide with what is traditionally considered to be the bleakest month in the calendar he said.

losing yourself in online gaming online role playing games are time-consuming but enthralling flights from reality. but are some people taking their fantasy lives too seriously when video game world of warcraft hit the shops in europe last week fans wrote in to the bbc website to express their delight - and to offer a warning. an addiction to a game like this is far more costly in time than any substance could impair - keep track of time wrote travis anderson in texas. some of the comments were humorous: this game is so good i m not going to get it there s no way i could limit the hours i d spend playing it wrote charles macintyre from england. but some struck a more worrying tone about the massively multiplayer online role playing game (mmorpg): you need to get out more could be the motto of any mmorpg. shame they are getting more popular as you know this problem is just going to mushroom wrote stuart stanton-davies in huddersfield. scare-mongering articles about addictive video games have existed since the days the first game of pong stopped everyone from working at the atari offices. gaming is like any other pastime - it can quickly become an unhealthy obsession whether it is spending too much time in the gym in front of the television or reading poetry. unfortunately gaming and addiction is a far too easy association to make. however stories about gamers spending 10 to 15 hours a day in front of some video games are becoming more frequent. and the impact that is having on their families is quite distressing for some. massively multiplayer online role playing games - mmorpgs - allow thousands of gamers to share a common experience of sharing fantasy or science fiction worlds. the scope of these games - like warcraft everquest ultima among others - is epic and exploration and adventure is almost infinite. part of the problem is grinding - by which gamers have to perform long-winded mindless tasks to bring up their levels and gain access to more adventure. such open-endedness brings with it a desire to keep playing; not for no reason is everquest (eq) nicknamed evercrack. e hayot writing in the culture blogzine print culture said recently: i used to play the online role-playing game everquest a lot. by a lot i mean probably 15 to 20 hours a week on average and on weeks where i didn t have to work as many as 30 or 40 hours. he says that in the world of online gaming such behaviour wasn t that unusual; lots of people i knew in the game played eq that much . you lie; you don t go into work because you had stuff to do at home ; you cancel or refuse invitations to dinner you spend much less time watching tv (a good thing presumably) he wrote explaining how everquest took over his time. he quit the game he says because he realised life was more fun than everquest. let us be clear - such obsession is rare. but the huge growth in online gaming means a growth in the numbers of people who take their passion for a hobby too far. almost 400 000 people bought a copy of world of warcraft in the first two days on sale earlier this month. only a fraction will descend into obsessives. the thoughts of families and friends of gamers who have been affected by everquest can be found on one blog everquest daily grind. jane who runs the website compiles a chronicle of heart-rending stories. i am actually convinced at this point that there are more than some people who spend more times in mmoprgs than in reality she said. one unnamed correspondent - all are anonymous - wrote: on the rare nights when my husband does come to bed at the same time as i do i find that i am so used to sleeping by myself that it is difficult to get to sleep with another body laying next to me. i can t talk to him while he is playing. there is absolutely no point as he doesn t hear me or is so distracted that i get a ummm... ya a few minutes after i ask him a question. gaming widows has become a comedic term for women who have been shut out by male gamers. but for some it is not in the least funny. another correspondent wrote: i believe that he is addicted to the online gaming and that is the cause of his depression and restlessness. and some of them are even sadder: today our son was five days old. the sad truth is my husband spent 11 hours today playing his warcraft game. he did not interact with our sweet tiny baby because there were important quests waiting online. video game fans often complain that their hobby is misunderstood or marginalised. but as gaming becomes ever more mainstream and games ever more immersive there will be no hiding place for social problems. i wish 30-40 hours a week was unusual but i think it probably isn t. an 11 hour stretch isn t that surprising - i ve known people to play 15+ hours at a stretch. i know of people who are spending their week s holiday from work playing warcraft. i know of people who would play ever[crack] in shifts...waking at 3am to take over from their friends and resume waiting for an item they needed to appear. i understand that the key sign of an addiction is if you alter your life around it rather than fit it into your life. by all standards many of us are addicts. so is the solution to force ourselves to stop playing..or do we just need to make real life a bit more interesting sadly with all the talk of people becoming obsessed with gaming i find myself longing to have the time to join them. i have been in a long term relationship for over 4 years - since that began games have become more and more complex. and more and more so i find i have less and less time to play them with and marriage and work being the main drag on my time. i think the line between playing a game a lot and a gaming addiction is really quite distinct. i play games a lot definately over 20 hours a week but i don t go missing work or other commitments in order to play games. i have about a year ago deleted every game on my computer. rpgs are the worst - the real world fades and all your worries sorround a new magic staff or mighty sword. unlike books or perhaps even tv you gain absolutely nothing. when you stop playing you re at the same point as when you started; all the achievements of your 10 hour session are irretrievably locked in the game and since you ve gained nothing in the real world you may as well pile on more achievement in the fake one. despite having little monetary value the rewards and encouragement offered by these mmorpgs is enough to hook games for hours daily. if only business could learn to leverage that very simply human need for easily measurable progress and recognition. perhaps the unhealthily obsessed simply need more recognition for their achievements in reality my advice to gaming widows is if you can t beat em join em . that is try playing it yourself. if he wants to play as well well at least you ll be together somewhere... i was an addict and it cost me my relationship. i still play now but without the guilt hehe how long have i played in one sitting from morning till the early hours of the next day the birds were singing out side and i had to hobble to the bath room cos my bladder was so full i was in pain i would hardly eat perhaps some toast smoke endlessly and drink. now thankfully the fascination has worn off and i have a girlfriend but still no job. for the most part online gaming give me an adiction to illusory achievement and as there is no end in sight you keep going for the mirage of the ultimate. obsessive behaviour is of course always cause for concern but it always bothers me when articles about gaming talk in terms of reality . obviously somebody who spends thirty hours a week playing everquest has a problem. this problem however has nothing to do with a dysfunctional sense of reality. an obsessive eq player does not consider the game to be real any more than - for example - an obsessive automotive tinkerer considers their car to be human. if mmorpgs have a unique danger in terms of encouraging obsessive behaviour it is not that they create an absorbing virtual world but rather that they can be easily accessed 24/7. the problem here does not lie with the nature of gaming but with the nature of modern 24 hour culture. the problem with these so called mmorpgs is that you can never really complete them there s always another quest to do. a few of my friends have only had about 10 hours sleep since it was released friday... championship manager consumed my life for years. one particular session started at about 2pm on a sunday paused for a brief sleep at 5am on the monday and after visit to university for classes restarted at about midday for another 10 hour session. the people who tend to hark on about about the problems of hardcore gaming seem to be those who have rarely allowed themselves to become immersed in a game. i would expect their perspective to change if they were to do that. i used to be an everquest addict while i was in college. it came to the point where the gaming world felt more real than the real one. i failed alot of my courses and was able to barely graduate. i was lucky that i came to my senses when i did others were less fortunate and dropped out of college. now that i am holding a job i avoid online rpgs like the plague. when i was made redundant i told my partner i had a new job for three months whilst every day i played everquest from 7:30am till 5:pm. when she came home i pretended i had just got in as well hence justifying playing it all evening. i have since quit playing mmorpg and have a good job. when i got to the point where i was eating my dinner in front of the pc i realised things were getting silly so i m trying not to spend so much time on there. it s not easy. i feel as if i ve got a real addiction going on here. for me the problem is that i love to complete a goal. once it is completed that is it i am finished time to move on. i become obsessed to complete the goal so from that standpoint it is an addiction. in a game where you will never complete an ultimate goal well it would be like falling into a black pit. it is easier to escape into a controlled fantasy world than face reality at times - in other words the goal offered in the pc game are easier and more fun than the real world. pretty scary implications if you think about it. i can t buy world of warcraft as it would destroy my marrage i just know it!! i played star wars galaxies for about a year and can attest to the addictiveness of these games. they are all engineered in such a way that early on in the game you progress quickly but this progress becomes exponentially slower requiring more and more time to reach the next level. i m sad to say that at the peak of my addiction i was spending entire weekends in front of my monitor slowly building up my character stopping only for food and toilet breaks. thankfully i made a clean break and actually managed to sell my jedi account for £800 - which is my only sanity check in an otherwise completely unproductive time vacuum. seven years ago i began playing ultima online. this game dominated 2 years of my life. they were 2 wonderful years and i still have vivid memories of the experiences and friends i had. online gaming can be a world of escapism where you can be yourself without fear of the thoughts of others. something that cannot always be achieved in the day to day running of a normal life. whilst i would warn against people giving to much of there life to these games i believe they are a better way to spend your time than say watching tv. gaming is addictive and should be made a recognised addiction. when i was single i used to play upto eight hours a night after work every night for about a year building up my stats completing evermore quests and battling ogres. but somehow i found time to get out even met someone and got married! has my life changed hell no! i still cast spells and battle till the early hours of the morning. on with the fun! online gaming should be enjoyed just as much as you would enjoy watching television or going to the cinema or the pub with your mates. many people use recreational drugs on an occasional basis and are able to lead succesfull lives with families relationships and good careers. a minority allow drugs to take over and destroy their lives and become addicted. according to this article the same is true of mmorpgs. the message to the government is clear either legalise drugs or outlaw online gaming!! sounds like there are some sad stories here - and i can believe them all. i play alot of warcraft myself and know full well how addictive it is. i am resolute that it will not take over my life. it certainly gets in the way though. i think that some people simply do not know how to draw this line or lack the willpower to stop themselves stepping over it. i think i m obsessed with gaming in general i spend far too much time playing games like everquest 2 and football manager rather than going out and interacting with real people and when i do try to i m always thinking in the back if my mind that i d rather be in front of the computer winning the league with cambridge united. i am obsessed with online role playing games. it s not so much quests but it has the adrenaline of a real life situation - goals to achieve etc. i spend about five hours per day online playing it and i rarely get more than four to five hours sleep before getting up for work the next morning... as many of the players spend their time in mmorpgs rather than in front of the tv i fail to see how it will affect players social lives negatively. furthermore these types of games contain a huge social aspect whereas other games and some other pursuits (such as being a couch potato) the players could be indulging in are solitary by nature. these games are like most things -- too much of anything is a bad thing but as long as you can walk away from the computer to do other things too they can be great fun. living in korea at the moment they have lots pc bangs (internet cafes). nearly most of south koreans are addicted to online games and one korean died because of the lack of food and water he had through playing online games. i play xbox live every day. i find my self lying and rescheduling everything around my gaming fix. the longest i played was a 24 hour straight session. i know i play for to long but it s an obsession that i can t control. can you reccomend a counsellor - this is not a wind up... but something i m increasingly concerned with... me and my mate play online for an hour or two a day we re both aware of how much time can disappear by sitting in front of a tv trying to frag some individual. it s getting the balance between getting home and relasing the stress of a day by an hour or so gaming and enjoying real life... i bought the us version of world of warcraft when it came out. the longest period i played was 23 hrs straight. i gave up the game after a month because it was so addictive but have subsequently just bought the european version (couldn t help myself). in future i m going to regulate my time far more strictly. great game! having played mmorpg games for some years i agree that these type of games can be life sucking. but my concern is for the younger generation of gamers that play for hours on end in an adult enviroment. most mmorpg games you need a credit card to play but i dont think parents know just what they are letting there children into. unless there is undeniable medical proof that staring at a computer screens for hours at a time can damage a person¿s health you can expect this not to decline but to get worse. these people are pathetic. they need to get off their machines and notice that our world is being swiftly overcome by issues and troubles that make the trifling worries of and online universe absolutely meaningless. 24hours when i was a kid at school and i was on half term ultima online was the game ahhhh them was the days ! lol

housing plans criticised by mps irreversible environmental damage will be caused by government plans to build more than one million homes in south-east england mps have warned. sustainable communities were being promoted without a real understanding of what sustainable means the environmental audit committee said. it said issues like energy needs and transport were not properly addressed. deputy prime minister john prescott said the report was completed before new initiatives were announced. he said: we are working across government especially with our colleagues at defra to create cleaner safer and greener communities while protecting and enhancing the environment. the report said there was far too little attention paid to many environmental issues including water even though supplies in parts of the south east are already too low. regulations designed to ensure energy-efficient buildings are too lax and builders routinely flout them anyway it said. financing for improving transport was around one-twentieth of what would be required. the report was a stinging rebuke for the government and especially john prescott s department bbc environment correspondent richard black said. chairman of the environmental audit committee peter ainsworth mp said: the government s housing policy is an alarming example of disjointed thinking in an areas where joined-up policy is crucial. i accept the need to improve housing supply but as things stand the principal beneficiary of housing growth will be property developers with the environment we all depend on being the principal loser. points raised in the report included: - no proposals to further increase housing supply should be taken forward without strong supporting evidence. - the government should recognise shortcomings of the treasury s barker review which said 140 000 new homes a year were needed in britain. - the government should consider a national spatial framework for england such as those already in place in scotland and wales. - the office of the deputy prime minister should maximise brown field development and housing densities. - measures to encourage improved energy efficiency for existing homes should be considered - including reduced stamp duty for homes that achieve set standards and a clear timetable for achieving zero-emissions homes. - the government should make clear how it intends to measure its success at creating sustainable communities. conservative local government spokeswoman caroline spelman said: there is now growing evidence that john prescott s buildings programme is environmentally unsustainable leaving a concrete scar across the face of rural england.

wilkinson to lead england fly-half jonny wilkinson has been named as england s new rugby union captain for the three november tests. the 25-year-old newcastle star takes over from lawrence dallaglio who retired from internationals in august. england s acting head coach andy robinson said: he is a natural leader holds the respect of the squad and is a formidable talent on the pitch. and he consistently demonstrates the energy and commitment i feel is essential to be captain of england. robinson added: there are several players in the squad i would feel comfortable in calling upon to be england captain but for me jonny is in every way the right player to take on this challenge. captaincy offers a challenging environment for any player especially following in the footsteps of lawrence dallaglio and before him the world cup captain martin johnson. but i am confident jonny has what it takes to do an outstanding job as we look ahead towards the next rugby world cup in france and i look forward to working with him. wilkinson who has scored 817 points in 52 internationals kicked the winning drop-goal in the final seconds of extra-time in england s 2003 rugby world cup triumph against australia. but he then missed the entire 2004 six nations campaign while recuperating from shoulder surgery before making his comeback for newcastle in the zurich premiership in august. it s the ambition of so many players to one day be captain of england and today i have realised a dream he said. i m honoured andy wants me to be his captain and to follow lawrence and martin means a lot to me as they are inspirational men who have given so much to england rugby over many years. getting my first england cap against ireland six years ago was something i ll never forget because to play for your country is very special. taking on the captaincy is another important step in my career and i do so with immense pride. wilkinson made his international debut in the 1998 six nations championship against ireland when he came off the bench to replace paul grayson. he has been a regular in the england starting line-up ever since played in all three lions tests in 2001 and all but one of england s games in the 2003 world cup. he becomes the 117th captain of england since fred stokes held the position in 1871. england s first autumn test is against canada on 13 november followed by the visit of tri-nations champions south africa a week later and then a world cup re-match with australia.

parents face video game lessons ways of ensuring that parents know which video games are suitable for children are to be considered by the games industry. the issue was discussed at a meeting between uk government officials industry representatives and the british board of film classification. it follows concerns that children may be playing games aimed at adults which include high levels of violence. in 2003 britons spent £1 152m on games more than ever before. and this christmas parents are expected to spend millions on video games and consoles. violent games have been hit by controversy after the game manhunt was blamed by the parents of 14-year-old stefan pakeerah who was stabbed to death in leicester in february. his mother giselle said her son s killer warren leblanc 17 - who was jailed for life in september - had mimicked behaviour in the game. police investigating stefan s murder dismissed its influence and said manhunt was not part of its legal case. the issue of warnings on games for adults was raised on sunday by trade and industry secretary patricia hewitt. this was the focus of the talks between government officials representatives from the games industry and the british board of film classification. adults can make informed choices about what games to play. children can t and they deserve to be protected said culture secretary tessa jowell after the meeting. industry will consider how to make sure parents know what games their children should and shouldn t play. roger bennett director general of entertainment and leisure software publishers association said: a number of initiatives were discussed at the meeting. they will be formulated to create specific proposals to promote greater understanding recognition and awareness of the games rating system ensuring that young people are not exposed to inappropriate content. among the possible measures could be a campaign to explain to parents that many games are made for an adult audience as well as changes to the labelling of the games themselves. according to industry statistics a majority of players are over 18 with the average age of a gamer being 29. academics point out that there has not been any definitive research linking bloodthirsty games such as manhunt with violent responses in players. in a report published this week for the video standards council dr guy cumberbatch said: the research evidence on media violence causing harm to viewers is wildly exaggerated and does not stand up to scrutiny. dr cumberbatch head of the social policy think tank the communications research group reviewed the studies on the issue. he concluded that there was an absence of convincing research that media violence caused harm.

mutu to hold talks with juventus disgraced former chelsea striker adrian mutu is to begin talks with juventus as he looks for a new club. mutu will be in our club s main stand to watch the match between juventus and fiorentina said a juventus official who declined to be named. then he will meet some important people of the club he added. mutu 25 sacked by chelsea and banned for seven months for taking cocaine is now represented by alessandro moggi son of juve manager luciano moggi. mutu banned by the english fa can resume playing next may. he is to undergo a drug education and rehabilitation programme. mutu wants to train with romanian side dinamo bucharest whilst serving his ban say the bucharest side.

