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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.

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.

fit-again betsen in france squad france have brought flanker serge betsen back into their squad to face england at twickenham on sunday. but the player who missed the victory over scotland through injury must attend a disciplinary hearing on wednesday after being cited by wasps. serge has a good case so we are confident he will play said france coach bernard laporte. the inexperienced nicolas mas jimmy marlu and jean-philippe grandclaude are also included in a 22-man squad. the trio have been called up after pieter de villiers ludovic valbon and aurelien rougerie all picked up injuries in france s 16-9 win on saturday. laporte said he was confident that betsen would be cleared by the panel investigating his alleged trip that broke wasps centre stuart abbott s leg. if he was to be suspended we would call up imanol harinordoquy or thomas lievremont said laporte who has dropped patrick tabacco. we missed serge badly against scotland. he has now recovered from his thigh injury and played on saturday with biarritz. france s regular back-row combination of betsen harinordoquy and olivier magne were all missing from france s side at the weekend because of injury. laporte is expected to announce france s starting line-up on wednesday. forwards: nicolas mas sylvain marconnet olivier milloud william servat sebastien bruno fabien pelous jerome thion gregory lamboley serge betsen julien bonnaire sebastien chabal yannick nyanga. backs: dimitri yachvili pierre mignoni frederic michalak yann delaigue damien traille brian liebenberg jean-philippe grandclaude christophe dominici jimmy marlu pepito elhorga.

davenport puts retirement on hold lindsay davenport has put any talk of retirement on hold after having a largely injury-free 2004 campaign. the 28-year-old world number one had said that she would quit at the end of last year but after a successful season she has had a change of heart. finally i felt i put myself in a position to try and win grand slams again said davenport. it would be tough to walk away when i feel like i can contend so there s no point in hanging it up quite yet. davenport has won three grand slams the 2000 australian open wimbledon in 1999 and the 1998 us open. her career has been hit by a series of injuries but last year she started hitting top form and won seven titles. she was due to take part in this week s hopman cup in perth but decided she wanted to rest her knee. i just really wanted to make sure my right knee was going to be able to really withstand all the rigours of the whole year coming up she said.

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.

el guerrouj targets cross country double olympic champion hicham el guerrouj is set to make a rare appearance at the world cross country championships in france. but the moroccan who has not raced over cross country for 15 years will not decide until two weeks before the event which starts on 19 march. if i am to compete in it it is only if i feel i can win said the 30-year-old who is retiring in 2006. otherwise there is not much point in me going. el guerrouj achieved a lifetime ambition last august when he clinched his first olympic titles over 1500m and 5 000m. but the four-time world 1500m champion is still hungry for more success before calling time on his career. the 30-year-old has set his sights on clinching the world 5 000m crown in helsinki this summer. and he is aiming to break 10 000m olympic champion kenenisa bekele s 5 000m and 10 000m world records. el guerrouj could meet bekele in march as the ethiopian is the defending world cross country champion over both the long and short courses. but the moroccan will not commit himself to the st galmier event until he assesses how well his winter training is going. the return to training was very difficult because i accepted a lot of invitations these past few months said el guerrouj. i am almost a month behind but i am on the right track. - britain s paula radcliffe has also not ruled out competing in the world cross country championships. i haven t quite decided what events i will compete in prior to london but the world cross country is an event which is also special to me and is a definite possibility said the two-time champion.

brown ally rejects budget spree chancellor gordon brown s closest ally has denied suggestions there will be a budget giveaway on 16 march. ed balls ex-chief economic adviser to the treasury said there would be no spending spree before polling day. but mr balls a prospective labour mp said he was confident the chancellor would meet his fiscal rules. he was speaking as sir digby jones cbi director general warned mr brown not to be tempted to use any extra cash on pre-election bribes. mr balls who stepped down from his treasury post to stand as a labour candidate in the election had suggested that mr brown would meet his golden economic rule - with a margin to spare . he said he hoped more would be done to build on current tax credit rules. he also stressed rise in interest rates ahead of an expected may election would not affect the labour party s chances of winning. expectations of a rate rise have gathered pace after figures showed house prices are still rising. consumer borrowing rose at a near-record pace in january. if the mpc (the bank of england s monetary policy committee) were to judge that a rate rise was justified before the election because of the strength of the economy - and i m not predicting that they will - i do not believe that this will be a big election issue in britain for labour he told a parliamentary lunch. this is a big change in our political culture. during an interview with bbc radio 4 s today programme mr balls said he was sure mr brown s budget would not put at risk the stability of the economy. i don t think we ll see a pre-election spending spree - we certainly did not see that before 2001 he said. his assurances came after sir digby jones said stability was all important and any extra cash should be spent on improving workers skills. his message to the chancellor was: please don t give it away in any form of electioneering. sir digby added: i don t think he will. i have to say he has been a prudent chancellor right the way through. stability is the key word - british business needs boring stability more than anything. we would say to him don t increase your public spending don t give it away. but if you are going to anywhere just add something to the competitiveness of britain put it into skilling our people . that would be a good way to spend any excess. mr balls refused to say whether mr brown would remain as chancellor after the election amid speculation he will be offered the job of foreign secretary. i think that gordon brown wants to be part of the successful labour government which delivers in the third term for the priorities of the people and sees off a conservative party that will take britain backwards mr balls told today. prime minister tony blair has yet to name the date of the election but most pundits are betting on 5 may.

jamelia s return to the top r&b star jamelia had three brit nominations to go with her triple triumph at last year s mobo awards. the birmingham-born singer full name jamelia davis was signed to a record label at the age of 15 and released her first single so high at 18. she released four number ones from her 2000 album drama including the top five hit money featuring the vocals of reggae artist beenie man. she racked up five mobo nominations in 2000 winning one for best video. but in the same year she also fell pregnant and decided to take a break from music to bring up her daughter teja who was born in march 2001. while she originally planned to get back to work pretty swiftly after giving birth it was actually two years before she released another single. during her absence r&b music exploded and a whole host of female artists were on the scene meaning jamelia had to once again prove herself. her comeback song bout featuring rah digga only just scrapped into the top 40. it was her next single superstar that really put her back on the map as one of britain s most popular female r&b singers holding her own in a music scene dominated by us artists such as beyonce and ashanti. superstar was followed by thank you winner of best single at the 2004 mobos which reached number two in the uk charts. the autobiographical song which deals with domestic abuse hit number one in new zealand and australia. next came the song see it in a boy s eyes which was especially written for her by coldplay s chris martin. his involvement with the song meant not only was it given massive publicity but it was also greeted favourably by a new audience who would not usually listen to r&b. she now combines singing with modelling and supporting charities including the nspcc and make trade fair. despite her huge success in recent years jamelia remains down-to-earth about her fame and her chances of lasting in the fickle music business partly due to motherhood. when i first got into the industry i d be away from home for months at a time. but now i have other things in my life. i still want to make it but it s not the end of the world if i don t commented jamelia.

brazil plays down varig rescue the brazilian government has played down claims that it could step in to save the country s biggest airline. brazil s airport authority chief carlos wilson had claimed the government was on the brink of stepping in to save varig brazil s flagship airline. however the country s vice president jose alencar has said the government still is looking for a solution. varig is struggling under a huge debt burden of an estimated debt of 6.5 billion reais ($2.3bn or £1.2bn). asked whether a rescue was on the cards following a meeting of the country s congress to discuss the airline s crisis mr alencar replied: no i don t think so. we will see. earlier mr wilson had said that president luiz inacio lula da silva has decided to step in and a decree of some kind of intervention could be signed this week. in practice it will be an intervention although this is not the technical name used he said. an intervention means that the government would take administrative control of the company and its finances. for that to happen varig s main shareholder the non-profit ruben berta foundation which represents the airline s employees would have to be removed mr wilson said. however no jobs would be lost and the airline would keep on flying he added. varig which operates in 18 countries apart from brazil has been driven to the brink of collapse because of the country s economic downturn. the depreciation of brazil s currency has had a direct impact on the airline s dollar debt as well as some of its costs. business has improved recently with demand for air travel increasing and a recovery in the brazilian economy. the airline could also win a sizeable windfall from a compensation claim against the government. on tuesday the courts awarded varig 2bn reais ($725m) after ruling in favour of its compensation claim against the government for freezing tariffs from 1985 to 1992. but the government can appeal the decision.

calder fears for scottish rugby former scotland international finlay calder fears civil war at the sru could seriously hamper his country s rbs six nations campaign. four members of the executive board including the chairman david mackay have resigned after a simmering row. and calder said: this is terrible news for every level of scottish rugby. david is a successful businessman and i thought that if anybody could transform the negative atmosphere and rising debt level it was him. mackay s executive board has been in a power struggle with the general committee which contains members elected by scotland s club sides. he has been driven out by people who seem happier waging civil war than addressing the central issue that professional rugby can t be run by amateurs said calder. in fact i don t understand why we are still having this argument 10 years after professionalism arrived. but i don t believe the rest of the sru will take this lying down. i think the banks will be dismayed at this decision and ultimately it is them who pull the strings. so i wouldn t be surprised if they reviewed their position. but in the wider picture what message does this send out he thought the work of scotland s coaches who have been attempting to arrest the decline of the national side would be made much more difficult. matt williams and willie anderson must be wondering what have we walked into here said calder. and we can now expect weeks of arguments and acrimony just at a time when we should be looking forward to the six nations championship. i am very very disappointed more than you can imagine. why do so many scots have this knack of turning on each other when the going gets tough

china continues breakneck growth china s economy has expanded by a breakneck 9.5% during 2004 faster than predicted and well above 2003 s 9.1%. the news may mean more limits on investment and lending as beijing tries to take the economy off the boil. china has sucked in raw materials and energy to feed its expansion which could have knock-on effects on the rest of the world if it overheats. but officials pointed out that industrial growth had slowed with services providing much of the impetus. growth in industrial output - the main target of government efforts to impose curbs on credit and investments - was 11.5% in 2004 down from 17% the previous year. still consumer prices - at 2.4% - rose faster than in 2004 adding to concern that a sharp rise in producer prices of 7.1% could stoke inflation. and overall investment in fixed assets was still high up 21.3% from the previous year - although some way off the peak of 43% seen in the first quarter of 2004. the result could be higher interest rates. china raised rates by 0.27 percentage points to 5.8% - its first hike in nine years - in october 2004. despite the apparent rebalancing of the economy the overall growth picture remains strong economists said. there is no sign of a slowdown in 2005 said tim congdon economist at ing barings. china s economy is not only gathering speed thanks to domestic demand but also from soaring sales overseas. figures released earlier this year showed exports at a six-year high in 2004 up 35%. part of the impetus comes from the relative cheapness of the yuan china s currency. the government keeps it pegged close to a rate of 8.28 to the us dollar - much to the chagrin of many us lawmakers who blame china for lost jobs and competitiveness. despite urging to ease the peg officials insist they are a long way from ready to make a shift to a more market-set rate. we need a good and feasible plan and formulating such a plan also needs time national bureau of statistics chief li deshui told reuters. those who hope to make a fortune by speculating on a renminbi revaluation will not succeed in making a profit.

strike threat over pension plans millions of public service workers could strike if ministers scrap their final salary pension scheme and make them work longer warn union leaders. the cabinet office has confirmed it is reviewing the current pension system prompting unions representing 4.5m workers to threaten united action. they believe the plans include raising the mandatory retirement age for public service workers from 60 to 65. the government says unions will be consulted before any changes are made. it is thought the proposed overhaul due on thursday could mean pensions could be based on a career average salary. for each year served staff currently get one eightieth of their highest salary in the final three years. ministers will be anxious to avoid mass strike action in the lead-up to the next general election which is widely expected next may. in a statement on sunday the cabinet office said it was reviewing the civil service pension scheme and hoped to announce proposals soon. unions will of course be consulted about any proposed changes. public sector pension schemes need to remain affordable and sustainable. people are living longer and pensions are getting more expensive. to maintain the long-term affordability of our pension scheme the government announced in its green paper on pensions that pension age would rise from 60 to 65. on monday tony blair s official spokesman declined to say whether the prime minister backed the plans. he said: what s important is that there s a process going on it s out for consultation at the moment let s wait for that process to complete itself. there is already widespread anger over the chancellor s plans to get rid of more than 100 000 civil servants. now public service unions are united against the plans and the trades union congress is discussing the issue next monday. dave prentis general secretary of unison said changes to pension provisions for workers in the public sector would mean they had to pay in more but would still face a raw deal. members working in the nhs or for local government have never had high pay or city bonuses but they could look forward to a decent pension - now all that is being taken away he said. what really riles me is the breathtaking hypocrisy of mps who recently voted themselves the best pension scheme in europe but say they can t afford it for anyone else. this is a position that unison cannot accept and will oppose. it will lead to conflict between unison and the government if not this year then next. mr prentis said workers did not want to go on strike and called for talks between unions and the highest level of government. mark serwotka from the public and commercial services union said there should be a co-ordinated one day strike unless there was a government rethink. the fire brigades union said the government was planning to cut ill health retirement benefits for firefighters and other measures to chip away at pensions. pensions officer paul woolstenholmes said: the pensions of millions of public sector workers are under threat - apart from mps and judges who have the most generous pensions arrangements in the country.

hewitt falls to dent in adelaide lleyton hewitt suffered a shock defeat to taylor dent in the quarter-finals of the australian hardcourt championships in adelaide on friday. the top seed was a strong favourite for the title but went down 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 to the american. dent will face juan ignacio chela next after the fourth seed was too strong for jurgen melzer. olivier rochus beat third seed nicolas kiefer 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (8-6) 7-5 and will take on second seed joachim johansson. the swede reached the last four by beating compatriot thomas enqvist 6-3 4-6 6-1. i felt like i was striking the ball much better said johansson. i felt like i had a lot of break chances i didn t take care of them all but i broke him four times and he only broke me once. i felt that was the key to get up in the set early. hewitt played down his defeat and insisted he is focused solely on the australian open which starts on 17 january. when you ve been number one in the world for a couple of years and won a couple of slams you look at the big picture and what motivates you said hewitt. that s the grand slams and melbourne s as big for me as any of the four. even if i don t win sydney next week it s no big deal.

share boost for feud-hit reliance the board of indian conglomerate reliance has agreed a share buy-back to counter the effects of a power struggle in the controlling family. the buy-back is a victory for chairman mukesh ambani whose idea it was. his brother anil the vice-chairman said had not been consulted and that the buy-back was completely inappropriate and unnecessary . the board hopes the move will reverse a 13% fall in reliance s shares since the feud became public last month. the company has been fractious since founder dhirubhai ambani died in 2002 leaving no will. today s round has gone to [mukesh] there is no doubt about it said nanik rupani president of the indian merchants chamber a bombay-based traders body. the company plans to buy back 52 million shares at 570 rupees (£6.80; $13) apiece a premium of more than 10% to its current market price.

burren awarded egyptian contracts british energy firm burren energy has been awarded two potentially lucrative oil exploration contracts in egypt. the company successfully bid for the two contracts granted by government owned oil firms covering onshore and offshore areas in the gulf of suez. burren energy already has a presence in egypt having been awarded an exploration contract last year. the firm which floated in 2003 recently announced a deal to buy 26% of indian firm hindustan oil exploration. the £13.8m deal gives burren energy access to the indian oil and gas industry. this latest contract expands burren energy s global exploration and production portfolio - it also holds contracts in turkmenistan and the republic of congo. these assets significantly increase our exploration portfolio in egypt and we continue to investigate further opportunities in this region said chief executive finian o sullivan.

mobile gaming takes off in india gaming on the move is one of the fastest-growing activities among the tech-savvy in india says a report. the indian mobile gaming market is expected to generate about $26m (£13.8m) by the end of 2004 according to market analysts in-stat/mdr. in october mobile phone users grew by 1.4 million to 44.9 million overtaking the number of landlines said the telecom regulatory authority of india. analysts say cheap rates and a huge youth market is driving the market. india has a large population of under-25s and many in urban areas are fast adopting mobiles as must-have gadgets. india s mobile gaming market will bring in about $336m (£178m) by 2009 according to the report. mobile gaming is expected to explode globally over the next few years. analysts predict that 220 million people will be playing games on phones by 2009 generating billions for mobile companies. services other than just voice calls which are offered by mobile operators in india have as a result of the huge rise in subscribers grown significantly and rapidly. the growth of this market sector has attracted publishers developers animators musicians and content providers and is also stimulating the development of innovative business models said clint wheelock director of in-stat/mdr s wireless research group. mobile gaming is not just about fun; it also represents one key element of a rich mobile entertainment experience for consumers and a lucrative market opportunity for industry players. currently india has six big games developers and four mobile operators that offer games to their subscribers said the report. according to in-stat/mdr it is tipped to make up one of the most important markets in the next wave of mobile multimedia growth. in january 2003 there were only 10 million mobile subscribers in india. many choose mobiles in rural areas in order to bypass poorer telecoms infrastructure. despite this the penetration rate is still much lower that other countries. less than 20% of india s total population own a mobile in india compared to well over 50% in most european countries. the trend echoes the uptake of mobiles in many developing economies which continues to grow as people opt to leapfrog slower and more expensive state-run fixed-line operators.

pernod takeover talk lifts domecq shares in uk drinks and food firm allied domecq have risen on speculation that it could be the target of a takeover by france s pernod ricard. reports in the wall street journal and the financial times suggested that the french spirits firm is considering a bid but has yet to contact its target. allied domecq shares in london rose 4% by 1200 gmt while pernod shares in paris slipped 1.2%. pernod said it was seeking acquisitions but refused to comment on specifics. pernod s last major purchase was a third of us giant seagram in 2000 the move which propelled it into the global top three of drinks firms. the other two-thirds of seagram was bought by market leader diageo. in terms of market value pernod - at 7.5bn euros ($9.7bn) - is about 9% smaller than allied domecq which has a capitalisation of £5.7bn ($10.7bn; 8.2bn euros). last year pernod tried to buy glenmorangie one of scotland s premier whisky firms but lost out to luxury goods firm lvmh. pernod is home to brands including chivas regal scotch whisky havana club rum and jacob s creek wine. allied domecq s big names include malibu rum courvoisier brandy stolichnaya vodka and ballantine s whisky - as well as snack food chains such as dunkin donuts and baskin-robbins ice cream. the wsj said that the two were ripe for consolidation having each dealt with problematic parts of their portfolio. pernod has reduced the debt it took on to fund the seagram purchase to just 1.8bn euros while allied has improved the performance of its fast-food chains.

kluft impressed by sotherton form olympic heptathlon champion carolina kluft was full of admiration for britain s kelly sotherton as the pair prepared to clash in birmingham. both will be in action on friday in the 60m hurdles and long jump ahead of the european indoor championships later this month in madrid. sotherton finished third behind the swede in athens and kluft said: i knew about her she s a great girl. she looked very good early in the season and was competing really well. kluft showed impressive early-season form on tuesday in stockholm s ge galan meeting winning the sprint hurdles the long jump and the 400m. sotherton has also displayed promise with a new high jump personal best in sheffield at the combined norwich union european trials and aaa championships and a second place in the long jump behind jade johnson.

learning to love broadband we are reaching the point where broadband is a central part of daily life at least for some argues technology analyst bill thompson. one of the nice things about being a writer is that i rarely have to go to an office to work. i can sit in a café or a library with or without a wi-fi connection and research and write articles. if i am passing through kings cross station on my way to a meeting then i can log on from the platform. and i can spend the day working with my girlfriend anne a children s writer at her house in cambridge sharing her wireless network. but just over a week ago i arrived at her house to find that there was no network connection. we checked the cable modem and noticed that it had no power and when she changed the power lead it sparked at her in a way which made it abundantly clear that it was never going to talk to the internet again. she called her service provider and they told her it would be five days before an engineer would show up with a new cable modem. this did not seem too bad but in fact she really suffered until her connection was restored on wednesday. with no modem installed in her computer she had to borrow internet access from friends or use the dial-up connection on her daughter s laptop so she had to choose between copying her files onto her usb memory card or accepting a slower and flakier net connection. as a result she did not submit the pictures she wanted to use for a book on earthquakes because they were too big to send over dial-up. she could not research other material because she is used to having easy access to a fast link that lets her search quickly and effectively. but the impact spread into her personal life too. she did not take her children to the cinema during half-term because she could not find out which films were showing at the local cinemas. she planned a trip to norfolk but did not check the weather because the only place she knows to look for weather information is the bbc website. and she did not know where to go fossil-hunting on the trip because she could not type fossils norfolk into google. of course she readily admits she could have answered these questions if she had looked in the local paper listened to the radio or found a book on fossils. but she did not because having fast always on and easy access to the net has become part of the routine of her daily life and when it was taken away it was too much effort to go back to the old ways of doing things. she may be unusual but i do not think anne is alone. according to ofcom there were almost four million broadband users in the uk in april 2004 and numbers are climbing fast. there will certainly be five million by the end of the year. dial-up users are switching to broadband. my dad finally made the change earlier this month and new net users are selecting broadband from the start. more and more of these broadband users are beginning to mould their daily lives around the availability of broadband internet connections and they too will find it difficult to cope if they cannot get online for any reason. it is part of the process of adaptation and it is a vital step in the growth of broadband in the uk and elsewhere. people who have integrated net access into their daily lives tell their friends about it and show off the cool stuff they can do. they encourage other people to get broadband so that they can share digital photos and do all of the other things that need fast and reliable connectivity. of course broadband in the uk is laughably slow compared to other parts of the world. in south korea japan and hong kong normal connection speeds are measured in megabits or millions of bits a second rather than the thousands that we are supposed to be happy with. but speed is only a small part of the attraction of broadband and when it comes to checking websites for film times looking at weather forecasts or all of the other small things that make a real difference to the routines and habits of our daily lives even uk speeds are sufficient. it may not be the brave new world of streaming full-screen video and superfast file downloads but it will do for now. and it is certainly better than slow access or no access. just ask anne. bill thompson is a regular commentator on the bbc world service programme go digital.

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.

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.

injury doubts beset wales squad wales have a clutch of injury worries before wednesday s international friendly against hungary in cardiff. west ham s gavin williams (ankle) looks certain to be out so uncapped wrexham defender stephen roberts is drafted in. defenders danny gabbidon and gareth roberts plus ryan giggs have hamstring concerns while there are also doubts over robbie savage (groin). however manchester united winger giggs is expected to recover in time to earn his 50th cap at the millennium stadium. there were also doubts over gabbidon s fellow cardiff defender rhys weston but the full-back appears to have shrugged off the knock he picked up in the bluebirds 1-0 loss to west ham on sunday. the news leaves wales boss john toshack short in defence for his first game in charge with aston villa s mark delaney injured and james collins with the under-21s. that could clear the way for new faces danny collins and dave partridge to make their wales debuts. coyne (burnley) jones (wolves) roberts (wrexham) collins (sunderland) edwards (wolves) gabbidon (cardiff) page (cardiff) partridge (motherwell) ricketts (swansea) roberts (tranmere) weston (cardiff) davies (tottenham) fletcher (west ham) giggs (man utd) koumas (west brom) robinson (sunderland) savage (blackburn) williams (west ham) bellamy (newcastle) earnshaw (west brom) hartson (celtic).

£1.8m indecency fine for viacom media giant viacom has paid out $3.5m (£1.8m) to end investigations into indecency in its us radio and tv shows. the settlement to the federal communications commission (fcc) ends a long-running saga dating back to 2001. the fcc was looking into 50 shows including those by shock jock howard stern and two new york djs. stern recently announced he was leaving viacom while the two djs were sacked after their show featured a couple purporting to have sex in a church. after the church incident two years ago viacom agreed to install audio delay equipment at its radio stations that broadcast live programming. it also agreed to train its broadcasters and employees about indecency laws. the agreement cancels investigations into about 50 radio and television shows said richard diamond fcc deputy secretary of communications. the shows were broadcast by viacom-owned stations across the united states. viacom has five days to pay the $3.5m fine according to the agreement. the payment is not related to the fcc s $550 000 (£293 000) fine levied against viacom after the exposure of singer janet jackson s breast during the cbs super bowl halftime show in january. viacom is contesting that fine. it is not the first time that viacom has paid out over indecency charges. infinity broadcasting which is owned by viacom paid cumulative fines totalling $1.7m (£907 000) in 1995 to settle fcc violations by stern.

rock star sued by ex-girlfriend motley crue guitarist mick mars is being sued by his ex-girlfriend for $10 million (£5.4 million) claiming he broke a promise to take care of her. the woman robin mantooth said mars promised her repeatedly that he would provide financial support in the event of the couple breaking up. when they split in december mantooth says mars denied any such agreement. she is asking a los angeles court to award her half the musician s property a monthly allowance and damages. mantooth added that the pair became lovers in 1990 after which she abandoned her career as a documentary film-maker to move in with the guitarist at his malibu home. she is also claiming that mars 53 has failed to provide her with any material support since they ceased to be a couple. motley crue recently reunited after being apart for a period of five years. they originally formed in the early 1980s and scored six hits in the uk including girls girls girls in 1987. they are embarking on a world tour later this year which will take in 60 cities across the us europe asia and australia. mars - real name bob allen deal - underwent hip replacement surgery in october. he suffers from a degenerative rheumatic disease which causes ligaments and tendons to attach to the bone.

can yahoo dominate next decade yahoo has reached the grand old age of 10 and in internet years that is a long time. for many yahoo remains synonymous with the internet - a veteran that managed to ride the dot-com wave and the subsequent crash and maintain itself as one of the web s top brands. but for others there is another newer net icon threatening to overshadow yahoo in the post dot-com world - google. the veteran and the upstart have plenty in common - yahoo was the first internet firm to offer initial public shares and google was arguably the most watched ipo (initial public offering) of the post-dot-com era. both began life as search engines although in 2000 when yahoo chose google to power its search facility while it concentrated on its web portal business it was very much yahoo that commanded press attention. in recent years the column inches have stacked up in google s favour as the search engine also diversifies with the launch of services such as gmail its shopping channel froogle and google news. for jupiter analyst olivier beauvillain yahoo s initial decision to put its investment on search on hold was an error. yahoo was busy building a portal and while it was good to diversify they made a big mistake in outsourcing search to google he said they thought google would just be a technology provider but it has become a portal in its own right and a direct competitor he added. he believes yahoo failed to see how crucial search would become to internet users something it has rediscovered in recent years. it is interesting that in these last few years it has refocused on search following the success of google he said. but for allen weiner a research director at analyst firm gartner and someone who has followed yahoo s progress since the early years the future of search is not going to be purely about the technology powering it. search technology is valuable but the next generation of search is going to be about premium content and the interface that users have to that content he said. he believes the rivalry between google and yahoo is overblown and instead thinks the real battle is going to be between yahoo and msn. it is a battle that yahoo is currently winning he believes. microsoft has amazing assets including software capability and a global name but it has yet to show me it can create a rival product to yahoo he said. he is convinced yahoo remains the single most important brand on the world wide web. i believe yahoo is the seminal brand on the web. if you are looking for a text book definition of web portal then yahoo is it he said. it has achieved this dominance mr weiner believes by a canny combination of acquisitions such as that of inktomi and overture and by avoiding direct involvement in either content creation or internet access. that is not to say that yahoo hasn t had its dark days. when the dot-com bubble burst it lost one-third of its revenue in a single year bore a succession of losses and saw its market value fall from a peak of $120bn to $4.6bn at one point. crucial to its survival was the decision to replace chief executive tim koogle with terry semel in may 2001 thinks mr weiner. his business savvy coupled with the technical genius of founder jerry yang has proved a winning combination he says. so as the internet giant emerges from its first decade as a survivor how will it fare as it enters its teenage years the game is theirs to lose and msn is the only one that stands in the way of yahoo s domination predicted mr weiner. nick hazel yahoo s head of consumer services in the uk thinks the fact that yahoo has grown up with the first wave of the internet generation will stand it in good stead. search will be a key focus as will making yahoo messenger available on mobiles forging new broadband partnerships such as that with bt in the uk and continuing to provide a range of services beyond the desktop he says. mr weiner thinks yahoo s vision of becoming the ultimate gateway to the web will move increasing towards movies and television as more and more people get broadband access. it will spread its portal wings to expand into rich media he predicts.

godzilla gets hollywood fame star movie monster godzilla has received a star on hollywood s walk of fame honouring both his 50th birthday and the launch of his 28th film. an actor dressed as the giant creature breathed smoke over photographers on monday as godzilla received the 2 271st star on hollywood boulevard. godzilla should thank you for this historical and monumental star said final wars producer shogo tomiyama. but unfortunately he cannot speak english he added. hollywood s honorary mayor johnny grant said: i do hereby proclaim this godzilla day in hollywood. he s loose he s wild and i m getting the hell out of here he added. the premiere of godzilla: final wars at grauman s chinese theatre followed the ceremony on hollywood boulevard. the monster was joined by co-stars including japanese pop star and actor masahiro matsuoka. director ryuhei kitamura said it may not be godzilla s final outing as it has been billed. that s what the producers say. but the producer s a liar he said. [godzilla s] been working for the last 50 years. so i think godzilla just deserves a vacation. and producer shogo tomiyama added: so long as godzilla can fascinate people i believe he will be resurrected by new generations of filmmakers in the future. godzilla first appeared in 1954 as a prehistoric lizard woken by atomic bomb tests.

harinordoquy suffers france axe number eight imanol harinordoquy has been dropped from france s squad for the six nations match with ireland in dublin on 12 march. harinordoquy was a second-half replacement in last saturday s 24-18 defeat to wales. bourgoin lock pascal pape who has recovered from a sprained ankle returns to the 22-man squad. wing cedric heymans and ludovic valbon come in for aurelien rougerie and jean-philippe grandclaude. rougerie hurt his chest against wales while grandclaude was a second-half replacement against both england and wales. valbon capped in last june s tests against the united states and canada was a second half replacement in the win over scotland. france coach bernard laporte said harinordoquy had been axed after a poor display last weekend. imanol has been dropped from the squad because the least i can say is that he didn t make a thundering comeback against wales said laporte. we know the ireland game will be fast and rough and we also want to be able to replace both locks during the game if needed and gregory lamboley can also come on at number seven or eight. the grand slam is gone but we ll go to ireland to win. it will be a very exciting game because ireland have three wins under their belt have just defeated england and have their eyes set on a grand slam. france who lost to wales last week must defeat the irish to keep alive their hopes of retaining the six nations trophy. ireland are unbeaten in this year s tournament and have their sights set on a first grand slam since 1948. dimitri yachvili (biarritz) pierre mignoni (clermont) yann delaigue (castres) frederic michalak (stade toulousain) damien traille (biarritz) yannick jauzion (stade toulousain) ludovic valbon (biarritz) christophe dominici (stade francais) cedric heymans (stade toulousain) julien laharrague (brive) sylvain marconnet (stade francais) nicolas mas (perpignan) olivier milloud (bourgoin) sebastien bruno (sale/eng) william servat (stade toulousain) fabien pelous (stade toulousain capt) jerome thion (biarritz) pascal papé (bourgoin) gregory lamboley (stade toulousain) serge betsen (biarritz) julien bonnaire (bourgoin) yannick nyanga (béziers)

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

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.

