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campaign cold calls questioned labour and the conservatives are still telephoning the millions of people who have signed up to make sure they do not get marketing cold calls . the parties say they can stick to the rules by ensuring that their calls are not marketing - for instance by asking about people s voting intentions. the lib dems are asking the watchdog overseeing the rules to stop the calls. the information commissioner s office says surveys are allowed but people had to be told if personal data was kept. telephone call centres are expected to be used as never before by all the three major parties in the run-up to the general election. but seven million telephone numbers are on the telephone preference service (tps) lists which ban unsolicited sales and marketing calls. both schemes are run by the direct marketing association and backed by eu directives on privacy and electronic communications. the rules on marketing calls apply as much to politicians as to private sector companies. but that does not mean labour and the tories are not calling people signed up to the tps. a labour party spokesman told the bbc news website the party avoided those on tps lists when telephoning people about membership or fundraising. but that did not happen for voter identification calls. when we ask which party they will vote for that is not marketing and we have very clear legal advice that it is not he said. so it is not covered by the telephone preference service. he said the party always asked people if they would be happy to be contacted again and if they said no they were not rung again. a conservative spokeswoman said the party stuck to the rules when it rang tps subscribers. she said: we do apply tps but in line with the law. we would not do things that are not allowed in the law. assistant information commissioner phil jones said it was classed as marketing if political parties telephoned people to encourage them to vote for them. but classic market research such as a poll of voter intentions did not constitute direct marketing he said. if a party is calling someone who is registered on tps and records their voting intention with a view to using this information in the future this should be clear to the voter concerned said mr jones. if a party rings a person who is registered on tps to ask about their voting intention and goes on to encourage that voter to support them the party may well be in breach of the regulations. in summary whether a party calling tps registered voters to check their voting intentions will breach regulations will depend on the script used and whether the script is followed. mr jones said the watchdog received very few complaints on the issue. earlier lib dem chairman matthew taylor wrote to the watchdog saying: the advice we have received on several previous occasions is that such phone calls are illegal. he says evidence from local lib dem parties around the country suggests there are significant numbers of such calls. i hope you can therefore take swift and efficient action to ensure that this ceases he tells the commissioner. mr taylor argues there should be new guidelines so all parties can act in the same way if the watchdog believes the rules allow parties to ring tps numbers about voting intentions and later urge those people to vote for them. | business | 2 |
computer grid to help the world your computer can now help solve the world s most difficult health and social problems. launched this week the world community grid will use idle computer time to test solutions to these problems. the donated processor cycles will help the wcg create virtual supercomputers via the net. the idea follows the success of other similar projects that have used the untapped processing power of millions of desktop pcs. one of the most successful collaboration projects was seti@home run by the search for extra terrestrial life project which sorted through radio signals looking for signs of alien communication. anyone can volunteer to donate the spare time of their computers by downloading a special screensaver from the wgc website. once installed the virtual terminal gets a chunk of the computational task to process and reports back after completing that task. the first wcg problem being tackled will be the human proteome folding project which hopes to identify the ways that the proteins in our body fold. the subjects of study are being selected by an international advisory board of experts specializing in health sciences and technology. the body will evaluate proposals from leading research public and not-for-profit organizations and is expected to oversee up to six projects a year. organisations also represented on the board include the united nations development programme and the world health organisation. the world community grid will enable researchers around the globe to gather and analyze unprecedented quantities of data to help address important global issues said elain gallin program director for medical research at the doris duke charitable foundation. [it] will inspire us to look beyond the technological limitations that have historically restricted us from addressing some of our most intractable problems she added. ibm has donated the hardware software technical services and expertise to build the basic infrastructure for the grid. the computer company working with united devices previously developed the smallpox research grid which linked together more than two million volunteers from 226 countries to speed the analysis of some 35 million drug molecules in the search for a treatment for smallpox. | science and tech | 0 |
van nistelrooy set to return manchester united striker ruud van nistelrooy may make his comeback after an achilles tendon injury in the fa cup fifth round tie at everton on saturday. he has been out of action for nearly three months and had targeted a return in the champions league tie with ac milan on 23 february. but manchester united manager sir alex ferguson hinted he may be back early. he said: there is a chance he could be involved at everton but we ll just have to see how he comes through training. the 28-year-old has been training in holland and ferguson said: ruud comes back on tuesday and we need to assess how far on he is. the training he has been doing in holland has been perfect and i am very satisfied with it. even without van nistelrooy united made it 13 wins in 15 league games with a 2-0 derby victory at manchester city on sunday. but they will be boosted by the return of the dutch international who is the club s top scorer this season with 12 goals. he has not played since aggravating the injury in the 3-0 win against west brom on 27 november. ferguson was unhappy with van nistelrooy for not revealing he was carrying an injury. united have also been hit by injuries to both alan smith and louis saha during van nistelrooy s absence meaning wayne rooney has sometimes had to play in a lone role up front. the teenager has responded with six goals in nine games including the first goal against city on sunday. | business | 2 |
bell set for england debut bath prop duncan bell has been added to england s 30-man squad to face ireland in the rbs six nations. and with phil vickery sidelined for at least six weeks with a broken arm and julian white out with a neck injury bell could make his england debut. bell 30 had set his sights on an international career with wales. but last december the international rugby board confirmed that he could only be eligible for england as he had travelled on tour with them in 1998. england coach andy robinson could take a gamble and call inexperienced sale sharks prop andrew sheridan into his front row. but sheridan favours the loosehead side of the scrum and a more likely scenario is for uncapped bell - who was among the tryscorers when england a beat france a 30-20 nine days ago - to be drafted in. robinson also has an injury worry over centre olly barkley who withdrew from bath s starting line-up to face gloucester last weekend. he was due to have a hospital scan on monday while gloucester centre henry paul who started at fly-half against bath limped out at kingsholm because of an ankle problem. despite barkley s three missed penalties in the 18-17 defeat against france he is expected to retain his place at inside centre although leicester s in-form prospect ollie smith would be an obvious replacement. bath coach john connolly rates barkley as no better than a 50/50 chance to make the dublin trip. uncapped fly-half andy goode has been named in a 30-man training squad for the ireland game and he strengthened his selection claims by kicking 28 points during leicester s record 83-10 win against newcastle on sunday. england s players are due to meet at their surrey training base on monday. | sports | 0 |
parliament s record of scandal in a locked room at the heart of parliament there is a hive of scandal. sex betrayal and custody of children are all there in this affair but this time it has nothing to do with the recent troubles of david blunkett or boris johnson. few realise that westminster in effect has its own divorce den. for sprinkled among 12 floors of archives are blow-by-blow accounts of marital break-ups - and now you can search what s there online. until 1857 the only way in england to get a full divorce which allowed re-marriage was to obtain an act of parliament by proving adultery or life-threatening cruelty. the legacy is pages of testimonies used in the hearings dating back to 1670 all recorded among the 325 000 items which fill the 12 floors of the parliamentary archives in parliament s victoria tower. most people researching their family history want to discover some tale of illicit love. this gives them the chance. divorce by parliament was an expensive process open really only to the rich but the records also include the testimony of maids butlers and coachmen about their masters and mistresses. among the records is the story of jane campbell the first woman ever to divorce her husband. that happened in 1801 after she had discovered her husband edward addison had committed adultery with her sister jessy. a transcript of evidence from jessy s maid amelia laugher shows her telling how addison frequently passed by her on the way to the room where she had just put her mistress naked to bed. it must have been a killer blow to addison s case - he had already fled abroad rather than pay the £5 000 damages ordered by a civil court. as well as making divorce history jane campbell won custody of her children - unusual for a woman at the time. but divorces are by no means the only documents in the archives which hold personal details of people often far removed from politics and parliament. there are the protestation returns from 1642 - lists of the protestants who pledged to maintain the true reformed protestant religion . there are details of foreign nationals made british citizens by act of parliament including composer george frideric handel in 1727. and the mass of private bills which for example authorise the building of railways and roads contain both the names and addresses of those involved and testimonies giving people a unique perspective on how their ancestors opposed them. tax bills may be an extra source for pedigree hunters - the longest stretches for about 300m and is longer than the palace of westminster itself listing the names of appointed tax collectors. this wealth of material has long been open to the public at the house of lords record office with visitors able to phone ahead when they want to view particular items in the search room. but now five years of work has produced an online catalogue. david prior assistant clerk of the archives says the catalogue opens up new possibilities for research. before you just could not do it you faced trawling through pages and pages of printed material he says. mr prior sees the changes as part of a wider revolution in archives generally. the archive profession may look fairly staid but is in an enormous period of change mainly motivated by the potential of it which is opening up all sorts of vistas for us he says. the archives do of course hold records of high (and low) politics too for both houses of parliament including copies of all acts passed since 1497 - the oldest dealing with the employment of workers in the woollen industry in norfolk. records for the commons only date back to 1834 - anything earlier was wiped out by the fire which destroyed most of the parliament buildings in 1834. but that still leaves some of the most important documents of uk political history - parts of the bill of rights from 1689 the death warrant for charles i the private papers and diaries of major politicians such as david lloyd george and andrew bonar law. there is also the 1606 act establishing 5 november as a thanksgiving day - the year after the gunpowder plot. that document is likely to feature in the exhibition the archives will put on next year as part of a series of events across london to mark the 400th anniversary of guy fawkes conspiracy. as mr prior remarks as we walk by shelf after shelf of vellum (parchment made from goat s skin): all human life is here. | science and tech | 2 |
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. | business | 2 |
jobs growth still slow in the us the us created fewer jobs than expected in january but a fall in jobseekers pushed the unemployment rate to its lowest level in three years. according to labor department figures us firms added only 146 000 jobs in january. the gain in non-farm payrolls was below market expectations of 190 000 new jobs. nevertheless it was enough to push down the unemployment rate to 5.2% its lowest level since september 2001. the job gains mean that president bush can celebrate - albeit by a very fine margin - a net growth in jobs in the us economy in his first term in office. he presided over a net fall in jobs up to last november s presidential election - the first president to do so since herbert hoover. as a result job creation became a key issue in last year s election. however when adding december and january s figures the administration s first term jobs record ended in positive territory. the labor department also said it had revised down the jobs gains in december 2004 from 157 000 to 133 000. analysts said the growth in new jobs was not as strong as could be expected given the favourable economic conditions. it suggests that employment is continuing to expand at a moderate pace said rick egelton deputy chief economist at bmo financial group. we are not getting the boost to employment that we would have got given the low value of the dollar and the still relatively low interest rate environment. the economy is producing a moderate but not a satisfying amount of job growth said ken mayland president of clearview economics. that means there are a limited number of new opportunities for workers. | business | 0 |
singer knight backs anti-gun song r&b star beverley knight said she sang on an anti-gun single after being haunted by the fatal 2003 shooting of two teenage girls in birmingham. knight and drum n bass star roni size have released no more in a bid to reduce gun use among young people. she said she was horrified by the deaths of charlene ellis 18 and letisha shakespeare 17. size whose new forms album won the 1997 mercury music prize said gun use was nothing to be glamorised . there were more than 10 500 firearms offences and 70 gun crime deaths in england and wales between june 2003 and 2004 according to home office figures. knight said the scale of the problem became clear to her after the 2003 shootings in aston near knight s birmingham home. it haunted me to be honest it haunted my sleep she said. size became involved after two friends donna small and asha jama were shot in his bristol hometown in october. jama 25 lost her sight in one eye while 22-year-old small suffered serious head injuries. size said he collaborated on the single which was released on monday because he has a bird s eye view of what s going on . over the last 10 years i have seen a lot of things happen and it is nothing to be glamorised it really isn t he said. | entertainment | 0 |
federer joins all-time greats the last year has seen one player dominate men s tennis and one country dominate the women s game. roger federer became the first man since mats wilander in 1988 to win three grand slams in one season. and after anastasia myskina became the first russian woman to win a grand slam at the french open two more followed at wimbledon and the us open. meanwhile briton tim henman enjoyed his best year while greg rusedski fought back superbly from adversity. federer began the year as world number one and holder of the wimbledon and masters cup titles and set about conquering new ground. the swiss sounded warning of the dominance to come at the australian open. he ripped through the draw before beating marat safin in the final. andy roddick was the only player to put up any real resistance at wimbledon and federer s performance against lleyton hewitt in the us open final was breathtaking. federer again got the better of hewitt in the season-ending masters cup. his victory in houston proved to be his 13th successive win in a final an open era record. the only major let-down was a third-round loss to gustavo kuerten at the french open and roland garros will be his main target in 2005. there was also a surprise loss to the unheralded tomas berdych at the olympic games which saw chile dominate as nicoals massu took the singles and then paired up with fernando gonzaelz to win doubles gold. another major trophy that looks beyond federer is the davis cup which was won by spain in a 3-2 home success over the usa in seville. roddick struggled on the clay losing to rafael nadal on the opening day before going down to carlos moya in the all-important fourth rubber. henman broke new ground by reaching the semis on clay at the french open - a stunning effort - and also at the us open. a quarter-final defeat to mario ancic at wimbledon was disappointing for the limp manner of the briton s defeat but he remains optimistic of going further next year. british number two rusedski endured a rollercoaster year returning to the circuit after being cleared of a doping offence in march. with his ranking down at 168 many feared the 31-year-old s career was over but he battled back in the second half of the season to re-enter the top 50. the russian women finally delivered on their long-recognised promise in 2004 with myskina maria sharapova and svetlana kuznetsova winning grand slams before taking the season-ending fed cup. but while the young russians were on the way up it was a different story for the belgians and the williams sisters. only veteran lindsay davenport held the new wave at bay a stunning run of form after wimbledon taking her to number one ahead of amelie mauresmo whose grand slam drought goes on. the year started in regulation fashion as justine henin-hardenne beat compatriot kim clijsters at the australian open. a virus ruined the rest of henin-hardenne s year although she was fit enough to win olympic gold but clijsters had an even more miserable 2004. she suffered a serious wrist injury and then announced the end of her relationship with lleyton hewitt and will be happy to see the year end. in their absence myskina thrashed elena dementieva in a historic but woeful all-russian final at the french open. wimbledon was a more refreshing affair as sharapova captivated sw19 showing nerves of steel as she battled past davenport and serena williams to take the title. davenport was a strong favourite for the us open but hampered by injury lost to the powerful and unflappable kuznetsova in the semis. kuznetsova went on to give dementieva another grand slam final thrashing with the latter s wayward serve becoming one of the talking points of the year. with the russians still improving the likes of henin-hardenne clijsters davenport mauresmo venus and serena will need to be fully fit and motivated in 2005. and it may take their compatriot safin to challenge federer on the men s side. | sports | 0 |
google launches tv search service the net search giant google has launched a search service that lets people look for tv programmes. the service google video beta searches closed caption information that comes with programmes. it only searches us channel content currently. results list programmes with still images and text from the point where the search phrase was spoken. it should expand over time to include content from more channels said a google spokesperson. the first version of the service is part of google s expanding efforts to be a ubiquitous search engine for people to find what they want on the web and beyond. we think tv is a big part of people s lives said jonathan rosenberg google s vice president of product management. ultimately we would like to have all tv programming indexed. google video has been indexing us-based programmes from pbs the nba fox news and c-span since december. but there were few clues from google about when more global broadcasters would be included. over time we plan to increase the number of television channels and video content available via google video but don t have more product details to share with you today a google spokesperson told the bbc news website. the results thrown up by the search will also include programme and episode information like channel date and time. it also lets people find the next time and channel where a programme will aired locally using a us zip code search function. rival search engine yahoo has been developing a similar type of video search for webcasts and tv clips which it promotes from its homepage. it offers direct links to websites with movies or other clips relevant to the search query but does not pinpoint when the search query occurred. a spokeswoman told the financial times on monday that yahoo was adding captioning for bloomberg bbc and bskyb broadcasts. a smaller service blinkx.tv was launched last month. it searches for and links to tv news film trailers and other video and audio clips. | entertainment | 2 |
saab to build cadillacs in sweden general motors the world s largest car maker has confirmed that it will build a new medium-sized cadillac bls at its loss-making saab factory in sweden. the car unveiled at the geneva motor show is intended to compete in the medium-sized luxury car market. it will not be sold in the us said gm europe president carl-peter forster. as part of its efforts to make the us marque appeal to european drivers the car will be the first cadillac with a diesel engine. gm s announcement should go some way to allay fears of the saab factory s closure. the factory in trollhaettan has been at the centre of rumours about gm s planned severe cutbacks in its troubled european operations. but the group s new commitment to the swedish factory may not be welcomed by the group s opel workers in ruesselsheim germany. they may now have to face a larger proportion of gm s cuts. neither will the announcement be seen as unalloyed good news in sweden since it reflects saab s failure to make significant inroads into the lucrative european luxury car market. for years saab has consistently said it is competing head-on with bmw mercedes and jaguar. the segment s leaders do not agree. gm s plans to build the american marque in sweden is part of its efforts to push it as an alternative luxury brand for european drivers. in the us it has long been established as an upmarket brand - even the presidential limousine carries the badge. yet it could prove tough for cadillac to steal market share from the majors in europe. other luxury car makers most notably the toyota subsidiary lexus have enjoyed tremendous success in the us without managing to make significant inroads in europe. there german marques mercedes benz and bmw have retained their stranglehold on the luxury market. bringing cadillac production to sweden should help introduce desperately-needed scale to the saab factory which currently produces fewer than 130 000 cars per year. that is about half of what major car makers consider sufficient numbers for profitable operations and saab is losing money fast - albeit with losses halved in 2004 to $200m (£104m; 151m euros) from $500m the previous year. beyond the 12 000 job cuts announced last year at its european operations gm is reducing expenditure by building saabs opels - badged as vauxhalls in the uk - and now cadillacs on the same framework and by allowing the different brands to share parts. another way to further reduce saab s losses could be to shift some of the production of saabs to the us a market where drivers have adopted it as an upmarket european car. doing so would remove the exposure to the weak us dollar which is making saabs more expensive to us consumers. but not everyone in the industry agree that it would be the best way forward. we know that in five years the us dollar will be stronger than it is today the chief executive of a leading european car maker told bbc news. the current trend towards us production was stupid he said. in a separate announcement gm unveiled a new scheme to allow european consumers the chance to test drive its opel and vauxhall models. it is to deploy a fleet of 35 000 test cars across 40 countries inviting potential buyers to try out a vehicle for 24-hours. it follows a similar initiative by gm in the us. gm said it wanted to change customers perceptions about opel and vauxhall cars showing them that the quality had improved in recent years. | business | 0 |