parties build up poll war chests the labour party received more than £5m in donations in the final quarter of 2004 new figures show. this is nearly half of the £11 724 929 received by 16 political parties listed by the electoral commission. the conservatives were in second place with donations totalling £4 610 849 while the liberal democrats received just over £1m. the majority of labour s donations came from affiliated trade unions. there were also large sums from individuals. lord drayson whose company powderject won multi-million pound contracts to provide smallpox vaccine to the government after the 11 september terror attacks gave £500 000 to the party just days before christmas. this followed an earlier donation of the same amount earlier in 2004. he was made a lord by tony blair last year. other significant donations came from retired millionaire businessman and philanthropist sir christopher ondaatje who gave the party a sum of £500 000 and refrigerator magnate william haughey obe who gave £330 000. the totals for the fourth quarter were well up on the same period of 2003 as the parties built up their war chests for the general election campaign. the largest donation to the conservatives was a bequest from ruth beardmore of nearly £400 000. the joint founder of merchant bank hambro magan gave £325 417. there were also donations topping £250 000 for the conservatives from scottish business groups focus on scotland and the institute of international research the world s largest independent conference company. also among the gifts to the tories were 24 donations totalling £161 840 from bearwood corporate services. this company is controlled by the party s former treasurer lord ashcroft which has directed almost £300 000 to specific marginal constituencies over the past two years. the liberal democrats largest donor was the joseph rowntree reform trust ltd a company which promotes political reform and constitutional change which gave a sum of £250 000. and fast food giants mcdonald s are listed as donating a sum of £10 575. this was a fee the firm paid for a room for an event held with the work and skills foundation during the party s conference. the uk independence party which lost its main donor paul sykes amid the row over robert kilroy-silk s bid for the leadership last autumn took in £63 081. just £8 170 of this was cash and the remainder came in gifts in kind such as office space and printing. registered political parties are required to set out each quarter all donations over £5 000 to their headquarters and over £1 000 to local constituency parties they receive. it is an offence for a person to knowingly or recklessly make a false declaration about party donations.

howard denies split over id cards michael howard has denied his shadow cabinet was split over its decision to back controversial labour plans to introduce id cards. the tory leader said his front bench team had reached a collective view after holding a good discussion but admitted it was not an easy issue . he had decided to support the plans as the police said they would help fight terror crime and illegal immigration. the lib dems have pledged to oppose the bill when it is debated next monday. tory sources say senior party figures had argued vociferously against the id card scheme. among those reported to have serious reservations over the strategy were senior shadow cabinet members david davis oliver letwin and tim yeo. but mr howard denied mr yeo his transport and environment spokesman said the plans stink . he also said he was confident shadow home secretary mr davis would set out the position very clearly when he stands up to debate the matter next week. mr howard said the police had said id cards could help them foil a terror bomb plot in which people could lose their lives . he added: when the police say that you have to take them seriously . he acknowledged there were good libertarian arguments against the cards but said the shadow cabinet had weighed up all the conflicting interests before reaching its decision. i don t pretend that it is an easy decision but at the end of the day a decision has to be taken. he also denied he was afraid of looking soft on the issue compared to labour. the conservatives announced their support for the government plans on monday evening. sources within the party told the bbc mr howard had always been in favour of id cards and tried to introduce them when he was home secretary. but the tories insisted they would hold ministers to account over the precise purpose of the scheme. they said they would also press labour over whether objectives could be met and whether the home office would be able to deliver them. and they pledged to assess the cost effectiveness of id cards and whether people s privacy would be properly protected. it is important to remember that this bill will take a decade to come into full effect a spokesman said. lib dem home affairs spokesman mark oaten has branded the id scheme a waste of money and deeply flawed . he said: this has all the signs of michael howard overruling colleagues concerns over id cards. the chairman of the bar council guy mansfield qc warned there was a real risk that people on the margins of society would be driven into the hands of extremists. what is going to happen to young asian men when there has been a bomb gone off somewhere they are going to be stopped. if they haven t [id cards] they are going to be detained. tory ex-minister douglas hogg said he opposed the plans for id cards branding them a regressive step which would intrude into the lives of ordinary citizens without any counterbalancing benefits. he predicted ultimately carrying the cards would become compulsory and that would lead to large numbers of britain s ethnic minorities being stopped by police.

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.

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.

xbox power cable fire fear microsoft has said it will replace more than 14 million power cables for its xbox consoles due to safety concerns. the company said the move was a preventative step after reports of fire hazard problems with the cables. it affects xboxes made before 23 october 2003 for all regions but mainland europe - and consoles in that region made before 13 january 2004. microsoft said it had received 30 reports of minor injury or property damage due to faulty cables. the firm said fewer than one in 10 000 consoles had experienced component failures. the recall affects almost three quarters of all xboxes sold around the world since its launch in 2001. in a statement it added: in almost all instances any damage caused by these failures was contained within the console itself or limited to the tip of the power cord at the back of the console. but in seven cases customers reported sustaining a minor burn to their hand. in 23 cases customers reported smoke damage or minor damage to a carpet or entertainment centre. this is a preventative step we re choosing to take despite the rarity of these incidents said robbie bach senior vice president microsoft home and entertainment division. we regret the inconvenience but believe offering consumers a free replacement cord is the responsible thing to do. consumers can order a new cable from the xbox website or by telephoning 0800 028 9276 in the uk. microsoft said customers would get replacement cords within two to four weeks from the time of order. it advised users to turn off their xboxes when not in use. a follow-up to xbox is expected to released at the end of this year or the beginning of 2006.

smith aims to bring back respect scotland manager walter smith says he wants to restore the national team s respectability in world football. smith has joined his first squad for a three-day get-together near manchester in preference to playing a friendly. while qualification for the 2006 world cup appears to be beyond scotland smith is anxious that the remainder of the campaign should be positive. i think we have got to try to get a bit of respectability back in whatever way we can he said. we will have to approach each game differently. obviously we will have to approach the italian game away from home in a different manner to moldova at home. we have to meet the challenge of each match. smith meeting a number of his squad for the first time brought them together on monday to outline his ideas for improving the nation s fortunes. he said: i pointed out how i see the international team going forward and that was the main topic. this is a relaxed gathering and i don t think there is a lot of doom and gloom about the squad that a lot of people think exists. a 25-man squad will spend the next three days based at the mottram hall hotel in cheshire and will train at manchester united s nearby carrington complex. smith will be absent for the final sessions however as he is due to fly out to sardinia on wednesday to watch italy s friendly with russia.

india s reliance family feud heats up the ongoing public spat between the two heirs of india s biggest conglomerate reliance group has spilled over to the board meeting of a leading company within the group. anil ambani vice-chairman of india petrochemicals limited (ipcl) stayed away from a gathering of senior managers on thursday. the move follows a decision earlier this month by anil - the younger brother of reliance group president mukesh ambani - to resign from his post. his resignation was not accepted by his brother who is also the boss of ipcl. the ipcl board met in mumbai to discuss the company s results for the october-to-december quarter. it is understood that the board also considered anil s resignation and asked him to reconsider his decision. however anil s demand that anand jain - another ipcl board member accused by anil of creating a rift in the ambani family - be thrown out was not met. anil has accused anand jain a confidant of his brother mukesh of playing a negative role in the ambani family and being responsible for the trouble between the brothers. on wednesday the board of reliance energy another reliance group company reaffirmed its faith in anil who is the company s chief. reliance group acquired the government s 26% stake in ipcl - india s second-largest petrochemicals company - in 2002 as part of the privatisation drive. meanwhile the group s flagship company reliance industries has its board meeting on friday to consider its financial results. mukesh is the company s chairman and anil its deputy and it is expected that both brothers will come face to face in the meeting. the ambani family controls 48% of the group which is worth $17bn (£9.1bn; 745bn indian rupees). it was founded by their father dhiru bhai ambani who died two years ago.

god cut from dark materials film the director and screenwriter of the film adaptation of philip pullman s his dark materials is to remove references to god and the church in the movie. chris weitz director of about a boy said the changes were being made after film studio new line expressed concern. the books tell of a battle against the church and a fight to overthrow god. they have expressed worry about the possibility of perceived anti-religiosity weitz told a his dark materials fans website. pullman s trilogy has been attacked by some christian teachers and by the catholic press as blasphemy. weitz who admitted he would not be many people s first choice to direct the films said he regarded the film adaptation as the most important work of my life . in part because it is one of the few books to have changed my life he told bridgetothestars.net. the award-winning trilogy - northern lights the subtle knife and the amber spyglass - tell the story of oxford school child lyra belacqua. she is drawn into an epic struggle against the church which has been carrying out experiments on children in an attempt to remove original sin. as the books progress the struggle turns into a battle to overthrow the authority a figure who is god-like in the books. weitz who directed american pie and about a boy said new line feared that any anti-religiosity in the film would make the project unviable financially . he said: all my best efforts will be directed towards keeping the film as liberating and iconoclastic an experience as i can. but there may be some modification of terms. weitz said he had visited pullman who had told him that the authority could represent any arbitrary establishment that curtails the freedom of the individual whether it be religious political totalitarian fundamentalist communist what have you . he added: i have no desire to change the nature or intentions of the villains of the piece but they may appear in more subtle guises. there are a number of christian websites which attack the trilogy for their depiction of the church and of god but pullman has denied his books are anti-religious. his agent told the times newspaper that pullman was happy with the adaptation so far. of course new line want to make money but mr weitz is a wonderful director and philip is very supportive. you have to recognise that it is a challenge in the climate of bush s america

blair damaged by blunkett row a majority of voters (68%) believe the prime minister has been damaged by the row over david blunkett s involvement in a visa application a poll suggests. but nearly half those surveyed said mr blunkett should return to cabinet if labour won the next election. some 63% of respondents in the sunday times poll thought his former lover - kimberly quinn - acted vindictively and 61% that he had been right to resign. yougov polled a weighted sample of 1 981 voters online on 16-18 december. mr blunkett resigned as home secretary on wednesday after an inquiry uncovered an e-mail showing a visa application by mrs quinn s former nanny had been speeded up. sir alan budd s inquiry also found mr blunkett s account of events had been wrong. almost a quarter (21%) of those polled for the sunday times said he should return to the cabinet straight after the election. one in four said he should be back in the government s top ranks within a year or two while 39% opposed a comeback. three-quarters said mr blunkett was right to go to court for the right to see mrs quinn s son - whom he says he fathered - and just 14% voiced sympathy for mrs quinn. a total of 53% of those polled said they had sympathy for mr blunkett with 40% saying they did not. forty-three per cent thought mr blunkett had done a good job as home secretary and 17% disagreed. meantime 32% said mr blair was a good prime minister and 38% disagreed. a majority 52% said chancellor gordon brown had done a good job and just 16% disagreed. a second poll for the independent on sunday found that support for all political parties remained largely unchanged after the blunkett controversy. labour lead the conservatives by 39% to 34% with the liberal democrats on 19%. communicateresearch interviewed 401 people before david blunkett s resignation and 601 afterwards. some 82% said mr blunkett had set a good example by wanting to take responsibility for the child he says is his but 42% backed his legal action compared to 45% who thought it was unbecoming. thirty per cent said the affair showed mr blunkett could not be trusted as a minister while 63% disagreed.

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.

baa support ahead of court battle uk airport operator baa has reiterated its support for the government s aviation expansion plans to airports throughout the country. the comments come a day ahead of a high court challenge by residents groups and local councils to the government s white paper. the judicial review will centre on government plans for expansion at heathrow stansted and luton airports. baa which operates all three said it was consulting with local communities. we are...consulting on voluntary compensation schemes which go beyond our statutory obligations a baa spokesman said. groups challenging the plans include stop stansted expansion heathrow anti-noise campaigners hacan clearskies and the london boroughs of hillingdon and wandsworth. at heathrow gatwick edinburgh and glasgow airports baa launched a series of consultations on blight to properties from the proposed expansion in september 2004 which will close next week. the company is also offering to buy noise-hit properties for an index-linked unblighted price. among other measures baa has set up a homeowner support scheme for people living near stansted and has launched a special scheme for those close to the airport but far enough away not to be covered by the homeowner scheme. at heathrow baa said it was working closely with all interested parties to see how the strict environmental air quality and noise targets for a third runway can be met. at gatwick the company has written to homes and business likely to be affected by any extra runway. stop stansted expansion said the white paper published in december 2003 was fundamentally flawed and did not follow the proper consultation process. we do not underestimate the scale of the challenge before us because the courts have never before overturned a government white paper said stop stansted expansion chairman peter sanders said. hacan chairman john stewart said: almost exactly a year ago the government published its 30-year aviation white paper with much fanfare. it hoped that would be the end of the debate and it could proceed with its plans for a massive expansion of aviation. yet a year later the protesters are still here and stronger than ever. a judgement from mr justice sullivan is expected early in february.

uk firm faces venezuelan land row venezuelan authorities have said they will seize land owned by a british company as part of president chavez s agrarian reform programme. officials in cojedes state said on friday that farmland owned by a subsidiary of the vestey group would be taken and used to settle poor farmers. the government is cracking down on so-called latifundios or large rural estates which it says are lying idle. the vestey group said it had not been informed of any planned seizure. the firm whose agroflora subsidiary operates 13 farms in venezuela insisted that it had complied fully with venezuelan law. prosecutors in the south of the country have targeted hato el charcote a beef cattle ranch owned by agroflora. according to reuters they plan to seize 12 900 acres (5 200 hectares) from the 32 000 acre (13 000 hectare) farm. officials claim that agroflora does not possess valid documents proving its ownership of the land in question. they also allege that areas of the ranch are not being used for any form of active production. the legal boundaries did not match up with the actual boundaries and there is surplus state prosecutor alexis ortiz told reuters. as a consequence the government has taken action. controversial reforms passed in 2001 give the government the right to take control of private property if it is declared idle or ownership cannot be traced back to the 19th century. critics say the powers - which president chavez argues are needed to help the country s poorest citizens and develop the venezuelan economy - trample all over private property rights. the vestey group said it had owned the land since 1920 and would co-operate fully with the authorities. but a spokesman added: agroflora is absolutely confident that what it has submitted will demonstrate the legality of its title to the land. the company pointed out that the farm which employs 300 workers provides meat solely for the venezuelan market. last month the government said it had identified more than 500 idle farms and had yet to consider the status of a further 40 000. the authorities said landowners whose titles were in order and whose farms were productive had nothing to fear . under president chavez the venezuelan government has steadily expanded the state s involvement in the country s economy. it recently said all mining contracts involving foreign firms would be examined to ensure they provided sufficient economic benefits to the state.

japanese growth grinds to a halt growth in japan evaporated in the three months to september sparking renewed concern about an economy not long out of a decade-long trough. output in the period grew just 0.1% an annual rate of 0.3%. exports - the usual engine of recovery - faltered while domestic demand stayed subdued and corporate investment also fell short. the growth falls well short of expectations but does mark a sixth straight quarter of expansion. the economy had stagnated throughout the 1990s experiencing only brief spurts of expansion amid long periods in the doldrums. one result was deflation - prices falling rather than rising - which made japanese shoppers cautious and kept them from spending. the effect was to leave the economy more dependent than ever on exports for its recent recovery. but high oil prices have knocked 0.2% off the growth rate while the falling dollar means products shipped to the us are becoming relatively more expensive. the performance for the third quarter marks a sharp downturn from earlier in the year. the first quarter showed annual growth of 6.3% with the second showing 1.1% and economists had been predicting as much as 2% this time around. exports slowed while capital spending became weaker said hiromichi shirakawa chief economist at ubs securities in tokyo. personal consumption looks good but it was mainly due to temporary factors such as the olympics. the amber light is flashing. the government may now find it more difficult to raise taxes a policy it will have to implement when the economy picks up to help deal with japan s massive public debt.

wenger rules out new keeper arsenal boss arsene wenger says he has no plans to sign a new goalkeeper during the january transfer window. wenger has brought in manuel almunia for the last three games for the out-of-form jens lehmann - but the spaniard himself has been prone to mistakes. there have been suggestions that wenger will swoop for a high-quality shot-stopper in the new year. but he told the evening standard: i don t feel it will be necessary to bring in a new goalkeeper in january. the gunners manager refused to comment on the difficult start that 27-year-old almunia has made to his career at highbury. and he would not be drawn on whether lehmann would return for the top-of-the table clash with chelsea on sunday. almunia was at fault for rosenborg s goal in arsenal s 5-1 champions league win on tuesday and had some hairy moments in last week s win over birmingham. but wenger said earlier this week that his indifferent form was down to pressure caused by being under scrutiny from the media. the debate has gone on too long. everyone has an opinion and i do not have to add to it wenger added. arsenal have been linked with middlesbrough keeper mark schwarzer fulham s edwin van der sar and parma s sebastien frey. and wenger has no immediate plans to recall former england under-21 international stuart taylor from his loan spell at leicester.

correction agency plans dropped plans to create a single correctional agency for scotland have been scrapped. the scottish executive will not now merge the scottish prison service with local authority social work criminal justice departments. the national correctional agency would have provided a one-stop justice system but has been abandoned in the wake of stiff opposition. instead scottish councils and the prison service will be compelled to work more closely to cut reoffending. the plan was to ensure offenders were monitored by the same body during and after prison preventing many from being lost in the system and helping more of them to stop reoffending. scotland s reoffending rate is high with more than 60% of prisoners reconvicted within two years of release from jail. this is leading to an ever-expanding prison population and the executive wants to tackle the problem. ministers thought merging the prison service with the council-controlled criminal justice social work departments which provide community sentences might have provided an answer. however following a consultation on the idea justice minister cathy jamieson has decided to drop the plans. instead ms jamieson will change the law to help produce a closer working relationship between both elements of the justice system. she will announce the move in her criminal justice plan on monday aiming to break down the barriers between what happens in prison and what happens in the community . the new measures will place a new statutory duty on the sps to work with local authorities and others in area partnerships. a national advisory board on offender management will also be created to advise ms jamieson on the sps s role and performance in reducing reoffending. the minister said: better joint working will help prisons play a much stronger role in ending reoffending behaviour and in particular help address the revolving door of reoffending that sees offenders entering prison for short periods during which little is done to address the behaviour that brought them there. communities who are paying the price for this reoffending - both in terms of crime and in terms of prison costs - expect better. it costs the taxpayer £35 000 a year to provide each prison place and that cost is increasing. taxpayers who suffer the consequences of crime also end up paying for keeping those people in prison. therefore as we continue to invest in the service it is only right that we seek to ensure that that service becomes more accountable to the public it serves to ministers and to parliament.

