text message record smashed uk mobile owners continue to break records with their text messaging  with latest figures showing that 26 billion texts were sent in total in 2004.  the figures collected by the mobile data association (mda) showed that 2.4 billion were fired off in december alone  the highest monthly total ever. that was 26% more than in december 2003. the records even surpassed the mda s own predictions  it said. every day 78 million messages are sent and there are no signs of a slow down. before december s bumper text record  the previous highest monthly total was in october 2004  when 2.3 billion were sent. text messaging is set to smash more records in 2005 too  said the mda  with forecasts suggesting a total of 30 billion for the year.  even though mobiles are becoming increasingly sophisticated with much more multimedia applications  texting is still one of the most useful functions of mobiles. people are using sms to do much more too. booking cinema tickets  text voting  and news or sports text alerts are growing popular. mobile owners have also given the chance to donate to the disasters emergency committee s (dec) asian tsunami fund by texting  donate  to a simple short code number. looking further ahead in the year  the mda s chairman mike short  has predicted that more people will go online through their mobiles  estimating 15 billion wap page impressions. handsets with gprs capability - an  always on  net connection - will rise to 75%  while 3g mobile ownership growing to five million by the end of 2005. these third generation mobiles offer a high-speed connection which means more data like video can be received on the phone. globally  mobile phone sales passed 167 million in the third quarter of 2004  according to a recent report from analysts gartner. that was 26% more than the previous year. it is predicted that there would be two billion handsets in use worldwide by the end of 2005.


london irish 19-33 wasps wasps made light of the absence of several internationals to sink london irish with a trio of second-half tries.  rob hoadley returned to haunt his old club at the madejski stadium  scoring the opening try in the 43rd minute. tom voyce powered through the irish defence for wasps  second try before richard birkett went over unchallenged. mark van gisbergen added 18 points. irish replied with three penalties and a mark mapletoft drop goal before scott staniforth ran in a consolation try. barry everitt  who replaced mapletoft late in the game  added the conversion to become the fourth premiership player to reach 1 000 points. he joins jonny wilkinson  tim stimpson and paul grayson in achieving that target. wasps piled on the pressure in an attempt to grab a fourth try which would have secured them a bonus point  but they were denied by some desperate defending from irish. director of rugby warren gatland revealed that harsh words at half-time inspired his wasps side to raise their game after the restart.   they got a roasting and it was a good second-half performance when they came out and played to instructions   he said. gatland also singled out stand-in flankers tom rees and john hart for special praise.  they did very well. the back row played some fantastic rugby   he added. london irish coach gary gold felt the result exposed his side s lack of consistency.  irish trailed by just two points at the break and gold said:  for 55 minutes we lived with the best but we have got to get back for the full 80 minutes.  gold will now turn his attention to next week s powergen cup semi-final at struggling leeds.  we ve got a good chance but with leeds facing possible relegation they re going to come out firing   he added.  horak  staniforth  penney  nordt  bishop; mapletoft  edwards; hatley  van der walt  hardwick; kennedy  casey; gustard  dawson  murphy.  replacements: everitt for mapletoft (53)  hodgson for edwards (77)  wheatley for hatley (71)  paice for van der walt (60)  strudwick for kennedy (60)  danaher for gustard (66)  reid for murphy (47)  van gisbergen; voyce  erinle  hoadley  roberts; king  richards; payne  greening  dowd; shaw  purdy; hart  rees  dallaglio.  replacements: priscott for roberts (71)  green for dowd (71)  skivington for shaw (71)  birkett for hart (57)  gotting for rees (39). not used: fury  brooks


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


wife swap makers sue us  copycat  the british producers of us wife swap are taking legal action against a show they claim is  a blatant and wholescale copycat  of their programme.  rdf media  which makes the show for us network abc  has filed a damages claim for $18 million (£9.25 million) against fox s trading spouses. abc bought the rights to the british show  which was first aired in 2003 and became a hit on channel 4. the us network is not part of the claim  but has supported rdf s action.  we respect our producing partners  right to protect their intellectual property in whatever manner they deem most appropriate   said abc in a statement. a spokesman for fox said it had not seen the details of the legal action and could not comment.  their show was first screened in june  and was criticised in the press for its similarities to wife swap. abc originally planned to call their programme trading moms  but changed it to avoid confusion with the fox version. earlier this year  the nbc network claimed that fox s boxing show the next great champ had been hurriedly produced to ensure its programme was the first to be screened. nbc alleged that boxing regulations had been violated  but failed in their attempt to have the show pulled. the fox show proved a ratings flop  while nbc s the contender is due to begin in february.


