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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.

mandelson warns bbc on campbell the bbc should steer away from demonising ex-downing street media chief alastair campbell peter mandelson has said. the european commissioner and former labour minister was speaking amid claims that mr campbell is part of a labour dirty tricks campaign. that charge was denied by mr mandelson who said the tories were afraid of mr campbell s campaigning skills. he warned the bbc that attacking mr campbell had brought it trouble before. that was a reference to the hutton inquiry following a bbc story claiming downing street sexed up iraq s weapons of mass destruction dossier. the affair prompted the resignation of bbc chairman gavyn davies director-general greg dyke and reporter andrew gilligan. labour has attracted media criticism for using new freedom of information laws to dig up information about tory leader michael howard s past. mr mandelson a former labour communications director told bbc radio 4 s today programme: i understand why the tories will be gunning for alastair campbell because they fear his campaigning skills. what i understand less is why the bbc should be joining with the tories in driving that agenda. in my experience of these things parties which shout about dirty tricks and the like tend to do so because they fear a direct hit in some vulnerable part of their political anatomy. i suggest the bbc concentrates on the issues and helps the public to understand the policies and the choices that are at stake in the election rather than engages in the process politics the trivialisation of the campaign. i think the bbc would be much better advised to leave all this stuff well alone concentrate on the issues as i say not resume their demonisation of alastair campbell - we all know where that led before. mr campbell is acting as an adviser for labour which denies engaging in personal campaigning. conservative co-chairman liam fox said mr campbell s return and labour poster plans attacking mr howard - recently withdrawn from the party s website - were a sign of abusive politics . the government despite the fact that they would say want to go forward not back seem intent on talking about history rather than their own record or even more importantly about the future he said on sunday. labour peer baroness kennedy who is chairing the power inquiry into political disengagement said people already thought politicians engaged in dirty tricks. this feeling of distrust is going to be enlarged if this campaigning on all sides is conducted in the way that it looks as if it just might she said.

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.

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.

card fraudsters targeting web new safeguards on credit and debit card payments in shops has led fraudsters to focus on internet and phone payments an anti-fraud agency has said. anti-fraud consultancy retail decisions says card-not-present fraud where goods are paid for online or by phone has risen since the start of 2005. the introduction of chip and pin cards has tightened security for transactions on the high street. but the clampdown has caused fraudsters to change tack retail decisions said. the introduction of chip and pin cards aimed to cut down on credit card fraud in stores by asking shoppers to verify their identity with a confidential personal pin number instead of a signature. retail decisions chief executive carl clump told the bbc that there was no doubt that chip and pin would reduce card fraud in the card-present environment . however it is important to monitor what happens in the card-not-present environment as fraudsters will turn their attention to the internet mail order telephone order and interactive tv he said. we have seen a 22% uplift in card-not-present fraud here in the uk... since the start of the year. fraud doesn t just disappear it mutates to the next weakest link in the chain he said. retail decisions survey on the implementation of chip and pin found that shoppers had adapted easily to the new system but that banks performance in distributing the new cards had been patchy at best. the main issue is that not everyone has the pins they need said mr clump. nearly two thirds - 65% - of the 1 000 people interviewed said they had used chip and pin to make payments. of these 83% were happy with the experience though nearly a quarter said they struggled to remember their pin number. however only 34% said they had received replacement cards with the necessary chip technology from all their card providers. furthermore 16% said that none of their cards had been replaced while 30% said only some had. uk shoppers spent £5.3bn on plastic cards in 2003 the last full year for which figures are available from the association of payment clearing services (apacs). altogether card scams on uk-issued cards totalled £402.4m in 2003. card-not-present fraud rose an annual 6% to £116.4m making it the biggest category even then. within this internet fraud totalled £43m apacs figures show.

super union merger plan touted two of britain s big trade unions could merge to form a super union of two million members. the move by amicus and the transport and general workers union (tgwu) would be a seen as a bid to carry more weight with ministers and employers. amicus has 1.2 million members and the tgwu has 800 000. any merger would have to be approved by the unions executives and their membership. it is understood meetings will be held on wednesday about the proposal. along with the gmb and unison the tgwu and amicus worked closely together in the last year to hammer out a 56-point deal with labour s leadership over equality at work holidays and pensions - the warwick agreement. both unions are remaining tight-lipped about the merger rumours but one insider pointed out to the bbc news website that nobody is denying suggestions a merger could be on the agenda when the two unions executives hold their meetings on wednesday. amicus s executive was due to meet in any case although the tgwu is holding specially scheduled talks.

tutu s guantanamo release call archbishop desmond tutu has called for the release of the remaining inmates at guantanamo bay and terror suspects detained without trial in the uk. his comments follow news that all four britons held by the us in the cuban camp will be freed within weeks. the south african archbishop said detentions without trial were unacceptable and distressing . twelve foreign nationals are being held indefinitely without trial in the uk under anti-terror laws. referring to the detentions in cuba archbishop tutu told bbc news: it is utterly unacceptable. the rule of law is in order to ensure that those who have power don t use their power arbitrarily and every person retains their human rights until you have proven conclusively that so-and-so is in fact guilty. moazzam begg from birmingham and martin mubanga richard belmar and feroz abbasi from london have been held by the us at guantanamo bay for almost three years. on tuesday foreign secretary jack straw told the commons that the us had agreed to release the four after intensive and complex discussions over security. the britons were detained as part of the us-led war on terror . the archbishop added: whilst we are saying thank you that these have been released what is happening to those left behind we in south africa used to have a dispensation that detained people without trial and the world quite rightly condemned that as unacceptable. now if it was unacceptable then how come it can be acceptable to britain and the united states. it is so so deeply distressing. following mr straw s announcement lawyer louise christian who represents mr abbasi and mr mubanga said the government should have acted sooner. foreign nationals detained in the uk are being held at belmarsh and woodhill prisons. in december the house of lords the uk s highest court ruled that the anti-terror measures broke human rights laws. but the men are still behind bars. archbishop tutu criticised the measures saying: i am opposed to any arbitrary detention that is happening even in britain. shami chakrabarti director of civil rights group liberty has called on the government to practise what it preaches and either free or charge the detained men. but the home office defended the measures. a spokesman said: these individuals cannot currently be prosecuted because some evidence such as that provided by third parties cannot safely be disclosed in criminal proceedings without putting others at risk. it is also currently the case that intelligence gained from covert intercepts cannot be used in a court of law.

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.

cult band kasabian surge forward indie dance band kasabian built up a cult following throughout 2004 to secure three brit award nominations. the four-piece leicester band blends dark electronics with rock earning kasabian places on the best british group rock act and live act shortlists. they have also earned a reputation as outspoken and charismatic in contrast to fellow brit nominees such as keane and snow patrol. british music needs a kick up the arse and britain needs a new band to breathe life into the british people again declared kasabian s singer tom meighan. no-one s doing it at the minute. music feels like it s in the afterlife right now. we don t want people to give up on it. the serpent s going to rise from the sea and scare all the pirates away! meighan grew up in leicester with kasabian songwriter/guitarist sergio pizzorno and bassist chris edwards a trio which began making music from the age of 17. they enlisted guitarist and keyboard player christopher karloff after spotting him in a pub. we saw his long sideburns and thought hey he looks the part we ll ask him said meighan. inspired by britpop and a mutual love of hardcore an early 1990s genre that fused house music with hip hop beats and a dark sensibility they added an electronic element to the traditional guitar sound. we got a computer and we cut rock n roll up because there s no point in going back to how it was said meighan. it s all about new ideas and creativity. the band s original approach is reflected in its name inspired by linda kasabian - the getaway driver of us serial killer charles manson. coincidentally it is also the armenian term for butcher . kasabian moved into a remote farmhouse in rutland to record their debut album benefiting from its isolation but also managing to sneak in a few parties while they were there. signed to the rca record label kasabian tested the water with two singles club foot and lsf which reached numbers 19 and 10 in the uk singles chart respectively. they built up their following on the summer festival circuit opening both glastonbury and t in the park and at a series of guerilla gigs at unusual venues including half time orange a pub next to leicester city football club s headquarters. kasabian s self-titled album was released last september to widespread critical acclaim its indie dance stance drawing comparisons to the stone roses primal scream and the happy mondays. regarding it as both a fiery assertion of rock n roll ethics and proof that a siege mentality is alive and well in the badlands of rutland water the nme s praise was typical of the album s reception. as 2004 progressed kasabian would score a further two hits - processed beats and cutt off - and embark upon a well-received uk tour. we take our music seriously definitely but we want to have fun with it said pizzorno. this is not a job to us added meighan. this is the best life we could ever have. this is what it s all about and without it we d be lost souls. but music needs us as well.

rochus shocks coria in auckland top seed guillermo coria went out of the heineken open in auckland on thursday with a surprise loss to olivier rochus of belgium. coria lost the semi-final 6-4 6-4 to rochus who goes on to face czech jan hernych a 6-4 7-5 winner over jose acasuso of argentina. fifth seed fernando gonzalez eased past american robby ginepri 6-3 6-4. the chilean will meet sixth seed juan ignacio chela next after the argentine beat potito starace 6-1 7-6 (7-5). rochus made the semi-finals at the australian hardcourt championships in adelaide last week and is naturally delighted with his form. it s been two unbelievable weeks for me he said. today i knew i had nothing to lose. if i beat him great if i lost i would be losing to a top-10 player. coria conceded that rochus played just too good and added: when you give your best out there you can t be too sad.

carry on star patsy rowlands dies actress patsy rowlands known to millions for her roles in the carry on films has died at the age of 71. rowlands starred in nine of the popular carry on films alongside fellow regulars sid james kenneth williams and barbara windsor. she also carved out a successful television career appearing for many years in itv s well-loved comedy bless this house. rowlands died in hove on saturday morning her agent said. born in january 1934 rowlands won a scholarship to the guildhall school of speech and drama scholarship when she was just 15. after spending several years at the players theatre in london she made her film debut in 1963 in tom jones directed by tony richardson. she made her first carry on film in 1969 where she appeared in carry on again doctor. rowlands played the hard-done-by wife or the put-upon employee as a regular carry on star. she also appeared in carry on at your convenience carry on matron and carry on loving as well as others. in recent years she appeared in bbc mini-series the cazalets and played mrs potts in the london stage version of beauty and the beast. agent simon beresford said: she was just an absolutely favourite client she never complained about anything particularly when she was ill she was an old trouper. she was of the old school - she had skills from musical theatre and high drama that is why she worked with the great and the good of directors. she didn t mind always being recognised for the carry on films because she thoroughly enjoyed making them. she was a really lovely person and she will be much missed. her last appearance on stage was as mrs pearce in the award-winning production of my fair lady at the national theatre. previously married she leaves one son alan. her funeral will be a private family occasion with a memorial service at a later date.

protesters plan airport challenge campaigners against the expansion of britain s airports have begun challenging the government s plans in the high court. baa s expansion of stansted airport in essex by building an extra runway is one of the most fiercely opposed plans. opponents say the £2bn cost of the new runway could not be met unless cash from heathrow and gatwick was used. they said this is illegal under current rules and are trying to block the government from changing legislation. baa are also owners of the airports at heathrow and gatwick. they have said they cannot raise the money needed for the stansted upgrades from current landing charges. baa also says it has attempted to involve communities in any future airport plans. groups challenging the plans include stop stansted expansion heathrow anti-noise campaigners hacan clearskies and the london boroughs of hillingdon and wandsworth. their opponents are also likely to complain there was no public consultation before an extra runway was built at luton airport or when it changed take-off and landing procedures at heathrow. if the group wins the government s future aviation plans outlined in last year s transport white paper could be left in ruins. the campaigners will say the government did not adequately consider the building of new airports such as one planned for the isle of sheppey east of london. lord hanningfield leader of essex county council told bbc radio 4 s today programme: we are going to the high court because we want a judge to rule there should be a proper inquiry. we want a judge to say there has been inadequate preparation consultation and thought before the government came out with its green paper. then there could be a proper debate nationally about where this extra capacity should go. he added: politicians should not decide where runways should be. the stansted expansion apart from the building of the new runway would also need to include new terminal buildings to deal with the projected 50m passengers who will use it every year. the airport is the hub of many of the no-frills airlines operating in the uk. but baa has said it has attempted to involve communities in any future airport plans. 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. baa is also offering to buy noise-hit properties for an index-linked unblighted price. 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.

celtic make late bid for bellamy newcastle striker craig bellamy is discussing a possible short-term loan move to celtic bbc sport understands. the welsh striker has rejected a move to birmingham after falling out with magpies manager graeme souness. the toon boss vowed bellamy would not play again after a bitter row over his exclusion for the game against arsenal. celtic are in no position to match birmingham s £6m offer but a stay until the end of the season could suit bellamy while he considers his future. according to bellamy s agent the player dismissed a permanent move to birmingham. and it is unlikely that newcastle would allow the player to go on loan to another premiership club. bellamy was fined two weeks wages after a live tv interview in which he accused souness of lying following a very public dispute about what position bellamy should play in the side. souness said: he can t play for me ever again. he has been a disruptive influence from the minute i walked into this football club. he can t go on television and accuse me of telling lies. chairman freddy shepherd described bellamy s behaviour as totally unacceptable and totally unprofessional .

new rules tackle sham weddings new rules on marriage for foreign nationals living in the uk are coming into force. from tuesday most non-eu citizens will need home office approval to marry. the home office says the new rules are aimed at reducing the number of sham marriages of which there are estimated to be up to 15 000 a year. but immigrants group the joint council for the welfare of immigrants (jcwi) says the rules breach human rights law and it may mount a legal challenge. when the changes were unveiled last year immigration minister des browne said: our aim is to avoid unnecessary disruption of genuine marriages while providing firm controls to prevent abuse. under the previous regulations anybody wishing to get married in the uk only had to produce evidence they had been resident in the country for a week and give 15 days notice of the wedding at the local register office. but from tuesday all non-eu nationals apart from citizens of switzerland liechtenstein iceland or norway intending to wed in the uk must either obtain a visa allowing them to get married before they enter the country or apply for a home office certificate of marriage approval . to get a certificate costing £135 applicants will have to send proof that they have a legal right to be in the uk. those without a settled status such as asylum seekers awaiting a decision on their application will have no right to marry in the uk. once they have the necessary documentation those subject to immigration controls wishing to get married in england or wales must register their intention to marry at one of 76 specially-designated register offices. they can however marry at the register office or church of their choice. rhian beynon of the jcwi said the new rules were not proportionate and discriminatory . these rules means in some cases the home secretary is going to be a marriage registrar of last resort. we re currently taking a legal opinion on this. we ll be looking for people whose right to marry is breached and we ll be looking at taking a case on this to the human rights court ms beynon said. the new rules have also been called into question by the parliamentary joint committee on human rights. in a report published last july the cross-party committee stated there was a significant risk the new procedures were incompatible with the right to marry because they introduced restrictions which were disproportionate . the committee believed the new laws might be incompatible with the human rights act on the grounds of religion belief and nationality the report added. over the last year immigration service operations against marriages of convenience have been stepped up resulting in a growing number of convictions. in january 25 people who took part in a sham marriage network based in leicester were jailed for a total of 35 years. and last november samuel amoah a belgian national who set up two sham weddings for couples who wanted to remain in the uk was jailed for three years. several other cases are currently going through the courts. the role of registrars who under the asylum and immigration act 1999 were obliged to report suspected sham marriages to the home office has been key in many prosecutions. registrars spokesman mark rimmer said they welcomed the new marriage regulations and believed they would be an significant deterrent. they will effectively remove most of the blatant cases. certainly those who are illegals in this country of which we had quite a few will no longer be getting married mr rimmer said. mr rimmer the service director for registrations of marriages at brent council in north-west london said he did not consider the new law to be an infringement of civil liberties. it may be seen to be far more draconian than it has been but certainly it s still not as difficult to marry in the uk than it is to marry for example in holland germany or france. i think it s a proportionate response by government to what was a very large problem mr rimmer said.

hereford 1-1 doncaster hereford win 3-1 on penalties. rovers took the lead on 59 minutes as michael mcindoe s corner found adriano rigoglioso whose stunning volley soared into the top right of the net. danny williams equalised for the hosts after 72 minutes with a crisp finish from just insist the penalty box. mcindoe saw an extra-time penalty saved giving mills the chance to net the winning penalty. mawson travis mkandawire james robinson daniel williams stanley hyde (pitman 105) purdie (mills 83) brown stansfield (green 102). subs not used: smith scott. james. daniel williams 72. ingham mulligan fenton morley priet (ryan 79) mcindoe ravenhill (price 90) rigoglioso tierney (jackson 79) beardsley coppinger. subs not used: warrington maloney. rigoglioso 59. 1 375 t parkes (w midlands).

tv station refuses adoption show a tv station in the us has refused to show a controversial new series where adopted children try and pick their birth father - and win a cash prize. the wraz-tv fox affiliate in north carolina was the only one of 182 stations to refuse monday s show. who s your daddy promises $100 000 (£52 000) to the contestant if she correctly identifies her father. it was met with protests by the national council for adoption which said it exploits sensitive emotions. it exploits the sensitive emotions of adoption said thomas atwood president of the national council for adoption. it trivialises them. adoption is a very personal meaningful experience and it should not be commercialised like this. on the pre-taped programme the contestant is presented with eight men who may or may not be her natural father. if she picks the correct man from the line-up the contestant wins the jackpot prize of us$100 000 (£52 590). however if she picks the wrong man then the impostor takes the money. fox producers defended the show saying it was a positive experience . they have made six specials though only one episode has so far been broadcast. the special was thoroughly vetted by our standards and practices department to ensure that it was appropriate for broadcast said a fox spokesman. however any network affiliate that feels the programming may be inappropriate for their individual market has the right to pre-empt the schedule. wraz-tv instead chose to air an independently-produced film i have roots and branches... personal reflections on adoption a documentary about families with adopted children. we just don t think adoption is a game show said tommy schenck wraz-tv s general manager though he said his decision had not been influenced by public protests.

hoffman hits out over modern film hollywood legend dustin hoffman has hit out at the quality of current films and theatre productions. the star of rain man and tootsie said the film culture was in the craphouse at a press conference on tuesday. the 67-year-old also said he stopped working a few years ago because he lost his spark for acting. hoffman is in the uk to publicise his new comedy meet the fockers which also stars robert de niro barbra streisand and ben stiller. he said: you go to the cinema and you realise you re watching the third act. there is no first or second act. there is this massive film-making where you spend this incredible amount of money and play right to the demographic. you can tell how much money the film is going to make by how it does on the first weekend. the whole culture is in the craphouse. it s not just true in the movies it s also true in the theatre. broadway and now london is the same special effects are in great demand. it s not a good time culturally. hoffman also said he stopped working a few years ago and moved into directing and writing. he said: i just lost that spark i always had. a couple of years ago i didn t like the parts i was getting. studios weren t interested in the kind of films that people of my generation wanted to see. i thought i would stop and just try writing and directing. i wasn t aware of the depression that set in. recently hoffmann has returned to film with roles in i heart huckabees finding neverland and now meet the fockers which is the sequel to meet the parents. meet the fockers opens in the uk on friday.

man utd through after exeter test manchester united avoided an fa cup upset by edging past exeter city in their third round replay. cristiano ronaldo scored the opener slipping the ball between paul jones legs after just nine minutes. united wasted a host of chances to make it safe as jones made some great saves but wayne rooney put the tie beyond doubt late on with a cool finish. exeter had chances of their own sean devine twice volleying wide and andrew taylor forcing tim howard to save. united boss sir alex ferguson was taking few chances after their 0-0 draw in the first game and he handed starts to paul scholes and ryan as well as ronaldo and rooney. exeter began brightly with devine and steve flack seeing plenty of the ball but it did not take united long to assert their authority and the hosts soon found themselves a goal down. scholes played a lovely pass in to ronaldo on the left-hand side of the six-yard box and the portuguese winger slid the ball between the legs of jones to open the scoring. united sensed a chance to finish the tie as a contest early on and ronaldo blazed over before jones saved well from scholes and then rooney. the visitors pressure by now was incessant and rooney had another shot blocked while ronaldo slammed well over the bar again from a good position. just before the break giggs had a golden chance to double the advantage but the welshman dragged a left-foot effort badly wide from 10 yards. in stoppage time exeter created their best chance as alex jeannin swung in a cross from the left that devine managed to flick goalwards but the ball flew wide of howard s goal. the grecians came out after the break in determined fashion and howard had to show safe hands to collect two searching crosses into the united box. rooney looked like he might have sealed the result with a turn and shot but the ball stuck in the st james park mud and jones raced back to gather on the goalline. moments later devine had the chance to make himself a hero but he could only volley jeannin s brilliant cross wide of howard s goal after being left unmarked six yards out. after rooney had completely messed up a free-kick 20 yards out taylor showed him how it should be done his stunning drive from distance forcing a flying stop from howard. the home crowd were baying for a goal and they did get the ball into the net only for devine s low effort to be ruled out for an obvious offside. the persistent rooney eventually rounded jones with three minutes to go and slotted into an empty net to book a home tie with middlesbrough in the fourth round. jones hiley sawyer gaia jeannin moxey taylor (martin 89) ampadu (afful 69) clay flack (edwards 74) devine. subs not used: rice todd. ampadu clay. howard phil neville gary neville o shea fortune giggs (saha 70) miller (fletcher 66) scholes djemba-djemba (silvestre 80) ronaldo rooney. subs not used: ricardo bellion. ronaldo 9 rooney 87. 9 033. p dowd (staffordshire).

pearce keen on succeeding keegan joint assistant boss stuart pearce has admitted he would like to succeed kevin keegan as manager at manchester city. keegan has decided to step down as city manager when his contract comes to an end in 18 months. you don t have to be einstein to realise there will be a manager s job available at a really good club pearce told bbc gmr. i will certainly be applying for it although whether the board deem me good enough to take it i do not know. pearce initially joined city as a player under keegan in 2001 before becoming part of the coaching staff. he was promoted to joint assistant-manager following the departure of arthur cox last summer. the former england defender had a year as player-boss with nottingham forest eight seasons ago but has made no secret of his desire to have another crack at the job. he was linked with the manager s job at oldham and keegan has stated he would not get in the way if pearce wanted to leave. but it now appears pearce is keen to wait for his chance at city. he added: by that time i will have been here for five years so at least they will have had a good look at me and they are aware of my feelings with regard to being kevin s successor. obviously the issue is out of my hands but it is a fantastic job for anybody - i just hope it will be me.

kerr frustrated at victory margin republic of ireland manager brian kerr admitted he was frustrated his side did not score more than one goal in their friendly win over croatia. robbie keane took his republic record to 24 with a first-half goal which proved enough for victory. we had more good chances. it is just a shame we did not take them against such a technically gifted team said kerr. but given the conditions and the standard of the croatian team we should be very happy with the win. the republic side kept a clean sheet for the eighth time in 11 matches and are unbeaten in 14 home games since kerr succeeded mick mccarthy. kerr applauded the decisive move which earned the victory. it was a brilliant goal fantastic skill by damien duff. robbie might have scuffed it a little but it was a good goal. matchwinner keane was another full of praise for duff s role in the goal. it was great play from damien said the tottenham striker. i always try to be sniffing around because you know nine times out of 10 duffer is going to get it in the box. playing three up was something different. brian kerr wanted to try it out and it was good to see young stephen elliott getting a run-out. the conditions were difficult but he did well and is definitely one for the future. it is nice to see young players coming through. man-of-the-match duff explained what went wrong when he fluffed a chance to make it 2-0 midway through the second half. he opted to bring steve finnan s cross down and shoot against the bar when a close-range header looked the best option. i would have headed that every time but i completely lost it in the lights said the chelsea star. i was desperate to get on the scoresheet myself but the result is the important thing. we have had a good year and are going nicely in the qualifiers. hopefully that can continue in 2005.

safety alert as gm recalls cars the world s biggest carmaker general motors (gm) is recalling nearly 200 000 vehicles in the us on safety grounds according to federal regulators. the national highway traffic safety administration (nhtsa) said the largest recall involves 155 465 pickups vans and sports utility vehicles (suvs). this is because of possible malfunctions with the braking systems. the affected vehicles in the product recall are from the 2004 and 2005 model years gm said. those vehicles with potential faults are the chevrolet avalanche express kodiak silverade and suburban; the gmc savana sierra and yukon. the nhtsa said a pressure accumulator in the braking system could crack during normal driving and fragments could injure people if the hood was open. this could allow hydraulic fluid to leak which could make it harder to brake or steer and could cause a crash it warned. gm is also recalling 19 924 cadillac xlr coupes srx suvs and pontiac grand prix sedans from the 2004 model year. this is because the accelerator pedal may not work properly in extremely cold temperatures requiring more braking. in addition the car giant is calling back 17 815 buick raniers chevrolet trailblazers gmc envoys and isuzu ascenders from the 2005 model years because the windshield is not properly fitted and could fall out in a crash. however gm stressed that it did not know of any injuries related to the problems. news of the recall follows an announcement last month that gm expects earnings this year be lower than in 2004. the world s biggest car maker is grappling with losses in its european business weak us sales and now a product recall. in january gm said higher healthcare costs in north america and lower profits at its financial services subsidiary would hurt its performance in 2005.

world tour for top video gamers two uk gamers are about to embark on a world tour as part of the most lucrative-ever global games tournament. aaron foster and david treacy have won the right to take part in a tournament offering $1m in total prize money. the cash will be handed out over 10 separate competitions in a continent-hopping contest organised by the cyberathlete professional league. as part of their prize the pair will have their travel costs paid to ensure they can get to the different bouts. the cpl world tour kicks off in mid-february and the first leg will be in istanbul. all ten bouts of the tournament will be played throughout 2005 each one in a different country. at each stop $50 000 in prize money will be up for grabs. the tournament champion for each leg of the cpl world tour will walk away with a $15 000 prize. the winner of the grand final will get a prize purse of $150 000 from a total pot of $500 000. winners of each stage of the tour automatically get a place at the next stop. the world tour stops are open to any keen gamer that registers. online registration for the first stop opens this weekend. some pro-players are winning a spot at the tour destinations through qualifying events organised by cpl partners. winners at these qualifiers get seeded higher in the elimination parts of each tournament. mr foster and mr treacy get the chance to attend the world tour as members of the uk s four-kings gaming clan. towards the end of 2004 four-kings staged a series of online painkiller competitions to reveal the uk s top players of the pc game. the best eight players met face-to-face in a special elimination event in late december where mr foster and mr tracey proved their prowess at painkiller. as part of their prize the pair also get a contract with four-kings intel which is one of the uk s few pro-gaming teams. there are a lot of people who take gaming very seriously and support their local or national team with the same passion as any other sport said simon bysshe who filmed the event for four-kings and intel. more than 80 000 people have downloaded the movie of the tournament highlights. professional gaming is here to stay and will only grow in popularity he said.

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

rusedski forced out in marseille greg rusedski was forced to withdraw from the open 13 in marseille on thursday with a rib injury. the british number two had been scheduled to play qualifier sebastien de chaunac who beat world number five guillermo coria 6-4 7-5 in round one. but rusedski was unable to take to the court because of a problem with the left-hand side of his rib-cage. american taylor dent caused a shock with a 7-6 6-2 victory over second seed david nalbandian. but third seed joachim johansson made it through after beating frenchman gilles simon 7-6 6-3 while in the first match of the day sixth seed feliciano lopez defeated ivo karlovic. there were also wins for slovakia s karol beck and croatian duo ivan ljubicic and mario ancic.

south africa sweep top awards south africa s schalk burger was named player of the year as the tri-nations champions swept the top honours at the international rugby board s awards. the flanker topped a list which included ireland star gordon d arcy and australian sensation matt giteau. jake white claimed the coaching award while his side held off grand slam winners france to take the team award. england player simon amor beat team-mate ben gollings and argentine lucio lopez fleming to win the sevens award. burger s award came just a week after he won the equivalent prize from his fellow international players and white who also coached burger at under-21 level paid tribute to him. schalk s emergence as a major force has meant a lot to south african rugby but has also influenced world rugby said white. he s become to south african rugby what jonty rhodes was to south african cricket. it s amazing what he has achieved in such a short time so far in his international career. amor who will captain england in this season s opening irb sevens tournament the dubai sevens which start on thursday was delighted with his award. there are so many great sevens players on the circuit at the moment that this is a genuine honour said the gloucester fly-half.

green fear for transport ballot the green party is concerned thousands of residents may not be able to vote in edinburgh s transport referendum. edinburgh city council is to ballot constituents on proposals to introduce congestion charging in the capital. but green msp mark ballard fears people not on the council s edited electoral register may miss out. local authorities can only send ballot papers to those on the edited list over non-statutory matters such as the transport referendum. therefore residents who have exercised their right to have their details left off the list could miss the chance to vote. however there is still time for those who are not on the list to contact the council and make sure they are sent ballot forms ahead of february s voting deadline. mr ballard said: this vote will set the future of transport in edinburgh for decades to come. it is therefore vital that as many residents as possible in edinburgh city and the surrounding areas are registered to vote in the ballot. many people are not aware that they may miss out on their chance to have a say. everyone involved in this debate - both for and against - wants the ballot to be as fair and representative as possible and that means encouraging people to take part. the ballot will ask residents to vote for or against the council s proposed congestion charge scheme and a host of transport improvements to be funded by it. the outcome of the referendum will be known next month after the ballot forms are sent out and returned to the council. towards the end of february the council will meet to decide whether to proceed with an application to scottish ministers for approval for its planned congestion charging scheme and the other parts of its transport package.

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.