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.

redknapp s saints face pompey tie new southampton manager harry redknapp faces an immediate reunion with his old club portsmouth after they were drawn together in the fa cup fourth round. exeter city face a home tie against middlesbrough if they can see off holders manchester united in a replay. oldham s reward for beating manchester city is a home tie with bolton while yeovil will be away to charlton. chelsea host birmingham tottenham travel to west brom and arsenal will entertain championship side wolves. saints boss redknapp was upbeat about the draw despite having to face the club he walked out on just six weeks ago. i ve said before i can walk away from portsmouth with my head held high i m proud of what i did there and no one can take that away from me said redknapp. maybe i ll be in for some stick there s always some of that but we ll get on with it and it s only a game of football. birmingham manager steve bruce admitted their trip to stamford bridge to face premiership leaders chelsea was the toughest draw possible. bruce said: i m still in shock. we ve given good accounts of ourselves against chelsea in the past and played well when we lost 1-0 at home at the start of the season - but that s the past. but it s the best competition in the world as far as i am concerned and we will give it our best shot. brentford boss martin allen remained cautious despite his side s favourable draw - a home tie with either hartlepool or boston. the best thing is it s a home game. however we know that whoever we play it is going to be a really tough game said allen. but it s not about the opposition it s about us. we all want to get through to the next round and face a massive team that s the way it is. meanwhile the bbc has confirmed it will be televising exeter s replay with man utd live on wednesday 19 january from 1930 on bbc one. derby v watford or fulham man utd or exeter v middlesbrough cardiff or blackburn v colchester chelsea v birmingham west ham v sheff utd oldham v bolton arsenal v wolverhampton everton v sunderland nottm forest v peterborough brentford v hartlepool or boston reading or swansea v leicester or blackpool burnley or liverpool v bournemouth southampton v portsmouth west brom v tottenham newcastle v coventry charlton v yeovil

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.

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.

iranian misses israel match iranian striker vahid hashemian will not travel to israel for bayern munich s champions league match against maccabi tel aviv on wednesday. the german club said the player had pulled out because of a back injury. iran refuses to recognise israel s right to exist and does not allow its citizens to travel to the country. a bayern spokesman said on monday that the decision not to take hashemian to israel had been motivated only by his physical condition. he s got back pain and he couldn t train the spokesman said. it would have made no sense for him to go. iran gave judo world champion arash miresmaeili a $125 000 reward when he refused to fight an israeli at the athens olympics. the international judo federation considered taking action against miresmaeili but concluded he had been overweight for the fight and could not have taken part.

gb quartet get cross country call four british athletes have been pre-selected to compete at the world cross country championships in march after impressive starts to the season. hayley yelling jo pavey karl keska and adam hickey will represent team gb at the event in france. yelling clinched the women s european cross country title last month and pavey followed up with bronze. keska helped the men s team to overall third place while hickey finished in 10th place on his junior debut. winning the european cross country title meant so much to me said yelling. and being pre-selected for the worlds means that i can focus on preparing in the best way possible. the 32-year-old will race alongside olympic 5 000m finalist pavey in the women s 8km race on 19 march. keska who has made a successful return from a long-term injury lay-off contests the men s 12km race on 20 march while 16-year-old hickey goes in the junior men s 8km on the same day. the rest of the team will be named after the trials at wollaton park in nottingham which take place on 5 march.

eurovision greats to do battle stars of the eurovision song contest from the show s 50-year history are to compete against each other to celebrate the contest s anniversary. viewers will choose 14 past songs to be performed by the original artists or others in the spirit of the originals. past eurovision performers include abba celine dion bucks fizz nana mouskouri lulu and julio iglesias. fans will then vote as usual to pick the all-time best eurovision song during the show in denmark in october. the first contest was organised by the european broadcasting union or ebu in 1956 and has become an annual event pitting pop giants against musical minnows - with often surprising results. while some regard it as an essential celebration of continental talent others see it as an equally unmissable parade of the reasons some countries do not normally produce international stars. the 50th annual contest will be held in kiev ukraine in may after ukrainian singer ruslana won last year. the 50th anniversary special will be held in denmark later this year because the danish broadcasting corporation came up with the idea for the all-time contest. a plan to hold it in london was scrapped because of problems finding a suitable venue. ireland has been the most successful country in the show s history with seven victories followed by the uk france and luxembourg with five each.

solutions to net security fears fake bank e-mails or phishing and stories about id theft are damaging the potential of using the net for online commerce say e-business experts. trust in online security is falling as a result. almost 70% of those asked in a poll said that net firms are not doing enough to protect people. the survey of more than 1 000 people reported that 43% were not willing to hand over personal information online. it is worrying for shopaholics and firms who want to exploit the net. more people are becoming aware of online security issues but they have little confidence that companies are doing enough to counter the threats said security firm rsa which carried out the poll. an estimated 12 million britons now use the net as a way of managing their financial affairs. security experts say that scare stories and the vulnerabilities dogging e-commerce and e-banking are being taken seriously - by banks in particular. i don t think the threat is overplayed barry beal global security manager for capgemini told the bbc news website. he added: the challenge for banks is to provide the customer with something that improves security but balances that with usability. ensuring extra security measures are in place protects them too as well as the individual and it is up to both parties to make sure they do what is necessary to prevent fraud he said. card issuers will keep us informed of types of attacks and what procedure to take to protect ourselves. if we do that they will indemnify us he said. many believe using login details like usernames and passwords are simply not good enough anymore though. one of the biggest challenges to improving security online is how to authenticate an individual s identity. several security companies have developed methods which complement or replace passwords which are easily compromised and easy to forget. last year a street survey found that more than 70% of people would reveal their password for a bar of chocolate. on average people have to remember four different passwords. some resort to using the same one for all their online accounts. those who use several passwords often write them down and hide them in a desk or in a document on their computer. in a separate survey by rsa 80% said they were fed up with passwords and would like a better way to login to work computer systems. for many the ideal is a single online identity that can be validated once with a series of passwords and questions or some biometric measurement like a fingerprint or iris scan with a token like a smartcard. activcard is just one of the many companies like rsa security which has been trying to come up with just that. rsa has a deal with internet provider aol that lets people pay monthly for a one-time passcode generation service. users get a physical token which automatically generates a code which stays active for 60 seconds. many companies use a token-based method already for employees to access networks securely already. activcard s method is more complex. it is currently trailing its one-time passcode generation technology with uk banks. steve ash from activcard told the bbc news website there are two parts to the process of identification. the most difficult is to ascertain whether an individual is who they say they are when they are online. the end solution is to provide a method where you combine something the user knows with something they have and present those both. the method it has developed makes use of the chip embedded in bank cards and a special card reader which can generate unique codes that are active for a specified amount of time. this can be adjusted at any time and can be active for as little as 30 seconds before it changes. it combines that with usual usernames and passwords as well as other security questions. you take the card put it in the reader enter your pin number and a code is given. if you wanted then to transfer funds for instance you would have to have the code to authorise the transaction. the clever bit happens back at the bank s secure servers. the code is validated by the bank s systems matching the information they expect with the customer s unique key. each individual gets a key which is unique to them. it is a 2048-bit long number that is virtually impossible to crack said mr ash. it means that in a typical security attack explains mr ash even if password information is captured by a scammer using keystroke software or just through spoof websites they need the passcode. by the time they go back [to use the information] the code has expired so they can t prove who they are according to mr ash. in the next few years mr ash predicts that this kind of method will be commonplace before we see biometric authentication that is acceptable for widespread use. pcs will have readers built into them the cost of readers will be very cheap and more people will have the cards. the gadgets we carry around like personal digital assistants (pdas) and mobiles could also have integrated card reader technology in them. the pda or phone method is a possible alternative as people are always carrying phones around he said.

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

moody joins up with england lewis moody has flown to dublin to join england s camp ahead of their rbs six nations game against ireland on sunday. despite joining the squad the leicester flanker only has a slim chance of playing because of an infection in his finger. a decision will be taken on saturday as to whether the 26-year-old will be declared fit. if he fails to recover in time for the game his place at the back of the pack will be taken by andy hazell. chris jones will then start the game on the bench. the chances of him playing are very slim said coach andy robinson. the infection is deeper than was thought. moody had to be put on a drip in an attempt to force antibiotics through his infected finger. he suffered the cut playing against france at twickenham and it became infected during a 10-minute outing as a replacement for leicester against newcastle last saturday. the mud got into it robinson added. he has had a big course of antibiotics but they haven t done the job we hoped they would. robinson has already been forced to make one change to the starting line-up with bath prop matt stevens coming in for the injured phil vickery. the 22-year-old has only made 10 starts for his club but has made 49 appearances from the bench. it can be frustrating but i ve had a lot more game time this season and i m ready for it stevens said. i ve been on tour with these boys and i ve been in the england set-up for two years so i know the calls and the way they play. stevens will be winning his third cap on sunday after coming on twice as a replacement on the tour to new zealand last year. robinson has confirmed that fly-half charlie hodgson will be the first-choice kicker despite his three missed penalties and a drop goal against france. charlie s state of mind is very good said robinson. obviously we are all disappointed we lost the french game and the circumstances in which we did. but he responded well last week in his goalkicking for sale and he will be our first-choice kicker this week. robinson also admits his side must improve their line-out work against irish duo malcolm o kelly and paul o connell one of the most effective partnerships in the game. in each game we ve missed a number of line-outs he added. it cost us the game against wales but it has improved. it was better against france and will have to go up another notch against ireland. it will be a huge battle. look at the way they tore us apart last year. if it doesn t function we will be in for a torrid time.

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

google s toolbar sparks concern search engine firm google has released a trial tool which is concerning some net users because it directs people to pre-selected commercial websites. the autolink feature comes with google s latest toolbar and provides links in a webpage to amazon.com if it finds a book s isbn number on the site. it also links to google s map service if there is an address or to car firm carfax if there is a licence plate. google said the feature available only in the us adds useful links . but some users are concerned that google s dominant position in the search engine market place could mean it would be giving a competitive edge to firms like amazon. autolink works by creating a link to a website based on information contained in a webpage - even if there is no link specified and whether or not the publisher of the page has given permission. if a user clicks the autolink feature in the google toolbar then a webpage with a book s unique isbn number would link directly to amazon s website. it could mean online libraries that list isbn book numbers find they are directing users to amazon.com whether they like it or not. websites which have paid for advertising on their pages may also be directing people to rival services. dan gillmor founder of grassroots media which supports citizen-based media said the tool was a bad idea and an unfortunate move by a company that is looking to continue its hypergrowth . in a statement google said the feature was still only in beta ie trial stage and that the company welcomed feedback from users. it said: the user can choose never to click on the autolink button and web pages she views will never be modified. in addition the user can choose to disable the autolink feature entirely at any time. the new tool has been compared to the smart tags feature from microsoft by some users. it was widely criticised by net users and later dropped by microsoft after concerns over trademark use were raised. smart tags allowed microsoft to link any word on a web page to another site chosen by the company. google said none of the companies which received autolinks had paid for the service. some users said autolink would only be fair if websites had to sign up to allow the feature to work on their pages or if they received revenue for any click through to a commercial site. cory doctorow european outreach coordinator for digital civil liberties group electronic fronter foundation said that google should not be penalised for its market dominance. of course google should be allowed to direct people to whatever proxies it chooses. but as an end user i would want to know - can i choose to use this service how much is google being paid can i substitute my own companies for the ones chosen by google . mr doctorow said the only objection would be if users were forced into using autolink or tricked into using the service .

commons hunt protest charges eight protesters who stormed the house of commons chamber during a debate on the hunting bill have been charged with disorderly conduct. the men were arrested in september after bursting into the chamber causing a hunting ban debate to be halted. those charged included otis ferry the 22-year-old son of rock star bryan ferry and luke tomlinson 27 a close friend of princes william and harry. they were charged under section 5 of the public order act police said. five of the eight men held an impromptu news conference outside charing cross police station on monday evening after the charges were formerly put to them. the men s solicitor matthew knight said that at no time had it occurred to the men that they were committing a criminal offence. there is no offence of trespassing in the house of commons - it is not a criminal offence he said. if parliament wanted to make entering the house of commons chamber on foot a criminal offence it should have done so but it can t do so retrospectively. we are not prosecuted for that. we are prosecuted for a public order act offence. we are not guilty of it. they will appear at bow street magistrates court on 21 december a police spokesman said. otis ferry a former eton pupil and joint leader of the south shropshire hunt said: i have no regrets. we have done nothing wrong beyond the obvious which was to stand up for our rights and not act like a sheep like the rest of the country. one of the men david redvers 34 from hartpury gloucestershire said he and the other seven protesters would plead not guilty to the charges. the other protesters are john holliday 37 a huntsman from ledbury herefordshire robert thame 34 who plays polo with princes charles in team highgrove auctioneer andrew elliot 42 from bromesberrow near ledbury point-to-point jockey richard wakeham 34 from york and former royal chef nick wood 41. the 15 september protest came on the same day as a huge pro-hunting demonstration in parliament square. four of the men ran out from behind the speaker s chair while another wrestled past a doorkeeper from a different entrance. the five tried to confront mps before they were bundled out of the chamber and later led away handcuffed by police. three others had been intercepted by security staff as they tried to join the five in the chamber. speaker michael martin later said the men had used a forged letter to gain access to the house of commons and had been helped to get close to the chamber by a parliamentary pass holder. in november the use of the parliament act meant a total ban on hunting with dogs in england and wales. however many pro-hunt activists remained defiant after the law was passed saying they would ignore the ban and continue to hunt. last week the countryside alliance said more than 250 hunts would meet legally the day after the ban on hunting with dogs comes into force. the alliance said the 19 february meets would show the new law was impossibly difficult to determine and open to different interpretations.

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.

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.

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

poll idols face first hurdles vote for me - itv1 s pop idol style talent contest for would-be politicians - finally hits our screens this week. over the next four days hundreds of potential candidates will be whittled down by a panel of experts and public vote. the winner will then be encouraged to stand as an independent at the next general election which is expected in the spring. but opinion is divided on whether any of the potential candidates unearthed so far have got what it takes to make it in politics. any of them would make competent mps former independent mp martin bell insisted on bbc radio 4 s today programme. mr bell who will be offering his advice to the contestants on wednesday argues that westminster has its share of odd balls and the show will engage ordinary voters. if it gets more people voting and more people interested in politics there is no harm in that he said. but sir bernard ingham margaret thatcher s former press secretary took a less charitable view accusing the programme of corrupting politics . he said the producers would not achieve their aim of re-engaging voters with that bunch of nutters . to give sir bernard his dues monday evening s opening episode did attract more than a smattering of eccentrics and self-publicists. among those chancing their arm were a druid priest and a former porn star who insisted on removing her top to make her point about the legalisation of brothels. among the more eccentric policy proposals was a public holiday on bruce forsyth s birthday and bill oddie for prime minister. the show follows the time-honoured pop idol format with queues of nervous hopefuls and a panel of three experts judging their performance. the contestants were given 60 seconds to present their manifestos. then the final 25 were tested on their lobbying ability. they were then cross-examined by the panel which was chaired by ex-itn political editor john sergeant with television host lorraine kelly taking the nicki chapman role. but the real star of the show is kelvin mackenzie in the simon cowell mr nasty seat. the former sun editor dispensed a stream of well-crafted insults and one-liners. his advice for one young contestant was to get a haircut and a brain transplant . wheelchair user kevin donnellon was asked: why on earth do you want our elected representatives to be disabled don t you care about the inuit implored guitar-toting environmental campaigner barry lim. i don t care about them. i care about myself and when the sun s shining i think - fantastic replied mr mackenzie. mr lim later reduced the panel to fits of giggles as he outlined his plan to make people do community service instead of paying taxes. when the prime minister turns to the chancellor and says how much have we got in the coffers mr brown he says well prime minister bad news all the houses in britain have been painted but actually nobody has paid any tax observed mr mackenzie. that was an total disaster. i just couldn t seem to think of things to say a crestfallen mr lim confided in the show s presenter jonathan maitland. irfan hanif a 25-year-old doctor from bolton made a good impression even if he was a little thrown by mr mackenzie s suggestion that instead of being treated by the nhs young drunks should given a good beating and left to die. dominic carman - son of late libel lawyer george carman - was voted through to the final 25 on a platform of cutting defence spending to boost education. opinion was more divided over rodney hylton-potts a 59-year-old convicted fraudster. mr mackenzie thought the smooth-talking former solicitor - with a hardline on crime and immigration - deserved a chance to progress. he could join the rest of the crooks in the houses of parliament. but ms kelly said she would not trust him as far as she could throw him . the series continues throughout the week with the public given the chance to evict one prospective mp every night. itv will not fund the election campaign for the eventual winner but the publicity could give the winner a flying start over other candidates.

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

musicians upbeat about the net musicians are embracing the internet as a way of reaching new fans and selling more music a survey has found. the study by us researchers pew internet suggests musicians do not agree with the tactics adopted by the music industry against file-sharing. while most considered file-sharing as illegal many disagreed with the lawsuits launched against downloaders. even successful artists don t think the lawsuits will benefit musicians said report author mary madden. for part of the study pew internet conducted an online survey of 2 755 musicians songwriters and music publishers via musician membership organisations between march and april 2004. they ranged from full-time successful musicians to artists struggling to make a living from their music. we looked at more of the independent musicians rather than the rockstars of this industry but that reflects more accurately the state of the music industry ms madden told the bbc news website. we always hear the views of successful artists like the britneys of the world but the less successful artists rarely get represented. the survey found that musicians were overwhelming positive about the internet rather than seeing it as just a threat to their livelihood. almost all of them used the net for ideas and inspiration with nine out of 10 going online to promote advertise and post their music on the web. more than 80% offered free samples online while two-thirds sold their music via the net. independent musicians in particular saw the internet as a way to get around the need to land a record contract and reach fans directly. musicians are embracing the internet enthusiastically said ms madden. they are using the internet to gain inspiration sell it online tracking royalties learning about copyright. perhaps surprisingly opinions about online file-sharing were diverse and not as clear cut as those of the record industry. through the recording industry association of america (riaa) it has pursued an aggressive campaign through the courts to sue people suspected of sharing copyrighted music. but the report suggests this campaign does not have the wholehearted backing of musicians in the us. it found that most artists saw file-sharing as both good and bad though most agreed that it should be illegal. free downloading has killed opportunities for new bands to break without major funding and backing said one musician quoted by the report. it s hard to keep making records if they don t pay for themselves through sales. however 60% said they did not think the lawsuits against song swappers would benefit musicians and songwriters. many suggested that rather than fighting file-sharing the music industry needed to recognise the changes it has brought and embrace it. both successful and struggling musicians were more likely to say that the internet has made it possible for them to make more money from their music rather than make it harder for them to protect their material from piracy said ms madden.

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.

guantanamo man suing government a british terror suspect held in guantanamo bay for 33 months plans to sue the government it is reported. martin mubanga claimed in the observer that an mi6 officer played a key role in consigning him to the us camp in cuba following his arrest in zambia. mr mubanga 32 from wembley london said he was brutally interrogated and daubed with urine at the camp. the home secretary said he would not be launching an investigation and that the media reports were not well informed . mr mubanga who has dual british and zambian nationality was one of four britons who were released from the us camp in january. he said he was sent there after being interrogated by a british man who said he was from mi6 shortly after his arrest in zambia in march 2002. mr mubanga said he had been in afghanistan and pakistan to study islam. but he said he was unable to return to the uk because he had lost his british passport and was travelling on his zambian passport instead. mr mubanga said the mi6 agent told him the passport had been found in a cave in afghanistan along with documents listing jewish groups in new york and suggested he had been on an al-qaeda reconnaissance mission. mr mubanga said the man and an american female defence official tried to recruit him as an agent but he refused and within three weeks was told he would be sent to guantanamo bay. his lawyer louise christian said: we are hoping to issue proceedings for the misfeasance of officials who colluded with the americans in effectively kidnapping him and taking him to guantanamo. and menzies campbell the liberal democrats foreign affairs spokesman said it was vital to establish whether ministers approved mr mubanga s transfer to guantanamo. but a foreign office spokesman said he could not comment on the activities of british intelligence or security agencies. and home secretary charles clarke told bbc one s breakfast with frost: i m not organising a specific investigation into it. mr mubanga is the first of the four detainees freed last month to give a media interview. he told the observer his worst moment was when he was told he would be released last march only to be confined and told he would be there for many more years. he claimed he was stripped of his clothes and mattress and forced to remain in an empty metal box naked except for boxer shorts. and he said an interrogator used a mop to daub him with his own urine while he was chained hand and foot. mr mubanga who insists he does not feel bitter said: i ve lost three years of my life because i was a muslim. he added: the authorities wanted to break me but they strengthened me. they ve made me what i am - even if i m not quite sure yet who that person is. the us government denied the claims saying it condemned and prohibited torture. in a statement it said: the department of defense has no doubt that mr mubanga was properly detained as an enemy combatant under the laws of war. he was detained to prevent him from fighting against the us and our allies in the war on terror. but fair trials abroad director stephen jakobi said there were similarities between mr mubanga s account and those of other guantanamo detainees. he said: the pattern is the same. the real problem is the concentration camp conditions in guantanamo. is [charles clarke] really pretending this is all made up mr mubanga and the three other freed british detainees were released without charge by uk police on their return from cuba.

critics back aviator for oscars martin scorsese s the aviator will win best film at the oscars according to the uk s leading movie critics. but several of those surveyed by the bbc news website think the veteran film-maker will lose the best director prize to clint eastwood. most of the critics tipped jamie foxx and hilary swank to scoop best actor and actress for ray and million dollar baby respectively. the jury comprised experts and critics from the top uk film publications. the panel also revealed which nominees they would personally prefer to win. all expect the aviator to win best film but many think it will be a close race between scorsese s howard hughes biopic and eastwood s boxing drama million dollar baby. the other films nominated are wine comedy sideways factual drama finding neverland and ray charles biopic ray. i m pretty sure this is the year of the aviator though my own choice would be sideways said the observer s philip french. sideways should win but it doesn t have a hope said jamie graham of total film a position shared by film 2005 presenter jonathan ross. the form going in to the oscars points to the aviator but i liked million dollar baby more said tim dams news editor of trade weekly screen international. five of the eight critics tipped scorsese to win best director with mr dams heat s charles gant and empire s angie errigo plumping for eastwood. sideway s alexander payne ray s taylor hackford and british director mike leigh - nominated for period drama vera drake - are considered outsiders in this category. up until recently i could have sworn scorsese would get it just for being scorsese ms errigo told the bbc news website. but i m beginning to think eastwood will get it. i d be very happy for mike leigh to win but i don t think he has any chance said charles gant film editor of heat. foxx s portrayal of ray charles has already seen him win prizes at the golden globes baftas and screen actors guild awards. mr dams said this made him out-and-out favourite to be named best actor on oscar night. everyone would be incredibly surprised if he didn t win he said. if you re a betting man he s as close as you get to a certainty. if paul giamatti was nominated for sideways it would be a different game says total film s jamie graham. but foxx will and should win. with vera drake star imelda staunton nominated for best actress alongside kate winslet britain has a good chance of victory - on paper. jonathan ross for one will be very happy if winslet wins for eternal sunshine of the spotless mind. but while wendy ide of the times still thinks staunton has a chance heat s charles gant believes her bafta win will cut little ice with academy voters. i d like staunton to win but her chances are not that great said mr gant who predicted a second oscar for hilary swank. i think swank will win said mr french. imelda has got as far as she s going to get playing that role. staunton is also the personal choice of steven gaydos executive editor of industry magazine variety. but while he tipped swank to win he predicted it would be a close contest. everything has the ability to flip by one vote and go the other way he told the bbc news website. there s not a sense that it s obvious how it s going to go. meanwhile thousands of people have voted in a bbc radio five live poll to find the best film never to have won a best picture oscar. the audience voted overwhelmingly for the shawshank redemption the 1994 frank darabont tale of hope and humanity which received 52% of the online votes and 68% of the text messages. the other two finalists citizen kane and a matter of life and death split the remaining votes roughly equally. this year s academy awards will be shown in the uk by sky movies 1 at 0130 gmt on monday. - tim dams screen international: film - the aviator; director - clint eastwood; actor - jamie foxx; actress - hilary swank. - angie errigo empire: film - the aviator; director - clint eastwood; actor - jamie foxx; actress - hilary swank. - philip french the observer: film - the aviator; director - martin scorsese; actor - jamie foxx; actress - hilary swank. - charles gant heat: film - the aviator; director - clint eastwood; actor - jamie foxx; actress - hilary swank. - steven gaydos variety: film - the aviator; director - martin scorsese; actor - jamie foxx; actress - hilary swank. - jamie graham total film: film - the aviator; director - martin scorsese; actor - jamie foxx; actress - hilary swank. - wendy ide the times: film - the aviator; director - martin scorsese; actor - jamie foxx; actress - imelda staunton. - jonathan ross film 2005: film - the aviator; director - martin scorsese; actor - jamie foxx; actress - hilary swank. - tim dams screen international: film - million dollar baby; director - clint eastwood; actor - jamie foxx; actress - hilary swank. - angie errigo empire: film - the aviator; director - martin scorsese; actor - jamie foxx; actress - hilary swank. - philip french the observer: film - sideways; director - martin scorsese; actor - jamie foxx; actress - imelda staunton. - charles gant heat: film - sideways; director - mike leigh; actor - jamie foxx; actress - imelda staunton. - steven gaydos variety: film - million dollar baby; director - clint eastwood; actor - don cheadle; actress - imelda staunton. - jamie graham total film: film - sideways; director - alexander payne; actor - jamie foxx; actress - hilary swank. - wendy ide the times: film - sideways; director - alexander payne; actor - don cheadle; actress - imelda staunton. - jonathan ross film 2005: film - sideways; director - clint eastwood; actor - jamie foxx; actress - kate winslet.