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.


russian film wins bbc world prize russian drama the return (vozvrashchenie) has been named winner of the bbc four world cinema award.  the film tells the story of two adolescent boys who are subjected to a harsh regime when their strict father returns after a 10-year absence. directed by andrey zvyagintsev  the return previously won the 2003 golden lion award at the venice film festival. the prize was presented at an awards ceremony held in london on thursday and hosted by jonathan ross. the winner was chosen by a panel which included x files actress gillian anderson  critic roger clarke and touching the void director kevin mcdonald.  ross  who is the presenter of bbc one s film 2005  was also involved in the deliberations. a shortlist of six films from around the world had been drawn up from which the panel chose. other nominees included the motorcycle diaries  zatoichi and hero. a viewer poll saw director zhang yimou s martial arts epic hero emerge as the favourite with 32% of votes cast. tragedy struck the production of the return when one of the young stars  15-year-old vladimir girin  drowned in a lake. the winner of the world cinema award last year was the french animated feature belleville rendezvous


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


howard  truanted to play snooker  conservative leader michael howard has admitted he used to play truant to spend time with his school friends at a snooker hall.  mr howard said his time at jack s snooker hall in llanelli in the 1950s had not done him  any lasting damage . but he told the times educational supplement that truancy was  very bad  and said  firm action  was needed. mr howard also called for a return to o-levels and more classroom discipline.  mr howard eventually left llanelli grammar school - and the snooker hall - to go to cambridge university. he said:  i don t think it s done me any lasting damage. nor has it made me a snooker world champion.  there might have been some occasions when we left early of an afternoon.   i m just being honest. i think truancy is a very bad thing and that firm action should be taken to deal with it.  another player who has failed to win snooker s world championship - jimmy  the whirlwind   white - has previously admitted missing lessons  instead spending his days in smoky halls.  tony meo [another player] and me used to spend all of our spare time there   mr white said   we loved the game and the atmosphere.  school went out of the window. i went for a while and then started taking time off.  mr howard s fellow welshman ray reardon - known by his fellow professionals as  dracula  - won the snooker world championship six times  having left school at 14 to work as a miner. and terry griffiths  like mr howard from llanelli  won the tournament in 1979. it is not known whether the two of them ever clashed cues at jack s.


yahoo celebrates a decade online yahoo  one of the net s most iconic companies  is celebrating its 10th anniversary this week.  the web portal has undergone remarkable change since it was set up by stanford university students david filo and jerry yang in a campus trailer. the students wanted a way of keeping track of their web-based interests. the categories lists they devised soon became popular to hundreds of people and the two saw business potential in their idea.  originally dubbed  jerry s guide to the world wide web  the firm adopted the moniker yahoo because the founders liked the dictionary definition of a yahoo as a rude  unsophisticated  uncouth person. the term was popularised by the 18th century satirist jonathan swift in his classic novel  gulliver s travels.  we were certainly not sophisticated or civilised   mr yang told reporters ahead of the anniversary  which will be officially recognised on 2 march.  they did have business brains however  and in april 1995 persuaded venture capitalists sequoia capital  which also invested in apple computer and cisco systems  to fund yahoo to the tune of $2m (£1.04m). a second round of funding followed in the autumn and the company floated in april 1996 with less than 50 employees. now the firm employs 7 600 workers and insists its dot com culture of  work hard  play hard  still remains. it is one of just a handful of survivors of the dot-com crash although it now faces intense rivalry from firms such as google  msn and aol. jerry yang  who remains the firm s  chief yahoo   is proud of what the company has achieved.  in just one decade  the internet has changed the way consumers do just about everything - and it s been a remarkable and wonderful experience   he said. through it all  we wanted to build products that satisfied our users wants and needs  but it s even more than that - it s to help every one of us to discover  get more done  share and interact.


wright-phillips to start on right england coach sven-goran eriksson has revealed shaun wright-phillips will start against the netherlands.  but wright-phillips will not make his first start for england playing on the left  as had been widely expected.  shaun wright-phillips will probably start the game   said eriksson.  but i m not going to start wright-phillips on the left.  eriksson also revealed that wes brown will start alongside jamie carragher in the injury-hit centre of defence. when asked if brown and carragher would start eriksson replied:  i could tell you yes.  it s a blow that four or five central defenders are away because of injuries.  on the other hand it s good for carragher and brown to show what they can do at this level. that s positive.  the england coach said that he had been impressed by wright-phillips  form for manchester city.  he deserves his chance. he has been playing well all season and i look forward to seeing him.  and he added that andy johnson and stewart downing - the other two new players in the squad - would also get a chance to impress.  wright-phillips  downing and johnson will start or get the chance to play some part.  johnson was not in my plans a year ago but he is doing a great season and scoring a lot of goals.  downing is another one making a great season. he is young  talented and there are not too many left-footed players in the squad.