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

cebit fever takes over hanover thousands of products and tens of thousands of visitors make cebit the place to be for technology lovers. welcome to cebit 2005 was the message from the pilot as we landed the message on flyers at the airport and the message on just about every billboard in town. cebit fever has taken over hanover. hotels have been booked out for months; local people are letting out rooms in their homes to the hoards of exhibitors visitors and journalists. cebit itself is huge the exhibition site could almost be classified as a town in its own right. there are restaurants shops and a bus service between the halls - of which there are 27. there are more than 6 000 companies here showing their latest products. the list of them that i was given when i came in is the size and weight of a phone book. one of the mains themes this year is the digital home and one of the key buzzwords is convergence. the entertainment pc is being billed as the replacement for dvd players stereos telephones and computers - offering a one-box solution wirelessly connected throughout a house. to show them off one display has been modelled as a prototype digital lifestyle home by german magazine computer reseller news. we wanted to show how this fits into a living room or workplace to give people a feeling how it would work in their homes said claudia neulling from the magazine. the house has webcams for security in each room which can be called up on the high definition tv connected to the pc in the living room. that pc provides home entertainment movies or music. it can also be linked to the car parked outside which is kitted out with a processor of its own along with a dvd player and cordless headphones for the kids in the back. convergence for me is about how technology the transfer of data can do things that make it easier and more convenient for me as a consumer said mark brailey director of corporate marketing for intel. the real challenge is to show people it s easier than they think and fun. he firmly believes that entertainment pcs are the future but says they have to get past people s fears of frequent crashes and incompatibilities. that is something microsoft is trying to do too - its stand has computers running windows xp media centre edition 2005 for people to try out. mobile phones do not escape the convergence theme. samsung is showing off its sgh-i300 a handset with a three gigabyte hard drive that can be used to watch compressed video or as an mp3 player. and if you would rather watch live tv than a downloaded movie nec is showing a phone on sale in china which can show analogue tv on its colour screen. i think the most probable application is at somewhere like the train station - if you want to check the status of the soccer game for example said koji umemoto manager of mobile terminals marketing for nec. he admitted that the signal quality is not very good if you are on the move and they do not have plans to launch it in europe at the moment. nokia was happy to demonstrate its 6230i an upgrade to the very popular 6230. it now has a 1.3 megapixel camera and a music player that can handle multiple formats rather than just mp3s. it is also compatible with nokia s new visual radio technology. the handset can receive fm broadcasts and the user can interact with compatible broadcasts using a gprs connection to take part in competitions or get extra information such as the name of the song playing. most companies are reluctant to show prototypes preferring to display products that are already on sale or just about to hit the market. portable media player firm creative showed off a new wireless technology based on magnetic inductance rather than radio - a system some hearing aids use. the benefits over conventional bluetooth are the lack of interference and longer battery life said riccardo de rinaldini creative s european marketing manager. the firm has a prototype headset linked up to a zen micro player. the transmitter on the player creates a private magnetic bubble around the user which is picked up by the headset. the range is only about one metre so it is only suitable for personal use. a single aaa battery is said to last up to 30 hours. creative expects it to hit the market in its final form later this year. even clothing is likely to be part of the convergence trend. adidas has a trainer which according to susanne risse from the company can sense understand and adapt to your running style . it has a battery processor and motor embedded in the sole. buttons on the side allow you to set the amount of cushioning you would like by adjusting the tension on a cable running through the heel. the processor then monitors the surface you are running on and adjusts the tension accordingly. it is being billed as the world s first intelligent shoe .

consumers drive french economy france s economic growth accelerated in the last three months of 2004 driven by consumer spending a report shows. gross domestic product (gdp) rose by 0.8% in the fourth quarter compared with the previous three month period the statistical office insee said. that expansion pushed annual growth to 2.3% the fastest rate in two years. consumer spending was up by 1.2% in the fourth quarter and there also was a rebound in business investment that gave the recovery an extra shove. analysts warned that france still was facing challenges and was unlikely to keep expanding at its current pace. france still has a strong economic growth said marc toutai an economist at natexis banques populaires. but if we check the figures in detail there s a problem. consumer spending is still high. but french households have spent their savings to consume. france can t sustain a high growth rate without an improvement in the job market. there s too much of a gap between growth and employment. unemployment levels are currently stuck at about 10% and is proving difficult to bring down despite government efforts. another worry is that demand in germany and italy two of france s main trading partners is sluggish. despite the concerns analysts pointed out that france was outperforming the majority of its european counterparts and that its economy was looking more robust than in previous years. as well as strong domestic demand exports climbed by 1.3% in the fourth quarter - the biggest increase in foreign sales for a year. it s an economic growth that seems well balanced said nicolas claquin an analyst at ccf. in the beginning of 2004 growth was mainly driven by consumer spending. here it gets contributions from investment and exports though household consumption is still strong. but we expect overall economic growth to fall to 2.0 percent in 2005.

gallas sees two-horse race chelsea s william gallas believes they will battle it out with arsenal for the premiership in the coming months. it ll be a two-horse race all the way to the end of the season because we are both going to give it everything he told bbc sport. you need to be good and you need a lot of luck. you need a bit of both but it will be as hard for the arsenal players as it is for the chelsea boys. we know that we have got the power in our hands just now added gallas. but you never know what is going to happen in football - two seasons ago manchester united picked up so many points towards the end of the season when they won the title. obviously nobody at chelsea wants to come second but you never know what happens in football. we will be challenging to come first as much as every arsenal player will be challenging to come first. gallas has been given extra confidence by the impact manager jose mourinho has had since taking over as manager during the summer. and the french international defender believes mourinho is perfectly suited to boss the squad of chelsea stars and says his managerial expertise will prevent any player revolt. it s only normal when you have got a team put together of such big names that you put the finishing touch to it and the finishing touch at chelsea is a fantastic manager like mourinho he said. he is the icing on the cake at the club. he has this fantastic knack of thinking of everything. another incredible quality that mourinho has is that every player even though the fans may consider them to be a stars within the dressing-room they are absolutely equal. mourinho reminds everyone but he doesn t have to because he has created a wonderful atmosphere where everybody is playing and laughing every day. it is a changed dressing-room from the atmosphere there was last year.

rapper snoop dogg sued for rape us rapper snoop dogg has been sued for $25m (£13m) by a make-up artist who claimed he and his entourage drugged and raped her two years ago. the woman said she was assaulted after a recording of the jimmy kimmel live tv show on the abc network in 2003. the rapper s spokesman said the allegations were untrue and the woman was misusing the legal system as a means of extracting financial gain . abc said the claims had no merit . the star has not been charged by police. the lawsuit filed in los angeles on friday says the woman s champagne was spiked and she was then assaulted. the rapper s spokesperson said: snoop will have the opportunity to prove in a court of law that [the alleged victim] is opportunistic and deceitful. we are confident that in this case [the alleged victim s] claims against snoop dogg will be rejected. the lawsuit names snoop dogg - real name calvin broadus - plus three associates the walt disney company and its parent company abc inc. the woman waited two years to sue because she was trying to negotiate a settlement with the media companies her lawyer perry wander said. disney and abc failed to provide a safe working environment for my client he said. the legal action comes after the rap star sued a woman who claimed they tried to blackmail him to keep quiet about an alleged assault. the 32-year-old rapper has enjoyed six us top 10 albums since bursting onto the music scene with hit songs like what s my name and gin and juice in 1993.

thousands join strike in wales thousands of civil servants were on strike across wales on friday in protest at planned job cuts. a range of services in wales were affected as civil servants in wales joined the uk-wide strike. the strike called by the public and commercial services union was the biggest by civil servants in a decade. the action follows chancellor gordon brown s announcement in july that 104 000 jobs would be cut with around 6 000 of those expected in wales. the worst-affected area in wales will be the department of work and pensions where 2 000 jobs are threatened. across wales pickets were held by striking civil servants with protests in towns and cities including cardiff bangor aberystwyth and wrexham. gordon brown issued a defiant statement about the strike saying the action would not affect the government s determination to make savings in order to increase investment in healthcare education transport and the fight against crime. our decisions mean more police more teachers more doctors and more nurses he said. we will provide help with information relocation and retraining to help staff move into frontline work within the public sector but we will not be diverted from these necessary changes so that we can make this essential investment. the uk-wide action hit jobcentres benefit agencies pensions offices and driving test centres. the strike also affected the welsh assembly building in cardiff bay where only pass-holders were allowed in. pickets were in place across wales with protests around the country. pcs union spokesman jeff evans said: in wales the civil service is major employer there are more civil servants employed in wales proportionately than in any other part of the country. our protest is about defending jobs and also local services across the country. parts of objective one areas and welsh-speaking areas will be particularly affected by these cuts. the chancellor has said that the cuts will allow funding for more teachers and police. piers freelove is senior benefit officer on the picket line at companies house in cardiff. he said: the majority of people have decided not to come in because of the threat to their jobs. i joined the civil service to provide services as well as get a decent pension as we thought and pay and it s those services that are being threatened as well as our jobs. people like pensioners need a face-to-face service not an impersonal service on the phone which is what they want to impose. pcsu deputy general secretary hugh lanning who was on the same picket line said: we re asking for them to negotiate not just to make announcements. there s a sensible way to do things and at the moment they re not even talking about how to go about it sensibly. the ballot was for one day s action. no further action is anticipated without a further ballot of staff. the welsh assembly government said: this is a strike about national civil service issues. it is not about specific issues local to wales or the assembly.

tarantino to make friday sequel director quentin tarantino is in talks to write and direct a new instalment in the friday the 13th horror franchise according to the hollywood reporter. the film-maker will reportedly meet executives from new line cinema this week to discuss the 12th film in the long-running stalk and slash series. the original film released in 1980 has spawned ten sequels based around mask-wearing murderer jason voorhees. the most recent freddy vs jason was released in summer 2003. that film saw jason battle freddy krueger star of the nightmare on elm street franchise. according to the industry newspaper new line had been trying to make another sequel involving ash the hero of the evil dead movies but was unable to agree terms with director sam raimi. tarantino is said to be intrigued by the prospect of building a new film around one of the horror genre s most recognised figures. first however he is scheduled to direct the season finale of us television series csi: crime scene investigation. filming is due to start in early april. tarantino s episode for which he also wrote the original story will be broadcast in the us on 19 may.

honda wins china copyright ruling japan s honda has won a copyright case in beijing further evidence that china is taking a tougher line on protecting intellectual property rights. a court ruled that chongqing lifan industry group must stop selling honda brand motorbikes and said it must pay 1.47m yuan ($177 600) in compensation. internationally recognized regulation is now a key part of china s plans for developing its economy analysts said. beijing also has been threatened with sanctions if it fails to clamp down. chinese firms copy products ranging from computer software and spark plugs to baby milk and compact discs. despite the fact that product piracy is a major problem foreign companies have only occasionally won cases and the compensation awarded has usually been small. still recent rulings and announcements will have boosted optimism that attitudes are changing. earlier this week china said that in future it will punish violators of intellectual property rights with up to seven years in jail. and on tuesday paws incorporated - the owner of the rights to garfield the cat - won a court battle against a publishing house that violated its copyright. other firms that have taken legal action in china with varying degrees of success include yamaha general motors and toyota. the problem of piracy is not limited to china however and the potential for profit is huge. the european union estimates that the global trade in pirated wares is worth more than 200bn euros a year (£140bn; $258bn) or about 5% of total world trade. and it is growing. between 1998 and 2002 the number of counterfeit or pirated goods intercepted at the eu s external borders increased by more than 800% it said. last month the eu said it will start monitoring china ukraine and russia to ensure they are going after pirated goods. other countries on the eu s hit list include thailand brazil south korea and indonesia. any countries that are not making enough of an effort could be dragged to the world trade organisation (wto) a step that could trigger economic sanctions the eu warned.

millions to lose textile jobs millions of the world s poorest textile trade workers will lose their jobs under new trade rules to be introduced in the new year a charity has warned. the world trade organisation (wto) is to end its multi-fibre agreement (mfa) on midnight of 31 december. christian aid condemned the move saying it would see almost a million jobs in bangladesh alone being axed. however supporters of the change claim it will mean increased efficiency and lower costs for western consumers. it will also see more jobs created in india and china advocates argue. the wto said that many developing countries support the end of quotas and stressed that funding was available to countries such as bangladesh to help them make the transition to a fully liberalised market. there will be a period of adjustment required said wto spokesman keith rockwell. some countries will do better than others but there is no one who is suggesting that no developing country will do well out of this. some countries where it may appear that orders will dry up have seen orders surging and there are many companies who will continue with existing trading relationships. christian aid has called on british firms not to simply cut and run but look after their workers in a new report called rags to riches to rags. it added that with few employment alternatives available many sacked garment workers could end up in far worse jobs - with some of the mainly female workers forced into the sex trade. the wto itself has warned that as many as 27 million jobs could be lost as a result of liberalisation in the textile industry. some of the world s fastest developing countries which rely on textile exports to build growth - for example in bangladesh textiles account for almost 85% of the country s exports and the industry employs around 1.5 million people. the mfa pact has helped developing countries get a bigger share of the world market. the losers in this new trade landscape will be some of the most vulnerable workers in countries such as bangladesh cambodia sri lanka and nepal andrew pendleton christian aid s head of trade policy said. they will be hard-pressed to cope when garment industries there lose their protection. we are deeply concerned that the new year will spell misery for huge numbers of garment workers. the wto said there was no consenus among its members to retain the quotas and emphasised that funding was available to countries such as bangladesh to help them adjust to the liberalised market. it added that the impact of the changes for workers most affected by the shake-up had not been considered adding such seismic changes to policy should put the interests of poor people first - rather than simply aiming to liberalise markets at any cost . while the current mfa was not perfect its did allow third world countries like bangladesh to get onto the first rung of industrial development christian aid said. international trade must not be governed by a race to the bottom that pitches one set of poor people against another mr pendleton added.

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.

worldcom boss left books alone former worldcom boss bernie ebbers who is accused of overseeing an $11bn (£5.8bn) fraud never made accounting decisions a witness has told jurors. david myers made the comments under questioning by defence lawyers who have been arguing that mr ebbers was not responsible for worldcom s problems. the phone company collapsed in 2002 and prosecutors claim that losses were hidden to protect the firm s shares. mr myers has already pleaded guilty to fraud and is assisting prosecutors. on monday defence lawyer reid weingarten tried to distance his client from the allegations. during cross examination he asked mr myers if he ever knew mr ebbers make an accounting decision . not that i am aware of mr myers replied. did you ever know mr ebbers to make an accounting entry into worldcom books mr weingarten pressed. no replied the witness. mr myers has admitted that he ordered false accounting entries at the request of former worldcom chief financial officer scott sullivan. defence lawyers have been trying to paint mr sullivan who has admitted fraud and will testify later in the trial as the mastermind behind worldcom s accounting house of cards. mr ebbers team meanwhile are looking to portray him as an affable boss who by his own admission is more pe graduate than economist. whatever his abilities mr ebbers transformed worldcom from a relative unknown into a $160bn telecoms giant and investor darling of the late 1990s. worldcom s problems mounted however as competition increased and the telecoms boom petered out. when the firm finally collapsed shareholders lost about $180bn and 20 000 workers lost their jobs. mr ebbers trial is expected to last two months and if found guilty the former ceo faces a substantial jail sentence. he has firmly declared his innocence.

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.

air jamaica back in state control the jamaican government is regaining control of air jamaica in an bid to help the ailing company out of its financial difficulties. the firm has failed to make money since the state sold a majority stake to hotel tycoon gordon stewart in 1994. in common with many carriers air jamaica with debts of $560m (£291m) has been hit by high fuel costs and the impact of the 11 september attacks. the company will be restructured with the aim of finding a new buyer. the administration is committed to a viable national airline that will serve as a major catalyst for our economy said finance minister omar davies. the 35-year-old airline transports about 55% of all passengers to the island and its pilots are reportedly among the best paid in the industry with senior members of staff earning in excess of $234 000 a year.

banker loses sexism claim a former executive at the london offices of merrill lynch has lost her £7.5m ($14.6m) sex discrimination case against the us investment bank. an employment tribunal dismissed stephanie villalba s allegations of sexual discrimination and unequal pay. but the 42-year-old won her claim of unfair dismissal resulting from her sacking in august 2003. her partial victory is likely to cap her compensation to about £55 000 a tiny fraction of what she asked for. the extent of damages will be assessed in the new year. the action - the biggest claim heard by an employment tribunal in the uk - had been viewed as something of a test case. the tribunal decided that ms villalba had been unfairly dismissed because having been removed from a senior post she was entitled to wait to see if a suitable alternative position could be found in the organisation. ms villalba the former head of merrill s private client business in europe has made no decision on whether to appeal. a spokesman for her lawyers described the decision as very disappointing but pointed to some criticism of merrill s procedures within the lengthy judgement. the tribunal upheld ms villalba s claim of victimisation on certain specific issues including bullying e-mails in connection with a contract but said it found no evidence of laddish culture at the bank. we said from the start that this case was about performance not gender merrill said in a statement. ms villalba was removed by the very same person who had promoted her into the position and who then replaced her with another woman. merrill lynch is dedicated to creating a true meritocracy where every employee has the opportunity to advance based on their skills and hard work. based in london s financial district ms villalba worked for merrill s global private client business in europe investing funds for some of merrill s most important customers. but in 2003 her employers told her she had no future after 17 years with the company and she was made redundant. merrill lynch denied ms villalba s claims and said she was removed from her post because of the extensive losses the firm was suffering on the continent. the firm had told the tribunal that ms villalba s division had been losing about $1m a week. merrill said ms villalba lacked the leadership skills to turn around the unit.

banker loses sexism claim a former executive at the london offices of merrill lynch has lost her £7.5m ($14.6m) sex discrimination case against the us investment bank. an employment tribunal dismissed stephanie villalba s allegations of sexual discrimination and unequal pay. but the 42-year-old won her claim of unfair dismissal resulting from her sacking in august 2003. her partial victory is likely to cap her compensation to about £55 000 a tiny fraction of what she asked for. the extent of damages will be assessed in the new year. the action - the biggest claim heard by an employment tribunal in the uk - had been viewed as something of a test case. the tribunal decided that ms villalba had been unfairly dismissed because having been removed from a senior post she was entitled to wait to see if a suitable alternative position could be found in the organisation. ms villalba the former head of merrill s private client business in europe has made no decision on whether to appeal. a spokesman for her lawyers described the decision as very disappointing but pointed to some criticism of merrill s procedures within the lengthy judgement. the tribunal upheld ms villalba s claim of victimisation on certain specific issues including bullying e-mails in connection with a contract but said it found no evidence of laddish culture at the bank. we said from the start that this case was about performance not gender merrill said in a statement. ms villalba was removed by the very same person who had promoted her into the position and who then replaced her with another woman. merrill lynch is dedicated to creating a true meritocracy where every employee has the opportunity to advance based on their skills and hard work. based in london s financial district ms villalba worked for merrill s global private client business in europe investing funds for some of merrill s most important customers. but in 2003 her employers told her she had no future after 17 years with the company and she was made redundant. merrill lynch denied ms villalba s claims and said she was removed from her post because of the extensive losses the firm was suffering on the continent. the firm had told the tribunal that ms villalba s division had been losing about $1m a week. merrill said ms villalba lacked the leadership skills to turn around the unit.

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.

bosvelt optimistic over new deal manchester city s paul bosvelt will find out within a month whether he is to be offered a new one-year deal. the 34-year-old dutch midfielder is out of contract in the summer and although his age may count against him he feels he can play on for another season. i told the club i would like to stay for one more year. they promised me an answer within the next month so i am waiting to see he said. the main concern is my age but i think i have proved i am fit enough. bosvelt joined city from feyenoord in 2003 and at first he struggled to adapt to life in england. but his professionalism and dedication impressed manager kevin keegan. he realised the pace of the game was faster than anything he was used to but he drove himself back into the team. he is an unsung hero said keegan.

the producers scoops stage awards the producers has beaten mary poppins in the battle of the blockbuster west end musicals at the olivier awards. the producers won three prizes at the uk s most prestigious annual theatre awards while mary poppins won two. mel brooks hit show triumphed in the battle for best new musical where it was up against mary poppins and andrew lloyd webber s the woman in white. alan bennett s the history boys was the big winner in the straight theatre categories picking up three trophies. but all eyes were on the musical prizes after the producers mary poppins and the woman in white all had high-profile openings in the last six months. the producers nathan lane a last-minute replacement for richard dreyfuss beat his former co-star lee evans to win best musical actor. lane has already left the production. a smash hit on broadway before moving to london the show also won best musical performance in a supporting role for conleth hill who plays director roger debris. mary poppins awards came for best choreography and best musical actress for its star laura michelle kelly. it led the nominations going into sunday s ceremony at london s hilton hotel up for nine awards. both shows are stage adaptations of 1960s films. the history boys set in a grammar school in the early 1980s and partly based on bennett s experiences as a teacher was named best new play. it also won best actor for richard griffiths who beat his harry potter film co-star michael gambon nominated for endgame as well as jonathan pryce and ben whishaw. the play also won national theatre artistic director nicholas hytner best director and bennett got a special award for outstanding contribution to british theatre. dame judi dench who starred in all s well that ends well at the gielgud lost out in the best supporting role category to amanda harris who played emilia in othello for the royal shakespeare company. the olivier awards have been handed out by the society of london since 1976. - best lighting design - his dark materials designed by paule constable at the olivier - best sound design - the woman in white designed by mick potter at the palace - best new opera - lady macbeth of mtsensk at the royal opera house - outstanding achievement in opera - thomas ades and the royal opera house for the world premiere of the tempest - best costume design - all s well that ends well designed by deirdre clancy at the gielgud - best revival - hamlet by william shakespeare at the old vic - best set design - his dark materials designed by giles cadle at the olivier - outstanding musical production - grand hotel at the donmar warehouse - best supporting role in a musical - conleth hill for the producers at theatre royal drury lane - best theatre choreographer - matthew bourne and stephen mear for mary poppins at the prince edward - best actor - richard griffiths for the history boys at the lyttelton - outstanding achievement or performance in an affiliate theatre - andrew scott for a girl in a car with a man at the jerwood theatre upstairs at the royal court - best new dance production - rambert dance company s swamp at sadler s wells - outstanding achievement in dance - san francisco ballet for their season at sadler s wells - best performance in a supporting role - amanda harris for othello at trafalgar studios - best actress - clare higgins for hecuba at the donmar warehouse - best musical actor - nathan lane for the producers at theatre royal drury lane - best musical actress - laura michelle kelly for mary poppins at the prince edward - best director - nicholas hytner for the history boys at the lyttelton - best new play - the history boys by alan bennett at the lyttelton - best new musical - the producers at theatre royal drury lane - special award - alan bennett for his outstanding contribution to british theatre

progress on new internet domains by early 2005 the net could have two new domain names. the .post and .travel net domains have been given preliminary approval by the net s administrative body. the names are just two of a total of 10 proposed domains that are being considered by the internet corporation for assigned names and numbers icann. the other proposed names include a domain for pornography asia mobile phones an anti-spam domain and one for the catalan language and culture. the .post domain is backed by the universal postal union that wants to use it as the online marker for every type of postal service and to help co-ordinate the e-commerce efforts of national post offices. the .travel domain would be used by hotels travel firms airlines tourism offices and would help such organisations distinguish themselves online. it is backed by a new york-based trade group called the travel partnership. icann said its early decision on the two domains was in response to the detailed technical and commercial information the organisations behind the names had submitted. despite this initial approval icann cautioned that there was no guarantee that the domains would actually go into service. at the same time icann is considering proposals for another eight domains. one that may not win approval is a proposal to set up a .xxx domain for pornographic websites. a similar proposal has been made many times in the past. but icann has been reluctant to approve it because of the difficulty of making pornographers sign up and use it. in 2000 icann approved seven other new domains that have had varying degrees of success. three of the new so-called top level domains were for specific industries or organisations such as .museum and .aero. others such as .info and .biz were intended to be more generic. in total there are in excess of 200 domain names and the majority of these are for nations. but domains that end in the .com suffix are by far the most numerous.

consumers snub portable video consumers want music rather than movies while on the move says a report. produced by jupiter research the analysis of the portable media player market found only 13% of europeans want to watch video while out and about. by contrast almost a third are interested in listening to music on a portable player such as an ipod. the firm said gadget makers should avoid hybrid devices and instead make sure music reproduction was as good as possible. the report concluded that the driving force behind the growth of europe s portable player market was likely to be music rather than films or any combination of the two. barely 5% of those questioned said they wanted a player that could play back both music and movies. only 7% wanted a player that could handle games and video. dedicated music players are the only established digital media players in europe today despite their high prices said ian fogg jupiter analyst. mr fogg said although video players and smartphones were trying to cash in on this success they faced a tough job because of the compromises that had to be made when creating a dual-purpose device. europeans care most about music playback he said. the report showed that 27% of consumers asked are interested in portable music players. the research revealed that french 39% and british 31% consumers were most interested in music players. mr fogg said portable video players were likely to remain a niche product that would not be able to compete with devices dedicated to music playback. a separate report by jupiter forecasts that the european digital music market will grow to 836m euros (£581m) by 2009. at the end of 2003 the market was worth 10.6m euros (£7.36m). digital music players will be behind this market growth said jupiter . apple s ipod was launched in october 2001 but the portable music player market has been growing steadily since the launch of the creative nomad jukebox in mid-2000. now consumers face an almost overwhelming choice of high-capacity portable music players that let them store every track on every cd that they own.

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

sony wares win innovation award sony has taken the prize for top innovator at the annual awards of pc pro magazine. it won the award for taking risks with products and for its brave commitment to good design. conferring the award pc pro s staff picked out sony s pcg-x505/p vaio laptop as a stunning piece of engineering . the electronics giant beat off strong competition from toshiba and chip makers amd and intel to take the gong. paul trotter news and features editor of pc pro said several sony products helped it to take the innovation award. he said sony s clie peg ux50 media player with its swivel screen and qwerty keyboard broke the design rules yet again . other sony products that helped included the vaio w1 desktop computer and the ra-104 media server. mr trotter said sony s combining of computer screen and keyboard in the w1 was likely to be widely copied in future home pcs. the company has also become one of the first to use organic leds in its products. while not always inventing new technology itself sony was never afraid to innovate around various formats said mr trotter. other awards decided by pc pro s staff and contributors included one for canon s eos 300d digital camera in the most wanted hardware category. microsoft s media player 10 took the award for most wanted software. this year was the 10th anniversary of the pc pro awards which splits its prizes into two sections. the first are chosen by the magazine s writers and consultants the second are voted for by readers. mr trotter said more than 13 000 people voted for the reliability and service awards twice as many as in 2003. net-based memory and video card shop crucial shared the award for online vendor of the year with novatech.

uk risks breaking golden rule the uk government will have to raise taxes or rein in spending if it wants to avoid breaking its golden rule a report suggests. the rule states that the government can borrow cash only to invest and not to finance its spending projects. the national institute of economic and social research (niesr) claims that taxes need to rise by about £10bn if state finances are to be put in order. the treasury said its plans were on track and funded until 2008. according to niesr if the government s current economic cycle runs until march 2006 then it is unlikely the golden rule will be met. should the cycle end a year earlier then the chances improve to 50/50 . either way fiscal tightening is needed niesr said. the report is the latest to call into question the viability of government spending projections. earlier this month accountancy firm ernst & young said that chancellor of the exchequer gordon brown s forecasts for tax revenues were too optimistic. it claimed revenues were likely to be £6bn below estimates by the end of the tax year despite the economy growing in line with forecasts. a treasury spokesperson dismissed the latest claims saying it was on track to meeting spending rules and the golden rule in the current cycle and beyond . spending plans have been set out until 2008 and they are fully affordable. other than its warning on possible tax hikes the niesr report was optimistic about the state of the uk and global economy. it said the recent record-busting surge in oil prices would have a limited effect on worldwide expansion saying that if anything the world economy will continue to grow strongly . global gross domestic product (gdp) is tipped to be 4.1% this year dipping to 4% in 2005 before picking up again to 4.2% in 2006. the us will continue to drive expansion until 2006 albeit at a slightly slower rate as will be the case in japan. hinting at better times for uk exporters niesr said the euro zone is expected to pick up speed . growth in britain also is set to accelerate it forecast. despite weak growth in the third quarter the forces sustaining the upswing remain intact and the economy will expand robustly in 2005 and 2006 niesr said adding that the economy will become better balanced over the next two years as exports stage a recovery . gdp is expected at 3.2% in 2004 and 2.8% in both 2005 and 2006. the main cloud on the horizon niesr said was the uk s much analysed and fretted over property market.

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

banker loses sexism claim a former executive at the london offices of merrill lynch has lost her £7.5m ($14.6m) sex discrimination case against the us investment bank. an employment tribunal dismissed stephanie villalba s allegations of sexual discrimination and unequal pay. but the 42-year-old won her claim of unfair dismissal resulting from her sacking in august 2003. her partial victory is likely to cap her compensation to about £55 000 a tiny fraction of what she asked for. the extent of damages will be assessed in the new year. the action - the biggest claim heard by an employment tribunal in the uk - had been viewed as something of a test case. the tribunal decided that ms villalba had been unfairly dismissed because having been removed from a senior post she was entitled to wait to see if a suitable alternative position could be found in the organisation. ms villalba the former head of merrill s private client business in europe has made no decision on whether to appeal. a spokesman for her lawyers described the decision as very disappointing but pointed to some criticism of merrill s procedures within the lengthy judgement. the tribunal upheld ms villalba s claim of victimisation on certain specific issues including bullying e-mails in connection with a contract but said it found no evidence of laddish culture at the bank. we said from the start that this case was about performance not gender merrill said in a statement. ms villalba was removed by the very same person who had promoted her into the position and who then replaced her with another woman. merrill lynch is dedicated to creating a true meritocracy where every employee has the opportunity to advance based on their skills and hard work. based in london s financial district ms villalba worked for merrill s global private client business in europe investing funds for some of merrill s most important customers. but in 2003 her employers told her she had no future after 17 years with the company and she was made redundant. merrill lynch denied ms villalba s claims and said she was removed from her post because of the extensive losses the firm was suffering on the continent. the firm had told the tribunal that ms villalba s division had been losing about $1m a week. merrill said ms villalba lacked the leadership skills to turn around the unit.

tories attack burglar u-turns tory leader michael howard has accused tony blair of performing u-turns over rules on using force against burglars. the government has ruled out amending the present law which allows reasonable force in self defence. mr howard branded the decision unacceptable saying: it is not householders who should be frightened it s the burglars. home secretary charles clarke said ministers had kept to their pledge to review the law. metropolitan police commissioner sir john stevens last month backed a tory attempt to change the law so only householders using grossly disproportionate force could be prosecuted. the pressure prompted the prime minister to say the police and crown prosecution service would be consulted as part of a review of the law. he told mps: if we get the right response from those people we will of course support a change in the law. instead the government has decided no change is needed but there will be a publicity campaign so people are clear they are entitled to defend themselves. on thursday mr howard told bbc radio 4 s today programme mr blair had initially refused the law change then had come round to the idea and was now backtracking again. he said: we ve had three policy positions in three months and two u-turns. it s not surprising gordon brown told him: there s nothing you could say to me now that i could ever believe. mr howard said the grossly disproportionate test matched the hurdle ministers had introduced for civil cases where burglars where claimed compensation from householders. the issue entered the public spotlight when norfolk farmer tony martin was jailed for shooting dead a 16-year-old burglar in 1999 as he ran away from the farm. but the home secretary said mr howard was wrong to say the law was biased in favour of burglars. the barrister who had represented mr martin had said the rules were weighted overwhelmingly in favour of the householder said mr clarke. he said: the problem is there has not been enough understanding of it - that was the point sir john stevens was making and the prime minister was making. the new guidance would help ensure clarity on the issue added mr clarke. the director of public prosecutions ken macdonald says only 11 householders or occupiers of business premises have been prosecuted in the last 15 years. those cases included a warehouse manager who had waited for a burglar tied him up beat him and set him alight he said. tory mp patrick mercer s private member s bill to change the law received a first reading in parliament on wednesday and goes to a full debate next month.