napster offers rented music to go music downloading for those that have rejected the free peer to peer services can be a costly business. the cost of paying even as little as 70p per track can add up particularly for those people who own one of the new generation of players that can store thousands of songs. paying per track for music is becoming as outmoded as paying per minute for internet access and alternative monthly or yearly subscription models are springing up as a more convenient and ultimately cheaper way of owning music. music fans are moving away from buying the traditional bundled package of a dozen or more songs that we used to call an album to newer ways that fit their lifestyle; either single tracks or subscriptions services said paul myers chief executive of wippit a uk-based music download service. while itunes is doing good business with its sales of individual tracks to ipod owners others are questioning whether the concept of owning music is even valid in the digital age. napster is due to launch a new rental subscription service - dubbed napster to go in the uk in the next few months. the service can be used on players that support microsoft windows latest digital rights management technology known as janus. this includes players made by samsung rio and creative. currently on offer in beta-version in the us the service costs $15 per month for unlimited downloads. the technology ensures that music downloaded to the player only remains playable while the user subscribes to the service. users need to update their license on a monthly basis or the tunes will no longer play. this has outraged some digital music lovers especially as napster already offers a cheaper service for downloading music to the pc. napster claims the higher price is a result of record labels charging more for the to-go service and says it also offers greater value for customers. mr myers is not convinced a rental model will work for consumers. we ve been offering our unlimited music subscription service for more than three years now and our customers know what they want. format interoperability excellent value and the reassurance that music purchased from wippit is theirs to keep and enjoy on whatever device they choose he said. who wants to download a track that won t play next month if you decide to unsubscribe to the service or change portable player for an ipod or the latest mobile phone wippit offers a download subscription service for £4.99 per month or £50 per year. it has a catalogue of around 60 000 songs. | science and tech | 0 |
us bank in $515m sec settlement five bank of america subsidiaries have agreed to pay a total of $515m (£277m) to settle an investigation into fraudulent trading share practices. the us securities and exchange commission announced the settlements the latest in an industry-wide clean-up of us mutual funds. the sec also said it had brought fraud charges against two ex-senior executives of columbia distributor. columbia distributor was part of fleetboston bought by boa last year. three other ex-columbia executives agreed settlements with the sec. the sec has set itself the task of stamping out the mutual funds use of market-timing a form of quick-fire short-term share trading that harms the interests of small investors with whom mutual funds are particularly popular. in the last two years it has imposed penalties totalling nearly $2bn on 15 funds. the sec unveiled two separate settlements one covering boa s direct subsidiaries and another for businesses that were part of fleetboston at the time. in both cases it said there had been secret deals to engage in market timing in mutual fund shares. the sec agreed a deal totalling $375m with banc of america capital management bacap distributors and banc of america securities. it was made up of $250m to pay back gains from market timing and $125m in penalties. it is to be paid to the damaged funds and their shareholders. separately the sec said it had reached a $140m deal - equally split between penalties and compensation - in its probe into columbia management advisors (cam) and columbia funds distributor (cfd) and three ex-columbia executives. these businesses became part of boa when it snapped up rival bank fleetboston in a $47bn merger last march. the sec filed civil fraud charges in a boston federal court against james tambone who it says headed cfd s sales operations and his alleged second in command robert hussey. the sec is pressing for the highest tier of financial penalties against the pair for multiple violations repayment of any personal gains and an injunction to prevent future breaches a spokeswoman for the sec s boston office told the bbc. there was no immediate comment from the men s lawyers. the sec s settlement with cam and cfd included agreements with three other ex-managers peter martin erik gustafson and joseph palombo who paid personal financial penalties of between $50-100 000. | world | 2 |
fiat chief takes steering wheel the chief executive of the fiat conglomerate has taken day-to-day control of its struggling car business in an effort to turn it around. sergio marchionne has replaced herbert demel as chief executive of fiat auto with mr demel leaving the company. mr marchionne becomes the fourth head of the business - which is expected to make a 800m euro ($1bn) loss in 2004 - in as many years. fiat underperformed the market in europe last year seeing flat sales. the car business has made an operating loss in five of the last six years and was forced to push back its break-even target from 2005 to 2006. the management changes are part of a wider shake-up of the business following fiat s resolution of its dispute with general motors. as part of a major restructuring fiat is to integrate the maserati car company - currently owned by ferrari - within its own operations. ferrari in which fiat owns a majority stake could be separately floated on the stock market in either 2006 or 2007. mr marchionne who only joined the company last year said fiat auto was now the principal focus of his attention. i have made the decision to take on the post of chief executive of the auto unit to speed up the company s recovery he said. a profound cultural transformation is underway following a management reorganisation that has delivered a more agile and efficient structure he added. although mr marchionne does not have a background in the car industry he has been playing an increasing role in the group s activities. last year he said that a series of new models launched as part of the group s recovery plan had not boosted revenues as much as hoped. the car business best known for its alfa romeo marque is expected to make a loss of about 800m euros in 2004. sales are expected to fall in 2005 fiat said this week as it exits unprofitable areas such as the rental car market. mr demel a car industry veteran took the helm in november 2003 after being recruited by former fiat chief executive giuseppe morchio. mr morchio made a bid last year to become chairman after the death of president umberto agnelli. however this was rejected by the founding agnelli family and mr morchio subsequently resigned. earlier this week fiat reached an agreement with gm to dissolve an alliance which could have obliged gm to buy the italian firm outright. gm will pay fiat $2bn as part of the settlement. | science and tech | 2 |
humanoid robot learns how to run car-maker honda s humanoid robot asimo has just got faster and smarter. the japanese firm is a leader in developing two-legged robots and the new improved asimo (advanced step in innovative mobility) can now run find his way around obstacles as well as interact with people. eventually asimo could find gainful employment in homes and offices. the aim is to develop a robot that can help people in their daily lives said a honda spokesman. to get the robot running for the first time was not an easy process as it involved asimo making an accurate leap and absorbing the impact of landing without slipping or spinning. the run he is now capable of is perhaps not quite up to olympic star kelly holmes standard. at 3km/h it is closer to a leisurely jog. its makers claim that it is almost four times as fast as sony s qrio which became the first robot to run last year. the criteria for running robots is defined by engineers as having both feet off the ground between strides. asimo has improved in other ways too increasing his walking speed from 1.6km/h to 2.5km growing 10cm to 130cm and putting on 2kg in weight. while he may not quite be ready for yoga he does have more freedom of movement being able to twist his hips and bend his wrists thumbs and neck. asimo has already made his mark on the international robot scene and in november was inducted into the robot hall of fame. he has wowed audiences around the world with his ability to walk upstairs recognise faces and come when beckoned. in august 2003 he even attended a state dinner in the czech republic travelling with the japanese prime minister as a goodwill envoy. he is one of a handful of robots used by tech firms to trumpet their technological advances. technology developed for asimo could be used in the automobile industry as electronics increasingly take over from mechanics in car design. for the moment asimo s biggest role is an entertainer and the audience gathered to see his first public run greeted his slightly comical gait with amusement according to reports. robots can fulfil serious functions in society and the united nations economic commission for europe predicts that the worldwide market for industrial robots will swell from 81 000 units in 2003 to 106 000 in 2007. | science and tech | 0 |
borders 19-20 ulster ulster clung on for a morale-boosting celtic league win over bottom club borders at netherdale on friday night. a late try by borders substitute jonny weston had set up a dramatic finish but the scottish side could not complete the fightback. ulster had led 20-6 with tries from paul steinmetz and bryn cunningham. but the irish province failed to add to the tally in the second half and ended up relieved to get the win to lift them to eighth place in the table. borders had edged ahead with a sixth-minute penalty by charlie hore - only to hand the visitors the initiative via a gift try. calum macrae surrendered possession before centre steinmetz sent a chip into the danger zone. substitute joe pattison - who had come on for the injured gareth morton - wrongly thought the ball was trickling out of play and eased up on the chase. the speedy steinmetz had other ideas and he raced up to get the vital touch in the nick of time giving adam larkin an easy conversion. ally warnock clawed back three points for borders but they were soon hit by another double-blow. first mark blair was yellow carded for killing the ball on the ground and then full-back cunningham bagged the second touchdown in the wake of fine work by skipper andy ward. larkin again added the extras. even worse was to come for borders when larkin kicked two more penalties just before the break the second of which also led to kelly brown being sin-binned. the hosts gave themselves a glimmer of hope immediately after the restart however when warnock struck a penalty at the other end. and he repeated the feat to set up the tense finale. ulster coach mark mccall said he was delighted to get the victory. borders are a tougher proposition this year in spite of the fact that they have not had a victory in some time said mccall. in the first 20 minutes we were edgy but in the second 20 minutes we played some of our best rugby this season and scored two good tries. morton moffat macrae hore berthinussen warnock moore thomson ford douglas blair stewart gray brown mcentee. kay parr mcgee rennick weston millar pattison. cunningham maxwell bell steinmetz howe larkin campbell s. best shields moore frost mccullough ward feather n. best. brady mccormick longwell browne doak s. young bowe. phil fear (wru) | sports | 0 |
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. | entertainment | 0 |
call to save manufacturing jobs the trades union congress (tuc) is calling on the government to stem job losses in manufacturing firms by reviewing the help it gives companies. the tuc said in its submission before the budget that action is needed because of 105 000 jobs lost from the sector over the last year. it calls for better pensions child care provision and decent wages. the 36-page submission also urges the government to examine support other european countries provide to industry. tuc general secretary brendan barber called for a commitment to policies that will make a real difference to the lives of working people. greater investment in childcare strategies and the people delivering that childcare will increases the options available to working parents he said. a commitment to our public services and manufacturing sector ensures that we can continue to compete on a global level and deliver the frontline services that this country needs. he also called for practical measures to help pensioners especially women who he said are most likely to retire in poverty . the submission also calls for decent wages and training for people working in the manufacturing sector. | business | 0 |
us economy shows solid gdp growth the us economy has grown more than expected expanding at an annual rate of 3.8% in the last quarter of 2004. the gross domestic product figure was ahead of the 3.1% the government estimated a month ago. the rise reflects stronger spending by businesses on capital equipment and a smaller-than-expected trade deficit. gdp is a measure of a country s economic health reflecting the value of the goods and services it produces. the new gdp figure announced by the commerce department on friday also topped the 3.5% growth rate that economists had forecast ahead of friday s announcement. growth was at an annual rate of 4% in the third quarter of 2004 and for the year it came in at 4.4% the best figure in five years. however the positive economic climate may lead to a rise in interest rates with many expecting us rates to rise on 22 march. in the january-to-march quarter the economy is expected to grow at an annual rate of about 4% economists forecast. in the final quarter of 2004 businesses increased spending on capital equipment and software by 18% up from 17.5% in the third quarter. consumer spending grew 4.2% in the final quarter down from the third quarter s 5.1%. | business | 0 |
millions buy mp3 players in us one in 10 adult americans - equivalent to 22 million people - owns an mp3 player according to a survey. a study by the pew internet and american life project found that mp3 players are the gadget of choice among affluent young americans. the survey did not interview teenagers but it is likely that millions of under-18s also have mp3 players. the american love affair with digital music players has been made possible as more and more homes get broadband. of the 22 million americans who own mp3 players 59% are men compared to 41% of women. those on high income - judged to be $75 000 (£39 000) or above - are four times more likely to have players than those earning less than $30 000 ( £15 000). broadband access plays a big part in ownership too. almost a quarter of those with broadband at home have players compared to 9% of those who have dial-up access. mp3 players are still the gadget of choice for younger adults. almost one in five us citizens aged under 30 have one. this compares to 14% of those aged 30-39 and 14% of those aged 40-48. the influence of children also plays a part. sixteen percent of parents living with children under 18 have digital players compared to 9% of those who don t. the ease of use and growth of music available on the net are the main factors for the upsurge in ownership the survey found. people are beginning to use them as instruments of social activity - sharing songs and taking part in podcasting - the survey found. ipods and mp3 players are becoming a mainstream technology for consumers said lee rainie director of the pew internet and american life project. more growth in the market is inevitable as new devices become available as new players enter the market and as new social uses for ipods/mp3 players become popular he added. | entertainment | 2 |
us composer recreates bach score a us musicologist has recreated a lost musical score by german composer johann sebastian bach. the 1728 composition called wedding cantata bwv 216 was found among the papers of japanese pianist chieko hara who died in japan in 2001 aged 86. the work written for the wedding of a daughter of a german customs official was missing for 80 years. joshua rifkin - a composer and leading interpreter of bach - has recreated the missing instrumental parts. he said he originally wanted to let the lost cantata lie in rest. maybe a fragment should stay a fragment said rifkin. then i thought of palaeontologists from one bone they figure the entire dinosaur. this is my dinosaur. the eight rediscovered pages consist of vocal pieces in german for soprano and alto with the seven movements lasting for a total of between 20 and 25 minutes. the instrumental parts were entirely lost except for two recycled movements a duet and an aria which had been used elsewhere in bach s work. rifkin likened the challenge to a musical rubik s cube . i could not reconstruct what bach wrote but i could give the people of today an idea of what his music was like he said. it sounds like bach s music but the listener should not know which part is bach s and which part is mine. | politics | 2 |
game makers get xbox 2 sneak peek microsoft has given game makers a glimpse of the new xbox 2 console. some details of the xbox s performance and what gaming will be like with the device were given at the annual game developers conference in the us. xbox frontman j. allard said the console looked set to be capable of one trillion calculations per second. also all titles for the new xbox will have the same interface to make it easy to play online and buy extras for characters or other add-ons for games. microsoft is saving the official unveiling of the xbox 2 codenamed xenon for the e3 show in may and the device could be on shop shelves by november. however during his keynote speech at gdc mr allard who heads development of game-making tools for the console gave a glimpse into how some of its core software will work. he said gaming was entering a high-definition era that demanded detailed and convincing graphics that could adequately compete with the hdtv people were starting to watch as well as the hd dvds that will soon start to appear. industry watchers took this to mean that the xbox 2 will push for hdtv quality graphics as standard as well as multi-channel audio to give gamers an authentic experience. mr allard said microsoft had to work hard to ensure that it was easy for game makers to produce titles for the xbox 2 and for players to get playing. to this end microsoft was building in to xbox hardware systems to support headset chat buddy list controls and custom soundtracks so developers were free to concentrate on the games. the xbox would also support well-known industry specifications such as directx to make it simple for game studios to make titles for the console. for gamers this emphasis on ease of use would mean every xbox title uses the same interface to set up online play and get at music stored on the hardware. this interface will hold details of a player s statistics and skill level on a gamer card as well as give access to a store where people can spend small amounts of cash to buy extras for their avatars or add-ons such as new maps or vehicles for games they possess. this ability to personalise games and in-game characters would be key in the future said mr allard. only with such consistency would the xbox be able to support the 10-20 million subscribers that it was aiming for said mr allard. during his speech mr allard took several swipes at the playstation and said processors for consoles had to be made with developers not just engineers in mind. our approach is bruce lee not brute force he said. | science and tech | 0 |
giant waves damage s asia economy governments aid agencies insurers and travel firms are among those counting the cost of the massive earthquake and waves that hammered southern asia. the worst-hit areas are sri lanka india indonesia and thailand with at least 23 000 people killed. early estimates from the world bank put the amount of aid needed at about $5bn (£2.6bn) similar to the cash offered central america after hurricane mitch. mitch killed about 10 000 people and caused damage of about $10bn in 1998. world bank spokesman damien milverton told the wall street journal that he expected an aid package of financing and debt relief. tourism is a vital part of the economies of the stricken countries providing jobs for 19 million people in the south east asian region according to the world travel and tourism council (wttc). in the maldives islands in the indian ocean two-thirds of all jobs depend on tourism. but the damage covers fishing farming and businesses too with hundreds of thousands of buildings and small boats destroyed by the waves. international agencies have pledged their support; most say it is impossible to gauge the extent of the damage yet. the international monetary fund (imf) has promised rapid action to help the governments of the stricken countries cope. the imf stands ready to do its part to assist these nations with appropriate support in their time of need said managing director rodrigo rato. only sri lanka and bangladesh currently receive imf support while indonesia the quake s epicentre has recently graduated from imf assistance. it is up to governments to decide if they want imf help. other agencies such as the asian development bank have said that it is too early to comment on the amount of aid needed. there is no underestimating the size of the problem however. the united nations emergency relief coordinator jan egeland said that this may be the worst national disaster in recent history because it is affecting so many heavily populated coastal areas... so many vulnerable communities. many people will have [had] their livelihoods their whole future destroyed in a few seconds. he warned that the longer term effects many be as devastating as the tidal wave or the tsunami itself because of the risks of epidemics from polluted drinking water. insurers are also struggling to assess the cost of the damage but several big players believe the final bill is likely to be less than the $27bn cost of the hurricanes that battered the us earlier this year. the region that s affected is very big so we have to check country-by-country what the situation is said serge troeber deputy head of the natural disasters department at swiss re the world s second biggest reinsurance firm. i should assume however that the overall dimension of insured damages is below the storm damages of the us he said. munich re the world s biggest reinsurer said: this is primarily a human tragedy. it is too early for us to state what our financial burden will be. allianz has said it sees no significant impact on its profitability. however a low insurance bill may simply reflect the general poverty of much of the region rather than the level of economic devastation for those who live there. the international federation of the red cross and red crescent societies told the reuters news agency that it was seeking $6.5m for emergency aid. the biggest health challenges we face is the spread of waterborne diseases particularly malaria and diarrhoea the aid agency was quoted as saying. the european union has said it will deliver 3m euros (£2.1m; $4.1m) of aid according to the wall street journal. the eu s humanitarian aid commissioner louis michel was quoted as saying that it was key to bring aid in those vital hours and days immediately after the disaster . other countries also are reported to have pledged cash while the us state department said it was examining what aid was needed in the region. getting companies and business up and running also may play a vital role in helping communities recover from the weekend s events. many of the worst-hit areas such as sri lanka thailand s phuket island and the maldives are popular tourist resorts that are key to local economies. december and january are two of the busiest months for the travel in southern asia and the damage will be even more keenly felt as the industry was only just beginning to emerge from a post 9/11 slump. growth has been rapid in southeast asia with the world tourism organisation figures showing a 45% increase in tourist revenues in the region during the first 10 months of 2004. in southern asia that expansion is 23%. india continues to post excellent results thanks to increased promotion and product development but also to the upsurge in business travel driven by the rapid economic development of the country the wto said. arrivals to other destinations such as... maldives and sri lanka also thrived. in thailand tourism accounts for about 6% of the country s annual gross domestic product or about $8bn. in singapore the figure is close to 5%. tourism also brings in much needed foreign currency. in the short-term however travel companies are cancelling flights and trips. that has hit shares across asia and europe with investors saying that earnings and economic growth are likely to slow. | science and tech | 2 |