file-swappers ready new network legal attacks on websites that help people swap pirated films have forced the development of a system that could be harder to shut down.  one site behind the success of the bittorrent file-swapping system is producing its own software that avoids the pitfalls of the earlier program. a test version of the new exeem program will be released in late january. but doubts remain about the new networks ability to ensure files being swapped are  quality copies .  in late december movie studios launched a legal campaign against websites that helped people swap pirated movies using the bittorrent network. the legal campaign worked because of the way that bittorrent is organised. that file-sharing system relies on links called  trackers  that point users to others happy to share the file they are looking for. shutting down sites that listed trackers crippled the bittorrent network. one of the sites shut down by the legal campaign was suprnova.org which helped boost the popularity of the bittorrent system by checking that trackers led to the movies or tv programmes they claimed to.  now the man behind suprnova.org  who goes by the nickname sloncek  is preparing to release software for a new file-swapping network dubbed exeem. in an interview with novastream web radio  sloncek said exeem would combine ideas from the bittorrent and kazaa file-sharing systems. like bittorrent  exeem will have trackers that help point people toward the file they want. like kazaa these trackers will be held by everyone. there will be no centrally maintained list. this  said sloncek  should make the system less vulnerable to legal action aimed at stopping people swapping pirated movies and music. the exeem software has been under development for a few months and is currently being tested by a closed group of users. an early public version of the software should be available before february. sloncek said that currently only a windows version of the software was in development. there were no plans for a linux or mac version. he said that costs of writing the software will be paid for by adverts appearing in the finished version of the program. despite suprnova administrator sloncek s involvement with exeem  the basic technology appears to have been developed by a firm called swarm systems that is based on caribbean island saint kitts and nevis.  users of the exeem system will be able to rate files being swapped to help stop the spread of fake files  sloncek told novastream.  dr johan pouwelse  a researcher at the delft university of technology who studies peer-to-peer networks  said exeem was the next evolution in file-sharing systems. but  he said  it would struggle to be as popular as bittorrent and suprnova because early versions were not taking enough care to make sure good copies of files were being shared.  exeem cannot prevent pollution   he said.  the rating system in exeem seems flawed because it is easy to insert both fake files and fake ratings   he said. studies have shown that organisations working for record labels and movie studios have worked to undermine kazaa by putting in fakes. by contrast moderators on suprnova made sure files being shared were high quality.  the moderators are the difference between having a system that works and one that s full of crap like kazaa   he said.  there is a fundamental tension between distribution and integrity   he said. mr pouwelse said that future versions of file-sharing systems are likely to incorporate some kind of distributed reputation system that lets moderators prove who they are to the network and rate which files are worth downloading. when big files were being shared moderation systems were key  said mr pouwelse. he added that the legal attacks on bittorrent had driven people away from sites such as suprnova but many users had simply migrated to other tracker listing sites many of which have seen huge increases in traffic.  it s hard to compete with free   he said. no-one from the motion picture association of america was immediately available for comment on the file-sharing development.


diageo to buy us wine firm diageo  the world s biggest spirits company  has agreed to buy californian wine company chalone for $260m (£134m) in an all-cash deal.  although diageo s best-known brands include smirnoff vodka and guinness stout  it already has a us winemaking arm - diageo chateau & estate wines. diageo said it expects to get us regulatory approval for the deal during the first quarter of 2005. it said chalone would be integrated into its existing us wine business.   the us wine market represents a growth opportunity for diageo  with favourable demographic and consumption trends   said diageo north america president ivan menezes. in july  diageo  which is listed on the london stock exchange  reported an annual turnover of £8.89bn  down from £9.28bn a year earlier. it blamed a weaker dollar for its lower turnover. in the year ending 31 december 2003  chalone reported revenues of $69.4m.


redford s vision of sundance despite sporting a corduroy cap pulled low over his face plus a pair of dark glasses  robert redford cuts an unmistakable figure through the star-struck crowds at sundance.  it s a rare downtown appearance for the man who started the annual festival in park city  utah back in the 1980s. now in its twenty-first year  sundance continues to grow. some 45 000 people are estimated to have descended on this small ski town with nothing but movies on the mind. it s an opportunity to meet and make deals. redford wanted sundance to be a platform for independent film-makers  but the commercial success of many showcased films have led to criticism that the festival is becoming too mainstream.  smaller festivals like slamdance and xdance  which take place during the same week in park city  are competing for sundance s limelight. but redford is not worried.  the more the merrier   he says.  the point was to create opportunities for people who may not have them.  once independent film had a place where the work could be seen  suddenly the merchants came. with them the celebrities came  then the paparazzi - and suddenly it began to take on a whole new tone   explains redford.   people started to say we had gone mainstream and hollywood  but actually hollywood came to us because suddenly there was good business in independent film   he adds. international film-makers have always been celebrated here  but 2005 is the first year a dedicated world dramatic and documentary competition is being held.  redford wants the festival to encompass viewpoints he believes the american media fails to reflect  particularly how the us is perceived internationally. he has never hidden the fact that he is a democrat. but he reserves particular disdain for the current republican administration.  it s the ability to maintain the importance of dissent in a democratic system which right now is under threat with the attitude of this administration   he says.  i think many voices are being shut down or accused of being unpatriotic if they want to express another point of view. that s very unhealthy and very dangerous.   if we take that policy into the world  there will be the same victims and the same consequences.  sundance isn t just one big screening. there are discussion panels and q&a sessions with directors tackling controversial topics like america s  culture wars  and the iraq war. while redford wishes the festival to be a forum for dissent  the profile of the audience is fairly monolithic. educated  middle class and predominantly white americans comes sundance  with views from the same end of the political spectrum - anti-war and socially liberal. but redford knows this and started the sundance tv channel in an effort to reach a wider audience.  when you look at the films here  what we are presenting is very much egalitarian. and it s about good films and good story-telling be it african america  asian  women  gay  lesbian.  sooner or later we will do away with those stereotypical labels and people will say  it s just a film by so-and so .