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.

khodorkovsky ally denies charges a close associate of former yukos boss mikhail khodorkovsky has told a court that fraud charges levelled against him are false . platon lebedev has been on trial alongside mr khodorkovsky since june in a case centring around the privatisation of a fertiliser firm. the pair claim they are being punished by the authorities for the political ambitions of mr khodorkovsky. mr lebedev said there were absurd contradictions in the case. opening his defence he said he could not see the legal basis of the charges he faced which also include allegations of tax evasion. to my embarrassment i could not understand the file of complaints against me he told a moscow court. mr lebedev headed the menatep group the parent company of yukos. mr lebedev and mr khodorkovsky who each face a possible 10 year jail sentence if convicted will be questioned by a judge over the next few days. mr khodorkovsky began his testimony last week telling the court that he objected to the way that the running of a normal business has been presented as a work of criminal fiction . the charges are seen by supporters as politically motivated and part of a drive by russian president vladimir putin to rein in the country s super-rich business leaders the so-called oligarchs. yukos has been presented with a $27.5bn (£13bn) tax demand by the russian authorities and its key yugansk division was auctioned off to part settle the bill. the company s effort to gain bankruptcy protection in the us - in a bid to win damages for the sale - were dismissed by a court in texas.

halo 2 sells five million copies microsoft is celebrating bumper sales of its xbox sci-fi shooter halo 2. the game has sold more than five million copies worldwide since it went on sale in mid-november the company said. halo 2 has proved popular online with gamers notching up a record 28 million hours playing the game on xbox live. according to microsoft nine out of 10 xbox live members have played the game for an average of 91 minutes per session. the sequel to the best-selling need for speed: underground has inched ahead of the competition to take the top slot in the official uk games charts. the racing game moved up one spot to first place nudging gta: san andreas down to second place. halo 2 dropped one place to five while half-life 2 fell to number nine. last week s new releases goldeneye: rogue agent and killzone both failed to make it into the top 10 debuting at number 11 and 12 respectively. record numbers of warcraft fans are settling in the games online world. on the opening day of the world of warcraft massive multi-player online game more than 200 000 players signed up to play. on the evening of the first day more than 100 000 players were in the world forcing blizzard to add another 34 servers to cope with the influx. the online game turns the stand alone warcraft games into a persistent world that players can inhabit not just visit europe s gamers could be waiting until january to hear when they can get their mitts on nintendo s handheld device nintendo ds says gamesindustry.biz. david yarnton nintendo uk general manager told a press conference to look out for details in the new year. its us launch was on sunday and it goes on sale in japan on 2 december. nintendo has a 95% share of the handheld gaming market and said it expected to sell around five million of the ds by march 2005.

tokyo says deflation controlled the japanese government has forecast that the country s economic growth will slow to 1.6% in the next fiscal year starting in april 2005. while it predicts this fall from the current 2.1% level it said it was making progress on ending deflation. the figures were given by economics minister heizo takenaka who said the economy would grow by 2% in 2006/07. he said the consumer price index (cpi) would rise 0.1% in the next fiscal year the first gain since 2000/01. we are attempting to make real economic conditions better and to overcome deflation. i think we are on track said mr takenaka. deflation - or falling consumer prices - has plagued japan for more than five years. to ease the problem the bank of japan has regularly flooded the money market with excess cash to keep short term interest rates at 0% in an attempt to spur economic activity.

greek pair set for hearing kostas kenteris and katerina thanou will fight the provisional two-year bans imposed on them by the iaaf at an independent tribunal this weekend. athletics ruling body took action against the pair for failing to take drugs tests before the athens olympics. an independent tribunal of the greek track and field federation will meet to decide whether to ratify the sanction. the sprint duo face charges of failing to give information on their location and refusing to submit to a drugs test. kenteris lawyer gregory ioannidis told bbc sport: we refute both charges as unsubstantiated and illogical. there have been certain breaches in the correct application of the rules on behalf of the sporting authorities and their officials and these procedural breaches have also violated my client s rights. there is also evidence that proves the fact that my client has been persecuted. ioannidis who is a law lecturer at the university of buckingham added: one of the important rights and foundations of law and justice - that the accused should be presumed innocent unless proved otherwise - has been tarnished. the panel will also decide on the two-year ban imposed on the athletes controversial coach christos tzekos by the iaaf. kenteris the 2000 olympic 200m champion and thanou the women s 100m silver medallist from the same games in sydney quit the olympics on 18 august after failing to give samples on the eve of the opening ceremony. testers could not find them at the olympic village and the duo were later admitted to hospital after claiming to have been involved in a motorcycle accident. they also missed tests in tel aviv chicago and athens before the games. in imposing two-year suspensions on the duo on 22 december the iaaf described their explanations for missing the tests as unacceptable . whatever the findings of the independent tribunal all parties will have the right to appeal to the court of arbitration for sport. the tribunal hearing will take place at the hellenic olympic committee building. it will start at 1200 gmt on saturday and is expected to finish early next week. the tribunal panel will consist of five members - president konstantinos panagopoulos and panagiotis dimakos haralabos hrisanthakis stilianos perakis and ioannis karmis. kenteris and thanou also face criminal charges in greece for allegedly faking the motorcycle accident. eight criminal charges have been laid against the sprinters as well as tzekos an eyewitness to the accident and hospital officials. but there has been speculation that the charges could be dropped.

israeli economy picking up pace israel s economy is forecast to grow by 4.2% in 2004 as it continues to emerge from a three-year recession. the main driver of the faster-than-expected expansion has been exports with tourism seeing a strong rebound the statistical office said. the economy is benefiting from a quieter period in palestinian-israeli violence and a pick-up in global demand for technology products. the outlook is better than it has been for a number of years analysts said. many companies have focused on cost cutting and greater efficiency while the government has been trying to trim public spending and push through reforms. the growth figures come about despite a strike earlier this year by about 400 000 public sector worker which closed banks hospitals postal services and transport facilities. growth did slow in the second half but only slightly. exports for the year rose by 14% while tourist revenues were up by 30%. imports gained by 13% signalling that domestic demand has picked up again. in 2003 imports declined by 1.8%. in 2003 the economy expanded by 1.3%

kilroy-silk attacked with slurry euro mp robert kilroy-silk has had a bucket of farm slurry thrown over him by a protester in manchester. the uk independence party member was arriving for a bbc radio show when the attacker emerged from behind a bush. fellow guest ruth kelly mp was also hit by the slurry. mr kilroy-silk said the man who later disappeared claimed he was doing it in the name of islam . in january mr kilroy-silk quit his bbc one show for remarks he made about arabs who he called suicide bombers . mr kilroy-silk had already been taken off air by bbc bosses for the comments in which he also described arabs as limb-amputators women repressors . the remarks prompted outrage among muslim groups. the slurry attack took place on friday as mr kilroy-silk and ms kelly a cabinet office minister and bolton west mp arrived at manchester high school for girls for the recording of bbc radio 4 s any questions. the police were called but the attacker had disappeared by the time officers arrived. they are treating the incident as assault. the programme s host jonathan dimbleby later told the audience the mep had been covered from head to toe . mr kilroy-silk was still able appear to appear on the show after being loaned a change of clothes. he told reporters he was very angry and planned to press charges if his attacker was caught. he said the man shouted: you ve offended my religion i m doing this in the name of islam. as i started to turn round a guy tipped a bucket of farmyard muck over me and then threw the rest of it over me and the car mr kilroy-silk said. i was totally covered it was all through my clothes and it stank to high heaven. it went all inside the car and splattered ruth kelly. a bbc spokesman said: he took his seat as jonathan dimbleby was introducing the show. fortunately someone at the school had a change of clothes to let him have. greater manchester police said people near mr kilroy-silk had also been hit by the waste. officers took statements at the scene but no arrests have been made. police say the suspect ran off after towards wilmslow road after committing the offence but is believed to have been driving a red vauxhall corsa earlier. the suspect is described as white aged 30 to 40 with a ginger beard. police want to hear from anyone who has any information. mr kilroy-silk an mep for the east midlands resigned the uk independence party whip in the european parliament in october after criticising ukip and stating his ambition to be leader. however he remains a member of the party. he said on friday he hoped to be elected party leader before christmas. i think that is sufficient time for us to put in process what is necessary... in time for us to fight and have a significant impact upon the general election. but a ukip spokesman said that would be impossible under the party s constitution which requires 70 days before any leadership ballot can take place.

fast moving phone viruses appear security firms are warning about several mobile phone viruses that can spread much faster than similar bugs. the new strains of the cabir mobile phone virus use short-range radio technology to leap to any vulnerable phone as soon as it is in range. the cabir virus only affects high-end handsets running the symbian series 60 phone operating system. despite the warnings there are so far no reports of any phones being infected by the new variants of cabir. the original cabir worm came to light in mid-june 2004 when it was sent to anti-virus firms as a proof-of-concept program. a mistake in the way the original cabir was written meant that even if it escaped from the laboratory the bug would only have been able to infect one phone at a time. however the new cabir strains have this mistake corrected and will spread via short range bluetooth technology to any vulnerable phone in range. bluetooth has an effective range of a few tens of metres. the risk of being infected by cabir is low because users must give the malicious program permission to download on to their handset and then must manually install it. users can protect themselves by altering a setting on symbian phones that conceals the handset from other bluetooth using devices. finnish security firm f-secure issued a warning about the new strains of cabir but said that the viruses do not do any damage to a phone. all they do is block normal bluetooth activity and drain the phone s battery. anti-virus firm sophos said the source code for cabir had been posted on the net by a brazilian programmer which might lead to even more variants of the program being created. so far seven versions of cabir are know to exist one of which was inside the malicious skulls program that was found in late november. symbian s series 60 software is licenced by nokia lg electronics lenovo panasonic samsung sendo and siemens.

when technology gets personal in 2020 whipping out your mobile phone to make a call will be quaintly passé. by then phones will be printed directly on to wrists or other parts of the body says ian pearson bt s resident futurologist. it s all part of what s known as a pervasive ambient world where chips are everywhere . mr pearson does not have a crystal ball. his job is to formulate ideas based on what science and technology are doing now to guide industries into the future. inanimate objects will start to interact with us: we will be surrounded - on streets in homes in appliances on our bodies and possibly in our heads - by things that think . forget local area networks - these will be body area networks. ideas about just how smart small or even invisible technology will get are always floating around. images of devices clumsily bolted on to heads or wrists have pervaded thinking about future technology. but now a new vision is surfacing where smart fabrics and textiles will be exploited to enhance functionality form or aesthetics. such materials are already starting to change how gadgets and electronics are used and designed. so mp3 players - the mass gadget of the moment - will disappear and instead become integrated into one s clothing says mr pearson. so the gadgets that fill up your handbag when we integrate those into fabric we can actually get rid of all that stuff. you won t necessarily see the electronics. wearable technology could exploit body heat to charge it up while video tattoos or intelligent electronic contact lenses might function as tv screens for those on the move. however this future of highly personal devices where technology is worn or even fuses with the body itself raises ethical questions. if technology is going to be increasingly part of clothing jewellery and skin there needs to be some serious thinking about what it means for us as humans says baroness susan greenfield. at a recent conference for technology engineering academic and fashion industry experts at the royal society in london neuroscientist baroness greenfield cautioned we can t just sleepwalk into the future . yet this technology is already upon us. researchers have developed computers and sensors worn in clothing. mp3 jackets based on the idea that electrically conductive fabric can connect to keyboard sewn into sleeves have already appeared in shops. these smart fabrics have come about through advances in nano- and micro-engineering - the ability to manipulate and exploit materials at micro or molecular scale. at the nanoscale materials can be tuned to display unusual properties that can be exploited to build faster lighter stronger and more efficient devices and systems. the textile and clothing industry has been one of the first to exploit nanotechnology in quite straightforward ways. many developments are appearing in real products in the fields of medicine defence healthcare sports and communications. professional swimming suits reduce drag by incorporating tiny structures similar to shark skin. nanoscale titanium dioxide (tio2) coatings give fabrics antibacterial and anti-odour properties. these have special properties which can be activated in contact with the air or uv light. such coatings have already been used to stop socks smelling for instance to turn airline seats into super stain-resistant surfaces and applied to windows so they clean themselves. dressings for wounds can now incorporate nanoparticles with biocidal properties and smart patches are being developed to deliver drugs through the skin. but baroness greenfield is concerned about how far this more personal contact with technology might affect our very being. if our clothing skin and personal body networks do the talking and the monitoring everywhere we go we have to think about what that means for our concept of privacy. mr pearson picks up the theme pointing out there are a lot of issues humans have to iron out before we become cyborgian . his main concern is privacy . we are looking at electronics which are really in deep contact with your body and a lot of that information you really don t want every passer-by to know. so we have to make sure we build security in this. if you are wearing smart make-up where electronics are controlling the appearance you don t want people hacking in and writing messages on your forehead. as technology infiltrates our biology how will our brains function differently we cannot arrogantly assume that the human brain will not change with this warns baroness greenfield. there have already been successful experiments to grow human nerve cells on circuit boards. this paves the way for brain implants to help paralysed people interface directly with computers. clearly the organic carbon of our bodies and silicon is increasingly merging. the cyborg - a very familiar part-human part-inorganic science fiction and academic idea - is on its way.

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.

mcclaren eyes uefa cup top spot steve mcclaren wants his middlesbrough team to win their uefa cup group by beating partizan belgrade. boro have already qualified for the knockout stages alongside partizan and villareal at the expense of lazio. but boss mcclaren is looking for a victory which would mean they avoid a team that has played in the champions league in friday s third-round draw. to need a win to finish top is fantastic but it is going to be a tough one mcclaren said. when the draw was made i thought it was the toughest group of them all - and so it has proved. lazio were favourites villarreal have been semi-finalists and partizan have fantastic experience in europe. the pleasing thing is we did the business in the first two games. winning those two has put us in a great position and it has been a fantastic experience playing these teams.

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.

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

manufacturing recovery slowing uk manufacturing grew at its slowest pace in one-and-a-half years in january according to a survey. the chartered institute of purchasing and supply (cips) said its purchasing manager index (pmi) fell to 51.8 from a revised 53.3 in december. but despite missing forecasts of 53.7 the pmi number remained above 50 - indicating expansion in the sector. the cips said that the strong pound had dented exports while rising oil and metals prices had kept costs high. the survey added that rising input prices and cooling demand had deterred factory managers from hiring new workers in an effort to cut costs. that triggered the second successive monthly fall in the cips employment index to 48.3 - its lowest level since june 2003. the survey is more upbeat than official figures - which suggest that manufacturing is in recession - but analysts said the survey did suggest that the manufacturing recovery was running out of steam. it appears that the uk is in a two-tier economy again said prebon yamane economist lena komileva. you have weakness in manufacturing which i think would concern policymakers at the bank of england.

applegate s charity show closes us musical sweet charity has cancelled its run on broadway after poor ticket sales for its early shows. star christina applegate had to pull out of pre-broadway performances earlier this month with a broken foot. producer barry weissler said he was deeply proud of the show but said the decision to close it was painful but fiscally responsible . applegate who starred in tv comedy married with children had been hoping to make her broadway debut in the show. the 33-year-old injured herself while performing in chicago and had been hoping to recover in time for its official new york opening on 21 april. she had received mixed reviews for performances in minneapolis and chicago. previews of the $7.5m (£4m) show were due to begin on 4 april. sweet charity tells the story of charity hope valentine a dancer who always falls in love with the wrong man. it was first performed on broadway in 1966 with gwen verdon in the title role while shirley maclaine starred in the 1969 film version.

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

business fears over sluggish eu economy as european leaders gather in rome on friday to sign the new eu constitution many companies will be focusing on matters much closer to home - namely how to stay in business. lille is a popular tourist destination for britons who want a taste of france at the weekend. but how many tourists look at the impressively grand victorian chambre de commerce which stands beside the opera house and consider that it was built - like the town halls in many northern english towns - on the wealth created by coal steel and textiles like northern england and industrial scotland those industries have been in long term decline - the last coal pit closed in 1990. beck-crespel is a specialist steel firm in armentieres about 20 miles from lille. the company has not laid off a worker since 1945. it specialises in making bolts and fixings for power stations and the oil industry but not many of those are being built in europe these days. director hugues charbonnier says he is under pressure because factories in the far east are able to make some of his output more cheaply while his key markets are now in china and india. in our business the market is absolutely global you can not imagine living with our size (of business) even within an enlarged european union (if we did that) we would need not 350 people but perhaps just 150 or 200 he says. it isn t just globalisation that is hurting; the law in france means workers are paid for a 39 hour week even though they work just 35 hours. but at least there is still a steel industry. coal has now totally vanished and textiles are struggling. new business has been attracted but not enough to make up the difference. that is one reason why people here are not great fans of the eu says frederic sawicki a politics lecturer at the university of lille. in the region today the unemployment rate is 12% in some areas it is 15%. they don t see what europe is doing for them so there is a kind of euro scepticism especially in the working classes he says. which is strange because lille is at the crossroads of europe - if anywhere should be benefiting from the euro it is here. the euro was designed to increase trade within the eurozone but the biggest increase in trade has been with the rest of the world. much of that trade passes through the world s largest port rotterdam in holland home to specialist crane maker huisman itrec. its cranes help build oil rigs and lifted the sunken russian submarine kursk from the sea bed but huisman itrec is now setting up a factory in china where costs are cheaper and its main customers are closer. boss henk addink blames the low growth rate in europe for the lack of orders closer to home. in the us growth is something like 6% in china they are estimating 15% and in the eu it is more or less 1% he says. mr addink blames the euro for stifling demand. he much preferred the old currencies of europe which moved in relation to each country s economic performance. in germany industry is exporting more these days but the economy as a whole is once again mired in slow growth and high unemployment. growth is likely to peak this year at just under 2%. in britain that would be a bad year; in germany it is one of the best in recent years. with germany making up a third of the eurozone s economy this is a major problem. if germany doesn t once again become the powerhouse of europe growth across the bloc is never going to be as strong as it could be. however at one factory near the dutch border things are changing. the siemens plant at boscholt makes cordless phones and employs 2 000 staff. staff have started working an extra four hours a week for no extra pay after siemens threatened to take the factory and their jobs to hungary. factory manager herbert stueker says that he now hopes to increase productivity by nearly 30% . but germany needs much more reform if all its industry is to compete with places such hungary or china. the government is reforming the labour market and cutting the generous unemployment system but the real solution is to cut the wages of low skilled workers says helmut schneider director of the institute for the study of labour at bonn university. labour is too costly in germany especially for the low skilled labour and this is the main problem. if we could solve that problem we could cut unemployment by half he says. the eu set itself the target of being the most efficient economy in the world by 2010. four years into that process and the target seems further away than ever.

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.

mcconnell in drunk remark row scotland s first minister has told a group of high school pupils that it is okay to get drunk once in a while . jack mcconnell was speaking to more than 100 secondary pupils from schools in the highlands about the problems of binge drinking and drink promotions. he has been criticised by the snp for encouraging young people to get drunk. but the scottish executive has insisted mr mcconnell was speaking about adults and his comments were a recognition that people will get drunk . the first minister s comments came in a question and answer session at glenurquhart high school in inverness attended by pupils from a number of secondary schools. a highland councillor who was at the event has also defended mr mcconnell. margaret davidson the independent member for the loch ness west said the first minister was speaking in a very general way and she was sure he was speaking about adults at the time. when one pupil asked mr mcconnell how the executive proposed to tackle under-age drinking began his response with the quip: i m sure there s no under-age drinking in the highlands. he went on to speak about the evils of binge drinking and railed against irresponsible drinks promotions. he said: i hope i m not going to be seen as preaching to anybody here but the really serious problem at the moment is binge drinking and the impact it has on people s health and their ability to control what s happening round about them. mr mcconnell said he regularly saw reports on the effects of binge drinking sprees which ended in assaults or even rapes and on the health consequences of binge drinking. the one thing we are going to do something really serious about is binge drinking and irresponsible drinks promotions that can help lead to that he said. far too many pub chains in particular are selling far too much booze far too cheaply and encouraging people to drink it far too quickly. we are go to clamp down on that and make those promotions illegal in the hope that people can enjoy a drink sensibly over the course of an evening. he added: by all means get drunk once in a while - but do not get into a situation where people are being encouraged to get completely incapable just to save some money and drink more quickly. snp holyrood leader nicola sturgeon said: this is an incredible gaffe by jack mcconnell. we all know that under-age drinking is an issue in scotland but it is quite staggering that any politician particularly the first minister should encourage young people to get drunk. the first minister should withdraw these remarks immediately. but an executive spokeswoman insisted mr mcconnell had made the remark with adults not youngsters in mind. he was talking in the context of adults binge drinking and irresponsible drinks promotions - which are for the over-18s she said. it was just a recognition that people will get drunk but that binge drinking and drinks promotions that encourage it are not acceptable.

markets fall on weak dollar fears rising oil prices and the sinking dollar hit shares on monday after a finance ministers meeting and stern words from fed chief alan greenspan. the london ftse fell 0.8% while tokyo s nikkei 225 dropped 2.11% its steepest fall in three months. g20 finance ministers said nothing about supporting the dollar whose slide could further jeopardise growth in japan and europe. and mr greenspan warned asian states could soon stop funding the us deficit. on monday afternoon the euro was close to an all-time high against the dollar at above $1.30. oil pushed higher too on monday as investors fretted about cold weather in the us and europe and a potential output cut from oil producers group opec although prices had cooled by the end of the day. in london the benchmark brent crude price closed down 51 cents at $44.38 a barrel while new york light sweet crude closed down 25 cents at $48.64 a barrel. the slide comes as the us has been attempting to talk up the traditional strong dollar policy. the latest to pitch in has been president george w bush himself who told the asia pacific economic co-operation (apec) summit in chile that he remained committed to halving the budget deficit. together with a $500bn trade gap the red ink spreading across america s public finances is widely seen as a key factor driving the dollar lower. and last week us treasury secretary john snow told an audience in the uk that the policy remained unaltered. but he also said that the rate was entirely up to the markets - a signal which traders took as advice to sell the dollar. some had looked to the g20 meeting for direction. but mr snow made clear exchange rates had not been on the agenda. for the us government letting the dollar drift is a useful short-term fix. us exports get more affordable helping perhaps to close the trade gap. in the meantime the debt keeps getting bigger with congress authorising an $800bn rise in what the us can owe - taking the total to $8.2 trillion. but in a speech on friday federal reserve chairman alan greenspan warned that in the longer term things are likely to get tricky. at present much of gap in both public debt is covered by selling bonds to asian states such as japan and china since the dollar is seen as the world s reserve currency. similarly asian investment helps bridge the gap in the current account - the deficit between what the us as a whole spends and what it earns. but already they are turning more cautious - an auction of debt in august found few takers. and mr greenspan said that could turn into a trend if the fall of the dollar kept eating into the value of those investments. it seems persuasive that given the size of the us current account deficit a diminished appetite for adding to dollar balances must occur at some point he said.

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

singapore growth at 8.1% in 2004 singapore s economy grew by 8.1% in 2004 its best performance since 2000 figures from the trade ministry show. the advance the second-fastest in asia after china was led by growth of 13.1% in the key manufacturing sector. however a slower-than-expected fourth quarter points to more modest growth for the trade-driven economy in 2005 as global technology demand falls back. slowdowns in the us and china could hit electronics exports while the tsunami disaster may effect the service sector. economic growth is set to halve in singapore this year to between 3% and 5%. in the fourth quarter the city state s gross domestic product (gdp) rose at an annual rate of 2.4%. that was up from the third quarter when it fell 3.0% but was well below analyst forecasts. i am surprised at the weak fourth quarter number. the main drag came from electronics said lian chia liang economist at jp morgan chase. singapore s economy had contracted over the summer weighed down by soaring oil prices. the economy s poor performance in the july to september period followed four consecutive quarters of double-digit growth as singapore bounced back strongly from the effects of the deadly sars virus in 2003.

long life promised for laptop pcs scientists are working on ways to ensure laptops can stay powered for an entire working day. building batteries from new chemical mixes could boost power significantly say industry experts. the changes include everything from the way chips for laptops are made to tricks that reduce the power consumption of displays. ever since laptops appeared the amount of time they last between recharges has been a frustration for users. a survey carried out in 2000 by forrester research found that the shortness of battery life was the most complained about feature of laptops. the focus back then was more on performance and features said mike trainor chief mobile technology evangelist for chip giant intel. for most of the 90s battery life was stuck on two to 2.5 hours. but now he said laptops can last much longer. it was not just a case of improving battery life by squeezing more out of the lithium ion power packs he explained. other changes are needed to get to the holy grail of a laptop running for about eight hours before needing a recharge. lithium ion is never going to get there by itself he said. the industry has done a great job of wringing all possible energy storage out of that technology that they can. some new battery chemistries promise to cram more power into the same space said mr trainor though work still needed to be done to get them successfully from the lab to manufacturing. he was sceptical that fuel cells would develop quick enough to take over from solid batteries even though they have the potential to produce several times more energy than lithium ion power packs. in fuel cells you need to have pumps and separators and evaporation chambers he said. it s a mini energy plant that needs to be shrunk and shrunk and shrunk. intel has been working with component makers to test energy consumption on all the parts inside a laptop and find ways to make them less power hungry. this work has led to the creation of the mobile pc extended battery life (ebl) working group that shares information about building notebooks that are more parsimonious with power. some of the improvements in power use come simply because components on chips are shrinking said mr trainor. intel has also changed the way it creates transistors on silicon to reduce the power they need. on a larger scale said mr trainor improvements in the way that voltage regulators are made can reduce the amount of power lost as heat and make a notebook more energy efficient. also said mr trainor research is being done on ways to cut energy consumption on displays - currently the biggest power guzzler on a laptop. many laptop makers have committed to creating 14 and 15 inch screens that draw only three watts of power. this is far below the power consumption levels of screens in current notebooks. if we can get close to eight hours that s a place that people see as extraordinarily valuable that s what the industry has to deliver mr trainor said.

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.

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.

coach ranieri sacked by valencia claudio ranieri has been sacked as valencia coach just eight months after taking charge at the primera liga club for the second time in his career. the decision was taken at a board meeting following the side s surprise elimination from the uefa cup. we understand and he understands that the results in the last few weeks have not been the most appropriate said club president juan bautista. former assistant antonio lopez will take over as the new coach. italian ranieri took over the valencia job in june 2004 having been replaced at chelsea by jose mourinho. things began well but the spanish champions extended their winless streak to six after losing to racing santander last weekend. that defeat was then followed by a uefa cup exit at the hands of steaua bucharest. ranieri first took charge of valencia in 1997 guiding them to the king s cup and helping them to qualify for the champions league. the 54-year-old then moved to atletico madrid in 1999 before joining chelsea the following year.