news corp eyes video games market news corp the media company controlled by australian billionaire rupert murdoch is eyeing a move into the video games market. according to the financial times chief operating officer peter chernin said that news corp is kicking the tyres of pretty much all video games companies . santa monica-based activison is said to be one firm on its takeover list. video games are big business the paper quoted mr chernin as saying. we would like to get into it . the success of products such as sony s playstation microsoft s x-box and nintendo s game cube have boosted demand for video games. the days of arcade classics such as space invaders pac-man and donkey kong are long gone. today games often have budgets big enough for feature films and look to give gamers as real an experience as possible. and with their price tags reflecting the heavy investment by development companies video games are proving almost as profitable as they are fun. mr chernin however told the ft that news corp was finding it difficult to identify a suitable target. we are struggling with the gap between companies like electronic arts (ea) which comes with a high price tag and the next tier of companies he explained during a conference in phoenix arizona. these may be too focused on one or two product lines. activision has a stock market capitalisation of about $2.95bn (£1.57bn) compared to ea s $17.8bn. some of the games industry s main players have recently been looking to consolidate their position by making acquisitions. france s ubisoft one of europe s biggest video game publishers has been trying to remain independent since electronic arts announced plans to buy 19.9% of the firm. analysts have said that industry mergers are likely in the future.

ea to take on film and tv giants video game giant electronic arts (ea) says it wants to become the biggest entertainment firm in the world. the us firm says it wants to compete with companies such as disney and will only achieve this by making games appeal to mainstream audiences. ea publishes blockbuster titles such as fifa and john madden as well as video game versions of movies such as harry potter and the james bond films. its revenues were $3bn (£1.65bn) in 2004 which ea hoped to double by 2009. ea is the biggest games publisher in the world and in 2004 had 27 titles which sold in excess of one million copies each. nine of the 20 biggest-selling games in the uk last year were published by ea. gerhard florin ea s managing director for european publishing said: doubling our industry in five years is not rocket science. he said it would take many years before ea could challenge disney - which in 2004 reported revenues of $30bn (£16bn) - but it remained a goal for the company. we will be able to bring more people into gaming because games will be more emotional. mr florin predicted that the next round of games console would give developers enough power to create real emotion. it s the subtleties the eyes the mouth - 5 000 polygons doesn t really sell the emotion. with ps3 and xbox 2 we can go on the main character with 30 000 to 50 000 polygons he said. with that increased firepower the finding nemo video game looks just like the movie but it will be interactive. mr florin said that more than 50% of all ea s games were sold to adults and played by adults but the perception remained that the video game industry was for children. our goal is to bring games to the masses which bring out emotions. ea said the video game industry was now bigger than the music industry. nobody queues for music anymore. you can t ignore an industry when people queue to buy a game at midnight because they are so desperate to play it he said referring to demand for titles for such as grand theft auto: san andreas and halo 2. jan bolz ea s vice president of sales and marketing in europe said the firm was working to give video games a more central role in popular culture. he said the company was in advanced stages of discussions over a reality tv show in which viewers could control the actions of the characters as in its popular game the sims. one idea could be that you re controlling a family telling them when to go to the kitchen and when to go to the bedroom and with this mechanism you have gamers all over the world playing the show said mr bolz. he also said ea was planning an international awards show similar to the oscars and the grammys which would combine video games music and movies. mr bolz said video games firm had to work more closely with celebrities. people will want to play video games if their heroes like robbie williams or christina aguilera are in them. mr florin said the challenge was to keep people playing in their 30s 40s and 50s. there s an indication that a 30 year old comes home from work and still wants to play games. if that s true that s a big challenge for tv broadcasters - because watching tv is the biggest pastime at present.

bank holds interest rate at 4.75% the bank of england has left interest rates on hold again at 4.75% in a widely-predicted move. rates went up five times from november 2003 - as the bank sought to cool the housing market and consumer debt - but have remained unchanged since august. recent data has indicated a slowdown in manufacturing and consumer spending as well as in mortgage approvals. and retail sales disappointed over christmas with analysts putting the drop down to less consumer confidence. rising interest rates and the accompanying slowdown in the housing market have knocked consumers optimism causing a sharp fall in demand for expensive goods according to a report earlier this week from the british retail consortium. the brc said britain s retailers had endured their worst christmas in a decade. today s no change decision is correct said david frost director general of the british chambers of commerce (bcc). but if there are clear signs that the economy slows the mpc should be ready to take quick corrective action and cut rates. dismal reports from the retail trade about christmas sales are worrying if they indicate a more general weakening in consumer spending. mr frost added: the housing market outlook remains highly uncertain. it is widely accepted that if house prices start falling more sharply the risks facing the economy will worsen considerably. cbi chief economist ian mccafferty said the economy had slowed in recent months in response to rate rises but that it was difficult to gauge from the christmas period the likely pace of activity through the summer. the bank is having to juggle the emergence of inflationary pressures driven by a tight labour market and buoyant commodity prices against the risk of an over-abrupt slowdown in consumer activity he said. interest rates are likely to remain on hold for some time. on thursday there was more gloomy news on the manufacturing front as the office for national (ons) statistics revealed british manufacturing output unexpectedly fell in november - for the fifth month in the past six. the ons said manufacturing output dropped 0.1% in november matching a similar unrevised fall in october and confounding economists expectations of a 0.3% rise. manufacturers organisation the eef said it expected the hold in interest rates to continue in the near future. it also said there was evidence that manufacturers confidence may be waning as the outlook for the world economy becomes more uncertain. so far the evidence suggests that last year s rate increases have helped to rebalance the economy without damaging the recovery in manufacturing said eef chief economist steve radley. however should the business outlook start to deteriorate the bank should stand ready to cut rates. some economists have predicted rates will drop later in the year although others feel the bank may still think there is a need for a rise to 5% before that happens. the bank remains concerned about the long-term risks posed by personal debt - which is rising at 15% a year - if economic conditions worsen.

veteran comic cyril fletcher dies veteran comedian and broadcaster cyril fletcher has died aged 91 at his home in guernsey. fletcher will be remembered for his odd odes and amusing misprints on tv show that s life in the 1970s and 80s as well as a long variety career. he was also a regular on does the team think a comic version of radio information show the brains trust. that s life host esther rantzen said he was so lovely and a delight to work with. the thing about cyril was that he was to use a slightly old-fashioned phrase an english gentleman she said. he was courteous and understated and he adored gardens particularly creating them for his beautiful wife. he was funny and witty to work with. he was a real friend and i shall miss him. one of the last comedians of old-time variety era fletcher made his first tv appearance in 1937. a year after bbc television began he was seen reciting humorous poems appearing in a revue tele-ho and playing the emperor of morocco in the first televised pantomime dick whittington. he went on to become a regular voice on radio have a string of tv shows in the 1950s and appear in several films including 1947 s nicholas nickleby. he married actress betty astell in 1941 and in the 1950s and 60s they produced pantos and summer shows discovering new stars including harry secombe. in the mid-1990s fletcher said he had made a fabulous living since the age of 22 and had never had a day out of work. he was most recently seen presenting a gardening programme for channel tv. fletcher was described as a consummate professional by his friend and fellow broadcaster michael pointon. it really was a pleasure to work with him - he had met everyone and done everything mr pointon said. he was a whimsical droll fellow but also a very artistic man. as a friend he was very kind and generous. fletcher s daughter jill said her father would be sorely missed. he was greatly loved by the public she said.

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.

jones files lawsuit against conte marion jones has filed a lawsuit for defamation against balco boss victor conte following his allegations that he gave her performance-enhancing drugs. the sydney olympic gold medallist says conte damaged her reputation and she is seeking $25m (£13m) in the suit. conte whose company is at the centre of a doping investigation made the claims in a us television programme. he and three others were indicted in february by a federal grand jury for a variety of alleged offences. in an email to the associated press on wednesday conte said: i stand by everything i said . jones won three gold medals and two bronzes in sydney in 2000. her lawsuit filed in the us district court in san francisco said the sprinter had passed a lie detector test and that she has never taken banned performance-enhancing drugs . conte s statements the suit added were false and malicious . after the abc television program earlier this month jones lawyer richard nicholls said: marion has steadfastly maintained her position throughout: she has never ever used performance-enhancing drugs. victor conte is a man facing a 42-count federal indictment while marion jones is one of america s most decorated female athletes. mr conte s statements have been wildly contradictory. mr conte chose to make unsubstantiated allegations on television while marion jones demanded to take and then passed a lie detector examination. mr conte is simply not credible. we challenge him to submit to the same lie detector procedure that marion jones passed. the sport s ruling body the iaaf is taking a cautious approach to conte s allegations but contacted the us anti-doping agency. communications director nick davies said the iaaf would seek to contact conte for further information . but davies stressed it would be up to the american authorities to decide whether they will take action against jones in light of conte s television interview and the world governing body would monitor the situation closely. if it is felt there is case to answer it would be for its national governing body (usa track and field) to take the appropriate disciplinary action he added. the us anti-doping agency has proved itself to be very diligent in its anti-doping war. and i am sure like ourselves they will be watching the television programme with great interest. jones who is under investigation for steroid use by the us anti-doping agency has continually denied ever taking illegal substances since being investigated in the balco scandal although she praised a zinc supplement conte marketed. jones who did not win any medals in athens in august has never failed a drugs test. meanwhile conte who has been charged along with three other men of distributing illegal steroids and money laundering is due to face trial in march.

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.

freeze on anti-spam campaign a campaign by lycos europe to target spam-related websites appears to have been put on hold. earlier this week the company released a screensaver that bombarded the sites with data to try to bump up the running costs of the websites. but the site hosting the screensaver now displays a pink graphic and the words stay tuned . no one at lycos was available for comment on latest developments in its controversial anti-spam campaign. lycos europe s make love not spam campaign was intended as a way for users to fight back against the mountain of junk mail flooding inboxes. people were encouraged to download the screensaver which when their pc was idle would then send lots of data to sites that peddle the goods and services mentioned in spam messages. lycos said the idea was to get the spam sites running at 95% capacity and generate big bandwidth bills for the spammers behind the sites. but the plan has proved controversial. monitoring firm netcraft analysed response times for some of the sites targeted by the screensaver and found that a number were completely knocked offline. the downing of the sites could dent lycos claims that what it is doing does not amount to a distributed denial of service attack. in such attacks thousands of computers bombard sites with data in an attempt to overwhelm them. laws in many countries do not explicitly outlaw such attacks but many nations are re-drafting computer use laws to make them specific offences. lycos europe now appears to have put the plan on hold. the site hosting the screensaver currently shows a holding page with the words stay tuned . the numerical internet address of the site has also changed. this is likely to be in response to spammers who have reportedly redirected traffic from their sites back to the lycos screensaver site. the campaign has come under fire from some corners of the web. many discussion groups have said that it set a dangerous precedent and could incite vigilantism. attacking a spammer s website is like poking a grizzly bear sleeping in your back garden with a pointy stick said graham cluley senior technology consultant for sophos. not only is this screensaver similar in its approach to a potentially illegal distributed denial of service attack but it also is in danger of turning innocent computer users into vigilantes who may not be prepared for whatever retaliation the spammers care to dream up.

blunkett hints at election call ex-home secretary david blunkett has given fresh clues that the general election will be announced on monday. he told bbc radio five live: i m out in my constituency getting ready for what we presume will be an announcement very shortly at the weekend. he clarified that he meant he would be in his sheffield seat this weekend not that he expected an election call then. tony blair is tipped to ask the queen on monday to dissolve parliament ready for a 5 may poll.

lib dems highlight problem debt people vulnerable to problem debts should be afforded greater protection from banks aggressively promoting financial products the lib dems say. vincent cable says one in eight households already struggle with debt and that will worsen if there is a hike in interest rates or unemployment. the lib dems treasury spokesman is unveiling a policy aimed at the issue. he wants to see proper health checks when loans are marketed so people know to take out payment protection. were economic conditions to deteriorate at all large numbers of people could be affected because they have borrowed to the limit mr cable told bbc news. banks are very aggressively promoting debt in many cases there is a bigger problem ahead. mr cable said the government s consumer credit bill would target some of the extreme problems such as loan sharking but ministers had been a bit complacent about the wider issue of debt levels. he said much of the payment protection currently available was extremely expensive and there were lots of exclusions . mr cable added that the office of fair trading should investigate the market. lib dem leader charles kennedy meanwhile is in the middle of a tour of the uk aimed at persuading voters his is the real opposition . mr kennedy is visiting a mixture of rural seats where his party is hoping to make gains from the conservatives and urban areas traditionally associated with labour. labour say a lib dem vote could let the tories in while the tories say the lib dems would mean higher taxes soft crime laws more power to europe . mr kennedy s tour comes as he labour leader tony blair and conservative leader michael howard all step up campaigning ahead of the next general election widely expected to be held on 5 may. the liberal democrats say in the northern cities the race is between them and labour while in southern seats - particularly the south west - it is between them and the tories. speaking to the bbc s westminster hour on sunday mr kennedy said the upcoming general election - widely tipped for 5 may - would be much more unpredictable than any others in recent experience . and he brushed off labour suggestions a vote for his party would mean letting the tories in by the back door . if you look at the four previous parliamentary by-elections the liberal democrats have demonstrated that not only can we leapfrog the conservatives where we start in a third place position but we can go on to defeat the government. that s going to be the story i think of this coming general election.

kraft cuts snack ads for children kraft plans to cut back on advertising of products like oreo cookies and sugary kool-aid drinks as part of an effort to promote healthy eating. the largest us food maker will also add a label to its more nutritional and low-fat brands to promote the benefits. kraft rival pepsico began a similar labelling initiative last year. the moves come as the firms face criticism from consumer groups concerned at rising levels of obesity in us children. major food manufacturers have recently been reformulating the content of some calorie-heavy products. kraft s new advertising policy which covers advertising on tv radio and in print publications is aimed at children between the ages of six and 11. it means commercials for some of its most famous snacks and cereals shown during early morning cartoon shows on tv will now be replaced by food and drink qualifying for kraft s new sensible solution label. but the firm said it would continue to advertise all its products in media seen by parents and all family audiences. we re working on ways to encourage both adults and children to eat wisely by selecting more nutritionally balanced diets said lance friedmann kraft senior vice president.

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.

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)

bellamy under new fire newcastle boss graeme souness has reopened his dispute with craig bellamy after claiming the welshman was not good enough for the magpies. bellamy left newcastle to join celtic on loan after a major row with souness. souness - who refused to refer to the 25-year-old by name - said bellamy did not score enough goals the chap that s just gone has scored 9.3 goals a season in his time in senior football - half of those weren t even in the top flight said souness. that s not good enough for a striker at a club like this. we need to have two strikers who are near 20 goals on a regular basis. bellamy turned down a move to birmingham in favour of joining celtic after a disagreement about the welsh international playing out of position quickly escalated. earlier in the week souness had said that he risked losing the confidence of the players and damaging his own reputation if he had not taken a hard line after bellamy accused him of lying. there are certain things you can forgive and forget said souness. but if i d been seen to be weak in this case there was no future for me with the players in the dressing room or any job i have after newcastle. he could then return to st james park - and he says that he wants to. however it would seem unlikely he will play for newcastle again as long as souness remains in charge.

escaped prisoner report ordered first minister jack mcconnell has ordered a report on the decision to allow a paranoid schizophrenic knife attacker to go on a visit unguarded. michael ferguson 36 escaped after being allowed out of the high-security carstairs unit. the snp s nicola sturgeon has demanded to know who was responsible for signing off the leave. the scottish executive said ministers would be notified but it would not be common practice to sign approval. an executive spokesman said the health department and the state hospital itself would work together on preparing the report. ministerial responsibility for carstairs rests with rhona brankin the deputy health minister. ms brankin said: the first minister has called for a review of what has happened we need to talk to the state hospital and we need to reflect on this. ms sturgeon has written to mr mcconnell asking for clarification on the move to allow the prisoner out. she said questions must be answered about his escape if the public is to be reassured about safety. police are still searching for ferguson who failed to return after a trip to east kilbride on monday. the scottish national party s parliamentary leader argued that under the law authorisation of ferguson s leave of absence would have come directly from ministers. she said: the scottish executive seemed to indicate yesterday that the escape of mr ferguson was a matter for carstairs. however my understanding is that under the mental health legislation the decision to grant this patient - and any restricted patient - leave of absence would have required direct and specific authorisation by scottish ministers. she added: i have written to the first minister today asking for confirmation of that fact. i have also asked him to confirm which minister would routinely take decisions of this nature and what information they are based on. this is not an attempt to apportion blame but to ensure a better understanding of the decision making process in such important and sensitive cases. police said ferguson posed a danger to the public. bbc scotland political correspondent glenn campbell said the first minister had ordered an urgent report into the situation. he said: we understand from the executive that in this case no individual minister signed off the approval for michael ferguson to be released unescorted from carstairs. the executive concedes that it is up to scottish ministers they have a legal responsibility for approving this sort of leave but they say routinely it is specialised officials that make that decision and simply inform ministers that they have taken it. but at that stage presumably ministers can ask hard questions and can ask for reassurances that the patient is not a serious danger to the public or that any risk has been minimised. scottish conservative leader david mcletchie said earlier it was almost beyond belief that this has been allowed to happen . the executive spokeswoman said the recommendation for leave was agreed by a psychiatric advisor in conjunction with officials on behalf of ministers . she said: ministers were told of that notified of it but it would not be common practice for them to sign it off. they do have statutory responsibility but the common practice has been that people who work with the patient and have the best knowledge about risk would make that decision. ferguson who slashed a man in a doctors surgery in coatbridge in 1994 had been out to see his fiancée annabella holmes 47 whom he met when she was a patient at the high security complex in south lanarkshire. he is described as being 5ft 9ins tall slim with blond hair blue eyes and a fair complexion. ferguson was wearing a black jacket grey jeans black jumper and black shoes when he was last seen. he has multiple fading tattoos on his left hand and a very faded tear tattoo under his left eye. ms holmes is not missing but there have been no sightings of ferguson since monday. strathclyde police asked anyone who spots ferguson to contact sergeant keith mcdonald on .