china  blocks google news site  china has been accused of blocking access to google news by the media watchdog  reporters without borders.  the paris-based pressure group said the english-language news site had been unavailable for the past 10 days. it said the aim was to force people to use a chinese edition of the site which  according to the watchdog  does not include critical reports. google told the bbc news website it was aware of the problems and was investigating the causes.  china is believed to extend greater censorship over the net than any other country in the world.  a net police force monitors websites and e-mails  and controls on gateways connecting the country to the global internet are designed to prevent access to critical information. popular chinese portals such as sina.com and sohu.com maintain a close eye on content and delete politically sensitive comments. and all 110 000 net cafes in the country have to use software to control access to websites considered harmful or subversive.   china is censoring google news to force internet users to use the chinese version of the site which has been purged of the most critical news reports   said the group in a statement.  by agreeing to launch a news service that excludes publications disliked by the government  google has let itself be used by beijing   it said. for its part  the search giant said it was looking into the issue.  it appears that many users in china are having difficulty accessing google news sites in china and we are working to understand and resolve the issue   said a google spokesperson. google news gathers information from some 4 500 news sources. headlines are selected for display entirely by a computer algorithm  with no human editorial intervention. it offers 15 editions of the service  including one tailored for china and one for hong kong. google launched a version in simplified chinese in september. the site does not filter news results to remove politically sensitive information. but google does not link to news sources which are inaccessible from within china as this would result in broken links.


ireland 21-19 argentina an injury-time dropped goal by ronan o gara stole victory for ireland from underneath the noses of argentina at lansdowne road on saturday.  o gara kicked all of ireland s points  with two dropped goals and five penalties  to give the home side a 100% record in their autumn internationals. an impressive argentina appeared in control until the dying seconds. the pumas shocked the irish early on with a try from federico aramburu  and felipe contepomi kicked 14 points. the well-drilled and sharper pumas out-played and out-thought ireland in the early stages. indiscipline allowed argentina s leinster fly-half contepomi to open the scoring in the third minute with a straightforward penalty. he was on the mark again two minutes later when argentina shocked a ragged ireland with the first try of the game. ireland turned the ball over and manuel contepomi broke through an unstructured defence before feeding his midfield partner aramburu to sprint in under the posts. o gara finally got ireland on the board with a dropped goal in the ninth minute only for contepomi to rifle over his second penalty two minutes later. playing into a strong wind and rain  ireland continued to come second best in tight situations  and turnovers began to mount up against a rugged defence. o gara managed to land his second penalty in the 36th minute  but once again contepomi replied in kind four minutes into first-half injury time. the second-half started as the first had ended. o gara rifled over another penalty in the 45th minute  but contepomi matched it three minutes later. the upper-body strength of the pumas never allowed ireland to take control up front  while the three-quarters had no space to manoeuvre. ireland had to rely on o gara s boot to keep in touch rather than any contrived running plays. the munsterman landed two more penalties - one of them from 48 metres - to bring his team to within four points with 13 minutes on the clock remaining. and ireland s chance came when argentina s number eight gonzalo longo was yellow carded with six minutes to go for an offence in the line-out. o gara made no mistake as he rifled over his fifth penalty to set up a tense final few minutes. but ireland showed great composure to get themselves into a position to allow o gara to thump over a massive drop goal to complete a tremendous  if fortuitous  comeback.


deal to ban  homophobic  reggae the reggae industry is to refuse to release or stage concerts featuring homophobic songs under a global deal struck with gay rights groups.  a damaging campaign against stars such as beenie man and sizzla has been waged over lyrics that allegedly call for gay people to be killed or assaulted. the campaign  which led to gigs being scrapped and a uk police investigation  will now be dropped under the truce. brett lock of gay group outrage! said they were  wiping the slate clean . the protests had been led by the stop murder music coalition  an umbrella group including outrage!  the black gay men s advisory group and jamaican movement j-flag.  that coalition has reached a verbal agreement with major dancehall reggae record labels and concert promoters covering eight of the scene s biggest stars. but the artists themselves were not involved in the negotiations and have not directly signed up. instead  the record companies have pledged not to release or re-release any offensive songs - many of which date back a number of years. and it is believed promoters will make stars agree not to perform such tunes on stage.  the reggae industry will work with the artists while still maintaining their freedom of speech and artistic freedom   according to media and pr strategist glen yearwood  who is representing the reggae industry.  the industry would halt any attempt by an artist to perform or release a song inciting violence against any group or gender  he said.  we ll advise them this is not the way forward in a civilised society.  the stop murder music campaign saw protesters picket gigs  resulted in sizzla s uk tour being cancelled in november  forced mobo award organisers to drop artists from nominations and saw beenie man dropped from an mtv show in august. police have also been investigating whether lyrics incite the assault and murder of gay people. the campaign was a blow to the reggae industry  mr yearwood admitted.  if you can t have major stars touring  then you don t sell many albums   he said.  but the artists - beenie man  sizzla  elephant man  buju banton  bounty killer  tok  capleton and vybz kartel - will not have to apologise for past songs or comments. outrage! s mr lock said:  the main players in the dancehall reggae industry will attempt to regulate the industry themselves to ensure that there aren t any violently homophobic or gay-bashing lyrics in the future.  as a gesture of good faith  the stop murder music coalition has agreed to suspend our aggressive campaigning against murder music.  so we shall not be picketing concerts or calling for prosecutions to give the industry the space to regulate and reform itself.  record companies vp and greensleeves  distributor jet star and concert promoters including jammins and apollo entertainment are all on board.