china ripe for media explosion asia is set to drive global media growth to 2008 and beyond with china and india filling the two top spots analysts have predicted. japan south korea and singapore will also be strong players but china s demographics give it the edge a media conference in london heard. the world s most populous country - population 1.3bn - now has about 200 million middle-class consumers. forty per cent fall in the key 16 to 35-year-old demographic. as a result it is attracting huge foreign investment in media and communications analysts told the financial times new media and broadcasting conference last week. interest in china among international media groups has surged in recent months after beijing issued rules allowing foreign investment in joint-venture television radio and film production companies. news corporation viacom and sony pictures are among the big names involved in joint ventures with chinese players. more than 700 million chinese listen to 1 000 radio stations while 200 tv stations broadcast 2 900 channels. china central television (cctv) the state broadcaster claims an audience of more than a billion people. of the country s 360 million households 100 million receive cable tv programmes. the rest could be a potential audience for satellite broadcasting which china plans to launch in 2006. the state administration of radio film and television (sarft) which regulates broadcasting plans to move all programmes to digital by 2015. the continuing roll-out of new digital channels has boosted demand for quality content creating significant opportunities for both chinese and foreign content providers. but according to recent reports from china the authorities have tightened controls over foreign investment in tv production joint ventures. it has limited most foreign companies to only one joint venture and banned the involvement of any found to be unfriendly according to reports. the sarft said: there is a very strong ideological component to production of broadcast television programmes. it added: china must understand the political tendencies and background of overseas partners and prevent joint ventures or cooperation from bringing harmful foreign thinking or culture into our production sector. according to the financial times china correspondent the new rules highlight the political sensitivities that surround foreign involvement in china s media sector. this is despite beijing s decision to open the state-dominated sector to international investment. as well as traditional broadcasting chinese and foreign entrepreneurs alike see fortunes waiting to be made in new media like mobile services and online gaming. mobile games already account for 15% of revenues from china s 340 million mobile users. online gaming sales are predicted to top a billion us dollars next year according to the uk-based journal screen digest. the video market is also seen as a big opportunity although piracy levels are still very high despite an anti-piracy drive during the past year. in the cinema industry the deployment of digital screens is being accelerated. this is not just to modernise venues but also to curb piracy and regulate distribution. li ruigang president of the commercial broadcaster shanghai media group told the conference that china s new media market is already experiencing explosive growth . it was particularly strong in charged broadband services and mobile value-added services. leading china-watcher and founder of the cga consultancy jeanne-marie gescher agreed that the time was ripe for foreign media groups to tap china s huge media market potential. china s media are now driven by investors who do not care how people consume media - they just want people to consume more of it mrs gescher concluded. | entertainment | 2 |
broadband challenges tv viewing the number of europeans with broadband has exploded over the past 12 months with the web eating into tv viewing habits research suggests. just over 54 million people are hooked up to the net via broadband up from 34 million a year ago according to market analysts nielsen/netratings. the total number of people online in europe has broken the 100 million mark. the popularity of the net has meant that many are turning away from tv say analysts jupiter research. it found that a quarter of web users said they spent less time watching tv in favour of the net the report by nielsen/netratings found that the number of people with fast internet access had risen by 60% over the past year. the biggest jump was in italy where it rose by 120%. britain was close behind with broadband users almost doubling in a year. the growth has been fuelled by lower prices and a wider choice of always-on fast-net subscription plans. twelve months ago high speed internet users made up just over one third of the audience in europe; now they are more than 50% and we expect this number to keep growing said gabrielle prior nielsen/netratings analyst. as the number of high-speed surfers grows websites will need to adapt update and enhance their content to retain their visitors and encourage new ones. the total number of europeans online rose by 12% to 100 million over the past year the report showed with the biggest rise in france italy britain and germany. the ability to browse web pages at high speed download files such as music or films and play online games is changing what people do in their spare time. a study by analysts jupiter research suggested that broadband was challenging television viewing habits. in homes with broadband 40% said they were spending less time watching tv. the threat to tv was greatest in countries where broadband was on the up in particular the uk france and spain said the report. it said tv companies faced a major long-term threat over the next five years with broadband predicted to grow from 19% to 37% of households by 2009. year-on-year we are continuing to see a seismic shift in where when and how europe s population consume media for information and entertainment and this has big implications for tv newspaper and radio said jupiter research analyst olivier beauvillian. | science and tech | 0 |
us data sparks inflation worries wholesale prices in the us rose at the fastest rate in more than six years in january according to government data. new figures show the labor department producer price index (ppi) rose by 0.3% - in line with forecasts. but core producer prices which exclude food and energy costs surged by 0.8% the biggest rise since december 1998 increasing inflationary concerns. in contrast the university of michigan barometer of us retail consumer confidence showed a slight dip. the university s index of consumer spending fell to 94.2 in early february from 95.5 in january which could indicate a fall in retail spending by the us public. the mixed set of data on friday led to volatile early wall street trade as the dow jones standard and poor s 500 and nasdaq swung between positive and negative territory. the economic figures come on the back of increased fears that the federal reserve chairman may be about to raise interest rates in order to stifle any inflationary pressures. the fed has been raising interest rates at a gradual pace since june 2004 in an attempt to make sure inflation does not get out of control. mr greenspan told congress this week that the central bank was on guard against the possibility that a rebounding economy could trigger stronger inflation pressures. the ppi would argue for greenspan to continue to raise rates at a measured pace said joe quinlan chief market stategist at bank of america capital management. but this michigan survey tells you that the consumer might be downshifting a little bit in terms of their confidence and their spending; this could be an indication of that. consumer spending accounts for 66% of us economic activity and is viewed as a gauge of the health of the economy which is why the michigan data is closely observed. however on friday it was overshadowed by the core ppi core figure which surged 2.7% during the past 12 months the biggest year-on-year gain in nine years. the concern is that traders might interpret this big jump in the core ppi as an impetus for the fed to be more aggressive than a measured move in moving rates said paul cherney chief market analyst at standard & poor s. but ian shepherdson chief us economist at high frequency economics said the ppi report was much less alarming than at first glance. one-time increases in alcohol and tobacco prices which are no indication of broad ppi pressure were responsible for the increase he said. prices for autos and trucks also jumped in january but shepherdson said it is a good bet these increases won t stick . | business | 0 |
campaigners attack mtv sleaze mtv has been criticised for incessant sleaze by television indecency campaigners in the us. the parents television council (ptc) which monitors violence and sex on tv said the cable music channel offered the cheapest form of programming. the group is at the forefront of a vociferous campaign to clean up american television. but a spokeswoman for mtv said it was unfair and inaccurate to single out mtv for criticism. the ptc monitored mtv s output for 171 hours from 20 march to 27 march 2004 during the channel s spring break coverage. in its report - mtv smut peddlers: targeting kids with sex drugs and alcohol - the ptc said it witnessed 3 056 flashes of nudity or sexual situations and 2 881 verbal references to sex. brent bozell ptc president and conservative activist said: mtv is blatantly selling raunchy sex to kids. compared to broadcast television programmes aimed at adults mtv s programming contains substantially more sex foul language and violence - and mtv s shows are aimed at children as young as 12. there s no question that tv influences the attitudes and perceptions of young viewers and mtv is deliberately marketing its raunch to millions of innocent children. the watchdog decided to look at mtv s programmes after janet jackson s infamous wardrobe malfunction at last year s super bowl. the breast-baring incident generated 500 000 complaints and cbs - which is owned by the same parent company as mtv - was quick to apologise. mtv spokeswoman jeannie kedas said the network follows the same standards as broadcasters and reflects the culture and what its viewers are interested in. it s unfair and inaccurate to paint mtv with that brush of irresponsibility she said. we think it s underestimating young people s intellect and level of sophistication. ms kedas also highlighted the fact mtv won an award in 2004 for the fight for your rights series that focused on issues such as sexual health and tolerance. | science and tech | 2 |
attack prompts bush site block the official re-election site of president george w bush is blocking visits from overseas users for security reasons . the blocking began early on monday so those outside the us and trying to view the site got a message saying they are not authorised to view it. but keen net users have shown that the policy is not being very effective. many have found that the site can still be viewed by overseas browsers via several alternative net addresses. the policy of trying to stop overseas visitors viewing the site is thought to have been adopted in response to an attack on the georgewbush.com website. scott stanzel a spokesman for the bush-cheney campaign said: the measure was taken for security reasons. he declined to elaborate any further on the blocking policy. the barring of non-us visitors has led to the campaign being inundated with calls and forced it to make a statement about why the blocking was taking place. in early october a so-called denial of service attack was mounted on the site that bombarded it with data from thousands of pcs. the attack made the site unusable for about five hours. about the same time the web team of the bush-cheney campaign started using the services of a company called akamai that helps websites deal with the ebbs and flows of visitor traffic. akamai uses a web-based tool called edgescape that lets its customers work out where visitors are based. typically this tool is used to ensure that webpages video and images load quickly but it can also be used to block traffic. geographic blocking works because the numerical addresses that the net uses to organise itself are handed out on a regional basis. readers of the boingboing weblog have found that viewers can still get at the site by using alternative forms of the george w bush domain name. ironically one of the working alternatives is for a supposedly more secure version of the site. there are now at least three working alternative domains for the bush-cheney campaign that let web users outside the us visit the site. the site can also be seen using anonymous proxy services that are based in the us. some web users in canada also report that they can browse the site. the international exclusion zone around georgewbush.com was spotted by net monitoring firm netcraft which keeps an eye on traffic patterns across many different sites. netcraft said that since the early hours of 25 october attempts to view the site through its monitoring stations in london amsterdam and sydney have failed. by contrast netcraft s four monitoring stations in the us managed to view the site with no problems. data gathered by netcraft on the pattern of traffic to the site shows that the blocking is not the result of another denial of service attack. mike prettejohn netcraft president speculated that the blocking decision might have been taken to cut costs and traffic in the run-up to the election on 2 november. he said the site may see no reason to distribute content to people who will not be voting next week. managing traffic could also be a good way to ensure that the site stays working in the closing days of the election campaign. however simply blocking non-us visitors also means that americans overseas are barred too. most american soldiers stationed overseas will be able to see the site as they use the us military s own portion of the net. akamai declined to comment saying it could not talk about customer websites. | science and tech | 0 |
rank set to sell off film unit leisure group rank could unveil plans to demerge its film services unit and sell its media business reports claim. rank formerly famous for the carry on series will expose the shake-up at the announcement of its results on friday the sunday telegraph reported. advisors goldman sachs are understood to have valued its demerged deluxe film unit at £300m the report added. speculation of a possible shake-up has mounted since rank announced a study into a possible demerger in september. since mike smith s appointment as chief executive in 1999 the group has focused on fewer businesses and embarked on a major cost-cutting programme which has seen it dispose of a number of businesses including the odeon cinema chain and the pinewood studios. the move left the group with three core divisions: gaming hard rock and deluxe films which provides technical services to hollywood studios. rank now aims to concentrate on its gaming bars and hotels business including extending its hard rock brand to its casinos - trials of which have been a success. it also owns deluxe media which makes and distributes dvds and videos. however that business is seen as less successful. last year it made profits of £21.5m on a turnover of £392.1m and experts suggest its success in moving to dvds from vhs video could make it an attractive target for a private equity buyer. a spokesman for the firm refused to comment on the reports but said any results from the demerger study were likely to be set out when it unveiled its results on friday. analysts predict the firm is likely to report a slight drop in annual pre-tax profits to £170m from £194m last year. formed in the 1940s the firm was a leading uk film producer and cinema owner for many years. it has now diversified into a range of other leisure activities - mainly in the uk - including hotels roadside service areas and holiday centres. it now owns 34 grosvenor casinos the mecca bingo chain and more than 100 hard rock cafes in 38 countries. | business | 0 |
players sought for $1m prize uk gamers are getting a chance to take part in a $1m tournament thanks to one of the country s top teams. the four-kings clan is staging a pop idol type competition to find new members who can take on the world s best in the lucrative tournament. four-kings hopes the open qualifiers will turn up gamers good enough to beat all comers at the painkiller game. top players also get a contract with the four-kings team which will pay travelling expenses for the contest. uk gamers have until 12 november to register their interest in taking part and can sign up via the four-kings jolt.co.uk and painkiller tournament websites. philip wride who co-manages the four-kings team said online qualifiers will be held from 16-28 november to find the best eight players of the painkiller game. he said the clan was running the contest because four-kings does not currently have any players that excel at painkiller. these eight players will be brought together in london on 3-5 december for the bloodline tournament that will find the best two players. the event will be filmed and the final cut made available online for others to watch. the movie is being put together by simon bysshe who has shot many other films about pro-gaming that have been widely shared online. said mr bysshe: painkiller is a new game and the opportunity is there for a new player to step up. painkiller has been described as a game that adds a few modern touches such as improved graphics to the old-fashioned first-person shooter. these two players will be put forward as the uk s entrants to the cyberathlete professional league $1m painkiller contest that will take place throughout 2005. the event is being billed as the cpl world tour and will be arranged around ten separate tournaments at different locations around the world. travel expenses to all the stops on the tour will be paid by four-kings for the two uk players who make the grade. the top prize at each stop on the world tour will be $15 000. a further $150 000 will be given to the winner of the grand final due to be held in december 2005. mr wride said any gamer that wins a few tour stop tournaments and the grand final will have a very good year. the first stop on the world tour will be istanbul turkey from 10-13 february. a total of $50 000 in cash prizes is on offer. the cpl has said that it picked a one-on-one game such as painkiller to make it easier for spectators to follow the action. counter-strike by far the most popular online game pits teams against each other and can be confusing to follow if those watching are not familiar with the layout of the maps on which it is played. the decision to pick painkiller was greeted with surprise by many gamers as it was widely expected that doom 3 would be chosen as the one-one-one title. | politics | 2 |
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. | politics | 2 |
dvd copy protection strengthened dvds will be harder to copy thanks to new anti-piracy measures devised by copy protection firm macrovision. the pirated dvd market is enormous because current copy protection was hacked more than five years ago. macrovision says its new ripguard technology will thwart most but not all of the current dvd ripping (copying) programs used to pirate dvds. ripguard is designed to... reduce dvd ripping and the resulting supply of illegal peer to peer said the firm. macrovision said the new technology will work in nearly all current dvd players when applied to the discs but it did not specify how many machines could have a problem with ripguard. some bbc news website users have expressed concerns that the new technology will mean that dvds will not work on pcs running the operating system linux. the new technology will be welcomed by hollywood film studios which are increasingly relying on revenue from dvd sales. the film industry has stepped up efforts to fight dvd piracy in the last 12 months taking legal action against websites which offer pirated copies of dvd movies for download. ultimately we see ripguard dvd... evolving beyond anti-piracy and towards enablement of legitimate online transactions interoperability in tomorrow s digital home and the upcoming high-definition formats said steve weinstein executive vice president and general manager of macrovision s entertainment technologies group. macrovision said ripguard would also prevent against rent rip and return - where people would rent a dvd copy it and then return the original. ripguard is expected to be rolled out on dvds from the middle of 2005 the company said. the new system works specifically to block most ripping programs - if used those programs will now most likely crash the company said. macrovision has said that rip guard can be updated if hackers find a way around the new anti-copying measures. | world | 2 |
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. | politics | 0 |
manchester wins labour conference the labour party will hold its 2006 autumn conference in manchester and not blackpool it has been confirmed. the much trailed decision was ratified by labour s ruling national executive committee in a break with the traditional choice of a seaside venue. it will be the first time since 1917 that the party has chosen manchester to host the annual event. blackpool will get the much smaller february spring conference instead in what will be seen as a placatory move. for years the main political parties have rotated between blackpool bournemouth and brighton. and the news the much larger annual conference is not to gather in blackpool will be seen as a blow in the coastal resort. in 1998 the party said it would not return to blackpool but did so in 2002. the following year bournemouth hosted the event before the party signed a two year deal for brighton to host the autumn conference. colin asplin blackpool hotel association said: we have tried very hard to make sure they come back to blackpool. obviously we have failed in that. i just hope manchester can handle the crowds. it amazes me that the labour party which is a working class party doesn t want to come to the main working class resort in the country. the exact cost to blackpool in terms of lost revenue for hotel accommodation is not yet known but it is thought that block bookings will be taken at the major manchester hotels after the official announcement. | politics | 0 |
golden rule boost for chancellor chancellor gordon brown has been given a £2.1bn boost in his attempts to meet his golden economic rule which allows him to borrow only for investment. the extra leeway came after the office for national statistics said it had been measuring road expenditure data wrongly over the past five years. it comes just weeks ahead of the budget and an expected general election. shadow chancellor oliver letwin said: at best the timing of these changes is very convenient for the government. a review by the ons found it had made a mistake by double counting some spending on roads since 1998/9. correcting the error would mean reducing current expenditure and increasing net investment thus helping mr brown to meet his golden rule of borrowing only to invest over the economic cycle. economists speculated that it might also allow for some vote-catching measures in the budget. the changes by the ons increase the current budget measure for the past five years by £2.1bn in total. mr letwin said: this is a very murky area... there will inevitably be suspicions that the figures are being fiddled. the conservatives also said mr brown would still be forced to raise taxes after the general election to fill an annual £10.5bn black hole in the nation s coffers. but the treasury said there would be no relaxation of economic discipline and the golden rule would be met even without the data revisions. in january the independent institute for fiscal studies (ifs) said mr brown would need to raise taxes to get public finances onto the track predicted in last year s budget. it also said the government might narrowly miss its golden rule if the current economic cycle ended in 2005/06. after the ons announcement economists said there could also be a proportionate boost to the current budget in 2004/05 of about £400m. none of this changes the big picture of a dramatic deterioration in the overall fiscal position over the last four or five years said jonathan loynes chief uk economist at capital economics. accordingly it seems very likely that some form of fiscal consolidation will be required in due course. | business | 0 |