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

vouchers to cut winter deaths pensioners are being promised energy savings by the liberal democrats as snow and cold temperatures continue. the party says the plans could save the average pensioner £100 every year and cut winter deaths. the government gives £200 for winter fuel to households with people over 60 or £300 where people are over 80. the tories promise to keep the payments. the lib dems would allow people to swap these winter fuel payments for discounts on home insulation. shadow local government secretary ed davey said: the current scheme has helped some older people but this new liberal democrat approach will go much further to end the scandal of tens of thousands of old people dying from the winter cold every year. the vouchers are designed to let pensioners choose from a list of approved energy supplies who would compete for business by offering discounts on home insulation schemes. the plan would boost energy conservation says the party - and insulation could save £100 every year for pensioner households so using the money more intelligently than at present.

white admits to balco drugs link banned american sprinter kelli white says she knowingly took steroids given to her by bay area lab co-operative (balco) president victor conte. conte faces a federal trial next year on charges of distributing steroids and tax evasion and white said at first he tried to cover up what he was doing. he s the one who told me that it wasn t what he said it was white said in the san francisco chronicle. but she added: it was my decision to go to him not anybody else s. white said conte at first told her the substance was flaxseed oil only to change his story later. white failed a drugs test after winning the 100m and 200m titles at the 2003 world athletics championships. she was subsequently handed a two-year ban in may this year and has admitted taking the stimulant modafinil. at first white claimed she took the drug to combat narcolepsy but she now takes full responsibility for her actions. my whole belief about victor is that he was selling a product white said in the la times. whether it be a good product or a bad product he was selling a product. white was introduced to conte through her coach remy korchemy who is also a defendant in the balco case. the 27-year-old believes doping is so common in sport she felt compelled to cheat herself if she was to have any chance of winning. i have no clue what it s going to take to change that said white. i would say i made a mistake and i would never ever go back. i would never recommend anyone to take that route.

broadband steams ahead in the us more and more americans are joining the internet s fast lane according to official figures. the number of people and business connected to broadband jumped by 38% in a year said the us federal communications commission (fcc). in a report it said there were more than 32 million broadband connections by the end of june 2004. but the us is still behind compared to other nations ranked 13th in the world by a un telecoms body. during his 2004 re-election campaign president george w bush pledge to ensure that affordable high-speed net access would be available to all americans by 2007. according to the report by the fcc broadband is becoming increasingly popular with people using it for research and shopping as well as downloading music and watching video. the total number of people and businesses on broadband rose by to 32.5 million in the year ending june 2004 compared to 23.5 million in june 2003. whereas in the uk most people hook up to broadband via asymmetric digital subscriber line (adsl) technology which lets ordinary copper phone lines support high data speeds. but in the us cable leads the way accounting for 18.6 million lines. broadband over the phone line makes up 11.4 million connections according to the fcc figures.

jp morgan admits us slavery links thousands of slaves were accepted as collateral for loans by two banks that later became part of jp morgan chase. the admission is part of an apology sent to jp morgan staff after the bank researched its links to slavery in order to meet legislation in chicago. citizens bank and canal bank are the two lenders that were identified. they are now closed but were linked to bank one which jp morgan bought last year. about 13 000 slaves were used as loan collateral between 1831 and 1865. because of defaults by plantation owners citizens and canal ended up owning about 1 250 slaves. we all know slavery existed in our country but it is quite different to see how our history and the institution of slavery were intertwined jp morgan chief executive william harrison and chief operating officer james dimon said in the letter. slavery was tragically ingrained in american society but that is no excuse. we apologise to the african-american community particularly those who are descendants of slaves and to the rest of the american public for the role that citizens bank and canal bank played. the slavery era was a tragic time in us history and in our company s history. jp morgan said that it was setting up a $5m scholarship programme for students living in louisiana the state where the events took place. the bank said that it is a very different company than the citizens and canal banks of the 1800s .

bush website blocked outside us surfers outside the us have been unable to visit the official re-election site of president george w bush. the blocking of browsers sited outside the us began in the early hours of monday morning. since then people outside the us trying to browse the site get a message saying they are not authorised to view it. the blocking does not appear to be due to an attack by vandals or malicious hackers but as a result of a policy decision by the bush camp. the international exclusion zone around georgewbush.com was spotted by net monitoring firm netcraft which keeps an eye on traffic patterns across many different sites. netcraft said that since the early hours of 25 october attempts to view the site through its monitoring stations in london amsterdam and sydney failed. by contrast netcraft s four monitoring stations in the us managed to view the site with no problems. the site can still be seen using anonymous proxy services that are based in the us. some web users in canada also report that they can browse the site. the pattern of traffic to the website suggests that the blocking was not due to an attack by vandals or politically motivated hackers. geographic blocking works because the numerical addresses that the net uses to organise itself are handed out on a regional basis. on 21 october the george w bush website began using the services of a company called akamai to ensure that the pages videos and other content on its site reaches visitors. mike prettejohn president of netcraft speculated that the blocking decision might have been taken to cut costs and traffic in the run-up to the election on 2 november. he said the site may see no reason to distribute content to people who will not be voting next week. managing traffic could also be a good way to ensure that the site stays working in the closing days of the election campaign. however simply blocking non-us visitors also means that americans overseas are barred too. akamai declined to comment saying it could not talk about customer websites.

spam e-mails tempt net shoppers computer users across the world continue to ignore security warnings about spam e-mails and are being lured into buying goods a report suggests. more than a quarter have bought software through spam e-mails and 24% have bought clothes or jewellery. as well as profiting from selling goods or services and driving advertising traffic organised crime rings can use spam to glean personal information. the business software alliance (bsa) warned that people should stay alert . many online consumers don t consider the true motives of spammers said mike newton a spokesperson for the bsa which commissioned the survey. by selling software that appears to be legitimate in genuine looking packaging or through sophisticated websites spammers are hiding spyware without consumers knowledge. once the software is installed on pcs and networks information that is given over the internet can be obtained and abused. the results also showed that the proportion of people reading - or admitting to reading - and taking advantage of adult entertainment spam e-mails is low at one in 10. the research which covered 6 000 people in six countries and their attitudes towards junk e-mails revealed that brazilians were the most likely to read spam. a third of them read unsolicited junk e-mail and 66% buy goods or services after receiving spam. the french were the second most likely to buy something (48%) with 44% of britons taking advantage of products and services. this was despite 38% of people in all countries being worried about their net security because of the amount of spam they get. more than a third of respondents said they were concerned that spam e-mails contained viruses or programs that attempted to collect personal information. both industry and the media have helped to raise awareness of the issues that surround illegitimate e-mail helping to reduce the potential financial damage and nuisance from phishing attacks and spoof websites said william plante director of corporate security and fraud protection at security firm symantec. at the same time consumers need to continue exercising caution and protect themselves from harm with a mixture of spam filters spyware detection software and sound judgement.

bortolami predicts dour contest italy skipper marco bortolami believes saturday s six nations contest against scotland will be a scrappy encounter. with both sides looking for their first win of the championship the third-round game at murrayfield has been billed as a wooden-spoon decider. and bortolami feels the edinburgh contest could end up being a bruising battle of the packs. it will not be a pretty game because both teams are desperate to gain their first win said the lock forward. italy have only recorded three wins since they joined the six nations in 2000 but two of those have come against scotland. this year italy opened up with a stubborn display against ireland but ended up losing 28-17. however they were thoroughly outplayed by an impressive welsh side in rome last time out. now the italians travel to edinburgh hoping to claim their first away win in the six nations. scotland played extremely well against france in paris but not so well when ireland came to edinburgh said bortolami. we are still very disappointed with our last game against wales in rome and we are thoroughly determined to right the wrongs. as a nation our quest is to be respected as a team worthy of a place in this tournament and we can only do this by winning games.

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

greer attacks bully big brother germaine greer has criticised celebrity big brother s bullying of housemates after quitting the reality tv show. she said superior bullying tactics like making housemates cold and hungry could encourage playground bullying. she also condemned the complete irresponsibility of adding brigitte nielsen s former mother-in-law jackie stallone to the house on monday. nielsen had panicked that if she reacted badly it could harm her access to her children greer said. the feminist writer and broadcaster said big brother had behaved like a child rather than a parent by taunting contestant john mccririck after denying him a cola drink. i thought it was actually demonstrating the role of taunting in the playground and there are so many children whose lives have actually been destroyed by taunting in the playground greer said. she also said that her fellow housemates had publicity-seeking agendas . i had no idea who would be in here and it s wrong for me to present myself in the same context as they are. media observers had been surprised by greer s initial decision to join the third celebrity version of the channel 4 reality tv show given that she has written critical articles about the format in the past. as she packed her suitcase to leave the house she told fellow housemates: i m leaving over specific issues but best for everyone if i don t discuss them. i have a problem with decisions i make them fast and when i make them i stick to them. greer had earlier failed to persuade other contestants to stage a naked protest against big brother. other celebrities to walk out of a reality show tv include sex pistol john lydon former eastenders actress danniella westbrook and ex-e17 singer brian harvey who all left i m a celebrity... get me out of here. previous big brother housemates to leave before their time were sunita sharma and sandy cumming from the third series of the non-celebrity version of the show. vote was germaine greer right to leave celebrity big brother yes no results are indicative and may not reflect public opinion happy mondays dancer bez is now 2-1 favourite to win the show followed by blazin squad singer kenzie at 5-2 and actor jeremy edwards at 4-1. ladbrokes spokesman warren lush said that the series was still wide open adding that the last 24 hours had also seen a rush of bets on mccririck slashing his odds to 8-1. dj lisa i anson is the outsider with odds of 40-1 while jackie stallone who joined the house on monday is also one of the less popular housemates at 20-1. the first eviction of the series has now been postponed after greer s exit unexpectedly reduced the number of competitors. the eight remaining contestants are competing for a £50 000 prize to be donated to the charity of their choice if they survive a series of public votes. for every 50p vote cast by viewers by telephone or text during the programme s run 9p will go to a tsunami charity appeal.

bees handed potential man utd tie brentford face a home tie against holders manchester united in the fa cup sixth round if they can come through their replay against southampton. the league one side held the saints at st mary s in their fifth-round tie and were rewarded with a potential draw against sir alex ferguson s side. newcastle will be at home to either tottenham or nottingham forest. bolton host arsenal or sheffield united and leicester will visit the winners of the burnley and blackburn replay. the ties will be played on the weekend of 12-13 march. was delighted to be paired with united although he admitted they still have plenty of work to do to set up a dream tie. we ve got our work cut out next tuesday but you can t deny it s exciting he said. it would be a sell-out. it will probably be on television. we have financial problems and the revenue it could bring in would certainly help our situation. we re happy to be in the draw but we ve still got to beat a premiership team. we ve got to beat southampton first and that s going to be a hard game but if we do there will be some celebration. welcomed the opportunity to face united. we re not counting on anything yet he said. it is obviously going to be a difficult replay judging by the way brentford came back at us on saturday and the fact that united have come out of the hat will give them even more incentive. but i ve been drawn against united so many times in cups and beaten them at both bournemouth and west ham. there are no easy ties in the fa cup and i m sure nobody is counting on one. newcastle v tottenham or nottingham forest southampton or brentford v manchester united bolton v arsenal or sheffield united burnley or blackburn v leicester

tigers wary of farrell gamble leicester say they will not be rushed into making a bid for andy farrell should the great britain rugby league captain decide to switch codes. we and anybody else involved in the process are still some way away from going to the next stage tigers boss john wells told bbc radio leicester. at the moment there are still a lot of unknowns about andy farrell not least his medical situation. whoever does take him on is going to take a big big gamble. farrell who has had persistent knee problems had an operation on his knee five weeks ago and is expected to be out for another three months. leicester and saracens are believed to head the list of rugby union clubs interested in signing farrell if he decides to move to the 15-man game. if he does move across to union wells believes he would better off playing in the backs at least initially. i m sure he could make the step between league and union by being involved in the centre said wells. i think england would prefer him to progress to a position in the back row where they can make use of some of his rugby league skills within the forwards. the jury is out on whether he can cross that divide. at this club the balance will have to be struck between the cost of that gamble and the option of bringing in a ready-made replacement.

edwards tips idowu for euro gold world outdoor triple jump record holder and bbc pundit jonathan edwards believes phillips idowu can take gold at the european indoor championships. idowu landed 17.30m at the british trials in sheffield last month to lead the world triple jump rankings. it s all down to him but if he jumps as well as he did in sheffield he could win the gold medal said edwards. his ability is undoubted but all his best performances seem to happen in domestic meetings. idowu made his breakthrough five years ago but so far has only a commonwealth silver medal to his name. edwards himself kept idowu off top spot at the manchester games. but he believes the european indoors in madrid represent a chance for the 26-year-old to prove his credentials as britain s top triple jumper. he has to start producing at international level and here is the beginning said edwards. phillips still needs to be much more consistent. i m sure a victory in madrid will build up his confidence and self-belief that he can be best in the world. the qualifying round of the men s triple jump in madrid takes place on friday with the final scheduled for saturday. olympic champion christian olsson will not be taking part as he is out for the entire indoor season with an ankle injury.

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.

campaign cold calls questioned labour and the conservatives are still telephoning the millions of people who have signed up to make sure they do not get marketing cold calls . the parties say they can stick to the rules by ensuring that their calls are not marketing - for instance by asking about people s voting intentions. the lib dems are asking the watchdog overseeing the rules to stop the calls. the information commissioner s office says surveys are allowed but there is a grey area if personal data is kept. telephone call centres are expected to be used as never before by all the three major parties in the run-up to the general election. but seven million telephone numbers are on the telephone preference service (tps) lists which ban unsolicited sales and marketing calls. both schemes are run by the direct marketing association and backed by eu directives on privacy and electronic communications. the rules on marketing calls apply as much to politicians as to private sector companies. but that does not mean labour and the tories are not calling people signed up to the tps. a labour party spokesman told the bbc news website the party avoided those on tps lists when telephoning people about membership or fundraising. but that did not happen for voter identification calls. when we ask which party they will vote for that is not marketing and we have very clear legal advice that it is not he said. so it is not covered by the telephone preference service. he said the party always asked people if they would be happy to be contacted again and if they said no they were not rung again. a conservative spokeswoman said the party stuck to the rules when it rang tps subscribers. she said: we do apply tps but in line with the law. we would not do things that are not allowed in the law. a spokesman for the information commissioner s office said it would be classed as marketing if political parties telephoned people to encourage them to vote for them. but the rules did allow polling organisations to telephone people about their voting intentions if they recorded them only as part of a bigger set of statistics not person by person. if a political party was doing that than it may be that also would not be marketing he said. the spokesman said it might be considered unsolicited marketing if a party recorded voting preferences with a view to marketing information in the future. the spokesman said there was no yes or no answer and the area was pretty grey . he added: if someone complained then we would investigate that. political parties are aware of the regulations. at the last by-elections we reminded them. lib dem chairman matthew taylor has now written to the watchdog saying: the advice we have received on several previous occasions is that such phone calls are illegal. he says evidence from local lib dem parties around the country suggests there are significant numbers of such calls. i hope you can therefore take swift and efficient action to ensure that this ceases he tells the commissioner. mr taylor argues there should be new guidelines so all parties can act in the same way if the watchdog believes the rules allow parties to ring tps numbers about voting intentions and later urge those people to vote for them.

chinese exports rise 25% in 2004 exports from china leapt during 2004 over the previous year as the country continued to show breakneck growth. the spurt put china s trade surplus - a sore point with some of its trading partners - at a six-year high. it may also increase pressure on china to relax the peg joining its currency the yuan with the weakening dollar. the figures released by the ministry of commerce come as china s tax chief confirmed that growth had topped 9% in 2004 for the second year in a row. state administration of taxation head xie xuren said a tightening of controls on tax evasion had combined with the rapid expansion to produce a 25.7% rise in tax revenues to 2.572 trillion yuan ($311bn; £165bn). according to the ministry of commerce china s exports totalled $63.8bn in december taking the annual total up 35.4% to $593.4bn. with imports rising a similar amount the deficit rose to $43.4bn. the increased tax take comes despite healthy tax rebates for many exporters totalling 420bn yuan in 2004 according to mr xie. china s exporting success has made the trade deficit of the united states soar even further and made trade with china a sensitive political issue in washington. the peg keeping the yuan around 8.30 to the dollar is often blamed by us lawmakers for job losses at home. a us report issued on tuesday on behalf of a congressionally-mandated panel said almost 1.5 million posts disappeared between 1989 and 2003. the pace accelerated in the final three years of the period said the report for the us-china economic and security review commission moving out of labour-intensive industries and into more hi-tech sectors. the us s overall trade deficit with china was $124bn in 2003 and is expected to rise to about $150bn for 2004.

italy 17-28 ireland two moments of magic from brian o driscoll guided ireland to a workmanlike victory against italy. a pair of classic outside breaks from the ireland captain set up tries for geordan murphy and peter stringer. italy led 9-8 early in the second half but stringer s try gave ireland a lead they never lost. the hosts cut the gap to 18-12 with 10 minutes left and nearly scored through ludovico nitoglia but denis hickie s try ensured an irish victory. italy came flying out of the blocks and took the lead through a luciano orquera penalty after seven minutes. it could have been better for the hosts but the fly-half missed two kickable penalties and ireland drew level with a ronan o gara penalty midway through the first half. the italians were driving at the heart of the irish defence and for the first quarter the irish pack struggled to secure any ball for their talented backs. when they finally did just before the half-hour mark o driscoll promptly created a sparkling try for murphy. the ireland captain ran a dummy scissors and made a magical outside break before drawing the full-back and putting the diving murphy in at the corner. o gara missed the twice-taken conversion and the visitors found themselves trailing once again. roland de marigny took over the kicking duties for italy from the hapless orquera and he landed a penalty either side of the break to edge italy into a 9-8 lead. the only ireland player offering a real threat was o driscoll and it was his break that set up the second try for the visitors. shane horgan threw an overhead pass as he was about to be forced into touch and stringer scooted over with o gara landing the tricky conversion. a penalty apiece saw ireland leading 18-12 as the game entered the final quarter but they were lucky to survive when italy launched a series of attacks. winger nitoglia dropped the ball as he reached for the line and italy nearly rumbled over from a driving maul. an o gara penalty put ireland more than a converted try ahead and they made the game safe when hickie latched onto an inside pass from murphy and crossed for a converted try. o driscoll limped off late on joining centre partner gordon d arcy on the sidelines and the final word went to italy. prop martin castrogiovanni powered over for a try which was fitting reward for an italian pack which had kept the irish under pressure throughout. de marigny; mi bergamasco canale masi nitoglia; orquera troncon; lo cicero ongaro castrogiovanni; dellape bortolami; persico ma bergamasco parisse. perugini intoppa del fava dal maso griffen pozzebon robertson. murphy horgan o driscoll d arcy hickie o gara stringer corrigan byrne hayes o kelly o connell s easterby leamy foley. sheahan horan o callaghan miller g easterby humphreys dempsey. p o brien (new zealand)

steady job growth continues in us the us created fewer jobs than expected in december but analysts said that the dip in hiring was not enough to derail the world s biggest economy. according to labor department figures 157 000 new jobs were added last month. that took 2004 s total to 2.2 million the best showing in five years. job creation was one of last year s main concerns for the us economy. while worries still remain the conditions are set for steady growth in 2005 analysts said. the unemployment rate stayed at 5.4% in december and about 200 000 jobs will need to be created each month if that figure is to drop. it was a respectable report said michael moran analyst at daiwa securities. payroll growth in december was a little lighter than the consensus forecast but we had upward revisions to the prior two months and an increase in manufacturing employment. manufacturing is a cyclical area of the economy and if it s showing job growth it s a good indication that the economy is on a solid growth track. that means that the federal reserve is likely to continue its policy of raising interest rates. the fed lifted borrowing costs five times last year to 2.25% citing evidence the us economic recovery was becoming more robust. job creation was one of last year s main concerns for the us economy and proved to be a main topic of debate in the us presidential election. while demand for workers is far from booming the conditions are set for steady growth. overall compared to the previous year it looks great it just keeps going stronger and stronger and i expect that to be the case in 2005 said kurt karl economist at swiss re in new york. meanwhile economists cautioned against reading too much into data from the federal reserve showing an unexpected $8.7bn drop in consumer debt in november. a fall in consumer spending which makes up about two-thirds of all us economic activity could help limit the extent of any future interest rate rises. but economists said there could be a number of reasons for a fall in the borrowing which include credit cards and personal loans while noting that such figures can vary on a month-to-month basis.

bt offers equal access to rivals bt has moved to pre-empt a possible break-up of its business by offering to cut wholesale broadband prices and open its network to rivals. the move comes after telecom regulator ofcom said in november that the firm must offer competitors real equality of access to its phone lines . at the time ofcom offered bt the choice of change or splitting into two. ofcom is carrying out a strategic review aimed at promoting greater competition in the uk telecom sector. bt s competitors have frequently accused it of misusing its status as the former telecoms monopoly and controller of access to many customers to favour its own retail arm. this latest submission was delivered to the watchdog ahead of a deadline for the second phase of its review. central to the proposals are plans by bt to offer operators lower wholesale prices faster broadband services and transparent highly-regulated access to bt s local network the former monopoly said in a statement. the united kingdom has the opportunity to create the most exciting and innovative telecoms market in the world bt chief executive ben verwaayen said. bt has a critical role to play and today we are making a set of far-reaching proposals towards that framework he said. bt wants lighter regulation in exchange for the changes as well as the removal of the break-up threat. the group is to set up a new access services division - with a separate board which would include independent members - to ensure equal access for rivals to the local loop the copper wires that run between telephone exchanges and households. the company also unveiled plans to cut the wholesale prices of its most popular broadband product by about 8% from april in areas of high customer demand. it added that it plans to invest £10bn in the next five years to create a 21st century network . to meet the growing demand for greater bandwidth bt said it would begin trials in april with a view to launching higher-speed services nationally from the autumn. telecom analysts ovum welcomed the move saying bt had given a lot of ground . the big question now is whether the industry and particularly ofcom feels bt s proposals go far enough ...now the real negotiation begins director of telecoms research tony lavender said. internet service provider (isp) plus.net also backed the proposals saying we will be entirely happy if ofcom accepts them . bt has been challenged to play fair and its plans will introduce a level playing field. the scenario now is how well people execute their business plans as a service provider chief executive lee strafford said. chris panayis managing director of isp freedom2surf said that it would make the situation clearer for business. i think it s the first productive thing we ve had from bt he said. aol backed the price cuts but said regulation was still needed to ensure a level playing field. this is a reminder to ofcom that as long as bt can change the dynamics of the whole broadband market at will the process of opening up the uk s local telephone network to infrastructure investment and competition remains fragile a spokesman said. ofcom needs to return to regulation of the wholesale broadband service [ipstream] and provide more robust rules for local loop unbundling if consumers are to see the benefits of increased competition and infrastructure investment. more than 100 telecom firms consumer groups and other interested parties are expected to make submissions to the regulator during this consultation phase. ofcom is expected to spend the next few weeks examining the proposals before making an announcement within the next few months.

jamieson issues warning to bigots scotland s justice minister has warned bigoted soccer fans that she wants to hit them where it hurts most by banning them from matches. cathy jamieson said exclusion orders are one of a series of measures being considered in the scottish executive campaign against sectarianism. she praised celtic and rangers for their work in tackling the problem. however the minister said stopping sectarian abuse associated with old firm matches is a key objective. ms jamieson was speaking ahead of the third round scottish cup clash between the glasgow clubs at parkhead on sunday. the sectarianism long associated with sections of the support from both clubs has become a significant target for the executive. last week ms jamieson and first minister jack mcconnell met supporters representatives from both clubs to discuss the issue. they plan to hold an anti-sectarian summit next month with officials from the clubs church leaders senior police officers and local authority chiefs among those to be invited. speaking on bbc radio scotland s sunday live programme ms jamieson described friday s meeting as very productive and said putting the squeeze on the bigots would be a key aim. ms jamieson stressed that sectarianism has not been confined to football but it can act as a trigger for tensions and violence. clubs have taken action in the past to ban troublesome fans and supporters groups expressed their desire to ensure that the game is no longer tainted by the problem. ms jamieson said the executive should have a role in tackling the soccer troublemakers. she said: we can t get away from the fact that in some instances some of the religious hatred that some people try to associate with football boils over into violence. that is the kind of thing we want to stop and that s the kind of thing supporters groups are very clear they don t want to be part of either and they will work with us to try and deal with that. ms jamieson praised the police for their action and said: the police do want to identify whether there are particular individuals who are going over the top and inciting hatred or violence - they will crack down very effectively on them. we have of course already indicated that we will consider the introduction of banning orders to give additional powers to where there are people who are going over the top who have made inappropriate behaviour at football matches to be able to stop them attending the games. that s the kind of thing that will hit those kind of people where it hurts the most in not allowing them to attend the games she said. praising celtic and rangers for their efforts she said: i don t think there is any doubt that we have seen some positive moves from the clubs. both rangers and celtic football clubs have been involved in working with the executive to produce for example an educational pack for young people.

spears seeks aborted tour payment singer britney spears is suing eight insurance companies that have refused to reimburse her for cancelling her 2004 world tour. the pop star cancelled her onyx hotel tour last june after suffering a knee injury during a video shoot. she is now seeking to be reimbursed for the tour s £5m ($9.3m) costs in a claim filed at new york state supreme court. seven london-based companies and an eighth paris firm have been given up to 30 days to respond to the complaint. the 22-year-old star initially missed a number of shows on the 82-date tour after injuring her knee during a show in illinois last march. but she was rushed to hospital and needed surgery after a later incident while filming a video for her song outrageous leading her to cancel the rest of the tour including dates in china. she obviously took a wrong step and blew out her knee a jive spokeswoman said at the time. it was an old dance injury. the legal submission described spears as one of the most recognised performers in her industry . the onyx hotel tour was cited as a highly crafted production which included the well-known music and dancing of spears supported by elaborate costumes complex choreography as well as cutting-edge video production lighting and other effects . in september spears married kevin federline who had been a dancer on the aborted tour.

the sound of music is coming home the original stage production of the sound of music is to be performed for the first time in the austrian capital 40 years after the film was released. the first full-scale theatrical production of the musical will make its debut in vienna on saturday. julie andrews starred in the 1965 film version of the rogers and hammerstein classic set in the alpine country. but despite being one of the most successful musicals of all time it is barely known inside austria. the film was never shown in any cinema in austria and was not broadcast on television until the early 1990s. the musical is based on the true story of the von trapp family who formed a singing troupe and escaped from nazi-occupied austria in 1938. sensitivities about nazism during wartime austria and issues towards the von trapp family themselves could explain austria s reluctance to embrace the musical. another source of irritation for austrians is the song edelweiss which is considered an traditional folk song by many filmgoers. the song was actually an invention by rodgers and hammerstein. many also consider the film to portray a kitsch image of austria including yodelling goat-herds and lederhosen. the production is being staged at a viennese opera house the volksoper beginning on saturday. maria the novice nun who falls in love with baron von trapp will be played by austro-australian actress and singer sandra pires.

lib dems unveil election slogan the liberal democrats will present themselves as the real alternative in the forthcoming general election campaign charles kennedy has said. unveiling the slogan at the party s spring conference he said there was no glass ceiling to its ambitions. he told delegates that labour had abused the public s trust and that the tories had failed to oppose them. in response the conservatives insisted that theirs was the party that understood the forgotten majority . speaking in harrogate mr kennedy said: people want a credible principled political party which offers a different vision of what britain can be. only the liberal democrats stood against the iraq war he said and they had also provided strong opposition to the government s plans on id cards anti-terror measures and taxation. he said: if you voted conservative in 2001 ... what good did it do you your vote was wasted. what people needed was ... a party which was listening to their concerns; a party which was prepared to stand up and say so; a party which said no to the prime minister. responding to the claims tory party co-chairman liam fox said: like labour the lib dems are soft on crime support higher taxes oppose controlled immigration and support giving europe more control over our lives. mr kennedy also outlined his party s plan to impose a 50% income tax rate on earnings over £100 000 a year. the money would be used to help pay for key policies such as abolishing university tuition fees scrapping council tax in favour of local income tax and providing free care for the elderly he said. labour and the tories claim the sums do not add up and that working families would be hardest hit. mr kennedy said: britain is the fourth-largest economy in the world. we have world class businesses and a world class workforce. so why are two million of our pensioners living below the poverty line all the parties are campaigning hard for an expected election in may although prime minister tony blair has not confirmed any timing. earlier mr kennedy told radio 4 s today programme there was no possibility of forming a coalition with labour in the event of a hung parliament. we go into the election as an independent party and we come out as an independent party he said. mr kennedy has been under fire in recent days for missing monday s commons vote on the government s controversial anti-terrorism laws along with 16 other lib dem mps. on saturday the lib dem chief executive said it was just a cock-up that mr kennedy and his colleagues missed the vote which the government won by a majority of only 14. nobody had any idea that was going to happen lord rennard told reporters at the party conference. he said he was certain mps would get another chance to vote against the plans.

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.