smart search lets art fans browse if you don t know art but know what you like new search technology could prove a useful gateway to painting. artgarden developed by bt s research unit is being tested by the tate as a new way of browsing its online collection of paintings. rather than search by the name of an artist or painting users are shown a selection of pictures. clicking on their favourite will change the gallery in front of them to a selection of similar works. the technology uses a system dubbed smart serendipity which is a combination of artificial intelligence and random selection. it chooses a selection of pictures by scoring paintings based on a selection of keywords associated with them. so for instance a whistler painting of a bridge may have the obvious keywords such as bridge and whistler associated to it but will also widen the search net with terms such as aesthetic movement 19th century and water. a variety of paintings will then be shown to the user based partly on the keywords and partly on luck. it is much more akin to wandering through the gallery said jemima rellie head of the tate s digital programme. for richard tateson who worked on the artgarden project the need for a new way to search grew out of personal frustration. i went to an online clothes store to find something to buy my wife for christmas but i didn t have a clue what i wanted he said. the text-based search was restricted to looking either by type of garment or designer neither of which he found helpful. he ended up doing his present shopping on the high street instead. he thinks the dominance of text-based searching is not necessarily appealing to the majority of online shoppers. similarly with art browsing is often more important than finding a particular object. you don t arrive at tate britain and tell people what you want to see. one of the skills of showing off the collection is to introduce people to things they wouldn t have asked for he said. the tate is committed to making its art more accessible and technology such as artgarden can help with that said ms rellie. she hopes the technology can be incorporated on to the website in the near future. bt research is looking at extending the technology to other searching such as for music and films.

tautou to star in da vinci film french actress audrey tautou star of hit film amelie will play the female lead in the film adaptation of the da vinci code it has been reported. the movie version of dan brown s best-selling novel is being directed by ron howard and also stars tom hanks. tautou will play hanks code-cracking partner according to various newspapers. she is currently starring in a very long engagement directed by jean-pierre jeunet. jeunet was also responsible for directing tautou in amelie in 2001 which launched the actress into the mainstream. she also starred as the lead role in critically-acclaimed film dirty pretty things in 2002. oscar-winning director ron howard chose tautou for the part preferring a french actress to a big name hollywood star. uk actress kate beckinsale had been widely tipped as a possibility for the role alongside vanessa paradis and juliette binoche. the thriller upon which the movie is based has sold more than 17 million copies and is centred on a global conspiracy surrounding the holy grail mythology. the louvre museum scene of the gruesome murder at the beginning of the novel recently gave permission for filming to take place there showbusiness newspaper variety reported. the $100m movie will be produced by columbia/sony pictures and is due for release on may 19 2006 in the united states and france.

whitehall shredding increasing - tories civil servants have drastically stepped up the shredding of official documents figures compiled by the tories suggest. some government departments had doubled the number of documents being shredded ahead of the freedom of information act s implementation on 1 january. departments for defence environment and trade which had all increased file destruction said they were following rules governing public records. but the tories want the information commissioner to investigate. the freedom of information act will for the first time give members of the public access to government records previously kept secret for 30 years. but bbc political correspondent james hardy said the prospect of outsiders poking their noses into the inner workings of whitehall appeared to be causing jitters among the mandarins. liberal democrat alan beith - who chairs the select committee which monitors the department of constitutional affairs - said if the claims were true whitehall was acting entirely against the spirit of the new act . both the information commissioner and the select committee will have to keep this issue under very close scrutiny. fellow lib dem norman baker said the episode painted an unflattering picture of the inner workings of government . it is clear that the government s initial enthusiasm for open government has turned to self-serving cynicism. dr julian lewis the conservative spokesman for the cabinet office said he had discovered a huge acceleration in shredding from a series of parliamentary answers. the department of work and pensions destroyed nearly 37 000 files last year - up 22 000 on four years ago when the act was passed. the number of files destroyed by the ministry of defence and the departments of environment food and rural affairs and trade and industry has also risen dramatically. dr lewis has called for an investigation by the information commissioner richard thomas. earlier this week mr thomas said he was looking into cabinet office orders telling staff to delete e-mails more than three months old. he said he totally condemned the deletion of e-mails to prevent their disclosure under freedom of information laws coming into force on 1 january. government guidance said e-mails should only be deleted if they served no current purpose mr thomas said. a cabinet office spokeswoman said the move was not about the new laws or the destruction of important records . the freedom of information act will cover england wales and northern ireland from next year. similar measures are being brought in at the same time in scotland. it provides the public with a right of access to information held by about 100 000 public bodies subject to various exemptions.

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

eu rules won t stop uk spending the shape of the uk s economy in graphics but he denied that he was ruling out british membership of the euro despite saying there would be no assessment of the five economic tests this year. mr brown said that it was vital the uk continued to invest in infrastructure science and education in the future. otherwise it would be overtaken by the likes of china he told mps. the chancellor said that the eu s planned changes in the growth and stability pact - designed to ensure that countries in the euro zone do not borrow too much - would force britain to run a budget surplus of 1% over the economic cycle. under mr brown s rules the uk current budget must be in balance over the economic cycle but public investment is not counted as part of that deficit. he told the house of commons treasury select committee that the eu rules make it difficult for a low debt country to run the investment programmes that are necessary to improve its infrastructure . but he argued that the eu was moving in the direction of the uk principles and would eventually recognise the need to consider budget deficits over a longer period than one year to include investment and to take more account of the total size of government debt as well as the balance each year. under mr brown s sustainable investment rule government debt should be under 40% - in contrast to the 60% allowed under the growth and stability pact. mr brown vigorously denied conservative claims that he had in effect fiddled the figures to ensure that he met his own fiscal rules. in march the office of national statistics (ons) reclassified £3.4bn of spending on road repairs as public investment - shortly before the chancellor announced in the budget that he would meet his own fiscal budget rule by only £6bn. conservative michael fallon asked mr brown whether the treasury had leaned on ons to make this change and said that the ons had received a written paper from the treasury on this matter. but the chancellor said mr fallon was impugning the integrity of the office of national statistics and said the decision had been made completely independently. mr brown also denied that he was increasing taxes to fund his spending gap. he told the treasury select committee that a growing economy meant more people in work and more profits for companies which would boost treasury coffers. earlier ex-conservative chancellor ken clarke welcomed a relaxation of the rules governing the euro zone. speaking on radio 4 s today programme mr clarke said political give and take would replace more rigid rules. but fellow tory david heathcoat-amory said the folly of the system was in trying to run europe s varied economies on one set of rules. the essential point here is that the stability and growth pact has turned out to be a fake he said. the warning is about the european constitution which we are going to have a vote on in a year or two and that centralises and entrenches these rules in a constitution. it gives more powers to brussels to co-ordinate things like employment and economic policy. but speaking to the treasury select committee gordon brown said that the new stability pact rules were not part of a binding treaty and could be changed again the future - potentially opening the way for future euro membership. the conditions for euro entry are unchanged by this new decision about the stability and growth pact mr. brown said.

soderling wins tense milan final fifth seed robin soderling took the milan indoors title with a dramatic win over radek stepanek in sunday s final. the 20-year-old swede edged the final set tie-break for a 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-5) victory and his second tour title after winning in lyon last year. i m delighted to have won against such a good opponent in a tournament of this importance said soderling. i was really on form my service was good and i really liked playing on the synthetic surface. soderling the world number 37 shrugged off a nervous start to take the opening set on his first set point. a change in approach from fourth seed stepanek in the second set paid dividends as he took it on a tie-break but soderling s superior power proved too much in the third.

nigeria to boost cocoa production the government of nigeria is hoping to triple cocoa production over the next three years with the launch of an ambitious development programme. agriculture minister adamu bello said the scheme aimed to boost production from an expected 180 000 tonnes this year to 600 000 tonnes by 2008. the government will pump 154m naira ($1.1m; £591 000) into subsidies for farming chemicals and seedlings. nigeria is currently the world s fourth-largest cocoa producer. cocoa was the main export product in nigeria during the 1960s. but with the coming of oil the government began to pay less attention to the cocoa sector and production began to fall from a peak of about 400 000 tonnes a year in 1970. at the launch of the programme in the south-western city of ibadan mr bello explained that an additional aim of the project is to encourage the processing of cocoa in the country and lift local consumption. he also announced that 91m naira of the funding available had been earmarked for establishing cocoa plant nurseries. the country could be looking to emulate rival ghana which produced a bumper crop last year. however some farmers are sceptical about the proposals. people who are not farming will hijack the subsidy said joshua osagie a cocoa farmer from edo state told reuters. the farmers in the village never see any assistance he added. at the same time as nigeria announced its new initiative ghana - the world s second largest cocoa exporter - announced revenues from the industry had broken new records. the country saw more than $1.2bn-worth of the beans exported during 2003-04. analysts said high tech-production techniques and crop spraying introduced by the government led to the huge crop pushing production closer to levels seen in the 1960s when the country was the world s leading cocoa grower.

bbc denies blackadder tv comeback the bbc has said there are no plans in the pipeline for a new series of hit comedy blackadder which ended in 1989. tony robinson who played the servant baldrick told itv1 s this morning the show s star rowan atkinson was more keen than he has been in the past . robinson added he would love to do another series each of which was set in a different era ranging from the 15th century to world war i. but the bbc said on thursday there were no plans for a comeback. in the final series all the main characters were killed off charging towards german lines after being ordered out of their trench. the poignant finale was later voted the best farewell episode of a tv series. a host of other uk actors including hugh laurie stephen fry and miranda richardson also appeared in the show. blackadder returned for a one-off special filmed to celebrate the arrival of the millennium in 1999. it was shown at the millennium dome in greenwich before being screened on bskyb.

how to smash a home computer an executive who froze his broken hard disk thinking it would be fixed has topped a list of the weirdest computer mishaps. although computer malfunctions remain the most common cause of file loss data recovery experts say human behaviour still is to blame in many cases. they say that no matter how effective technology is at rescuing files users should take more time to back-up and protect important files. the list of the top 10 global data disasters was compiled by recovery company ontrack. careless - and preventable - mistakes that result in data loss range from reckless file maintenance practices to episodes of pure rage towards a computer. this last category includes the case of a man who became so mad with his malfunctioning laptop that he threw it in the lavatory and flushed a couple of times. data can disappear as a result of natural disaster system fault or computer virus but human error including computer rage seems to be a growing problem said adrian palmer managing director of ontrack data recovery. nevertheless victims soon calm down when they realise the damage they ve done and come to us with pleas for help to retrieve their valuable information. a far more common situation is when a computer virus strikes and leads to precious files being corrupted or deleted entirely. mr palmer recalled the case of a couple who had hundreds of pictures of their baby s first three months on their computer but managed to reformat the hard drive and erase all the precious memories. data can be recovered from computers servers and even memory cards used in digital devices in most cases said mr palmer. however individuals and companies can avoid the hassle and stress this can cause by backing up data on a regular basis.

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

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

england given tough sevens draw england will have to negotiate their way through a tough draw if they are to win the rugby world cup sevens in hong kong next month. the second seeds have been drawn against samoa france italy georgia and chinese taipei. the top two sides in each pool qualify but england could face 2001 winners new zealand in the quarter-finals if they stumble against samoa. scotland and ireland are in pool a together with the all blacks. england won the first event of the international rugby board world sevens series in dubai but have slipped to fourth in the table after failing to build on that victory. however they beat samoa in the recent los angeles sevens before losing to argentina in the semi-finals. england have the ability and determination to win this world cup and create sporting history by being the only nation to hold both the 15s and sevens world cups at the same time said england sevens coach mike friday. england have a fantastic record in hong kong and have won there the last three years but the world cup is on a different level. every pool contains teams who have caused upsets before and we will have to work hard to ensure we progress from our group. we have not performed consistently to our true potential so far in the irb sevens which has been disappointing - but we can only look forward. england won the first rugby world cup sevens in 1993 with a side that included the likes of lawrence dallaglio and matt dawson. in 1997 and 2001 england lost in the quarter-finals. (seeds in brackets) new zealand (1) scotland (8) tonga ireland korea usa. england (2) samoa (7) france italy georgia chinese taipei. fiji (3) australia (6) canada portugal japan hong kong. argentina (4) south africa (5) kenya tunisia russia uruguay.

police probe bnp mosque leaflet police are investigating a british national party leaflet posted to homes in south wales opposing plans for a new mosque. anti-racism campaigners in swansea have handed copies to south wales police. swansea s muslim community is raising money to open a new mosque and community centre in the former st andrews united reform church. the building on george street has been derelict since the 1980s. taha idris director of the swansea bay race equality council said his organisation contacted police after receiving complaints from the public. i m quite shocked to see this sort of leaflet by the bnp in swansea he said. the bnp has tried in the past to get into swansea and this is another example of them trying again. i am in no doubt that the bnp are not needed and not wanted here. a south wales police spokeswoman confirmed that they were looking at the contents of the leaflet. according to the bnp s website they have been posted to homes in the castle ward. the bnp website carries a photograph of party leader nick griffin - who lives near welshpool mid wales - delivering the leaflet. the bnp has denied it is trying to stir up hatred of any race or religion but argues that they should be able to debate this without fear of arrest. swansea unite against fascism (uaf) is meeting this week to plan a campaign. following the death earlier this year of kalan kawa karim an iraqi kurd living in swansea it organised an anti-racism march in the city that was supported by more than 1 000 people. it is planning its own mail shot campaign and may launch a petition in support of the plans for the mosque. andy richards of swansea uaf said the leaflet was exactly what he had come to expect from the bnp. the people of swansea will not put up with this. swansea s muslim community bought the former church just across the road from the existing mosque on st helen s road in the late 1990s. mr idris said the community was now raising money to renovate the building. it is a landmark building in swansea and would otherwise just crumble he said. it is the ideal opportunity for the building to be restored and used in the proper manner. it will be a muslim community centre. it s a holistic place used for education weddings deaths and births. he said space was limited in the current mosque and on some occasions muslims had to travel to llanelli for cultural events.

tory leader urges harry apology prince harry should personally make clear how sorry he is about wearing a nazi uniform to a friend s fancy dress party says tory leader michael howard. mr howard whose grandmother died in auschwitz said many people would be offended by the prince s actions clarence house has issued a statement saying the prince has apologised and realised it had been a poor costume. number 10 said an error was made but now harry had apologised the matter should be left to the palace. that was a message repeated by home secretary charles clarke who said the matter should now be left to lie. but lib dem leader charles kennedy said harry was in a privileged position and said he should apologise in person. there is a reservoir of goodwill for prince harry and prince william with him in this country but i think he needs to remember that it can t last forever. he added that sandhurst would probably be good for harry as it would teach him some self discipline. former labour mp lord janner who is a high profile member of britain s jewish community branded harry s action s stupid and evil . he told itv: the time has come for him to make a public apology. it is about common decency of respect to the people who fought the nazis to the families of those who were killed by the nazis and to people who suffered during the holocaust. he added: i would send him in the army as fast as possible. i hope that would teach him not to behave like that. a photograph of prince harry wearing a swastika armband and german desert uniform at the party appears in thursday s sun newspaper under the headline: harry the nazi. mr howard acknowledged the prince s apology and said he had no doubt the prince s father and family would have much to say to him privately about the incident. but he told bbc radio 4 s today programme: it might be appropriate to tell us himself just how contrite he is. mr howard declined to say what form the statement should take. but former buckingham palace press spokesman dicky arbiter said the prince should make a personal broadcast apology. mr clarke said he recognised people s concerns about the costume but argued: he has apologised and i think we should leave the matter there.

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

mac mini heralds mini revolution the mac mini was launched amid much fanfare by apple and great excitement by apple watchers last month. but does the latest macintosh justify the hype let us get a few things dealt with at the outset - yes the mac mini is really really small and yes it is another piece of inspired apple design. there is more to be said on the computer s size and design but it is worth highlighting that the mac mini is a just a computer. inside that small box there is a g4 processor a cd/dvd player a hard drive some other technical bits and bobs and an operating system. a dvd burner wireless and bluetooth technologies can be bought at extra cost. and if you do not have a monitor keyboard or mouse then you will need to purchase those also. it is not the fastest computer for the money but for under £400 you are getting something more interesting than mere technical specifications - apple software. the mac mini comes bundled with mac os x the operating system as well as ilife 05 a suite of software which includes itunes web browser safari iphoto garage band and idvd. i doubt many pc lovers would seriously argue that windows xp comes with a better suite of programs than mac os x. of course users of open source operating system linux draw up their own menu of programs. for people who want to do interesting things with their music photos and home movies then a mac mini is an ideal first computer or companion to a main computer. it s a good little machine with a reasonable amount of power and just perfect for the average computer user who wants to leave the tyranny of window and viruses said mark sparrow technical and reviews editor at mac format magazine. he added: in essence it s a laptop in a biscuit tin minus the screen and the keyboard. the software bundle that comes with the mini makes your average budget pc look a bit sick. the relatively low price of the machine has also encouraged the more technically-savvy to experiment with their macs. one user has already created a dock to enable him to plug in and out his mac mini in his car. the small size of the machine makes it a practical solution for in-car entertainment - playing movies and music - as well as navigation. another user has mounted his mac mini to the back of his large plasma screen and then controls the computer via a wireless keyboard and mouse. when it was first announced some pundits thought the mini was designed as a sort of stealth media centre - ie the machine would be used to serve tv programmes music films and photos - partly due to its small living room friendly design. but there are obvious reasons why this is not the case - at least not in the here and now the hard drive - at 80gb for the larger model - is too small to be realistically used as media centre. while commercial personal video recorders are on the market with smaller than 80gb hard drives it is worth remembering that they only store tv content. a media centre computer has to store music files and photos and as such 80gb just seems too small. most pcs running windows media center have at least 120gb hard disks. coupled with the lack of a tv tuner card a digital audio out and any kind of media centre software bundled with the machine then the mac mini should be judged on what it is not what it is not. but that has not stopped more enterprising users from adapting the mac mini to media centre uses. so - is the mac mini just another computer or a revolution in computing graham barlow editor of mac format understandably has a rather partisan viewpoint. it s just a mac but we should be very excited - it s revolutionary in its size (smaller than pcs) looks (looks better than pcs) and the fact that it s the first mac designed to really go for the low-cost pc market. the design of the mac mini is further evidence of a future when pcs are more than just bland bulky boxes. there are a number of companies who already produce miniature pcs based on mini-itx motherboards. but at the moment these pcs tend to be either for the home-build enthusiast or expensive pre-built options based around microsoft s media center software. but for the value the mac mini offers bringing some of the best software packages within reach of more consumers than ever before apple is to be congratulated. let us say then that if the mac mini is not a fully fledged revolution - it is a mini revolution.

dj double act revamp chart show dj duo jk and joel are taking over bbc radio 1 s flagship chart show on sunday adding showbiz news celebrity interviews and between-song banter. they hope to boost ratings for the long-running show which has been overtaken in popularity by independent radio s hit 40 uk rundown. radio 1 s chart show is an institution and remains the station s single most popular show says jk also known as jason king. for years people have been tuning in at four o clock with their tape recorders ready to record their favourite tunes. not that i ever did that. but things have moved on a lot now so it was time for a change. that change involved ejecting previous host wes butters and relocating king and dj partner joel ross from their weekend afternoon radio 1 slot. the pair have worked together for a decade - meeting on viking radio in hull before moving to manchester station key 103 and winning two sony radio awards. they also presented gadget series playboyz and car show motor maniacs for cable tv channel granada men and motors and pure soap on bbc three. on the revamped chart show their cheeky laddish banter will punctuate star interviews and competitions film and dvd charts plus a look at future single releases in addition to the singles chart itself. the chart rundown is no longer the only point of the programme says ross. the show used to be the only way to discover who was in the top 40. now you can just click on the internet to find that out so the show has plenty of extra items too. the show s reduced reliance upon the top 40 also reflects the fact that music fans are now more likely to download songs in digital format rather than buy them on compact disc vinyl or cassette. i personally buy downloads rather than cd singles says 27-year-old ross. even my grandma can download songs now. jk is still struggling with the technology though. but it s premature for people to say that the singles chart is dead ross adds. while sales of singles on traditional formats are down interest in songs has been revived by download sales which will be incorporated into our main chart rundown from april. music fans still want to know what is the most popular song of the week. ross will be plumping for chart success from rapper verbalicious and the stereophonics on sunday while king is more of an r&b and dance music fan. so listeners will get the advantage of both our music tastes says king 30 who describes outgoing host butters as an extremely professional and competent broadcaster . the advantage joel and i have is that we re a double act with a rapport between us that makes the show much more interactive king says. wes has a great broadcasting career ahead of him. and if not i could always use a cleaner he jokes. ross says the pair have done their best to ignore the weight of expectation placed upon the revamped show. other people can worry about that we are going to continue doing what we do well he says. at the end of the day this is a radio show that is meant to be entertaining. nobody died.

argentina venezuela in oil deal argentina and venezuela have extended a food-for-oil deal which helped the former to overcome a severe energy crisis last year. argentine president nestor kirchner and venezuelan president hugo chavez signed the deal in buenos aires on tuesday. last april argentina signed a $240m agreement to import venezuelan fuel in exchange for agricultural goods and this deal has now been extended. venezuela will now import cattle medicines and medical equipment. last year argentina s severe energy crisis forced president kirchner to suspend gas exports to chile. argentina fears that rising demand could spark another crisis and wants to prevent it by signing this deal. the two countries also formalised a co-operation deal between venezuelan energy firm pdvsa and argentina s enarsa. under this deal the argentine market will be opened to venezuelan investment. president chavez added that brazil s petrobras could join soon the co-operation deal. president chavez is an ardent promoter of the concept of a south american oil company which could include the state-owned companies of venezuela argentina brazil and bolivia. the two presidents also agreed to create television sur a latin american network of state-owned television channels.

how to smash a home computer an executive who froze his broken hard disk thinking it would be fixed has topped a list of the weirdest computer mishaps. although computer malfunctions remain the most common cause of file loss data recovery experts say human behaviour still is to blame in many cases. they say that no matter how effective technology is at rescuing files users should take more time to back-up and protect important files. the list of the top 10 global data disasters was compiled by recovery company ontrack. careless - and preventable - mistakes that result in data loss range from reckless file maintenance practices to episodes of pure rage towards a computer. this last category includes the case of a man who became so mad with his malfunctioning laptop that he threw it in the lavatory and flushed a couple of times. data can disappear as a result of natural disaster system fault or computer virus but human error including computer rage seems to be a growing problem said adrian palmer managing director of ontrack data recovery. nevertheless victims soon calm down when they realise the damage they ve done and come to us with pleas for help to retrieve their valuable information. a far more common situation is when a computer virus strikes and leads to precious files being corrupted or deleted entirely. mr palmer recalled the case of a couple who had hundreds of pictures of their baby s first three months on their computer but managed to reformat the hard drive and erase all the precious memories. data can be recovered from computers servers and even memory cards used in digital devices in most cases said mr palmer. however individuals and companies can avoid the hassle and stress this can cause by backing up data on a regular basis.

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

queen recruit singer for new tour the remaining members of rock band queen are to go on tour next year with former free and bad company singer paul rodgers taking freddie mercury s place. guitarist brian may has said he expects to be on the road with rodgers and drummer roger taylor from april. may said: suddenly the queen phoenix is rising again from the ashes and will take precedence over... our lives. queen have played with many different singers since mercury s death in 1991 but have reportedly not toured. may performed with rodgers at a concert to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the fender stratocaster guitar in london in september. we were both so amazed at the chemistry that was going on in [free hit] all right now that suddenly it seems blindingly obvious that there was something happening here may wrote on his website. they teamed up again for a concert to mark their induction into the uk music hall of fame and were joined by taylor. the show went so incredibly well from our point of view and we got so many rave reactions from out there we decided almost then and there that we would look at a tour together may wrote. queen went to number one in 2000 with a version of we will rock you sung by boy band 5ive and they have also played with robbie williams will young and bob geldof. queen bassist john deacon has currently retired from the stage. rodgers was singer with early 1970s rockers free who had a global hit with all right now before forming bad company a successful supergroup with members of king crimson and mott the hoople. he has also been in the firm with led zeppelin s jimmy page and the law with the small faces and the who drummer kenny jones.

metlife buys up citigroup insurer us banking giant citigroup has sold its travelers life & annuity insurance arm to metlife for $11.5bn (£6.1bn). the sale is a further move by citigroup away from its 1990s strategy of offering every financial service - insurance broking and banking. profit growth in the insurance market has not matched expansion at citigroup s other businesses. for metlife the us s leading insurance company the purchase gives it access to a much larger distribution network. robert benmosche metlife s chairman and chief executive said that it was a great opportunity for the brand of metlife to be distributed through citigroup . under the agreement metlife will be able to sell its products through citigroup over the next 10 years. the deal includes smith barney retail brokerages and citibank branches. the company will pay between $1bn and $3bn in metlife stock with the rest being made up of cash. travelers had sales of $5.2bn in 2004 and made a profit of $901m. it has total net assets of $96bn. this deal employs some of metlife s excess capital in a potentially higher-return business and gives it more distribution said stuart quint an analyst at gartmore.