deutsche boerse boosts dividend deutsche boerse the german stock exchange that is trying to buy its london rival has said it will boost its 2004 dividend payment by 27%. analysts said that the move is aimed at winning over investors opposed to its bid for the london stock exchange. critics of the takeover have complained that the money could be better used by returning cash to shareholders. deutsche boerse also said profit in the three months to 31 december was 120.7m euros ($158.8m; £83.3m). sales climbed to 364.4m euros lifting revenue for the year to a record 1.45bn euros. frankfurt-based deutsche boerse has offered £1.3bn ($2.48bn; 1.88bn euros) for the london stock exchange. rival pan-european bourse euronext is working also on a bid. late on monday deutsche boerse said it would lift its 2004 dividend payment to 70 euro cents (£0.48; $0.98) from 55 euro cents a year earlier. there is a whiff of a sweetener in there anais faraj an analyst at nomura told the bbc s world business report. most of the disgruntled shareholders of deutsche boerse are complaining that the money that is being used for the bid could be better placed in their hands paid out in dividends mr faraj continued. deutsche boerse is trying to buy them off in a sense he said.

irish markets reach all-time high irish shares have risen to a record high with investors persuaded to buy into the market by low inflation and strong growth forecasts. the iseq index of leading shares closed up 23 points to 6661.89 on thursday fuelled by strong growth in banking and financial stocks. a fall in the rate of inflation to 2.3% in january gave a fresh boost to shares which have advanced 4% this month. the economy is set for strong growth in 2005 while interest rates remain low. several of ireland s biggest companies saw their market value hit recent highs on thursday. allied irish banks ireland s biggest company by capitalisation touched a five year peak while bank of ireland shares rose to their highest level since august 2002. telecoms firm eircom which recently revealed that it would re-enter the irish mobile phone market hit a yearly high. analysts said that economic conditions were benign and irish shares were still trading at a discount to other european markets. ireland ticks all the boxes as far as international investors are concerned roy asher chief investment officer of hibernian investment managers told reuters. buoyant economic conditions are set to continue in ireland over the next few years and irish equities continue to offer quality growth at a reasonable valuation. bernard mcalinden head of equity research at ncb stockbrokers said equities represented good value compared to other investments. it is still looking good he told reuters. we have seen good economic data on ireland which benefits the financial stocks. ireland s economic miracle is enjoying a second wind with 5% growth forecast for 2005 and 2006. the economy cooled markedly between 2001 and 2003 after enjoying spectacular growth of more than 10% in 2000. however it has bounced back strongly with growth of just under 5% expected in 2004.

tautou film tops cesar prize nods french film a very long engagement has received 12 nominations for france s cesar film awards despite a recent ruling it was not french enough . the world war i romantic drama starring audrey tautou was recently ruled too american by a paris court as it was partially backed by warner bros. but the cesar organisers modified their rules to allow the film to compete. the film directed by jean-pierre jeunet received best actress picture and director nominations. last november a court judged the film was too american to compete in french film festivals. two associations of french producers challenged jeunet s right to french government subsidies because warner bros was a backer. the ruling meant the movie - which was filmed in france and used french actors and technicians - was not eligible to compete for french prizes. but alain terzian president of cesar organisers the academie des arts et techniques du cinema said the changes in eligibility rules which allow films of french expression were made three months prior to the court decision. other films in the best film category include police drama 36 quai des orfevres arnaud desplechin s kings and queen abdellatif kechiche s l esquive and france s number one film at the 2004 box-office the chorus. best actors are daniel auteuil for 36 mathieu amalric for kings and queen gerard jugnot for the chorus philippe torreton for l equipier and benoit poelvoorde for podium. tautou will compete against maggie cheung emmanuelle devos yolande moreau and karin viard for best actress. michael moore s fahrenheit 9/11 the motorcycle diaries lost in translation eternal sunshine of the spotless mind and 21 grams are all vying in the best foreign film prize. the awards ceremony will be held on 26 february. this year will smith star of i robot independence day and men in black will be given an honorary cesar along with french singer/actor jacques dutronc.

robinson answers critics england captain jason robinson has rubbished suggestions that the world champions are a team in decline. england were beaten 11-9 by wales in their six nations opener in cardiff last week and face current champions france at twickenham on sunday. robinson said: we are certainly not on the decline. you lose one game and it doesn t make you a bad team. i have no doubt in the players we ve got. we have still got the team to go out and beat anyone on our day. england find themselves striving to avoid a third successive championship defeat for the first time since 1987. but full-back robinson believes the new-look england team can stop the rot against france. last weekend we should have won the game he said. but if we can under-perform and lose by only two points then i am sure if we play well this week we will get the win we need. we proved that in the autumn - when we put in some excellent performances - and we just need to build on that. it was a disappointing start against wales and we might be down on that. but we are certainly not out. we will come out fighting this week. robinson also had words of comfort for 18-year-old newcastle centre mathew tait who made his international debut against wales but has been demoted from the squad to face france. i have had a word with mathew said robinson. i still believe in him. he is an outstanding player but we have gone for olly (barkley) because of the kicking. mathew has just got to take it on the chin keep working hard like he is doing and i m sure he will feature in some of the games.

smartphones suffer skulls attack owners of some nokia smartphones are being warned to watch out for malicious wallpaper. those downloading the software could find all the icons on their 7610 phone swapped for images of skulls. when installed the malicious program also locks many of the 7610 s functions making it hard to use and harder to repair. the program is only the latest in a series of viruses produced to attack mobile phones. the file nicknamed skulls is thought to have surfaced on shareware sites where people can pick up free add-ons such as wallpaper games and ringtones for their phones symbian said that it was not sure if the damage skulls does was intentional or simply a result of bad programming. soon after being discovered the file is thought to have been removed from the sites that were unwittingly harbouring it. the program is masquerading as software that creates new background images and themes for the main screen of the 7610 phone. the skulls program is labelled as a file called: 7610.extended.theme.manager.zip. once installed the program replaces all the icons on the main page with skulls and replaces all the working applications such as contacts calendar notebook etc with non-working versions so the phone becomes almost useless. the only thing the phone can do is make and take calls. a statement by symbian played down the significance of the malicious program and said few people would fall victim to it as users have to go through several steps to install it one of which includes ignoring a security warning. symbian said that the spread of the skulls program was likely to be limited as the program cannot travel from one phone to another by itself. despite this finnish anti-virus lab f-secure said it had sporadic reports of 7610 owners being caught out by it. the firm has produced guidance for users caught out to help them remove the program and get their phone working again. the skulls program is thought to have been written by a malicious hacker using the alias tee-222. symbian phones produced by sony ericsson motorola benq arima and fujitsu are unaffected by the skulls program.

baby becomes new oscar favourite clint eastwood s boxing drama million dollar baby has become the new favourite to win best picture at the oscars on sunday. according to pundits the film has overtaken previous favourite the aviator with eastwood also tipped to take the best director award. its star hilary swank is favourite to win best actress while jamie foxx is tipped to win best actor for ray. million dollar baby has seven nominations while the aviator has 11. the aviator has scored a best director nomination for martin scorsese who has never won an oscar while stars leonardo dicaprio and cate blanchett are both nominated for acting oscars. if you look at the oscars race the aviator should be ahead said awards pundit tom o neil. it is the most nominated film and the most nominated movie has won best picture 18 times out of the last 20 years. but the reality is million dollar baby is the dark horse. people feel emotionally about it and clint is a beloved hollywood chum of the academy voters he said. anne thompson of the hollywood reporter said that million dollar baby was heart-wrenching . it s very emotional it even makes grown men cry she said. the aviator is a gorgeous movie but it s colder. in the acting categories foxx is regarded as almost unbeatable for his performance as ray charles in ray. the performance is based on a real person who was a showbusiness hero with a handicap who recently died o neil said. he has unstoppable momentum among the voters. hilary swank is the favourite to win best actress for the second time in six years. she previously won in 1999 for her performance in boys don t cry. in the supporting categories cate blanchett is tipped to win for her performance as katharine hepburn in the aviator while morgan freeman is favourite to take home his first ever oscar for million dollar baby. the oscars will take place at hollywood s kodak theatre on 27 february.

gold falls on imf sale concerns the price of gold has fallen after the international monetary fund (imf) said it will look at ways of using its gold reserves to provide debt relief. by revaluing its holdings the imf may be able to sell billions of dollars of gold and use the cash to cancel debts owed by the world s poorest nations. the plan was put forward by g7 finance ministers over the weekend. the price of gold fell to $413.50 an ounce in asia before rebounding slightly in early european trading. imf boss rodrigo rato was asked by g7 ministers to carry out a study into the feasibility of revaluing and selling gold reserves. he is expected to present his conclusions at an imf meeting in washington during april. whatever happens the market is going to be disconcerted and on the back foot until the april imf meetings said john reade an analyst at ubs. the imf values its gold reserves at between $40 and $50 an ounce a price that was fixed in the 1970s and is about a tenth of the metal s current market value. the imf has 3 217 tonnes of gold or about 113.5m ounces. bringing the book price of the gold in line with market value would boost the imf s balance sheet giving it more money to distribute. this idea has been put forward before but there now seems to be a more committed political drive to address the issue of global poverty. this is the first time there has been a mention of the use of gold in a g7 communiqué for achieving debt relief said uk chancellor of the exchequer gordon brown. at their meeting in london g7 finance ministers backed plans to write off up to 100% of the debts owed by some of the world s poorest countries. mr brown said the meeting would be remembered as the 100% debt relief summit . while debt relief seems to have jumped to the top of the global agenda not everyone is convinced that selling imf gold is the best way forward. the us which can veto any plan to sell imf gold should it so choose said it is looking at other ways of solving the problem. the us is not convinced that s the necessary way to do it said treasury under secretary john taylor. canada a key gold producer also expressed reservations.

two nigerian banks set to merge nigerian banks united bank of africa and standard trust bank have agreed plans to merge and create the biggest bank in west africa. the deal is also in line with a 2004 directive from the nigerian central bank that called for more consolidation in the nation s crowded banking sector. the merger was announced in a statement on standard trust s website on tuesday but no financial details were revealed. united bank is the third biggest in nigeria in terms of number of branches. standard trust is smaller but more profitable. the boards of united bank and standard trust at separate meetings yesterday approved arrangements to merge both institutions standard trust said. standard trust is 100% nigerian-owned but united bank has some foreign investors including new york-based global depository receipts (32.8%) and banca nazionale del lavoro and monte del paschi di siena both from italy who each have a 2.4% stake.

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.

microsoft debuts security tools microsoft is releasing tools that clean up pcs harbouring viruses and spyware. the virus-fighting program will be updated monthly and is a precursor to microsoft releasing dedicated anti-virus software. also being released is a software utility that will help users find and remove any spyware on their home computer. although initially free it is thought that soon microsoft will be charging users for the anti-spyware tool. the anti-spyware tool is available now and the anti-virus utility is expected to be available later this month. microsoft s windows operating system has long been a favourite of people who write computer viruses because it is so ubiquitous and has many loopholes that can be exploited. it has proved such a tempting target that there are now thought to be more than 100 000 viruses and other malicious programs in existence. latest research suggests that new variants of viruses are being cranked out at a rate of up to 200 per week. spyware is surreptitious software that sneaks on to home computers often without users knowledge. in its most benign form it just bombards users with pop-up adverts or hijacks web browser settings. the most malicious forms steal confidential information or log every keystroke that users make. surveys have shown that most pcs are infested with spyware. research by technology firms earthlink and webroot revealed that 90% of windows machine have the malicious software on board and on average each one harbours 28 separate spyware programs. before now microsoft has left the market for pc security software to specialist firms such as symantec mcafee trend micro and many others. it said that its virus cleaning program would not stop machines being infected nor remove the need for other anti-virus programs. on spyware freely available programs such as ad-aware and spybot have become widely used by people keen to keep the latest variants at bay. microsoft s two security tools have emerged as a result of acquisitions the company has made over the last two years. in 2003 it bought romanian firm gecad software to get hold of its anti-virus technology. in december 2004 it bought new york-based anti-spyware firm giant company software. last year microsoft also released the sp2 upgrade for windows xp that closed many security loopholes in the software and made it easier for people to manage their anti-virus and firewall programs.

jugnot tops french actor league actor gerard jugnot - star of the oscar-nominated film the chorus - has beaten gerard depardieu to become france s best-paid actor of 2004. jugnot made 5.45m euros (£3.77m) last year according to a table drawn up by france s le figaro newspaper. in the chorus (les choristes) jugnot plays an inspiring music teacher at a school for troubled boys in 1949. despite starring in five films in 2004 depardieu made 3.35m euros (£2.31m) putting him third place in the chart. his name [depardieu] is no longer sufficient to guarantee the success of a film said le figaro newspaper. the chorus which jugnot also co-produced has drawn an audience of nearly nine million people since its release last year. godzilla star jean reno was france s second best-paid actor in 2004 earning 3.55m euros (£2.45m) . his roles include a recent uncredited cameo in the oscar-nominated hotel rwanda. the highest-ranking woman on le figaro s list was audrey tautou in 10th place earning 885 000 euros (£611 000). she starred in jean-pierre jeunet s a very long engagement (un long dimanche de fiancailles) and is also lined up to co-star with tom hanks in ron howard s the da vinci code. the chorus is nominated for best foreign film at sunday s oscar ceremony. on saturday it will compete for the title of best film against fellow nominee a very long engagement in france s cesar film awards.

radcliffe eyes hard line on drugs paula radcliffe has called for all athletes found guilty on drugs charges to be treated as criminals. the marathon world record holder believes more needs to be done to rid athletics of the suspicions and innuendoes which greet any fast time. doping in sport is a criminal offence and should be treated as such the 30-year-old told the sunday times. it not only cheats other athletes but also cheats promoters sponsors and the general public. radcliffe s comments come at a time when several american sports stars are under suspicion of steroid use. being caught in possession of a performance-enhancing drugs should carry a penalty she added. the current system does not detect many of the substances being abused by athletes. this means that often athletes do not know if they are competing on a level playing field if their hard work and sacrifice is being trumped by an easier scientific route. often when an athlete puts in a good performance they are subjected to suspicions and innuendoes instead of praise. having been on the receiving end of accusations like this i can testify as to how much this hurts.

david blunkett in quotes david blunkett - who has resigned as home secretary - built his reputation as a plain-speaking yorkshire man. i fell in love with someone and they wouldn t go public and things started to go very badly wrong in the summer and then the news of the world picked up the story. i tried for three years to make something work. trust plain-speaking and straight talking is something which matters so much to me as a politician and as a man that i have decided of my own volition to request an independent review of the allegations that i misused my position. i don t think anyone can say i have said one thing in public and done another in private. it would be dangerous territory if i wasn t practising what i preach which is to always accept responsibility always accept the consequences of your actions. none of us believe countering terrorism is about party politics. i accepted by necessity we have to have prevention under a new category which is to intervene before the act is committed rather than do so by due process after the act is committed when it s too late he said in reference to new anti-terrorism measures. our work with the french government...has been hugely successful said mr blunkett. the number of illegal immigrants detected in dover has dropped dramatically. strengthening our identity is one way or reinforcing people s confidence and sense of citizenship and well-being. i foolishly thought as this was a celebrity edition it would be more relaxed than normal. you wake up and you receive a phone call - shipman s topped himself. you have just got to think for a minute: is it too early to open a bottle

chancellor rallies labour voters gordon brown has issued a rallying cry to supporters warning the stakes are too high to stay at home or protest vote in the next general election. the chancellor said the poll - expected to fall on 5 may - would give a clear and fundamental choice between labour investment and tory cuts. he told his party s spring conference the tories must not be allowed to win. the conservatives and lib dems insisted that voters faced higher taxes and means-testing under labour. to a packed audience at gateshead s sage centre mr brown accused shadow chancellor oliver letwin of plotting cuts that were the equivalent of sacking every teacher gp and nurse in the country. laying into the conservative s record in government he said: i give you this promise - with labour britain will never return to the mistakes of erm and 10% inflation 15% interest rates £3bn in lost reserves 250 000 repossessed one million in negative equity and three million unemployed. never again tory boom and bust. this will be the central dividing line at the election between a conservative party taking britain back and planning deep cuts of £35bn in our services and a labour government taking britain forward which on a platform of stability will reform and renew our hospitals schools and public services and i am proud to say spend by 2008 £60bn more. turning to the economy the chancellor promised to continue economic stability and growth in a third term in power. he also pledged to continue the fight against child and pensioner poverty. and he promised help to get young people on the property ladder. my message to the thousands of young couples waiting to obtain their first home is that housing is rightly now at the centre of our coming manifesto he said. and the next labour government will match our low mortgage rates with a new first-time buyers initiative. in the speech which prompted a standing ovation he also promised to end teenage unemployment within the next five years. he also highlighted plans for 100% debt relief for the world s poorest countries a national minimum wage for 16 and 17-year-olds the creation of a network of children s centres and flexibility in maternity leave. responding to the speech shadow chief secretary to the treasury george osborne said: this was more talk from gordon brown. we ve heard it all before. instead of talking about the future he kept on talking about the past. he completely failed to say which taxes he would put up to fill the black hole in his spending plans. there will be a simple choice at the election - value for money and lower taxes with the conservatives or more waste and higher taxes under tony blair and gordon brown. liberal democrat shadow chancellor vince cable warned the picture was not as rosy as mr brown would like to portray it. for all his trumpeting of labour s management of the economy gordon brown s record is very mixed he said. gordon brown has created a system of massive centralisation and bureaucracy a system which subjects millions of people to means testing and a system of taxation which is extremely complex. for all his positive words gordon brown is faced with economic problems looming on the horizon not least the unprecedented levels of personal debt facing the nation. also in gateshead the prime minister took questions sent in by e-mail text message and telephone as part of labour s attempt to engage the public in their campaign. mr blair told the audience he believed the iraq war would have made britain a safer place if its emerging democracy succeeded and that he wanted to bring troops home as soon as possible but not before the job was done. he also said he wanted to carry on as pm because i still think that there are big changes our country needs .