police urge pub closure power new powers are needed to close disorderly pubs bars and clubs for up to a week or even permanently police chiefs have told mps. association of chief police officers president chris fox said the current 24-hour closure power did not have enough impact on bad landlords. mr fox s comments follow the controversy over plans to allow pubs to open around the clock. he rejected critics calls for the law change to be delayed. instead the new licensing act could help reduce drunken disorder - but only if it was properly planned he argued. acpo made its call for stronger closure powers in a paper for the commons home affairs select committee. after the meeting mr fox said being able to close premises for only 24 hours did not necessarily make an impact. if it s 12.30 on a saturday morning and you close for 24 hours there s not a lot of pain for the premises because they probably wouldn t open on sunday anyway. this is about getting through to the management that they can t run a disorderly house without facing some immediate sanctions. under acpo s proposal the closure orders would be used only with the agreement of the local licensing authority. the new licensing laws will give police greater powers to close pubs and clubs - but only for 24-hour periods. mr fox said the drinks industry was currently not regulating itself. it s making money at the cost of human misery and the public purse and the strategic planning process has been less than useless he said. mr fox said the new laws due to start being phased in next month could help if food outlets public transport and public toilets could cope with late-night drinkers. staggering it (closing hours) will be a solution if the infrastructure is there if the premises are properly managed and people aren t being served rolling drunk and underage and then tossed out into the street he said. we have the problem from 11pm to 2am in any event. we have to get a grip on the underlying causes of this. acpo wants pubs and clubs which cause extra work for police and hospitals to have to pay towards the costs. home secretary charles clarke is currently looking at the idea of a levy on the drinks industry to pay for the cost of extra policing. the licensing changes have sparked concern among some mps councils and some senior police officers who fear they could exacerbate drinking problems. culture secretary tessa jowell on tuesday said it was not her job to bow to the campaign against the changes. it was the status quo not the new laws which were causing current binge drinking problems she told bbc two s newsnight. leaked documents have suggested ex-home secretary david blunkett branded new opening hours as a leap in the dark . but ms jowell insisted his concerns had been met. the police s job against alcohol-related crime would be made easier if all pubs did not close at the same time she added. | politics | 0 |
chip maker backs net phone calls rich templeton the head of giant chip maker texas instruments has given his backing to the growing sector of voice over internet telephony (voip) voip allows pc users and in some cases those with just a broadband connection to make telephone calls via the net. mr templeton said voip would be the next major application to drive broadband connections into homes. internet service provider wanadoo has announced it is launching its own broadband telephony service in the uk. subscribers to wanadoo s broadband service will be able to use the service to make free evening and weekend calls to any uk landline and free calls at any time to other wanadoo users. the service will cost an extra £4 a month and will come with a free livebox the broadband hub which wanadoo plans will be used in future to provide video-on-demand and home security services. the secondary phone line will mean customers can have an extra home phone number and will also provide wireless internet access around the home. eventually the service will replace existing landline services as wanadoo goes head to head with bt. voice-over broadband is a key trend across europe and is set to have a dramatic impact on the telecommunications industry eric abensur wanadoo s chief executive told the bbc news website. mr templeton said he agreed. voice-over-packet is going to be the second killer application after broadband internet access he said. the world s largest maker of chips for mobile phones believes the technology will grow rapidly from the relatively small user base it has currently. almost 83 million people have downloaded the software that powers the skype voip service according to the net telephony firm s website. skype lets people make free calls to other skype users and also make low-cost calls to ordinary phone numbers. us firm vonage also offers a voip service but one which lets people plug an ordinary phone into a broadband router to make calls. bill simmelink general manager of ti s voip business said the technology would only take off when people were making net calls with the ease of making a normal call. it s not about the pipe if you will or the silicon per se it s about the application he said. we want to communicate freely effortlessly and economically wherever we are. in a sign that voip is seeping into the mainstream giant isp aol announced on tuesday that it had plans to launch a net-based phone service for some of its members within the month. customers will continue to use their traditional phones but they will plug them into adapters connected to their broadband source rather than the jack provided by the telephone company. calls are received and placed just like on the old telephone network. we can help mass-market adoption of voip said aol chief executive jonathan miller. we can utilise our national footprint. we can help the entire industry become well known. | science and tech | 0 |
india calls for fair trade rules india which attends the g7 meeting of seven leading industrialised nations on friday is unlikely to be cowed by its newcomer status. in london on thursday ahead of the meeting india s finance minister lashed out at the restrictive trade policies of the g7 nations. he objected to subsidies on agriculture that make it hard for developing nations like india to compete. he also called for reform of the united nations the world bank and the imf. palaniappan chidambaram india s finance minister argued that these organisations need to take into account the changing world order given india and china s integration into the global economy. he said the issue is not globalisation but the terms of engagement in globalisation. mr chidambaram is attending the g7 meeting as part of the g20 group of nations which account for two thirds of the world s population. at a conference on developing enterprise hosted by uk finance minister gordon brown on friday he said that he was in favour of floating exchange rates because they help countries cope with economic shocks. a flexible exchange rate is one more channel for absorbing both positive and negative shocks he told the conference. india along with china brazil south africa and russia has been invited to take part in the g7 meeting taking place in london on friday and saturday. china is expected to face renewed pressure to abandon its fixed exchange rate which g7 nations in particular the us have blamed for a surge in cheap chinese exports. some countries have tried to use fixed exchange rates. i do not wish to make any judgements mr chidambaram said. separately the imf warned on thursday that india s budget deficit was too large and would hamper the country s economic growth which it forecast to be around 6.5% in the year to march 2005. in the year to march 2004 the indian economy grew by 8.5%. | politics | 2 |
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. | sports | 0 |
councils must find gypsy sites ministers are telling councils to find more sites for travellers amid continuing rows concerning a string of unauthorised encampments. councils are also to be given stronger powers to move on illegal settlements by gypsy communities on rural land. more money is to be given to councils to develop official caravan parks said housing minister yvette cooper. in november mps urged ministers to make councils create sites because 3 500 travellers have no place to stop. ms cooper said an annual scheme to refurbish existing traveller sites would now be extended to consider council bids for new stopping places. that scheme has paid out £25m in four years with £8m available for 2005. there are two major problems in the planning system at the moment concerning gypsy and traveller sites said ms cooper. firstly local authorities are not identifying enough appropriate locations either for private or public sites. and secondly they do not have enough powers to deal swiftly with development on inappropriate sites. the result is that there are too many developments on inappropriate sites causing tensions and difficulties for both the neighbouring communities and the gypsies and travellers. that is why we are consulting on a new obligation on local authorities to identify more appropriate sites as well as new powers to take immediate action if the development is in the wrong place and cannot be tolerated in even the short-term because of risk to local amenity and the environment. under the new regulations expected to be in force in the spring officials will be able to serve temporary stop notices aimed at preventing works on a site before a council has had chance to obtain a full legal ban. many mps with rural constituencies particularly in eastern england have been pressing the government to create stronger enforcement powers saying villagers are suffering because of the legal delays in removing illegal encampments. andrew ryder of the traveller law reform coalition said: we welcome talk about an obligation on councils to identify land for gypsies and travellers so long as it is a real obligation as opposed to a recommendation which could be and was easily ignored. new accommodation proposals for travellers need to be backed up with decent funding and intervention by the government when councils attempt to dodge their responsibilities towards travellers as they often do. living on the side of the road or being worn down by planning appeals legal action and eviction is no one s idea of fun. in their november report mps from the committee scrutinising the office for the deputy prime minister responsible for housing said most illegal traveller encampments were caused by a lack of places to stop. numerous communities and councils were paying for lengthy and expensive evictions against travelling communities said the mps. in turn the problems had worsened because councils were reluctant to voluntarily provide sites because of resistance from residents. two of the most controversial traveller sites - cottenham in cambridgeshire and minety in wiltshire - remain embroiled in an ongoing legal battle. | politics | 0 |
media seek jackson juror notes reporters covering singer michael jackson s trial in california have asked to see questionnaires completed by potential jurors. lawyers for news organisations said it was really vital for the responses of 250 potential jurors to be made public to serve as a check on the process . santa barbara county superior court is due to consider the request on monday. mr jackson denies child molestation. it is estimated his trial will cost santa barbara county up to $4m (£2.13m). meanwhile michael jackson s mother has said she is 100% certain her son did not commit the child abuse charges he faces. the court is currently selecting 12 jurors and eight stand-by jurors for the trial a process delayed until at least thursday after a member of the star s legal team was hit by family illness. defence lawyers argued against the bid by associated press and other news organisations to have potential jurors responses made public. the release of the completed jury questionnaires does not serve any purpose other than to add to the sensationalist coverage of this case a motion by mr jackson s lawyers stated. the estimated total costs of the trial expected to last five months range from $2.5m (£1.33m) to $4m (£2.13m) of local taxpayers money. those estimates do not include costs to the city of santa maria the superior court or for the investigation and prosecution of the case. the cost of security and other needs around the courthouse has been estimated at $40 000 (£21 000) per day said jason stilwell a special projects manager at the county administrator s office. mr jackson 46 denies plying a boy with alcohol and molesting him. his mother katherine jackson told us tv network fox news on sunday that her pop star son told her he was innocent. i believe that for one reason - i know his character she said. he loves children. you don t molest anything that you love. describing mr jackson as a good person the mother-of-nine said she feared he would not be given a fair trial. i can t sleep thinking about what these wicked people might try to do to him she said. | entertainment | 0 |
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. | science and tech | 0 |
dozens held over id fraud site twenty-eight people including a briton have been arrested after a global operation against a website allegedly involved in identity fraud. those arrested are accused of operating shadowcrew.com which investigators claim was a global clearing house for criminals involved in credit card fraud. a 19-year-old man from camberley surrey was arrested by the national hi-tech crime unit but has been bailed. operation firewall led by the us secret service involved seven nations. the british teenager was arrested on wednesday but details only emerged on friday. he has now been bailed to return to a surrey police station in december. all 28 people detained globally are suspected of being involved in an internet-based network which stole people s identities and used computers and websites to defraud credit card companies. the authorities in the us who have indicted 19 people in newark new jersey estimate the fraud caused losses of more than $4m. assistant us attorney scott christie said several people had been arrested in argentina bulgaria canada estonia poland and sweden. mr christie said one of the ringleaders was believed to be a russian anatoly tyukanov. investigators from 30 law enforcement agencies worldwide spent 15 months looking into the activities of three websites - shadowcrew carderplanet and darkprofits. the us secret service was first tipped off in july 2003. an nhtcu spokeswoman said the american investigators went undercover on the shadowcrew website and discovered some of the site s 4 000 members were using it for organised crime purposes. she said criminals were using the websites to traffic counterfeit credit cards and false identification information and documents such as credit cards driver s licences passports and birth certificates. the websites shared tips on how to commit fraud and provided a forum by which people could buy the information and tools they needed to commit such crime she said. the shadowcrew site which has now been taken over by the us secret service listed several discussion groups in english and russian including one on hacking spam and online anonymity tools. the head of the nhtcu acting detective chief superintendent mick deats said: this investigation has resulted in the significant disruption of organised criminals using the internet for profit. we believe that the suspects have trafficked at least 1.7 million stolen credit card numbers leading to losses by financial institutions running into the millions. chief supt deats went on to warn: the internet offers huge legitimate benefits for modern society; however with it brings powerful opportunities for those seeking to abuse those benefits for criminal gain. your identity is one of the most precious commodities. criminals who try to steal the personal and financial information of ordinary citizens as well as the confidential and proprietary information of companies engaged in e-commerce will be targeted by law enforcement. | business | 2 |
microsoft debuts security tools microsoft is releasing tools that clean up pcs harbouring viruses and spyware. the virus-fighting program will be updated monthly and is a precursor to microsoft releasing dedicated anti-virus software. also being released is a software utility that will help users find and remove any spyware on their home computer. although initially free it is thought that soon microsoft will be charging users for the anti-spyware tool. the anti-spyware tool is available now and the anti-virus utility is expected to be available later this month. microsoft s windows operating system has long been a favourite of people who write computer viruses because it is so ubiquitous and has many loopholes that can be exploited. it has proved such a tempting target that there are now thought to be more than 100 000 viruses and other malicious programs in existence. latest research suggests that new variants of viruses are being cranked out at a rate of up to 200 per week. spyware is surreptitious software that sneaks on to home computers often without users knowledge. in its most benign form it just bombards users with pop-up adverts or hijacks web browser settings. the most malicious forms steal confidential information or log every keystroke that users make. surveys have shown that most pcs are infested with spyware. research by technology firms earthlink and webroot revealed that 90% of windows machine have the malicious software on board and on average each one harbours 28 separate spyware programs. before now microsoft has left the market for pc security software to specialist firms such as symantec mcafee trend micro and many others. it said that its virus cleaning program would not stop machines being infected nor remove the need for other anti-virus programs. on spyware freely available programs such as ad-aware and spybot have become widely used by people keen to keep the latest variants at bay. microsoft s two security tools have emerged as a result of acquisitions the company has made over the last two years. in 2003 it bought romanian firm gecad software to get hold of its anti-virus technology. in december 2004 it bought new york-based anti-spyware firm giant company software. last year microsoft also released the sp2 upgrade for windows xp that closed many security loopholes in the software and made it easier for people to manage their anti-virus and firewall programs. | entertainment | 2 |
peers debate crown succession law peers are debating proposals to change the rules governing the succession to the throne. labour peer lord dubs succession to the crown bill aims to end the right of male heirs to succeed to the crown even if they have an older sister. the private member s bill would also abolish the ban on heirs to the throne marrying roman catholics. the fabian society s sundar katwala said the change was long overdue and that he expected a warm response . the political reform group s general secretary told bbc radio 4 s today programme there were some very out-dated features at the heart of britain s constitution. in 1998 the government said in principle it supported the idea of ending gender discrimination and that it would consult on how to come forward with its own measures. we hope they are warm towards it and don t say this is the wrong time. he pointed out that it was 30 years since the sex discrimination act and urged politicians on all sides to back the bill. mr katwala added: this is long overdue. parliament will have to do it eventually the government and i hope all of the political parties might think this is a very simple thing to have in their manifestos. but he acknowledged that even if the bill did win support it was unlikely to become law because the legislative programme is likely to be squeezed by the coming general election. he said he hoped the bill would be a gentle nudge to the government and suggested it would demand a response . the bill which is in the lords for its second reading has been adopted by former chief whip ann taylor in the commons. the rule of succession is regulated not only through descent and tradition but also by the act of settlement which confirmed in 1701 that it was for parliament to determine the title to the throne. | politics | 0 |
bnp leader nick griffin arrested the leader of the british national party has been arrested as part of a police inquiry following the screening of a bbc documentary. a party spokesman said nick griffin was arrested on tuesday morning on suspicion of incitement to commit racial hatred. west yorkshire police confirmed they had arrested a 45-year-old man from outside their area. bnp founding chairman john tyndall was arrested on sunday on the same charge. in july the bbc documentary secret agent featured covertly-filmed footage of bnp activists. mr griffin is the twelfth man to be arrested following the documentary. nine men from west yorkshire and another man from leicester have been arrested and freed on bail. seven of the men had been held variously in connection with suspected racially aggravated public order offences conspiracy to commit criminal damage and possession of a firearm. two men both from keighley were arrested in september on suspicion of conspiracy to commit criminal damage. a 24-year-old man from leicester was detained on monday on suspicion of incitement to commit racial hatred. a bnp spokesperson said mr tyndall from brighton was arrested following a speech he made in burnley lancashire and was released on police bail. | business | 2 |
weak dollar hits reuters revenues at media group reuters slipped 11% during 2004 mainly due to the weakness of the dollar the group said. the company said it was optimistic about growth even as revenues slipped 11% from £3.24bn ($6.13bn) in 2003 to £2.89bn in 2004. reuters beat profit forecasts posting a 52% rise in profits for the year to £198m from the £130m seen a year earlier. reuters also beat its savings target for 2004 delivering £234m of cuts. under its three-year fast forward turnaround plan it had aimed to save £220m during the 12 months to 31 december. reuters also managed to slow a decline in underlying revenues to 5.4% from 10.2% in 2003 and cut its debt back to £160m from £610m a year earlier. the news and financial data seller said the year had begun well adding it expected further gradual improvement in the second quarter of the year after good january sales. it added it was planning to deliver a further £105m of savings over the coming year - but said it expects to be hit with an £80m restructuring charge to pay for the cost of moving from fleet street to new headquarters in london at canary wharf. improving customer relationships more competitive products and continued strong cost discipline position us well for 2005 chief executive tom glocer said adding the company was beginning to look beyond recovery to growth . | science and tech | 2 |
tories leave door open for archer the conservative party would deal sympathetically with any application by disgraced peer lord archer to rejoin its ranks its co-chairman has said. dr liam fox told bbc one s breakfast with frost programme there was no place for vindictiveness in politics. lord archer spent two years in prison after being convicted of perjury and perverting the course of justice. the former tory deputy chairman s five-year suspension from the party has just elapsed. a jury ruled that lord archer lied during a libel trial against the daily star at the high court in london in 1987. he won damages after the newspaper printed allegations about involvement with a prostitute. dr fox was asked if he would say yes or no if lord archer applied to rejoin. i m sure that in line with people having served their sentence and having done some reparations for what they did wrong we would look at that sympathetically. i don t believe in vindictiveness i don t think that has any place in politics unlike the prime minister and alastair campbell. tory peer lord tebbit said he agreed with dr fox s view and said the case should be looked at on its merits. after all he is far from being the worst perjurer in the world he added. meanwhile senior conservative mp sir teddy taylor warned that moves bring lord archer back into the fold could be controversial. he said: i suppose on a sunday in particular we should always make provision for forgiving sinners. but there is no doubt it would be controversial. lord archer who was not available for comment remains a popular figure among constituency tory parties and is a successful fundraiser. he has not been seen in the house of lords since his release from prison in july 2003 although there is nothing in the rules to prevent him from attending. | politics | 0 |
tory candidate quits over remark a conservative election challenger is quitting after being quoted as wanting a period of creative destruction in the public services . danny kruger who also works in the tory research unit had been due to take on tony blair in sedgefield. he says his remark last week was misrepresented but he will not contest the election for fear of damaging the conservative cause. tory leader michael howard accepted his decision with regret . mr kruger was quoted in the guardian newspaper saying: we plan to introduce a period of creative destruction in the public services. in a statement the party said the comment had been taken out of context. he fully supports the party s policies on and approach to the public services said the statement. however in order to avoid any further misrepresentation of his views and any damage to the party he has decided not to stand in the sedgefield constituency at the next election. mr kruger is continuing in his job at the tory campaign headquarters. labour election coordinator alan milburn claimed mr kruger had exposed the tory agenda for £35bn of cuts to public services. mr milburn said: he is not some unknown hopeful fighting an unwinnable seat. he is a man who has worked at the heart of conservative policy development... his claim that the tories were planning a period of creative destruction in the public services is not a rogue claim. it is the authentic and shocking voice of the conservative party. it reveals the true picture of what they would do. | science and tech | 2 |