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

world leaders gather to face uncertainty more than 2 000 business and political leaders from around the globe are arriving in the swiss mountain resort davos for the annual world economic forum (wef). for five days they will discuss issues ranging from china s economic power to iraq s future after this sunday s elections. uk prime minister tony blair and south african president thabo mbeki are among the more than 20 government leaders and heads of state leaders attending the meeting. unlike previous years protests against the wef are expected to be muted. anti-globalisation campaigners have called off a demonstration planned for the weekend. the brazilian city of porto alegre will host the rival world social forum timed to run in parallel with the wef s ritzier event in davos. the organisers of the brazilian gathering which brings together thousands of campaigners against globalisation for fair trade and many other causes have promised to set an alternative agenda to that of the swiss summit. however many of the issues discussed in porto alegre are davos talking points as well. global warming features particularly high. wef participants are being asked to offset the carbon emissions they cause by travelling to the event. davos itself is in deep frost. the snow is piled high across the mountain village and at night the wind chill takes temperatures down to minus 20c and less. ultimately the forum will be 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. but much of the media focus will be on the political leaders coming to davos not least because the agenda of this year s forum seems to lack an overarching theme. taking responsibility for tough choices is this year s official talking point hinting at a welter of knotty problems. one thing seems sure though: transatlantic disagreements over how to deal with iran iraq and china are set to dominate discussions. pointedly only one senior official from president bush s new administration is scheduled to attend. the us government may still make a conciliatory gesture just as happened a year ago when vice president dick cheney made a surprise appearance in davos. ukraine s new president viktor yushchenko is to speak just days after his inauguration an event that crowned the civil protests against the rigged first election that had tried to keep him from power. the european union s top leaders among them german chancellor gerhard schroeder and european commission president manuel barosso will be here too. mr blair will formally open the proceedings although his speech will be pre-empted by french president jacques chirac who announced his attendance at the last minute and secured a slot for a special message two hours before mr blair speaks. the organisers also hope that the new palestinian leader mahmoud abbas will use the opportunity for talks with at least one of the three israeli deputy prime ministers coming to the event a list that includes shimon peres. davos fans still hark back to 1994 when talks between yassir arafat and mr peres came close to a peace deal. mr blair s appearance will be keenly watched too as political observers in the uk claim it is a calculated snub against political rival chancellor gordon brown who was supposed to lead the uk government delegation. microsoft founder bill gates the world s richest man and a regular at davos will focus on campaigning for good causes though business interests will not be wholly absent either. having already donated billions of dollars to the fight against aids and malaria mr gates will call on world leaders to support a global vaccination campaign to protect children in developing countries from easily preventable diseases. on tuesday mr gates pledged $750m (£400m) of his own money to support the cause. mr gates company software giant microsoft also hopes to use davos to shore up its defences against open source software like linux which threaten microsoft s near monopoly on computer desktops. mr gates is said to be trying to arrange a meeting with brazil s president lula da silva. the brazilian government has plans to switch all government computers from microsoft to linux. at davos global problem solving and networking are never far apart.

blackburn v burnley ewood park tuesday 1 march 2000 gmt howard webb (south yorkshire) home to leicester in the quarter-finals but defender andy todd is suspended and could be replaced by dominic matteo - if he recovers from a hamstring injury. burnley have major injury concerns over frank sinclair and john mcgreal. michael duff looks set to continue at right-back with john oster in midfield and micah hyde is expected to recover from a knee injury. - blackburn boss mark hughes: burnley are resolute and have individual talent but i fully expect us to progress. i thought we were comfortable in the first game and never thought we were under pressure. it s a competition we want to progress in and we are doing okay. if we beat burnley we have a home tie against another lower league club (leicester). - burnley boss steve cotterill: they will be fresh and we ll be tired. that is an honest opinion but our lads just might be able to get themselves up for one more big game. the atmosphere at the last game was very hot - a good verbal contest. our fans will not need whipping up for this game. i just want them to help us as much as they can in a positive way. key match stats - blackburn rovers against bolton is part two of an east lancashire hotpot that didn t turn out to be that spicy when first staged on a sunday lunchtime the weekend before last and resulted in a scrappy goalless draw. - rovers who are aiming to win the cup for a seventh time in their history and first time in 77 years face another replay against championship opposition after eventually disposing of cardiff at ewood park in the third round. but they ve not been beaten in the competition by a club outside the premiership for nine years since ipswich - then in the second tier - defeated them 0-1 after extra time in a third round replay at ewood park on 16 january 1996. history is on rovers side. when they last met their near neighbours in the fa cup 45 years ago it also required an ewood park replay which the home side won 2-0 and when they last met in the league rovers did the double. they first won their nationwide division one trip to turf moor 0-2 four seasons ago and then thrashed the clarets on home soil 5-0. - manager mark hughes who won the cup four times as a player is aiming to steer rovers into the quarter-finals for the second time in 12 years and first time since the 2000/2001 season. success here and victory home to leicester in the next round could see rovers in the semi-finals without having played premiership opposition. - burnley make the eight mile journey to their fierce rivals determined to send blackburn the same way as liverpool in the third round. but having failed to pull off another shock at turf moor it could be that the championship outfit - 17 places inferior on the league ladder - have missed their best opportunity. having said that burnley are yet to concede a goal in this cup run. - steve cotterills clarets have been knocked out in the fifth round four times in the last seven years and have made only one appearance in the sixth round in 21 years. that was in the season before last when they disposed of premiership fulham at this fifth round stage. - while blackburn have not played since the fifth round tie burnley have had two league outings away from home drawing 1-1 at derby and losing 1-0 at preston. that takes their winless run to four games. the combatants from one-time prosperous mill towns are both founder members of the football league. head to head 16th prem winners (six times) 13th championship winners (once)

rank set to sell off film unit leisure group rank could unveil plans to demerge its film services unit and sell its media business reports claim. rank formerly famous for the carry on series will expose the shake-up at the announcement of its results on friday the sunday telegraph reported. advisors goldman sachs are understood to have valued its demerged deluxe film unit at £300m the report added. speculation of a possible shake-up has mounted since rank announced a study into a possible demerger in september. since mike smith s appointment as chief executive in 1999 the group has focused on fewer businesses and embarked on a major cost-cutting programme which has seen it dispose of a number of businesses including the odeon cinema chain and the pinewood studios. the move left the group with three core divisions: gaming hard rock and deluxe films which provides technical services to hollywood studios. rank now aims to concentrate on its gaming bars and hotels business including extending its hard rock brand to its casinos - trials of which have been a success. it also owns deluxe media which makes and distributes dvds and videos. however that business is seen as less successful. last year it made profits of £21.5m on a turnover of £392.1m and experts suggest its success in moving to dvds from vhs video could make it an attractive target for a private equity buyer. a spokesman for the firm refused to comment on the reports but said any results from the demerger study were likely to be set out when it unveiled its results on friday. analysts predict the firm is likely to report a slight drop in annual pre-tax profits to £170m from £194m last year. formed in the 1940s the firm was a leading uk film producer and cinema owner for many years. it has now diversified into a range of other leisure activities - mainly in the uk - including hotels roadside service areas and holiday centres. it now owns 34 grosvenor casinos the mecca bingo chain and more than 100 hard rock cafes in 38 countries.

help for indies in download sales a campaign has been launched to help independent labels get their music online and benefit from the growing trend for downloading music. the british phonographic industry has identified a lack of independent music available for download. we want to ensure that independent repertoire is as successful in the download world as it is in the physical world said bpi chief peter jamieson. downloaded singles have now overtaken physical singles in the uk. mr jamieson said his organisation was lobbying music service providers which include itunes and napster to urge them to promote independent releases. download sales are due to be incorporated into the uk singles chart later this year. with downloads shortly to be eligible for the singles chart this is a key commercial issue on which the bpi committed to assisting its members added mr jamieson. as part of the campaign the bpi is running a series of seminars entitled getting your music online focusing on how independent labels can embrace digital music. the us has already begun incorporating download sales in the billboard s hot 100 chart.

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).

iranian mps threaten mobile deal turkey s biggest private mobile firm could bail out of a $3bn ($1.6bn) deal to build a network in iran after mps there slashed its stake in the project. conservatives in parliament say turkcell s stake in irancell the new network should be cut from 70% to 49%. they have already given themselves a veto over all foreign investment deals following allegations about turkish firms involvement in israel. turkcell now says it may give up on the deal altogether. iran currently has only one heavily congested mobile network with long waiting lists for new subscribers. turkcell signed a contract for the new network in september. the new operator planned to offer subscriptions for about $180 well below the existing firm s $500 price tag. but a parliamentary commission has now ruled that turkcell s 70% controlling stake is too high. they say that turkcell is a security risk because of alleged business ties with israel. parliament as a whole - dominated by religious conservatives - will vote on the ruling on tuesday. turkcell said the ruling would make more difficult... turkcell s financial consolidation of irancell because its stake would be reduced to less than 50%. if management control and financial consolidation of irancell cannot be achieved... the realisation of the project will become risky it warned in a statement. the firm has refused to comment on whether it has business dealings in israel although like almost all gsm operators worldwide it has an interconnection deal with israeli networks so that its customers can use their phones there. the two countries strengthened ties in both defence and economic issues in 2004. israeli industry minister ehud olmert was reported in june to have attended a meeting between ruhi dogusoy turkcell s chief operating officer and executives from israeli telecoms firms. telecoms is one of two areas specifically targeted by the new veto law on foreign investments passed earlier in september. the other is airports a source of controversy after the army closed tehran s new imam khomeini international airport on its opening day in may 2004. again the allegation was that the part-turkish tav consortium which built and ran it had links with israel.

umaga ready for fearsome lions all blacks captain tama umaga has warned the british and irish lions will be his most fearsome opponents yet ahead of their summer tour. but umaga in england for saturday s irb rugby aid match also backed new zealand to win the three-test series against the lions. he told bbc sport: it s potentially the most fearsome line-up i ve ever come up against. they re awesome. but i d back us all the way to beat them when they come over. lions boss sir clive woodward is set to announce his squad for the june-july tour next month. when woodward was appointed last year it was widely believed he would rely heavily on his former england players. but umaga said: he d be hard pushed to do that now considering the shape of the six nations. don t get me wrong england have got a lot of talented guys and i m sure there are some of them who ll make the lions test xv. but you can t disguise wales and ireland in particular. some of the tries they ve scored have been great. i ll admit it ll be fairly awesome lining up against the likes of brian o driscoll. umaga will meet o driscoll in saturday s rugby aid match at twickenham with the irish captain leading the northern hemisphere side. o driscoll is among a host of players in the northern hemisphere squad coached by woodward that are tipped for lions call-ups. it ll be good for us to get an early idea of some of these guys although a lot can change between now and june umaga said. the 31-year-old admitted interest in the lions tour was immense calling it the biggest thing to hit new zealand since lord of the rings . he added: as players it s enough for us to be driven by the rarity of playing the lions. in fact it s not just us all blacks - it s the talk of the country. umaga admitted the fear of injury weighed on his mind ahead of saturday s charity game which features a host of big names including george gregan andrew mehrtens and chris latham. but he admitted the value of the cause - proceeds of the match will go to aiding victims of the tsunami - easily won him over. the second [southern hemisphere coach] rod macqueen made the approach i didn t hesitate. it was great when new zealand rugby then gave me the all clear. thankfully i didn t know anyone that was involved in the tragedy of the tsunami but you couldn t miss all the horrific reports on the news. there are so many people that were affected are still affected and will be affected for a long time. it s just good to know we can do something minor to help out. - the match will be televised on bbc one at 1400 gmt on saturday.

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

insurance bosses plead guilty another three us insurance executives have pleaded guilty to fraud charges stemming from an ongoing investigation into industry malpractice. two executives from american international group (aig) and one from marsh & mclennan were the latest. the investigation by new york attorney general eliot spitzer has now obtained nine guilty pleas. the highest ranking executive pleading guilty on tuesday was former marsh senior vice president joshua bewlay. he admitted one felony count of scheming to defraud and faces up to four years in prison. a marsh spokeswoman said mr bewlay was no longer with the company. mr spitzer s investigation of the us insurance industry looked at whether companies rigged bids and fixed prices. last month marsh agreed to pay $850m (£415m) to settle a lawsuit filed by mr spitzer but under the settlement it neither admits nor denies the allegations .

lib dems bold election policy charles kennedy has told voters his liberal democrats will offer them an honest choice at the next general election. with the other two big parties battling over which will impose the lowest taxes mr kennedy is going into the looming election pledged to increase taxation. it is a bold policy and certainly ensures there is that choice between the lib dems and the other two. with his party s previous pledge to increase taxes by one penny in the pound to spend on public services already adopted by the government he has switched tack. now he is promising to levy a modest increase of the same amount on earnings over £100 000 a year to allow him to finance a series of pledges. they are to scrap student fees finance free long term care for the elderly and replace the council tax with a local income tax. that last policy will also see about 3% of the most well off paying more while others pensioners in particular will pay less. labour and the tories have attacked his policies as both unworkable and not properly costed. inevitably they insist there is no need to raise taxes to fund improvements in services. the tories claim they can improve services and cut taxes through £35bn efficiency savings while labour has offered £22bn savings but has yet to map out precise tax proposals although there is little chance they will propose increases. in many ways the argument between the lib dems and the others over taxation and spending echo the sort of arguments that raged between labour and the tories in the 1980s and early 1990s. but unlike the old tory-labour debate he believes voters are ready to see modest tax increases on the well off in order to fund improvements in services. that is a view partly endorsed by recent polls suggesting people would rather have cash spent on public services than tax cuts. similarly there is a different tone to the lib dem approach to asylum and immigration with mr kennedy stressing politicians should not foment an artificial debate about immigration and attacking michael howard s proposals for quotas. once again with the two other big parties singing similar songs on immigration mr kennedy is stressing the different more liberal approach of his party. mr kennedy was also in buoyant mood over his party s election chances declaring the tories were not going to be significant players in the poll. he repeated his pledge not to do post-election deals with either party after the election. mr kennedy went on to suggest the re-election of a labour government with a small majority would amount to a massive vote of no confidence in tony blair s government. that suggests the lib dem leader believes he may well find himself in a powerful even pivotal position in a vastly different house of commons after the next election. it is a dream the third party has dreamed many times before.

us in eu tariff chaos trade row the us has asked the world trade organisation to investigate european union customs tariffs which it says are inconsistent and hamper trade. the eu s own institutions have noted the uneven way eu customs rules are applied but failed to act the us trade representative s office said. small and mid-sized us firms were worst-hit it added. the eu expanded from 15 to 25 member states in may. the us said it filed the complaint after talks failed to find a solution. the move came in the same week that the us and eu stepped back from confrontation in a tense dispute over aircraft subsidies to european manufacturer airbus and us firm boeing. new eu trade commissioner peter mandelson said on tuesday that the two sides had agreed to reopen talks in the aircraft subsidies row which led to tit-for-tat wto filings in last autumn. explaining why it has asked the wto to set up a dispute settlement panel on customs barriers the us trade representative s office said that it wants to tackle the issue early in the eu s process of dealing with the problems of enlargement . ten countries mostly in eastern europe joined the eu in may. the us said its trade with the 25 eu member countries was worth $155.2bn (£82.8bn) in 2003. although the eu is a customs union there is no single eu customs administration a statement issued on behalf of robert zoellick us trade representative said. lack of uniformity coupled with lack of procedures for prompt eu-wide review can hinder us exports especially for small to mid-sized businesses an eu spokesman in washington dismissed the us complaint. we think the us case is very weak. they haven t come up with any evidence that us companies are being harmed said anthony gooch. it could take several months for the wto s dispute settlement panel to report its findings.

french wine gets 70m euro top-up the french government is to hand its struggling wine industry 70m euros ($91m) in aid to help it battle falling sales and damaging overproduction. the financial package is aimed at assisting vintners in financial trouble and improving how its wine is marketed. the french wine industry the world s second largest has been hit by declining consumption at home and the growing popularity of new world wines. wine makers however claimed the support did not go far enough. the package was announced by agriculture minister dominique bussereau after talks with vintners representatives. the bulk of the money - about 40m euros - will be offered in the form of preferential loans to heavily indebted producers to enable them to reschedule their payments. a further 15m euros will be made available to wine cooperatives which make up the majority of french producers in low interest loans. efforts to promote french wine abroad are to be boosted by an extra 3.5m euros in funding. france fell behind the new world producers of australia chile and the united states for the first time in 2003 in terms of exports. domestic consumption accounting for 70% of sales has suffered from strict restrictions on advertising and tough drink-driving laws. the aid package would create a positive climate around french viticulture mr bussereau said. however wine makers and farmers said the support was much less than they had been hoping for. i am afraid the resources are not up to the ambitions jean-michel lemetayer from the fnsea agricultural union told the associated press news agency. in an effort to tackle overcapacity the government will agree that vines can be destroyed in areas where growers give their unanimous consent while 500 vintners will be helped to take early retirement. the government will also seek european union approval to distil about 250 million litres of excess wine into alcohol with vintners receiving compensation. production is currently outstripping demand by about 30%. the support is designed to make french producers more competitive in the face of increasing global consolidation across the wine industry. wine makers in france s best-known regions such as burgundy have found it hard to invest in new technology and to create recognisable brands to appeal to overseas buyers.

england coach faces rap after row england coach andy robinson is facing disciplinary action after criticising referee jonathan kaplan in his side s six nations defeat to ireland. the rugby football union (rfu) will investigate robinson after deciding not to lodge a complaint against kaplan. robinson may even have to apologise for his comments in order to avoid sanction from the international rugby board. robinson had said he was livid about kaplan s decisions on saturday to disallow two england tries. the england coach went on to claim that only one side was refereed . after reviewing tapes of the match the rfu decided not to formally complain to the irb over the standard of kaplan s refereeing. instead the rfu said in a statement they would set out any concerns the england team management may have in a confidential manner . an irb spokesman said on the matter: we take all breaches of the code very seriously. should the rfu resolve the issue to our satisfaction as happened last month when the scotland coach matt williams apologised for remarks made it would be the end of the matter. kaplan has vigorously defended his performance in england s 19-13 defeat at landsdowne road and admitted he was very disappointed with robinson s remarks. and the south african has been appointed to take charge of scotland s match against wales on 13 march. the rfu recently fined northampton coach budge pountney £2 000 and imposed a six-week ban for his criticism of referee steve lander after a premiership match.

mobile multimedia slow to catch on there is no doubt that mobile phones sporting cameras and colour screens are hugely popular. consumers swapping old phones for slinkier dinkier versions are thought to be responsible for a 26% increase in the number of phones sold during the third quarter of 2004 according to analysts gartner more than 167 million handsets were sold globally between july and september 2004 a period that according to gartner analyst carolina milanesi is seldom strong . but although consumers have mobiles that can take and send snaps sounds and video clips few so far are taking the chance to do so. in fact the numbers of people not taking and sending pictures audio and video is growing. figures gathered by continental research shows that 36% of british camera phone users have never sent a multimedia message (mms) up from 7% in 2003. this is despite the fact that during the same period the numbers of camera phones in the uk more than doubled to 7.5 million. getting mobile phone users to send multimedia messages is really important for operators keen to squeeze more cash out of their customers and offset the cost of subsidising the handsets people are buying. the problem they face said shailendra jain head of mms firm adamind is educating people in how to send the multimedia messages using their funky handsets. also he said they have to simplify the interface so its not rocket science in terms of someone understanding it. research bears out the suspicion that people are not sending multimedia messages because they do not know how to. according to continental research 29% of the people it questioned said they were technophobes that tended to shy away from innovation. only 11% regarded themselves as technically savvy enough to send a picture or video message. the fact that multimedia services are not interoperable across networks and phones only adds to people s reluctance to start sending them said mr jain. they ask themselves: if i m streaming video from one handset to another will it work he said. there s a lot of user apprehension about that. there are other deeper technical reasons why multimedia messages are not being pushed as strongly as they might. andrew bud executive chairman of messaging firm mblox said mobile phone operators cap the number of messages that can be circulating at any one time for fear of overwhelming the system. the rate we can send mms into the mobile network is fairly constant he said. the reason for this is that there are finite capacities for data traffic on the second generation networks that currently have the most users. no-one wants to take the risk of swamping these relatively narrow channels so the number of mms messages is capped said mr bud. this has led to operators finding other technologies particularly one known as wap-push to get multimedia to their customers. but when networks do find a good way to get multimedia to their customers the results can be dramatic. israeli technology firm celltick has found a way to broadcast data across phone networks in a way that does not overwhelm existing bandwidth. one of the first firms to use the celltick service is hutch india the largest mobile firm in the country. the broadcast system gets multimedia to customers via a rolling menu far faster than would be possible with other systems. while not multimedia messaging such a system gets people used to seeing their phones as a device that can handle all different types of content. as a result 40% of the subscribers to the hutch alive which uses celltick s broadcast technology regularly click for more pictures sounds and images from the operator. operators really need to start utilising this tool to reach their customers said yaron toren spokesman for celltick. until then multimedia will be a message that is not getting through.

dawson joins england injury list scrum-half matt dawson is an injury doubt for england s six nations opener against wales next weekend. the world cup winner missed wasps 12-9 loss to bath on saturday after injuring his right calf. wasps coach warren gatland said: he s got a fitness test in the week but he s got a good chance of playing. gloucester s andy hazell and leicester star lewis moody also received knocks during their respective league matches but should be fit for wales next week. if dawson is not fit to face wales robinson will have to choose from gloucester s andy gomarsall or leicester youngster harry ellis. jamie noon is another player on the sidelines after he limped off in the first half against saracens on friday with a dead leg. the centre who is in line for a first six nations start against wales will have to wait 48 hours before knowing the state of his injury.

arsenal may seek full share listing arsenal vice-chairman david dein has said the club may consider seeking a full listing for its shares on the london stock exchange. speaking at the soccerex football business forum in dubai he said a full listing was one of the options for funding after the club moves to its new stadium. the club - which is currently listed on the smaller ofex share exchange - is due to move into its new 60 000-seater emirates stadium at ashburton grove for the start of the 2006/07 season. mr dein also warned the current level of tv coverage of the premiership may be reaching saturation level with signs that match attendances have been dropping off in the first few months of this season. when arsenal moves to its new stadium it will see its proportion of turnover from media earnings drop from 52% this season to 34% in two years time. the club is hoping to increase matchday earnings from 29% to 40% of turnover and has not ruled out other money-earning means including a full share listing. when the new stadium opens we will go through a thorough financial review mr dein said. listing would be one option but we are flexible and no decisions have been made on that issue yet. we want to be in the best financial health - maybe clubs can do it (listing) manchester united have been a success. mr dein said that although television money and coverage had driven the english game forward in the past 10 years he feared there might now be too many games being shown. since the formation of the premier league in season 1992/93 premiership clubs have seen their income from television soar. television has been the driving force over the past 10 years... but we must constantly improve if we want to remain as the world s leading league competition. we must monitor the quality of the product and ensure attendances do not decline and we must balance that with the quantity of exposure on tv too. i think we have practically reached saturation point... sometimes i think less is more. the club is funding its move to ashburton grove through a number of sources including debt from banks from money it already has and will receive in coming years from sponsors and from the sale of surplus property including its highbury stadium. it is also looking to create new revenue streams from overseas markets including asia. we have two executives travelling round japan and china at the moment building relationships with organisations and clubs and we know our supporters clubs are growing there too as they are around the world. we have got a very good product so it is very important we go and look at these markets and make sure we are on the case.

newcastle 27-27 gloucester newcastle centre mathew tait answered his critics as he scored one try and made another but he could not stop gloucester grabbing a draw. the falcons were 22-6 down at the break before tait recently axed by england after just one six nations outing inspired his side to a 27-22 lead. a last-gasp touchdown from luke narraway pulled the visitors level. but gloucester missed out on victory when henry paul fluffed the conversion and seti kiole was denied a late try. newcastle had a couple of chances at the start of the second half with line-outs in the corner. but they failed to make them count until joe shaw found dave walder who released mark mayerholfer in his own 22. the former all black broke clear and popped the ball up for tait on halfway. he chipped ahead for michael stephenson to scorch through for the try which walder converted to give newcastle a lifeline. they grabbed it with both hands mayerhofler breaking through and tait making a brilliant early run to cut inside and race 30m to score. walder converted to make it 22-20 before he was just wide with a 40m penalty in the 70th minute. mayerhofler then scythed through the middle for a try after hall charlton popped the ball up and walder s conversion took newcastle 27-22 ahead. with three minutes of normal time left narraway was driven over for a try in the corner which levelled the scores at 27-27. henry missed the conversion but gloucester nearly won it when kiole broke through only to be hauled down by charlton and tom may. walder; may tait mayerhofler stephenson; wilkinson grindal; isaacson long ward; gross hamilton; mccarthy harris dowson. replacements: peel wilson thompson parling sititi charlton shaw. goodridge; garvey simpson-daniel fanolua kiole; paul gomarsall; wood curnier powell; eustace brown; forrester buxton balding. replacements: elloway sigley cornwell narraway page davies mauger.

consumers snub portable video consumers want music rather than movies while on the move says a report. produced by jupiter research the analysis of the portable media player market found only 13% of europeans want to watch video while out and about. by contrast almost a third are interested in listening to music on a portable player such as an ipod. the firm said gadget makers should avoid hybrid devices and instead make sure music reproduction was as good as possible. the report concluded that the driving force behind the growth of europe s portable player market was likely to be music rather than films or any combination of the two. barely 5% of those questioned said they wanted a player that could play back both music and movies. only 7% wanted a player that could handle games and video. dedicated music players are the only established digital media players in europe today despite their high prices said ian fogg jupiter analyst. mr fogg said although video players and smartphones were trying to cash in on this success they faced a tough job because of the compromises that had to be made when creating a dual-purpose device. europeans care most about music playback he said. the report showed that 27% of consumers asked are interested in portable music players. the research revealed that french 39% and british 31% consumers were most interested in music players. mr fogg said portable video players were likely to remain a niche product that would not be able to compete with devices dedicated to music playback. a separate report by jupiter forecasts that the european digital music market will grow to 836m euros (£581m) by 2009. at the end of 2003 the market was worth 10.6m euros (£7.36m). digital music players will be behind this market growth said jupiter . apple s ipod was launched in october 2001 but the portable music player market has been growing steadily since the launch of the creative nomad jukebox in mid-2000. now consumers face an almost overwhelming choice of high-capacity portable music players that let them store every track on every cd that they own.

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.

comeback show for friends star friends actress lisa kudrow is to play the lead role in a new series about a one-time sitcom star according to the hollywood reporter. thirteen episodes of comeback have been commissioned by cable channel hbo home of hits such as sex and the city. kudrow who played phoebe in friends co-wrote the pilot episode and will also act as executive producer. hbo has been looking for its next big comedy hit since sex and the city drew to a close in the us in february. comeback is the first 30-minute comedy series that the channel has picked up since the sex and the city drew to the end of its six-year-run. friends ended its 10-year run on the nbc network in may and attentions have turned to which projects its six individual stars would pursue. matt leblanc is starring in a friends spin-off sitcom charting joey s fortunes in los angeles as he pursues his acting career. jennifer aniston who was rachel in the long-running show has enjoyed a series of successful film appearances with further projects in the pipeline. courteney cox arquette (monica) has been working on a drama project along with husband david arquette for hbo called the rise and fall of taylor kennedy. matthew perry who played chandler has appeared on the west end stage and has a film the beginning of wisdom currently in production. and david schwimmer (ross) directed during his time on friends and has also worked on joey.

german business confidence slides german business confidence fell in february knocking hopes of a speedy recovery in europe s largest economy. munich-based research institute ifo said that its confidence index fell to 95.5 in february from 97.5 in january its first decline in three months. the study found that the outlook in both the manufacturing and retail sectors had worsened. observers had been hoping that a more confident business sector would signal that economic activity was picking up. we re surprised that the ifo index has taken such a knock said dz bank economist bernd weidensteiner. the main reason is probably that the domestic economy is still weak particularly in the retail trade. economy and labour minister wolfgang clement called the dip in february s ifo confidence figure a very mild decline . he said that despite the retreat the index remained at a relatively high level and that he expected a modest economic upswing to continue. germany s economy grew 1.6% last year after shrinking in 2003. however the economy contracted by 0.2% during the last three months of 2004 mainly due to the reluctance of consumers to spend. latest indications are that growth is still proving elusive and ifo president hans-werner sinn said any improvement in german domestic demand was sluggish. exports had kept things going during the first half of 2004 but demand for exports was then hit as the value of the euro hit record levels making german products less competitive overseas. on top of that the unemployment rate has been stuck at close to 10% and manufacturing firms including daimlerchrysler siemens and volkswagen have been negotiating with unions over cost cutting measures. analysts said that the ifo figures and germany s continuing problems may delay an interest rate rise by the european central bank. eurozone interest rates are at 2% but comments from senior officials have recently focused on the threat of inflation prompting fears that interest rates may rise.

relay squad thrilled with honours jason gardener says being made an mbe in the new year honours list underlines the achievement of great britain s 4x100m relay squad at the olympics. gardener darren campbell marlon devonish and mark lewis-francis have all been awarded mbes after beating pre-race favourites usa to gold. i think this award reinforces what we did on that fantastic night he said. this recognition is really inspiring and makes me want to have more success said lewis-francis. the british sprint quartet produced a string of faultless baton changes in the final to put pressure on the americans. and when the usa stumbled with a poor switch between justin gatlin and coby miller at the 300m stage britain edged ahead going into the final bend. then on cue lewis-francis ran a textbook final leg holding off maurice greene to bring team gb home in 38.07 seconds - just one hundredth of a second ahead of their rivals. winning the gold medal was the highlight of my athletics career so far said the birchfield harrier. this award is not just for me but for all my friends family and the people who have helped me to get to this level in my sport. gardener added: all of us had worked very hard for a long long time to carry off what most believed was an impossible task. of course this award is very special but for me nothing will ever take away winning an olympic gold medal. it s all i ever wanted. all my life that is what i dreamed of doing. life since then has been fantastic. campbell agreed receiving the honour capped off what has been a difficult year for the sprinter. i think the mbe is important because the people closest to me know my journey said the newport-based athlete. i ve not just stumbled upon this. it gives me a lot of joy and satisfaction to know the stuff you do for your country does mean something. - there was also recognition for james clarke chairman of the london marathon. he becomes an obe.

scotland v italy (sat) murrayfield edinburgh saturday 26 february 1400 gmt bbc1 five live and this website victory for the azzurri in rome last year saw scotland end their campaign without a victory. and the pressure is on scotland coach matt williams as he seeks a first six nations victory at the eighth attempt. italy have lost both their opening games at home to ireland and wales but travel to edinburgh with high hopes. their coach john kirwan has warned his side they must eradicate the errors that blighted their loss to wales however or risk suffering a third successive defeat. if the defeat against wales has taught us anything it s that at this level we can t make any mistakes kirwan said. in the six nations every error you make will come at a high price. we have to be aggressive for 80 minutes keep calm in every situation and display great maturity on the pitch. it will be fundamental to keep cool in the difficult moments - in the key situations of the game. kirwan has recalled the experienced cristian stoica at centre and drafted in david dal maso at open-side after star flanker mauro bergamasco was ruled out for the rest of the tournament. scotland have also made two changes simon webster replacing simon danielli on the wing and simon taylor returning for his first test in a year for injured flanker jason white. taylor s recovery from a serious knee injury is a major boost to scottish hopes. he is one of the world-class players in the tournament and you want them in your team acknowledged williams. despite a record of only two victories from 14 tests williams insists he is revelling in the pressure. i actually really enjoy seeing how you cope with such pressure as a coach he said optimistic despite opening defeats to france and ireland. we were confident for those two first games and we are confident we can beat italy too he added. : c paterson; s webster a craig h southwell s lamont; d parks c cusiter; t smith g bulloch (capt) g kerr; s grimes s murray; s taylor j petrie a hogg. r russell b douglas n hines j dunbar m blair g ross b hinshelwood. r de marigny; mirco bergamasco c stoica a masi l nitoglia; l orquera a troncon; a lo cicero f ongaro m castrogiovanni; s dellape m bortolami (capt); a persico d dal maso s parisse. g intoppa s perugini ca del fava s orlando p griffen r pedrazzi kp robertson.