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

microsoft seeking spyware trojan microsoft is investigating a trojan program that attempts to switch off the firm s anti-spyware software. the spyware tool was only released by microsoft in the last few weeks and has been downloaded by six million people. stephen toulouse a security manager at microsoft said the malicious program was called bankash-a trojan and was being sent as an e-mail attachment. microsoft said it did not believe the program was widespread and recommended users to use an anti-virus program. the program attempts to disable or delete microsoft s anti-spyware tool and suppress warning messages given to users. it may also try to steal online banking passwords or other personal information by tracking users keystrokes. microsoft said in a statement it is investigating what it called a criminal attack on its software. earlier this week microsoft said it would buy anti-virus software maker sybari software to improve its security in its windows and e-mail software. microsoft has said it plans to offer its own paid-for anti-virus software but it has not yet set a date for its release. the anti-spyware program being targeted is currently only in beta form and aims to help users find and remove spyware - programs which monitor internet use causes advert pop-ups and slow a pc s performance.

bond game fails to shake or stir for gaming fans the word goldeneye evokes excited memories not only of the james bond revival flick of 1995 but also the classic shoot-em-up that accompanied it and left n64 owners glued to their consoles for many an hour. adopting that hallowed title somewhat backfires on this new game for it fails to deliver on the promise of its name and struggles to generate the original s massive sense of fun. this however is not a sequel nor does it relate to the goldeneye film. you are the eponymous renegade spy an agent who deserts to the bond world s extensive ranks of criminal masterminds after being deemed too brutal for mi6. your new commander-in-chief is the portly auric goldfinger last seen in 1964 but happily running around bent on world domination. with a determination to justify its name which is even less convincing than that of tina turner s similarly-titled theme song the game literally gives the player a golden eye following an injury which enables a degree of x-ray vision. rogue agent signals its intentions by featuring james bond initially and proceeding to kill him off within moments squashed by a plummeting helicopter. the notion is of course to add a novel dark edge to a 007 game but the premise simply does not get the juices flowing like it needs to. recent bond games like nightfire and everything or nothing were very competent and did a fine job of capturing the sense of flair invention and glamour of the film franchise. this title lacks that aura and when the bond magic shines through it feels like a lucky accident. the central problem is that the gameplay just is not good enough. quite aside from the bizarre inability to jump the even more bizarre glaring graphical bugs and dubious enemy ai the levels simply are not put together with much style or imagination. admittedly the competition has been tough even in recent weeks with the likes of halo 2 and half life 2 triumphing in virtually every department. what the game is good at is enveloping you in noisy dynamic scenes of violent chaos. as is the trend of late you are made to feel like you are in the midst of a really messy and fraught encounter. sadly that sense of action is outweighed by the difficulty of navigating and battling within the chaos meaning that frustration is often the outcome. and irregular save points mean you have to backtrack each time you are killed. a minute red dot passes for a crosshair although the collision-detection is so suspect that the difficulties of aiming weapons are compensated for. shooting enemies from a distance can be tricky and you will not always know you have picked them off since dead enemies vanish literally before they have fully hit the floor and they do so in some woefully uninspiring death animations. it is perhaps indicative of a lack of confidence that the game maker s allow you several different weapons almost immediately and throw you quickly into raging firefights - no time is risked with a measured build-up. by far the most satisfying element of the game is seeing old favourites like dr no goldfinger hat-fiend oddjob and crazed russian sex beast xenia onatopp resurrected after all these years and with their faces rendered in an impressively recognisable fashion. there is a real thrill from doing battle with these legendary villains and it is a testament to the power of the bond universe that they can cut such a dash. but the in-game niggles combined with a story and presentation that just do not feel sufficiently well thought-through will make this a disappointment for most. diehard fans of bond will probably find enough here to make it a worthwhile purchase and try to ignore the failings. the game is weak not completely unplayable. then again 007 fanatics may also take umbrage at the cavalier blending of characters from different eras. given james bond s healthy pedigree in past games there is every reason to hope that this is just a blip a commendable idea that just has not worked that will be rectified when the character inevitably makes his return. goldeneye: rogue agent is out now

lewis-francis turns to christie mark lewis-francis has stepped up his preparations for the new season by taking advice from british sprint icon linford christie. the 22-year-old is set to compete at sheffield this weekend and will then take on maurice greene and kim collins in birmingham on 18 february. training in wales and getting advice from linford christie is broadening my mind said lewis-francis. the sprinter has also shed weight since winning relay gold at the athens games. last year i was 91kg now i am 86.9kg - hopefully my times will come down he said. this has been brought about by eating the right foods and cutting out the snacks. it is just discipline and being more focused about what i am doing. i am still keeping up my weights work and i can see the improvement in my running. despite playing his part in britain s successful 4x100m relay team lewis-francis still feels the frustration of missing out on the individual 100m final at the 2004 olympics. that was heartbreaking but i had made it to the semi-final and for me on a personal level that was an achievement. i just have to be patient and build up for the next olympics. that is my goal and whatever i do between now and then will be geared to making the final.

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

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

turkey-iran mobile deal at risk turkey s investment in iran s mobile industry looks set to be scrapped after its biggest mobile firm saw its investment there slashed by mps. iran s parliament voted by a large majority to cut turkcell s stake in a new mobile network from 70% to 49%. the move which was justified on national security grounds follows an earlier vote by mps to give themselves a veto over foreign investments. turkcell said the decision increases the risks attached to the project. although the company s statement said it would continue to monitor developments observers said they thought turkcell was set to pull out of the $3bn deal. the possibility of carrying out this project is next to zero said atinc ozkan analyst at finans investment in istanbul. if turkcell does back out mtn - the south african firm which lost out in the original tender - may well be back in the running. the company has said it is prepared to accept a minority stake if iran will award it the mobile deal. turkcell s mobile deal is the second turkish investment in iran to run into trouble. turkish-austrian consortium tav was chosen to build and run tehran s new imam khomeini international airport - but the army closed it just hours after it opened in may 2004. in both cases the justification has been national security amid allegations that the turkish firms are too close to israel. the hardline posture taken by parliament which is dominated by religious conservatives could yet impact other inward investments.

fear will help france - laporte france coach bernard laporte believes his team will be scared going into their game with england on sunday but claims it will work in their favour. the french turned in a stuttering performance as they limped to a 16-9 win against scotland in the opening match of the six nations on saturday. we will go to twickenham with a little fear and it ll give us a boost said the french coach. he added: we are never good enough when we are favourites. meanwhile perpignan centre jean-philippe granclaude is delighted to have received his first call-up to the france squad. it s incredible the youngster said. i was not expecting it at all. playing with the france team has always been a dream and now it has come true and i am about to face england at twickenham in the six nations. laporte will announce his starting line-up on wednesday at the french team s training centre in marcoussis near paris.

mobile games come of age the bbc news website takes a look at how games on mobile phones are maturing. a brief round-up follows but you can skip straight to the reviews by clicking on the links below. part two will follow on monday. reviews of call of duty splinter cell - pandora tomorrow lord of the rings and pocket kingdom will follow on monday if you think of snake when some mentions mobile games then you could be in for a bit of a surprise. this is because mobile games have come a long way in a very short time. even before nokia s n-gage game phone launched in late 2003 many mobile operators were realising that there was an audience looking for something to play on their handset. and given that many more people own handsets than own portable game playing gadgets such as the gameboy it could be a very lucrative market. that audience includes commuters wanting something to fill their time on the way home game fans looking for a bit of variety and hard core gamers who like to play every moment they can. life for all these types of player has got immeasurably better in the last year as the numbers of titles you can download to your phone has snowballed. now sites such as wireless gaming review list more than 200 different titles for some uk networks and the ranges suit every possible taste. there are ports of pc and arcade classics such as space invaders lunar lander and bejewelled. there are also versions of titles such as colin mcrae rally that you typically find on pcs and consoles. there are shoot-em-ups adventure games strategy titles and many novel games only found on handsets. rarely now does an action movie launch without a mobile game tie-in. increasingly such launches are all part of the promotional campaign for a film understandable when you realise that a good game can rack up millions of downloads. the returns can be pretty good when you consider that some games cost £5. what has also helped games on mobiles thrive is the fact that it is easier than ever to get hold of them thanks to technology known as wap push. by sending a text message to a game maker you can have the title downloaded to your handset. far better than having to navigate through the menus of most mobile operator portals. the number of handsets that can play games has grown hugely too. almost half of all phones now have java onboard meaning that they can play the increasingly sophisticated games that are available - even the ones that use 3d graphics. the minimum technology specifications that phones should adhere to are getting more sophisticated which means that games are too. now double key presses are possible making familiar tactics such as moving and strafing a real option. the processing power on handsets means that physics on mobile games is getting more convincing and the graphics are improving too. some game makers are also starting to take advantage of the extra capabilities in a mobile. many titles particularly racing games let you upload your best time to see how you compare to others. usually you can get hold of their best time and race against a ghost or shadow to see if you can beat them. a few games also let you take on people in real time via the network or if you are sitting close to them via bluetooth short-range radio technology. with so much going on it is hard to do justice to the sheer diversity of what is happening. but these two features should help point you in the direction of the game makers and give you an idea of where to look and how to get playing. too fast too furious (digital bridges) as soon as i start playing this i remember why i never play driving games - because i m rubbish at them. no matter if i drive the car via joystick or keypad i just cannot get the hang of braking for corners or timing a rush to pass other drivers. the game rewards replay because to advance you have to complete every section within a time limit. winning gives you cash for upgrades. graphically the rolling road is a convincing enough evocation of speed as the palm trees and cactus whip by and the city scrolls past in the background. the cars handle pretty well despite my uselessness but it was not clear if the different models of cars were appreciably different on the track. the only niggle was that the interface was a bit confusing especially when using a joystick rather than the keypad to play. fatal force (macrospace) a futuristic shooter that lets you either play various deathmatch modes against your phone or run through a series of scenarios that involves killing aliens invading earth. graphics are a bit cartoon-like but only helps to make clear what is going on and levels are well laid out and encourage you to leap about exploring. both background music and sounds effects work well. the scenarios are well scripted and you regularly get hints from the fatal force commanders. weapons include flamethrowers rocket launchers grenades and at a couple of points you even get chance to use a mech for a short while. with the right power-up you can go into a matrix-style bullet time to cope with the onslaught of aliens. the game lets you play via bluetooth if others are in range. online the game has quite a following with clans player rankings and even new downloadable maps.

double eviction from big brother model caprice and holby city actor jeremy edwards have both left the celebrity big brother house in a surprise double eviction on friday. caprice who left in the scheduled fourth eviction having gained just 5% of the public vote afterwards said: i am so happy i am so glad i m out. edwards then left in a surprise eviction with 12% of the vote. nineteen-year-old blazin squad singer kenzie is currently favourite to win the £50 000 charity prize. caprice had been the pre-show favourite to be voted out of the house with bookmakers ladbrokes offering odds of 1/5 on her departure. ladbrokes spokesman warren lush had said she was the hottest eviction favourite so far this series . odds on kenzie s victory have been slashed from 4/6 to 1/2 although bookmakers have said they are not ruling out a late rally from former happy mondays star bez. the other remaining housemate is actress brigitte nielsen. dj lisa i anson became the third housemate to be voted out on wednesday when she became the victim of a surprise eviction during a game of hide-and-seek on the channel 4 show. i anson said she was glad to be out and predicted that kenzie would emerge as the winner. the winner is due to be announced on sunday night.

church urges nelly show boycott church ministers are trying to prevent rapper nelly performing in arkansas saying they do not want his vile and filthy lyrics in their town. more than 20 jonesboro ministers urged music fans to boycott nelly s 12 march concert at arkansas state university in a bid to have it cancelled. jonesboro is a wonderful city because of what does not come here said the reverend adrian rodgers. but a venue spokesman said more than 5 500 tickets had been sold so far. mr rodgers of the fullness of joy church said he was concerned about the rapper s lyrics that include references to drugs sex and violence and songs that the minister said were demeaning to women. ministers were worried that bringing such acts to jonesboro would lead to problems. tear the tickets up mr rodgers said. do not go and do not allow your children to go. tim dean director of the arkansas state university venue said ticket sales had been brisk. it would appear that with ticket sales over 5 000 many others have expressed their right to find nelly s music entertaining and worth spending their time and money on he said. nelly has sold more than 30 million singles and albums worldwide and in september 2004 simultaneously occupied the number one and two positions in the us albums chart. he has had 12 uk hit singles including hot in herre dilemma and recent number one over and over.

brits return keane to number one brits success has helped return keane s award-winning album hopes and fears back to the top of the uk album chart. the debut album which took the best british album title at the brits on tuesday moved up seven places from number eight to number one. also capitalising on brits success were the scissor sisters whose eponymous album moved three places to number two. u2 s latest single sometimes you can t make it on your own took the top spot in the singles chart ahead of elvis. the track from their current album how to dismantle an atomic bomb pushed eminem s like toy soldiers from number one to number three. elvis wooden heart which entered the chart at number two is the sixth in a series of 18 reissues to mark the 70th anniversary of presley s birth. there are currently six re-released elvis tracks occupying spots in the top 40 singles chart including are you lonesome tonight at number 20 it s now or never at number 27 and jailhouse rock at number 37. soldier by destiny s child ti and lil wayne debuted at number four while almost here the duet from former westlife star brian mcfadden and delta goodrem fell from number three to number five. there was more follow up to brits success for franz ferdinand won best rock act and best british group last week. their self-titled album moved from 13 to number four. last week s number one album tourist by athlete fell to number three.

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.

howard attacks pay later budget tory leader michael howard has dismissed gordon brown s budget as vote now pay later spending plans. the simple fact was that under a new labour government taxes would go up after the election to plug a financial black hole mr howard said. everyone could see the chancellor s sweeteners but these hid tax rises for hard working families he said. labour s faltering election campaign would not be helped by the package of measures mr howard added. mr brown s budget was not about what was good for the country but all about the interests of the labour party the tory leader said after mockingly welcoming the chancellor back to the election campaign. he went on to accuse mr brown of giving with one hand while taking away with the other. he urged the chancellor to admit he had been responsible for dragging millions of people in to the net to pay stamp duty and inheritance tax. we can all see the sweeteners but they hide the crippling tax rises for hard-working families that are inevitable if labour wins. he also accused the government and the chancellor of running out of solutions to the problems britain faced. their only answer is to tax to spend and to waste - to get people to vote now and pay later. mr brown liked to rattle off magical balances conjured out of thin air in a bid to convince people there was no black hole in the nation s finances the tory leader said. this dodgy government that brought us the dodgy dossier is now publishing a dodgy budget based on dodgy numbers he said. you now propose to borrow over the next six years no less than £168 billion; so much for prudence. the chancellor s forecasts of surpluses are no better than the prime minister s forecasts of weapons of mass destruction. mr brown s council tax rebate for pensioners was £300 less than what the tories were offering mr howard said. there was nothing in the budget that would put more police on the streets make hospitals cleaner or give parents and teachers the discipline and skills they wanted in schools. people would face a clear choice at the election either more waste and higher taxes under labour or lower taxes and value for money with the conservatives he said. that s the battleground of this election. that s what this election is going to be all about and i say bring it on he concluded to loud tory cheering.

harinordoquy suffers france axe number eight imanol harinordoquy has been dropped from france s squad for the six nations match with ireland in dublin on 12 march. harinordoquy was a second-half replacement in last saturday s 24-18 defeat to wales. bourgoin lock pascal pape who has recovered from a sprained ankle returns to the 22-man squad. wing cedric heymans and ludovic valbon come in for aurelien rougerie and jean-philippe grandclaude. rougerie hurt his chest against wales while grandclaude was a second-half replacement against both england and wales. valbon capped in last june s tests against the united states and canada was a second half replacement in the win over scotland. france coach bernard laporte said harinordoquy had been axed after a poor display last weekend. imanol has been dropped from the squad because the least i can say is that he didn t make a thundering comeback against wales said laporte. we know the ireland game will be fast and rough and we also want to be able to replace both locks during the game if needed and gregory lamboley can also come on at number seven or eight. the grand slam is gone but we ll go to ireland to win. it will be a very exciting game because ireland have three wins under their belt have just defeated england and have their eyes set on a grand slam. france who lost to wales last week must defeat the irish to keep alive their hopes of retaining the six nations trophy. ireland are unbeaten in this year s tournament and have their sights set on a first grand slam since 1948. dimitri yachvili (biarritz) pierre mignoni (clermont) yann delaigue (castres) frederic michalak (stade toulousain) damien traille (biarritz) yannick jauzion (stade toulousain) ludovic valbon (biarritz) christophe dominici (stade francais) cedric heymans (stade toulousain) julien laharrague (brive) sylvain marconnet (stade francais) nicolas mas (perpignan) olivier milloud (bourgoin) sebastien bruno (sale/eng) william servat (stade toulousain) fabien pelous (stade toulousain capt) jerome thion (biarritz) pascal papé (bourgoin) gregory lamboley (stade toulousain) serge betsen (biarritz) julien bonnaire (bourgoin) yannick nyanga (béziers)

worldcom director admits lying the former chief financial officer at us telecoms firm worldcom has admitted before a new york court that he used to lie to fellow board members. speaking at the trial of his former boss bernard ebbers scott sullivan said he lied to the board to cover up the hole in worldcom s finances. mr ebbers is on trial for fraud and conspiracy in relation to worldcom s collapse in 2002. he pleads not guilty. the firm had been overstating its accounts by $11bn (£8.5bn). mr sullivan 42 has already pleaded guilty to fraud and will be sentenced following mr ebbers trial where he is appearing as a prosecution witness. mr ebbers 63 has always insisted that he was unaware of any hidden shortfalls in worldcom s finances. in the new york court on wednesday mr ebbers lawyer reid weingarten asked mr sullivan: if you believe something is in your interest you are willing and able to lie to accomplish it isn t that right on that date yes. i was lying replied mr sullivan. mr weingarten has suggested that mr sullivan is implicating mr ebbers only to win a lighter sentence something mr sullivan denies. mr sullivan also rejects a suggestion that he had once told fellow worldcom board member bert roberts that mr ebbers was unaware of the accounting fraud at worldcom. the trial of mr ebbers is now into its third week. under 23 hours of questioning from a federal prosecutor mr sullivan has previously told the court that he repeatedly warned mr ebbers that falsifying the books would be the only way to meet wall street revenue and earnings expectations. mr sullivan claims that mr ebbers refused to stop the fraud. mr ebbers could face a sentence of 85 years if convicted of all the charges he is facing. worldcom s problems appear to have begun with the collapse of the dotcom boom which cut its business from internet companies. prosecutors allege that the company s top executives responded by orchestrating massive fraud over a two-year period. worldcom emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2004 and is now known as mci.

brit awards for devon music acts devon singer joss stone and rock band muse won coveted brit awards during the event s 25th anniversary. seventeen-year-old stone from near cullumpton won two awards: best british female act and best urban act out of three award nominations. muse whose members met in south devon beat franz ferdinand jamie cullum kasabian and the libertines for best british live act. the band has sold about two million records worldwide. after beating amy winehouse jamelia natasha bedingfield and pj harvey to the best british female prize joss stone said: i don t know what to say. i don t like doing this at all. i d like to thank my family for being really supportive and everybody that made my record with me. i don t even know what to do right now. thank you all you guys for voting for me i feel sick right now. viewers of digital music tv channel mtv base voted stone the winner in the best urban act category. ms stone also performed her song right to be wrong backed by a gospel choir at the 25th award ceremony at london s earls court. her second album mind body & soul reached number one in the uk charts last october and went straight into the us charts at number 11. the teenager also has grammy nominations in the us normally dominated by home-grown acts. born jocelyn stoker the devon diva started her career in a bbc talent programme and was then discovered at a new york audition by a us record executive steve greenberg. indie rock group muse consists of matthew bellamy chris wolstenholme and dominic howard who met in their early teens in teignmouth south devon. dominic howard said of winning: we love playing live it s very important for our band. so to win something like this really feels great. the trio met aged 13 and formed the band gothic plague changing its name to fixed penalty rocket baby dolls and finally muse. the band released its first self-titled ep in 1998. the third studio album absolution was released in 2003 providing the hit singles time is running out hysteria and butterflies and hurricanes.

fuming robinson blasts officials england coach andy robinson insisted he was livid after his side were denied two tries in sunday s 19-13 six nations loss to ireland in dublin. mark cueto s first-half effort was ruled out for offside before the referee spurned tv replays when england crashed over in the dying minutes. [i m] absolutely spitting. i m livid. there s two tries we ve been cost robinson told bbc sport. we ve got to go back to technology. i don t know why we didn t. south african referee jonathan kaplan ruled that cueto was ahead of charlie hodgson when the fly-half hoisted his cross-field kick for the sale wing to gather. kaplan then declined the chance to consult the fourth official when josh lewsey took the ball over the irish line under a pile of bodies for what could have been the game-winning try. i think mark cueto scored a perfectly legal try and i think he should have gone to the video referee on josh lewsey said robinson. it is how we use the technology. it is there and it should be used. i am still trying to work out the cueto try. i have looked at both and they both looked tries. we are very disappointed and this will hurt there is no doubt about that. we are upset now but the referee is in charge and he has called it his way and we have got to be able to cope with that. we did everything we could have done to win the game. i am very proud of my players and with a couple of decisions this could have been a very famous victory. i thought we dominated. matt stevens had an awesome game at tighthead prop while the likes of charlie hodgson martin corry and lewis moody all came through well. josh lewsey was awesome and every one of the forwards stood up out there. given the pressure we were under credit must go to all the players. we have done everything but win a game of rugby but ireland are a good side. they defended magnificently and they ve got every chance of winning this six nations. england have lost their first three matches in this year s six nations and four out of their six games since robinson took over from sir clive woodward in september.

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.

bollywood dvd fraudster is jailed a major distributor of pirated dvds of bollywood films has been sent to prison for three years. jayanti amarishi buhecha from cambridge was found guilty of two trademark offences last month and sentenced at harrow crown court london on tuesday. buhecha who made £26 000 per month from his illegal trade was called one of the biggest bollywood pirates in the uk by the sentencing judge. the british phonographic industry (bpi) worked for two years on the case. an operation was launched against buhecha in 2002 after complaints were received about his activities. the judge in the case which lasted seven days said that a heavy penalty was called for because of the enormous damage buhecha caused to legitimate business . fake dvds were manufactured in pakistan and malaysia and sold on wholesale to shops by buhecha who traded in conterfeit dvds in 2002 and 2003. in december 2002 he was stopped in his car by trading standards officers who uncovered 1 000 pirated dvds and faked inlay cards printed with registered trademarks. despite being arrested and bailed buhecha was caught a second time at the end of 2003. his home and a lock-up in cambridge were found to contain 18 000 counterfeit dvds and further faked inlay cards. buhecha was previously a legitimate distributor of bollywood films but was suspended and sued by his employers for dealing in illegal copies of bollywood classic mohabbatein. legitimate bollywood film distributors have hailed the conviction as a major boost . bollywood music and film suffers piracy at the rate of 40% which is more than that suffered by mainstream productions. the bpi welcomed the news of the prison sentence but warned there are plenty of other active counterfeiters of bollywood films. the organisation s anti-piracy director david martin said: the problem simply will not disappear with buhecha. others and more will take his place so it s vital that keep up our efforts in this field.

us hacker breaks into t-mobile a man is facing charges of hacking into computers at the us arm of mobile phone firm t-mobile. the californian man nicholas lee jacobsen was arrested in october. mr jacobsen tried at least twice to hack t-mobile s network and took names and social security numbers of 400 customers said a company spokesman. the arrest came a year after t-mobile uncovered the unauthorised access. the us secret service has been investigating the case. t-mobile has stringent procedures in place where we monitor for suspicious activity so that limited his activities and we were able to take corrective action immediately peter dobrow a t-mobile spokesperson said. it is thought that mr jacobsen s hacking campaign took place over at least seven months during which time he read e-mails and personal computer files according to court records. although mr jacobsen 21 managed to get hold of some data it is thought he failed to get customer credit card numbers which are stored on a separate computer system said mr dobrow. t-mobile confirmed that the us secret service was also looking into whether the hacker accessed photos that t-mobile subscribers had taken with their camera phones. the associated press agency reported that mr jacobsen also read personal files on the secret service agent who was apparently investigating the case. a los angeles grand jury indicted mr jacobsen with intentionally accessing a computer system without authorisation and with the unauthorised impairment of a protected computer between march and october 2004. he is currently on bail. t-mobile is a subsidiary company of deutsche telekom and has about 16.3 million subscribers in the us.

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.

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

cuba winds back economic clock fidel castro s decision to ban all cash transactions in us dollars in cuba has once more turned the spotlight on cuba s ailing economy. all conversions between the us dollar and cuba s convertible peso will from 8 november be subject to a 10% tax. cuban citizens who receive money from overseas and foreign visitors who change dollars in cuba will be affected. critics of the measure argue that it is a step backwards reflecting the cuban president s desire to increase his control of the economy and to clamp down on private enterprise. in a live television broadcast announcing the measure president castro s chief aide said it was necessary because of the united states increasing economic aggression . the ten percent obligation applies exclusively to the dollar by virtue of the situation created by the new measures of the us government to suffocate our country he said. the bush administration has taken an increasingly harsh line on cuba in recent months. president bush s government which has been a strong supporter of the 40-year-old trade embargo on cuba introduced even tighter restrictions on cuba in may. cubans living in the us are now limited to one visit to cuba every three years and they can only send money to their immediate relatives. a leading expert on the cuban economy says that castro s tax plan smacks more of a desperate economic measure than a political gesture. i think it is primarily an effort to raise some cash says jose barrionuevo head of strategy for latin american emerging markets for barclays capital. it underscores the fact that the economy is in very bad shape and the government is looking for sources of revenue. the tax will hit the families of cuban exiles hardest as they benefit from the money their displaced relatives send home. this money known as remittances can amount to as much as $1bn a year. those remaining in cuba will have to pay the tax. their relatives abroad may choose to send money in other currencies which are not subject to the tax such as euros or increase their dollar payments to compensate. however many of cuban s poorest citizens could be worse off as a result. the tax will also affect the two million tourists who visit cuba every year particularly those americans who continue to defy a ban on travel there. cuba s tourist industry has been one of its few economic success stories over the last ten years and according to the un economic commission for latin america is now worth $3bn to the country. the tax is designed to provide much-needed revenue for cuba s cash-strapped economy. cuba badly needs dollars to pay for essential items such as food fuel and medicine. much of cuba s basic infrastructure is in a state of disrepair. in recent weeks cuba has suffered its most serious power cuts in a decade and there have also been water shortages in parts of the island. cuba s economy had staged a modest recovery during the mid 1990s as the collapse of the soviet union forced it to embrace foreign capital decentralise trade and permit limited private enterprise. however a decline in foreign tourism since 2002 periodic hurricanes and the increasing costs of importing oil have put a strain on the economy. it has however yet to be seen if the tax will provide a solution to the government s economic problems. the tax could fuel an active black market in currency trading mr barrionuevo said. the main impact could be that it will create a black market which you typically see in countries like venezuela which have restrictions on capital he says. mr barrioneuvo says the measure could be dropped if it has a damaging effect on economic activity. it is intended to be a permanent measure but i am not sure it can last too long.

baghdad blogger on big screen a film based on the internet musings of the baghdad blogger has been shown at the rotterdam film festival. the film has been directed by the man who calls himself salam pax the author of the weblog about iraqi life during and after the war. the movie version comes in the form of a series of shorts made by pax on a hand-held camera. baghdad blogger is among a number of films about iraq showcased at the dutch festival which runs until sunday. following the fascination with the writing of salam pax - not his real name - he began a regular column in the guardian newspaper and was given a crash course in documentary film-making. for the film he travelled iraq to document the changing landscape of the country and the problems it has faced since the invasion speaking to ordinary iraqis about their experiences. the festival will also see the screening of underexposure one of iraq s first features to emerge since the toppling of saddam hussein. director oday rasheed made the film on discarded 1980s kodak film taken from the remains for the former ministry of culture building. it centres on the lives of families and strangers going about their everyday business as baghdad is under siege. rasheed said the title was refers to the isolation felt by iraqis under saddam s regime and the difficult time the country is now experiencing. saddam s regime was hell but now i think the hell has doubled rasheed said. the festival was also due to screen murdered dutch film-maker theo van gogh s film about the treatment of woman under islam but it was withdrawn due to safety fears. van gogh was shot and stabbed in november 2004 following death threats he received about his film submission.