brown hits back in blair rift row gordon brown has criticised a union leader who said conflict between himself and tony blair was harming the workings of government. jonathan baume of the top civil servants union spoke of competing agendas between mr brown and mr blair. but the chancellor said mr baume was never at meetings between himself and the prime minister so could not judge. he said the union leader was trying to block civil service reform which threatened his members jobs. it suited the purpose of mr baume s union the first division association to suggest there were two agendas battling against each other because the union was trying to resist the planned reforms mr brown told bbc radio 4 s today programme. under the plans unveiled in the gershon report some 84 000 civil servants jobs will be axed or changed and the savings ploughed back into frontline services. mr brown said: to be honest i don t think you can rely on his [mr baume s] judgement on this matter when it comes to the decisions that the government are making. mr blair and i are making exactly the same decisions on civil service reforms. we are determined to go on with the gershon reforms. he also said that as mr baume was never present at meetings between himself and the prime minister he was not in a position to judge. on wednesday ahead of the chancellor s pre-budget report mr baume told bbc news there were sometimes conflicting and competing agendas for government between number 10 and the treasury. what the chancellor wanted was not by any means what alan milburn and the prime minister want to see mr baume said. government departments get their money from the treasury on the basis of public service agreements they sign up to but at the same time the prime minister also has an agenda and that s not necessarily the same as the treasury s and the prime minister is of course a very powerful figure in any government. he also sends instructions and messages and directions to departments about how he would like each secretary of state and each department to implement a policy agenda. the problem is that on many occasions these two don t add up and individual cabinet ministers as well as departments have to make sense of this battle. number 10 said ministers were interested in governing and not a soap opera about mr blair and mr brown. tory shadow chancellor oliver letwin said: the battle royal that the top civil servants are now reporting on between the chancellor and tony blair is preventing them both from getting on with the business of getting taxpayers value for money. | politics | 0 |
quiksilver moves for rossignol shares of skis rossignol the world s largest ski-maker have jumped as much as 15% on speculation that it will be bought by us surfwear firm quiksilver. the owners of rossignol the boix-vives family are said to be considering an offer from quiksilver. analysts believe other sporting goods companies may now take a closer look at rossignol prompting an auction and pushing the sale price higher. nike and k2 have previously been mentioned as possible suitors. rossignol shares touched 17.70 euros before falling back to trade 7.8% higher at 16.60 euros. european sporting goods companies have seen foreign revenues squeezed by a slump in the value of the us dollar making a takeover more attractive analysts said. companies such as quiksilver would be able to cut costs by selling rossignol skis through their shops they added. the boix-vives family is thought to have spent the past couple of years sounding out possible suitors for rossignol which also makes golf equipment snowboards and sports clothing. | politics | 2 |
uk s useless quangos under fire the uk has 529 quangos financed with billions of pounds of taxpayers cash - many of which are useless or duplicate each other s efforts a report claims. essential guide to british quangos 2005 author dan lewis said at least 111 of the appointed bodies had been set up since labour won power in 1997. he urged a limit on the number of quangos that could be set up by any individual government department. tories and lib dems welcomed the report and called for a slimming down . conservative deregulation spokesman john redwood said: the research endorses our policy of destroying unwanted and unnecessary quangos and slimming down the rest. a conservative government will axe 162 quangos as part of its drive for more efficient and more accountable government. lib dem spokesman ed davey meanwhile said instead of the bonfire of quangos new labour had promised there had been an explosion of them. for over two decades under both tory and labour governments these unaccountable agencies have mushroomed. liberal democrats would abolish many merge others and make any that remain properly accountable. labour representatives were unavailable for comment. the quango guide follows last year s government-commissioned gershon report which recommended significant cuts in bureaucracy across the public sector. mr lewis wants a public inquiry into regional development agencies which cost £1.8bn a year - cash he says which appears to be almost entirely wasted . as well as a departmental limit on quangos he also wants a statutory five-year limit on any such body with executive powers. he also listed what he dubbed the nine most useless quangos . they were the british potato council the milk development council the energy savings trust agricultural wages committees the wine standards board the westminster foundation for democracy the football licensing authority investors in people uk and the economic and social research council. mr lewis branded the existence of the 60-employee potato council set up in 1997 to research and promote overseas potato markets surprising . he said the £80m spent annually on the energy savings trust which promotes renewable energy would be better spent on eight million boiler jackets for british homes. and he argued it was absurd to charge farmers for agricultural wages committees which set working and wage standards in the industry when many were prepared to take advantage of immigrant labour prepared to work for £1 an hour. if a football team can afford to pay £27m for wayne rooney why should the taxpayer - not all of whom like football - be forced to fund the football licensing authority to the tune of over £1.1m a year mr lewis asked. the report is published by the efficiency in government unit - a joint effort by right of centre think tanks the economic research council and the centre for policy studies. it says before a new public body is set up an assessment should be made whether its proposed role is already carried out by an existing charity or other private organisation. | business | 2 |
playstation 3 chip to be unveiled details of the chip designed to power sony s playstation 3 console will be released in san francisco on monday. sony ibm and toshiba who have been working on the cell processor for three years will unveil the chip at a technology conference. the chip is reported to be up to 10 times faster than current processors. it is being designed for use in graphics workstations the new playstation console and has been described as a supercomputer on a chip. sony has said the cell processor could be used to bridge the gap between movies and video games. special effects and graphics designed for films could be ported for use directly in a video game sony told an audience at the e3 exhibition in los angeles last year. cell could also be marketed as an ideal technology for televisions and supercomputers and everything in between said kevin krewell the editor in chief of microprocessor report. the chip will be made of several different processing cores that work on tasks together. the playstation 3 is expected in 2006 but developers are expecting to get prototypes early next year to tune games that will appear on it at launch. details of the chip will be released at the international solid state circuits conference in san francisco. some details have already emerged however. when put inside powerful computer servers the cell consortium expects it to be capable of handling 16 trillion floating point operations or calculations every second. the chip has also been refined to be able to handle the detailed graphics common in games and the data demands of films and broadband media. ibm said it would start producing the chip in early 2005 at manufacturing plants in the us. the first machines off the line using the cell processor will be computer workstations and servers. a working version of the ps3 is due to be shown off in may 2005 but a full launch of the next generation console is not expected to start until 2006. in the future all forms of digital content will be converged and fused onto the broadband network said ken kutaragi chief operating officer of sony said last year. current pc architecture is nearing its limits he added. | politics | 2 |
wales make two changes for france wales coach mike ruddock has made two changes from the team that beat italy 38-8 for saturday s trip to france. kevin morgan takes over from his injured newport-gwent dragons colleague hal luscombe on the right wing. and in the pack neath-swansea ospreys forward ryan jones is preferred at blindside flanker to jonathan thomas. thomas a try-scorer in rome drops down to the bench instead of ian gough while cardiff back rhys williams steps up in place of morgan. luscombe is sidelined by a hamstring problem sustained during the six nations game against italy last weekend. however the experienced and in-form morgan was already pushing hard for a start at stade de france. due to his impressive performances from the bench kevin was very much in the selection mix anyway and the unfortunate injury to hal gives him the chance to start said ruddock. now that ryan jones has recovered from injury we have increased the options in the back row. jonathan thomas is unlucky to lose his spot after performing well against italy and scoring a try but such is the competition for places that every position is debated in detail. for this particular game we felt we might not always be afforded the open spaces out wide we were able to exploit against italy so an extra big ball-carrier in the back-row is thought to be necessary on this occasion. obviously it s a 22-man game these days and there is every chance that jonathan will be making an impact from the bench. wales have beaten france on two of their last three visits to paris and another victory this time around would keep them firmly on course for a first five or six nations title triumph since 1994. graham henry (former wales coach) said a couple of years ago that we should be bold when going to france and he was proved right said ruddock. that is a great way to approach the game and something we will further endorse with the players this week. g thomas (toulouse capt); k morgan (newport-gwent) t shanklin (cardiff) g henson (neath-swansea) s williams (neath-swansea); s jones (clermont auvergne) d peel (llanelli); g jenkins (cardiff) m davies (gloucester) a jones; (neath-swansea) b cockbain (neath-swansea) r sidoli (cardiff); r jones (neath-swansea) m williams (cardiff) m owen (newport-gwent). replacements: r mcbryde (llanelli) j yapp (cardiff) j thomas (neath-swansea) r sowden-taylor (cardiff) g cooper (newport-gwent) c sweeney newport-gwent) r williams (cardiff). | science and tech | 2 |
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. | business | 2 |
krispy kreme shares hit shares in krispy kreme doughnuts have taken a dunking on wall street after the firm revealed it would have to restate its 2004 financial reports. the company warned the move would cut its profits by $3.8m to $4.9m (£2m to £2.6m) - or between 6.6% and 8.6%. krispy kreme said accounting errors had forced the move adding that its board of directors made the decision to restate its accounts on 28 december. however the company was unavailable to comment on why it had delayed the news. it also warned it might have to further restate results for 2004 and 2005. shares in krispy kreme sank 14.87% - or $1.83 - to close at $10.48 on the news. the revelation comes just a month after the firm warned earnings would be cut by as much as 7.6% as a result of accounting errors. krispy kreme said the latest adjustments involved the way it accounted for the repurchase of three franchise restaurants. it added it would now be reviewing how it accounts for its leases. in a further blow the firm said it had been advised that some of its franchise owners were not in compliance with their loan agreements and warned it might need to borrow extra money if it was required to honour agreements on franchisee debts or operating leases. krispy kreme added that it had enough cash to fund its current operations but it could not borrow any more under its existing agreements. there are many more questions than answers especially given increased concerns regarding company liquidity jp morgan securities analyst john ivankoe said in a research note on the firm. the announcement is the latest blow for the one-time darling of wall street which has lost 80% of its stock value in just over a year. the firm is currently facing securities and exchange commission investigation of its accounts. shareholders have also launched lawsuits against the group claiming it made false statements and inflated sales. | entertainment | 2 |
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. | entertainment | 0 |
label withdraws mcfadden s video the new video of former westlife singer brian mcfadden has been pulled after a dublin school complained about being associated with his song irish son. st fintian s high school says it is clearly identified in the video while mcfadden never went there. mcfadden makes claims that he was beaten at his own school in the song s lyrics saying it had cell blocks . the performer s record label sony bmg has withdrawn the video and issued replacements to television stations. the label believed the school name was fictitious until they received the complaint. they have said the reference to the school was unintentional and coincidental. the head of christian brothers school st fintian s richard fogarty said the video implied that the 24-year-old pop star had attended his school and was abused there. the school has always treated its pupils with respect mr fogarty said in a statement. mcfadden makes specific references to the christian brothers in his song but did not attend st fintian s. corporal punishment was outlawed in irish schools in 1982 when mcfadden was two years old. mcfadden whose debut solo album is released next week has said that every song is autobiographical and a true story . alcoholism and domestic violence are among the other topics dealt with in his songs half of which have been written with robbie williams former collaborator guy chambers. mcfadden who quit chart-topping group westlife in march went to number one in september with his first solo single real to me. he enjoyed 12 chart-toppers with the boy band before parting company with them. | entertainment | 0 |
french suitor holds lse meeting european stock market euronext has met with the london stock exchange (lse) amid speculation that it may be ready to launch a cash bid. euronext chief jean-francois theodore held talks with lse boss clara furse the day after rival deutsche boerse put forward its own bid case. the german exchange said it had held constructive professional and friendly talks with the lse. but euronext declined to comment after the talks ended on friday. speculation is mounting that the germans may raise their bid to £1.5bn. deutsche boerse previously offered £1.3bn which was rejected by the lse while euronext is rumoured to have facilities in place to fund a £1.4bn cash bid. so far however neither have tabled a formal bid. but 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. there was speculation euronext would use friday s meeting as an opportunity to take advantage of growing disquiet over deutsche boerse s own plans for dominance over the london market. unions for deutsche boerse staff in frankfurt has reportedly expressed fears that up to 300 jobs would be moved to london if the takeover is successful. the works council has expressed concerns that the equities and derivatives trade could be managed from london in the future reuters news agency reports a union source as saying. german politicians are also said to be angry over the market operator s promise to move its headquarters to london if a bid were successful. meanwhile lse shareholders fear that deutsche boerse s control over its clearstream unit - the clearing house that processes securities transactions - would create a monopoly situation. this would weaken the position of shareholders when negotiating lower transaction fees for share dealings. lse and euronext do not have control over their clearing and settlement operations a situation which critics say is more transparent and competitive. the german group s ownership of clearstream has been seen as the main stumbling block to a london-frankfurt merger. commentators believe deutsche boerse which has now formally asked german authorities to approve its plan to buy the lse may offer to sell clearstream to gain shareholder approval. euronext so far has given little away as to what sweeteners it will offer the lse - europe s biggest equity market - into a deal. | politics | 2 |
ruddock backs yapp s credentials wales coach mike ruddock says john yapp has what it takes as an international. the 21-year-old blues prop is the only uncapped player in wales six nations squad gaining a chance in the absence of ospreys loose-head duncan jones. john is a young man with a big future. he has been playing with the blues for two years and has racked up mileage on his playing clock said ruddock. he has international size is a big physical lad and a good ball-carrier with a high tackle-count. ruddock s assessment was backed up by yapp s coach at the blues former wales and lions prop dai young. john s been on an upward curve all season and is going from strength to strength young told bbc sport wales. his ball carrying gives us good go-forward he impresses in defence and his work-rate is excellent. he s working hard on his scrummaging technique which he is keen to improve to become a destroyer on the loose-head. to be fair to him he s not quite there with the scrummaging yet but nobody can fault his effort commitment and attitude. john s a very strong man and is eager for the challenge if he s pitched in he won t let anyone down. he s developing quickly but i hope he isn t pushed too quickly in a way that would hurt his development. ruddock hopes that the selection of yapp and dragons lock ian gough - out of the international reckoning since falling out with former coach steve hansen - will send a message to other players in wales. john and ian have been rewarded for impressing during the heineken cup competition said ruddock. both of them have played well and we want to send a message out that consistently playing well gets you in the squad. we believe this is an exciting squad representing traditional values of welsh rugby and based on the performances in the november internationals. we have strength and experience up front and well-recognised talent pace and skill behind. the management team just want to get hold of the players and get out on the training pitch at the moment. they are all due in on sunday and that s when the hard work starts. | sports | 0 |
anelka eyes man city departure striker nicolas anelka reportedly wants to leave manchester city in search of champions league football. anelka 25 is in talks over a contract extension beyond 2007 with city but is believed to fear his career will go stale if he stays at the club. the news of the world reports that anelka told a french magazine: i either decide to win titles or to have an easy life. i think i will always choose football if a great club makes me an offer. he added: to win titles you need players who have the capability of doing so. if we stagnate between eighth and 15th place it s impossible to progress. if i am going to score goals and not win there is a risk it is going to create a feeling of being fed up. anelka has earned a reputation for being a difficult character to handle after spells at arsenal real madrid and paris st germain and he feels that is now coming back to haunt him. i am in talks to sign an extension to my contract he said. i am well here but the sporting aspect also comes into account. playing for eighth place is good but i miss the champions league. i won it with real madrid in 2000 and i need to be playing in it - and i should be playing in it. i m not in it because of things that have happened in the past and had nothing to do with football. but i don t blame anyone. it s a bit my fault. | sports | 0 |
wales win in rome wales secured their first away win in the rbs six nations for nearly four years with a six-try victory in rome. tries from jonathan thomas tom shanklin and martyn williams gave the visitors a 19-5 half-time advantage. luciano orquera did reply with one for italy but second-half efforts from brent cockbain shane williams and robert sidoli sealed victory. fly-half stephen jones added four conversions as wales maintained their superb start to this year s tournament. starting full of confidence after their victory over england the visitors scored the opening try after just four minutes. diminutive wing shane williams fielded a kick ahead and danced past the onrushing andrea masi and aaron persico into the italian half. his pass to tom shanklin appeared forward but when the centre was held up short the ball was switched left and michael owen s long cut-out pass gave the lurking thomas an easy run-in. stephen jones who retained the kicking duties despite gavin henson s heroics against england slotted an excellent conversion from wide out. wales twice threatened further scores but failed to find the crucial pass and italy hit back out of the blue in the 11th minute. henson sporting gold boots rather than the silver variety that did for england beat two players with ease out on the left touchline. but his attempted chip ahead was charged down by orquera who snaffled the loose ball and hared away from halfway to score in the right corner. with the welsh line-out stuttering and italy twice turning the visitors scrum the home side s forward power brought them back into it. but a clever high kick from henson almost brought a try for hal luscombe when roland de marigny and ludovico nitoglia made a hash of claiming it as the ball bounced into touch. wales regained control with a second try in the 21st minute henson lobbing up a high kick to the left corner where shanklin jumped higher than nitoglia to dot down his 15th test try. jones was unable to convert and de marigny then hit the upright with a penalty attempt for italy. henson was also narrowly short with a long-range effort at goal but wales ended the half with a vital third score to give themselves some breathing space. henson sent luscombe streaking away and when he off-loaded to martyn williams the flanker showed his nous to ground the ball against the padding of the post jones adding the conversion. italy who lost flanker mauro bergamasco with a head knock before half-time built up a head of steam on the resumption. de marigny landed a penalty to make it 19-8 and a nitoglia break through the middle threatened a try only for the move to break down with a knock-on. but wales put the outcome beyond doubt with two superb tries in four minutes before the hour. their fourth after 53 minutes was sparked by another mazy run from shane williams who beat several players with ease and finished with a powerful angled run from lock cockbain. before italy could recover from that blow a strong surge from gareth thomas and great off-loads from martyn williams and replacement kevin morgan saw shane williams scamper over. with jones converting both for a 33-8 lead wales had the luxury of sending on five more replacements for the final quarter. the icing on the cake came with a sixth try after more superb support work shane williams and ceri sweeney combining to send sidoli over in the left corner. the only downside for wales was a hamstring injury suffered by luscombe. but after back-to-back wins at the start of the tournament for the first time in 11 years they will travel to paris in a fortnight looking like genuine contenders. r de marigny; mirco bergamasco w pozzebon a masi l nitoglia; l orquera a troncon; a lo cicero f ongaro m castrogiovanni s dellape m bortolami (capt) a persico mauro bergamasco s parisse. g intoppa s perugini ca del fava d dal maso p griffen m barbini kp robertson. g thomas (capt); h luscombe t shanklin g henson s williams; s jones d peel; g jenkins m davies a jones; b cockbain r sidoli; j thomas m williams m owen. r mcbryde j yapp i gough r sowden-taylor g cooper c sweeney k morgan. andrew cole (australia). | business | 2 |
french wine gets 70m euro top-up the french government is to hand its struggling wine industry 70m euros ($91m) in aid to help it battle falling sales and damaging overproduction. the financial package is aimed at assisting vintners in financial trouble and improving how its wine is marketed. the french wine industry the world s second largest has been hit by declining consumption at home and the growing popularity of new world wines. wine makers however claimed the support did not go far enough. the package was announced by agriculture minister dominique bussereau after talks with vintners representatives. the bulk of the money - about 40m euros - will be offered in the form of preferential loans to heavily indebted producers to enable them to reschedule their payments. a further 15m euros will be made available to wine cooperatives which make up the majority of french producers in low interest loans. efforts to promote french wine abroad are to be boosted by an extra 3.5m euros in funding. france fell behind the new world producers of australia chile and the united states for the first time in 2003 in terms of exports. domestic consumption accounting for 70% of sales has suffered from strict restrictions on advertising and tough drink-driving laws. the aid package would create a positive climate around french viticulture mr bussereau said. however wine makers and farmers said the support was much less than they had been hoping for. i am afraid the resources are not up to the ambitions jean-michel lemetayer from the fnsea agricultural union told the associated press news agency. in an effort to tackle overcapacity the government will agree that vines can be destroyed in areas where growers give their unanimous consent while 500 vintners will be helped to take early retirement. the government will also seek european union approval to distil about 250 million litres of excess wine into alcohol with vintners receiving compensation. production is currently outstripping demand by about 30%. the support is designed to make french producers more competitive in the face of increasing global consolidation across the wine industry. wine makers in france s best-known regions such as burgundy have found it hard to invest in new technology and to create recognisable brands to appeal to overseas buyers. | business | 0 |