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

howard s unfinished business he s not finished yet whispered the conservative party person as your reporter attempted to slip quietly from the hall. and indeed he wasn t. michael howard had already broken away from the printed text of his speech at his party s spring conference in brighton to deliver a smart rebuff to peter hain s description of him as an attack mongrel claiming such personal abuse meant labour was rattled by the tory challenge. and here he was again moving to the front of the stage as the party faithful rose to their feet in applause to make a personal ad-libbed appeal to them to go out and fight for victory. one day you will be able to tell your children and grandchildren as i will tell mine i was there. i did my bit. i played my part. i helped to win that famous election - the election that transformed our country for the better . the speech which was peppered with references to mr howard s humble beginnings as the child of immigrants had been introduced by his son nick a trainee vicar who praised his father s honesty. i always know where i am with him because all my life he has meant what he has said to me he said. mr howard was also joined on stage by his wife sandra daughter larissa and stepson sholto. the audience s reaction to all of this was a little muted by party conference standards. but mr howard s overall message - that the tories have labour on the run and that they can win the next election - did not sound quite as hollow as it might have done six months ago. mr howard claimed with some justification that the tories campaign has got off to a great start . they have had labour on the back foot over immigration with tony blair hastily adding a sixth promise on the issue to his latest pledge card and have even managed to score points in traditional labour territory such as health and education. the stunts involving margaret dixon with her postponed operation and maria hutchings with concerns about her son s special needs education may not have been to everyone s taste but they succeeded in bringing the issues alive and forcing labour to react. senior tories believe they are at long last starting to tap into the public mood cutting through the background noise to connect with the ordinary voter. their latest poster campaign flags up a range of policies from better school discipline cleaner hospitals ( i mean how hard is it to keep a hospital clean ) and immigration ( it s not racist to impose limits on immigration ) - under the headline are you thinking what we are thinking this they say contrasts with labour s negative campaigning such as its now infamous flying pigs poster. oliver letwin one of the men lampooned in the labour poster affects bewilderment at what he believes is labour s loss of its once sure footing on the campaign trail. the peter hain mongrel attack he says is just the latest example of the party getting the tone wrong - a by-product he claims of the tories setting the agenda. i have to say i don t understand what they are doing. the labour machine appears to be in some kind of state of shock it doesn t seem to know what to do. a few weeks of positive headlines have also done wonders for tory activists morale - likely to be a crucial factor at an election which most analysts seem to agree will hinge on which party can get their core support out. it has been a fantastic few weeks said 20-year-old politics student nick vaughan. our policies have been getting in the media and there is a sense that we can win. i wouldn t be here if i didn t think we could. some delegates even spoke of the next election being like 1970 when ted heath behind in the polls and written off by the pundits snatched victory from harold wilson s labour party. they all insisted it was not going to be a re-run of 2001. we thought in 2001 we were going to dent that massive majority but it just didn t happen said john murray of aldridge browhills conservatives. it was very disappointing. this time it really is different. whoever is running our strategy from the top has got it bang on. blair is on the back foot. much of the credit for the tories recent change of fortune must go to lynton crosby the australian strategist who succeeded in turning political veteran and apparent no-hoper john howard of australia s liberal party into a serial election winner. the tories still have a mountain climb if michael howard is to walk through the doors of number 10. even allowing for the natural bias against the tories in some opinion polls they are still behind when to have a chance of overturning labour s whopping majority they should really be ahead. but as they gear up for the start of the campaign proper the party at least has reason to hope that like his australian namesake mr howard really isn t finished yet.

help for indies in download sales a campaign has been launched to help independent labels get their music online and benefit from the growing trend for downloading music. the british phonographic industry has identified a lack of independent music available for download. we want to ensure that independent repertoire is as successful in the download world as it is in the physical world said bpi chief peter jamieson. downloaded singles have now overtaken physical singles in the uk. mr jamieson said his organisation was lobbying music service providers which include itunes and napster to urge them to promote independent releases. download sales are due to be incorporated into the uk singles chart later this year. with downloads shortly to be eligible for the singles chart this is a key commercial issue on which the bpi committed to assisting its members added mr jamieson. as part of the campaign the bpi is running a series of seminars entitled getting your music online focusing on how independent labels can embrace digital music. the us has already begun incorporating download sales in the billboard s hot 100 chart.

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.

music man to the oscars bill conti s job of musical director of the oscars show is not for the faint-hearted since conducting the orchestra is the ultimate plate-spinning assignment. this year marks conti s 17th turn at the helm of the academy awards orchestra. the excitement is a live performance as a musician he says. all of your colleagues everyone in the film industry is in the theatre. all the important people. i guess it s just a television show but we always think it s a bit more. the orchestra strikes up more than 110 times during the average oscars show. as well as playing the presenters and winners on and off stage it also performs during the commercial breaks to entertain the live audience in the house. it s a very busy evening it takes a certain amount of preparation of music orchestrating sketching rehearsing before the show. but you don t know what the unexpected will be and as the musical director it s exciting explains conti. and much of the preparation goes into mastering scores that will never be performed. we don t know who the winners will be. so when they say the winner is we have five different pieces of music in front of us they say the name we play the appropriate one immediately adds conti. the orchestra is often called upon to play when the winners ramble on too long during their acceptance speeches despite being told to be brief by the show s producers. the decision to drown out or kill the offending star with music is relayed from the director s box to the orchestra via conti s earpiece. i don t feel good about it at all. it s not my call though he says. when the director says music the orchestra plays and he takes a long shot of the hall. we don t usually see the person speaking while his microphone is cut off. the person that s been cut off who s 10 feet from me is glaring at me like it s death time. on occasions some stars have taken it upon themselves to send a warning shot across the bows of the musical director before they start to speak. julia roberts when she came on she asked me to not get ready to play because she had so much to do he says. conti received an oscar in 1983 for the original score of the right stuff. he also received two nominations in the original song category in 1976 for gonna fly now from rocky and in 1981 for the title song from for your eyes only. it s a moment in the sun he says. when people get up there some people this is hard to believe people that spend their lives in front of the camera or audiences entertaining might get a little flustered. but there s this moment in time when the biggest award that they could possibly get in their life has been handed to them and they re either not in control or they want to thank everyone that they ever met. the image of the oscars telecast is one of slick presentation and smooth transitions between performances and the award categories. behind the scenes the key players such as conti have a bewildering array of technical props to deal with. there s a big script and video monitors you have to watch and there are also audio controls. i can control hearing in my ears the left ear or the right ear - different things at different times. i have to communicate with the director. i have a little microphone that s attached to my headset. to open up that microphone i have a footswitch he explains. conti s most nerve-wracking moment came during his first oscars show as musical director in 1977 when a member of the orchestra alerted him that they could smell smoke. conti immediately told the show s director: i start cursing and screaming i tell him we re not going to die for this show - you must do something or i m going to climb out of this pit with 60 musicians and we re going to be home in 10 minutes. oh no bill don t do anything came the response. imagine these elegantly dressed ladies and gentlemen of the orchestra 60 or so of them in the pit and while we re playing firemen with their helmets and their hatchets crawling among us trying to find the reason for the smoke. the smell turned out to be new paint smouldering on the music stands. no one died it s not a big story but it was scary at the time laughs conti. when the ceremony is over the music director attends the annual governor s ball with his family. i have a drink and relive the show he says. i m not for too much carousing. i go home and unwind. it takes me about a day.

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

music man to the oscars bill conti s job of musical director of the oscars show is not for the faint-hearted since conducting the orchestra is the ultimate plate-spinning assignment. this year marks conti s 17th turn at the helm of the academy awards orchestra. the excitement is a live performance as a musician he says. all of your colleagues everyone in the film industry is in the theatre. all the important people. i guess it s just a television show but we always think it s a bit more. the orchestra strikes up more than 110 times during the average oscars show. as well as playing the presenters and winners on and off stage it also performs during the commercial breaks to entertain the live audience in the house. it s a very busy evening it takes a certain amount of preparation of music orchestrating sketching rehearsing before the show. but you don t know what the unexpected will be and as the musical director it s exciting explains conti. and much of the preparation goes into mastering scores that will never be performed. we don t know who the winners will be. so when they say the winner is we have five different pieces of music in front of us they say the name we play the appropriate one immediately adds conti. the orchestra is often called upon to play when the winners ramble on too long during their acceptance speeches despite being told to be brief by the show s producers. the decision to drown out or kill the offending star with music is relayed from the director s box to the orchestra via conti s earpiece. i don t feel good about it at all. it s not my call though he says. when the director says music the orchestra plays and he takes a long shot of the hall. we don t usually see the person speaking while his microphone is cut off. the person that s been cut off who s 10 feet from me is glaring at me like it s death time. on occasions some stars have taken it upon themselves to send a warning shot across the bows of the musical director before they start to speak. julia roberts when she came on she asked me to not get ready to play because she had so much to do he says. conti received an oscar in 1983 for the original score of the right stuff. he also received two nominations in the original song category in 1976 for gonna fly now from rocky and in 1981 for the title song from for your eyes only. it s a moment in the sun he says. when people get up there some people this is hard to believe people that spend their lives in front of the camera or audiences entertaining might get a little flustered. but there s this moment in time when the biggest award that they could possibly get in their life has been handed to them and they re either not in control or they want to thank everyone that they ever met. the image of the oscars telecast is one of slick presentation and smooth transitions between performances and the award categories. behind the scenes the key players such as conti have a bewildering array of technical props to deal with. there s a big script and video monitors you have to watch and there are also audio controls. i can control hearing in my ears the left ear or the right ear - different things at different times. i have to communicate with the director. i have a little microphone that s attached to my headset. to open up that microphone i have a footswitch he explains. conti s most nerve-wracking moment came during his first oscars show as musical director in 1977 when a member of the orchestra alerted him that they could smell smoke. conti immediately told the show s director: i start cursing and screaming i tell him we re not going to die for this show - you must do something or i m going to climb out of this pit with 60 musicians and we re going to be home in 10 minutes. oh no bill don t do anything came the response. imagine these elegantly dressed ladies and gentlemen of the orchestra 60 or so of them in the pit and while we re playing firemen with their helmets and their hatchets crawling among us trying to find the reason for the smoke. the smell turned out to be new paint smouldering on the music stands. no one died it s not a big story but it was scary at the time laughs conti. when the ceremony is over the music director attends the annual governor s ball with his family. i have a drink and relive the show he says. i m not for too much carousing. i go home and unwind. it takes me about a day.

tokyo says deflation controlled the japanese government has forecast that the country s economic growth will slow to 1.6% in the next fiscal year starting in april 2005. while it predicts this fall from the current 2.1% level it said it was making progress on ending deflation. the figures were given by economics minister heizo takenaka who said the economy would grow by 2% in 2006/07. he said the consumer price index (cpi) would rise 0.1% in the next fiscal year the first gain since 2000/01. we are attempting to make real economic conditions better and to overcome deflation. i think we are on track said mr takenaka. deflation - or falling consumer prices - has plagued japan for more than five years. to ease the problem the bank of japan has regularly flooded the money market with excess cash to keep short term interest rates at 0% in an attempt to spur economic activity.

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.

wilkinson return unlikely jonny wilkinson looks set to miss the whole of the 2005 rbs six nations. england s world cup-winning fly-half said last week he was hoping to recover from his latest injury in time to play some role in the championship. but rob andrew coach of wilkinson s club side newcastle said that with only two games left to play wilkinson was unlikely to be fit in time. it would be irresponsible to put him straight into a test match andrew told the times. wilkinson is recovering from a knee injury which followed long-term neck and arm injuries. he has not played for england since the world cup final in november 2003 since when the stuttering world champions have lost nine of their 14 matches. wilkinson is aiming to make his third start to the season in the zurich premiership match against harlequins on 13 march. that game is the day after england play italy in the six nations and six days before their final match of the championship against scotland. we are hoping jonny will be ready in a fortnight but it is touch and go said andrew. his recovery is going very well and the key now is how he is reintroduced to playing and with it goal-kicking. he will probably have to come off the bench to start and it would be ridiculous and irresponsible to put him straight back into a test match. we can t afford to get it wrong with a knee injury. we are in touch with england and they are relaxed about it. despite not playing for england wilkinson is still hoping to make the lions tour to new zealand this summer. lions coach sir clive woodward has not set a deadline for when wilkinson has to start playing again in order to be considered for selection.

roxy music on isle of wight bill roxy music will appear at june s isle of wight music festival along with morrissey supergrass and idlewild. rem have already been confirmed as headliners for the three-day event which takes place from 10-12 june. original band members bryan ferry phil manzerana andy mackay and paul thompson will take to the stage on the saturday night of the festival. the band are also working in the studio on new material their first since the 1982 album avalon. roxy music were formed in 1971 by ferry mackay and brian eno with manzanera joining the following year. their first hit was 1972 s virginia plain with other hits including street life love is the drug and the 1981 john lennon cover jealous guy. roxy music s back catalogue was re-released in 2000 leading to the band undertaking a world tour in 2001. morrissey will also play on saturday at the festival while supergrass and idlewild have been confirmed for the friday.

ukip candidate suspended eurosceptic party ukip have suspended a candidate for allegedly suggesting the criminally insane should be killed. john houston 54 was due to stand in the east kilbride seat in lanarkshire at the next election. but he was suspended after his reported views including the return of the british empire were sent to two scottish newspapers. ukip spokesman mark croucher said those who selected mr houston knew nothing of his views. the episode comes at a difficult time for ukip soon after the high-profile departure of mep robert kilroy-silk. mr houston is alleged to have said that the organs of the criminally insane should be made available to law-abiding members of the community and proposed the legalisation of drugs and the sex trade. the document reportedly said: we re looking for the resurrection of the british empire. the problems for the human race - environmental and others - can only be dealt with on a global scale and that calls for a radical alliance of the english-speaking nations which they are uniquely able to do. mr croucher said the main issue would be that mr houston s reported views had been presented as ukip policy which they were not. he said they might have been submissions to a committee working on the party s manifesto but would not have been matched to mr houston when he was standing to become a candidate. he told bbc news: he appears to have said these things. we have suspended him as a member and as a candidate. by all accounts none of this was mentioned at his selection meeting. it is simply a distraction from the task in hand the eu constitution not individual idiocies. mr houston was quoted in the herald newspaper saying: i feel ukip have over-reacted and overshot the runway. peter nielson who is ukip scotland chairman said he had suspended mr houston on friday night. he will remain suspended while the matter is being investigated and then we will decide if and what further action will be taken. he said that any evidence would be looked into and mr houston may be interviewed by the party. he added: i can t comment too much at the moment i have one version from him but i haven t seen the papers yet.

microsoft takes on desktop search microsoft has entered the desktop search fray releasing a test version of its tool to find documents e-mails and other files on a pc hard drive. the beta program only works on pcs running windows xp or windows 2000. the desktop search market is becoming increasingly crowded with firms touting programs that help people find files. search giant google launched its desktop search tool in october while yahoo is planning to release similar software in january. our ambition for search is to provide the ultimate information tool that can find anything you re looking for said yusuf mehdi corporate vice president at microsoft s msn internet division. microsoft s program can be used as a toolbar on the windows desktop the internet explorer browser and within the outlook e-mail program. the software giant is coming late to the desktop search arena competing with a large number of rivals. google has already released a desktop tool. yahoo is planning to get into the game in january and aol is expected to offer desktop searching early next year. small firms such as blinkx copernic enfish x1 technologies and x-friend offer tools that catalogue the huge amounts of information that people increasingly store on their desktop or home computer. apple will release a similar search system for its computers called spotlight that is due to be released with the tiger operating system.

vera drake scoops film award oscar hopefuls mike leigh and imelda staunton were both winners at the 2004 evening standard british film awards. vera drake - leigh s 1950s drama about a backstreet abortionist - was named best film and staunton who played the title role was named best actress. other winners included paddy considine who was crowned best actor for his role in dead man s shoes. bridget jones: the edge of reason was named evening standard readers film of 2004 at the central london ceremony. leigh was presented with his winner s statuette by timothy spall and staunton s award was announced by patrick stewart during the glittering ceremony at the savoy on sunday night. evening standard film critic derek malcolm said: he [leigh] has never made a film that is better controlled and technically more secure... if this isn t one of the films of the year i don t know what is. the alexander walker special award - which honours those who have made a supreme contribution to british film - went to tim bevan and eric fellner the co-chairmen of working title films. the production company is behind films such as my beautiful laundrette billy elliot about a boy shaun of the dead and bridget jones: the edge of reason. simon pegg who stars in and co-wrote shaun of the dead won the 2004 peter sellers award for comedy. other winners included emily blunt and nathalie press who were jointly named itv london most promising newcomer award for their performances in pawel pawlikowski s rites-of-passage story my summer of love. pawlikowski won the best screenplay statuette while roger deakins won the technical achievement award for his cinematography on the village and the ladykillers. guests at the ceremony included dame judi dench kim cattrall charles dance bill nighy and colin firth. the awards which were hosted by jack dee are to be screened on itv london on tuesday at 2300 gmt.

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.

singapore growth at 8.1% in 2004 singapore s economy grew by 8.1% in 2004 its best performance since 2000 figures from the trade ministry show. the advance the second-fastest in asia after china was led by growth of 13.1% in the key manufacturing sector. however a slower-than-expected fourth quarter points to more modest growth for the trade-driven economy in 2005 as global technology demand falls back. slowdowns in the us and china could hit electronics exports while the tsunami disaster may effect the service sector. economic growth is set to halve in singapore this year to between 3% and 5%. in the fourth quarter the city state s gross domestic product (gdp) rose at an annual rate of 2.4%. that was up from the third quarter when it fell 3.0% but was well below analyst forecasts. i am surprised at the weak fourth quarter number. the main drag came from electronics said lian chia liang economist at jp morgan chase. singapore s economy had contracted over the summer weighed down by soaring oil prices. the economy s poor performance in the july to september period followed four consecutive quarters of double-digit growth as singapore bounced back strongly from the effects of the deadly sars virus in 2003.

teenagers to be allowed to be mps teenagers will be able to become mps under plans unveiled by ministers. in a written statement constitutional affairs minister christopher leslie said the current minimum age of 21 for an mp would be reduced to 18. the proposals follow a recommendation last year by elections watchdog the electoral commission. the government intends to legislate when parliamentary time allows to lower the age said mr leslie who was elected in 1997 at the age of 24. even if the move does go ahead it is unlikely it will be in place before the next general election widely predicted for may. the announcement from mr leslie - who was elected in 1997 in a formerly safe tory seat - prompted calls for a lowering of the voting age to 16. the votes at 16 alliance said it was a good thing to engage people by lowering the candidacy age but argued lowering the voting age would be much more effective. candidacy affects only politicians. the voting age affects millions of younger people said spokesman alex folkes. we would hope that the government will table a bill that is broad enough to allow for amendments to be brought to test support for a reduction in the voting age. currently candidates in both local and national votes must be 21 while the voting age is 18. that is because the age of majority was reduced to 18 in 1969 but laws dating from 1695 which determine the current voting age stayed in place. irish republican bernadette devlin was one of just a handful of 21-year-olds elected to parliament in the 20th century winning a seat in 1969. but the youngest is understood to have been tory edward turnour who won the 1904 horsham by-election aged 21 and 144 days and served in parliament for 47 continuous years. last april s report by the electoral commission said there was no strong argument for leaving the age for standing for election at 21. the commission found the most common approach around the world is for the voting age to be the same as the candidacy age.

royal couple watch nation s mood prince charles and camilla parker bowles are awaiting the nation s reaction after announcing they are to be married on 8 april. mrs parker bowles will take the title hrh duchess of cornwall after a civil ceremony to be held at windsor castle. a daily telegraph poll of 1 313 people suggests two-thirds of britons support the couple s decision to marry. but only 40% think mrs parker bowles should become princess consort as planned after charles becomes king. some 47% believe she should have no title while 7% think she should become queen. the poll also found that the majority of britons would prefer the monarchy to miss a generation with the queen handing the throne to her grandson prince william 22 on her death or abdication. on thursday night prince charles 56 and mrs parker bowles 57 hosted a dinner at windsor castle their first public appearance since announcing their engagement. mrs parker bowles said the prince went down on one knee to propose and added: i m just coming down to earth. she displayed her diamond engagement ring - a royal family heirloom - to reporters. charles said he and his wife-to-be were absolutely delighted . their marriage will end years of speculation on a relationship which dates back to 1970. the queen and duke of edinburgh said the news had made them very happy . princes william and harry said they are very happy and wish the couple all the luck in the future . the wedding will be a civil ceremony followed by a service of prayer and dedication in st george s chapel at which the archbishop of canterbury dr rowan williams will preside. the marriage is likely to be a sensitive issue because mrs parker bowles is divorced and her former husband is still alive. if he became king charles would be the supreme governor of the church of england and some anglicans remain opposed to the remarriage of divorcees. his divorce from diana and the disappointment the country felt over how diana had been treated... opened up a sense of disillusionment with [prince charles] said ros coward who wrote the authorised biography of diana princess of wales. the archbishop of canterbury said: i am pleased that prince charles and mrs camilla parker bowles have decided to take this important step. tony blair said he was delighted for the couple and offered his congratulations as did conservative leader michael howard and liberal democrat leader charles kennedy. australia s prime minister john howard also offered his congratulations adding that their decision to marry was a sensible and a good thing . mrs parker bowles has joined the prince at numerous engagements in recent years - mostly at evening events for the prince s trust. clarence house staff were at pains to point out that she attended these events in a private capacity.

holmes urged to compete at worlds jolanda ceplak has urged britain s kelly holmes to continue competing at the major championships. double olympic gold medallist holmes has strongly hinted she will not run in this year s worlds and is undecided about next month s european indoors. but world indoor 800m record holder ceplak said: there is never an easy race when she is in the field. there is only excitement at what might happen. it is good for the sport. she always fetches the best out of everyone. ceplak has been a great rival of holmes during the briton s career and the pair fell out when holmes questioned the manner of the slovenian s runaway 800m victory at the 2002 european championships. but the controversy has since been forgotten with ceplak acting as pacemaker for holmes failed attempt on the british indoor 1500m record at the norwich union grand prix in birmingham in 2003. ceplak added: i like running against her - you know the race is always going to be fast. that is the sort of competition that i like. she is special to me. she was like my idol from the beginning of my career. meanwhile ceplak will be looking to follow up last saturday s win in boston with a fast time and victory in friday s night of athletics in erfurt germany. britain s jason gardener had been expected to defend his 60m title in erfurt but instead he will save himself for a competition in leipzig on sunday. gardener s decision means scotland s 400m man ian mackie will carry british hopes in what looks sure to be a tough preparation for next weekend s norwich union european trials in sheffield.

santy worm makes unwelcome visit thousands of website bulletin boards have been defaced by a virus that used google to spread across the net. the santy worm first appeared on 20 december and within 24 hours had successfully hit more than 40 000 websites. the malicious program exploits a vulnerability in the widely used phpbb software. santy s spread has now been stopped after google began blocking infected sites searching for new victims. the worm replaces chat forums with a webpage announcing that the site had been defaced by the malicious program. soon after being infected sites hit by the worm started randomly searching for other websites running the vulnerable phpbb software. once google started blocking these search queries the rate of infection tailed off sharply. a message sent to finnish security firm f-secure by google s security team said: while a seven hour response for something like this is not outrageous we think we can and should do better. we will be reviewing our procedures to improve our response time in the future to similar problems the google team said. security firms estimate that about 1m websites run their discussion groups and forums with the open source phpbb program. the worst of the attack now seems to be over as a search conducted on the morning of the 22 december produced only 1 440 hits for sites showing the text used in the defacement message. people using the sites hit by santy will not be affected by the worm. santy is not the first malicious program to use google to help it spread. in july a variant of the mydoom virus slowed down searches on google as the program flooded the search site with queries looking for new e-mail addresses to send itself to.

connors boost for british tennis former world number one jimmy connors is planning a long-term relationship with the lawn tennis association to help unearth the next tim henman. the american spent three days at the lta s annual elite performance winter camp in la manga earlier this week. britain has the right attitude said connors. the more involved i can be with the lta the better. a short-term arrangement is just confusing. the kids will ask: what am i doing there lta chief executive john crowther added: the relationship that jimmy s already started to develop with the coaches and the players has said to us that we d like some more of it. we want to use jimmy for a number of weeks a year and we hope this is the beginning of a good long-term relationship. the camp played host to more than 30 leading senior and junior players including greg rusedski arvind parmar and anne keothavong. la manga is an amazing site to take a bunch of kids who want to be the best said connors speaking at queen s club in london. what impressed me most was not only the coaches but the way the kids went about their workouts and the feeling they put into every practice they had. it was interesting to me to see kids of 15 16 17 with that desire and passion and that can only be brought about by the coaches surrounding them. instilling the importance of work and practice is something you can t buy. they know what s been given to them and all they have to do is give back the effort and every minute of practice they were doing that. speaking from la manga lta performance director david felgate told bbc sport: jimmy was fantastic with the players and the coaches and very humble considering what he s achieved. he worked through the coaches and hopefully it will grow and he ll get to have more of an individual relationship with some of the players and get to know them. he made it clear from the word go he didn t want it to be short-term. this is a 52-week-a-year job for me it s my life and my passion and it s the same with the coaches. he respects that but he wants to be involved and have real input. and why would he stake his reputation on something that s not going to be successful connors has also agreed to commentate for the bbc at next year s wimbledon championships. he will work during the second week of the tournament.

s&n extends indian beer venture the uk s biggest brewer scottish and newcastle (s&n) is to buy 37.5% of india s united breweries in a deal worth 4.66bn rupees ($106m:£54.6m). s&n will buy a 17.5% equity stake in united maker of the well-known kingfisher lager brand and make a public offer to buy another 20% stake. a similar holding will be controlled by vijay mallya chair of the indian firm. the deal was a natural development of its joint venture with united said tony froggatt s&n s chief executive. its top brands include newcastle brown ale foster s john smith s strongbow and kronenbourg. in 2002 s&n and united agreed to form a strategic partnership one that would include a joint venture business and a uk investment in the indian brewer. the joint venture was established in may 2003. with both parties having a 40% stake in the venture - millennium alcobev. millennium alcobev will now be merged with united which expects post-merger to have about half of india s beer market. india with a population of more than one billion consumes about 1.2 billion bottles of beer every year. kingfisher has market share of about 29%. in addition to the equity stake s&n is to invest 2.47bn rupees in united through non-convertible redeemable preference shares. meanwhile united s budget airline kingfisher airlines is to buy 10 a320 aircraft from airbus and has the option to buy 20 more aircraft in a deal worth up to $1.8bn. the airline the brainchild of mr mallya expects to start its operations by the end of april. the new airline would break even in the very first year of operation mr mallya said.

uefa approves fake grass uefa says it will allow european matches to be played on artificial pitches from the start of next season. european football s governing body made the decision at a meeting of its executive committee on wednesday. uefa explained that the move follows comprehensive studies into the sporting and medical aspects of using artificial playing surfaces. they can be used subject to complying with uefa quality criteria but there use will not be made obligatory. luton preston queens park rangers and other clubs used to have plastic pitches during the the 1980s but after a two-year study uefa insists the surfaces have moved on. international matches can also be played on such pitches although games at major tournaments have to be contested on grass. uefa spokesman rob faulkner said: people in england have bad memories of the artificial pitches of luton and qpr in the 1980s but the latest generation are completely different and are much more like grass. we have sanctioned its use from the start of next season but only as long as it is the latest generation of artificial turf and meets a whole series of standards. several leading clubs from scandinavia russia and eastern europe - especially those who only play champions league or uefa cup matches in winter - are now expected to instal artificial pitches.

jp morgan admits us slavery links thousands of slaves were accepted as collateral for loans by two banks that later became part of jp morgan chase. the admission is part of an apology sent to jp morgan staff after the bank researched its links to slavery in order to meet legislation in chicago. citizens bank and canal bank are the two lenders that were identified. they are now closed but were linked to bank one which jp morgan bought last year. about 13 000 slaves were used as loan collateral between 1831 and 1865. because of defaults by plantation owners citizens and canal ended up owning about 1 250 slaves. we all know slavery existed in our country but it is quite different to see how our history and the institution of slavery were intertwined jp morgan chief executive william harrison and chief operating officer james dimon said in the letter. slavery was tragically ingrained in american society but that is no excuse. we apologise to the african-american community particularly those who are descendants of slaves and to the rest of the american public for the role that citizens bank and canal bank played. the slavery era was a tragic time in us history and in our company s history. jp morgan said that it was setting up a $5m scholarship programme for students living in louisiana the state where the events took place. the bank said that it is a very different company than the citizens and canal banks of the 1800s .

roxy music on isle of wight bill roxy music will appear at june s isle of wight music festival along with morrissey supergrass and idlewild. rem have already been confirmed as headliners for the three-day event which takes place from 10-12 june. original band members bryan ferry phil manzerana andy mackay and paul thompson will take to the stage on the saturday night of the festival. the band are also working in the studio on new material their first since the 1982 album avalon. roxy music were formed in 1971 by ferry mackay and brian eno with manzanera joining the following year. their first hit was 1972 s virginia plain with other hits including street life love is the drug and the 1981 john lennon cover jealous guy. roxy music s back catalogue was re-released in 2000 leading to the band undertaking a world tour in 2001. morrissey will also play on saturday at the festival while supergrass and idlewild have been confirmed for the friday.