cars pull down us retail figures us retail sales fell 0.3% in january  the biggest monthly decline since last august  driven down by a heavy fall in car sales.  the 3.3% fall in car sales had been expected  coming after december s 4% rise in car sales  fuelled by generous pre-christmas special offers. excluding the car sector  us retail sales were up 0.6% in january  twice what some analysts had been expecting. us retail spending is expected to rise in 2005  but not as quickly as in 2004.  steve gallagher  us chief economist at sg corporate & investment banking  said january s figures were  decent numbers .   we are not seeing the numbers that we saw in the second half of 2004  but they are still pretty healthy   he added. sales at appliance and electronic stores were down 0.6% in january  while sales at hardware stores dropped by 0.3% and furniture store sales dipped 0.1%. sales at clothing and clothing accessory stores jumped 1.8%  while sales at general merchandise stores  a category that includes department stores  rose by 0.9%. these strong gains were in part put down to consumers spending gift vouchers they had been given for christmas.  sales at restaurants  bars and coffee houses rose by 0.3%  while grocery store sales were up 0.5%. in december  overall retail sales rose by 1.1%. excluding the car sector  sales rose by just 0.3%. parul jain  deputy chief economist at nomura securities international  said consumer spending would continue to rise in 2005  only at a slower rate of growth than in 2004.  consumers continue to retain their strength in the first quarter   he said. van rourke  a bond strategist at popular securities  agreed that the latest retail sales figures were  slightly stronger than expected .


india s rupee hits five-year high india s rupee has hit a five-year high after standard & poor s (s&p) raised the country s foreign currency rating.  the rupee climbed to 43.305 per us dollar on thursday  up from a close of 43.41. the currency has gained almost 1% in the past three sessions. s&p  which rates borrowers  creditworthiness  lifted india s rating by one notch to  bb+ . with indian assets now seen as less of a gamble  more cash is expected to flow into its markets  buoying the rupee.   the upgrade is positive and basically people will use it as an excuse to come back to india   said bhanu baweja  a strategist at ubs.  money has moved out from india in the first two or three weeks of january into other markets like korea and thailand and this upgrade should lead to a reversal.  india s foreign currency rating is now one notch below investment grade  which starts at  bbb- . the increase has put it on the same level as romania  egypt and el salvador  and one level below russia.


who do you think you are  the real danger is not what happens to your data as it crosses the net  argues analyst bill thompson. it is what happens when it arrives at the other end.  the financial services authority has warned banks and other financial institutions that members of criminal gangs may be applying for jobs which give them access to confidential customer data. the fear is not that they will steal money from our bank accounts but that they will instead steal something far more valuable in our digital society - our identities. armed with the personal details that a bank holds  plus a fake letter or two  it is apparently easy to get a loan  open a bank account with an overdraft or get a credit card in someone else s name. and it is then a simple matter to move the money into another account and leave the unwitting victim to sort out the mess when statements and demands for payment start arriving. identity theft is an increasingly significant economic crime  and we are all becoming more aware of the dangers of leaving bills  receipts and bank statements unshredded in our rubbish.  but  however careful you may be  if the organisations you trust with your personal data  bank accounts and credit cards are not able to look after their databases properly then you are in trouble. it is surprising that it has taken the gangs so long to realise that a well-placed insider is by far the simplest way to break the security of a computer system. in fact  i suspect that the fsa is probably very late to this particular party and that this sort of thing has been going on for rather a long time. has anyone checked bob cratchit s family links to the criminal underworld  i wonder  and it is hardly likely to be only banks that are being targeted. health authorities  government agencies and of course the big e-commerce sites like amazon must also offer rich pickings for the fraudsters. the good news is that better auditing is likely to catch out those who access account details that they are not supposed to. and as we all become aware of the danger of identity theft and look more carefully for unexpected transactions on our statements  banks should have good enough records and logs to trace the people who might have accessed the account details. fortunately there are now ways to keep bank systems more secure from the sort of data theft that involves taking a portable hard drive or flash memory card into the office  plugging it into a usb slot and sucking down customer files.  companies like securewave  for example  can restrict the use of usb ports just to authorised devices or even to an individual s personal memory card. these solutions are not perfect  but it does not feel like a wave of fraud is about to wash away the entire financial system. however the warning does highlight one of the major issues with e-commerce and online trading - the security or otherwise of the servers and other systems that make up the  back office . it has been clear for years that the real danger in paying for goods online with a credit card is not that the number will be intercepted in transit but that the shop you are dealing with will be hacked.  in fact i do not know of a single case where an e-mail containing payment details has led to card fraud.  there are simply too many e-mails passing over the net for interception to be a sensible tool for anyone out to commit fraud. cd universe  powergen and many other companies have left their databases open and suffered the consequences. and just last week the online bank cahoot admitted that its customer account details could be read by anyone who could guess a login name. whether it is external hackers breaking in because of poor system security or internal staff abusing the access they get as part of their job  the issue is the same: how do we make sure that our personal data is not abused  any organisation that processes personal data is  of course  bound by the data protection act and must take proper care of it. unauthorised disclosure is not allowed  but the penalties are small and the process of prosecuting under the act so convoluted as to be worthless in practice. this is not something we can just leave it to the market. the consequences of having one s identity stolen are too serious  and markets respond too slowly. after all  i bank with cahoot but it would be so much hassle to move my accounts that i did not even consider it when i heard about their security problems. i doubt many others have closed their accounts  especially when there is little guarantee that other banks are not going to make the same sort of mistake in future. the two options would seem to be more stringent data protection law  so that companies really feel the pressure to improve their internal processes  or a wave of civil lawsuits against financial institutions with sloppy practices whose customers suffer from identity theft. i have never felt comfortable with the us practice of suing everything that moves  partly because it seems to make lawyers richer than their clients  so i know which i d prefer.  bill thompson is a regular commentator on the bbc world service programme go digital.