software watching while you work software that can not only monitor every keystroke and action performed at a pc but also be used as legally binding evidence of wrong-doing has been unveiled. worries about cyber-crime and sabotage have prompted many employers to consider monitoring employees. the developers behind the system claim it is a break-through in the way data is monitored and stored. but privacy advocates are concerned by the invasive nature of such software. the system is a joint venture between security firm 3ami and storage specialists bridgehead software. they have joined forces to create a system which can monitor computer activity store it and retrieve disputed files within minutes. more and more firms are finding themselves in deep water as a result of data misuse. sabotage and data theft are most commonly committed from within an organisation according to the national hi-tech crime unit (nhtcu) a survey conducted on its behalf by nop found evidence that more than 80% of medium and large companies have been victims of some form of cyber-crime. bridgehead software has come up with techniques to prove to a legal standard that any stored file on a pc has not been tampered with. ironically the impetus for developing the system came as a result of the freedom of information act which requires companies to store all data for a certain amount of time. the storage system has been incorporated into an application developed by security firm 3ami which allows every action on a computer to be logged. potentially it could help employers to follow the trail of stolen files and pinpoint whether they had been emailed to a third party copied printed deleted or saved to cd floppy disk memory stick or flash card. other activities the system can monitor include the downloading of pornography the use of racist or bullying language or the copying of applications for personal use. increasingly organisations that handle sensitive data such as governments are using biometric log-ins such as fingerprinting to provide conclusive proof of who was using a particular machine at any given time. privacy advocates are concerned that monitoring at work is not only damaging to employee s privacy but also to the relationship between employers and their staff. that is not the case said tim ellsmore managing director of 3ami. it is not about replacing dialogue but there are issues that you can talk through but you still need proof he said. people need to recognise that you are using a pc as a representative of a company and that employers have a legal requirement to store data he added. | science and tech | 0 |
lib dems target the student vote students can decide the fate of mps in some seats at the next election liberal democrat leader charles kennedy has claimed. the party says the votes of students can win it 27 new seats at the poll. the figures assume all students will vote in their university town. in fact some may vote where the parents live. the lib dems say scrapping university fees wins them student support. but the tories would also end fees and labour says both would cap people s ambitions. the lib dems have named the 14 seats where there are enough students to take the lib dems from second place to beat labour and the 13 where they could go from second to beat the tories. launching his campaign to win students votes at the london school of economics mr kennedy urged students to make their mark . he underlined lib dem plans to scrap university fees and reintroduce maintenance grants of up to £2 000. he said: top-up fees put students off university especially those from a poorer background. and is it really right that so many young people are starting out in life with mortgage-style debts hanging round their necks mr kennedy also said students want action on the environment and see the iraq war which his party opposed as a defining issue. labour has pushed through plans to let universities charge fees of up to £3 000 a year with the poorest students eligible for non-repayable support of up to £3 000. ahead of mr kennedy s launch a labour spokesperson said: like the tories the liberal democrats would restrict access to higher education and put a cap on aspiration closing the door to students with good grades and restricting their life ambitions. they are committed to abandoning labour s targets of getting 50% of 18 to 30-year-olds going into higher education and under lib dem plans students would even have to study near home. the conservatives say they would abolish university tuition fees and instead offer large student loans at commercial rates of interest. they say the lib dem policy would leave universities wholly dependent for their income on the goodwill of the chancellor. shadow education secretary tim collins is on thursday setting out a new scheme of vocational grants for 14 to 16-year-olds to tackle what he says are crippling skills shortages . the lib dem analysis of the difference students could make to its election chances is based on all students being registered to vote near their university not in their home towns. although the expected 5 may election would be during term time students can vote by post. the electoral commission and national union of students are worried students in halls of residence can find it hard to register to vote. some hall wardens are reluctant to register students because of data protection fears - but students can get themselves registered. if the election is on 5 may voters need to register by 11 march. - the seats where the lib dems say student votes can swing the election for them are: bristol west cardiff central leeds north west cambridge manchester gorton sheffield central oxford east newcastle-upon-tyne central liverpool riverside holborn and st pancras oldham east and saddleworth manchester withington islington south and finsbury birmingham yardley surrey south west taunton orpington haltemprice and howden eastbourne isle of wight dorset west bournemouth east wells canterbury cities of london and westminster bournemouth west westmorland and lonsdale. | politics | 0 |
minister hits out at yukos sale russia s renationalisation of its energy industry needs to be reversed a senior government figure has warned. economy minister german gref told the kommersant newspaper that direct state involvement in oil was unjustified . his comments follow the sale of much of oil giant yukos to cover back taxes - a deal which effectively took most of the firm s assets into public ownership. on 28 december another senior economic adviser called the sale the swindle of the century . yuganskneftegaz the unit which produced 60% of yukos output had been seized and sold in december for less than $10bn to a previously unknown firm called baikal. baikal promptly passed into the hands of state-controlled firm rosneft itself shortly to merge with state gas giant gazprom. we used to see street hustlers do this kind of thing andrei illarionov - then economic adviser to president vladimir putin - told a press conference. now officials are doing it. within days he was stripped of most of his responsibilities. mr gref a well-known opponent of nationalisation in competitive parts of the market was keen to distance himself from mr iliaronov s comments. the privatisation of companies such as yukos in the 1990s had been badly handled he said. but he stressed that the government needed to get out of oil. i think that rosneft and yuganskneftegaz should it become a state-owned company must be privatized he said. today our government is ineffective and state companies as a result are for the overwhelming part ineffective as well. and he warned that using back taxes to deal with firms like yukos - a technique now being applied by the kremlin to several other firms - was a mistake. if we follow that logic we should nationalise all businesses he said. many large russian companies particularly in the energy sector use complex webs of offshore companies to avoid taxes. mr gref also poured cold water on president putin s promises of doubled economic growth within a decade. the assault on yukos assets has been widely blamed for a slowdown in economic growth in recent months. the task is not simply to double gdp; instead it is to use gdp to qualitatively improve people s lives mr gref told kommersant. we don t need simply to increase gdp but to improve its structure. instead of focusing on headline growth figures russia needed to focus on better institutions such as a more efficient - and less corrupt - court system. | world | 2 |
blinx sequel purrs nicely the original blinx was intended to convert many platform game lovers to microsoft s then new xbox console. its sharp graphics and novel gameplay with the main character able to pause slow rewind and fast-forward time were meant to lure many fans to the new machine. but poor design meant the game became a very frustrating affair with players often stranded half-way through a level without the required tools to finish. thankfully the sequel has fixed many of the original faults. this time around you do not play as blinx but instead you are given the chance to create two unique cat characters and two pig characters. the character generator is very detailed and a few minutes of tweaking and adjusting will create a unique personality to unleash on the game. as the game progresses you swap between the two rival factions pig and feline assuming the role of your created characters. the thrust of the game sees the two factions competing to recover pieces of a missing time crystal. as in the original your feline persona can control time but this time the pigs get to control space. there are a number of puzzles which require control over time to solve while the pigs can create things such as warps space bubbles and void traps in order to progress. the control over space and time is achieved through a number of vcr-style icons and is quite intuitive. annoyingly the puzzles are a little too obviously flagged up and most gamers will find it more of a chore than a challenge to solve them. the game has also tried to emulate franchises such as jak and daxter and ratchet and clank on ps2 and so there are a number of combat elements. these are a little predictable and tend to drag the general polish of the game down to a more dulled affair. but the game s excellent graphics easily the best-looking platform game around sound and dollops of humour make it an attractive game for younger platform fans. blinx 2 is out on xbox now. | science and tech | 0 |
ore costs hit global steel firms shares in steel firms have dropped worldwide amid concerns that higher iron ore costs will hit profit growth. shares in germany s thyssenkrupp the uk s corus and france s arcleor fell while japan s nippon steel slid after it agreed to pay 72% more for iron ore. china s baoshan iron and steel co. said it was delaying a share sale because of weak market conditions adding it would raise steel prices to offset ore costs. the threat of higher raw material costs also hit industries such as carmakers. france s peugeot warned that its profits may decline this year as a result of the higher steel plastic and commodity prices. steelmakers have been enjoying record profits as demand for steel has risen driven by the booming economies of countries such as china and india. steel prices rose by 8% globally in january alone and by 24% in china. the boom times are far from over but analysts say that earnings growth may slow. the share price fall was initially triggered by news that two of the world s biggest iron ore suppliers had negotiated contracts at much-higher prices. miners rio tinto and cia. vale do rio dolce (cvrd) this week managed to boost by 72% the price of their iron ore a key component of steel. analysts had expected japan s nippon to agree to a price rise of between 40% and 50%. steel analyst peter fish director of sheffield-based consulting group meps said the extent of cvrd s price rise was uncharted territory adding that the steel industry hasn t seen an increase of this magnitude probably in 50 years . analysts now expect other iron ore producers such as australia s bhp billiton to seek annual price rises of up to 70%. the news triggered the share price weakness. it sparked worries that steel makers might not be able to increase product prices further [ to cover rising ore costs] explained kazuhiro takahashi of daiwa securities smbc. in europe arcelor shed 2.1% to 17.58 euros in paris with thyssenkrupp dropping 1.7% to 16.87 euros. in london corus fell 2.2% to 55.57 pence. japan s biggest steel company nippon steel lost 2.5% to 270 yen with closest rival jfe holdings down 3.4%. china s baoshan the country s largest steel producer said that the uncertainty surrounding the industry has prompted it to pull its planned share sale. the firm had been expected to offer 22.5bn yuan ($2.7bn) worth of shares to investors. no date has been given for when the 5 billion shares will come to the market. baoshan stock climbed on news of the delay and its decision to increase the price of its steel by 10%. | business | 0 |
fa probes crowd trouble the fa is to take action after trouble marred wednesday s carling cup tie between chelsea and west ham. police in riot gear were confronted by a section of the west ham support after the match which the blues won 1-0. mateja kezman the scorer of chelsea s goal needed treatment on a head injury during the match after being hit by a missile believed to be a coin. a spokeswoman for chelsea said the club would await the referee s report before deciding on its course of action. kezman was forced off the field to receive treatment on a cut above his eye but was able to continue. chelsea assistant boss steve clarke said: i would rather talk about the football but we think it was something thrown from the crowd. he did not require stitches. west ham boss alan pardew said: it s a shame because i thought there was good english banter in the crowd. there s big rivalry between the two clubs and it is a shame if that s happened. from where i was standing i didn t see any trouble. former hammers star joe cole also had a plastic bottle thrown at him while frank lampard was pelted with coins as he was preparing to take a penalty. lampard s spot-kick was saved to the delight of the hammers fans who have still not forgiven him for leaving upton park. the fa will seek reports from the clubs and the police and will review video evidence and the referee s report. police in riot gear battled with west ham fans in the matthew harding stand and at least one supporter required treatment. fans are also thought to have clashed outside the ground after the game. scotland yard said there had been 11 arrests for alleged public order drugs and offensive weapon offences. the fa is already looking into the trouble at tuesday s heated carling cup tie between millwall and liverpool. | sports | 0 |
libya takes $1bn in unfrozen funds libya has withdrawn $1bn in assets from the us assets which had previously been frozen for almost 20 years the libyan central bank has said. the move came after the us lifted a trade ban to reward tripoli for giving up weapons of mass destruction and vowing to compensate lockerbie victims. the original size of libya s funds was $400m the central bank told reuters. however the withdrawal did not mean that libya had cut its ties with the us he added. we are in the process of opening accounts in banks in the united states the central bank s vice president farhat omar ben gadaravice said. the previously frozen assets had been invested in various countries and are believed to have included equity holdings in banks. the us ban on trade and economic activity with tripoli - imposed by then president ronald regan in 1986 after a series of what the us deemed terrorist acts including the 1988 lockerbie air crash - was suspended in april. bankers from the two country s had been working on how to unfreeze libya s assets. | politics | 2 |
uk needs true immigration data a former home office minister has called for an independent body to be set up to monitor uk immigration. barbara roche said an organisation should monitor and publish figures and be independent of government. she said this would counter so-called independent groups like migration watch which she described as an anti-immigration body posing as independent. migration watch says it is not against all immigration and the government already publishes accurate figures. sir andrew green chairman of the organisation says there is no need for an independent body because office of national statistics data are accurate. he says he opposes large-scale immigration both on the grounds of overcrowding and culture . he said: for example over the next 20 years one household in three will be due to immigration. we are already more overcrowded than india and we are four times more overcrowded than france. ms roche labour mp for hornsey and wood green believes legal migration is something we should welcome. she said her proposals mean we wouldn t have so-called independent experts like migration watch who come into this debate from an anti-immigration point of view. she went on: what i would like to see is there being a body which actually looked at the figures published them and was independent of government. i think that would go a long way to allaying some of the fears that are sometimes whipped up during this debate. | entertainment | 2 |
unilever shake up as profit slips anglo-dutch consumer goods giant unilever is to merge its two management boards after reporting unsatisfactory earnings for 2004. it blamed the poor results on sluggish decision making a rise in discounted retailers and a wet european summer. the company also cited difficult trading conditions and a lack of demand for goods such as its slimfast range. unilever which owns brands including dove soap said annual pre-tax profit fell 36% to 2.9bn euros (£1.99bn). shares fell 1% to 510.75 pence in london and dropped by 1.2% to 50.50 euros in amsterdam. under the restructuring plans patrick cescau the uk-based co-chairman will become group chief executive. dutch co-chairman antony burgmans will take on the role of non-executive chairman. we have recognised the need for greater clarity of leadership and we are moving to a simpler leadership structure that will provide a sharper operational focus mr burgmans said. we are leaving behind one of the key features of unilever s governance but this is a natural development following the changes introduced last year. the company which has had dual headquarters in rotterdam and london since 1930 will announce the location of its head office at a later date. unilever is not alone in trying to simplify its business. oil giant shell last year dismantled its dual-ownership structure after a series of problems relating to the size of its oil reserves that hammered its share price and led to the resignation of key board members. the best part of the news this morning was that the company announced a structure simplification said arjan sweere an analyst at petercam. the company said the organizational changes would speed decision making and it also may make further changes. the company said its main focus will be on improving profits and it is planning to accelerate and increase investment in its 400 main brands. while it is certainly the case that markets have been tougher in the past eighteen months than we had expected we have also lost some market share said mr cescau. we let a range of targets limit our ability flexibility and did not adjust our plans quickly enough to a more difficult business environment. our objective is to reverse the share loss that we experienced in some markets in 2004 and return to growth. unilever said european sales fell 2.8% last year dragged down by below part sales at its beverage division where revenues dipped by almost 4%. sales of ice cream and frozen food dipped by 3.4% in the us last year revenue grew by 1.5% despite disappointing sales in slimfast the company said. in asia leading products came under attack from rivals such as procter & gamble. unilever took a 1.5bn euro one-time charge in the fourth quarter including a 650m euro write-down on slimfast diet foods. sales of slimfast products have been hit in recent years by the popularity of the atkins diet. but looking ahead unilever said it was optimistic about prospects for its slimming products saying that demand is on the wane for rival low-carbohydrate diets. the company also said it planned to spend 500m euros this year buying back shares. | business | 0 |
court rejects $280bn tobacco case a us government claim accusing the country s biggest tobacco companies of covering up the effects of smoking has been thrown out by an appeal court. the demand for $280bn (£155bn) - filed by the clinton administration in 1999 - was rejected in a 2-1 decision. the court in washington found that the case could not be brought under federal anti-racketeering laws. among the accused were altria group rj reynolds tobacco lorillard tobacco liggett group and brown and williamson. in its case the government claimed tobacco firms manipulated nicotine levels to increase addiction targeted teenagers with multi-billion dollar advertising campaigns lied about the dangers of smoking and ignored research to the contrary. prosecutors wanted the cigarette firms to surrender $280bn in profits accumulated over the past 50 years and impose tougher rules on marketing their products. but the court of appeals for the district of columbia ruled that the us government could not sue the firms under legislation drawn up to counteract mafia infiltration of business. the tobacco companies deny that they illegally conspired to promote smoking and defraud the public. they also say they have already met many of the government s demands in a landmark $206bn settlement reached with 46 states in 1998. shares of tobacco companies closed higher after the ruling with altria rising 5% and reynolds showing gains of 4.5%. | politics | 2 |
jones files lawsuit against conte marion jones has filed a lawsuit for defamation against balco boss victor conte following his allegations that he gave her performance-enhancing drugs. the sydney olympic gold medallist says conte damaged her reputation and she is seeking $25m (£13m) in the suit. conte whose company is at the centre of a doping investigation made the claims in a us television programme. he and three others were indicted in february by a federal grand jury for a variety of alleged offences. in an email to the associated press on wednesday conte said: i stand by everything i said . jones won three gold medals and two bronzes in sydney in 2000. her lawsuit filed in the us district court in san francisco said the sprinter had passed a lie detector test and that she has never taken banned performance-enhancing drugs . conte s statements the suit added were false and malicious . after the abc television program earlier this month jones lawyer richard nicholls said: marion has steadfastly maintained her position throughout: she has never ever used performance-enhancing drugs. victor conte is a man facing a 42-count federal indictment while marion jones is one of america s most decorated female athletes. mr conte s statements have been wildly contradictory. mr conte chose to make unsubstantiated allegations on television while marion jones demanded to take and then passed a lie detector examination. mr conte is simply not credible. we challenge him to submit to the same lie detector procedure that marion jones passed. the sport s ruling body the iaaf is taking a cautious approach to conte s allegations but contacted the us anti-doping agency. communications director nick davies said the iaaf would seek to contact conte for further information . but davies stressed it would be up to the american authorities to decide whether they will take action against jones in light of conte s television interview and the world governing body would monitor the situation closely. if it is felt there is case to answer it would be for its national governing body (usa track and field) to take the appropriate disciplinary action he added. the us anti-doping agency has proved itself to be very diligent in its anti-doping war. and i am sure like ourselves they will be watching the television programme with great interest. jones who is under investigation for steroid use by the us anti-doping agency has continually denied ever taking illegal substances since being investigated in the balco scandal although she praised a zinc supplement conte marketed. jones who did not win any medals in athens in august has never failed a drugs test. meanwhile conte who has been charged along with three other men of distributing illegal steroids and money laundering is due to face trial in march. | sports | 0 |