arnold congratulated on oscar win oscar-winner andrea arnold has been congratulated by the uk film council the organisation which partly funded her project. arnold s film wasp won the best live action short film award on sunday. the uk film council spends millions of pounds of lottery investment on short filmmaking in britain every year said chief executive officer john woodward. it certainly pays off when you see new film-makers winning such prestigious awards he added. wasp which was commissioned by the film council and channel 4 beat films by fellow uk nominees gary mckendry and ashvin kumar to the prize. it stars actress nathalie press who appeared in the bafta-winning drama my summer of love as a single mother who is forced to take drastic action when she is invited on a date and is unable to find a babysitter to look after her four daughters. the film has already won over 30 other international awards including the sundance short film prize. arnold from dartford in kent described her victory as truly overwhelming. i m really not used to this kind of thing she said after receiving her oscar from actor jeremy irons. thanks to everyone who worked on this - the beers are on me when we get home. the director was one of only two british winners on the night the other being sandy powell who won the costume design oscar for her work on the aviator.

ge sees excellent world economy us behemoth general electric has posted an 18% jump in quarterly sales and in profits and declared itself in great shape . we are benefiting from our growth initiatives and an excellent global economy said ge s chief executive jeff immelt. ge is the us biggest firm based on stock market valuation. ge s net profits were $5.37bn (£2.86bn) for the final three months of 2004 while sales came in at $43.7bn. the group whose businesses range from jet engines to the nbc television channel forecast sustained growth at between 10-15% for this year and next. ge s shares rose 1% on the news before ending friday 0.24% lower. the industries ge is in are doing very well. the materials financial and industrial sectors are all picking up said steve roukis an analyst at fund manager matrix asset advisors which has shares in ge. ge said orders in the fourth quarter were 15% higher than in the same period of 2003 with growth across the board . in the fourth quarter nine of our 11 businesses delivered at least double-digit earnings growth said mr immelt. full year 2004 gains were less spectacular but still respectable. net profit was up 6% at $16.6bn. last year ge bought vivendi universal merging it with nbc to form nbc universal. the success of universal studio s film ray a portrait of jazz musician ray charles has helped boost earnings at the unit.

broadband fuels online expression fast web access is encouraging more people to express themselves online research suggests. a quarter of broadband users in britain regularly upload content and have personal sites according to a report by uk think-tank demos. it said that having an always-on fast connection is changing the way people use the internet. more than five million households in the uk have broadband and that number is growing fast. the demos report looked at the impact of broadband on people s net habits. it found that more than half of those with broadband logged on to the web before breakfast. one in five even admitted to getting up in the middle of the night to browse the web. more significantly argues the report broadband is encouraging people to take a more active role online. it found that one in five post something on the net everyday ranging from comments or opinions on sites to uploading photographs. broadband is putting the me in media as it shifts power from institutions and into the hands of the individual said john craig co-author of the demos report. from self-diagnosis to online education broadband creates social innovation that moves the debate beyond simple questions of access and speed. the demos report entitled broadband britain: the end of asymmetry was commissioned by net provider aol. broadband is moving the perception of the internet as a piece of technology to an integral part of home life in the uk said karen thomson chief executive of aol uk with many people spending time on their computers as automatically as they might switch on the television or radio. according to analysts nielsen//netratings more than 50% of the 22.8 million uk net users regularly accessing the web from home each month are logging on at high speed they spend twice as long online than people on dial-up connections viewing an average of 1 444 pages per month. the popularity of fast net access is growing partly fuelled by fierce competition over prices and services.

anti-spam screensaver scrapped a contentious campaign to bump up the bandwidth bills of spammers by flooding their sites with data has been dropped. lycos europe s make love not spam campaign began in late november but its tactics proved controversial. lycos has shut down the campaign saying it had been started to stimulate debate about anti-spam measures and had now achieved this aim. the anti-spammer screensaver came under fire for encouraging vigilante activity and skirting the edge of the law. through the make love not spam website users could download a screensaver that would endlessly request data from the net sites mentioned in many junk mail messages. more than 100 000 people are thought to have downloaded the screensaver that lycos europe offered. the company wanted to keep the spam sites running at near total capacity to make it much less financially attractive to spammers to operate the sites. but the campaign was controversial from the moment it kicked off and many net veterans criticised it for using spamming-type tactics against the senders of junk mail. some net service firms began blocking access to the lycos europe site in protest at the action. monitoring firm netcraft found that the anti-spam campaign was proving a little too successful. according to response-time figures gathered by netcraft some of the sites that the screensaver targeted were being knocked offline by the constant data requests. in a statement from lycos europe announcing the scrapping of the scheme the company denied that this was its fault. there is nothing to suggest that make love not spam has brought down any of the sites that it has targeted it said. at the time that netcraft measured the sites it claims may have been brought down they were not in fact part of the make love not spam attack cycle it added. the statement issued by lycos also said that the centralised database it used ensured that traffic to the target sites left them with 5% spare capacity. the idea was simply to slow spammers sites and this was achieved by the campaign the company said. many security organisations said users should not participate in the lycos europe campaign. the closure comes only days after the campaign was suspended following the outbreak of criticism.

all black magic: new zealand rugby playing colours: all black the haka and more! the all blacks charles john munro discovered rugby at london s christ college and on his return to nelson he staged new zealand s first game. nelson town met nelson college on 14 may 1870 the town triumphing by two goals to nil instigating a game that would become a national obsession and come to dominate the country s sporting passions. the game appealed to the kiwi psyche and quickly spread the native maoris finding a particular empathy with the sport s warrior ethos. in 1888 a british team led by ae stoddart toured new zealand and australia and soon after a maori named joe warbrick and an english ex-pat called thomas eyton decided to gather a combined new zealand team. twenty-two maori and four pakiha formed the new zealand native team who played a total of 107 matches in new zealand australia and the uk. the integration of white and maori was a reflecion of enlightened new zealand rugby and society even if the british press were somewhat mystified by the pre-match tradition of the maori war dance the haka! the other great symbol of new zealand rugby the all black kit with the silver fern on the breast was proposed by tom ellison at the first annual meeting of the new zealand rugby football union in 1893. new zealand played their first international against australia in 1903 the kiwis triumphing 22-3 in sydney and the following year an official british touring team came to new zealand for the first time. the tourists had gone through australia undefeated but their captain david revell bedell-sivright created animosity in new zealand with his patronising attitude. the kiwis shocked the rugby world with a 9-3 triumph in wellington sparking great celebrations across the country but bedell-sivright churlishly suggested that the victors would have no chance when they visited the uk. their opportunity to prove him wrong came in 1905 with the first official new zealand tour to europe. the tourists won their early games with a quick-thinking inventive approach but press criticism began to grow over their 2-3-2 scrum formation that left a roving forward free to disrupt opposition attacks. the tactic was effective two late tries seeing the kiwis to a 12-7 win over scotland before ireland were despatched 15-0 in dublin. a huge crowd at crystal palace convulsed with laughter at the sight of the haka - but the smiles were soon wiped from their faces when the tourists ran in five tries in a 15-0 hammering of england. new zealand headed to wales to meet a country in the midst of its first golden age and the encounter would be the first in a series of controversial clashes between the sides. an excellent try on the left wing by teddy morgan sealed a 3-0 win in a hard-fought encounter at cardiff arms park but post-match talk was dominated by a bob deans try that was ruled out by scottish referee john dallas. dallas said that deans was tackled short but the kiwi said he was dragged back into the field of play after grounding a try - on his death-bed three years later he exclaimed: i did score that try in cardiff. four of the 1905 all blacks went over to the newly formed all golds rugby league side soon after the tour but new zealand were strong enough to crush an anglo-welsh touring team in 1908. the first south africa tour of new zealand in 1921 saw honours shared in a three-test series starting the greatest rivalry in rugby - and the long-running controversy between the countries over the all blacks inclusion of maori players. the awesome 1924-5 all black tourists became known as the invincibles after winning all 30 of their games in france britain and ireland including a crushing 19-0 victory over wales at st helen s. despite their success the all blacks 2-3-2 scrum formation left them somewhat short of possession at times and the flaws were exploited by the springboks in south africa in 1928. employing the modern 3-4-1 scrum line-up against the new zealand rover system for the first time south african teams defeated the all blacks in five games and the test series was drawn two-all. the controversial new zealand scrum method finally disappeared after the 1930 lions tour (a series won 3-1 by new zealand) the lions manager describing the tactic as cheating prompting the international rugby board to rule that three men had to pack down in the front row of the scrum. the all blacks 1935 european tour started inauspiciously with an 11-3 loss to a swansea side inspired by teenage schoolboy half-backs hayden tanner and willie davies. a thrilling test at cardiff arms park went to wales 13-12 although the winning try from geoffrey rees-jones was controversial following an illegal claude davey tackle in the build-up. new zealand s next visit to wales in 1953 proved difficult as they lost 8-3 to cardiff and drew 6-6 at swansea. the all blacks were on top in the test with wales at the arms park but the teams were locked at 8-8 when a clem thomas cross kick was gathered by ken jones for a famous match-winning try. the tourists made some amends with wins over the other home nations before a 19-5 success over the barbarians in an arms park thriller. new zealand built from that tour and by the time they returned in 1963-4 they were undoubtedly the leading side in the world. that made the shock all the greater when a drop goal by student john uzzell gave newport an unlikely 3-0 win over the tourists at rodney parade. wilson whinneray s side rallied to beat wales 6-0 their first win at the arms park in four attempts and went unbeaten through the rest of the tour but when they returned home the first question put to them was: what happened in newport the only blemish on the record of the awesome 1967 tourists was a draw with east wales as they beat the full wales team 13-6 in cardiff to take the lead in the series between the countries for the first time. that lead was increased with two comfortable wins for the home side in new zealand in 1969 the first time wales had toured the country as an independent team. a ferocious game at the arms park in 1972 was edged 19-16 by the all blacks a measure of revenge for the defeat inflicted on new zealand by the carwyn james-inspired lions of 1971. james guided llanelli to a famous 9-3 win over the tourists at stradey park though and in the final game of the tour the barbarians defeated the all blacks 23-11 in cardiff in a game regarded by many as the greatest ever played. new zealand defeated a wales xv 12-3 at the arms park in a non-cap game in 1974 but it was the 1978 game in cardiff that would reignite the history of controversy between the two countries. wales were leading 12-10 with one minute left when andy haden flew to the floor from a line-out. television pictures clearly showed that he dived but english referee roger quittenton was fooled and awarded a penalty duly converted by brian mckechnie for a 13-12 win. since that infamous game the competition has largely left wales v new zealand fixtures as the men in red have slipped from the pinnacle of the world game. a crushing 23-3 win for new zealand in cardiff in the welsh rugby union s 1980 centenary game was a sign of things to come. the new professionalism in the southern hemisphere game that had left europe behind was shown as the all blacks swatted wales aside 49-6 in brisbane in the semi-final of the inaugural world cup. the kiwis went on to claim the cup and would inflict further misery on wales on their ill-fated 1988 tour of new zealand. a young talented wales side left britain full of confidence as triple crown winners but one of the greatest ever new zealand teams demolished them 52-3 and 54-9. after also taking some fearful beatings in the provincial games wales captain jonathan davies returned home calling for urgent change in the national game but as his views were ignored he - along with a generation of wales best players - chose to head north to rugby league. a 34-9 win in cardiff followed for new zealand in 1989 and at the 1995 world cup wales big talk was made to look embarrassing as the all blacks eased to victory in johannesburg. a crushing 42-7 kiwi triumph in wembley followed in 1997 and as wales misery increased they turned to new zealand for their salvation in the shape of coaches graham henry and steve hansen. there was a temporary resurgence in the welsh game but when an experimental new zealand side came to cardiff s new millennium stadium in 2002 they left with a 43-17 victory. a bruising 55-3 defeat followed for wales in hamilton in 2003 as hansen built towards the world cup but in australia it was a remarkable performance against the all blacks that gave his side renewed hope. wales were given no chance going into the game but in the course of the match they rediscovered the value of attacking flair to lead 37-33 early in the second half. new zealand rallied to a 53-37 win but the style shown by wales has been used as an inspiration as they look to a better future. they now face an all blacks team led by henry and hansen coming to europe with a weakened squad at the end of a long season. an encouraging display against south africa has inspired a confident wales camp to believe they can claim their first win over the men in black for over 50 years. they have a chance but clearly history is not on their side.

uk heading wrong way - howard tony blair has had the chance to tackle the problems facing britain and has failed michael howard has said. britain is heading in the wrong direction the conservative leader said in his new year message. mr blair s government was a bossy interfering government that takes decisions that should be made by individuals he added. but labour s campaign spokesman fraser kemp responded: britain is working don t let the tories wreck it again . mr howard also paid tribute to the nation s character for its generous response to the asian quake disaster. the catastrophe was overshadowing the hopes for the future at this usually positive time of the year mr howard said. we watched the scenes of destruction with a sense of disbelief. the scale the speed the ferocity of what happened on boxing day is difficult to grasp. yet britain s response has shone a light on our nation s character. the last week has shown that the warm caring heart of britain beats as strong as ever. he went on to reflect on the values that most britons hold dear . looking ahead to the coming general election he pledged to turn these beliefs into reality and set out the choices he says are facing britain. how much tax do people want to pay who will give taxpayers value for money the clean hospitals and good disciplined schools they want who can be trusted to get a grip on the disorder on our streets and the chaos in our immigration system mr blair has failed to tackle these problems he claimed saying he has the wrong solution to them. the result is big government and higher taxes eroding incentives undermining enterprise and denying people choice. worst of all it is a government that has wasted people s money and failed to tackle the problems families face today. the tories he said can cut crime and improve public services without asking people to pay more taxes. we can have progress without losing what makes britain great - its tolerance the respect for the rule of law the ability of everyone to fulfil their potential. we simply need to change direction. the election will give britain the chance to change. this is the record mr blair will have to defend in the coming months he said urging voters to hold him to account. but labour spokesman mr kemp said: it would be more appropriate for this message to come out on 1 april not 1 january. let us never forget that when michael howard was in government britain suffered mass unemployment 15% interest rates record home repossessions and the introduction of the poll tax. with labour britain is working. rather than alluding to false promises michael howard should be starting 2005 with an apology to the british people for the misery that the government of which he was a member inflicted upon the country.

aaliyah claim dismissed by court late r&b star aaliyah s record company has failed in an attempt to sue the video producer who booked the ill-fated flight on which she died in 2001. a new york appeals court has told blackground records that only the singer s parents had the right to launch a claim for wrongful death. the 22-year-old singer s family came to an undisclosed settlement over a negligence claim in 2003. aaliyah had completed a music video when the plane crashed in the bahamas. she and eight others were killed on the plane which crashed as if left for florida. blackground records lawyer frank penski said he had yet to examine the decision and did not know whether they would pursue the case. an investigation into the crash revealed the twin-engined cessna was overloaded by 700 pounds (320kg). a post-mortem carried out on the remains of the pilot showed there was cocaine and alcohol in his body. aaliyah was a rising star in music and film before she was killed. she was honoured with a string of posthumous awards and her single more than a woman went to number one in the uk.

black sabbath top rock album poll black sabbath have topped a list of the best british rock albums of all time. the band once fronted by ozzy osbourne led a poll of kerrang! magazine readers with their 1970 self-titled debut. the band have three more efforts on the list including fifth-placed paranoid. osbourne appears more than any other act with two solo records featured. the top five includes led zeppelin iron maiden and sex pistols. queen muse manic street preachers and the clash complete the top 10. a mix of heavy metal punk glam rock and even dance music makes up the list. motorhead judas priest and prodigy are included along with newer acts like the darkness and lostprophets. kerrang! editor ashley bird said: it s amazing to see so many incredible homegrown albums in one list and without any of the abysmal fashion bands that currently clog up the music scene. these are the real opinions of proper rock fans. formed by four teenage friends in the west midlands in the late 1960s black sabbath are one of britain s most successful heavy rock bands. their debut was a uk top 10 hit in 1970 and sold more than a million copies in the us. osbourne said the band s success in the kerrang! poll was a triumph for british rock. he said: back then you d hear: if you go to san francisco be sure to wear a flower in your hair . we lived in aston birmingham. the only flowers i ever saw were on a gravestone in our local cemetery. despite being disliked by many critics black sabbath s subsequent albums included multi-million sellers but internal rows led to osbourne leaving in 1979. the band continued without osbourne who went on to solo success but also had to battle alcoholism and legal action over his music allegedly inciting teenagers to commit suicide. he was eventually cleared of the charges. osbourne who bit off the head of a live bat on stage in 1982 rejoined the band to play the live aid charity concert in 1985. after many changes in line-up the original four members reunited to play live dates in 1997. black sabbath have reunited regularly in recent years while osbourne has gone on to wider fame with his family through mtv documentary series the osbournes.

dawson set for new wasps contract european champions wasps are set to offer matt dawson a new deal. the 31-year-old world cup winning scrum-half has impressed since joining the london side from northampton this summer on a one-year contract. wasps coach warren gatland told the daily mirror: we have not yet offered matt a new contract but we will be doing so. i m very happy with his contribution and i think he s good enough to play for another couple of years. dawson played a vital part in england s world cup win last year but has fallen out of favour with new coach andy robinson after missing a training session in september. however he hopes the new deal will help him regain his england place. rugby is still my priority and there s still a burning desire within me to play the best rugby i possibly can he said. i know within myself if i was given the chance i could play for england again. i know i m fit enough i m strong enough i m skilful enough.

mixed reaction to man utd offer shares in manchester united were up over 5% by noon on monday following a new offer from malcolm glazer. the board of man utd is expected to meet early this week to discuss the latest proposal from the us tycoon that values the club at £800m ($1.5bn). manchester united revealed on sunday that it had received a detailed proposal from mr glazer. a senior source at the club told the bbc: this time it s different . the board is obliged to consider this deal. but the man utd supporters club urged the club to reject the new deal. manchester united past and present footballers eric cantona and ole gunnar solskjaer and club manager sir alex ferguson have lent their backing to the supporters group shareholders united. they have all spoken out against the bid. a spokesman for the supporters club said: i can t see any difference (compared to mr glazer s previous proposals) other than £200m less debt. he isn t bringing any money into the club; he ll use our money to buy it. mr glazer s latest move is being led by mr glazer s two sons avi and joel according to the financial times. a proposal was received by david gill united s chief executive at the end of last week pitched at about 300p a share. david cummings head of uk equities for standard life investments said he believed a well funded 300p a share bid would be enough for mr glazer to take control of the club. i do not think there is anything that manchester united fans can do about it he told the bbc. they can complain about it but it is curtains for them. they may not want him but they are going to get him. the us tycoon who has been wooing the club for the last 12 months has approached the united board with detailed proposals it has confirmed. mr glazer who owns the tampa bay buccaneers team hopes this will lead to a formal bid being accepted. he is believed to have increased the amount of equity in the new proposal though it is not clear by how much. for his proposal to succeed he needs the support of united s largest shareholders the irish horseracing tycoons jp mcmanus and john magnier. they own 29% of united through their cubic expression investment vehicle. mr glazer and his family hold a stake of 28.1%. but it is not yet known whether mr mcmanus and mr magnier would support a glazer bid. nm rothschild the investment bank is advising mr glazer according to the financial times. his previous adviser jpmorgan quit last year when mr glazer went ahead and voted against the appointment of three united directors to the board against its advice. but the ft said it thought jp morgan may still have had some role in financing mr glazer s latest financial proposal.