fed chief warning on us deficit federal reserve chairman alan greenspan has warned that allowing huge us budget deficits to continue could have  severe  consequences.  speaking to the house budget committee he urged congress to take action to cut the deficit  such as increasing taxes. while the us economy is growing at a  reasonably good pace  he warned that budget concerns were clouding the economic outlook for the us. pension and healthcare costs posed the greatest risks to the economy  he said.  the government program faces severe financial strains in coming decades as the massive baby-boom generation retires.  i fear that we may have already committed more physical resources to the baby-boom generation in its retirement years than our economy has the capacity to deliver. if existing promises need to be changed  those changes should be made sooner rather than later   mr greenspan said. he also warned that unless the nation sees unprecedented rises in productivity  retirement and health programmes would need  significant  changes. he called on congress to cut promised benefits for retirees  as the promised benefits for the soon-to-retire baby boom generation were much larger than the government could afford.  meanwhile any move to narrow the deficit gap by raising taxes could pose a significant risk to the economy by dampening growth and spending  he added. he also urged congress to reinstate lapsed rules that require tax cuts and spending to be offset elsewhere in the budget in an effort to prevent the us heading further into the red. despite the dire warnings  mr greenspan did offer some good news for the short term. as us growth gathers steam and incomes rise that should lead to a narrowing of the deficit. recent increases in defence and homeland security spending were also not expected to continue indefinitely  which should cut some costs. since president george w bush came to office the federal budget has swung from a record surplus to a record deficit of $412bn last year.


verizon  seals takeover of mci  verizon has won a takeover battle for us phone firm mci with a bid worth $6.8bn (£3.6bn)  reports say.  the two firms are expected to seal the deal on monday morning  according to news agency reports  despite what was thought to be a higher bid from qwest. the us telecoms market is consolidating fast  with former long-distance giant at&t being bought by former subsidiary sbc earlier this year for $16bn. mci exited bankruptcy in april  having gone bust under previous name worldcom. the bankruptcy followed its admission in 2002 that it illegally booked expenses and inflated profits.  shareholders lost about $180bn when the company collapsed  while 20 000 workers lost their jobs. former worldcom boss bernie ebbers is currently on trial  accused of overseeing an $11bn fraud. qwest has itself come under suspicion of sub-standard behaviour  paying the securities and exchange commission $250m in october to settle charges that it manipulated its results to keep wall street happy.  mci is the us s second-biggest long distance firm after at&t. consolidation in the us telecommunications industry has picked up in the past few months as companies look to cut costs and boost client bases. a merger between mci and verizon would be the fifth billion-dollar telecoms deal since october. last week  sbc communications agreed to buy its former parent and phone trailblazer at&t for about $16bn. buying mci would give either qwest or verizon access to mci s global network and business-based subscribers. the rationale is similar to the one underpinning sbc s at&t deal. verizon is by far the bigger company and has its own successful mobile arm - factors which may have swung the board in its favour since both suitors are offering a mixture of cash and shares.


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


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


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.


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


hodges announces rugby retirement scarlets and usa eagles forward dave hodges has ended his playing career to pursue a coaching role in the states.  the 36-year-old  who has 54 caps  was llanelli s player of the season in 2001/2  but has battled injury for the last two of his seven years at stradey. he tore a pectoral muscle against the ospreys on boxing day  an injury that would have kept him out for the season.  realising i would be unable to play this season  the club and i agreed to end my contract early   said hodges.   it allows me to move back to the us and pursue opportunities there and allows the scarlets to look to the next generation.  the scarlets have begun to rebuild their squad for next season after a disappointing heineken cup campaign  with plenty more signings and departures expected in the coming weeks.  scarlets chief executive stuart gallacher confirmed that 17 of the current squad would be out of contract in the summer.  we have a deliberate policy whereby around half the squad are coming out of contract and they know they won t all be re-signed  it s a chance to invigorate the squad   he said.  i m positive about the future of the scarlets both on and off the field.  gallacher was keen to pay tribute to the role back-five forward hodges has played at stradey park  though.  david has been a highly influential member of our squad for seven years   said gallacher.  he is a real professional and we thank him for the part he has played in our success.  i am sure he has an enormous contribution to make to the development of rugby in the us and we wish him and his family well.  hodges described his years at stradey as  the best time of my life.