csa could close says minister ministers would not rule out scrapping the child support agency if it failed to improve work and pensions secretary alan johnson has warned. but he said replacing the controversial csa would be the nuclear option . a report by the commons work and pensions committee called for the agency to be wound up unless it improved its service within weeks. chairman sir archy kirkwood said: if the agency cannot be rescued then it must be replaced. the committee reached its conclusions after it found that nearly 250 000 cases have yet to be processed. it warned that it could be five years before the csa was fit for purpose describing it as a failing organisation and in crisis with parents facing payment delays and inaccurate maintenance calculations. the report urged the csa to draw up contingency plans including the abandonment option to be presented to parliament by easter in case the cs2 computer system could not be made to work. and responding to calls for the agency to be scrapped mr johnson told bbc radio 4 s today programme: i certainly wouldn t rule out the nuclear option of moving to a completely new system. but i think the select committee would agree with me we would only do that when we were absolutely convinced that this system just isn t going to work. the mps launched their inquiry into the csa s performance after it became clear that despite the introduction of a simpler system of calculating maintenance payments for new cases in 2003 a backlog of claims was building up. the mps found the £456m system from american it giant eds was nowhere near being fully functional and the number of dissatisfied disenchanted and angry customers continues to escalate . faced with the committee s criticism the government has suspended its plan to cut the agency s staff by 25%. the csa has been surrounded in controversy since its introduction in 1993 to assess and enforce child support payments by absent parents. it is currently chasing outstanding payments of more than £720m while a further £947m has been designated as unrecoverable . michelle a mother of twins said she had not received a penny of the £57 a week she should be receiving from her ex-partner and had faced an on-going battle with the csa. her forms have twice been lost in the post she said. i don t receive correspondence i don t receive phone calls i have to chase them all the time she said. theresa may tory shadow work and pensions secretary said: we have got to find a way that s going to ensure those payments get through to the people who are due them. the agency s former chief executive doug smith quit last autumn claiming he was seriously disappointed with its performance. the committee said the national audit office should investigate why the eds system had gone so badly wrong. it blamed the agency s senior management for a multitude of problems within the agency including for an apparent lack of training of frontline staff.

mourinho defiant on chelsea form chelsea boss jose mourinho has insisted that sir alex ferguson and arsene wenger would swap places with him. mourinho s side were knocked out of the fa cup by newcastle last sunday before seeing barcelona secure a 2-1 champions league first-leg lead in the nou camp. but he denied his club was suffering a dip in form which league rivals arsenal and manchester united could exploit. they cannot speak to us about blips because they re not in a better position than us mourinho said. do they want to change positions with us we are top of the league by nine points and in the carling cup final. the only thing they can say they are in a better position than us in is the fa cup. in the champions league all three teams can either go through or go out but the one team that is in the best position is still chelsea. mourinho said it was important to keep his team s results in perspective. don t try to put pressure on me because i am never under pressure he warned. we have lost one important game this week - at newcastle - and we re out of the fa cup but i don t think a defeat in a first-leg tie is a real defeat. we are just 2-1 down at half-time. asked if his chelsea honeymoon was now over mourinho replied: i have had 20 years of honeymoons with my wife. the day that this club is not happy with me is the day that i go.

labour s eu propaganda a taxpayer subsidised propaganda exercise on the eu is being used to lull the british public into a false sense of security say the tories. shadow foreign secretary michael ancram told mps a new white paper was part of trying to soften up opinion ahead of the referendum on the eu constitution. his claims were denied by foreign secretary jack straw who accused the tories of running scared of debate. eu cooperation would help get better uk immigration controls he argued. mr straw used thursday s commons debate to launch the new white paper on the prospects for the eu in 2005. security stability and prosperity would be the key themes when the uk took over the chairmanship of the eu in july said mr straw. africa and climate change would also feature highly. he said the uk was trying to ensure future eu budgets were limited to 1% of europe s economic output and were spent where it adds most value . mr straw promised to continue to ensure the uk s budget rebate secured in 1984 by margaret thatcher was fully justified . we like all other countries have a veto on any changes proposed in this area he said. mr ancram condemned the document which the foreign office says has cost about £2 500 to design print and deliver. isn t the reason that the government is now involved in a taxpayer subsidised propaganda exercise to try to sell the new eu to the country in advance of the forthcoming referendum and general election he asked. the tory spokesman also criticised the government for claiming the eu constitution would make europe easier to understand. the government last week had to publish a commentary of 500 pages to try and explain this easy and simple constitution to the british people he said. who are they trying to kid the proposed question for the constitution referendum is: should the united kingdom approve the treaty establishing a constitution for the european union the electoral commission on thursday said it was satisfied the question was easy to understand. the government has suggested the referendum on the constitution could take place in spring 2006 with the tories set to campaign for a no vote. mr ancram said ministers were prolonging uncertainty by putting the vote off until the latest date possible. the foreign secretary hit back by saying tory attitudes to europe had helped keep the party out of power for more than a decade. mr straw argued cooperation with european partners could bring a level playing field on immigration and asylum controls. you are setting your face against all of these things he added. for the liberal democrats sir menzies campbell said the uk should not ignore the need to reform the eu common agricultural policy. change was particularly important for developing countries wanting access to markets he argued. sir menzies was among those worried about plans backed by the uk to lift the arms embargo imposed on china after the tiananmen square massacre. mr straw said no decisions had been taken - chinese human rights had improved but not by enough.

europe backs digital tv lifestyle how people receive their digital entertainment in the future could change following the launch of an ambitious european project. in nice last week the european commission announced its networked & electronic media (nem) initiative. its broad scope stretches from the way media is created through each of the stages of its distribution to its playback. the commission wants people to be able to locate the content they desire and have it delivered seamlessly when on the move at home or at work no matter who supplies the devices network content or content protection scheme. more than 120 experts were in nice to share the vision of interconnected future and hear pledges of support from companies such as nokia intel philips alcatel france telecom thomson and telefonica. it might initially appear to be surprising that companies in direct competition are keen to work together. but again and again speakers stated they could not see incompatible stand-alone solutions working. a long-term strategy for the evolution and convergence of technologies and services would be required. the european commission is being pragmatic in its approach. they have identified that many groups have defined the forms of digital media in the areas that nem encompasses. the nem approach is to take a serious look at what is available and what is in the pipeline pick out the best bring them together and identify where the gaps are. where it finds holes it will develop standards to fill them. what is significant is that such a large and powerful organisation has stated its desire for digital formats to be open to all and work on any gadget. this is bound to please if not surprise many individuals and user organisations who feel that the wishes of the holder of rights to content are normally considered over and above those of the consumer. many feel that the most difficult and challenging area for the commission will be to identify a solution for different digital rights management (drm) schemes. currently drm solutions are incompatible locking certain types of purchased content making them unplayable on all platforms. with the potential of having a percentage of every media transaction that takes place globally the prize for being the supplier of the world s dominant drm scheme is huge. although entertainment is an obvious first step it will encompass the remote provisions of healthcare energy efficiency and control of the smart home. the 10-year plan brings together the work of many currently running research projects that the ec has been funding for a number of years. simon perry is the editor of the digital lifestyles website which covers the impact of technology on media

lewis-francis eyeing world gold mark lewis-francis says his olympic success has made him determined to bag world championship 100m gold in 2005. the 22-year-old pipped maurice greene on the last leg of the 4x100m relay in athens to take top honours for team gb. but individually the birchfield harrier has yet to build on his world junior championship win four years ago. the gold medal in athens has made me realise that i can get to the top level and i want to get there again. it can happen i don t see why not he said. lewis-francis has still to decided what events will feature in his build-up to the worlds - with one exception. he has confirmed his participation in the norwich union grand prix in birmingham on 18 february where he will take on another member of britain s victorious men s relay team - jason gardener - over 60m. he added: it s a bit too early to make any predictions for helsinki but i have my eyes open and i know i can be the best in the world.

hantuchova in dubai last eight daniela hantuchova moved into the quarter-finals of the dubai open after beating elene likhotseva of russia 7-5 6-4 and now faces serena williams. australian open champion williams survived an early scare to beat russia s elena bovina 1-6 6-1 6-4. world number one lindsay davenport and anastasia myskina also progressed. davenport defeated china s jie zheng 6-2 7-5 while french open champion myskina sailed through after her opponent marion bartoli retired hurt. american davenport will now face fellow former wimbledon champion conchita martinez of spain who ousted seventh-seeded nathalie dechy of france 6-1 6-2. myskina will face eighth-seed patty schnyder from switzerland who defeated china s li na 6-3 7-6 (10-8). the other quarter final pits wild card sania mirza of india against jelena jankovic of serbia and montenegro who both won on tuesday. before her meeting with martinez davenport believes there is some room for improvement in her game. i started well and finished well but played some so-so games in the middle she said. williams was also far from content. i don t know what i was doing there she said. it was really windy and i hadn t played in the wind. all my shots were going out of here. but hantuchova is in upbeat mood ahead of her clash with the younger williams sister who was handed a first-round bye. i feel i have an advantage (over serena) because i have already played two matches on these courts she said. it is a difficult court to play on. very fast and sometimes you feel you have no control over the ball.

yukos seeks court action on sale yukos will return to a us court on wednesday to seek sanctions against baikal finance group the little-known firm which has bought its main asset. yukos has said it will sue baikal and others involved in the sale of yuganskneftegas for $20bn in damages. yukos us lawyers will attempt to have baikal assets frozen after the russian government ignored a us court order last week blocking the sale. baikal s background and its motives for buying the unit are still unclear. russian newspapers have claimed that baikal - which bought the yuganskneftegas production unit for $9.4bn (261bn roubles £4.8bn) on sunday at a state provoked auction - has strong links with surgutneftegas russia s fourth-biggest oil producer. many observers believe that the unit which produces 60% of yukos oil output could ultimately fall into the hands of surgutneftegas or even gazprom the state gas firm which opted out of the auction. the russian government forced the sale of yukos most lucrative asset as part of its action to enforce a $27bn back tax bill it says the company owes. yukos us lawyers claim the auction was illegal because the firm had filed for bankruptcy and therefore its assets were now under the protection of us bankruptcy law which has worldwide jurisdiction. on wednesday yukos will also seek further legal remedies to prevent the break-up of the group. we believe the auction was illegal and we intend to pursue all legal recourses available to us yukos spokesman mike lake told agence france press. if it exports that oil it will be marketing a stolen product he added. the future ownership of yuganksneftegas remains unclear amid widespread suggestions that baikal was established as a front for other interests. speaking on tuesday president putin said baikal was owned by individual investors who planned to build relationships with other russian energy firms interested in the development of yuganskneftegas. president putin also suggested that china s national petroleum corporation could play a role in the unit s future after signing a commercial agreement with gazprom to work on joint energy projects. yukos has claimed that the sale of its main asset will lead to the collapse of the company. commentators and yukos itself claim the firm is the target of a government campaign to destroy it because of the political ambitions of its founder mikhail khodorkovsky.

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

early elvis recordings go on sale some of elvis presley s earliest recordings - including takes of all shook up - are going under the hammer on sunday at a los angeles auction. the six unedited reel-to-reel tapes - which were owned by the engineer who recorded them - are valued at up to $50 000 (£29 000). highlights of the two hour-long collection will get their public debut at bonhams auction house on saturday. the rca tapes date from september 1956 to september 1957. the pre-masters include a take of jailhouse rock religious songs material for his first christmas album and banter between presley members of his band and engineer thorne nogar. we ve had them for a lot of years and i think the people should enjoy them nogar s son stephen 57 said. and frankly we could use the money. nogar who died in 1994 aged 72 always used to make two tapes of sessions as a back-up in case rca producers wanted to make late changes to songs. he called them his ass-saver tapes his son said. the quality is said to be noticeably crisper than that of a new vinyl record. because the family does not own the copyright to the music the tapes can only be sold for personal enjoyment and they cannot be copied for commercial gain.

roche turns down federer offer australian tennis coach tony roche has turned down an approach from roger federer to be the world number one s new full-time coach say reports. melbourne s herald-sun said roche troubled by a hip complaint did not want to travel full-time again. however roche is happy to work with the swiss star on a casual basis and is helping him prepare for next month s defence of his australian open crown. federer has been without a coach since splitting with peter lundgren in 2003. roche a former davis cup player for australia won the french open reached the wimbledon and us open finals and won five wimbledon doubles titles with john newcombe. he also coached former number one ivan lendl and pat rafter to grand slam victories and has worked with australia s lleyton hewitt. some reports claim federer initially wanted andre agassi s australian coach darren cahill before agassi confirmed he would play on in 2005. federer was named swiss sportsman of the year on saturday to add to the bbc overseas sportsman and european sports journalists association awards he has already won.

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

fosters buys stake in winemaker australian brewer fosters has bought a large stake in australian winemaker southcorp sparking rumours of a possible takeover. fosters bought 18.8% of southcorp the global winemaker behind the penfolds lindemans and rosemount brands for 4.17 australian dollars per share. a bid at that price would value the company at a$3.1bn ($2.4bn; £1.25bn ). fosters said it was currently in discussions which may lead to a major corporate announcement . in a separate statement southcorp confirmed the brewer had asked for talks. both firms asked the sydney stock market to suspend trading in their shares until monday. southcorp s shares were suspended at a$4.25. fosters bought the 18.8% stake from reline investments the family investment firm for the oatleys who founded the rosemount estates label and sold it to southcorp in 2001. robert oatley and his son sandy oatley have both resigned from southcorp s board following the share deal. southcorp employs 2 700 people and is the largest single investor in rural australia according to its website. the prospect of fosters launching a major acquisition startled investors as the brewer said last summer that it was not looking to expand through a big buy in the near future. it has cash available after getting a$846m from selling property business lensworth but it has been widely expected to return cash to shareholders. people will scratching their heads over this one. fosters has done a back-flip said shawn burns a fund manger at deutsche asset management. southcorp s shares have risen in recent months on speculation that it could become a takeover target. it spent two years in the red returning to profit in 2004. consolidation in the wine industry is being driven by constellation the world s biggest winemaker. it seized the top spot when it bought australian firm brl hardy for just over $1bn in 2003. since then it has paid $1bn for us wine maker robert mondavi bought last month. fosters main wine business is beringer blass wine estate. its best known brand is fosters lager though it makes a clutch of beer brands and spirits. analysts were divided on thursday about whether fosters was more likely to go for a takeover or merely wanted to take a big enough chunk of southcorp to prevent it falling to a rival. currently i think the strategic position is more sensible rather than an outright takeover said one analyst quoted by the agence france presse news agency. however matt williams a fund manager at perpetual trustees said taking the stake is definitely a precursor to a takeover .

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

england given tough sevens draw england will have to negotiate their way through a tough draw if they are to win the rugby world cup sevens in hong kong next month. the second seeds have been drawn against samoa france italy georgia and chinese taipei. the top two sides in each pool qualify but england could face 2001 winners new zealand in the quarter-finals if they stumble against samoa. scotland and ireland are in pool a together with the all blacks. england won the first event of the international rugby board world sevens series in dubai but have slipped to fourth in the table after failing to build on that victory. however they beat samoa in the recent los angeles sevens before losing to argentina in the semi-finals. england have the ability and determination to win this world cup and create sporting history by being the only nation to hold both the 15s and sevens world cups at the same time said england sevens coach mike friday. england have a fantastic record in hong kong and have won there the last three years but the world cup is on a different level. every pool contains teams who have caused upsets before and we will have to work hard to ensure we progress from our group. we have not performed consistently to our true potential so far in the irb sevens which has been disappointing - but we can only look forward. england won the first rugby world cup sevens in 1993 with a side that included the likes of lawrence dallaglio and matt dawson. in 1997 and 2001 england lost in the quarter-finals. (seeds in brackets) new zealand (1) scotland (8) tonga ireland korea usa. england (2) samoa (7) france italy georgia chinese taipei. fiji (3) australia (6) canada portugal japan hong kong. argentina (4) south africa (5) kenya tunisia russia uruguay.

stars pay tribute to actor davis hollywood stars including spike lee burt reynolds and oscar nominee alan alda have paid tribute to actor ossie davis at a funeral in new york. veteran star ossie davis a well-known civil rights activist died in miami at the age of 87 on 4 february 2005. friends and family including actress ruby dee his wife of 56 years gathered at the riverside church on saturday. also present at the service was former us president bill clinton and singer harry belafonte who gave the eulogy. he would have been a very good president of the united states said mr clinton. like most of you here he gave more to me than i gave to him. the 87-year-old was found dead last weekend in his hotel room in florida where he was making a film. police said that he appeared to have died of natural causes. davis made his acting debut in 1950 in no way out starring sidney poiter. he frequently collaborated with director spike lee starring in seven lee films including jungle fever do the right thing and malcolm x. attallah shabazz the daughter of activist malcolm x recalled the famous eulogy delivered by davis at her father s funeral. harlem has come to bid farewell to one of its finest hopes she said quoting the man she knew as uncle ossie. ditto. ossie was my hero and he still is said aviator star alan alda a family friend for over forty years. ossie was a thing of beauty. i want so badly someday to have his dignity - a little of it anyway added burt reynolds davis s co-star in the 90s tv comedy evening shade. before the midday funeral scores of harlem residents formed a queue outside the church to pay their respects to davis. it is hard to fathom that we will no longer be able to call on his wisdom his humour his loyalty and his moral strength to guide us in the choices that are yet to be made and the battles that are yet to be fought said belafonte himself an ardent civil rights activist who had been friends with davis for over 60 years. but how fortunate we were to have him as long as we did.

visa row mandarin made sir john the top civil servant at the centre of the david blunkett visa affair has been knighted in the new year honours. sir john gieve was home office permanent secretary during the saga which ended with mr blunkett quitting. he and other civil servants were criticised for failing to recall how the visa for mr blunkett s ex-lover s nanny came to be fast-tracked. the outgoing head of the troubled child support agency doug smith also earns an honour in the new year s list. mr smith 57 whose retirement was announced by work and pensions secretary alan smith in november is made a commander of the order of bath. both men were giving evidence to a commons committee on the computer difficulties facing the agency which left thousands of single parents without any maintenance payments when the announcement was made. the knighting of sir john 54 will be received with astonishment by opposition politicians. the liberal democrats said it beggared belief he and fellow officials could not remember how leoncia casalme s application for indefinite leave to remain went from mr blunkett s office to the head of the immigration and nationality department. meanwhile the conservatives accused officials of a collective failure of memory. but sir alan budd who led an inquiry into the affair said he had no reason to believe anyone involved had deliberately withheld information. downing street defended the decision to honour both men with a spokesperson saying: you have to look at their whole career. sir john was made permanent secretary in april 2001 following a civil service career which dates back to 1974. he has also worked in the treasury and the department of employment. a department for work and pensions spokeswoman said of mr smith s honour: the award reflects all that he has achieved in a civil service career principally in the inland revenue spanning over 40 years - not just his role as chief executive of the child support agency. in his career he has personally led a number of successful major change programmes. mr smith is set to stay on at the csa until march. less controversial will be the knighthoods for derek wanless and mike tomlinson who undertook major government reviews on health and education respectively. former natwest chief executive mr wanless 57 has delivered not one but two major reports on the nhs. ex-chief inspector of schools mr tomlinson 62 has recommended replacing a-levels and gcses with a new diploma system in a shake-up of the exams system.

pension hitch for long-living men male life expectancy is much higher than originally estimated leading pension researchers have said. the pensions policy institute (ppi) said life expectancy for unskilled and professional men has been understated. life expectancy at birth is 71 years for a manual worker and 79 years for a professional - a gap of eight years. but if measured at age 65 instead the ppi said a manual worker will live to 81 years and a professional worker to 86 years - a gap of just five years. the ppi s estimate is higher because it excludes people who have died before they reach 65 years of age and also takes into account ongoing improvements in life expectancy. the government has ruled out raising the state pension age because it says it would penalise lower-skilled workers who generally have lower life expectancies. chris curry ppi research director said its calculations suggested there could be more pressure on state pension spending than originally envisaged. even people in social class v [unskilled manual workers] who are widely likely to have the lowest life expectancy can still expect to live 16 years after state pension age he said. researchers have not updated life expectancy projections for women who on average live longer than men.

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.

dollar gains on greenspan speech the dollar has hit its highest level against the euro in almost three months after the federal reserve head said the us trade deficit is set to stabilise. and alan greenspan highlighted the us government s willingness to curb spending and rising household savings as factors which may help to reduce it. in late trading in new york the dollar reached $1.2871 against the euro from $1.2974 on thursday. market concerns about the deficit has hit the greenback in recent months. on friday federal reserve chairman mr greenspan s speech in london ahead of the meeting of g7 finance ministers sent the dollar higher after it had earlier tumbled on the back of worse-than-expected us jobs data. i think the chairman s taking a much more sanguine view on the current account deficit than he s taken for some time said robert sinche head of currency strategy at bank of america in new york. he s taking a longer-term view laying out a set of conditions under which the current account deficit can improve this year and next. worries about the deficit concerns about china do however remain. china s currency remains pegged to the dollar and the us currency s sharp falls in recent months have therefore made chinese export prices highly competitive. but calls for a shift in beijing s policy have fallen on deaf ears despite recent comments in a major chinese newspaper that the time is ripe for a loosening of the peg. the g7 meeting is thought unlikely to produce any meaningful movement in chinese policy. in the meantime the us federal reserve s decision on 2 february to boost interest rates by a quarter of a point - the sixth such move in as many months - has opened up a differential with european rates. the half-point window some believe could be enough to keep us assets looking more attractive and could help prop up the dollar. the recent falls have partly been the result of big budget deficits as well as the us s yawning current account gap both of which need to be funded by the buying of us bonds and assets by foreign firms and governments. the white house will announce its budget on monday and many commentators believe the deficit will remain at close to half a trillion dollars.

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

iaaf launches fight against drugs the iaaf - athletics world governing body - has met anti-doping officials coaches and athletes to co-ordinate the fight against drugs in sport. two task forces have been set up to examine doping and nutrition issues. it was also agreed that a programme to de-mystify the issue to athletes the public and the media was a priority. nothing was decided to change things - it was more to have a forum of the stakeholders allowing them to express themselves said an iaaf spokesman. getting everyone together gave us a lot of food for thought. about 60 people attended sunday s meeting in monaco including iaaf chief lamine diack and namibian athlete frankie fredericks now a member of the athletes commission. i am very happy to see you all members of the athletics family respond positively to the iaaf call to sit together and discuss what more we can do in the fight against doping said diack. we are the leading federation in this field and it is our duty to keep our sport clean. the two task forces will report back to the iaaf council at its april meeting in qatar.

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

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.

eu software patent law faces axe the european parliament has thrown out a bill that would have allowed software to be patented. politicians unanimously rejected the bill and now it must go through another round of consultation if it is to have a chance of becoming law. during consultation the software patents bill could be substantially re-drafted or even scrapped. the bill was backed by some hi-tech firms saying they needed protections it offered to make research worthwhile. hugo lueders european director for public policy at comptia an umbrella organization for technology companies said only when intellectual property was adequately protected would european inventors prosper. he said the benefits of the bill had been obscured by special interest groups which muddied debate over the rights and wrongs of software patents. other proponents of the bill said it was a good compromise that avoided the excesses of the american system which allows the patenting of business practices as well as software. but opponents of the bill said that it could stifle innovation be abused by firms keen to protect existing monopolies and could hamper the growth of the open source movement. the proposed law had a troubled passage through the european parliament. its progress was delayed twice when polish meps rejected plans to adopt it. also earlier this month the influential european legal affairs committee (juri) said the law should be re-drafted after it failed to win the support of meps. to become law both the european parliament and a qualified majority of eu states have to approve of the draft wording of the bill. the latest rejection means that now the bill on computer inventions must go back to the eu for re-consideration.

comic morris returns with sitcom comedian chris morris who created controversial tv show brass eye is to return to screens with a new sitcom about a spoof london media worker. morris will direct and co-write nathan barley - a character from cult website tv go home - for channel 4. it is a send-up of the stereotypical cool metropolitan media scene with nicholas burns in the title role. a brass eye satire of the media handling of paedophilia sparked 2 500 complaints in 2001. nathan barley will be a character-driven comedy according to charlie brooker who created tv go home in 1999 and has co-written the series. barley is described as a webmaster guerrilla film-maker screenwriter dj and in his own words a self-facilitating media node . the story will also feature dan ashcroft a style magazine columnist and his sister claire a film-maker who hates the cool scene. as well as brass eye morris was behind another news show satire the day today and dark sketch comedy jam. the new show is expected to begin in february.

prince crowned top music earner prince earned more than any other pop star in 2004 beating artists such madonna and elton john in us magazine rolling stone s annual list. the singer banked $56.5m (£30.4m) from concerts album and publishing sales with his musicology tour and album. he kept madonna in second place as she earned $54.9m (£29.5m) while embarking on her global re-invention tour. veterans simon and garfunkel were in 10th place their comeback tour helping them earn $24.9m (£13.4m) last year. prince returned to centre stage after a decade in the commercial wilderness the magazine reported. the singer s 2004 tour took $90.3m (£48.5m) in ticket sales and he sold 1.9 million copies of his latest album musicology. although she grossed more than prince last year madonna remained in second place because of the monumental production costs of her tour. heavy metal band metallica s madly in anger with the world tour helped push their 2004 earnings up to $43.1m (£23.1m). they were ahead of sir elton john who took fourth place and almost $42.7m (£23m) from performances including a debut on the las vegas strip. other seasoned performers in the list included rod stewart whose sold-out shows and third volume of the great american songbook covers album helped net him £35m (£19m). the highest-ranking rap act in the list was 50 cent who at number 19 took $24m (£13m) to the bank.

sec to rethink post-enron rules the us stock market watchdog s chairman has said he is willing to soften tough new us corporate governance rules to ease the burden on foreign firms. in a speech at the london school of economics william donaldson promised several initiatives . european firms have protested that us laws introduced after the enron scandal make wall street listings too costly. the us regulator said foreign firms may get extra time to comply with a key clause in the sarbanes-oxley act. the act comes into force in mid-2005. it obliges all firms with us stock market listings to make declarations which critics say will add substantially to the cost of preparing their annual accounts. firms that break the new law could face huge fines while senior executives risk jail terms of up to 20 years. mr donaldson said that although the act does not provide exemptions for foreign firms the securities and exchange commission (sec) would continue to be sensitive to the need to accomodate foreign structures and requirements . there are few if any who disagree with the intentions of the act which obliges chief executives to sign a statement taking responsibility for the accuracy of the accounts. but european firms with secondary listings in new york have objected - arguing that the compliance costs outweigh the benefits of a dual listing. the act also applies to firms with more than 300 us shareholders a situation many firms without us listings could find themselves in. the 300-shareholder threshold has drawn anger as it effectively blocks the most obvious remedy a delisting. mr donaldson said the sec would consider whether there should be a new approach to the deregistration process for foreign firms unwilling to meet us requirements. we should seek a solution that will preserve investor protections without turning the us market into one with no exit he said. he revealed that his staff were already weighing up the merits of delaying the implementation of the act s least popular measure - section 404 - for foreign firms. seen as particularly costly to implement section 404 obliges chief executives to take responsibility for the firm s internal controls by signing a compliance statement in the annual accounts. the sec has already delayed implementation of this clause for smaller firms - including us ones - with market capitalisations below $700m (£374m). a delegation of european firms visited the sec in december to press for change the financial times reported. it was led by digby jones director general of the uk s confederation of british industry (cbi) and included representatives of basf siemens and cadbury schweppes. compliance costs are already believed to be making firms wary of us listings. air china picked the london stock exchange for its secondary listing in its $1.07bn (£558m) stock market debut last month. there are also rumours that two chinese state-run banks - china construction bank and bank of china - have abandoned plans for multi-billion dollar listings in new york later this year. instead the cost of sarbanes-oxley has persuaded them to stick to a single listing in hong kong according to press reports in china.