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.

blunkett tells of love and pain david blunkett has spoken of his love for married publisher kimberly quinn for the first time. the home secretary described how it affected his friends and personal life but said he was a great believer in personal responsibility. mr blunkett is taking legal action to gain access to mrs quinn s two-year-old son. she denies he is mr blunkett s. the interview with bbc radio sheffield was made before allegations he fast-tracked a visa for mrs quinn s nanny. the allegations which he has denied are being investigated by sir alan budd. mr blunkett talked about how he fell in love - but that she resisted his desire to go public. in an apparent reference to his court action to gain access to her son he says he was a great believer in responsibility and consequences even when they were painful. mr blunkett told bbc radio sheffield: i fell in love with someone and they wouldn t go public and things started to go very badly wrong in the summer and then the news of the world picked up the story. i tried for three years to make something work. i haven t spoken about it and i don t intend to. even in the biography that s being written about me i ve ensured that there s as little as possible. bbc political correspondent carole walker said the timing of the broadcast was unlikely to help his efforts to show that he is concentrating on getting on with the job of home secretary. shadow home secretary david davis says mr blunkett should quit if he is found to have influenced the visa process even indirectly. reports have claimed mr blunkett chaired a meeting to discuss delays in the visa system after he learned of nanny leoncia casalme s wait. the home office has said it would be up to sir alan s inquiry to decide if any such meeting was relevant. home office minister fiona mactaggart said she hoped mr blunkett would survive in his job. i work with him every day and i have always been surprised by how focused he is on the job in hand on working to deal with things she said. she told bbc one s breakfast with frost programme: he is just really down for the job and i hope he does (survive).

irish finish with home game republic of ireland manager brian kerr has been granted his wish for a home game as the final world cup qualifier. ireland will close their bid to reach the 2006 finals by playing switzerland in dublin on 12 october 2005. the republic met the swiss in their final euro 2004 qualifier losing 2-0 away and missing out on a place in the finals in portugal. the group four fixtures were hammered out at a meeting in dublin on tuesday. the irish open their campaign on 4 september at home to cyprus and wrap up the 10-match series on 12 october 2005 with the visit of switzerland. manager brian kerr and fai officials met representatives from switzerland france cyprus israel and the faroe islands to arrange the fixture schedule. kerr had hoped to finish with a clash against france but got the reigning european champions as their penultimate home match on 7 september 2005. the manager got his wish to avoid a repeat of finishing their bid to qualify with too many away matches. republic of ireland v cyprus; france v israel; switzerland v faroe islands. switzerland v republic of ireland; israel v cyprus; faroe islands v france. france v republic of ireland; israel v switzerland; cyprus v faroe islands. republic of ireland v faroe islands; cyprus v france. cyprus v israel. france v switzerland; israel v republic of ireland. switzerland v cyprus; israel v france. republic of ireland v israel; faroe islands v switzerland. faroe islands v republic of ireland. august 17 - faroe islands v cyprus. france v faroe islands; switzerland v israel. republic of ireland v france; cyprus v switzerland; faroe islands v israel. switzerland v france; israel v faroe islands; cyprus v republic of ireland. france v cyprus; republic of ireland v switzerland.

federer claims dubai crown world number one roger federer added the dubai championship trophy to his long list of successes - but not before he was given a test by ivan ljubicic. top seed federer looked to be on course for a easy victory when he thumped the eighth seed 6-1 in the first set. but ljubicic who beat tim henman in the last eight dug deep to secure the second set after a tense tiebreak. swiss star federer was not about to lose his cool though turning on the style to win the deciding set 6-3. the match was a re-run of last week s final at the world indoor tournament in rotterdam where federer triumphed but not until ljubicic had stretched him for five sets. i really wanted to get off to a good start this time and i did and i could really play with confidence while he still looking for his rhythm federer said. that took me all the way through to 6-1 3-1 0-30 on his serve and i almost ran away with it. but he came back and that was a good effort on his side. ljubicic was at a loss to explain his poor showing in the first set. i didn t start badly but then suddenly i felt like my racket was loose and the balls were flying a little bit too much. and with roger if you relax for a second it just goes very quick he said. after those first three games it was no match at all. i don t know it was really weird. i was playing really well the whole year and then suddenly i found myself in trouble just to put the ball in the court. but despite his defeat the world number 14 was pleased with his overall performance. i had a chance in the third and for me it s really positive to twice in two weeks have a chance against roger to win the match. it s an absolutely great boost to my confidence that i m up there and belong with top-class players.

dominici backs lacklustre france wing christophe dominici says france can claim another six nations grand slam despite two lacklustre wins so far against scotland and england. the champions only just saw off the scots in paris then needed england to self-destruct in last week s 18-17 win. the english played better than us but lost whereas we are still in the race for the grand slam said dominici. we know our display was not perfect but we can still win the grand slam along with ireland and wales. france ireland and wales all remain unbeaten after two rounds of this year s rbs six nations with the two celtic nations playing by far the more impressive rugby. france take on wales at the stade de france on 26 february and ireland in dublin on 12 march. but although france have yet to click dominici says that they can still win the hard way as long as scrum-half dimitri yachvili continues in his goalkicking form. if we have an efficient kicker on whom we can rely on a solid defence and a team who play for their lives we can achieve something dominici added. i said at the start of the competition that the winners would be clearer from the third matches and that s exactly what is going to happen. france coach bernard laporte will announce his starting line-up next tuesday for the match against wales. wing jimmy marlu is definitely out with the knee injury sustained at twickenham which is likely to sideline him for the rest of the tournament. inspirational flanker serge betsen is a doubt with a thigh injury but number eight imanol harinordoquy has shaken off his shoulder injury. in the backs centre yannick jauzion and winger aurelien rougerie are all back in contention after injury while brive back julien laharrague has received his first call-up as a replacement for pepito elhorga.

parmalat boasts doubled profits parmalat the italian food group at the centre of one of europe s most painful corporate scandals has reported a doubling in profit. its pre-tax earnings in the fourth quarter were 77m euros (£53m; $100m) up from 38m in the same period of 2003. less welcome was the news that the firm had been fined 11m euros for having violated takeover rules five years ago. the firm sought bankruptcy protection in december 2003 after disclosing a 4bn-euro hole in its accounts. overall the company s debt is close to 12bn euros and is falling only slowly. its brands well-known in italy and overseas have continued to perform strongly however and have barely lost revenue since the scandal broke. but a crucial factor for the company s future is the legal unwinding of its intensely complex financial position. on tuesday the company s administrator turnaround expert enrico bondi sued morgan stanley its former banker to return 136m euros relating to a 2003 bond deal. that brought to 49 the number of banks that mr bondi has sued a mass of legal action that could bring in as much as 3bn euros. the company has also sued former auditors and financial advisors for damages. and criminal cases against the company s former management are proceeding separately.

search wars hit desktop pcs another front in the on-going battle between microsoft and google is about to be opened. by the end of 2004 microsoft aims to launch search software to find any kind of file on a pc hard drive. the move is in answer to google s release of its own search tool that catalogues data on desktop pcs. the desktop search market is becoming increasingly crowded as google aol yahoo and many smaller firms tout programs that help people find files. microsoft made the announcement about its forthcoming search software during a call to financial analysts to talk about its first quarter results. john connors microsoft s chief financial officer said a test version of its desktop search software should be available for download by the end of the year. we re going to have a heck of a great race in search between google microsoft and yahoo he said. it s going to be really fun to follow. microsoft is coming late to the desktop search arena and its software will have to compare favourably with programs from a large number of rivals many of which have fiercely dedicated populations of users. the program could be based on the software microsoft owns as a result of its purchase of lookout software in early october. on 14 october google released desktop search software that catalogues all the files on a pc and lets users use one tool to find e-mail messages spreadsheets text files and presentations. the software will also find webpages and messages sent via aol instant messenger. many other firms have released desktop search systems recently too. companies such as blinkx copernic enfish x1 technologies and x-friend all do the same job of cataloguing the huge amounts of information that people increasingly store on their desktop or home computer. apple has also debuted a similar search system for its computers called spotlight that is due to debut with the release of the tiger operating system. due to follow are net giants aol and yahoo. the latter recently bought stata labs to get its hands on search software that people can use. microsoft is also reputedly working on a novel search system for the next version of windows (codenamed longhorn). however this is not likely to appear until 2006. the recent activity in the search industry shows that there is a need to move beyond simple keyword-based web search said kathy rittweger co-founder of blinkx. finding information of our own computers is becoming as difficult as it is to find the relevant webpage amongst the billions that exist. desktop search has become important for several reasons. according to research by message analysts the radicati group up to 45% of the information critical to keeping many businesses running sits in e-mail messages and attachments. jf sullivan spokesman for e-mail software firm sendmail said many organisations were starting to realise how important messaging was to their organisation and the way the work. the key thing is being able to manage all this information he said. also search is increasingly key to the way that people get around the internet. many people use a search engine as the first page they go to when getting on the net. many others use desktop toolbars that let them search for information no matter what other program they are using. having a tool on a desktop can be a lucrative way to control where people go online. for companies such as google which relies on revenue from adverts this knowledge about what people are looking for is worth huge amounts of money. but this invasiveness has already led some to ask about the privacy implications of such tools.

india seeks to boost construction india has cleared a proposal allowing up to 100% foreign direct investment in its construction sector. kamal nath commerce and industry minister announced the decision in delhi on thursday following a cabinet meeting. analysts say improving india s infrastructure will boost foreign investment in other sectors too. the indian government s decision has spread good cheer in the construction sector according to some indian firms. a spokesman for dlf builders dr vancheshwar told the bbc this will mean better offerings for consumers as well as builders. he said the firm will benefit from world class strategic partnerships design expertise and technology while consumers will have better choice. the government proposal states that foreign investment of up to 100% will be allowed on the automatic route in the construction sector on projects including housing hotels resorts hospitals and educational establishments. the automatic route means that construction companies need only get one set of official approvals and do not need to gain clearance from the foreign investment promotion board which can be bureaucratic. the government hopes its new policy will create employment for construction workers and benefit steel and brick-making industries. mr nath also announced plans to allow foreign investors to develop a smaller area of any land they acquired. foreign investors can enter any construction development area be it to build resorts townships or commercial premises but they will have to construct at least 50 000 square meters (538 000 square feet) within a specific timeframe said mr nath without specifying the timeframe. previously foreign investors had to develop a much larger area discouraging some from entering the indian market. this measure is designed to discourage foreign investors from buying and selling land speculatively without developing it. anshuman magazine managing director of cb richard ellis - an international real estate company - told the bbc this was a big positive step. however chittabrata majumdar general secretary of the centre of indian trade unions (citu) said allowing fdi in the country is compromising india s own self reliance . he said no country can develop on the basis of foreign investment alone. mr majumdar also said an assessment should be made as to whether foreign investment is indeed beneficial to the country - in terms of employment and money generated - or just another way of international companies filling their deep pockets.

what price for trusted pc security you can now buy trusted computers but can we really trust the pc vendors asks technology analyst bill thompson. if you have recently bought an ibm thinkvantage computer a dell optiplex or one of a whole range of laptops from toshiba hp/compaq or samsung then you may have got more for your money than you realised. inside your shiny new pc is an extra chip called the trusted platform module (tpm) that can be used for a range of hardware-based security features. eventually the tpm will be built into the main processor itself and if the trusted computing group has its way then you will find one in every piece of hardware you own from mobile phones to tv set top boxes to children s toys. but for the moment it is a separate piece of hardware providing enhanced security features to programs that know how to use them. and as part of a well-designed network system it can provide a lot more security than we enjoy today. a big advantage of the tpm is that it is hardware-based. at the moment most of us rely on software to keep our information safe and secure. it might be password-protected user accounts data encryption programs or a firewall but it all relies on program code running on an inherently insecure processor. hardware security is less common even if it is a lot safer. this is partly because it is more expensive to give someone a smartcard than a password but also because its more work for users systems administrators and managers. as a result we settle for second best. so when it comes to computer security trusted systems could be a major step forward. after all if you have a laptop that will only run programs that have been digitally signed then it will be a lot harder for virus writers to get their malicious code to run. and if all your files are locked automatically then even if you get your computer stolen your personal data will be safeguarded. at the moment support for trusted hardware is not built into major operating systems. instead you have to use special software like hp s protecttools or wave systems embassy. this provides file encryption password management and identity protection usually for business users who connect to company networks. full support for the trusted computing specification will not be available from microsoft until the next release of windows longhorn . this will include what microsoft in a typical act of obscurantism calls the next generation secure computing base and it will give user-level programs access to the trusted computing hardware. when that happens we can expect to see a lot of publicity around the new capabilities and no doubt the windows security centre will encourage users to turn on their trusted computing capability just as they turn on their firewall. however there is a downside to the increased security from viruses spyware and data theft that this will provide. because the trusted computing base is also used to make digital rights management (drm) systems more secure this will give content providers a lot more control over what we can do with music movies and books that we have bought from them. we have seen recently how allowing digital rights management services into our lives can lead to unwelcome consequences. users of apple s itunes used to be able to stream the music they had brought to up to five other itunes users a great way of letting your mates discover your music collection. but the latest version of itunes limits this capability just as an earlier upgrade reduced the number of times you could burn a selected playlist of purchased songs to a cd. another took away the ability to play songs downloaded from real s harmony service on your ipod. apple can do this because they wrote the software and they control the rights management. once it is embedded in trusted hardware it will be even harder for dedicated programmers to find their way around these restrictions and give us back the fair use rights that should be guaranteed under copyright law. similarly users of tivo digital video recorders have found that they cannot record some shows and other programmes that they have recorded are automatically deleted after a day. this happens because of changes that tivo have made to their software and the users cannot control it. one wonders whether hardware-based drm will work for those who believe that locking-down digital content is a bad idea and that the flexibility of copyright law is something that should be embraced and not taken away. it will not work because of the fundamental flaw at the heart of the system: in order for the purchaser to view the content it has to be unlocked. once it is unlocked then someone somewhere will figure out a way to make a copy of the unlocked version. and once an unlocked version leaks onto the network it will be uncontrollable. the efforts going into drm would be much better spent building efficient distribution services finding business models that are based on trusting your customers and offering high quality downloads at fair prices. what we want is not so much a trusted computing platform as a trusted customer platform. the record companies and the film industry need to recognise that most of us most of the time will pay a reasonable amount for good quality material. they will benefit more by building a market in which i can share songs with my friends record shows i want to watch later and burn cds for my kids; a market which respects the spirit of copyright law and does not seek to replace it by restrictive contracts or end user agreements. we need to ensure that trusted computing remains under the control of the users and is not used to take away the freedoms we enjoy today. bill thompson is a regular commentator on the bbc world service programme go digital.