blair rejects iraq advice calls tony blair has rejected calls for the publication of advice on the legality of the iraq war amid growing calls for an investigation.  the prime minister told his monthly press conference the matter had been dealt with by the attorney general. earlier  conservative mp michael mates joined calls for a probe into claims lord goldsmith s statement to parliament was drawn up at number 10. mr blair said the statement was a  fair summary  of lord goldsmith s 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  saying it had been dealt with  literally scores of times and the position has not changed . lord goldsmith has denied being  leaned on  and says the words written were his.  the government refuses to publish his advice on the legality of the war - saying such papers have always been kept confidential. mr mates  who is a member of the commons intelligence and security committee and was part of the butler inquiry into pre-war intelligence  told the bbc on friday:  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:  we discovered that there were two or three occasions in the past when law officers  advice to the government has been published.  and 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.  this is argument was rejected by mr blair  who said:  firstly  we haven t broken the precedent  and secondly peter goldsmith has made his statement and i have got absolutely nothing to add to it.  in a book published this week  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.  but a short statement about lord goldsmith s position was presented in a written parliamentary answer on 17 march 2003 - just before a crucial commons vote on the military action. mr sands  book suggests it was actually written by home office minister lord falconer and downing street adviser baroness morgan. former minister clare short  who resigned from the government over the iraq war  said it was the same statement that was earlier shown to the cabinet as it discussed military action. she told the bbc the full advice should have been attached  according to the ministerial code.   my view is we need the house of lords to set up a special committee  summon the attorney  get all the papers out  look at exactly what happened   she said. the conservatives and liberal democrats say they want the publication of the full legal advice given by the attorney general. on thursday  lord goldsmith said his statement had not been  written by or at number 10 .  in my parliamentary answer on march 17 2003  i explained my genuinely held independent view  that military action was lawful under the existing security council resolutions   he said.


us state acts to stop  spammers  us state texas has filed a lawsuit against two men believed to be among the world s top five spammers.  it is seeking millions of dollars in damages in a civil lawsuit filed earlier this week. the texas attorney general said it started the legal action as messages sent by the alleged spammers broke three laws governing e-mail marketing. the company named in the lawsuit denied any wrongdoing and said it complied with all relevant laws.  the texas lawsuit was filed against ryan samuel pitylak  a university oftexas student  and mark stephen trotter of california. both are thought to be the top executives in three companies - payperaction llc.  leadplex llc. and leadplex inc - that are suspected of sending out many millions of unwanted e-mail messages.  illegal spam must be stopped   said greg abbott  texas attorney general announcing the legal action.  spam is one of the most aggravating and pervasive problems facing consumers today.  the attorney general alleges that messages sent by mr pitylak and mr trotter s companies broke the 2003 controlling the assault of non-solicited pornography and marketing act (can-spam) as well as the texas electronic mail and solicitation act and texas deceptive trade practices act. all three acts confer cash penalties for each violation of their terms. if the men are found guilty and all penalties are applied  the two men could face a damages bill running into millions. mr abbott said the messages sent by the pair broke laws by using misleading subject lines  not identifying themselves as adverts and offering services for which they had no licence to do so in texas. lawyers for the alleged spammers said the lawsuit was groundless and the two men would defend themselves strongly against the accusations.  leadplex and payperaction are legitimate internet marketing companies that are in complete compliance with the federal can-spam act   said lin hughes  speaking on behalf of mr pitylak and mr trotter. in a similar move the us federal trade commission (ftc) has won a court order that stops an international group of spammers sending sexually explicit e-mail. the ftc took the action because the messages being sent violated several parts of the can-spam act. in particular  the pornographic messages did not identify themselves as being sexually explicit  had deceptive subject headings  did not have working opt-out mechanisms  failed to mention they were adverts and did not give the sender s real world address. the court order stops the spammers sending e-mail and freezes assets prior to a hearing on a permanent injunction.


paris promise raises welsh hopes has there been a better six nations match than saturday s epic in paris   and can the welsh revival continue all the way to a first grand slam since 1978  those are the two questions occupying not just wales supporters but rugby fans as a whole after a scintillating display in paris. welsh legend mervyn davies  a member of two of three grand slam-winning sides of the 1970s  hailed it as  one of the great performances of the past three decades . martyn williams  wales  two-try scorer on the day  called it  one of the most surreal games i have ever played in . a crestfallen france coach  bernard laporte  simply observed:  there was a french half and there was a welsh half . and what a half it was for the red dragonhood  transforming a 15-6 half-time deficit into an 18-15 lead within five mesmerising minutes of the second period. but while that passage of play showed the swelling self-belief of a side prepared to back its own spirit of adventure  the final quarter told us a whole lot more about this welsh side. that they recovered from a battering in the first half-hour to first stem the tide before half-time  then reverse it on the resumption  was remarkable enough. but in resisting a seemingly unstoppable wave of french pressure in a nail-biting final five minutes  wales showed not only their physical attributes but their mental resolve.  in international rugby  any of the top seven sides can beat each other on a given day  but the great sides are those that win the close contests on a consistent basis. england suffered some infamous six nations disappointments en route to world cup glory  the pain of defeat forging bonds that ultimately led to victory when it really mattered. wales have some way to go before they can be remotely considered in a similar light. but the signs are that players previously on the receiving end are learning how to emerge on the right side of the scoreline. ten of the 22 on duty on saturday were also involved when wales were trounced 33-5 in paris two years ago. but since they threw off the shackles against new zealand in the 2003 world cup  wales have rediscovered much of what made them a great rugby nation in the first place.   the confidence in the squad has been building and building since the world cup and we now have young players who are becoming world class   noted coach mike ruddock. the likes of michael owen  gethin jenkins  dwayne peel and gavin henson are certainly building strong cases for inclusion on this summer s lions tour to new zealand. and players like stephen jones  martyn williams  shane williams and gareth thomas are proving it is not only the youngsters that are on an upward curve. jones  after his superb man-of-the-match display  observed that  we are a very happy camp now . ruddock and thomas can take much of the credit for that  ensuring the tribal and regional divisions that have often scarred welsh rugby do not extend to the national squad. the  joie de vivre  so evident in that magical second-half spell in paris also stems from a style of play that first wooed supporters the world over in the 1970s.  if england had half the innate attacking exuberance wales have produced in this championship  they would not be contemplating the debris of three consecutive defeats. similarly  wales have learnt that style alone does not win matches  and that forward power  mental toughness and good decision-making under pressure are equally important. so on to murrayfield  where wales have not won on their last three visits. while the hype in the principality will go into overdrive  the players will set about the task of beating scotland. only then - with the visit of ireland to finish - can they start thinking about emulating the hallowed players of the 1970s  and writing their own names into welsh legend.