qatar and shell in $6bn gas deal shell has signed a $6bn (£3.12bn) deal with the middle eastern sheikhdom of qatar to supply liquid natural gas (lng) to north america and europe. the uk-dutch group will own 30% of the project with qatar s state oil firm owning the rest. the agreement is the latest in a string of deals reached by qatar which is trying to make itself a regional leader in natural gas. us oil giant exxonmobil signed up for a $12.8bn deal earlier on sunday. france s total is expected to join the exxonmobil scheme dubbed qatargas-2 on monday taking 5 million tonnes of lng a year. exxonmobil will be taking some 15 million tonnes each year for 25 years from the end of 2007 under the deal. shell s agreement under the name qatargas-4 foresees the building of new facilities to handle 1.4 billion cubic feet of gas and 7.8 million tonnes of lng each year from 2011 onwards. | politics | 2 |
gervais writing simpsons episode the office s ricky gervais is writing an episode of hit us cartoon the simpsons following an invitation from its creator matt groening. gervais has already begun writing the script but is keeping its subject matter a closely guarded secret. he will also write a part for himself in the episode. i ve got the rough idea but this is the most intimidating project of my career. the simpsons is the greatest tv show of all time he said. groening recently heaped praise on the office saying: everybody on the simpsons is a fan of the office - it s one of the best shows on tv in the last decade. gervais has already said he would not guest star in the show as his office character david having left him behind for good in the christmas specials. the office became a surprise us success when it was screened on cable channel bbc america. the first series won two golden globes in 2004 for best comedy and best tv actor for gervais. in winning it beat the likes of sex and the city and will and grace. an american version was produced but so far only a pilot has been broadcast - to much criticism that it failed to live up to the original. at the british comedy awards on wednesday gervais was handed a special achievement award for writing. but the office missed out in the best comedy show category to little britain. matt groening was also at the awards to collect the award for best international comedy for the simpsons. | entertainment | 0 |
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. | politics | 2 |
lse doubts boost bidders shares shares in deutsche boerse have risen more than 3% after a shareholder fund voiced opposition to the firm s planned takeover of the london stock exchange. tci which claims to represent owners of 5% of deutsche boerse s (db) shares has complained that the £1.35bn ($2.5bn) offer for the lse is too high. opposition from tci has fuelled speculation that the proposed takeover could fail. rival exchange operator euronext has also said it may bid for the lse. euronext operates the paris amsterdam brussels and lisbon bourses while deutsche boerse runs the frankfurt exchange. bbc news spoke to a number of analysts on monday morning about shareholder worries over deutsche boerse s bid for lse. although none were prepared to speak on the record most thought it was unlikely that tci s opposition would halt the deal obviously we ll have to wait and see but i don t think it will make much difference. deutsche boerse appears very committed said one london-based broker. he forecast the takeover bid would succeed and was more concerned to see improvements in the daily running of the lse. in voicing its opposition to the planned takeover tci said it would prefer to see deutsche boerse return $500m (£350m) to shareholders. the deutsche boerse was prepared to pay for the lse exceeds the potential benefits of this acquisition said tci. another deutsche boerse shareholder on monday also appeared to back tci s call. another investor in deutsche boerse has supported the view that a payout to shareholders would be preferable to deutsche boerse overpaying for the lse reuters news agency reported. we prefer a sensible entrepreneurial solution at a price that is not too high said rolf dress a spokesman for union investment. if that cannot be achieved then we would wish for a distribution of liquid assets to shareholders. the financial times also reported a third deutsche boerse shareholder as opposed to the deal. it quoted a spokesman for us-based hedge fund atticus capital complaining that the planned takeover appeared to be motivated by empire-building rather than the best interests of shareholders. tci has called for deutsche boerse to hold an emergency general meeting to discuss the bid for lse. yet under german business law db does not have to gain shareholder approval before making a significant acquisition. deutsche boerse said tci s opposition would not change its bid approach. deutsche boerse is convinced that its contemplated cash acquisition of the london stock exchange is in the best interests of its shareholders and the company it said. db s shares were up 3.4% to 45.25 euros by 1030 gmt the highest gainer in frankfurt. | entertainment | 2 |
smartphones suffer skulls attack owners of some nokia smartphones are being warned to watch out for malicious wallpaper. those downloading the software could find all the icons on their 7610 phone swapped for images of skulls. when installed the malicious program also locks many of the 7610 s functions making it hard to use and harder to repair. the program is only the latest in a series of viruses produced to attack mobile phones. the file nicknamed skulls is thought to have surfaced on shareware sites where people can pick up free add-ons such as wallpaper games and ringtones for their phones symbian said that it was not sure if the damage skulls does was intentional or simply a result of bad programming. soon after being discovered the file is thought to have been removed from the sites that were unwittingly harbouring it. the program is masquerading as software that creates new background images and themes for the main screen of the 7610 phone. the skulls program is labelled as a file called: 7610.extended.theme.manager.zip. once installed the program replaces all the icons on the main page with skulls and replaces all the working applications such as contacts calendar notebook etc with non-working versions so the phone becomes almost useless. the only thing the phone can do is make and take calls. a statement by symbian played down the significance of the malicious program and said few people would fall victim to it as users have to go through several steps to install it one of which includes ignoring a security warning. symbian said that the spread of the skulls program was likely to be limited as the program cannot travel from one phone to another by itself. despite this finnish anti-virus lab f-secure said it had sporadic reports of 7610 owners being caught out by it. the firm has produced guidance for users caught out to help them remove the program and get their phone working again. the skulls program is thought to have been written by a malicious hacker using the alias tee-222. symbian phones produced by sony ericsson motorola benq arima and fujitsu are unaffected by the skulls program. | business | 2 |
soul sensation ready for awards south west teenage singing sensation joss stone has been nominated in three categories in wednesday s brit awards. the 17-year-old from a small east devon village near cullumpton received nominations for best solo female best urban act and best breakthrough artist. her second album mind body & soul reached number one in the uk charts last october and went straight into the us charts at number 11. ms stone is due to perform at the 25th award ceremony at london s earls court. the teenager also has grammy nominations in the us normally dominated by home-grown acts. born jocelyn stoker the devon diva started her career in a bbc talent programme and was then discovered at a new york audition by a us record executive steve greenberg. the 17-year-old singer is hoping to tour in japan australia and the us in 2005. | entertainment | 0 |
mps quiz aides over royal income senior officials at the two bodies generating private income for the queen and prince of wales are to be questioned by mps. aides from the duchy of lancaster and duchy of cornwall will appear before the commons public accounts committee. it has been reported they could be questioned about prince charles spending on camilla parker bowles. but bbc correspondent peter hunt said they are not responsible for how money is spent and may be unable to answer. duchy officials who will appear before the committee on monday are only responsible for generating money. the duchy of lancaster provides the queen s private income while the duchy of cornwall provides prince charles annual income. the duchy of cornwall is a 140 000-acre estate across 25 counties and also includes residential properties shops offices stocks and shares. it was set up in 1337 by king edward iii to provide income for successive heirs to the throne. it covers the cost of the prince s public and private life - neither charles nor william and harry receive taxpayers money from the civil list. however the prince of wales did receive over £4m from government departments and grants-in-aid in 2003-4. the duchy last year generated almost £12m. the prince has voluntarily paid income tax - currently 40% - since 1993. | science and tech | 2 |
sella wants michalak recall former france centre philippe sella believes coach bernard laporte must recall frederic michalak to give his side any chance of beating ireland. sella admitted he had been impressed by current fly-half yann delaigue in the rbs six nations to date. but he told bbc sport: michalak is the answer both now and for the future. delaigue deserved his chance but the time has come to bring back michalak. he does have weaknesses but has the all-round game to upset ireland. the 22-year-old michalak has spent much of the tournament on the bench after delaigue impressed for castres early in the season. with michalak overlooked the french stuttered to narrow wins over scotland and then england before ironically playing their best rugby in the defeat to wales. the wales game was amazing to watch but never did i think the french could lose that game at half-time said sella. their only mistakes were that they didn t score enough points in the first half and were a little bit less focused in the second... but only a little bit. sella however insisted the pressure had eased on the under-fire laporte despite the defeat at the stade de france. this season is very important for shaping a team for the 2007 world cup said sella which laporte is doing very well. the french get better every game. it s difficult though when you change a team and you change your tactics as everything has to gel. but he has the players and the talent to take them all the way to world cup victory. as a result it is important that people give him time. it may not seem good now that we re not winning the grand slam but no one will care in two years time if we re world champions. the majority of media criticism centred on the way in which france produced a performance devoid of running rugby in their opening two games. but while sella admitted he liked the more flowing style employed against wales he said the win was most important . winning is all that matters he added. ok the flair may not have been so good but the discipline organisation and defence was there which are all important ahead of 2007. france play what sella believes is their hardest game of the six nations against ireland in dublin on saturday 12 march. the french go into the game as clear underdogs. but sella added: people forget that france can still win the six nations and they ll be focused on that. but ireland will be going for even more in front of their home crowd. it s going to be tough. | business | 2 |
microsoft debuts security tools microsoft is releasing tools that clean up pcs harbouring viruses and spyware. the virus-fighting program will be updated monthly and is a precursor to microsoft releasing dedicated anti-virus software. also being released is a software utility that will help users find and remove any spyware on their home computer. although initially free it is thought that soon microsoft will be charging users for the anti-spyware tool. the anti-spyware tool is available now and the anti-virus utility is expected to be available later this month. microsoft s windows operating system has long been a favourite of people who write computer viruses because it is so ubiquitous and has many loopholes that can be exploited. it has proved such a tempting target that there are now thought to be more than 100 000 viruses and other malicious programs in existence. latest research suggests that new variants of viruses are being cranked out at a rate of up to 200 per week. spyware is surreptitious software that sneaks on to home computers often without users knowledge. in its most benign form it just bombards users with pop-up adverts or hijacks web browser settings. the most malicious forms steal confidential information or log every keystroke that users make. surveys have shown that most pcs are infested with spyware. research by technology firms earthlink and webroot revealed that 90% of windows machine have the malicious software on board and on average each one harbours 28 separate spyware programs. before now microsoft has left the market for pc security software to specialist firms such as symantec mcafee trend micro and many others. it said that its virus cleaning program would not stop machines being infected nor remove the need for other anti-virus programs. on spyware freely available programs such as ad-aware and spybot have become widely used by people keen to keep the latest variants at bay. microsoft s two security tools have emerged as a result of acquisitions the company has made over the last two years. in 2003 it bought romanian firm gecad software to get hold of its anti-virus technology. in december 2004 it bought new york-based anti-spyware firm giant company software. last year microsoft also released the sp2 upgrade for windows xp that closed many security loopholes in the software and made it easier for people to manage their anti-virus and firewall programs. | world | 2 |
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. | world | 2 |
the year search became personal the odds are that when you fire up your browser you go straight to your favourite search engine rather than type in a web address. some may see this as the height of laziness but in an era of information overload search has become a vital tool in navigating the net. it is symptomatic of how the way we use the internet is changing. and as google has shown there is money in offering a service that people cannot live without. there is no shortage of companies vying for the loyalty of web searchers offering a wealth of different services and tools to help you find what you want. over the past 12 months giants of the technology world such as microsoft and yahoo have sought to grab a slice of the search action. user experience has contributed to people searching more said yonca brunini of yahoo. as people become more familiar with the internet they tend to spend more time online and ask more queries she said. the other second thing is broadband ms brunini told the bbc news website. this will do to internet what colour has done to tv. but search is hardly a new phenomenon. it has been around since the early days of the net. veteran surfers will remember old-timers like hotbot and altavista. search was always important said urs holzle google vice-president of operations. we trumpeted that in 1999. it is even truer now as there are more users and more information. people didn t realise that search was the future. the financials have something to do with it. google has shown web commerce can work through its targeted small adverts which appear at the top and down the right-hand side of a page and are related to the original search. these small ads helped google reach revenues of $805.9m for the three months to september. others have woken up to the fact that you can make money out of web queries. once you see there is a market microsoft is bound to step to it. if microsoft sees search as important then nobody queries it said mr holzle. microsoft is just one of the net giants muscling in on search. yahoo ask jeeves amazon and a handful of smaller outfits are all seeking to capture eyeballs. web users face a plethora of choices as each company tries to outflank google by rolling out new search products such as desktop search. it reflects how the battlefield has shifted from the net to your pc. search is not just about finding your way around the web. it is now about unlocking information hidden in the gigabytes of documents images and music on hard drives. for all these advances search is still a clumsy tool often failing to come up with exactly what you had in mind. in order to do a better job search engines are trying to get to know you better doing a better job of remembering cataloguing and managing all the information you come across. personalisation is going to be a big area for the future said yahoo s yonca brunini. whoever cracks that and gives you the information you want is going to be the winner. we have to understand you to give you better results that are tailored to you. this is perhaps the holy grail of search understanding what it is you are looking for and providing it quickly. the problem is that no one yet knows how to get there. | world | 2 |
no more concessions on terror charles clarke says he has no desire to offer more concessions on his controversial anti-terror plans to get them on to the statute book. mps voted in favour of the prevention of terrorism bill after mr clarke agreed to key changes - but labour s majority was reduced to 14. the bill now faces opposition from peers angry at house arrest proposals. lord strathclyde tory leader in the lords said ministers should expect it to be substantially re-written . the bill proposes control orders which as well as house arrest could impose curfews tagging or bans on telephone and internet use. they would replace current powers to detain foreign terror suspects without trial which the law lords have ruled against. on monday mps voted 272-219 in favour of the bill after key concessions from mr clarke. the government earlier saw its 161-strong majority cut to just 14 as a cross-party amendment was narrowly rejected by the commons despite the support of 62 labour rebels. mr clarke won over critics by announcing he would introduce an amendment in the lords to ensure the most controversial control order amounting to house arrest would be imposed by judges and not politicians. lord strathclyde warned ministers that they should prepare themselves for substantial rewriting of various aspects of the bill . they should consider far more seriously the use of intercept evidence in any trial and i think they should drop the most objectionable proposals which are for house arrest. but mr clarke told bbc radio 4 s today programme he believed the changes he had made to the bill to win over critics in the commons should be sufficient to satisfy colleagues in the lords. no bill goes through parliament without detailed consideration being made but i believe that what i announced yesterday will be sufficient to secure the agreement of the house of lords he said. i have no desire to make further so-called concessions on the bill. mr clarke s proposed amendment will be debated by the lords on tuesday without having been considered by mps. the debate is unlikely to result in a vote. speaking after the commons debate shadow home secretary david davies said the bill had been clearly very badly drawn-up and that the government was trying to rush it through too quickly. he said it would be possible to rescue the government and make the law tolerable by amending it in the lords. the scope for miscarriages of justice is enormous he told bbc news. mark oaten for the liberal democrats said monday night s vote showed the government had lost the confidence of all sides of the house . he said: they need to rethink the bill and extend the power of a judge to decide on all control orders build safeguards on evidence and create charges against suspects. unless there is a major movement this bill is doomed to fail. bbc news political editor andrew marr said: i think that this is a bill in deep trouble. it s been unravelling in the house of commons - it may unravel further. the government wants the new bill to pass into law by 14 march when the current powers expire. | politics | 0 |
rocker doherty in on-stage fight rock singer pete doherty has been involved in a fight with his band s guitarist at their biggest gig to date. babyshambles played for 5 000 fans at london s brixton academy on tuesday. the former libertines singer traded blows with guitarist patrick walden. they were separated and bundled off stage before returning to end the set. the show was earlier held up due to audience overcrowding. on monday doherty faced blackmail and robbery charges in court which he denies. he is out on £50 000 bail and the judge agreed to extend his 2200 gmt curfew deadline by two hours so he could play the brixton gig. babyshambles which he formed after his acrimonious departure from the libertines played a warm-up show at the garage north london on monday. on tuesday doherty and his three bandmates were introduced to the crowd by mick jones the former clash guitarist who produced the libertines second album. babyshambles took the stage to a frenzied reception at 2200 gmt launching into their last single killamangiro which reached number eight in december. but the group had to stop during the next song to persuade fans not to push forward and allow security guards to pull people out of the crush. doherty appealed to fans to calm down saying: there s a few people getting hurt down the front you ve got to move back. the music resumed minutes later but after several more songs the singer appeared to accidentally disconnect walden s guitar leading the pair to trade kicks and punches. bouncers stepped in and the band left the stage but returned after five minutes and finished their 50-minute performance with no further trouble. doherty 25 had to be home by midnight to observe the curfew which is one of the conditions of his bail. on monday the judge agreed to allow him to perform on condition that requests for changes to his bail terms were not too regular an occurrence . the singer was arrested with fellow musician alan wass on 2 february after an alleged dispute with documentary-maker max carlish at a london hotel. they are next due in court on 18 april. | entertainment | 0 |
williams battles to aussie title serena williams staged a remarkable recovery to beat lindsay davenport and win her second australian open title. the 2003 champion claimed her seventh grand slam title and her first since wimbledon in 2003 2-6 6-3 6-0. williams had looked close to quitting with a rib injury when she left the court for treatment after five games. she quickly dropped the first set but from 3-3 in the second found another gear as davenport s game collapsed allowing williams to take the title. williams later explained her injury problem saying it was the result of lunging for a ball early in the first set. lindsay had me on the run out wide on my backhand and my back went but eventually i was able to come back thank goodness she said. davenport paid tribute to williams saying: she s had a tough couple of years and she s come back like a champion. the 23-year-old former world number one was in desperate trouble in the early stages as the injury hampered her service action. davenport took advantage to race through the opening set and held six break points in game five of the second. i kept thinking to myself i m not losing this game said williams afterwards. i don t care if my arm falls off i m not losing this game . and i guess that s what happened. i didn t want to lose that particular game because it would have given her a lot of momentum and a lot of confidence. despite letting the break points slip away davenport looked comfortable enough at 3-3 but from 40-0 up she just folded. williams won nine consecutive points for the set and powered through the decider as a lacklustre davenport looked to have run out of energy after a gruelling two weeks. i felt like i was playing well and in control pretty much of the match said davenport. then i just had that horrible lapse i think serving up 40-0 and made a few errors and opened up the door for her and she just kept going through it. at the end i think i was a little bit fatigued but she took advantage of it and kept going - she s a great frontrunner when she gets going. | science and tech | 2 |
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. | world | 2 |
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. | business | 0 |