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.

yukos sues four firms for $20bn russian oil firm yukos has sued four companies for their role in last year s forced state auction of its key oil production unit yuganskneftegas. yukos is claiming more than $20bn (£11bn) in damages after yugansk was sold in december to settle back taxes. the four companies named in the law suit are gas giant gazprom its unit gazpromneft investment company baikal and state oil firm rosneft. yukos submitted the suit in houston where it filed for bankruptcy. as well as suing for damages yukos has asked the us court to send its tax dispute with the russian government to an international arbitrator. it also has submitted a reorganisation plan as part of its chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. the clash between yukos and the kremlin came to a head last year when yukos was hit with a bill of more than $27bn in back taxes and unpaid fines. to settle the bill russia forced yukos to sell off yuganskneftegas. yukos called the sale illegal and has turned to courts in the us in an effort to regain control of the oil production business. it also has vowed to use all legal means at its disposal to go after any firm that tries to buy or take control of its assets. earlier this month it sued the russian government for $28.3bn. analysts have questioned whether a us court has any jurisdiction over russian companies while moscow officials have dismissed yukos legal wrangling as meaningless. in houston bankruptcy judge letitia clark will start a two-day hearing on 16 february to hear arguments on whether a us court is the proper forum for the case. the threat of legal action from yukos and its bankruptcy filing in houston did have an effect on last year s auction however. concerned that it would be caught up in a court battle gazprom and gazpromneft withdrew from the auction and yuganskneftegas was sold to little-known investment firm baikal finance group. a few days later baikal gave control of the company to state-run oil group rosneft for $9.3bn. rosneft meanwhile has agreed to merge with gazprom bringing a large chunk of russia s very profitable oil business back under state control. yukos claims that the rights of its shareholders have been ignored and that is has been punished for the political ambitions of its founder mikhail khodorkovsky. mr khodorkovsky once russia s richest man is in prison having been charged with fraud and tax evasion and repeatedly denied bail.

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.

wales want rugby league training wales could follow england s lead by training with a rugby league club. england have already had a three-day session with leeds rhinos and wales are thought to be interested in a similar clinic with rivals st helens. saints coach ian millward has given his approval but if it does happen it is unlikely to be this season. saints have a week s training in portugal next week while wales will play england in the opening six nations match on 5 february. we have had an approach from wales confirmed a saints spokesman. it s in the very early stages but it is something we are giving serious consideration to. st helens who are proud of their welsh connections are obvious partners for the welsh rugby union despite a spat in 2001 over the collapse of kieron cunningham s proposed £500 000 move to union side swansea. a similar cross-code deal that took iestyn harris from leeds to cardiff in 2001 did go through before the talented stand-off returned to the 13-man code with bradford bulls. kel coslett who famously moved from wales to league in the 1960s is currently saints football manager while clive griffiths - wales defensive coach - is a former st helens player and is thought to be the man behind the latest initiative. scott gibbs the former wales and lions centre played for st helens from 1994-96 and was in the challenge cup-winning team at wembley in 1996.

patti smith to host arts festival rock star patti smith has been made artistic director of this year s meltdown festival to be held at london s south bank centre in june. the punk pioneer follows morrissey david bowie and nick cave in directing 15 days of concerts and events. smith has yet to decide the line-up for meltdown which begins on 11 june. i want to touch on all aspects of our culture perhaps with readings from genet and i have an idea for jeremy irons to read proust she said. the 58-year-old us singer of because the night told the observer newspaper that the festival would be her response to these material exploitative and greedy times . it is important we explore the new but we should also salute the best art there is aesthetically and spiritually she said. last year s meltdown festival directed by the ex-smiths star morrissey included appearances by singer jane birkin nancy sinatra and playwright alan bennett. he also persuaded punk band the new york dolls to reform for a reunion show.

peer-to-peer nets here to stay peer-to-peer (p2p) networks are here to stay and are on the verge of being exploited by commercial media firms says a panel of industry experts. once several high-profile legal cases against file-sharers are resolved this year firms will be very keen to try and make money from p2p technology. the expert panel probed the future of p2p at the consumer electronics show in las vegas earlier in january. the first convictions for p2p piracy were handed out in the us in january. william trowbridge and michael chicoine pleaded guilty to charges that they infringed copyright by illegally sharing music movies and software. since the first successful file-sharing network napster was forced to close down the entertainment industry has been nervous and critical of p2p technology blaming it for falling sales and piracy. but that is going to change very soon according to the panel. the music and film industries have started some big legal cases against owners of legitimate p2p networks - which are not illegal in themselves - and of individuals accused of distributing pirated content over networks. but they have slowly realised that p2p is a good way to distribute content said travis kalanick founder and chairman of p2p network red swoosh and soon they are all going to want a slice of it. they are just waiting to come up with business models that work for them which includes digital rights management and copy-protection standards. but until the legal actions are resolved experimentation with p2p cannot not happen said michael weiss president of streamcast networks. remembering the furore around vcrs when they first came out mr weiss said: old media always tries to stop new media. when they can t stop it they try to control it. then they figure out how to make money and they always make a lot of money. once the courts decided that the vcr in itself was not an illegal technology the film studios turned it into an extremely lucrative business. in august 2004 the san francisco-based us court of appeals ruled in favour of grokster and streamcast two file-sharing networks. the court said they were essentially in the same position that sony was in the 1980s vcr battle and said that the networks themselves could not be deemed as illegal. p2p networks usually do not rely on dedicated servers for the transfer of files. instead it uses direct connections between computers - or clients. there are now many different types of p2p systems than work in different ways. p2p nets can be used to share any kind of file like photos free software licensed music and any other digital content. the bbc has already decided to embrace the technology. it aims to offer most of its own programmes for download this year and it will use p2p technology to distribute them. the files would be locked seven days after a programme aired making rights management easier to control. but the technology is still demonised and misunderstood by many. the global entertainment industry says more than 2.6 billion copyrighted music files are downloaded every month and about half a million films are downloaded a day. legal music download services like apple itunes napster have rushed into the music marketplace to try and lure file-sharers away from free content. sales of legally-downloaded songs grew tenfold in 2004 with 200 million tracks bought online in the us and europe in 12 months the ifpi reported this week. but such download services are very different from p2p networks not least because of the financial aspect. there are several money-spinning models that could turn p2p into a golden egg for commercial entertainment companies. paid-for-pass-along in which firms receive money each time a file is shared along with various drm solutions and advertiser-based options are all being considered. we see there are going to be different models for commoditising p2p said marc morgenstern vice president of anti-piracy firm overpeer. consumers are hungry for it and we will discover new models together agreed mr morgenstern. but many net users will continue to ignore the entertainment industry s potential controlling grip on content and p2p technology by continuing to use it for their own creations. unsigned bands for example use p2p networks to distribute their music effectively which also draws the attention of record companies looking for new artists to sign. increasingly what you are seeing on p2p is consumer-created content said derek broes from microsoft. they will probably pay an increasing role in helping p2p spread he said. looking into p2p s future file sharing is just the beginning for p2p networks as far as mr broes is concerned. once some of these issues are resolved you are going to see aggressive movement to protect content but also in ways that are unimaginable now he said. file-sharing is the tip of the iceberg.

milburn defends poster campaign labour s election chief alan milburn has defended his party s campaign posters amid tory claims the ads were nothing short of sly anti-semitism . mr milburn said he appreciated people s concerns but insisted that what they were was anti-tory and not in any way shape or form anti-semitic . he was responding to tory spokesman julian lewis who said the ads were part of a wider trend of smearing the party. labour has withdrawn two controversial posters and launched four new designs. a row was sparked after the party published posters appearing to depict michael howard who is jewish as fagin and as a flying pig amid claims they were anti-semitic. the posters were labelled a big misjudgement by the conservatives who said labour s first shot in the election has badly backfired . the posters were among a series of ideas shown to labour members who were asked to vote on their favourite. labour has taken them off its website saying members preferred other posters. the party s four new designs launched on tuesday steer clear of the fagin or flying pig images but make clear that labour is sticking to its strategy of targeting the tory leader personally with reminders of his record in office. the posters were among a series of ideas shown to labour members who have been asked to choose which one should be used ahead of the election. in the commons tory spokesman mr lewis suggested the posters were part of a wider trend and reminded mps that labour chairman ian mccartney last year described shadow chancellor oliver letwin as a 21st century fagin . given the outrage that that smear caused then how could you have thought anything other than the fact that what you were doing in reviving it in your poster advertisements was nothing more and nothing less than a calculated campaign of sly anti-semitism mr milburn replied that they were not anti-semitic. what they were was anti-tory and i make no apologies at all for making clear to the british public exactly what the conservative plans would mean he said. i fully understand and indeed respect the views of those who have concerns about any poster designs that have appeared on the labour party website. the fagin and pigs might fly posters were taken off labour s website on monday after supporters voted for their favourite poster featuring mr howard and shadow chancellor oliver letwin holding a blackboard reading 2+2=5. a labour spokesman later said their removal from the party s website was not affected by the row.

ray dvd beats box office takings oscar-nominated film biopic ray has surpassed its us box office takings with a combined tally of $80m (£43m) from dvd and video sales and rentals. ray s success on dvd outstripped its $74m (£40m) us box office total earning more than $40m (£22m) on the first day of the dvd s release alone. ray has been nominated in six oscar categories including best film and best actor for jamie foxx. the film recounts the life of blues singer ray charles who died in 2004. in its first week on home entertainment release the film was the number one selling dvd with the limited edition version coming in at number 11. sony horror film the grudge starring michelle gellar was the us second best-selling dvd with jennifer lopez and richard gere s romantic comedy shall we dance at number three. foxx s critically acclaimed performance as ray has already earned him a screen actors guild award for best actor as well as a prestigious golden globe. ray director taylor hackford responsible for the classic 1982 film an officer and a gentleman has also received an oscar nomination in the best director category. the film s three other oscar nominations are for costume film editing and sound mixing.

new consoles promise big problems making games for future consoles will require more graphic artists and more money an industry conference has been told. sony microsoft and nintendo will debut their new consoles at the annual e3 games expo in los angeles in may. these so-called next generation machines will be faster than current consoles and capable of displaying much higher-quality visuals. for gamers this should make for better more immersive games. in a pre-recorded video slot during microsoft s keynote address at the game developers conference held last week in san francisco famed director james cameron revealed he is making a game in tandem with his next film - believed to be battle angel alita. the game s visual quality would be like a lucid dream said mr cameron. but numerous speakers warned that creating such graphics will require more artists and so next generation console games will be much more expensive to develop. the first new console microsoft s xbox 2 is not expected to reach the shops until the end of 2005. games typically take at least 18 months to create however so developers are grappling with the hardware today. according to robert walsh head of brisbane-based game developer krome studios next generation games will cost between $10-25m to make with teams averaging 80 staff in size taking two years to complete a title. such sums mean it will be difficult for anyone to start a new game studio said mr walsh. if you re a start-up i doubt that a publisher is going to walk in and give you a cheque for $10m however good you are he said. mr walsh suggested that new studios should make games for mobile phones and handheld consoles like the sony psp and the nintendo ds since they are cheaper and easier to create than console games. one developer bucking the trend towards big art teams is will wright the creator of the best-selling the sims games. the founder of california s maxis studio surprised the conference with a world exclusive preview of his next game spore. spore will allow players to experiment with the evolution of digital creatures. starting with an amoeba-sized organism the player will guide the physical development of their creature by selecting how its limbs jaws and other body parts evolve. eventually the creature will become capable of establishing cities trading and fighting and even building space ships. advanced players will visit the home planets of creatures created by other spore players. these worlds will be automatically swapped across the internet. mr wright said that enabling players to devise and share their creatures would make them care more about the game. i don t want to put the player in the role of luke skywalker or frodo baggins - i want them to be george lucas or dr seuss explained mr wright. few games have hinted at the scope of spore but mr wright explained that he has nevertheless kept his development team small by hiring expert programmers. instead of employing lots of artists to create 3d models of the digital creatures spore generates and displays the creatures according to rules devised by the programmers. the thing i am coming away with [from the conference] is that next generation content is going to be really expensive and creating it will drive the smaller players out of the market said mr wright. i d like to offer an alternative to that. new development tools will be another important aid in making next generation games and dozens of companies demonstrated their latest products at the conference. oxford-based natural motion launched endorphin v2.0 which enables artists to direct a 3d virtual actor . the actor is realistically modelled according to the laws of physics. endorphin simulates how the actor falls down stairs for instance or crumples up after a gunshot. artists can blend together these visual sequences and include the results in their games. the process is much quicker than having an artist animate each movement by hand and so lessens the need for larger art teams. another british company aiming to reduce the workload of artists is manchester start-up genemation. its latest tool gencrowd enables artists to create unique photo-realistic human faces for games involving lots of people. gencrowd works by blending together elements of an in-built supply of stock faces of differing ages and ethnicities. the software can create up to 2 000 new heads an hour. one area not yet dominated by graphical blockbusters is mobile phone games. even the latest phones are not as powerful as the consoles of a decade ago so smaller teams of half a dozen people can still create complete games for the devices. the game developers conference included a special two-day summit dedicated to creating mobile games. a niche attraction for a few dozen conference attendees when it began five years ago gdc s mobile summit this year drew several hundred delegates. mobile games are a fast-growing sector because newer phones have better graphics and sound and are thus more suitable for playing games. furthermore the adoption of mobile phones continues to spread across the world. it s predicted that by 2006 two billion people will own a mobile phone. the growing importance of mobile gaming was reflected by a keynote given by john batter general manager at ea mobile. ea mobile is a division of electronic arts the biggest games publisher. until recently electronic arts had been dismissive of games for phones. the last time you checked ea wasn t in this business mr batter admitted. but he said ea now planned on dominating the market by releasing mobile versions of its most popular franchises. ea plans to release up to 20 mobile games over the next 12 months. the first will be a version of its need for speed racing game created by ea mobile s 30-person development team. mr batter predicted that by 2006 mobile phones would be capable of running games of comparable quality to those on sony s upcoming psp handheld console. owain bennallack is the editor of develop magazine.

player burn-out worries robinson england coach andy robinson says english rugby has to act now to prevent injury destroying players careers. he will be without a host of big names for the six nations as the intensity of professional rugby union hits players. injuries are part of the sport but we have to have a look at the amount of injuries that occur in the english season robinson told bbc sport. i think players are probably going to have three or four years taken off their careers. robinson will be missing an entire midfield for the six nations with the likes of jonny wilkinson mike tindall and will greenwood injured. rugby union has become far more physically demanding since the game went professional nearly 10 years ago. as a result three of the major stakeholders in english rugby have launched an injury audit to find out how players are coping. the audit is jointly funded by the professional rugby players association the rugby football union and premier rugby. as far as robinson is concerned its findings must not be ignored. i think there s an injury audit coming out in march that s got some great information in there that i think everybody in the english game has got to look at he said. if we don t the situation is going to get worse and not better so i think rugby as a whole has got to look at this.

sun offers processing by the hour sun microsystems has launched a pay-as-you-go service which will allow customers requiring huge computing power to rent it by the hour. sun grid costs users $1 (53p) for an hour s worth of processing and storage power on systems maintained by sun. so-called grid computing is the latest buzz phrase in a company which believes that computing capacity is as important a commodity as hardware and software. sun likened grid computing to the development of electricity. the system could mature in the same way utilities such as electricity and water have developed said sun s chief operating officer jonathan schwartz. why build your own grid when you can use ours for a buck an hour he asked in a webcast launching sun s quarterly network computing event in california. the company will have to persuade data centre managers to adopt a new model but it said it already had interest from customers in the oil gas and financial services industries. some of them want to book computing capacity of more than 5 000 processors each sun said. mr schwartz ran a demonstration of the service showing how data could be processed in a protein folding experiment. hundreds of servers were used simultaneously working on the problem for a few seconds each. although it only took a few seconds the experiment cost $12 (£6.30) because it had used up 12 hours worth of computing power. the sun grid relies on solaris the operating system owned by sun. initially it will house the grid in existing premises and will use idle servers to test software before shipping it to customers. it has not said how much the system will cost to develop but it already has a rival in ibm which argues that its capacity on-demand service is cheaper than that offered by sun.

imf cuts german growth estimate the international monetary fund is to cut its 2005 growth forecast for the german economy from 1.8% to 0.8% the financial times deutschland reported. the imf will also reduce its growth estimate for the 12-member eurozone economy from 2.2% to 1.6% the newspaper reported. the german economy has been faltering with unemployment levels rising to a seventy-year high of 5.2 million. its sluggish performance continues to hamper the entire eurozone. the imf s draft world economic outlook - due to be published in april - would point to a marked deterioration in germany s economy the ft report said. in september the imf had said that german growth for the current year would be 1.8%. the imf has also revised eurozone forecasts the paper said taking into account high oil prices the strength of the euro and weak demand in many of the world s leading economies. europe s economic difficulties have been highlighted by the organisation for economic co-operation and development which argued in a report published on tuesday that the continent could only achieve us living standards by freeing up its labour markets. the eurozone does not look like it has a self-sustaining recovery james carrick an economist with abn amro told the newspaper. it is too dependant on the rest of the world.

henson stakes early lions claim the six nations may be a glittering prize in itself but every player from the four home unions will also have one eye on a possible trip to new zealand with the lions this summer. the player who staked the biggest claim for a place in the starting xv over the weekend was gavin henson. he s very confident. you just had to listen to his interview afterwards - he beamed with confidence - but although there s an element of arrogance it s good arrogance. he certainly showed some nice touches. he once showed a clean pair of heels to mathew tait when he got outside him his defence was very good and he made some great kicks out of hand. and that s without even mentioning his majestic match-winning penalty. but i think we need to wait and see what happens because he needs to be put to the test. he needs to come up against brian o driscoll or a big french midfield. wales fly-half stephen jones was another player who impressed me. he gave good direction he was very confident and he was a nice general for his side. he showed he can control a game. with jonny wilkinson not playing at the moment due to inury the number 10 shirt could be up for grabs and jones or maybe even henson could make the lions team at fly-half. jones stuck his hand up and he certainly looks a better bet than charlie hodgson after saturday s game. some of the wales forwards surprised me because i thought they would be out-muscled in the tight five. england prop julian white is a capable player but when it comes down to selection gethin jenkins is now going to have the upper hand because he came out on top. however i still think white and phil vickery will be in the frame. some english players did their cause no harm. i thought joe worsley had a solid game and jason robinson and josh lewsey both did nothing wrong. but it looked too soon for young mathew tait and i think it will be a while before we see him again. despite being written off beforehand several scots caught my eye against france. tom smith has been there and done it before but the likes of chris cusiter jason white and ally hogg all made their mark. hogg made a couple of good runs while white had a pretty robust game - his defence is right up there. cusiter looked very lively and he could be a very good option for lions coach sir clive woodward. the star of ireland s win over italy in rome looks like a certainty to make the starting xv against new zealand. brian o driscoll is a class act. he ran some good lines against italy made the breaks and fed his outside backs although italy defended man on man which made it easy for him. gordon d arcy was unlucky to go off injured early on but i think you could get a henson d arcy o driscoll combination in the lions midfield. paul o connell just needs to add a hard edge to his game and malcolm o kelly keeps on going and seems to be putting his hand up while shane byrne seems to be a lively character. but they will be a bit worried after the italian pack drove them off their own ball on sunday although i used to play in italy and i know how difficult it can be. one player who didn t impress me was wales scrum-half dwayne peel. he choked late on in the second half when wales were trailing. they had good possession and he kicked the ball away - i wouldn t want him as my lions scrum-half after that.