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

hollywood campaign hits websites movie studio efforts to stop pirated films being shared on peer-to-peer networks have claimed a high-profile victim. the campaign of legal action is thought to be behind the closure of the widely used suprnova.org website. the site was the most popular place for people swapping and sharing links for the bittorrent network. a recent study showed that more than half of the peer-to-peer traffic during june was for the bittorrent system. in a message posted on suprnova.org on sunday the site s controllers said the site was closing down for good in the way that we all know it . if the site did return the message said it would not be hosting any more torrent links. it continued: we are very sorry for this but there was no other way we have tried everything. the only parts that would keep going said the operators of the suprnova site were the discussion forums and net chat channels. the site is thought to have closed following an announcement by the motion picture association of america that it was launching legal action against those operating bittorrent servers rather than end users. because of the way that bittorrent works server sites do not host the actual file being shared instead they host a link that points people to others that have it. by targeting servers the mpaa hopes to cripple bittorrent s ability to share files. in the opening days of the mpaa campaign the organisation filed 100 lawsuits against operators of bittorrent server site. the launching of the legal seems to be having an effect. phoenix torrents another popular bittorrent site has also decided to shut down and though it gave no reasons for the closure it is thought to be motivated by the threat of legal action. last week finnish police raided a bittorrent site based in the country that according to reports let 10 000 users shared pirated films software music and games.

asylum children to face returns the uk government is planning to return asylum seeker children without parents to albania. the trial scheme which could start in weeks may be extended to apply to children from other countries. children s charities have reacted with alarm saying the policy amounts to forcible removal and may not guarantee the safety of those affected. but the home office says it may be in the children s best interests if it reunites them with their communities. the pilot included in the government s five-year immigration plan aims to return unaccompanied asylum-seeking children from albania who have failed in their asylum claims. since 2002 at least 9 000 under-18s have arrived in the uk to seek asylum without other family members. these children automatically become the responsibility of social services. up to now ministers have held back from final removal orders against unaccompanied children until after they are legally adults at 18. at least a dozen albanian-born teenagers are thought to have been identified for return according to sources although there is no public confirmation of numbers. those selected could either be returned to their families should they be traced or placed in the care of other albanian authorities. separate negotiations to establish a family tracing and returns scheme are believed to be underway with another country. under the 1989 children act public bodies have a duty to act in the best interest of a child in their care. laura brownlees of save the children said there were grave concerns not least because of the well-documented trafficking of children into crime and prostitution in albania. if children are going to be returned then there should be proper assessments and decisions on a case by case basis she said. we do not think there are structures in place [to receive returning children in albania]. if these decisions are not in the best interests of the child then that is a forced removal because the child will not have any choice in the final decision. in its five-year immigration plan announced on tuesday the government said it was addressing the difficult issue of returning unaccompanied asylum seeking children. a spokesman for the home office said it was wholly wrong to suggest that the plan was to return children and leave them to rot . we are developing a returns programme for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children whose asylum and humanitarian protection claims have been refused said the spokesman. we have been exploring how we can establish reception and longer-term care arrangements in countries of origin and believe that it s possible to return children in a way that is in their best interests and is safe and sustainable. we do not believe that it is right or in keeping with children s legislation that children who can return should remain in the uk indefinitely separated from their families and communities. the spokesman stressed the uk would abide by its international human rights obligations. only those children who could be provided with a carefully planned reintegration package would be returned he said. but andrew hogg spokesman for the medical foundation for the care of victims of torture said ministers had so far failed to reassure agencies. from what is so far known we strongly oppose the scheme because the welfare and best interests of the child will not properly be taken into account said mr hogg. in albania particularly there is no statutory child care or protection structure. the medical foundation has many serious concerns including the assessment process for suitability for return the degrading of best interests of the child principles and of child welfare and the lack of safeguards in the chosen countries. a spokesman for the albanian embassy in london said it was the first it had heard of a scheme but did not rule out that there had been an agreement between the two countries.

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

davenport hits out at wimbledon world number one lindsay davenport has criticised wimbledon over the issue of equal prize money for women. reacting to a disputed comment by all england club chairman tim phillips the american said: i think it is highly insulting if prize money is taken away. somebody i think it was mr phillips said they won t have money for flowers at wimbledon. that s insulting. an all england club spokesperson denied phillips made the remark insisting: he definitely didn t say it. the statement added: it was said by someone else and was a humorous aside at the end of a radio interview when the conversation had moved to talking about the wimbledon grounds. davenport was speaking following the announcement that this week s dubai duty free event will join the us and australian opens in offering equal prize money for women. you hear about women playing only three sets while men play five said daveport. and the best women are never going to beat the best men. but it s a different game you go to watch with the women - it doesn t make it better or worse. hopefully we will be able to change people s minds. serena williams who is also in dubai added: i m obviously for equal prize money. women s tennis is exciting. men s tennis is exciting as well but the women have it right now. if you are bringing in the spectators you should be able to reap what everyone else is able to reap.

enron bosses in $168m payout eighteen former enron directors have agreed a $168m (£89m) settlement deal in a shareholder lawsuit over the collapse of the energy firm. leading plaintiff the university of california announced the news adding that 10 of the former directors will pay $13m from their own pockets. the settlement will be put to the courts for approval next week. enron went bankrupt in 2001 after it emerged it had hidden hundreds of millions of dollars in debt. before its collapse the firm was the seventh biggest public us company by revenue. its demise sent shockwaves through financial markets and dented investor confidence in corporate america. the settlement is very significant in holding these outside directors at least partially personally responsible william lerach the lawyer leading the class action suit against enron said. hopefully this will help send a message to corporate boardrooms of the importance of directors performing their legal duties he added. under the terms of the $168m settlement - $155m of which will be covered by insurance - none of the 18 former directors will admit any wrongdoing. the deal is the fourth major settlement negotiated by lawyers who filed a class action on behalf of enron s shareholders almost three years ago. so far including the latest deal just under $500m (£378.8m) has been retrieved for investors. however the latest deal does not include former enron chief executives ken lay and jeff skilling. both men are facing criminal charges for their alleged misconduct in the run up to the firm s collapse. neither does it cover andrew fastow who has pleaded guilty to taking part in an illegal conspiracy while he was chief financial officer at the group. enron s shareholders are still seeking damages from a long list of other big name defendants including the financial institutions jp morgan chase citigroup merrill lynch and credit suisse first boston. the university of california said the trial in the case is scheduled to begin in october 2006. it joined the lawsuit in december 2001alleging massive insider trading and fraud claiming it had lost $145m on its investments in the company.

prince crowned top music earner prince earned more than any other pop star in 2004 beating artists such madonna and elton john in us magazine rolling stone s annual list. the singer banked $56.5m (£30.4m) from concerts album and publishing sales with his musicology tour and album. he kept madonna in second place as she earned $54.9m (£29.5m) while embarking on her global re-invention tour. veterans simon and garfunkel were in 10th place their comeback tour helping them earn $24.9m (£13.4m) last year. prince returned to centre stage after a decade in the commercial wilderness the magazine reported. the singer s 2004 tour took $90.3m (£48.5m) in ticket sales and he sold 1.9 million copies of his latest album musicology. although she grossed more than prince last year madonna remained in second place because of the monumental production costs of her tour. heavy metal band metallica s madly in anger with the world tour helped push their 2004 earnings up to $43.1m (£23.1m). they were ahead of sir elton john who took fourth place and almost $42.7m (£23m) from performances including a debut on the las vegas strip. other seasoned performers in the list included rod stewart whose sold-out shows and third volume of the great american songbook covers album helped net him £35m (£19m). the highest-ranking rap act in the list was 50 cent who at number 19 took $24m (£13m) to the bank.

german growth goes into reverse germany s economy shrank 0.2% in the last three months of 2004 upsetting hopes of a sustained recovery. the figures confounded hopes of a 0.2% expansion in the fourth quarter in europe s biggest economy. the federal statistics office said growth for the whole of 2004 was 1.6% after a year of contraction in 2003 down from an earlier estimate of 1.7%. it said growth in the third quarter had been zero putting the economy at a standstill from july onward. germany has been reliant on exports to get its economy back on track as unemployment of more than five million and impending cuts to welfare mean german consumers have kept their money to themselves. major companies including volkswagen daimlerchrysler and siemens have spent much of 2004 in tough talks with unions about trimming jobs and costs. according to the statistics office destatis rising exports were outweighed in the fourth quarter by the continuing weakness of domestic demand. but the relentless rise in the value of the euro last year has also hit the competitiveness of german products overseas. the effect has been to depress prospects for the 12-nation eurozone as a whole as well as germany. eurozone interest rates are at 2% but senior officials at the rate-setting european central bank are beginning to talk about the threat of inflation prompting fears that interest rates may rise. the ecb s mandate is to fight rising prices by boosting interest rates - and that could further threaten germany s hopes of recovery.

france telecom gets orange boost strong growth in subscriptions to mobile phone network orange has helped boost profits at owner france telecom. orange added more than five million new customers in 2004 leading to a 10% increase in its revenues. increased take-up of broadband telecoms services also boosted france telecom s profits which showed a 5.5% rise to 18.3bn euros ($23.4bn; £12.5bn). france telecom is to spend 578m euros on buying out minority shareholders in data services provider equant. france telecom one of the world s largest telecoms and internet service providers saw its full-year sales rise 2.2% to 47.2bn euros in 2004. orange enjoyed strong growth outside france and the united kingdom - its core markets - swelling its subscriber base to 5.4 million. france telecom s broadband customers also increased rising to 5.1 million across europe by the end of the year. the firm said it had met its main strategic objectives of growing its individual businesses and further reducing its large debt. an ill-fated expansion drive in the late 1990s saw france telecom s debt soar to 72bn euros by 2002. however this has now been reduced to 43.9bn euros. our results for 2004 allow us to improve our financial structure while focusing on the innovation that drives our strategy said chief executive thierry breton. looking ahead the company forecast like-for-like sales growth of between 3% and 5% over the next three years. france telecom is consolidating its interest in equant which provides telecoms and data services to businesses. subject to approval by shareholders of the two firms it will buy the shares in equant it does not already own. france telecom said it would fund the deal by selling an 8% stake in telephone directory company pagesjaunes.

deutsche boerse set to woo lse bosses of deutsche boerse and the london stock exchange are to meet amid talk that a takeover bid for the lse will be raised to £1.5bn ($2.9bn). last month the german exchange tabled a 530 pence-per-share offer for lse valuing it at £1.3bn. paris-based euronext owner of liffe in london has also said it is interested in bidding for lse. euronext is due to hold talks with lse this week and it is reported to be ready to raise £1.4bn to fund a bid. euronext chief jean-francois theodore is scheduled to meet his lse counterpart clara furse on friday. deutsche boerse chief werner seifert is meeting ms furse on thursday in the third meeting between the two exchanges since the bid approach in december. the lse rejected deutsche boerse s proposed £1.3bn offer in december saying it undervalued the business. but it agreed to leave the door open for talks to find out whether a significantly-improved proposal would be in the interests of lse s shareholders and customers. in the meantime euronext which combines the paris amsterdam and lisbon stock exchanges also began talks with the lse. in a statement on thursday euronext said any offer was likely to be solely in cash but added that: there can be no assurances at this stage that any offer will be made. a deal with either bidder would create the biggest stock market operator in europe and the second biggest in the world after the new york stock exchange. according to the ft in its latest meeting deutsche boerse will adopt a charm offensive to woo the london exchange. the newspaper said the german suitor will offer to manage a combined cash and equities market out of london and let ms furse take the helm. other reports this week said the deutsche boerse might even consider selling its luxembourg-based clearstream unit - the clearing house that processes securities transactions. its ownership of clearstream was seen as the main stumbling block to a london-frankfurt merger. lse shareholders feared a deutsche boerse takeover would force them to use clearstream making it difficult for them to negotiate for lower transaction fees.

clarke to press on with id cards new home secretary charles clarke has vowed to plough on with plans for id cards despite a call for him to pause for thought from charles kennedy. the lib dem leader said david blunkett s resignation was a good opportunity to question whether the legislation was necessary. but mr clarke said he had supported the plans when mr blunkett argued for them in cabinet and he supported them now. id cards are a means to creating a more secure society he said. mr clarke acknowledged how the measure was introduced remained a matter for debate but he said legislation had already been significantly influenced by the recommendations of the commons home affairs committee. the issue would be debated in parliament next monday as scheduled he insisted. earlier mr kennedy whose party opposes the id cards plan as deeply flawed said with christmas coming up the new home secretary had time to think again. he told bbc radio 4 s today programme that mr clarke had been reported to be less enthusiastic about id cards than his predecessors. wouldn t this be a good opportunity for a new home secretary a new broom to sweep clean in this respect and why do we need this legislation in the first place he asked. earlier this week the tories announced they would back the government s plans although michael howard was forced to deny the shadow cabinet was split over its decision. they had decided to support the plans as the police said they would help fight terror crime and illegal immigration. among those reported to have serious reservations over the strategy were senior shadow cabinet members david davis oliver letwin and tim yeo. the chairman of the bar council guy mansfield qc has warned there is a real risk that people on the margins of society would be driven into the hands of extremists. what is going to happen to young asian men when there has been a bomb gone off somewhere they are going to be stopped. if they haven t [id cards] they are going to be detained. the home office says people will pay £85 for a passport and id card together or a undecided fee for a separate id card. the first cards would be issued in 2008 and when he was introducing the bill mr blunkett suggested parliament could decide in 2011 or 2012 whether to make it compulsory for everybody to own the cards although not to carry them. the new bill will also create new criminal offences on the possession of false identity documents. and there will be civil penalties including a fine of up to £1 000 fine for people who fail to say they have moved house or changed other details and of up to £2 500 for failing to sign up if the cards become compulsory. the scheme will be overseen by a new independent watchdog.

electrolux to export europe jobs electrolux saw its shares rise 14% on tuesday after it said it would be shifting more of its manufacturing to low-cost countries. the swedish firm the world s largest maker of home appliances said it is to relocate about 10 of its 27 plants in western europe and north america. it did not say which facilities would be affected but intends moving them to asia eastern europe and mexico. the company has two manufacturing sites in county durham. it makes lawn and garden products in newton aycliffe and cookers and ovens in spennymoor. the newton aycliffe plant could also be affected by electrolux s separate announcement that it is to spin-off its outdoor products unit into a new separate company. electrolux s subsidiary brands include aeg zanussi and frigidaire. the company said it was speeding up its restructuring programme which aims to save between £190m and £265m annually from 2009. we see that about half the plants in high-cost countries - that is around 10 - are at risk said electrolux chief executive hans straberg. it looks pretty grim said swedish trades union official ulf carlsson. what are we going to end up producing in sweden

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

glastonbury fans to get id cards fans who buy tickets for this year s glastonbury festival will be issued with photo id cards in an attempt to beat touts it has been confirmed. the cards will include a photograph of the ticket-holder plus an electronic chip with their details to prevent tickets being sold on or forged. tickets for the june event are expected to go on sale in april. there is only one place in the world where you will be able to get tickets festival organiser michael eavis said. that will be the official source. if you get them anywhere else you won t get in. fans not wanting to carry the entrance card could present their passport or driving licence instead he added. more than 153 000 people are expected to travel to mr eavis somerset farm from 24-26 june but the event s rising popularity has meant an extremely high demand for tickets in recent years. when the id card idea was floated mr eavis daughter emily said it would be quite a big step in terms of ticketing for events if implemented and they were going as far as we can to cut touting. as long as it s approached in the right way it might really work it might really change the system she said. in 2004 all 112 000 tickets for the public sold out in 24 hours. they were personalised with the names of purchasers who were asked to bring identification such as a driving licence passport or household bill. but some forgot to take the right information while some touts simply offered to supply their own bills along with the ticket bearing their name. no details of this year s line-up have been confirmed but rumours have suggested u2 and coldplay may be among the headliners.

stam spices up man utd encounter ac milan defender jaap stam says manchester united know they made a mistake by selling him in 2001. the sides meet at old trafford in the champions league game on wednesday and the 32-year-old s dutchman s presence is sure to add spice to the fixture. united made a mistake in selling me stam told uefa s champions magazine. i was settled at manchester united but they wanted to sell me. if a club want to sell you there is nothing you can do. you can be sold like cattle. sir alex ferguson surprised the football world - and stam - by selling the dutchman to lazio for £16.5m in august 2001. the decision came shortly after stam claimed in his autobiography that ferguson had tapped him up when he was at psv eindhoven. but ferguson insisted he sold the defender because the transfer fee was too good to refuse for a player past his prime. the affair still rankles with the dutchman. i was settled at manchester united i had even just ordered a new kitchen but they wanted to sell me he said. in what other industry can a good employee be ushered out the door against their wishes of course you can refuse to go but then the club have the power to put you on the bench. i don t agree that players control the game. there have been opportunities to confront them in the newspapers but i have turned them down. what s the point wednesday s game at old trafford will provide an intriguing confrontation between united s young attackers wayne rooney and cristiano ronaldo and milan s veteran defence of stam paolo maldini cafu and alessandro costacurta. stam says rooney s teenage stardom is in stark contract to his own start in the game. we can t all be wayne rooneys - at his age i was training to be an electrician and thought my chance of becoming a professional footballer had gone he said. starting late can be a good thing. some kids who start early get bored. i had my youth - having fun drinking beers blowing up milk cannisters. it sounds strange but it s a tradition where i grew up in kampen - and i had done all the things i wanted to do.

concerns at school diploma plan final appeals are being made for the government not to ditch the reform plan for england s secondary schools put forward by the tomlinson report. the government s response to the plan for a four-tier diploma to replace all existing 14-19 qualifications is expected next week. some are worried it could be scuppered if as tony blair and ruth kelly have suggested gcses and a-levels stay. sir mike tomlinson himself was briefed only this week. he is said to be feeling more comfortable about what the government is likely to say than if he had read only what was in newspapers in the earlier part of the week. but the government was said to be still rewriting its response on friday. it will be a tragedy if the government comes through with a half-hearted response said the chairman of the commons education select committee labour mp barry sheerman. his main concern was the reports that there would be a diploma - but only to replace existing vocational qualifications. we must tackle head-on the structural mess that is our secondary education system he wrote in the times educational supplement. it is not the case that the academic stream in secondary is fine while the vocational route is desperately weak. the qualifications and curriculum authority (qca) has also told the government not to compromise . the qca said the potential step-change in participation and attainment lay in the integrity of the whole diploma. any partial implementation of the proposals would in our view compromise that integrity said its chairman sir anthony greener. it is a sign of the qca s concern that its advice went to ministers last december but was publicised only recently. but people understand that a white paper response is government policy and has to command wider ministerial support than if it were coming only from the department for education and skills. they may be content if it does not close too many doors in writing - whatever spin is put on it. the chief inspector of schools david bell also said recently that gcses and a-levels should go. one of the reasons why i m so strongly in favour of these terms disappearing over time is that it s good for the symbols of change to be seen right across the system he said. if we don t say this is a sea-change in education we will miss a great opportunity. universities and head teachers in both the independent and state sectors have also backed the tomlinson proposals which include having higher grades at advanced level to differentiate between the brightest students. a note of concern has been expressed repeatedly by the employers organisation the cbi which complains of a lack of skills. in an attempt to address this the tomlinson plan is for tests in functional maths and literacy - decidedly not gcses. it has been suggested the government will take steps of some sort to meet firms concerns on this score. another dissenter is sir mike tomlinson s predecessor as chief schools inspector professor chris woodhead who has said there is no need for such a massive upheaval . the conservative party has put forward plans to revert to a system of having only the brightest percentage of students each year getting the top a-level grade no matter how well the others have done.

stallone evicted from big brother jackie stallone mother of actor sylvester has become the first star to be evicted from celebrity big brother. she and john mccririck faced the public vote on friday - 67% of people voted to keep the racing pundit in the house. stallone 71 appeared not to have enjoyed her time in the house saying: i m a total wreck i need a vacation this was a nightmare . but she was pleased to have patched things up with actress brigitte nielsen her former daughter-in-law. that alone was worth $1m she said. stallone joined the channel 4 show on monday as a surprise for nielsen. she was hot favourite to be evicted first with odds of 1/4 to leave. but mccririck has made some enemies with his outspoken views about women. ladbrokes spokesman warren lush said: we may have underestimated the power of the anti-mccririck brigade but it s so hard to call with him there are people out there who either love him or hate him there is no middle ground. the bookmakers have made former happy mondays dancer bez favourite to win the show at 7/4 while blazin squad singer kenzie is second at 2/1. bez has wooed the viewers and looks the one to beat he s kept his nose clean and doesn t take anything too seriously mr lush said. earlier on friday 15 protesters from the fathers 4 justice campaign group were arrested after entering the big brother compound at 0300 gmt and throwing fireworks. feminist icon germaine greer quit the show earlier in the week over what she called bullying tactics used by the programme s producers. the show is currently attracting an average audience of about 4.2 million viewers a night.

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.

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.

gadget show heralds mp3 season partners of those who love their hi-tech gear may want to get their presents in early as experts predict a gadget shortage this christmas. with apple s ipod topping wish lists again there may not be enough ipod minis to go round predicts oliver irish editor of gadget magazine stuff. the ipod mini is likely to be this year s tracey island said mr irish. stuff has compiled a list of the top 10 gadgets for 2004 and the ipod is at number one. for anyone bewildered by the choice of gadgets on the market stuff and what hi-fi are hosting a best-of gadget show in london this weekend. star of the show will be sony s qrio robot an all-singing all-dancing football-playing man-machine who can even hold intelligent conversations. but he is not for sale and sony has no commercial plans for the robot. he will greet visitors and is flying in from japan. he probably has his own airplane seat that is how highly sony prize him said mr irish. also on display will be a virtual keyboard which projects itself onto any flat surface. the event will play host to a large collection of digital music players from companies such as creative sony and philips as well as the ubiquitously fashionable ipod from apple. suggestions that it could be a gaming or wireless christmas are unlikely to come true as mp3 players remain the most popular stocking filler said mr irish. demand is huge and apple has promised that it can supply enough but people might struggle to get their hands on ipod minis said mr irish. for those who like their gadgets to be multi-talented the gizmondo a powerful gaming console with gps and gprs that also doubles up as an mp3 player movie player and camera could be a must-have. what is impressive is how much it can do and how well it can do them said mr irish. this christmas gadgets will not be an all-male preserve. women will be getting gadgets from husbands and boyfriends as well as buying them for themselves said mr irish. gadgets nowadays are lifestyle products rather than just for geeks.

john peel replacement show begins the permanent replacement for late dj john peel s bbc radio 1 show goes on air on tuesday with three hosts chosen to fill the legendary presenter s slot. rock dj huw stephens will go on air in the 2300 slot every tuesday with black music champion ras kwame on wednesdays and dance dj rob da bank on thursdays. rob da bank filled in after peel had a heart attack aged 65 in october. all three will play diverse unpredictable and non-commercial songs under the banner of the onemusic show. radio 1 said the station was not trying to replace peel but would rise to the challenge of keeping his legacy alive with unpredictable music. the three djs were chosen for their in-depth musical knowledge across a variety of musical genres the station said. rob da bank is one of the hosts of the blue room an early morning weekend show which plays electronic and dance music. huw stephens has been one half of the thursday night show bethan and huw in wales which explores new music especially up-and-coming acts in wales. and ras kwame is host of 100% homegrown on radio 1 s digital station 1xtra dedicated to showcasing the best hip-hop and garage. another change to the station line-up will see sara cox return after maternity leave. she will host the lunchtime show on saturdays from this week. good luck to all three of them not one dj could fill peels boots so it s probably a good idea to get them all contributing. this time next year i hope we are saying how well these djs have done but i fear this time next year we will really realise how much john peel will be forever missed. very good idea to continue the legacy without attempting to replace john peel. also there will surely be a wider spectrum for international music as three top radio djs unite under the one world name. congratulations! the whole glory of john peel was the fact he was not commited to one genre. he played what he liked across the range of music.... this is not going to be the same and all they seem to be doing is what they already have. bring back steve lamacq. the obvious heir to john peel is the marvellous wonderful and talented claire kember from totallyradio.com. this lady is young and fresh and is one of the most knowledgeable and likeable people in british broadcasting today. everyone who listens to her show understands and compares her to the ledgendary john peel. bbc radio should seek out the real talent from internet radio stations people who are making a real impact on the world of music and the world in general.

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

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

home loan approvals rising again the number of mortgages approved in the uk has risen for the first time since may last year according to lending figures from the bank of england. new loans in december rose to 83 000 slightly higher than november s nine-year low of 77 000. mortgage lending rose by £7.1bn in december up from a £6.4bn rise in november. the figures contradict a survey from the british bankers association which said approvals were at a five-year low. analysts say the figures show the market may be stabilising but still point to further house price softness. the modest rise in mortgage approvals and lending in december reinforces the impression that the housing market is currently slowing steadily rather than sharply said global insight analyst howard archer commenting on the boe s figures. the bba believes that the property market is continuing to cool down. changes to mortgage regulation may have artificially depressed figures in november thus flattering the december figures analysts said. in october last year new rules came into force which meant some lenders were forced to withdraw mortgage products temporarily in november and defer some lending until they had made sure they had complied with the rules properly. separately the bank of england said that consumer credit rose by £1.5bn in december more than the £1.4bn expected and above the £1.4bn reported in the previous month.

dvd review: harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban this third harry potter film brought a change of director and a dramatic visual shake-up that really shines on dvd. gone are the warm bright colours found in the two earlier films alfonso cuaron brings in a bleak and cold feel that is simply gorgeous - and looks even better here than in the cinema. it is all part of the progression of harry s story into darker areas but you ll spend time just marvelling at the beautiful hogwarts landscape. this is the first potter film where you get so lost in the screen adaptation that you forget the book. it is the third year at hogwarts and studies are interrupted as they always are by a calamity that only harry ron and hermione can put right. it sounds corny. but harry is no longer the winsome hero he is a moody teenager and daniel radcliffe pulls it off very well. emma watson is ever better as hermione and the young stars are joined by the usual myriad famous actors including gary oldman and emma thompson. the film itself is the reason to buy this dvd. but it is laden with behind-the-scenes extras including funny if shallow interviews with all the main cast. but what seems like a long list of features can be swiftly whittled down to the few that you are going to watch. younger viewers will go for the games which include a magic you may have missed memory test and crookshanks chasing off after scabbers. adult viewers will ignore those and go straight to the deleted scenes. you will understand why they were deleted but it is fun to see more footage - and not have to hunt through endless menus to find it as we did on the first harry potter dvd. the most interesting pieces are an interview with jk rowling in creating the vision and conjuring a scene a short featurette about the making of the film s big moments.

african double in edinburgh world 5000m champion eliud kipchoge won the 9.2km race at the view from great edinburgh cross country. the kenyan who was second when newcastle hosted the race last year was in front from the outset. ethiopian duo gebre gebremariam and dejene berhanu made last-gasp efforts to overtake him but kipchoge responded and a burst of speed clinched victory. gavin thompson was the first briton in 12th place while nick mccormick held of his british rivals to win the 4km race. the morpeth harrier led from the end of the first lap and ended mike skinner and andrew baddeley s hopes with a surge in the lasp lap. my training has gone so well i wasn t really worried about the opposition asi knew i was in great shape said mccormick who now hopes to earn a 1 500m place in the british team for the world championships in helsinki. in the women s race ethiopia s tirunesh dibaba won a battle with world cross country champion benita johnson to retain her title. australian johnson who shocked her african rivals in brussels last march looked to be on course for another win in the 6.2km race. but world 5000m champion dibaba make a telling strike for the finishing line in the final 20 metres. britons kathy butler and hayley yelling were out of contention early on.

vera drake s bafta triumph hope at the bafta film awards on saturday night there is the prospect that a home-grown movie could walk off with a clutch of trophies. vera drake mike leigh s tale about a 1950s backstreet abortionist is nominated in 11 categories. these include best film best director and best actress shortlist for imelda staunton who plays the eponymous character. the film has spent months being lauded with prizes from the venice film festival to five awards from the london critics circle on wednesday night. the baftas has a tradition of honouring british cinema and this year vera drake is the obvious candidate to be heaped with praise. empire magazine s reviews editor dan jolin said the film had a very good chance of doing well on saturday predicting that it would collect five or six awards. i don t think it s going to do a lord of the rings-style sweep but imelda staunton is a shoo-in for best actress he said. a best director prize for mike leigh and best british film are also likely and it could steal some awards from heavily-nominated competitors the aviator and finding neverland. mr jolin tipped another contender - most likely the aviator - to walk away with the bafta for best film and added that finding neverland had been lavished with nominations but not trophies. strong oscar contenders million dollar baby and sideways did not figure in the bafta nominations giving vera drake greater potential to walk away with the big prizes. there is a sense that this film is ours and we should slap our own guys on the back. out of all the films in the running for the baftas vera drake is the true blue british one. if mike leigh is going to win awards for anything it should be vera drake at this year s baftas said mr jolin adding that the film was probably his most technically accomplished and lavish work yet. mr jolin also tipped phil davis for a best supporting actor prize for his role in vera drake but felt that heather craney could be outdone by kate winslet or natalie portman in the supporting actress category. if there is anywhere where this film is going to win it will be at the baftas he said. the guardian s film critic peter bradshaw felt that there might well be a sweep of awards for vera drake on saturday night. i hope that bafta voters will respond to the extremely high standard of acting from the whole cast of the film. if bafta can t do so what hope is there he said. mr bradshaw felt that mike leigh s masterpiece was entitled to the best film award - leaving dead man s shoes harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban my summer of love and shaun of the dead to slug it out for the best british film trophy. i will be cheering if vera drake wins a whole host of awards he added.