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.

three djs replace peel radio show the late john peel s bbc radio 1 show is to be succeeded in february by three shows hosted by three djs focusing on diverse non-commercial music. huw stephens ras kwame and rob da bank will each host the mid-week late-night timeslot showcasing uk talent. radio 1 said the show would not try to replace peel but would rise to the challenge of keeping his legacy alive with unpredictable music. peel died after suffering a heart attack in peru in october. radio 1 said the three djs had been chosen for their in-depth musical knowledge across a variety of musical genres . rob da bank has been hosting the john peel show since the dj s death. he is also one of the hosts of the blue room an early morning weekend show that plays a mix of old and new electronic and dance music. huw stephens is currently one half of the radio 1 thursday night show bethan and huw in wales which explores new music especially up and coming acts breaking through in wales. and ras kwame is the host of 100% homegrown on radio 1 s digital station 1xtra. his show is dedicated to showcasing the best of uk black music and broadcasts live sessions often giving new artists their first chance to perform on live national radio. all of the three djs will continue to host their current shows on radio 1. it is widely accepted that john peel can never be replaced said the radio station. it added that one music would support both signed and unsigned talent and said: it will seek out those making music for music s sake rather than for commercial success. above all it will provide support to emerging genres of music and styles that have not yet and may never reach the mainstream. one music is not new to radio 1 as it already exists as a website offering advice on aspects of the music industry such as recording a demo and signing a record contract. radio 1 s controller andy parfitt said: we believe that by having a series of djs hosting a selection of shows under the one music title we will ensure that his legacy lives on. stephens said he grew up listening to john and that it was a massive honour to continue peel s work championing new music. the show will be broadcast from 1 february on tuesdays wednesdays and thursdays from 2300 gmt - 0100 gmt.

gallas sees two-horse race chelsea s william gallas believes they will battle it out with arsenal for the premiership in the coming months. it ll be a two-horse race all the way to the end of the season because we are both going to give it everything he told bbc sport. you need to be good and you need a lot of luck. you need a bit of both but it will be as hard for the arsenal players as it is for the chelsea boys. we know that we have got the power in our hands just now added gallas. but you never know what is going to happen in football - two seasons ago manchester united picked up so many points towards the end of the season when they won the title. obviously nobody at chelsea wants to come second but you never know what happens in football. we will be challenging to come first as much as every arsenal player will be challenging to come first. gallas has been given extra confidence by the impact manager jose mourinho has had since taking over as manager during the summer. and the french international defender believes mourinho is perfectly suited to boss the squad of chelsea stars and says his managerial expertise will prevent any player revolt. it s only normal when you have got a team put together of such big names that you put the finishing touch to it and the finishing touch at chelsea is a fantastic manager like mourinho he said. he is the icing on the cake at the club. he has this fantastic knack of thinking of everything. another incredible quality that mourinho has is that every player even though the fans may consider them to be a stars within the dressing-room they are absolutely equal. mourinho reminds everyone but he doesn t have to because he has created a wonderful atmosphere where everybody is playing and laughing every day. it is a changed dressing-room from the atmosphere there was last year.

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.

security warning over fbi virus the us federal bureau of investigation is warning that a computer virus is being spread via e-mails that purport to be from the fbi. the e-mails show that they have come from an fbi.gov address and tell recipients that they have accessed illegal websites. the messages warn that their internet use has been monitored by the fbi s internet fraud complaint center. an attachment in the e-mail contains the virus the fbi said. the message asks recipients to click on the attachment and answer some questions about their internet use. but rather than being a questionnaire the attachment contains a virus that infects the recipient s computer according to the agency. it is not clear what the virus does once it has infected a computer. users are warned never to open attachment from unsolicited e-mails or from people they do not know. recipients of this or similar solicitations should know that the fbi does not engage in the practice of sending unsolicited e-mails to the public in this manner the fbi said in a statement. the bureau is investigating the phoney e-mails. the agency earlier this month shut down fbi.gov accounts used to communicate with the public because of a security breach. a spokeswoman said the two incidents appear to be unrelated.

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.

scots smoking ban details set out smoke-free areas will save lives and improve scotland s health first minister jack mcconnell has insisted. he told the scottish parliament on wednesday that a comprehensive ban on smoking in public places would be introduced by the spring of 2006. mr mcconnell said the country s health rates were lamentable not least because of smoking. he said fines of up to £2 500 would be levied on employers and licences would be removed for non-compliance. earlier the scottish executive considered a range of options but agreed unanimously to introduce an all-out ban on smoking in public places. in a statement to parliament mr mcconnell said that the licensed trade would be asked to join an expert committee prior to the ban coming into force. the health arguments far outweighed lingering public disquiet about a complete ban and claims by the licensed trade that jobs would be lost he told msps. he said there would be an international marketing campaign whereby tourists can enjoy smoke free environment and the sick man of europe image becomes a thing of the past . there are still national habits which hold us back - the time has come for this parliament to accelerate improvements in health he declared. health rates are lamentable because of a lack of exercise drugs abuse excessive drinking and over-eating. they all make us one of the most unhealthy countries in europe and too many smoke. it is clear that scotland must not be held back by poor public health - the single biggest contribution devolved government can make is to reduce the toll of preventable death caused by smoking. the legislation will be introduced as part of the health service (miscellaneous provisions) bill which will be considered by parliament before christmas. main points of the plan: - a comprehensive ban on smoking in all enclosed public places in scotland - the legislation will be enforced by environmental health and local licensing officers - licensees or employers who fail to enforce the law will face fines up to a maximum of £2 500 - licensees who persistently refuse to comply with the law will face the ultimate sanction of losing their liquor licence - a system of issuing fixed penalty notices for those individuals who break the law will be examined - individuals who persistently break the law will face a maximum fine of £1 000. mr mcconnell claimed there was evidence that smoking bans had helped smokers to either give up quicker or smoke less. he said there had been falling cigarette sales of 13% in new york and 16% in ireland. mr mcconnell added that there had been a near nine per cent rise in tax revenues from new york bars and restaurants and in ireland only a one point three per cent volume sales fall where they were declining before the ban. the afternoon announcement following a cabinet meeting on wednesday morning won broad support from opposition parties. the scottish national party s holyrood leader nicola sturgeon welcomed the move but added that the public should be consulted as the clock ticked towards the ban date. she said: the time has come for a ban on smoking in public places. there is evidence a ban can cut deaths from passive smoking and makes it easier for the 70% of smokers who desperately want to give up the habit. but we must also recognise that some people have concerns and reservations - there are people who are yet to be persuaded. the scottish conservative party leader david mcletchie questioned what would be exempted from the ban. he was keen to know if inmates in scottish prisons would continue to be allowed to smoke. mr mcletchie asked: would it not be ironic and perhaps entirely typical of the first minister s brave new scotland that the criminals can be smokers but the smokers will become criminals the scottish green party s health spokeswoman eleanor scott said she was pleased scotland would be following the success stories of new york and ireland . she believed the majority of people in scotland wanted to go out without having to breathe in harmful tobacco smoke.

speak easy plan for media players music and film fans will be able to control their digital media players just by speaking to them under plans in development by two us firms. scansoft and gracenote are developing technology to give people access to their film and music libraries simply by voice control. they want to give people hands-free access to digital music and films in the car or at home or on the move. huge media libraries on some players can make finding single songs hard. voice command-and-control unlocks the potential of devices that can store large digital music collections said ross blanchard vice president of business development for gracenote. these applications will radically change the car entertainment experience allowing drivers to enjoy their entire music collections without ever taking their hands off the steering wheel he added. gracenote provides music library information for millions of different albums for jukeboxes such as apple s itunes. the new technology will be designed so that people can play any individual song or movie out of a collection just by saying its name. users will also be able to request music that fits a mood or an occasion or a film just by saying the actor s name. speech is a natural fit for today s consumer devices particularly in mobile environments said alan schwartz vice president of speechworks a division of scansoft. pairing our voice technologies with gracenote s vast music database will bring the benefits of speech technologies to a host of consumer devices and enable people to access their media in ways they ve never imagined. the two firms did not say if they were developing the technology for languages other than english. users will also be able to get more information on a favourite song they have been listening to by asking: what is this portable players are becoming popular in cars and a number of auto firms are working with apple to device interfaces to control the firm s ipod music player. but with tens of thousands of songs able to be stored on one player voice control would make finding that elusive track by elvis presley much easier. the firms gave no indication about whether the ipod or any other media player were in mind for the use of the voice control technology. the companies estimate that the technology will be available in the fourth quarter of 2005.

hague given up his pm ambition former conservative leader william hague says he will not stand for the leadership again having given up his ambition to be prime minister. mr hague 43 told the daily telegraph he would now find a life dominated by politics too boring and unfulfilling. mr hague who stepped down after his party s 2001 election defeat does not rule out a return to the front bench. he also told the paper he hopes to remain mp for richmond north yorks and start a family with wife ffion. mr hague who recently had published the biography of william pitt the younger also said he wanted to continue writing books and speech-writing. he told the newspaper: i don t know whether i will ever go back on to the front but don t rush me. asked if he would stand for the leadership again mr hague replied: no. definitely not. his determination to stay away from a central role will disappoint some senior conservative members who say the party needs him. tim collins the shadow education secretary said last week it would be a huge boost to the party if mr hague returned to the front bench. mr hague became an mp at 27 and leader of the opposition at 36. he said: i feel fortunate that by the age of 40 i had crammed in an entire political career. i had been in the cabinet and been leader of the party so now i can branch out into other things...it is a very liberating feeling. mr hague added that he may have misjudged his own ambition to be prime minister. maybe i wasn t as driven by politics as i thought i was he said.

lomu relishing return to action former all black star jonah lomu says he cannot wait to run out on the pitch for former england rugby union captain martin johnson s testimonial on 4 june. the 29-year-old had a kidney transplant in july 2004 but will play his first full match for three years leading a southern hemisphere side at twickenham. i actually started training three weeks after my operation but i was very limited until a few months ago. now it s basically bring it on! said the giant winger. the match on 4 june will be my first 15-man game but i have a training schedule which is quite testing and combines with sevens and a whole lot of things said lomu. i have got so much energy since my operation that i train three times a day six days a week. mohammed ali has always been my ideal. coming back to rugby people said you are dreaming but it always starts off with a dream. it s up to you whether you want to make it a reality. opinion has been divided on whether lomu should attempt to return to the game after such a major operation. but when lomu was asked whether he was taking a risk he replied: as much as someone going down the road being hit by a bus. there are a lot of people in the world with one kidney who just don t know it. i have talked this over had a chat with the donor and this is to set my soul at peace and finish something i started in 1994 [when he made his all blacks debut]. at his lowest ebb lomu was so ill he could barely walk but he says he is now getting stronger every day and his long-term target is to play for new zealand again. the only person who saw me at my worst was my wife he added. i used to take two steps and fall over but now i can run and it is all coming back and a lot more quickly than i ever thought it would. to play for the all blacks would be the highest honour i could get. that is the long-term goal and you have to start somewhere.

custody death rate shocks mps deaths in custody have reached shocking levels a committee of mps and peers has warned. the joint committee on human rights found those committing suicide were mainly the most vulnerable with mental health drugs or alcohol problems. members urged the government to set up a task force to tackle deaths in prisons police cells detention centres and special hospitals. there was one prison suicide every four days between 1999 and 2003 mps said. the report which followed a year-long inquiry by the committee found the high death rate amounts to a serious failure to protect the right to life of a highly vulnerable group . many of those who ended up taking their own lives had presented themselves to the authorities with these problems before they even offended the report said. it questioned whether prison was the most appropriate place for them to be kept and whether earlier intervention would have meant custody could have been avoided. increased resources and a reduction in the use of imprisonment was needed to address the issue in the longer term the report said. committee chairman labour mp jean corston said: each and every death in custody is a death too many regardless of the circumstances. yet throughout our inquiry we have seen time and time again that extremely vulnerable people are entering custody with a history of mental illness drug and alcohol problems and potential for taking their own lives. these highly vulnerable people are being held within a structure glaringly ill-suited to meet even their basic needs. crime levels are falling but we are holding more people in custody than ever before. the misplaced over-reliance on the prison system for some of the most vulnerable people in the country is at the heart of the problems that we encountered. until we change our whole approach to imprisoning vulnerable people we cannot begin to meet our positive obligations under article 2 of the european convention on human rights and meet our duty of care to them. the committee also highlighted deeply worrying cases of children and young people taking their own lives. between 1990 and 2004 25 children have taken their own lives in prison and two have died in secure training centres. it picked out the case of joseph scholes who hanged himself from the bars of his cell in stoke heath young offender institution in march 2002 and urged the home secretary to hold a public inquiry. it revealed that two weeks before his court appearance for a series of robberies the 16-year-old was depressed exhibiting suicidal tendencies and slashed his face with a knife about 30 times. even though the trial judge had been alerted to his experience of sexual abuse and mental illness he was sentenced to a two-year detention and training order. nine days into his sentence joseph hung himself from the bars of his cell window with a sheet.

mauresmo opens with victory in la amelie mauresmo and maria sharapova won their opening matches at the tour championships in los angeles. france s mauresmo routed vera zvonareva 6-1 6-0 while wimbledon champion sharapova was a 6-1 6-4 winner over fellow russian svetlana kuznetsova. american serena williams also won edging russian elena dementieva 7-6 7-5 for her second victory of the event. the event is split into two groups of four with the top two from each advancing to the semi-finals. mauresmo s win was her ninth in a row as she tries to overtake lindsay davenport for the number one spot. mauresmo spent five weeks at number one after the us open before injury ushered davenport back in front. since then i feel very confident on court and my game is there. i want to get the ranking back but it s very different than before i was number one. it was an obsession but now i take it in a relaxed way. mauresmo completed her first match in the season-ending championship in 54 minutes as russia s zvonareva struggled to return her serve and failed to achieve a single break point. she got mad a little bit and i played some great tennis said mauresmo who was runner-up to kim clijsters in last year s final. zvonareva has lost both her games so far having crashed 6-2 6-4 kuznetsova in the staples centre on wednesday. sometimes not everything works she said. it was lots of pressure. maybe that is why i couldn t do 100%. but i was fighting. sharapova who lost 6-2 6-2 to kuznetsova in beijing in september said: in beijing she was coming off such a big winning streak [14 matches] and she was unstoppable. this time it was important to start off well and put some pressure on her. the tournament debutant added: i love it here. the atmosphere is great. to be here where the lakers play you just feel that excitement. i love basketball. williams admitted she is still some way off her best form but remained positive after two wins in two days. it s hard to go out there and get it right but i m fighting and i m hoping said williams. what makes me happy is the effort. i had a really good effort today. i m trying to add new dimensions to my game.

csa chief who quit still in job the head of the failing child support agency widely reported to have resigned three months ago is still at the helm of the troubled organisation. doug smith s departure was announced by work secretary alan johnson on 17 november as mps grilled him over the agency s poor performance. his resignation was referred to by both tory and lib dem leaders during that day s prime ministers questions. officials now say he did not resign but will move on under civil service rules. mr smith s departure was reported widely at the time as his shouldering the blame for the failings of the child support agency. in january the mps who make up the commons work and pensions committee published a highly critical report into the failing agency noting the chief executive has now left and hoping the new leadership will bring a fresh approach to what is a failing organisation . on that day s today programme mr johnson was asked why mr smith had been allowed to resign rather than be sacked. he replied: the chief executive decided it was time to move on there is a new chief executive coming in. it now emerges that the widespread belief mr smith made commander of the order of the bath in the new year honours had left was wrong. a department for work and pensions spokeswoman confirmed mr smith was still in post and that he would continue in the job until a replacement was found. no date was ever given for doug smith s departure she said adding that the post had been advertised. tory work and pensions spokesman david willetts said families affected by csa failings would wonder why mr smith was still in his job three months after his departure was announced. the csa has been surrounded by controversy since its introduction in 1993 to assess and enforce child support payments by absent parents. the work and pensions committee launched their inquiry into the csa s performance after it became clear that despite the introduction of a simpler system of calculating maintenance payments for new cases in 2003 a backlog of claims was still building up. it is currently chasing outstanding payments of more than £720m while a further £947m has been designated as unrecoverable . the mps found american it giant eds £456m system was nowhere near being fully functional and the number of dissatisfied disenchanted and angry customers continues to escalate . in november when he surprised mps and the watching media by announcing mr smith s departure mr johnson said: i should tell you that doug has decided that now is the time to stand aside and to allow a new chief executive to tackle the challenges ahead. doug has exceeded the four years that senior civil servants are now expected to remain in a particular post. so doug believes that we have reached the natural breakpoint at which he can hand over the reins. lib dem sir archy kirkwood who chairs the commons work and pensions committee said that when mr johnson had announced mr smith was going he got the clear impression the csa chief was retiring though it had since emerged that was not the case and he may be seeking new employment opportunities. he added his committee was duty bound to allow the work and pensions secretary to get new management into place in the csa and it would be premature to say anything further on the issue at the moment. but committee member and tory mp nigel waterson said he was amazed mr smith was still in his job. when mr smith and the secretary of state came to give evidence we were led to believe he was going shortly he said. even if he was working out three months notice he should have been clearing his desk by now. asked on thursday about mr smith s position mr johnson told bbc radio 4 s world at one he thought it was a non-story . he added that he had been absolutely open when he announced mr smith s departure to the select committee and how people chose to interpret it was a different thing . the major issue is have we got a new chief executive coming into this very important agency as quickly as possible and have we gone through the right selection process to make sure we ve got the right people he added.

singapore growth at 8.1% in 2004 singapore s economy grew by 8.1% in 2004 its best performance since 2000 figures from the trade ministry show. the advance the second-fastest in asia after china was led by growth of 13.1% in the key manufacturing sector. however a slower-than-expected fourth quarter points to more modest growth for the trade-driven economy in 2005 as global technology demand falls back. slowdowns in the us and china could hit electronics exports while the tsunami disaster may effect the service sector. economic growth is set to halve in singapore this year to between 3% and 5%. in the fourth quarter the city state s gross domestic product (gdp) rose at an annual rate of 2.4%. that was up from the third quarter when it fell 3.0% but was well below analyst forecasts. i am surprised at the weak fourth quarter number. the main drag came from electronics said lian chia liang economist at jp morgan chase. singapore s economy had contracted over the summer weighed down by soaring oil prices. the economy s poor performance in the july to september period followed four consecutive quarters of double-digit growth as singapore bounced back strongly from the effects of the deadly sars virus in 2003.

yukos drops banks from court bid russian oil company yukos has dropped the threat of legal action against five banks it had accused of involvement in the sale of its key yugansk unit. state-owned rosneft bought the unit for $9.3bn (£5bn) after yukos was forced to sell assets to meet a $27.5bn tax bill. yukos says the sale was illegal and is pursuing damages in a us court. its lawyers now accept abn amro bnp paribas calyon jp morgan chase bank and dresdner kleinwort wasserstein were not involved in the sale financing. however yukos still has an outstanding complaint against deutsche bank which it alleges to be the leader of a consortium that was behind a bid for yugansk by state gas monopoly gazprom. the company has also accused gazprom the russian federation and two other russian firms. gazprom had been expected to win the december auction but ended up not bidding. yugansk was sold to a little-known shell company which in turn was bought by rosneft. yukos claims its downfall was punishment for the political ambitions of its founder mikhail khodorkovsky. the firm whose finance chief is now based in the us filed for bankruptcy in houston texas and sought a court injunction against the sale. but deutsche bank has suggested yukos artificially manufactured a legal case to stop the sale of its main asset. a hearing scheduled for february 16 and 17 will rule on whether the us court has jurisdiction in the case.

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.

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

arsenal through on penalties arsenal win 4-2 on penalties the spanish goalkeeper saved from alan quinn and jon harley as arsenal sealed a quarter-final trip to bolton with a 4-2 victory on penalties. lauren patrick vieira freddie ljungberg and ashley cole scored for arsenal while andy gray and phil jagielka were on target for the blades. michael tonge and harley wasted chances for the underdogs but paddy kenny was inspired to keep arsenal at bay. arsenal stripped of attacking talent such as thierry henry and dennis bergkamp partnered 17-year-old italian striker arturo lupoli with ljungberg up front. it was a revamped arsenal line-up and they were almost a goal behind within seconds as tonge wasted a glorious chance. gray ran free down the right flank and his cross left tonge with the simplest of chances but he blazed over the top from six yards. arsenal were barely seen as an attacking force in the opening 45 minutes although ljungberg turned a half-chance wide after good work by cesc fabregas. arsene wenger introduced quincy owusu-abeyie for the ineffective lupoli at half-time and the pacy dutch youngster had an immediate impact. he ran clear after good work by mathieu flamini but his finish was tame and kenny saved easily. owusu-abeyie then fired in a testing cross which was met by fabregas and it needed a desperate clearance by kenny s legs to save the blades. arsenal were now totally dominant and were desperately unlucky not to take the lead after 62 minutes when fabregas crashed a rising drive against the bar from 20 yards. it then took a brilliant tackle by jagielka to deny ljungberg as he was poised to strike. arsenal continued to press and once again kenny was called into action with eight minutes left diving low to clutch another close-range effort from fabregas. neil warnock s side almost snatched victory in the dying seconds when derek geary s cross found harley at the far post but his diving header was brilliantly turned over by almunia. owusu-abeyie s pace was causing all sorts of problems for the blades and as extra-time began another surging run into the penalty area almost set up a chance for ljungberg. pascal cygan missed arsenal s best chance after 106 minutes blazing across the face of goal when he was unmarked at the far post. arsenal sent on jeremie aliadiere with seven minutes of extra-time left and he almost broke the deadlock with his first touch. kolo toure s misplaced free-kick landed at his feet but kenny once again blocked from a tight angle. arsenal laid siege to sheffield united s goal in the dying minutes but they somehow held on to force penalties. almunia was then arsenal s hero as another brave blades cup campaign came to a losing end. kenny geary morgan bromby harley liddell montgomery jagielka thirlwell tonge (quinn 97) gray. subs not used: francis kabba shaw haystead. morgan. almunia lauren cygan senderos cole fabregas (toure 90) vieira flamini (aliadiere 113) clichy lupoli (owusu-abeyie 45) ljungberg. subs not used: eboue taylor. clichy lauren senderos. 27 595 p dowd (staffordshire).

russian oil merger excludes yukos the merger of russian gas giant gazprom and oil firm rosneft is to go ahead but will not include yugansk which was controversially bought last year. the merger backed by russian authorities will allow foreigners to trade in gazprom shares. gazprom chief alexei miller confirmed rosneft-owned yugansk was not part of the deal and will instead be spun off. under the agreement the state will get a controlling share of gazprom in exchange for rosneft. the state wanted to control gazprom before allowing foreigners to trade. speaking on ntv television which is controlled by gazprom mr miller added that yugansk which was swallowed up by rosneft late last year will operate as a separate state-owned oil firm headed by current rosneft chief sergei bogdanchikov. according to reports from russian news agency interfax the deal should go through in the next two to three months. obtaining majority control over gazprom is the beginning of the liberalisation of the market in gazprom shares mr miller added. by opening up trading in gazprom to foreigners the firm will become a top emerging market play for traders. currently foreigners can only trade in gazprom via a small issue of london-listed proxy shares. this is positive news for the international investment community global asset management investment chief david smith said. the majority of investors are going to be happy he added. however analysts were disappointed that yugansk would not be included in the deal. yugansk is a heavy cashflow generator and would have been a much better asset for gazprom renaissance capital energy analyst adam landes told reuters news agency. but he said the latest development was simply an interim step to allow foreigners to trade in gazprom. ultimately and industrially gazprom needs yugansk he added. analysts said the deal would give gazprom control of 8% of russia s total oil production an improvement on its current 2.5% but still far less than the 20% share it would have gained had it also taken over yugansk. however the merged group will still remain outside russia s top five oil producers - led by lukoil with 11% of the market followed by tnk-bp which is half owned by bp and surgutneftegaz. instead the merged gazprom-rosneft group will rank alongside sibneft with 7% of the market. yugansk was sold to a little-known shell company in a disputed auction in december following what many thought was a politically-motivated attack on yukos. the shell company was then snapped up by rosneft. yukos unsuccessfully sought to halt the auction by applying for bankruptcy through the us courts. the unit was auctioned by russian authorities to help pay off a $27.5bn back-tax bill.

israeli economy picking up pace israel s economy is forecast to grow by 4.2% in 2004 as it continues to emerge from a three-year recession. the main driver of the faster-than-expected expansion has been exports with tourism seeing a strong rebound the statistical office said. the economy is benefiting from a quieter period in palestinian-israeli violence and a pick-up in global demand for technology products. the outlook is better than it has been for a number of years analysts said. many companies have focused on cost cutting and greater efficiency while the government has been trying to trim public spending and push through reforms. the growth figures come about despite a strike earlier this year by about 400 000 public sector worker which closed banks hospitals postal services and transport facilities. growth did slow in the second half but only slightly. exports for the year rose by 14% while tourist revenues were up by 30%. imports gained by 13% signalling that domestic demand has picked up again. in 2003 imports declined by 1.8%. in 2003 the economy expanded by 1.3%

wales win in rome wales secured their first away win in the rbs six nations for nearly four years with a six-try victory in rome. tries from jonathan thomas tom shanklin and martyn williams gave the visitors a 19-5 half-time advantage. luciano orquera did reply with one for italy but second-half efforts from brent cockbain shane williams and robert sidoli sealed victory. fly-half stephen jones added four conversions as wales maintained their superb start to this year s tournament. starting full of confidence after their victory over england the visitors scored the opening try after just four minutes. diminutive wing shane williams fielded a kick ahead and danced past the onrushing andrea masi and aaron persico into the italian half. his pass to tom shanklin appeared forward but when the centre was held up short the ball was switched left and michael owen s long cut-out pass gave the lurking thomas an easy run-in. stephen jones who retained the kicking duties despite gavin henson s heroics against england slotted an excellent conversion from wide out. wales twice threatened further scores but failed to find the crucial pass and italy hit back out of the blue in the 11th minute. henson sporting gold boots rather than the silver variety that did for england beat two players with ease out on the left touchline. but his attempted chip ahead was charged down by orquera who snaffled the loose ball and hared away from halfway to score in the right corner. with the welsh line-out stuttering and italy twice turning the visitors scrum the home side s forward power brought them back into it. but a clever high kick from henson almost brought a try for hal luscombe when roland de marigny and ludovico nitoglia made a hash of claiming it as the ball bounced into touch. wales regained control with a second try in the 21st minute henson lobbing up a high kick to the left corner where shanklin jumped higher than nitoglia to dot down his 15th test try. jones was unable to convert and de marigny then hit the upright with a penalty attempt for italy. henson was also narrowly short with a long-range effort at goal but wales ended the half with a vital third score to give themselves some breathing space. henson sent luscombe streaking away and when he off-loaded to martyn williams the flanker showed his nous to ground the ball against the padding of the post jones adding the conversion. italy who lost flanker mauro bergamasco with a head knock before half-time built up a head of steam on the resumption. de marigny landed a penalty to make it 19-8 and a nitoglia break through the middle threatened a try only for the move to break down with a knock-on. but wales put the outcome beyond doubt with two superb tries in four minutes before the hour. their fourth after 53 minutes was sparked by another mazy run from shane williams who beat several players with ease and finished with a powerful angled run from lock cockbain. before italy could recover from that blow a strong surge from gareth thomas and great off-loads from martyn williams and replacement kevin morgan saw shane williams scamper over. with jones converting both for a 33-8 lead wales had the luxury of sending on five more replacements for the final quarter. the icing on the cake came with a sixth try after more superb support work shane williams and ceri sweeney combining to send sidoli over in the left corner. the only downside for wales was a hamstring injury suffered by luscombe. but after back-to-back wins at the start of the tournament for the first time in 11 years they will travel to paris in a fortnight looking like genuine contenders. r de marigny; mirco bergamasco w pozzebon a masi l nitoglia; l orquera a troncon; a lo cicero f ongaro m castrogiovanni s dellape m bortolami (capt) a persico mauro bergamasco s parisse. g intoppa s perugini ca del fava d dal maso p griffen m barbini kp robertson. g thomas (capt); h luscombe t shanklin g henson s williams; s jones d peel; g jenkins m davies a jones; b cockbain r sidoli; j thomas m williams m owen. r mcbryde j yapp i gough r sowden-taylor g cooper c sweeney k morgan. andrew cole (australia).

controversial film tops festival a controversial film starring hollywood actor kevin bacon as a convicted paedophile won top honours at the london film festival on thursday. the woodsman won the satyajit ray award named after the indian director. the low-budget film directed by nicole kassell is about a convicted child molester trying to rebuild his life after 12 years in jail. judges said the film tackled the contentious subject with great insight and sensitivity . previous films to take the prize include the oscar-winning boys don t cry which was about the true life story of murdered transsexual brandon teena. british writer-director amma asante won the uk film talent award this year for her debut feature a way of life. set in south wales the film is about a teenage single mother who becomes embroiled in a tense stand-off with a turkish neighbour. also on thursday night the fipresci international critics awards went to aaltra a belgian film about the handicapped; and the sutherland trophy which was won by jonathan caouette for his film tarnation. the festival closed with a screening of the film i heart huckabees starring jude law and dustin hoffman and directed by three kings film-maker david o russell. the festival this year also included the first european screening of the new pixar animation the incredibles and the british film bullet boy starring so solid crew rapper asher d.

bbc to pour £9m into new comedy the bbc is to invest £9m in developing new comedy and entertainment programmes outside london. the changes come as part of a shake-up of several departments to create shows that appeal to a wider range of people. changes are also being made to teams in the factual and daytime departments outside london. director of television jana bennett said the changes were about getting the best ideas on screen as efficiently and effectively as we can . the new structure in each genre is designed to ensure that happens she said. a number of new roles are being created in each department including a head of comedy commissioning based in glasgow. the new person will be in charge of the £9m budget and their role will be to develop shows outside the capital both within the bbc and with independent production companies. jane lush controller of entertainment commissioning said entertainment and comedy are incredibly important to our audiences; i m confident these changes will help us get the very best programmes on screen. similar positions will also be created in the other departments with the new commissioning editor for documentaries based in bristol and the daytime commissioning editor in birmingham. ms bennett said the new roles would benefit those making programmes within the bbc as well as those making shows for the channel independently. a strong independent sector and a flourishing in-house production base are not mutually exclusive and will stimulate the competition that will deliver the best ideas to the audience she said.