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.

brewers profits lose their fizz heineken and carlsberg two of the world s largest brewers have reported falling profits after beer sales in western europe fell flat. dutch firm heineken saw its annual profits drop 33% and warned that earnings in 2005 may also slide. danish brewer carlsberg suffered a 3% fall in profits due to waning demand and increased marketing costs. both are looking to russia and china to provide future growth as western european markets are largely mature. heineken s net income fell to 537m euros ($701m; £371m) during 2004 from 798m euro a year ago. it blamed weak demand in western europe and currency losses. it had warned in september that the weakening us dollar which has cut the value of foreign sales would knock 125m euros off its operating profits. despite the dip in profits heineken s sales have been improving and total revenue for the year was 10bn euros up 8.1% from 9.26bn euros in 2003. heineken said it now plans to invest 100m euros in aggressive and high-impact marketing in europe and the us in 2005. heineken which also owns the amstel and murphy s stout brands said it would also seek to cut costs. this may involve closing down breweries. heineken increased its dividend payment by 25% to 40 euro cents but warned that the continued impact of a weaker dollar and an increased marketing spend may lead to a drop in 2005 net profit. carlsberg the world s fifth-largest brewer saw annual pre-tax profits fall to 3.4bn danish kroner (456m euros). its beer sales have been affected by the sluggish european economy and by the banning of smoking in pubs in several european countries. nevertheless total sales increased 4% to 36bn kroner thanks to strong sales of carlsberg lager in russia and poland. carlsberg is more optimistic than heineken about 2005 projecting a 15% rise in net profits for the year. however it also plans to cut 200 jobs in sweden where sales have been hit by demand for cheap imported brands. we remain cautious about the medium-to-long term outlook for revenue growth across western europe for a host of economic social and structural reasons investment bank merrill lynch said of carlsberg.

debate needed on donations cap a cap on donations to political parties should not be introduced yet the elections watchdog has said. fears that big donors can buy political favours have sparked calls for a limit. in a new report the electoral commission says it is worth debating a £10 000 cap for the future but now is not the right time to introduce it. it also says there should be more state funding for political parties and candidates should be able to spend more on election campaigning. there were almost £68m in reported donations to political parties in 2001 2002 and 2003 with nearly £12m of them from individual gifts worth more than £1m. the rules have already been changed so the public can see who gives how much to the parties but the report says there are still public suspicions. the commission says capping donations would mean taxpayers giving parties more cash - something which would first have to be acceptable to the public and shown to work. while we are not in principle opposed to the introduction of a donation cap we do not believe that such a major departure from the existing system now would be sensible says its report. if there was to be a cap it should be £10 000 - a small enough amount to make a difference but which would have banned £56m in donations between 2001 and 2003. even without changes the commission does urge political parties to seek out more small-scale donations and suggests there should be income tax relief for gifts under £200. it also suggests increasing state funding for parties to £3m so help can be extended to all parties with at least two members in the house of commons european parliament scottish parliament welsh assembly or northern ireland assembly. and it suggests new ways of boosting election campaigning seen as a way of improving voter turnout. all local election candidates should be entitled to a free mailshot for campaign leaflets says the watchdog. and there should be a shift in the amount of money allowed to be spent at elections from a national level to a local level to help politicians engage better with voters. the report suggests doubling the money which can be spent by candidates while cutting national spending limits from £20m to £15m. the commission also says the spending limits for general elections should cover the four months before the poll - as happens with other elections. electoral commission chairman sam younger said: there is no doubt that political parties have a vital role to play in maintaining the health of our democracy and for this they need to be adequately resourced. our research has shown that people want to be more informed about party politics and that they want politicians to be more visible and accessible. the public are reluctant for the state to fund parties but at the same time are unhappy with large private donations. he called for a wider public debate on party funding to find the consensus needed for radical changes to the current system.

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.

can smith work scottish wonders the worst kept secret in scottish football was revealed on thursday when walter smith was named as the new national manager. from the moment berti vogts miserable tenure in charge of scotland ended the former rangers and everton boss has been the overwhelming favourite for the post. but is smith the man for what must be one of the hardest jobs in football the 56-year-old takes over at a time when the national side is in the doldrums. scotland have not reached a major finals since the world cup in 1998 and reaching germany 2006 looks near impossible having picked up just two points from the opening three games in the qualifying race. and the fifa rankings see scotland listed at an all time low of 77th below the likes of estonia ghana angola and thailand. scotland are not blessed with quality players with experience at the top level so smith will have to get the best out of meagre resources. smith s track record make impressive reading and he is widely respected within the game. the man who was alex ferguson s assistant when scotland played at the 1986 world cup won seven league titles with rangers. and his appointment has been widely endorsed by many of the games top names including ferguson and graeme souness who took him to ibrox as his assistant in 1986. characters like souness ferguson and current ibrox manager alex mcleish all cite smith s experience and his expansive knowledge of the scottish game. much was made of vogts inability to express himself to the players and media. that will certainly not be the case with smith. the former dundee united and dumbarton full-back is from the managerial old school - straight talking and never slow to let players know when he expects better (often with the use of some colourful invective). but it should be remembered vogts came to scotland with an impressive curriculum vitae - a world cup winner as a player and a european championships winner as a manager. smith will inherit the same problems vogts had - a callow squad of players with no exceptional talents. and it remains to be seen if smith will experience the rash of call-offs that blighted so much of vogts preparation work. a fresh start for the scottish national team was imperative and smith is widely regarded as a safe pair of hands. but will a safe pair of hands be enough when the adroit hands of a magician might be required...

wales silent on grand slam talk rhys williams says wales are still not thinking of winning the grand slam despite a third six nations win. that s the last thing on our minds at the moment said williams a second- half replacement in saturday s 24-18 win over france in paris. we all realise how difficult a task it is to go up to scotland and beat them. we ve come unstuck there a couple of times recently so our focus is on that game and we ll worry about ireland hopefully after we ve beaten scotland. with captain gareth thomas ruled out of the rest of the campaign with a broken thumb williams is vying for his first start in the championship so far. kevin morgan is probably favourite to replace thomas at full-back leaving williams and hal luscombe to battle for the right wing berth. a hamstring injury denied luscombe the opportunity to make a third successive start but the dragons winger is expected to be fit for the trip to murrayfield on 13 march. hooker robin mcbryde is doubtful after picking up a knee injury in paris but centre sonny parker and flanker colin charvis are set to recover from injury to be in contention for selection. said wales assistant coach scott johnson: they ve worked through the weekend and the reports are a bit more positive. so we re getting a couple back and that adds to the depth of the squad. scotland secured their first win of the campaign on saturday by grinding out an 18-10 win over italy. matt williams side has shown little in attack but johnson insisted the scots will be difficult opposition to break down. italy are really brave opposition and sometimes it s very hard to win he said. so an ugly win can be just as effective as a 30 or 40 point victory. scotland are a hard side and very underrated so we re not taking anything for granted. we re not basking in the glory of winning our first three games. we ve got to be diligent in our preparation. that s my job and we ve got to make sure we re focused.

mcdonald s boss bell dies aged 44 charlie bell the straight-talking former head of fast-food giant mcdonald s has died of cancer aged 44. mr bell was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in may last year a month after taking over the top job. he resigned in november to fight the illness. joining the company as a 15-year-old part-time worker mr bell quickly moved through its ranks becoming australia s youngest store manager at 19. a popular go-getter he is credited with helping revive mcdonald s sales. mr bell leaves a wife and daughter. as we mourn his passing i ask you to keep charlie s family in your hearts and prayers chief executive james skinner said in a statement. and remember that in his abbreviated time on this earth charlie lived life to the fullest. no matter what cards life dealt charlie stayed centred on his love for his family and for mcdonald s. after running the company s australian business in the 1990s mr bell moved to the us in 1999 to run operations in asia africa and the middle east. in 2001 he took over the reins in europe mcdonald s second most important market. he became chief operating officer and president in 2002. mr bell took over as chief executive after his predecessor as ceo jim cantalupo died suddenly of a heart attack in april. having worked closely with mr cantalupo who came out of retirement to turn mcdonald s around mr bell focused on boosting demand at existing restaurants rather than follow a policy of rapid expansion. he had promised not to let the company get fat dumb and happy and according to reuters once told analysts that he would shove a fire hose down the throat of competitors if he saw them drowning. mr bell oversaw mcdonald s i m lovin it advertising campaign and introduced successes such as mccafe now the biggest coffee shop brand in australia and new zealand. colleagues said that mr bell was proud of his humble beginnings helping out behind cash tills and clearing tables when visiting restaurants.

howl helps boost japan s cinemas japan s box office received a 3.8% boost last year with ticket sales worth 211bn yen (£1.08bn). the surge was led by animated movie howl s moving castle which took 20bn yen (£102m) to become the biggest film in japan in 2004. it is expected to match the 30.7bn yen (£157m) record of hayao miyazaki s previous film spirited away. japan motion picture producers figures showed that 170 million cinema admissions were made in japan in 2004. the last samurai starring tom cruise was the biggest foreign movie hit in japan last year taking 13.8bn yen (£70.7m). it was followed by harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban finding nemo and the lord of the rings: the return of the king. the second highest-grossing japanese film was romantic drama crying out love in the centre of the world followed by be with you and pocket monsters advanced generation. japanese films accounted for 37.5% of japan s box office total last year with foreign films taking the remaining 62.5%. this represented a 4.5% gain for the proportion of japanese films in 2004 compared to 2003. the number of japanese films released rose to 310 in 2004 from 287 the previous year. sales of movies on dvd and video amounted to 497bn yen (£2.54bn) for the year.

last star wars not for children the sixth and final star wars movie may not be suitable for young children film-maker george lucas has said. he told us tv show 60 minutes that revenge of the sith would be the darkest and most violent of the series. i don t think i would take a five or six-year-old to this he told the cbs programme to be aired on sunday. lucas predicted the film would get a us rating advising parents some scenes may be unsuitable for under-13s. it opens in the uk and us on 19 may. he said he expected the film would be classified pg-13 - roughly equivalent to a british 12a rating. the five previous star wars films have all carried less restrictive pg - parental guidance - ratings in the us. in the uk they have all been passed u - suitable for all - with the exception of attack of the clones which got a pg rating in 2002. revenge of the sith - the third prequel to the original 1977 star wars film - chronicles the transformation of the heroic anakin skywalker into the evil darth vader as he travels to a hell-like planet composed of erupting volcanoes and molten lava. we re going to watch him make a pact with the devil lucas said. the film is much more dark more emotional. it s much more of a tragedy.

petrol duties frozen brown says chancellor gordon brown has announced a freeze on fuel duty in his pre-budget speech to the commons on thursday. mr brown told the house that government policy is to raise fuel duty at least in line with inflation each year to fulfil environmental commitments. but this financial year because of volatility in the oil market he said the duty would be frozen. during 2000 many motorists campaigned against the rises but environmentalists believe less duty means more pollution. he said: it is our policy that each year fuel duties should rise at least in line with inflation as we seek to meet our targets for reducing polluting emmissions and fund our public services. but this financial year because of the sustained volatility in the oil market i propose to match the freeze in car vehicle licence duty with a continuation on the freeze on the main road fuel duties. the rac welcomed the news calling it an early christmas present for motorists. but the organisation urged drivers to continue to shop around to get the best price for petrol. environmental group transport 2000 said the freeze sends the wrong message to motorists. we are concerned that although britain leads the world in rhetoric about climate change it often fails in practical action said a spokesman. in 2000 the people s fuel lobby caused chaos by blocking roads with slow-moving convoys after mr brown threatened to raise fuel taxes. the chancellor did not raise duty that year but despite threats of more protests in 2003 he added 1.28p per litre.

wilkinson fit to face edinburgh england captain jonny wilkinson will make his long-awaited return from injury against edinburgh on saturday. wilkinson who has not played since injuring his bicep on 17 october took part in full-contact training with newcastle falcons on wednesday. and the 25-year-old fly-half will start saturday s heineken cup match at murrayfield on the bench. but newcastle director of rugby rob andrew said: he s fine and we hope to get him into the game at some stage. the 25-year-old missed england s autumn internationals after aggravating the haematoma in his upper right arm against saracens. he was subsequently replaced as england captain by full-back jason robinson. sale s charlie hodgson took over the number 10 shirt in the internationals against canada south africa and australia. wilkinson s year has been disrupted by injury as his muscle problem followed eight months on the sidelines with a shoulder injury sustained in the world cup final.

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)

blair prepares to name poll date tony blair is likely to name 5 may as election day when parliament returns from its easter break the bbc s political editor has learned. andrew marr says mr blair will ask the queen on 4 or 5 april to dissolve parliament at the end of that week. mr blair has so far resisted calls for him to name the day but all parties have stepped up campaigning recently. downing street would not be drawn on the claim saying election timing was a matter for the prime minister. a number 10 spokeswoman would only say: he will announce an election when he wants to announce an election. the move will signal a frantic week at westminster as the government is likely to try to get key legislation through parliament. the government needs its finance bill covering the budget plans to be passed before the commons closes for business at the end of the session on 7 april. but it will also seek to push through its serious and organised crime bill and id cards bill. mr marr said on wednesday s today programme: there s almost nobody at a senior level inside the government or in parliament itself who doesn t expect the election to be called on 4 or 5 april. as soon as the commons is back after the short easter recess tony blair whips up to the palace asks the queen to dissolve parliament ... and we re going. the labour government officially has until june 2006 to hold general election but in recent years governments have favoured four-year terms.

yukos bankruptcy not us matter russian authorities do not have to abide by any us court decisions taken with regard to troubled oil giant yukos a houston court has been told. legal expert william butler said there was no treaty between the us and russia to recognise the other s legal rulings. that meant moscow would not have to adhere to us rulings in the yukos case. yukos says a us court was entitled to declare it bankrupt before its yugansk unit was sold since it has a us subsidiary and local bank accounts. yukos made its surprise chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in houston in december in an unsuccessful attempt to halt the auction of yugansk its main oil producing unit by russian authorities. yugansk was sold to help pay off a $27.5bn (£14.5bn) back tax bill. it was bought for $9.4bn by a previously unknown group which was in turn bought by state-controlled oil company rosneft. the us court s jurisdiction has been challenged by deutsche bank and gazpromneft a former unit of russian gas monopoly gazprom which is due to merge with rosneft. deutsche bank maintains the case has no place in a us court because yukos has no assets in the us apart from two bank accounts and a house in houston owned by its chief finance officer bruce misamore. deutsche bank is involved in the case because it is itself being sued by yukos. it had agreed to loan gazpromneft the money to bid for yugansk. us bankruptcy judge letitia clark who issued an injunction in december to try and prevent the yugansk sale has said she will rule pretty promptly however i do not anticipate ruling on it before next tuesday . yukos has claimed it sought help in the us because other forums - russian courts and the european court of human rights - were either unfriendly or offered less protection. it has claimed that russia imposed the huge tax bill and forced the sale of yugansk as part of a campaign to destroy yukos and its former owner mihkail khodorkovsky who is facing a 10-year prison term in russia for fraud and tax evasion. yukos parent company the gibraltar-based menatep group is suing russia in europe for $28.3bn in financial damages. the company is also seeking $20bn in a separate us lawsuit against rosneft and gazprom for their role in the sale of yugansk.

o leary agrees new villa contract aston villa boss david o leary signed a three-and-a-half year contract extension on thursday securing his future at the club until summer 2008. o leary s future was in question but villa chairman doug ellis said he was happy to secure the deal. david s record since his arrival in 2003 is excellent and he shares the board s amibitions in taking this club forward he told villa s website. for this reason it was important we got this right. o leary put pen to paper after deals were sorted for his right-hand men roy aitken and steve mcgregor. it was important to me roy and steve an integral part of my team should stay for the same time o leary said on thursday ahead of signing his new deal. someone has to try and put aston villa back where they should belong and i m up for the challenge. earlier in december there were rumours o leary would quit if he is not offered a new deal before the end of the season. but he denied that saying he was happy to take on the challenge of improving villa s fortunes in the long term. i want to make sure by the end of the five years i would have been in charge that villa are achieving top six finishes in the premiership on a regular basis said o leary who took over at villa park in may 2003. but to achieve that and take the next step forward we do need to bring in quality players. i would like a couple next month if at all possible to set us on the way. meanwhile o leary has rapped skipper olof mellberg for his comments before sunday s derby with birmingham. mellberg spoke of his dislike of villa s rivals ahead of the match which steve bruce s side won 2-1. i ve had more than a quiet word with olof. it s been said within the whole group not as a one-to-one he told villa s website. you shouldn t leave yourself open to be shot down. you shouldn t give people the chance to take cheap shots at you and he set himself up for that.

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.