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.

qpr keeper day heads for preston queens park rangers keeper chris day is set to join preston on a month s loan. day has been displaced by the arrival of simon royce who is in his second month on loan from charlton. qpr have also signed italian generoso rossi. r s manager ian holloway said: some might say it s a risk as he can t be recalled during that month and simon royce can now be recalled by charlton. but i have other irons in the fire. i have had a yes from a couple of others should i need them. day s rangers contract expires in the summer. meanwhile holloway is hoping to complete the signing of middlesbrough defender andy davies - either permanently or again on loan - before saturday s match at ipswich. davies impressed during a recent loan spell at loftus road. holloway is also chasing bristol city midfielder tom doherty.

eu fraud clampdown urged eu member states are failing to report fraud and irregularities in eu funds on a consistent basis the uk s public spending watchdog has said. the national audit office said although the latest figures showed reported fraud was falling the eu still had no common definition of fraud. it also expressed concern that for the 10th year the european court of auditors had qualified the eu accounts. the nao urged the government to push for improvements in reporting fraud. it said member states needed to be more accountable on how money was spent. the report said: member states still do not report fraud and other irregularities to the european anti-fraud office on a consistent basis. as the court has now qualified its opinion on the community accounts for a decade it is essential for all the authorities involved to contribute to the strengthening of the audit of eu revenue and expenditure and improving accountability for the financial management and use of eu resources. it said there were 922 cases of reported fraud or irregularities in eu funds in the uk in 2003 worth £38.5m (52m euros) up from 831 cases worth £35.7m in 2002. at the same time reported fraud throughout the eu dropped from 10 276 cases worth £808m to 8 177 cases worth £644m. edward leigh chairman of the commons public accounts committee said britain had to set an example when it assumed the eu presidency. any fraud in other member states is potentially fraud against the uk taxpayer given that we are the second largest net contributor to the community he said. departments responsible for administering eu funds need to make sure that they re doing everything possible to weed out improper spending. the government must take the opportunity afforded by the uk presidency of the eu to press the commission and other member states to take an equally robust stance against fraud and irregularity and raise overall standards of financial management. a spokesman for the european anti-fraud office said the organisation agreed with the nao s assessment of fraud reporting. the quality of reporting does differ from member state to member state and there is room for improvement spokesman jorg wojahn said. he added that there is generally good co-operation with member states and the anti-fraud office on specific cases of fraud with the statistics studied by nao providing a good overview for planning strategic ways of detecting fraud .

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

bmw to recall faulty diesel cars bmw is to recall all cars equipped with a faulty diesel fuel-injection pump supplied by parts maker robert bosch. the faulty part does not represent a safety risk and the recall only affects pumps made in december and january. bmw said that it was too early to say how many cars were affected or how much the recall would cost. the german company is to extend a planned production break at one of its plants due to the faulty bosch part. the dingolfing site will now be closed all next week instead of for just two days. the additional three-day stoppage will mean a production loss of up to 3 600 vehicles bmw said adding that it was confident it could make up the numbers later. bosch has stopped production of the part but expects to restart by 2 february. the faulty component does not represent a safety risk but causes the motor to stall after a significant amount of mileage. when asked if bmw would be seeking compensation from bosch the carmaker s chief executive helmut panke said: we will first solve the problem before talking about who will pay . audi and mercedes benz were also supplied with the defective diesel fuel-injection pumps but neither of them have to recall any vehicles. a spokesman for daimlerchrysler parent company of mercedes benz said it will however have to halt some production. it is to close the mercedes factory in sindelfingen on monday and tuesday. audi said it had been hit by production bottlenecks due to a shortage of unaffected bosch parts.

big guns ease through in san jose top-seeded americans andy roddick and andre agassi survived minor scares to reach the last eight of the sap open. agassi endured early problems against left-handed dane kenneth carlsen before sealing a 7-5 6-1 victory. and world number three roddick dropped a set to korean player hyung-taik lee before pulling out a 6-3 3-6 6-2 win in san jose california. seventh seed jurgen melzer came through 6-3 6-3 against xavier malisse - winner in delray beach last week. frenchman cyril saulnier meanwhile fired 19 aces to secure a 6-1 7-6 win over czech qualifier tomas zib. roddick broke a racket in frustration in the third game of the second set. and afterwards was unimpressed with his form. i m not playing great he said. but i m through and i m going to keep battling. a lot of people are under the assumption that it s easy to play well every week and it s not. it is the 12th time in 13 appearances at the event that agassi now 34 has progressed to the quarter-final stage. he came from 0-40 down in the opening game to hold serve and gradually wore carlsen down after attacking his backhand. agassi also employed several lobs and charged to the net to unsettle the 31-year-old dane ranked 88th in the world. as the match went on i got real patient and waited for my opportunities and felt pretty good said agassi.

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

o driscoll/gregan lead aid stars ireland s brian o driscoll will lead the northern hemisphere team in the irb rugby aid match at twickenham. o driscoll heads a star-studded cast for the contest to raise funds for the tsunami appeal. the south will be led by george gregan one of four wallabies alongside five springboks and four all blacks including captain tana umaga. south african flanker schalk burger has shaken off a leg injury to take his place in the starting line-up. he will join fellow springboks john smit cobus visagie and victor matfield in the south pack with jacque fourie among the centres. the north side have been hit by the withdrawals of scotland duo gordon bulloch and chris cusiter plus france captain fabien pelous. but leicester s england centre ollie smith has been added to the squad giving him an opportunity to impress lions coach sir clive woodward who takes charge of the north side. i think it s fantastic for ollie tigers coach john wells told bbc radio leicester. he was probably going to have the weekend off this week and i hope clive gets the chance to see the qualities that leicester and england have been seeing all year. woodward will also assess other potential lions candidates such as scotland pair simon taylor and chris paterson wales scrum-half dwayne peel and ireland lock paul o connell. i m looking forward to working with such outstanding players woodward said. both teams are fielding top-quality sides and i really hope that the rugby public and community get behind this game to raise as much money as possible for such a deserving cause. despite the withdrawal of wales wing rhys williams who is required for the blues celtic league match with munster three other members of their six nations squad - ceri sweeney john yapp and jonathan thomas - will also play. not only it is for a good cause but it gives these players the opportunity to play with and against some of the best players in the world said wru general manager steve lewis. supporters can watch the teams train for free at twickenham on friday 4 march. woodward will put his north team through their paces at 1030 gmt with the south side coached by former wallabies coach rod macqueen due at the stadium at 1330. c paterson (scotland) b cohen (england) b o driscoll (ireland capt) d traille (france) o smith (england) c sweeney (wales) d humphreys (ireland) d peel (wales); a lo cicero (italy) p de villiers (france) j yapp (wales) r ibanez (france) p o connell (ireland) m bortolami (italy) j thomas (wales) s taylor (scotland) l dallaglio (england) s parisse (italy) others to be added. c latham (australia); b lima (samoa) j fourie (sa) t umaga (new zealand) s bobo (fiji); a mehrtens (nz) g gregan (aus capt); c hoeft (nz) j smit (sa) c visagie (sa) s maling (nz) v matfield (sa) s burger (sa) p waugh (aus) t kefu (aus). e taukafa (tonga) e guinazu (argentina) s sititi (samoa) o palepoi (samoa) m rauluni (fiji) t delport (sa) a n other.

halo 2 heralds traffic explosion the growing popularity of online gaming could spell problems for net service firms warns network monitoring company sandvine. it issued the warning following analysis which shows that traffic on the xbox game network increased fourfold on the launch day of halo 2. the 9 november traffic explosion has continued into december said sandvine. service providers now need to make sure that their networks can cope with the increasing demands for bandwidth. as well as being a popular single-player title halo 2 can be connected to microsoft s subscription-based broadband network xbox live. gamers who want to play online can create their own clan or team and take on others to see how well they compare. but the surge in numbers and huge demands for bandwidth should be a wake-up call to the industry which must ensure that their networks can cope with the increases in traffic said sandvine s chief technology officer marc morin. in a bid to cope and ease congestion providers are increasingly making their networks intelligent finding out who is using bandwidth and for what. it could become common to charge people for the amount of bandwidth they use. the explosion in xbox live traffic attributed to halo 2 should be seen as a clarion call he said. isps need to enhance the broadband experience for these high-end users by prioritising or reserving bandwidth for games he added. one of the main factors that spoils online gaming is lag in which there is a noticeable delay between a gamer clicking on a mouse or keyboard and what happens in the online gaming world. gamers tend to migrate toward networks with the lowest lag . analysing traffic will become increasingly important for service providers if they are to hold on to bandwidth-hungry gamers said lindsay schroth an analyst with research firm the yankee group. in the competitive broadband environment operators need to differentiate the way they offer access to services like live-play gaming she said. in countries such as korea which has high levels of fast net connections to homes online gaming is hugely popular.

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

ban hits half-life 2 pirates hard about 20 000 people have been banned from playing the half-life 2 game. game maker valve shut down the online accounts of the players because it had evidence that their copy of the game had been obtained illegally. copies of half-life 2 had been circulating on file-sharing systems soon after it was officially released. experts said the success of the half-life 2 anti-piracy system might tempt other game makers into creating their own version. half-life 2 was officially released on 16 november but before gamers could get to grips with the long-awaited title they were forced to authenticate their copy of the game online. authentication involved setting up an account with valve s gaming community system called steam and letting that check which copy of the game was being run. in a statement detailing the banning of the accounts valve said this system helped identify who had got hold of pirated copies. the method used was extremely easy for valve to trace and confirm and so there is no question that the accounts disabled were used to try and illegally obtain half-life 2 read the statement. valve spokesman doug lombardi said that the company had not yet released sales figures for the game and would not say what proportion of all steam players the 20 000 represented. one effect of steam s popularity has been to limit the copies of the game sold in shops and artificially depress the game s ranking in the top ten. even so the title debuted at no 3 in the uk charts. valve also said that a small number of accounts were closed because people were using stolen credit cards to buy copies of the game or were using stolen steam accounts. some of those who have been banned by the move protested their innocence in the online forums on the main steam site and said they were being punished for what other people did with their account. some contributors to the forums wondered if the action might force more piracy as people tried to get hold of successive copies of the game to keep ahead of valve s anti-piracy actions. in its statement valve also said that rumours that it distributed fake half-life 2 keys copies of the game or instructions on how to hack the game just to catch pirates and cheats were false. the company said: the hack came from the community as do they all. it added that most of those banned simply tried to use copies of half-life 2 circulating on file-swapping systems such as bit torrent rather than use hacks to get around the need for cd keys. rob fahey editor of online news site gamesindustry.biz said the mass banning showed off the power of the steam system. before now he said it has been hard for game makers to do anything about piracy once the game was being played. but with this valve is taking really effective steps against people using illegitimate copies of half-life 2 he said. if steam proves effective at cutting the piracy of games to a minimum said mr fahey other game makers may be tempted to set up copycat systems. it s not hard to see a point in the near future when every publisher wants you to run an application on your system purely to allow you to play their games he said. this could mean that computers get cluttered with poorly written steam-type systems that are used to batter people with adverts. unless game firms were careful he said they could face a backlash from consumers who soon get tired of maintaining different accounts for every game they play.

share boost for feud-hit reliance the board of indian conglomerate reliance has agreed a share buy-back to counter the effects of a power struggle in the controlling family. the buy-back is a victory for chairman mukesh ambani whose idea it was. his brother anil the vice-chairman said had not been consulted and that the buy-back was completely inappropriate and unnecessary . the board hopes the move will reverse a 13% fall in reliance s shares since the feud became public last month. the company has been fractious since founder dhirubhai ambani died in 2002 leaving no will. today s round has gone to [mukesh] there is no doubt about it said nanik rupani president of the indian merchants chamber a bombay-based traders body. the company plans to buy back 52 million shares at 570 rupees (£6.80; $13) apiece a premium of more than 10% to its current market price.

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.

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.

parmalat founder offers apology the founder and former boss of parmalat has apologised to investors who lost money as a result of the italian dairy firm s collapse. calisto tanzi said he would co-operate fully with prosecutors investigating the background to one of europe s largest financial scandals. parmalat was placed into bankruptcy protection in 2003 after a 14bn euro black hole was found in its accounts. more than 130 000 people lost money following the firm s collapse. mr tanzi 66 issued a statement through his lawyer after five hours of questioning by prosecutors in parma on 15 january. prosecutors are seeking indictments against mr tanzi and 28 others - including several members of his family and former parmalat chief financial officer fausto tonna - for alleged manipulation of stock market prices and making misleading statements to accountants and italy s financial watchdog. two former parmalat auditors will stand trial later this month for their role in the firm s collapse. i apologise to all who have suffered so much damage as a result of my schemes to make my dream of an industrial project come true mr tanzi s statement said. it is my duty to collaborate fully with prosecutors to reconstruct the causes of parmalat s sudden default and who is responsible. mr tanzi spent several months in jail in the wake of parmalat s collapse and was kept under house arrest until last september. parmalat is now being run by a state appointed administrator enrico bondi who has launched lawsuits against 80 banks in an effort to recover money for the bankrupt company and its shareholders. he has alleged that these companies were aware of the true state of parmalat s finances but continued to lend money to the company. the companies insist they were the victims of fraudulent book-keeping. parmalat was declared insolvent after it emerged that 4 billion euros (£2.8bn; $4.8bn) it supposedly held in an offshore account did not in fact exist. the firm s demise sent shock waves through italy where its portfolio of top-selling food brands and its position as the owner of leading football club parma had turned it into a household name.

oil rebounds from weather effect oil prices recovered in asian trade on tuesday after falling in new york on milder winter weather across the us. with winter temperatures staying relatively high in the northern us a barrel of light crude ended monday down $1.33 to $42.12. however crude prices have rebounded in asia rising to $42.30 a barrel for february delivery. in london trading of brent crude was suspended for a public holiday but the price fell to $39.20 in the far east. with milder temperatures expected to continue in the northern parts of the us over the next few days at least analysts have said the price of oil may fall further - even if the decline was only temporary. weather has been the achilles heel of this market said abn amro analyst john brady. but it is winter in the northeast. eventually we ll get another cold blast. despite a fall of more than $12 a barrel from the record highs reached in late october the price of crude oil remains almost 30% higher than year-ago levels. prices rose last week after militant attacks in riyadh the capital of saudi arabia briefly renewed fears that the supply chain might be broken in the world s leading crude exporter. the market was panicked but fears essentially evaporated... since there was no follow-up said deborah white senior economist for energy at sg securities in paris.

lib dems unveil women s manifesto the liberal democrats are attempting to woo female voters with the launch of their manifesto for women. charles kennedy is pledging a maternity income guarantee and a pension system based on years of residence rather than national insurance payments. he also thinks women will back plans to end university tuition fees and for free long-term care for the elderly. both labour and the conservatives have said they also plan to boost pensions and to improve childcare support. mr kennedy says he wants to deal with policy areas that disadvantage women. two million pensioners in britain currently live below the government s own poverty line - two-thirds of whom are women he said. he says that pensions based on the number of years worked ignore the contribution women make caring for children. the lib dem s citizen s pension based on length of residency not on national insurance contributions would address that imbalance mr kennedy argues. under the package new mothers would be offered minimum guaranteed maternity pay of £170 a week for the first six months after the birth of their first child. mr kennedy also believes the party s plans to use the money saved from not introducing illiberal id cards to boost police numbers by 10 000 would appeal to women too. the policies are not new announcements but the way they are structured as a package to appeal to women is. mr kennedy also points to the fact that 40% of the party s candidates set to stand in winnable or target seats are women. party strategists claim that where women candidates replace men turnout rises by 4%. mr kennedy began the pitch for female support with an interview on bbc radio 4 s women s hour on monday. during the interview mr kennedy revealed that he planned to structure the party s general election campaign around the birth of his first child which is expected in april. the baby and his wife sarah would be priority number one even if it arrived in the middle of the election campaign he said. party strategists believe winning over a significant proportion of women voters is key to electoral success. a party spokesman said it was courting female votes because they tended to vote more than men and are believed to be more considered and open-minded in deciding who they vote for. labour s deputy minister for women jacqui smith accused the lib dems of offering false promises to women and said their sums did not add up. she said: these proposals would increase the costs to the public purse drastically year on year and hard working families will pay dearly through either increased taxes or reduced spending on public services . the labour party has committed itself to universal affordable and flexible childcare for parents of all 3 to 14 year-olds including childcare centred on schools to be available from 8am to 6pm. in september trade and industry secretary patricia hewitt said she would like to see longer paid maternity leave higher paternity pay and the extension of flexible working rights to carers if labour won a third term. the conservatives are yet to unveil their manifesto plans for childcare but said in november they would increase maternity pay and pay the child tax credit in cash to parents to spend as they like on a nanny au pair or even a family member such as a grandparent acting as a carer. they were also consulting on making childcare costs tax deductible.

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

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).

tory leader urges harry apology prince harry should personally make clear how sorry he is about wearing a nazi uniform to a friend s fancy dress party says tory leader michael howard. mr howard whose grandmother died in auschwitz said many people would be offended by the prince s actions clarence house has issued a statement saying the prince has apologised and realised it had been a poor costume. number 10 said an error was made but now harry had apologised the matter should be left to the palace. that was a message repeated by home secretary charles clarke who said the matter should now be left to lie. but lib dem leader charles kennedy said harry was in a privileged position and said he should apologise in person. there is a reservoir of goodwill for prince harry and prince william with him in this country but i think he needs to remember that it can t last forever. he added that sandhurst would probably be good for harry as it would teach him some self discipline. former labour mp lord janner who is a high profile member of britain s jewish community branded harry s action s stupid and evil . he told itv: the time has come for him to make a public apology. it is about common decency of respect to the people who fought the nazis to the families of those who were killed by the nazis and to people who suffered during the holocaust. he added: i would send him in the army as fast as possible. i hope that would teach him not to behave like that. a photograph of prince harry wearing a swastika armband and german desert uniform at the party appears in thursday s sun newspaper under the headline: harry the nazi. mr howard acknowledged the prince s apology and said he had no doubt the prince s father and family would have much to say to him privately about the incident. but he told bbc radio 4 s today programme: it might be appropriate to tell us himself just how contrite he is. mr howard declined to say what form the statement should take. but former buckingham palace press spokesman dicky arbiter said the prince should make a personal broadcast apology. mr clarke said he recognised people s concerns about the costume but argued: he has apologised and i think we should leave the matter there.

amnesty chief laments war failure the lack of public outrage about the war on terror is a powerful indictment of the failure of human rights groups amnesty international s chief has said. in a lecture at the london school of economics irene khan said human rights had been flouted in the name of security since 11 september 2001. she said the human rights movement had to use simpler language both to prevent scepticism and spread a moral message. and it had to fight poverty not just focus on political rights for elites. ms khan highlighted detentions without trial including those at the us camp at guantanamo bay in cuba and the abuse of prisoners as evidence of increasing human rights problems. what s a new challenge is the way in which this age-old debate on security and human rights has been translated into the language of war she said. by using the language of war human rights are being sidelined because we know human rights do not apply in times of war. ms khan said such breaches were infectious and were now seen in almost very major country in the world. the human rights movement faces a crisis of faith in the value of human rights she said. that was accompanied by a crisis of governance where the united nations system did not seem able to hold countries to account. the amnesty secretary-general said a growing gap between the perceived influence of human rights group and what they could actually achieve was fuelling scepticism. public passivity on the war against terror is the single most powerful indictment on the failures of human rights groups she said. ms khan said the movement had failed to mobilise public outrage about what was happening to the human rights system. there needed to be a drive to use simpler language talking about the basic morality of the issues rather than the complexity of legal processes. such efforts could make the issues more relevant to people across the world she said. the human rights groups also had to recognise there were new groups which had to be tackled in new ways as power dripped away from state governments. al-qaeda for example was not going to be impressed by a traditional amnesty letter writing campaign. more also needed to be done to develop a human rights framework for international business corporations. amnesty international members voted in 2001 to extend the organisation s work from political and civil rights to cover social and economic rights too. ms khan said the human rights movement would make itself irrelevant if it turned away from the suffering caused by economic strife. we would be an elitist bunch working for the elites for those who cannot read the newspaper of their choice rather than those who cannot read she said. despite her concerns ms khan dubbed herself a hope-monger saying she was confident the passions of the human rights movement could overcome the new challenges.

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.

queen recruit singer for new tour the remaining members of rock band queen are to go on tour next year with former free and bad company singer paul rodgers taking freddie mercury s place. guitarist brian may has said he expects to be on the road with rodgers and drummer roger taylor from april. may said: suddenly the queen phoenix is rising again from the ashes and will take precedence over... our lives. queen have played with many different singers since mercury s death in 1991 but have reportedly not toured. may performed with rodgers at a concert to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the fender stratocaster guitar in london in september. we were both so amazed at the chemistry that was going on in [free hit] all right now that suddenly it seems blindingly obvious that there was something happening here may wrote on his website. they teamed up again for a concert to mark their induction into the uk music hall of fame and were joined by taylor. the show went so incredibly well from our point of view and we got so many rave reactions from out there we decided almost then and there that we would look at a tour together may wrote. queen went to number one in 2000 with a version of we will rock you sung by boy band 5ive and they have also played with robbie williams will young and bob geldof. queen bassist john deacon has currently retired from the stage. rodgers was singer with early 1970s rockers free who had a global hit with all right now before forming bad company a successful supergroup with members of king crimson and mott the hoople. he has also been in the firm with led zeppelin s jimmy page and the law with the small faces and the who drummer kenny jones.

the comic book genius of stan lee stan lee the man responsible for a string of comic superheroes that have become household names has won a court battle for a slice of the profits from the hit spider-man movies. many marvel at the man who gave his characters extraordinary powers and everyday headaches - a formula which revolutionised comics. born in 1922 to poor working-class jewish immigrants from romania stan lieberman got a job in timely publications a company owned by a relative. he was assigned to the comics division and - thanks to a fertile imagination - rose to editor by the age of 18. for more than 20 years he was the ultimate hack - knocking out crime stories horrors westerns anything to sate the appetite of his juvenile readership. words of more than two syllables were discouraged. characters were either all good or bad with no shades of grey. so embarrassed was lieberman by much of what he was writing that he refused to put his real name on the byline. he assumed the dumb name stan lee now legally adopted. by the time he was 40 lee had decided he was too old for the comic game. his british-born wife joan suggested he had nothing to lose and for his swansong should write the kind of characters he really wanted to create. after a rival comic had come up with a superteam consisting of batman superman and wonder woman timely needed to respond. lee s answer in 1961 was the fantastic four - a team of astronauts who gained super powers after being bombarded with cosmic rays. they were to change lee s life and the comics industry forever. lee gave each character individual everyday teenage problems such as dandruff ingrown toenails and acne. they would frequently fall out with their parents and each other. the fan letters poured in. without immediately knowing it stan lee had ushered in the golden age of comics and his imagination was rekindled. his marvel universe spawned the new title of marvel comics. soon after nerdy peter parker was transformed - after a bite from an irradiated spider - into someone who could crawl up the sides of new york s skyscrapers. spider-man was born. he was to become an icon of modern popular culture. spidey as he is affectionately known had quite extraordinary powers - yet he had problems at work at home and with his girlfriends. at last the teenager was no longer just the sidekick but the main hero. and the hero was no longer just brawn he had brains too. just because he s a hero and has super powers doesn t mean he doesn t have problems stan lee told the bbc. the incredible hulk the mighty thor iron man and the rest all grappled with problems like drug abuse bigotry and social inequality. radically lee gave the artists responsible for the comic designs credits for their work. jack kirby frank miller john romitaand and others achieved cult status in their own right. other superheroes broke new ground in other ways. daredevil was blind black panther was black and silver surfer pondered the state of humanity. lee s influence remains. some years ago the marvel hero northstar came out of the closet. in its heyday marvel was selling 50 million copies a year. until he retired from editing in 1971 stan lee wrote all the copy for marvel s covers. in 1999 his stan lee media venture aimed at marrying comic-strips with the internet went spectacularly wrong. lee went bankrupt and his business partner landed in prison for fraud. in 2001 though he started a new company entitled pow! (purveyors of wonder) entertainment which is currently developing films and television programmes. his latest project is a superhero based on a real person - jay j armes who has metal claws after losing both hands aged 12 and fights crime with a tiger. but his 40-year-old creations are still as enduring as ever - with x-men the hulk and daredevil have all been turned into hollywood action movies in the last five years. but spider-man has been the biggest box office hit with the 2002 original and its 2004 sequel taking almost $1.6bn (£857m) in ticket sales around the world - before dvd and merchandise sales are counted. it seems stan lee is as indestructible as his heroes.

roche turns down federer offer australian tennis coach tony roche has turned down an approach from roger federer to be the world number one s new full-time coach say reports. melbourne s herald-sun said roche troubled by a hip complaint did not want to travel full-time again. however roche is happy to work with the swiss star on a casual basis and is helping him prepare for next month s defence of his australian open crown. federer has been without a coach since splitting with peter lundgren in 2003. roche a former davis cup player for australia won the french open reached the wimbledon and us open finals and won five wimbledon doubles titles with john newcombe. he also coached former number one ivan lendl and pat rafter to grand slam victories and has worked with australia s lleyton hewitt. some reports claim federer initially wanted andre agassi s australian coach darren cahill before agassi confirmed he would play on in 2005. federer was named swiss sportsman of the year on saturday to add to the bbc overseas sportsman and european sports journalists association awards he has already won.

dollar hits new low versus euro the us dollar has continued its record-breaking slide and has tumbled to a new low against the euro. investors are betting that the european central bank (ecb) will not do anything to weaken the euro while the us is thought to favour a declining dollar. the us is struggling with a ballooning trade deficit and analysts said one of the easiest ways to fund it was by allowing a depreciation of the dollar. they have predicted that the dollar is likely to fall even further. the us currency was trading at $1.364 per euro at 1800 gmt on monday. this compares with $1.354 to the euro in late trading in new york on friday which was then a record low. the dollar has weakened sharply since september when it traded about $1.20 against the euro. it has lost 7% this year while against the japanese yen it is down 3.2%. traders said that thin trading levels had amplified monday s move. it s not going to take much to push [the dollar] one way or the other said grant wilson of mellon bank. liquidity - a measure of the number of parties willing to trade in the market - was about half that of a normal working day traders said.

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.