costin aims for comeback in 2006 jamie costin should be paralysed. he says so himself in a matter-of-fact way as he recalls the car accident which occurred nine days before he was scheduled to step out into the olympic stadium in athens for the 50k walk. there is an ironic chuckle as he talks of his immediate thoughts after a lorry driving on the wrong side of the road had ploughed into his rental car. i was in a lot of pain and i guessed that one of my toes was broken says the waterford man. but i was thinking maybe with a cortisone injection you never know. in my back it felt as though all the muscles had been ripped off my pelvis but i was thinking maybe we could do something with laser therapy and ultra sound and hopefully i d be able to race. it took over 10 hours before jamie knew with certainty that he would not be competing in his second olympics. my back had been broken in two places and with one of my vertebrae the bottom part had exploded so i m fierce lucky not be paralysed. i d fractured my big toe as well which was on the brake. jamie didn t finally arrive at hospital in athens until some nine and a half hours after the accident. for the first nine hours i had no pain killers which was ridiculous in 35 degrees heat. but once i got the scans and saw them it was a case of moving on and thinking: ok i ve got a different set of circumstances now . within three days he was arriving back in ireland by air ambulance. doctors in athens had wanted to operate on jamie s back immediately but he insisted on delaying any surgery until he arrived back home - something he is now very relieved about. the greek doctors were going to put three or four inch titanium rods either side of my spinal cord up through my vertebrae. that would have fused all my lower back and i would never have been able to race again. they were really putting a lot of pressure on me to agree to the surgery. but when i got to the mater in dublin they said it was possible for it to heal totally naturally which is giving me the chance to get back into competition which is very important to me. the people at the mater have been absolutely fantastic. jamie had to wear a body cast for three and a half months after the accident and spent most of that time flat on his back. he then progressed to crutches for six weeks until he was finally able to walk unaided on 10 january. walking without the crutches seemed like something finally really measurable in terms of my recovery. physio sessions with johnston mcevoy in limerick have been a vital part of his recovery. johnston uses an advanced type of acupuncture and it s very effective. needles get put right close up to my spine. a two and a half inch needle went in yesterday and i m fairly incapacitated today as a result. jamie has also travelled to receive treatment at the polish training centre in spala where he has trained with triple olympic champion robert korzeniowski over the past five years. i was there for over a fortnight earlier this month and underwent a fair extreme treatment called cryotherapy. basically there s a small room which is cooled by liquid nitrogen to minus 160 degrees centigrade and it promotes deep healing. jamie heads to poland again on sunday where he will be having daily cryotherapy in addition to twice-daily physio sessions and pool-work. all these sessions are small steps on the way to what jamie hopes will be a return to racing in 2006. it s all about trying to get mobility in my back. lying down for three and a half months didn t really help with the strength. there s a lot of work involved in my recovery. i m doing about six hours a day between physio and pool work. i m also going to the gym to lift very light weights to try and build up my muscles. i m fairly full on with everything i do. i d hope to be training regularly by march. but training is just part of the process of getting back. at the moment every time i go and do a big bit of movement my whole pelvic area all down my lower back just tightens up. it s a case of waiting and seeing how it reacts. hopefully after four or five months my back won t tighten up as much. | science and tech | 2 |
monsanto fined $1.5m for bribery the us agrochemical giant monsanto has agreed to pay a $1.5m (£799 000) fine for bribing an indonesian official. monsanto admitted one of its employees paid the senior official two years ago in a bid to avoid environmental impact studies being conducted on its cotton. in addition to the penalty monsanto also agreed to three years close monitoring of its business practices by the american authorities. it said it accepted full responsibility for what it called improper activities. a former senior manager at monsanto directed an indonesian consulting firm to give a $50 000 bribe to a high-level official in indonesia s environment ministry in 2002. the manager told the company to disguise an invoice for the bribe as consulting fees . monsanto was facing stiff opposition from activists and farmers who were campaigning against its plans to introduce genetically-modified cotton in indonesia. despite the bribe the official did not authorise the waiving of the environmental study requirement. monsanto also has admitted to paying bribes to a number of other high-ranking officials between 1997 and 2002. the chemicals-and-crops firm said it became aware of irregularities at a jakarta-based subsidiary in 2001 and launched an internal investigation before informing the us department of justice and the securities and exchange commission (sec). monsanto faced both criminal and civil charges from the department of justice and the sec. companies cannot bribe their way into favourable treatment by foreign officials said christopher wray assistant us attorney general. monsanto has agreed to pay $1m to the department of justice adopt internal compliance measures and co-operate with continuing civil and criminal investigations. it is also paying $500 000 to the sec to settle the bribe charge and other related violations. monsanto said it accepted full responsibility for its employees actions adding that it had taken remedial actions to address the activities in indonesia and had been fully co-operative throughout the investigative process. | sports | 2 |
hitzlsperger waiting on o leary aston villa s thomas hitzlsperger is waiting to learn the future of manager david o leary before committing himself to a new contract with the club. o leary has been in talks over a new deal and he said: i had a message from thomas agent asking me what the news was on myself. he wants to find out before he goes into discussions over thomas. the reason thomas is not speaking to the club is because the agent wants to see the outcome of what happens to me. hitzlsperger s current deal expires in the summer and he has been offered a new deal by the midlands club. the german international is understood to be keen to remain at villa despite interest in his native country from hamburg. but he wants assurances that o leary will also be committing himself long-term because negotiations over a new three-and-a-half-year contract appear to have stalled. o leary wants his backroom staff - assistant manager roy aitken and fitness coach steve mcgregor - to also be given satisfactory deals which will tie them to villa until the summer of 2008. | sports | 0 |
uk needs tax cuts tories insist a major change of direction is needed in britain if it is to prosper the shadow chancellor said as the tory party spring conference began. oliver letwin said the uk could not compete with other countries without the £4bn tax cuts he was promising. tory co-chairman liam fox had opened the forum in brighton with an attack on labour s record and party leader michael howard is due to speak later. tony blair has said conservative policies would cause economic failure. but mr letwin said britain had fallen from fourth to 11th in the international economic competitiveness league. can this country compete can this country prosper unless we do something about the burden of regulation and tax on our economy he said. if we are going to take on the great challenges the challenges like those posed by the chinese and the indians we have got to do something about getting down the burden of regulation and getting down the burden of tax he said. the fact is the very carefully costed fully funded plans we have laid out for saving £12bn by 2007-2008 are absolutely crucial to delivering an economy that will prosper and provide people with jobs and indeed provide the public services with the money they need on a sustainable long-term basis. mr letwin said voting for labour meant choosing higher taxes borrowing and waste. earlier dr fox had said labour s rule had been characterised by lost trust and failure to deliver . he also attacked the government s failure to control immigration and asylum and criticised its record on the nhs telling delegates labour cannot be trusted on education or crime. a tory government would sort out the shambles of immigration put patients before statistics and bring discipline to schools he said. michael howard who had been due to welcome delegates to the conference on friday will address them in a lunchtime speech. his welcome address had to be postponed after he stayed in london to lead the party s opposition to the prevention of terrorism bill in its lengthy progress through parliament. the bill was finally passed on friday evening after more than 30 hours of debate. mr howard is likely to defend his party s handling of the bill which was only passed after the conservatives accepted prime minister tony blair s promise that mps would be able to review it within a year. | politics | 0 |
franz man seeks government help franz ferdinand frontman alex kapranos has called for more government help for musicians while taking part in an edinburgh lectures discussion. for any cultural output to thrive there needs to be some kind of state input to that as well he said. but kapranos warned against musicians being too closely linked with mps at the university of edinburgh event. i think the role of musicians is to question politicians rather than to go to bed with them he said. kapranos joined the prestigious lecture series to discuss scotland s role in making 21st century music. there are elements of our musical output which require sustenance because they aren t self-sufficient he said. but so-called commercial music would benefit from investment as well. he warned musicians against being allied to a particular party however. i don t know if having tea with politicians is always a good idea. kapranos and his glasgow four-piece band have been nominated for five prizes at next week s brit awards including best group and best album. their self-titled debut album won last year s mercury music prize and spawned three top 20 singles. he told the 300-strong audience at the university s reid hall that musicians should listen to a wide range of music and should not be restricted by stereotypes. we say i like this . because i listen to nirvana and korn i am a troubled individual i m riddled with angst because i listen to chopin and debussy i listen to kylie minogue and scissor sisters because i m upbeat and i like to party i listen to wagner because i like the smell of napalm in the morning. kapranos said there was a general hostility towards classical music adding: there is very little done to break that hostility other than classic fm. he concluded: we define ourselves as a nation by the way we encourage our creativity. fellow speaker and classical composer james macmillan agreed: we need to rediscover our ability to listen. previous speakers at the edinburgh lectures series have included former soviet leader mikhail gorbachev and author professor stephen hawking. kapranos described his appearance on wednesday as more daunting by a long way than their upcoming brits performance. i don t really care about the brits he said. it s going to be great to go down but i have actually had to exercise part of my brain tonight. i think the government should do more to help up-and-coming artists be discovered by scrapping the entertainment licences for live venues. also they should do more to help independent record labels have a louder voice within an industry dominated by commercialised major labels. rather than expecting the government - i.e. the taxpayer - to fork out why don t some of the megastars put something back in some of britain s wealthiest people are musicians who have raked it in from albums concerts etc. there are far more important demands on government funds. if they can fund football why not fund music areas of the arts are funded by government and lottery grants so why not music we already have the opera receiving huge grants and it would clearly be beneficial for diversity in music to have the same opportunities in other areas of the music. the only problem would be how to judge what merits state cash. the government has enough problems funding schools and health services. if alex kapranos genuinely thinks a multi-billion pound industry should also have government funding then his own education was seriously lacking and more money should be put into that. as a scot living in england i appreciate the value of scottish music and culture being a success so i can see no problem with it! franz ferdinand travis and snow patrol are just recent examples of the success scottish music can have in the world so we should do what we scots are good at and support our own goods! i think the issue is more fundamental: should the government be spending money on subsidising a multi-million pound industry when health and education are in such a sorry state the answer is most definitely no. those people who are lucky enough to pursue their passion to get their pay cheque shouldn t be looking for government subsidies. i know that if i was lucky enough to be able to pursue my dream of show jumping i would want to finance myself until i was in a position to pursue corporate sponsorship. yes the government should fund music - it brings joy to the masses. there are already thousands of state-funded musicians out there sitting around twiddling their thumbs on the new deal . getting the government even more involved would only waste money that could be put to better use. as long as the government was funding real talent it would be a great move. i would hate to see more pop idol-type funding of music though as it would only serve to reinforce the stereotypes that alex talked about. only if the proposals make financial sense. franz ferdinand must be paying serious amounts of tax on their record sales - if they d had a government grant to get started they d have more than paid it back by now so the treasury would be making far more than it paid out. however the government has better things to spend its money on than to give charity to everyone who decides they re a musician. the government shouldn t fund music - it should invest in music and those investments should be treated like any other investment. i think the government needs to provide facilities and for young groups and bands to form and practise. the equipment is not cheap and can be well beyond the means of many people. however i do feel this should be the extent of their role to provide the conditions for the talent to flourish and let it go from there. i do agree that the government should help to fund music but there is also a responsibility held by record companies! they generally always opt for the tried and tested and tend not to want to break any moulds or risk losing any money which ultimately the directors are in the business for! if labels were more willing to put money forward towards smaller breakthrough acts then the government wouldn t have to fork out a great deal. yeah why not music should be government funded particularly the work of modern composers and veteran bands/artists and stuff. pop music pretty much rules the earth so more attention should go to the other fraternities i agree with funding the arts to make it more accessible to the public but i am not convinced that pop music requires financial support from the taxpayer. there is a great deal of money generated through pop music - perhaps a tax on pop could be ploughed into the public performance of other forms of music for everyone to enjoy. perhaps we could financially penalise really bad pop idol-style music - that is the music industry sector without any artistic merit or originality whatsoever and that which is specifically designed to line the pockets of music producers. call it a tax on music pollution if you like. though i really like franz ferdinand i have to disagree with mr kapranos. once government gets their hand into the private sector it will destroy the creative and possibly controversial avenues the artist pursues. many years ago this was the case with the us nea when the government started to question what was considered art for the money they were allotting. the solution mr kapranos should pursue would be privately-funded organizations like save the music in the us. | entertainment | 0 |
software watching while you work software that can not only monitor every keystroke and action performed at a pc but also be used as legally binding evidence of wrong-doing has been unveiled. worries about cyber-crime and sabotage have prompted many employers to consider monitoring employees. the developers behind the system claim it is a break-through in the way data is monitored and stored. but privacy advocates are concerned by the invasive nature of such software. the system is a joint venture between security firm 3ami and storage specialists bridgehead software. they have joined forces to create a system which can monitor computer activity store it and retrieve disputed files within minutes. more and more firms are finding themselves in deep water as a result of data misuse. sabotage and data theft are most commonly committed from within an organisation according to the national hi-tech crime unit (nhtcu) a survey conducted on its behalf by nop found evidence that more than 80% of medium and large companies have been victims of some form of cyber-crime. bridgehead software has come up with techniques to prove to a legal standard that any stored file on a pc has not been tampered with. ironically the impetus for developing the system came as a result of the freedom of information act which requires companies to store all data for a certain amount of time. the storage system has been incorporated into an application developed by security firm 3ami which allows every action on a computer to be logged. potentially it could help employers to follow the trail of stolen files and pinpoint whether they had been emailed to a third party copied printed deleted or saved to cd floppy disk memory stick or flash card. other activities the system can monitor include the downloading of pornography the use of racist or bullying language or the copying of applications for personal use. increasingly organisations that handle sensitive data such as governments are using biometric log-ins such as fingerprinting to provide conclusive proof of who was using a particular machine at any given time. privacy advocates are concerned that monitoring at work is not only damaging to employee s privacy but also to the relationship between employers and their staff. that is not the case said tim ellsmore managing director of 3ami. it is not about replacing dialogue but there are issues that you can talk through but you still need proof he said. people need to recognise that you are using a pc as a representative of a company and that employers have a legal requirement to store data he added. | business | 2 |
microsoft releases patches microsoft has warned pc users to update their systems with the latest security fixes for flaws in windows programs. in its monthly security bulletin it flagged up eight critical security holes which could leave pcs open to attack if left unpatched. the number of holes considered critical is more than usual. they affect windows programs including internet explorer (ie) media player and instant messaging. four other important fixes were also released. these were considered to be less critical however. if not updated either automatically or manually pc users running the programs could be vulnerable to viruses or other malicious attacks designed to exploit the holes. many of the flaws could be used by virus writers to take over computers remotely install programs change and delete or see data. one of the critical patches microsoft has made available is an important one that fixes some ie flaws. stephen toulouse a microsoft security manager said the flaws were known about and although the firm had not seen any attacks exploiting the flaw he did not rule them out. often when a critical flaw is announced spates of viruses follow because home users and businesses leave the flaw unpatched. a further patch fixes a hole in media player windows messenger and msn messenger which an attacker could use to take control of unprotected machines through .png files. microsoft announces any vulnerabilities in its software every month. the most important ones are those which are classed as critical . its latest releases came the week that the company announced it was to buy security software maker sybari software as part of microsoft s plans to make its own security programs. | science and tech | 0 |
sprinter walker quits athletics former european 200m champion dougie walker is to retire from athletics after a series of six operations left him struggling for fitness. walker had hoped to compete in the new year sprint which is staged at musselburgh racecourse near edinburgh on tuesday and wednesday. the 31-year-old scot was suspended for two years in 1998 after testing positive for nandrolone. i had intended to race but i m running like a goon said walker. he told the herald newspaper: i m not in great shape after missing about a month of training. i missed a big chunk of speed work over about three weeks and then another week working in america. if i d had a half-decent mark it might have motivated me more but i won t be racing. i still enjoy training but feel it s time to move on and concentrate on a career. | sports | 0 |
vickery upbeat about arm injury england prop phil vickery is staying positive despite a broken arm ruling him out of the rbs six nations. the 28-year-old fractured the radius in his right forearm during gloucester s 17-16 win over bath on saturday. he will undergo an operation on monday and is expected to be out for at least six weeks. he said: this isn t an injury that will stop me from working hard on the fitness elements and being around the lads. he added: i ve got the operation this afternoon and i could be back doing fitness work after a week. as frustrating as it is i ve got to be positive. after the game vickery spoke with bath prop david barnes who also broke his arm recently. i had a chat with david barnes and it looks like a similar injury to him he said. he said he had the operation and he was back running after a week. there s no doubt that i m going to get involved and be around this place as soon as i can after the operation. gloucester director of rugby nigel melville said: phil has broken his radius which is the large bone in his forearm. i don t really know how it happened but phil will definitely be out of action for at least six weeks. i feel very sorry for him as he has been in great shape. he really needed 80 minutes of rugby this weekend and then this happened. mentally it must be very hard for him. | world | 2 |
cyber criminals step up the pace so-called phishing attacks that try to trick people into handing over confidential details have boomed in 2004 say security experts. the number of phishing e-mail messages stopped by security firm messagelabs has risen more than tenfold in less than 12 months. in 2004 it detected more than 18 million phishing e-mail messages. other statistics show that in 2004 73% of all e-mail was spam and one in 16 messages were infected with a virus. in its end-of-year report messagelabs said that phishing had become the top security threat and most popular form of attack among cyber criminals. in september 2003 messagelabs caught only 273 phishing e-mails that tried to make people visit fake versions of the websites run by real banks and financial organisations. but by september 2004 it was stopping more than two million phishing related e-mail messages per month. worryingly said the firm phishing gangs were using increasingly sophisticated techniques to harvest useful information such as login details or personal data. older attacks relied on users not spotting the fact that the site they were visiting was fake but more recent phishing e-mails simply try to steal details as soon as a message is opened. other phishing scams try to recruit innocent people into acting as middlemen for laundering money or goods bought with stolen credit cards. e-mail security attacks remain unabated in their persistence and ferocity said mark sunner chief technology officer at messagelabs. in just 12 months phishing has firmly established itself as a threat to any organisation or individual conducting business online he said. mr sunner said messagelabs was starting to see some phishing attacks become very focused on one company or organisation. already particular businesses are threatened and blackmailed indicating a shift from the random scattergun approach to customised attacks designed to take advantage of the perceived weaknesses of some businesses he said. although phishing attacks grew substantially throughout 2004 viruses and spam remain popular with cyber-criminals and vandals. one of the biggest outbreaks took place in january when the mydoom virus started circulating. to date the company has caught more than 60 million copies of the virus. also up this year was the amount of spam in circulation. in 2003 only 40% of messages were spam. but by the end of 2004 almost three-quarters of messages were junk. | politics | 2 |
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