goldsmith: i was not leant on the attorney general has again denied being leant on by downing street to make the legal case for invading iraq. claims a written answer on the legality of the war was drafted by downing street were wholly unfounded he insisted during stormy lords exchanges. lord goldsmith said the answer represented his genuinely held independent view the war was legal. the text was released on the eve of a crucial commons vote in which mps backed the invasion of iraq. many labour mps have since indicated that the attorney general s answer played a pivotal role in their willingness to back the conflict. the government has resisted calls to publish the full advice saying such papers are always kept confidential. in the house of lords the attorney general faced a call by former tory lord chancellor lord mackay to now publish the full text of the advice - the suggestion was rejected. another peer meanwhile lord skidelsky said not to publish the full legal opinion would strengthen the suspicion that the the original text was doctored for public consumption in exactly the same way as the notorious intelligence dossier on weapons of mass destruction . last week lord goldsmith said in a statement: i was fully involved throughout the drafting process and personally finalised and of course approved the answer. he said the answer had been prepared in his office with the involvement of solicitor general harriet harman two of his own officials three foreign office officials a qc christopher greenwood and the then lord chancellor lord irvine of lairg. no other minister or official was involved in any way. as i have always made clear i set out in the answer my own genuinely held independent view that military action was lawful under the existing (un) security council resolutions he said. the answer did not purport to be a summary of my confidential legal advice to government. former foreign secretary robin cook said lord goldsmith s admission that his parliamentary answer was not a summary of his legal opinion suggested parliament may have been misled. the attorney general may never have presented his answer as a summary but others certainly did he said. what is clear from his statement today is that he does not believe that it was a full accurate summary of his formal opinion. tony blair has dismissed questions about the attorney general s advice and said his parliamentary statement had been a fair summary of his opinion. that s what he [lord goldsmith] said and that s what i say. he has dealt with this time and time and time again mr blair told his monthly news conference in downing street. he refused to answer further questions on the issue. on the question of whether such papers have always been kept confidential tory mp michael mates who is a member of the commons intelligence and security committee and was part of the butler inquiry told the bbc: that as a general rule is right but it s not an absolute rule. he said there had been other occasions when advice had been published most recently regarding prince charles s marriage plans. the government could not pick and choose when to use the convention he said. mr mates added: this may be one of those special occasions... when it would be in the public interest to see the advice which the attorney general gave to the prime minister. a book published by philippe sands qc a member of cherie blair s matrix chambers says lord goldsmith warned tony blair on 7 march 2003 that the iraq war could be illegal without a second un resolution sanctioning military action. a short statement about lord goldsmith s position presented in a written parliamentary answer on 17 march 2003 - just before a crucial commons vote on the military action - did not suggest this.

china now top trader with japan china overtook the us to become japan s biggest trading partner in 2004 according to numbers released by japan s finance ministry on wednesday. china accounted for 20.1% of japan s trade in 2004 compared with 18.6% for the us. in 2003 the us was ahead with 20.5% and china came second with 19.2%. the change highlights china s growing importance as an economic powerhouse. in 2004 japan s imports from and exports to china (and hong kong) added up to 22 201bn yen ($214.6bn;£114.5bn). this is the highest figure for japanese trade with china since records began in 1947. it compares with 20 479.5bn yen in trade with the us. trade with the us during 2004 was hurt by one-off factors including a 13-month ban on us beef imports following the discovery of a cow infected with mad cow disease (bse) in the us. however economists predict china will become an even more important japanese trading partner in the coming years. on tuesday figures showed china s economy grew by 9.5% in 2004 and experts say the overall growth picture remains strong. analysts see two spurs to future growth as being china s membership of the world trade organisation and lower trade tariffs. during 2004 japan s trade surplus grew 17.9% to 12.011 trillion yen with more than half the surplus 6.962 trillion yen accounted for by its trade with the us. in december the surplus grew 1.8% on a year ago to 1.14 trillion yen thanks to stronger-than-expected exports.

eu too slow on economic reforms most eu countries have failed to put in place policies aimed at making europe the world s most competitive economy by the end of the decade a report says. the study undertaken by the european commission sought to assess how far the eu has moved towards meeting its economic targets. in 2000 eu leaders at a summit in lisbon pledged the european economy would outstrip that of the us by 2010. their economic targets became known as the lisbon agenda. but the commission report says that in most eu countries the pace of economic reform has been too slow and fulfilling the lisbon ambitions will be difficult - if not impossible. only the uk finland belgium denmark ireland and the netherlands have actually followed up policy recommendations. among the biggest laggards according to the report are greece and italy. the lisbon agenda set out to increase the number of people employed in europe by encouraging more older people and women to stay in the workforce. it also set out to raise the amount the private sector spends on research and development while bringing about greater discipline over public spending and debt levels. combined with high environmental standards and efforts to level the playing field for businesses throughout the eu the plan was for europe to become the world s most dynamic economy by 2010. next week the commission will present revised proposals to meet the lisbon goals. many people expect the 2010 target to be quietly dropped.

mayor will not retract nazi jibe london mayor ken livingstone has again refused to retract a nazi insult made to a jewish reporter. labour s mr livingstone who says he is standing by his remarks had accused an evening standard journalist of being like a concentration camp guard . at his weekly press conference on tuesday he said his comments were not racist and refused to apologise. he said to media representatives: if you think they are racist i think you are wrong. the mayor said his comments would not affect the 2012 olympic bid and added that his determination to stand up for what he believed in may impress bid chiefs who arrived in london on tuesday. i think it is important that the ioc (international olympic committee) members realise that when we get the games...they have a mayor who is not going to panic change course or get in a great flap but will deliver the games on time and to budget he said. on tuesday the mayor said he would be making a full written response to the chairman of the assembly. two motions were passed by the london assembly which is made up of 25 members elected to examine the mayor s activities on monday asking him to apologise and withdraw his comments. the mayor said he had recounted to the assembly a number of examples of intrusion by journalists into his and his family s private life. i don t suggest for one minute that has anything to do with the holocaust which was uniquely the most evil chapter in history. but when reporters say to me i m only doing this because it s my job... that s the same abdication of moral responsibility at the thin end of the wedge that in its most extreme and horrific version ends up with others being prepared to stand as a concentration camp guard. we are responsible for our own choices in this life i always have been and so have reporters. an official complaint has been made to local government watchdogs by the board of deputies of british jews demanding an investigation by the standards board of england. it has the power to suspended or bar him from office but mr livingstone said: there must have been 20 instances like this over the last 24 years. i have never in response to any of that modified a policy i believed to be right or modified a position i believed to be right and i don t intend to now. because if i do that effectively you hand power over your policies and position to the editors of papers. on tape mr livingstone who once worked as a freelance restaurant critic on the paper is heard asking reporter oliver finegold if he is a german war criminal . mr finegold replies: no i m jewish i wasn t a german war criminal. i m quite offended by that. the mayor then says: ah right well you might be but actually you are just like a concentration camp guard you are just doing it because you are paid to aren t you

lib dems new election pr chief the lib dems have appointed a senior figure from bt to be the party s new communications chief for their next general election effort. sandy walkington will now work with senior figures such as matthew taylor on completing the party manifesto. party chief executive lord rennard said the appointment was a significant strengthening of the lib dem team . mr walkington said he wanted the party to be ready for any mischief rivals or the media tried to throw at it. my role will be to ensure this new public profile is effectively communicated at all levels he said. i also know the party will be put under scrutiny in the media and from the other parties as never before - and we will need to show ourselves ready and prepared to counter the mischief and misrepresentation that all too often comes from the party s opponents. the party is already demonstrating on every issue that it is the effective opposition. mr walkington s new job title is director of general election communications.

bryan twins keep us hopes alive the united states kept the davis cup final alive with victory in saturday s doubles rubber leaving spain 2-1 ahead going into the final day. masters cup champions mike and bob bryan thrashed juan carlos ferrero and tommy robredo 6-0 6-3 6-2 in front of a partisan crowd in seville. victory would have given spain the title but they were outclassed. in sunday s reverse singles carlos moya takes on andy roddick before rafael nadal faces mardy fish. it feels good but it s not going to be as good if we don t win two tomorrow said mike bryan. it feels good to give those guys another shot and spain has to go to sleep on that. bob bryan added: i m really confident in andy winning that first match and then anything can happen. spain coach jordi arrese chose to rest 18-year-old nadal in the doubles after his epic singles win over roddick on friday. he was replaced by former world number one ferrero but the spanish pair were out of their depth against one of the world s best doubles teams. the 26-year-old bryan twins have won all four of their davis cup matches this year. and they quickly silenced the huge crowd at the olympic stadium racing through the opening set to love. the spaniards then twice surrendered breaks of serve at the start of the second before the bryans broke to go 5-3 ahead and served out. when robredo dropped serve in the opening game of the third set the match was all but over and the unflappable bryan brothers powered on to an impressive win. ferrero who was upset to be dropped for friday s singles hinted at further dissatisfaction after the defeat. it was a difficult game against the best doubles players he said. they have everything calculated and we had very little to do. i was a bit surprised that i was named to play the doubles match because i hardly play doubles. arrese said: juan carlos hasn t played at all badly. he played the right way but the bryans are great doubles players.

blair to face mps amid feud talk tony blair faces his first prime minister s questions of 2005 after a week of renewed speculation about his relationship with gordon brown. meanwhile the chancellor is leaving britain on a high-profile tour of africa to highlight poverty issues. but before doing so he insisted he still trusted mr blair despite claims to the contrary in a new book. labour mps have warned against disunity and tory leader michael howard may well take up the theme in the commons. the tories have already accused the prime minister and his chancellor of behaving like schoolboys squabbling in a playground . michael howard is likely to want to capitalise further on the spat when he goes head-to-head with the prime minister in the commons. at a campaign poster launch on tuesday mr brown was joined by alan milburn who mr blair controversially put in charge of election planning in place of the chancellor. later this week the prime minister is due to set out the themes of his party s next election manifesto which for the past two polls have been drawn up by the chancellor. mr brown meanwhile is visiting tanzania mozambique and kenya to highlight the plight of many africans hit by aids war and famine - issues which mr blair has also spoken out on. the prime minister and chancellor faced backbench discontent at monday s meeting of the parliamentary labour party over claims made in journalist robert peston s new book. mr blair told mps and peers: i know from everyone here in cabinet and government nothing is going to get in the way of a unified labour party with a unified position and winning the third term people desperately need. labour s paul flynn said the pair had had a scorching from mps. on tuesday deputy prime minister mr prescott told bbc news: they told us very clearly it was the troops telling the leaders: get in line. the new book claims mr prescott hosted a dinner in november 2003 where the prime minister told mr brown he would stand down before the next election because he had lost trust over the iraq war. mr blair then changed his mind in june 2004 after cabinet allies intervened and amid suspicion the chancellor was manoeuvring against him writes mr peston. in mr peston s book mr brown is alleged to have told the prime minister: there is nothing you could ever say to me now that i could ever believe.

johnny depp: the acting outlaw johnny depp whose latest role was peter pan creator jm barrie in finding neverland is celebrated as one of hollywood s most maverick talents. depp has become an unlikely major star given his preference for taking dark and idiosyncratic roles instead of surefire box office hits. he has had a long-running working relationship with the equally unconventional director tim burton. depp was born in kentucky in 1963 and at first wanted to be a rock star playing in a number of bands and supporting acts such as iggy pop and the b-52s in florida. on a visit to los angeles his former wife introduced him to actor nicolas cage. in 1984 he started his film career playing a doomed teenager in horror film nightmare on elm street. two years later he played a soldier in oliver stone s vietnam epic platoon. but it was tv that first made depp a star. he played undercover cop tommy hanson in the us series 21 jump street for three years from 1987. in 1990 he began his partnership with burton in the dark fairy tale edward scissorhands about a young man with blades for hands. he won plaudits in 1993 for the downbeat film what s eating gilbert grape where he played a sensitive youth looking after an overweight mother and a retarded younger brother played by leonardo dicaprio. another role under burton ed wood starred depp as the crazed cult film-maker wood in 1994. he played a much more serious sensitive role in his next major film donnie brasco where he portrayed an undercover cop infiltrating a mafia ring. in 1997 he directed his only film to date - the brave the story of an indian man offered money to appear in a snuff film. two years later he played hunter s thompson in terry gilliam s ambitious but poorly-received big screen adaptation of fear and loathing in las vegas. he worked again with tim burton in the 1999 horror film sleepy hollow and appeared opposite dame judi dench and juliette binoche in chocolat. his performance in pirates of the caribbean which earned him golden globe and bafta nominations had many critics thinking he based it upon the mannerisms of his friend rolling stones guitarist keith richards. his latest role in finding neverland explored jm barrie s relationship with sylvia (kate winslet) and her children. depp s charismatic performance drew an audience of adults and children alike into barrie s vivid imagination and he was called the fifth child of the group by the film s director marc forster. he has two children of his own with french singer vanessa paradis having previously been in a long-term relationship with british model kate moss. the theme of children s literature in depp s career - and his long association with tim burton - are set to continue in his next role playing willy wonka in a remake of roald dahl s classic charlie and the chocolate factory. british tv comedy fans might also remember depp s guest role in the final episode of bbc sketch programme the fast show cited as his favourite show. it was another surprise move in depp s varied and intriguing career.

man auctions ad space on forehead a 20-year-old us man is selling advertising space on his forehead to the highest bidder on website ebay. andrew fisher from omaha nebraska said he would have a non-permanent logo or brand name tattooed on his head for 30 days. the way i see it i m selling something i already own; after 30 days i get it back he told the bbc today programme. mr fisher has received 39 bids so far with the largest bid currently at more than $322 (£171). the winner will be able to send me a tattoo or have me go to a tattoo parlour and get a temporary ink tattoo on my forehead and this will be something they choose a company name or domain name perhaps their logo he told the radio 4 programme. on the online auction mr fisher describes himself as an average american joe give or take . his sales pitch adds: take advantage of this radical advertising campaign and become a part of history. mr fisher said that while he would accept any brand name or logo i wouldn t go around with a swastika or anything racial . he added: i wouldn t go around with 666 the mark of the beast. other than that i wouldn t promote anything socially unacceptable such as adult websites or stores. he said he would use the money to pay college - he is planning to study graphic design. the entrepreneur said his mother was initially surprised by his decision but following all the media attention she felt he was thinking outside the box .

original exorcist to be screened the original version of horror prequel exorcist: the beginning dropped by producers over claims it was not scary enough is to have its world premiere. the film directed by paul schrader will be screened on 18 march at the international festival of fantastic film in brussels. the psychological drama stars stellan skarsgard and foreruns the 1973 film. schrader was replaced by director renny harlin who made a new version of the film which debuted in 2004. the prequel project was originally announced in 2001 with actor liam neeson in the lead role and john frankenheimer as director. however frankenheimer pulled out in 2002 a month before he died. skarsgard then replaced neeson in the role of father merrin made famous by max von sydow in the 1973 film. principal footage was shot in morocco and rome at a reported cost of $32m. however in august 2003 it emerged that producers morgan creek were shelving schrader s version of the film having complained it was not scary enough. as well as replacing schrader with harlin - the director behind die hard 2 and cliffhanger - the producers also changed most of the cast but swedish star skarsgard stayed in the merrin role. harlin s film released in the uk in october 2004 received lukewarm reviews but went on to make over $76m (£40.7m) worldwide. the festival screening will be the first time that schrader s film has been seen in public. reports that it will be released either in cinemas or on dvd have yet to be confirmed. other films at the festival in the belgium capital which runs from 11-26 march include the us horror hit boogeyman and the forthcoming sequel ring 2 as well as a selection of films adapted from the works of jules verne.

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.

lee to create new film superhero comic book veteran stan lee is to team up with producer robert evans to create a movie featuring a new superhero. foreverman will focus on a character who has to face problems in everyday life as well as using his special powers to save the world. paramount pictures the studio behind the film have revealed few details about the project but say it has the potential to spawn a series of films. lee is best known for his work on spider-man and the incredible hulk. he is collaborating on the script with screenwriter peter briggs who penned the recent comic book adaptation hellboy. we believe it to be truly a whole new franchise said gill champion president and chief executive of lee s pow! entertainment. in this world where people are looking for something different stan s idea was to create a concept not seen before to become an evergreen franchise for paramount. many of lee s other creations including x-men and daredevil have been turned into films in the past five years. however the spider-man series has been the biggest box office hit with the 2002 original and its 2004 sequel taking almost $1.6bn (£857m) worldwide. a third spider-man film is scheduled for release in 2007. another marvel comics adaptation the fantastic four will be released in cinemas this summer.

santini resigns as spurs manager tottenham manager jacques santini has resigned for personal reasons . the former france manager moved to white hart lane this summer but now wants to return to france. santini said: my time at tottenham has been memorable and it is with deep regret that i take my leave. i wish the club and the supporters all the best. private issues in my personal life have arisen which caused my decision. i very much hope that the wonderful fans will respect my decision. he added: i should like to thank (sporting director) frank arnesen and (chairman) daniel levy for their understanding. assistant coach martin jol has been put in temporary charge and will take care of team affairs for saturday s premiership match against charlton. arnesen said the club were sad to see santini go: we are obviously disappointed that jacques is leaving us. we fully respect his decision. i can assure you that the club will act swiftly to minimise the impact of jacques departure. our priority is to ensure that this season s performance remains unaffected by this move. i shall make a further statement on monday clarifying our position. we wish jacques well.

relay squad thrilled with honours jason gardener says being made an mbe in the new year honours list underlines the achievement of great britain s 4x100m relay squad at the olympics. gardener darren campbell marlon devonish and mark lewis-francis have all been awarded mbes after beating pre-race favourites usa to gold. i think this award reinforces what we did on that fantastic night he said. this recognition is really inspiring and makes me want to have more success said lewis-francis. the british sprint quartet produced a string of faultless baton changes in the final to put pressure on the americans. and when the usa stumbled with a poor switch between justin gatlin and coby miller at the 300m stage britain edged ahead going into the final bend. then on cue lewis-francis ran a textbook final leg holding off maurice greene to bring team gb home in 38.07 seconds - just one hundredth of a second ahead of their rivals. winning the gold medal was the highlight of my athletics career so far said the birchfield harrier. this award is not just for me but for all my friends family and the people who have helped me to get to this level in my sport. gardener added: all of us had worked very hard for a long long time to carry off what most believed was an impossible task. of course this award is very special but for me nothing will ever take away winning an olympic gold medal. it s all i ever wanted. all my life that is what i dreamed of doing. life since then has been fantastic. campbell agreed receiving the honour capped off what has been a difficult year for the sprinter. i think the mbe is important because the people closest to me know my journey said the newport-based athlete. i ve not just stumbled upon this. it gives me a lot of joy and satisfaction to know the stuff you do for your country does mean something. - there was also recognition for james clarke chairman of the london marathon. he becomes an obe.

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.

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

british stars denied major oscars british hopes of winning major oscars were dashed as uk stars failed to win acting and directing prizes. despite three nominations mike leigh s vera drake failed to take the director or screenplay awards and there was no prize for star imelda staunton. kate winslet also lost to best actress hilary swank while clive owen and sophie okonedo failed to win best supporting actor awards. the uk s andrea arnold won the short film award for her gritty drama wasp. arnold who presented children s television shows number 73 and motormouth in the 1980s said it was totally overwhelming to win. wasp tells the story of a single mother living on the breadline beating films by fellow uk nominees gary mckendry and ashvin kumar. everyone worked extremely hard - they know who they are arnold said as she accepted the prize. the beers are on me when we get home. earlier british costume designer sandy powell won the oscar for the aviator beating finding neverland s uk designer alexandra byrne in the process. i m very thrilled for the film and all the people who worked with me said ms powell. hopefully i ll be staying up to celebrate - i ve been sick for three days and want to make it through the night. the british visual effects team behind harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban were less fortunate however losing the oscar in that category to spider-man 2. before sunday s ceremony owen was bookmakers favourite for his role in romantic drama closer that had already clinched him a golden globe award. it was the first time actress okonedo had been shortlisted chosen for her performance in hotel rwanda about the 1994 rwandan genocide. it was also a debut nomination for staunton 49 who played abortionist vera drake in mike leigh s film. leigh had previously received three oscar nominations for secrets and lies and topsy turvy. winslet said she was ecstatic about the fourth oscar nomination of her career this time for her lead role in eternal sunshine of the spotless mind. among other british talent nominated for oscars composer andrew lloyd webber and lyricist charles hart were nominated for best original song for learn to be lonely from the phantom of the opera movie. that award was won by al otro lado del rio from the motorcycle diaries. cinematographer john mathieson who was nominated for gladiator in 2001 was also up for the phantom of the opera but lost to the aviator. finding neverland garnered another nomination for british talent with gemma jackson shortlisted for the art direction prize. she lost in that category to the aviator. a spokesman for the uk film council said: it is disappointing not to have more british winners. he added: it was extraordinary to have 24 british nominees in the initial list of nominees.

angry williams rejects criticism serena williams has angrily rejected claims that she and sister venus are a declining force in tennis. the sisters ended last year without a grand slam title for the first time since 1998. but serena denied their challenge was fading saying: that s not fair - i m tired of not saying anything. we ve been practising hard. we ve had serious injuries. i ve had surgery and after i got to the wimbledon final. i don t know many who have done that. while serena is through to the australian open semi-finals venus went out in the fourth round meaning she has not gone further than the last eight in her last five grand slam appearances. but serena added: venus had a severe strain in her stomach. i actually had the same injury but i didn t tear it the way she did. if i would have torn it i wouldn t have been here. she played a player (alicia molik) that just played out of her mind and venus made some errors that she probably shouldn t have made. serena also said people tended to forget the impact the 2003 murder of sister yetunde price had had on the family. to top it off we have a very very very very very close family serena continued. to be in some situation that we ve been placed in in the past little over a year it s not easy to come out and just perform at your best when you realize there are so many things that are so important. so no we re not declining. we re here. i don t have to win this tournament to prove anything. i know that i m out here and i know that i m one of the best players out here.

straw backs ending china embargo uk foreign secretary jack straw has defended plans to end the european union s arms embargo on china despite opposition from the us and japan. mr straw visiting beijing noted arms embargoes applied to china burma and zimbabwe but not to north korea which he said had a terrible rights record. the eu imposed its arms ban on china in 1989 after troops opened fire on protestors in tiananmen square. mr straw also signed a deal on china-uk tourism. it is expected this would increase the number of chinese tourists by 40 000 per year providing $120m in revenue. china has in the past said it sees the weapons ban as politically driven and does not want it lifted in order to buy more weapons. mr straw speaking at a joint news conference with chinese foreign minister li zhaoxing stressed this point. the result of any decision [to lift the arms embargo] should not be an increase in arms exports from european union member states to china either in quantitative or qualitative terms mr straw said. earlier this week he said he expected the embargo to be lifted within six months. but mr straw faces tough opposition to the move. tory foreign affairs spokesman michael ancram said lifting the arms embargo would be irresponsible and would damage britain s relations with the us. he said mr straw was naive beyond belief if he accepted china s claim it does not want the ban lifted in order to buy weapons. the french want the embargo lifted because they want to sell arms to china; the chinese want it lifted because they want to buy arms and battlefield technology from europe. when he was in tokyo earlier this week japanese foreign minister nobutaka machimura told the british minister that his plan to remove the embargo was a worrying issue that concerns the security and environment of not only japan but also east asia overall . washington argues that if the embargo is lifted it could lead to a buying spree for arms that china could use to threaten its diplomatic rival taiwan. beijing says taiwan is part of chinese territory and wants to unite it with the mainland by force if necessary. the us is bound by law to help taiwan defend itself. washington has also voiced concern that the human rights conditions in china have not improved enough to merit an end to the embargo. it is an issue raised by human rights groups too. brad adams from the uk s human rights watch said: this is a huge political signal from europe that they are willing to forget about tiananmen square. but mr straw insisted the eu s code of conduct on arms exports meant tough criteria on human rights still had to be met if the embargo was lifted.

eu too slow on economic reforms most eu countries have failed to put in place policies aimed at making europe the world s most competitive economy by the end of the decade a report says. the study undertaken by the european commission sought to assess how far the eu has moved towards meeting its economic targets. in 2000 eu leaders at a summit in lisbon pledged the european economy would outstrip that of the us by 2010. their economic targets became known as the lisbon agenda. but the commission report says that in most eu countries the pace of economic reform has been too slow and fulfilling the lisbon ambitions will be difficult - if not impossible. only the uk finland belgium denmark ireland and the netherlands have actually followed up policy recommendations. among the biggest laggards according to the report are greece and italy. the lisbon agenda set out to increase the number of people employed in europe by encouraging more older people and women to stay in the workforce. it also set out to raise the amount the private sector spends on research and development while bringing about greater discipline over public spending and debt levels. combined with high environmental standards and efforts to level the playing field for businesses throughout the eu the plan was for europe to become the world s most dynamic economy by 2010. next week the commission will present revised proposals to meet the lisbon goals. many people expect the 2010 target to be quietly dropped.

wilkinson return unlikely jonny wilkinson looks set to miss the whole of the 2005 rbs six nations. england s world cup-winning fly-half said last week he was hoping to recover from his latest injury in time to play some role in the championship. but rob andrew coach of wilkinson s club side newcastle said that with only two games left to play wilkinson was unlikely to be fit in time. it would be irresponsible to put him straight into a test match andrew told the times. wilkinson is recovering from a knee injury which followed long-term neck and arm injuries. he has not played for england since the world cup final in november 2003 since when the stuttering world champions have lost nine of their 14 matches. wilkinson is aiming to make his third start to the season in the zurich premiership match against harlequins on 13 march. that game is the day after england play italy in the six nations and six days before their final match of the championship against scotland. we are hoping jonny will be ready in a fortnight but it is touch and go said andrew. his recovery is going very well and the key now is how he is reintroduced to playing and with it goal-kicking. he will probably have to come off the bench to start and it would be ridiculous and irresponsible to put him straight back into a test match. we can t afford to get it wrong with a knee injury. we are in touch with england and they are relaxed about it. despite not playing for england wilkinson is still hoping to make the lions tour to new zealand this summer. lions coach sir clive woodward has not set a deadline for when wilkinson has to start playing again in order to be considered for selection.

have hackers recruited your pc more than one million computers on the net have been hijacked to attack websites and pump out spam and viruses. the huge number was revealed by security researchers who have spent months tracking more than 100 networks of remotely-controlled machines. the largest network of so-called zombie networks spied on by the team was made up of 50 000 hijacked home computers. data was gathered using machines that looked innocent but which logged everything hackers did to them. the detailed look at zombie or bot nets of hijacked computers was done by the honeynet project - a group of security researchers that gather information using networks of computers that act as honey pots to attract hackers and gather information about how they work. while bot nets have been known about for some time estimates of how widespread they are from security firms have varied widely. to gather its information the german arm of the honeynet project created software tools to log what happened to the machines they put on the web. getting the machines hijacked was worryingly easy. the longest time a honeynet machine survived without being found by an automatic attack tool was only a few minutes. the shortest compromise time was only a few seconds. the research found that once compromised machines tend to report in to chat channels on irc servers and wait instructions from the malicious hacker behind the tools used to recruit the machine. many well-known vulnerabilities in the windows operating system were exploited by bot net controllers to find and take over target machines. especially coveted were home pcs sitting on broadband connections that are never turned off. the months of surveillance revealed that the different bot nets - which involve a few hundred to tens of thousands of machines - are used for a variety of purposes. many are used as relays for spam to route unwanted adverts to pc users or as launch platforms for viruses. but the research team found that many are put to very different uses. during the monitoring period the team saw bot nets used to launch 226 distributed denial-of-service attacks on 99 separate targets. these attacks bombard websites with data in an attempt to overwhelm the target. using a bot net of machines spread around different networks and nations makes such attacks hard to defend against. one ddos attack was used by one firm to knock its competitors offline. other bot nets were used to abuse the google adsense program that rewards websites for displaying adverts from the search engine. some networks were used to abuse or manipulate online polls and games. criminals also seem to be starting to use bot nets for mass identity theft to host websites that look like those of banks so confidential information can be gathered and to peep into online traffic to steal sensitive data. leveraging the power of several thousand bots it is viable to take down almost any website or network instantly said the researchers. even in unskilled hands it should be obvious that bot nets are a loaded and powerful weapon.

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.

pearce keen on succeeding keegan joint assistant boss stuart pearce has admitted he would like to succeed kevin keegan as manager at manchester city. keegan has decided to step down as city manager when his contract comes to an end in 18 months. you don t have to be einstein to realise there will be a manager s job available at a really good club pearce told bbc gmr. i will certainly be applying for it although whether the board deem me good enough to take it i do not know. pearce initially joined city as a player under keegan in 2001 before becoming part of the coaching staff. he was promoted to joint assistant-manager following the departure of arthur cox last summer. the former england defender had a year as player-boss with nottingham forest eight seasons ago but has made no secret of his desire to have another crack at the job. he was linked with the manager s job at oldham and keegan has stated he would not get in the way if pearce wanted to leave. but it now appears pearce is keen to wait for his chance at city. he added: by that time i will have been here for five years so at least they will have had a good look at me and they are aware of my feelings with regard to being kevin s successor. obviously the issue is out of my hands but it is a fantastic job for anybody - i just hope it will be me.

fiat chief takes steering wheel the chief executive of the fiat conglomerate has taken day-to-day control of its struggling car business in an effort to turn it around. sergio marchionne has replaced herbert demel as chief executive of fiat auto with mr demel leaving the company. mr marchionne becomes the fourth head of the business - which is expected to make a 800m euro ($1bn) loss in 2004 - in as many years. fiat underperformed the market in europe last year seeing flat sales. the car business has made an operating loss in five of the last six years and was forced to push back its break-even target from 2005 to 2006. the management changes are part of a wider shake-up of the business following fiat s resolution of its dispute with general motors. as part of a major restructuring fiat is to integrate the maserati car company - currently owned by ferrari - within its own operations. ferrari in which fiat owns a majority stake could be separately floated on the stock market in either 2006 or 2007. mr marchionne who only joined the company last year said fiat auto was now the principal focus of his attention. i have made the decision to take on the post of chief executive of the auto unit to speed up the company s recovery he said. a profound cultural transformation is underway following a management reorganisation that has delivered a more agile and efficient structure he added. although mr marchionne does not have a background in the car industry he has been playing an increasing role in the group s activities. last year he said that a series of new models launched as part of the group s recovery plan had not boosted revenues as much as hoped. the car business best known for its alfa romeo marque is expected to make a loss of about 800m euros in 2004. sales are expected to fall in 2005 fiat said this week as it exits unprofitable areas such as the rental car market. mr demel a car industry veteran took the helm in november 2003 after being recruited by former fiat chief executive giuseppe morchio. mr morchio made a bid last year to become chairman after the death of president umberto agnelli. however this was rejected by the founding agnelli family and mr morchio subsequently resigned. earlier this week fiat reached an agreement with gm to dissolve an alliance which could have obliged gm to buy the italian firm outright. gm will pay fiat $2bn as part of the settlement.