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

ten-year tragedy of missing manic richey edwards guitarist and lyricist for the manic street preachers vanished 10 years ago on 1 february 1995. his disappearance remains one of the most tragic mysteries in rock music. for his devoted fans richey edwards was an inspired and inspiring poet a man who articulated their desperation and despair who shouted the things most kept hidden. the manic street preachers may only have become stadium-conquering rock giants since his disappearance - but edwards was the figurehead for their first dangerous and dazzling incarnation. edwards did not feature in the original line-up of the band though. singer/guitarist james dean bradfield bassist nicky wire and drummer sean moore were originally accompanied by a rhythm guitarist called flicker. but edwards replaced flicker in time for the band s self-financed debut suicide alley after designing the record s artwork. after becoming a full-time member edwards became a critical part of the band writing lyrics and playing guitar - though in many concerts he was not actually plugged in. but the fiercely intelligent edwards - who name-checked writers such as sylvia plath george orwell and philip larkin - battled depression alcohol problems eating disorders and self-harm. by the time the band released their third album the holy bible in october 1994 edwards had been admitted to hospital with depression. but in his last interview a few months later seemed to be making plans for the future. edwards walks out of the embassy hotel in london in the early morning ahead of the band s us tour to promote the holy bible. in the following days police issue a missing person alert and his parents graham and sherry plead for their son to let them know he is safe and well. police discover edwards car in a car park near the severn bridge near bristol - a notorious suicide spot. the discovery leads many to believe he has killed himself. the rest of the band stop touring and recording. the band play their first concerts since edwards disappearance as a trio performing support slots for the stone roses on their uk stadium tour. the manic street preachers release their first music since edwards disappearance. a design for life reaches number two in the uk singles chart. the album everything must go follows. the manics win best band and best album for everything must go at the brit awards. a fan says she saw edwards in the hippy resort of goa india. interpol are alerted but do not track him down. graham and sherry edwards fly to the spanish island of fuerteventura six weeks after reports a man fitting their son s description has been seen in a bar called underground. the report comes to nothing. edwards sister rachel makes an emotional tv appeal five years after the disappearance. i d just like to say to him if he is able to listen that we do love him very much and we d like him to come back - me mum and dad she said. the band play a concert in the cuban capital havana - the first contemporary western rock band to play there. on the seventh anniversary of his disappearance police offer edwards parents the opportunity to sign a death certificate. they refuse. the big issue magazine which supports homelessness charities prints the last known picture of edwards in a fresh plea for information. a pair of trainers containing human bones washed up on the banks of the river severn have no link to edwards police say. the last song written by edwards - a song called judge y self which was to have been used for the judge dredd film soundtrack - is released on the b-side compilation lipstick traces. a skeleton found by the river severn is not edwards tests reveal. the manics seventh studio album lifeblood features a song dedicated to edwards called cardiff afterlife. the remaining manic street preachers members continue to pay a quarter of the band s royalties into an account held in his name.

parties warned over grey vote political parties cannot afford to take older uk voters for granted in the coming election says age concern. a survey for the charity suggests 69% of over-55s say they always vote in a general election compared with just 17% of 18 to 24 year olds. charity boss gordon lishman said if a decisive blow was struck at the election it would be by older voters who could be relied on to turn out. a total of 3 028 adults aged 18 or over were interviewed for the study. mr lishman urged the next government to boost state pension. he also called for measures to combat ageism and build effective public services to support us all in an ageing society . older people want to see manifesto commitments that will make a difference to their lives mr lishman said. political parties must wake up to the fact that unless they address the demands and concerns of older people they will not keep or attract their vote. in the survey carried out by icm research 14% of people aged between 18 and 34 said they never voted in general elections. among the over-65s 70% said they would be certain to vote in an immediate election compared with 39% of people under 55. age concern says the over-55s are united around key areas of policy they want the government to focus on. for 57% pensions and the nhs were key issues while the economy was important for a third and tax was a crucial area for 25%. the report was welcomed by conservative shadow pensions secretary david willetts. the pensioners voice must certainly be heard in the next election as they have never fitted into blair s cool britannia he said. labour s continued refusal to admit the true extent of the pensions crisis will be one of the monumental failures of this government. he pointed to tory plans to increase the basic state pension to reduce means testing strengthen company pensions and encourage savings. a liberal democrat spokesman said the party took the issues raised in the report very seriously. he highlighted the party s promises to raise the basic state pension provide free long-term care for the elderly and replace council tax seen as a particular problem for pensioners on fixed incomes. labour has said it wants to use savings reforms to incapacity benefit to improve the basic state pension and has set up a review of the council tax system.

market unfazed by aurora setback as the aurora limped back to its dock on 20 january a blizzard of photos and interviews seemed to add up to an unambiguous tale of woe. the ship had another slice of bad luck to add to its history of health scares and technical trouble. and its owner p&o cruises - now part of the huge us carnival corporation - was looking at a significant slice chopped off this year s profits and a potential pr fiasco. no-one however seems to have told the stock markets. the warning of a five-cent hit to 2005 earnings came just 24 hours after one of the world s biggest investment banks had upped its target for carnival s share price from £35 to £36.20. other investors barely blinked and by 1300 gmt carnival s shares in london were down a single penny or 0.03% at £32.26. why the mismatch between the public perception and the market s response the aurora issue had been an ongoing one for some time says deutsche bank s simon champion. it was clearly a source of uncertainty for the company - it was a long cruise after all. but the stock market is very good at treating these issues as one-off events. despite its string of bad luck he pointed out aurora is just one vessel in a large carnival fleet the uk s p&o princess group having been merged into the much larger us firm in 2003. and generally speaking carnival has a reputation for keeping its ships pretty much on schedule. carnival has an incredibly strong track record mr champion. similarly analysts expect the impact on the rest of the cruise business to be limited. the hundreds of disappointed passengers who have now had to give up the opportunity to spend the next three months on the aurora have got both a refund and a credit for another cruise. that should mitigate some of the pr risk both for carnival and its main competitor royal caribbean. while not common cancellations for technical reasons are not entirely unusual in the industry wrote analysts from citigroup smith barney in a note to clients on friday. moreover such events typically have a limited impact on bookings and pricing for future cruises. after all the aurora incident may be big news in the uk - but for carnival customers elsewhere it s unlikely to make too much of a splash. assuming that citigroup is right and demand stays solid the structure of the industry also works in carnival s favour. in the wake of p&o princess s takeover by carnival the business is now to a great extent a duopoly. given the expense of building outfitting and running a cruise ship slowing supply growth is a certainty said david anders at merrill lynch on thursday. in other words if you do want a cruise your options are limited. and with carnival remaining the market leader it looks set to keep selling the tickets - no matter what happens to the ill-fated aurora in the future.

mccall earns tannadice reprieve dundee united manager ian mccall has won a reprieve from the sack with chairman eddie thompson calling for an end to speculation over his future. it is understood that mccall would have been sacked if sheffield wednesday manager paul sturrock had been willing to return to tannadice. but sturrock has distanced himself from the position. we re in a difficult situation. we must get out of it through the efforts of current personnel said thompson. ian mccall and i have had a long and detailed talk about a number of areas including the current league position and the manner of the exit from the league cup he added. however the continuing speculation is doing no one any good especially as we have several crucial games coming up. the minds of the coaching staff and the players have to be on those games and those games only. our season would of course improve considerably if in the next few weeks we achieved some improved league results and there is also the potential of another cup semi-final subject to the draw. all that matters at the present time - is us all having a total focus on the games ahead and a positive series of results being achieved. dundee united players had expressed their solidarity with mccall after their side s 3-0 scottish cup win over queen of the south. we want the boss to stay we don t want someone else coming in said jim mcintyre. hopefully now he gets the chance to stay. keeper tony bullock echoed mcintyre s sentiments. i think all the boys are behind ian mccall he added. at the moment it is all speculation and we have got to rise above all that and do a job on the pitch. on saturday sturrock insisted that he had unfinished business with wednesday who are fourth in league one. i ve only been here five months and i don t expect to be leaving very very soon he said. i can appreciate the rumours because i ve emphasised my thoughts and ambitions to go back to dundee united. i can assure you the timescale is not the right one. it (dundee united) is my team. i had five years there as a coach six as a player two years as a manager - once you ve done that kind of thing it s the result you look for. the important thing now is i ve come here to do a job and i m going to try to finish it.

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.

byrds producer melcher dies at 62 record producer terry melcher who was behind hits by the byrds ry cooder and the beach boys has died aged 62. the son of actress doris day he helped write kokomo for the beach boys which was used in the movie cocktail earning a 1988 golden globe nomination. he also produced mr tambourine man for the byrds as well as other his such as turn turn turn. melcher died on friday night at his home in beverly hills california after a long battle with skin cancer. he joined columbia records as a producer in the mid-1960s and also worked with gram parsons and the mamas and the papas. earlier in his career melcher had hits as part of duo called bruce & terry with future beach boy bruce johnston which evolved into the rip chords group. melcher also worked closely with his mother producing the doris day show and helping to run her charitable activities. in 1969 his name became linked with the charles manson murders which saw the deaths of actress sharon tate and four of her friends at a home which melcher once rented. rumours circulated that melcher - who knew manson - was the killer s real target because he had turned him down for a record contract. but los angeles police discounted the rumours pointing out melcher had moved to malibu and manson knew of his new address.

actor scott is new bond favourite bookmaker william hill has stopped taking bets on who will be the next james bond following a succession of large wagers on actor dougray scott. the firm closed the book on friday saying insider information could have contributed to the number of bets. in the past gambles like this have often been right william hill spokesman rupert adams said. the closing list gave scott odds of 6-9 followed by oscar nominee clive owen at 5-2. scott first found fame in the tv series soldier soldier and has since then starred in such films as mission impossible ii and the wartime drama enigma. mr adams said one punter had placed a bet of £870 on the 39-year-old actor at odds of 8-1. she told us she had some inside information perhaps she knew he had been to a casting but she wouldn t say he said. others thought to be in the running include star wars actor ewan mcgregor and australian star hugh jackman both of whom have odds of 4-1. colin farrell jude law and troy star eric bana have also been tipped for the role in the past. a large number of bets on actor colin salmon to become the first black james bond were dismissed as a publicity stunt a month ago. the next bond film originally due for release in 2005 has been delayed until 2006 due to sony s takeover of the mgm studio. the most recent die another day was released in late 2002 and saw pierce brosnan make his final appearance as the secret agent. the actor was originally due to make a fifth appearance as bond but was released from his contract in 2004.

what really divides the parties so what is the gap between labour and the tories nowadays one starbucks one rymans and one small greek cafe as it happens. both parties have now completed their moves to new headquarters with labour creating its election hub just three doors away from the tories new headquarters in victoria street just down the road from the commons. that should make things a little easier if and when the crack-of-dawn election press conferences kick off. unlike 2001 there should be no need for colleagues to have taxis gunning their engines outside or to buy scooters to get themselves between the tightly-timetabled events. and to all intents and purposes we already appear to be in that general election campaign. certainly the press conference hosted by election co-ordinator alan milburn in the rather compact new conference room - still smelling of new carpet and with the garish new labour coffee mugs as yet unstained - had all the hallmarks of an election event. welcome to the unremittingly new labour media centre he said. and i ll bet he hadn t checked that one with gordon brown. along with work and pensions secretary alan johnson and minister for work jane kennedy he then went on to tear into the tory plans to scrap the new deal welfare-to-work scheme which they claimed would lead to an increase of almost 300 000 in unemployment. and they ridiculed the claims made on monday by michael howard that he could save £35 billion of labour waste and inefficiency to spend on public services while also offering £4 billion of tax cuts. labour has come up with a figure of £22 billions worth of efficiency savings so understandably perhaps believe mr howard must be planning cuts to squeeze the extra £13 billion. these figures based on the two parties own detailed studies will be battered to within an inch of their lives during the campaign. wednesday was just the start.

video phone help for deaf people deaf people who prefer to communicate using british sign language (bsl) could soon be having their phone conversations relayed using webcams or videophones and an interpreter. the video relay service is being piloted by the royal national institute for deaf people (rnid) but the organisation says unless the service is provided at the same rate as voice calls it will be beyond most people s pockets. the rnid is urging telecoms regulator ofcom to reduce the cost of the service from the current £7.00 per minute and make it the same as ordinary phone calls. the service works by putting a deaf person in visual contact with a bsl interpreter via a webcam or video phone and the interpreter then relays the deaf person s conversation using a telephone and translates the other person s response into sign language. for many deaf people especially those born deaf bsl is a first and preferred means of communication. until now the only alternative has been to use textphones which means having to type a message and have it relayed via an operator. in the past i ve used textphones but they have problems said robert currington who is taking part in the pilot. i communicate in bsl; my written english is not very good and it takes me longer to think in english and type my message. i sometimes find it difficult to understand the reply. the rnid says the uk is lagging behind other countries which are already making relay services available at the cost of an ordinary phone call. there are no technical or economic reasons for not providing equivalent access to services for deaf people said rnid technology director guido gybels. in the us and australia sign language relay services have already been made universally available at the same cost as a voice call. by failing to provide and fund the video relay service for sign language users the telecommunications sector is effectively discriminating against an already disenfranchised group. ofcom says it has plans to review the services that telecoms companies are obliged to provide early next year. and new technology including the video relay service will be discussed with interested parties in the near future. but a spokesman said its powers were limited by legislation. any proposals to extend existing arrangements to cover new services would be for government to consider he said. mr currington like many of the uk s 70 000 bsl users will be hoping that a way can be found to make a cost-effective service available. the relay service makes phone conversations a pleasure he said. i can show my emotions more easily in bsl in the same way hearing people express emotions through voice calls.

visa decision every 11 minutes visa processing staff are sometimes expected to rule on an application every 11 minutes mps have said. pressure was placed on staff to be efficient rather than to do a thorough examination of an application the public accounts committee found. every officer had an annual target of 8 000 applications - equivalent to 40 a day or one every 11 minutes. mps want research into whether uk visa holders leave at the end of their stays or vanish into the black market. committee chairman edward leigh said: there is a worrying tension between quick processing and proper control over the visas issued. entry clearance staff are expected to deal with a visa application in about 11 minutes which is surely too little time to look closely at the supporting documents. the committee s report also discussed the romanian and bulgarian visas scandal which led to the resignation of immigration minister beverley hughes last year. committee members said the home office had been wrong to dismiss concerns from visa staff abroad who feared the system was being abused. investigations carried out in the wake of ms hughes resignation found more than 7 000 people had entered the uk under the business visa scheme for romanian and bulgarian entrepreneurs . mr leigh said the home office should now consider removing those who had not set up a valid business. a home office spokesman said the system had been toughened and tightened since the investigation. he added that the traditional system of a dual decision making process for all pre-entry applications will be replaced by a single pre-entry check at post which will be simpler and more robust against abuse than the current system .

u2 to play at grammy awards show irish rock band u2 are to play live at the grammy awards presentation in the us next month organisers have said. other acts to play include soul singer alicia keys country singer tim mcgraw and punk band green day at the event on 13 february in los angeles. u2 are nominated twice for their recent single vertigo including a nomination for best rock song. this year the grammys have been dominated by rap star kanye west who is in contention for 10 awards. us comedian ellen degeneres and singer christine milian will present awards at the event. last week grammy producers announced the show will be hosted by rap star and chicago actress queen latifah. it will be held at the staples center. u2 had number one success in the album charts on both sides of the atlantic in november when their latest studio album how to dismantle an atomic bomb topped the us and uk charts. the band who are also dominated for best international album at this year s brit awards are to undertake a major world tour this year their first for four years.

tories outlining policing plans local communities would be asked to go to the polls to elect their own area police commissioner under plans unveiled by the conservatives. party leader michael howard said the new role would replace inconspicuous police authorities. he said the new office would not supersede the job of a chief constable. the lib dems said the plan could let extreme groups run policing while labour criticised extravagant tory promises on policing. responding to the plans the chairman of the police federation of england and wales which represents rank and file officers said it was essential operational independence was retained. jan berry said: it is a service not a political football to be kicked around every time an election approaches. these plans could result in those with extreme political views dictating what actually happens on the ground she warned. outlining his crime manifesto mr howard said elected police commissioners would be more accountable than police authorities which are made up of local councillors and magistrates. the commissioner will have the powers which existing police authorities have he told bbc radio 4 s today programme. the trouble is and it s no reflection on the people who are on the police authority - they are good people - but hardly anyone knows who they are. mr howard said the authorities were not providing the local accountability that we want to see and that elected police commissioners would be more visible. critics fear the move could hand control of the police to single-issue campaigners who would ignore the needs of the wider community. lord harris who sits on the executive of association of police authorities said the plans seemed to suggest chief constables should be told what to do by a single politician. that is overturning nearly 200 years of the way in which we have organised policing in this country to avoid the politicisation of policing decisions he said. liberal democrat home affairs spokesman mark oaten said the plan was dangerous and could create conflict between chief constables and elected officials . mr oaten said local people had too little control over policing but a far better solution would be for elected councillors to draw up a minimum policing guarantee with their chief constables. a labour party spokesman criticised michael howard s record saying police numbers had fallen by 1 132 when he was home secretary. he said: today the tories are making more extravagant promises on the police without making clear how they would pay for them other than through fantasy savings to the asylum system. the tories insists the commissioner role would not be like that of an american sheriff. other tory law and order plans include building more prisons and making criminals serve full jail sentences.

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.

eu software patent law faces axe the european parliament has thrown out a bill that would have allowed software to be patented. politicians unanimously rejected the bill and now it must go through another round of consultation if it is to have a chance of becoming law. during consultation the software patents bill could be substantially re-drafted or even scrapped. the bill was backed by some hi-tech firms saying they needed protections it offered to make research worthwhile. hugo lueders european director for public policy at comptia an umbrella organization for technology companies said only when intellectual property was adequately protected would european inventors prosper. he said the benefits of the bill had been obscured by special interest groups which muddied debate over the rights and wrongs of software patents. other proponents of the bill said it was a good compromise that avoided the excesses of the american system which allows the patenting of business practices as well as software. but opponents of the bill said that it could stifle innovation be abused by firms keen to protect existing monopolies and could hamper the growth of the open source movement. the proposed law had a troubled passage through the european parliament. its progress was delayed twice when polish meps rejected plans to adopt it. also earlier this month the influential european legal affairs committee (juri) said the law should be re-drafted after it failed to win the support of meps. to become law both the european parliament and a qualified majority of eu states have to approve of the draft wording of the bill. the latest rejection means that now the bill on computer inventions must go back to the eu for re-consideration.

mcdonald s to sponsor mtv show mcdonald s the world s largest restaurant chain is to sponsor a programme on music channel mtv as part of its latest youth market promotion. the show advance warning highlights new talent and mtv reckons it will give mcdonald s access to nearly 400 million homes in 162 countries. mcdonald s golden arches name and i m loving it catchphrase will be used throughout the half-hour programme. the move comes amid growing concerns about obesity in europe and the us. the european union has called on the food industry to reduce the number of adverts aimed at young children warning that legislation would be introduced. unless voluntary steps were taken. in the us food group kraft is among firms that already have cut back on promoting sugar and fattening products to the young. mcdonalds has also been taking steps to improve its junk food reputation revamping its menu and providing clients with health-related products such as pedometers. as well as burgers like the big mac and quarter pounder with cheese the company now sells healthier options such as salads and fresh fruit. chief executive jim skinner attributed an 8.3% increase in january worldwide sales to the vitality of our menu among other things. hooking up with mtv is expected to add extra momentum to mcdonald s recent revival. mtv which played a key role in the emergence of the music video is to show advance warning on all 25 of its channels across the world. the programme can at present only been seen in the us where it has featured artists like british stars joss stone and franz ferdinand. mcdonald s has targeted the youth market in the past with its advertisements signing up stars like jelly-legged dancer justin timberlake and all-woman singing group destiny s child.

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

child access law shake-up planned parents who refuse to allow former partners contact with their children could be electronically tagged under plans being considered by ministers. curfews and community service orders were other options which could be used if court orders to allow parental access were defied lord falconer said. the constitutional affairs secretary outlined some of the plans on tuesday. he denied fathers activists had forced the changes telling the bbc there is a recognition that something is wrong . between 15 000 and 20 000 couples go to court to resolve access disputes each year although in nine out of 10 separations there is no court intervention. lord falconer told bbc radio 4 s today programme he hoped voluntary mediation could help solve disputes before they reached court. but he opposed compulsory mediation saying that it would lead to many people taking part with the wrong attitude. other plans include: - parenting plans to give advice on access arrangements based on real-life examples that have worked in the past - extending in-court conciliation - more informal hearings before contested court cases - better access to legal emotional and practical advice by telephone and internet - legal aid changes to give incentives for early resolution of disputes. judges can already jail parents who breach contact orders but that was a nuclear option which was rarely used as it was not seen as being in the child s interests a spokesman said. the aim of the new legislation was to provide a medium range of penalties such as fines community service orders compulsory anger management or parenting classes or curfews. failure to comply with these measures could result in offenders being electronically tagged. on the possibility of tagging uncooperative parents lord falconer said: tagging may be going too far but let s have a debate about that. full details of the new powers will not be revealed until a bill is published in the next two weeks a spokesman said. the government s proposals have met with disapproval from fathers rights groups. john ison from the controversial group fathers 4 justice said: it is very disappointing. what we have got is a cynical case of recycling existing legislation. jim parton from families need fathers said the new proposals lacked compulsion . we would like to see couples develop a plan and then have it as a source of a court order - then you know where you stand you know what the minimum access is. otherwise you see people make agreements which then fall apart. mr parton said he had been told by children s minister margaret hodge there was not enough time to pass the bill through parliament before the general election which is likely to take place in may. the conservatives have called for an equal split between parents on access to be made law. theresa may shadow secretary for the family told bbc radio 4 s today programme that the government s plans were inadequate and were papering over the cracks of the current system . she said a conservative government would bring a radical reform of the family courts as well as enforcing a legal presumption of co-parenting and compulsory mediation . we want to make courts the last resort rather than the first resort she added. the government says children cannot simply be divided up like property when a marriage collapses. the liberal democrats have argued for flexibility in deciding access rules rather than having rigid targets .

blogger grounded by her airline a us airline attendant is fighting for her job after she was suspended over postings on her blog or online diary. queen of the sky otherwise known as ellen simonetti evolved into an anonymous semi-fictional account of life in the sky. but after she posted pictures of herself in uniform delta airlines suspended her indefinitely without pay. ms simonetti was told her suspension was a result of inappropriate images. delta airlines declined to comment. i was really shocked i had no warning ms simonetti told bbc news online. i never thought i would get in trouble because of the blog. i thought if they had a problem someone would have said something before taking action. the issue has highlighted concerns amongst the growing blogging community about conflicts of interest employment law and free speech on personal websites. ms simonetti was suspended on 25 september pending an investigation and has since lodged a complaint with the us equal employment opportunity commission (eeoc). a spokesperson for delta airlines told bbc news online: all i can tell you is we do not discuss internal employee issues with the media. she added she could not say whether a similar situation over personal websites had occurred in the past. ms simonetti started her personal blog in january to help her get over her mother s death. she had ensured she made no mention of which airline she worked for and created fictional names for cities and companies. the airline s name was changed to anonymous airline and the city in which she was based was called quirksville. a large part of the blog contained fictional stories because queen of the sky developed over the months as a character in her own right according to ms simonetti. the images were taken from a digital camera she had inherited from her mother. we often take pictures on flight or on layovers. i just though why not include them on my blog for fun. i never meant it as something to harm my company and don t understand how they think it did harm them ms simonetti said. she has also claimed that pictures of male delta airline employees in uniform are freely available on the web. of the 10 or so images on the site only one showed ms simonetti s flight wings . they did not tell me which pictures they had a problem with. i am just assuming it was the one of me posing on seats where my skirt rode up she said. the images were removed as soon as she learned she had been suspended. as far as ms simonetti knows there is no company anti-blogging policy. there is guidance which suggests the company uniform cannot be used without approval from management but use in personal pictures on websites is unclear. jeffrey matsuura director of the law and technology programme at the university of dayton said personal websites can be hazardous for both employers and their employees. there are many examples of employees who have presented some kind of material online that have gotten them in trouble with employers he said. it was crucial that any policy about what was and what was not acceptable was expressed clearly was reasonable and enforced fairly in company policy. you have to remember that as an employee you don t have total free speech anymore he said. mr matsuura added that some companies actively encouraged employees to blog. one of the areas where it does become a problem is that they encourage this when it suits them but they may not be particularly clear when they [employees] do cross the line. he speculated that delta might be concerned that the fictional content on the blog may be linked back to the airline after the images of ms simonetti in uniform were posted. whether or not that is successful will depend on what exactly is prohibited and whether you can reasonably say this content now crosses that line he said. ms simonetti said her suspension has caused two of her friends to discontinue their blogs. one of them was asked to stop blogging by his company before any action was taken. if they had asked me just take down the blog i would have done it but that was not been given to me as an option she said. this blogging thing is obviously a new problem for employers and they need to get a policy about it. if i had known it would cost me my job i would not have done that.

nigeria to boost cocoa production the government of nigeria is hoping to triple cocoa production over the next three years with the launch of an ambitious development programme. agriculture minister adamu bello said the scheme aimed to boost production from an expected 180 000 tonnes this year to 600 000 tonnes by 2008. the government will pump 154m naira ($1.1m; £591 000) into subsidies for farming chemicals and seedlings. nigeria is currently the world s fourth-largest cocoa producer. cocoa was the main export product in nigeria during the 1960s. but with the coming of oil the government began to pay less attention to the cocoa sector and production began to fall from a peak of about 400 000 tonnes a year in 1970. at the launch of the programme in the south-western city of ibadan mr bello explained that an additional aim of the project is to encourage the processing of cocoa in the country and lift local consumption. he also announced that 91m naira of the funding available had been earmarked for establishing cocoa plant nurseries. the country could be looking to emulate rival ghana which produced a bumper crop last year. however some farmers are sceptical about the proposals. people who are not farming will hijack the subsidy said joshua osagie a cocoa farmer from edo state told reuters. the farmers in the village never see any assistance he added. at the same time as nigeria announced its new initiative ghana - the world s second largest cocoa exporter - announced revenues from the industry had broken new records. the country saw more than $1.2bn-worth of the beans exported during 2003-04. analysts said high tech-production techniques and crop spraying introduced by the government led to the huge crop pushing production closer to levels seen in the 1960s when the country was the world s leading cocoa grower.

parties warned over grey vote political parties cannot afford to take older uk voters for granted in the coming election says age concern. a survey for the charity suggests 69% of over-55s say they always vote in a general election compared with just 17% of 18 to 24 year olds. charity boss gordon lishman said if a decisive blow was struck at the election it would be by older voters who could be relied on to turn out. a total of 3 028 adults aged 18 or over were interviewed for the study. mr lishman urged the next government to boost state pension. he also called for measures to combat ageism and build effective public services to support us all in an ageing society . older people want to see manifesto commitments that will make a difference to their lives mr lishman said. political parties must wake up to the fact that unless they address the demands and concerns of older people they will not keep or attract their vote. in the survey carried out by icm research 14% of people aged between 18 and 34 said they never voted in general elections. among the over-65s 70% said they would be certain to vote in an immediate election compared with 39% of people under 55. age concern says the over-55s are united around key areas of policy they want the government to focus on. for 57% pensions and the nhs were key issues while the economy was important for a third and tax was a crucial area for 25%. the report was welcomed by conservative shadow pensions secretary david willetts. the pensioners voice must certainly be heard in the next election as they have never fitted into blair s cool britannia he said. labour s continued refusal to admit the true extent of the pensions crisis will be one of the monumental failures of this government. he pointed to tory plans to increase the basic state pension to reduce means testing strengthen company pensions and encourage savings. a liberal democrat spokesman said the party took the issues raised in the report very seriously. he highlighted the party s promises to raise the basic state pension provide free long-term care for the elderly and replace council tax seen as a particular problem for pensioners on fixed incomes. labour has said it wants to use savings reforms to incapacity benefit to improve the basic state pension and has set up a review of the council tax system.