yukos accused of lying to court russian oil firm yukos lied to a us court in an attempt to stop the russian government selling off its key production unit  the court has heard.  the unit  yugansk  was sold to pay off a $27.5bn (£14.5bn) back tax bill. yukos argued that since it had a us subsidiary and local bank accounts  the us court could declare it bankrupt and stop the auction of yugansk. but deutsche bank - itself a target of a yukos lawsuit - said documents had been backdated to strengthen the case.  deutsche bank s evidence came on the first day of a two-day hearing in houston. its lawyer  hugh ray  told the court that yukos had claimed it had transferred $27m into two texas bank accounts opened by its new us subsidiary. by doing so  he said  the firm had intended to reinforce its us presence - and thus its chances of getting its case heard in us courts. but he said that the papers documenting the transaction were not drawn up till weeks after yukos made its bankruptcy application on 14 december  and then backdated.  yukos chief financial officer bruce misamore  who had moved to the us in early december to set up yukos usa  acknowledged the point. he said the discrepancy was only in the paperwork  but that money had indeed been transferred on 14 december. even so  he told the court that only $480 000 had been in the accounts that day  with the rest arriving a day later.  deutsche bank is involved in the case because it is itself being sued by yukos. it had agreed to loan to an arm of russian state gas firm gazprom the money to bid for yuganskneftegaz  as the yukos unit is formally known. the sale went ahead  despite an order from the us bankruptcy court ordered that it should be stopped. in the end  the auction was won by an unknown shell company for $9.4bn - much less than most assessments of its value - before ending up in the hands of state-controlled oil firm rosneft. rosneft  meanwhile  has agreed to merge with gazprom  bringing a large chunk of russia s very profitable oil business back under state control.  yukos maintains that it filed for bankruptcy in the us because it feared it would not be able to do so in russia. it also said that in the event of going bust  it could offer the chance of restructuring.  it gives us a kind of life after death alternative   said yukos chief executive steven theede. yukos is currently suing four companies - gazprom  its unit gazpromneft  rosneft and the shell company which won the bidding - for their part in yugansk s disposal. it has also threatened to sue the russian government for $28bn. analysts have questioned whether a us court has any jurisdiction over russian companies  while moscow officials have dismissed yukos  legal wrangling as meaningless. yukos claims that the rights of its shareholders have been ignored and that is has been punished for the political ambitions of its founder mikhail khodorkovsky. mr khodorkovsky  once russia s richest man  is in prison  having been charged with fraud and tax evasion and repeatedly denied bail.


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


fresh hope after argentine crisis three years after argentina was hit by a deadly economic crisis  there is fresh hope.  the country s economy is set to grow about 8% this year after seeing 9% growth last year  a sharp turnaround from 2002 when output fell 11%. the unemployment rate is improving  too: it is set to slip below 13% by the end of the year  down from 20% in may 2002. true  problems remain  but the overall picture is one of vast improvement. even the international monetary fund (imf) admits this.  the argentine authorities are proud  should be proud  of the strong performance of the economy   thomas dawson  an imf director  said earlier this month.  argentina has made a remarkable recovery from a hideous and lengthy recession which in 2001 culminated in the government halting debt repayments to its private creditors. the debt default sparked a deep and prolonged economic crisis which  at least initially  was made worse by the government s decisions. pension payments were halted and bank accounts frozen as part of austerity measures introduced by the government to deal with the country s massive debts. in response  angry crowds of ordinary argentines took to the streets where dozens of lives were lost in clashes with the police. two presidents and at least three finance minister resigned in less than a month. argentina was on the brink of collapse. the fix was found in the currency markets with the abandonment of the peso s decade-long peg to the us dollar in february 2002. the subsequent devaluation saw thousands of people s life savings disappear. scathes of companies went bust.  three years ago  every sector [of the economy] was hit by the crisis   said entrepreneur drayton valentine. it really was dire.  but since then  the general mood on the ground has improved dramatically  in part because the devaluation helped attract fresh direct investment from abroad and stimulate business within brazil.  agriculture and tourism are helping   said entrepreneur drayton valentine.  mr valentine  who was born in the united states but grew up in argentina  was fortunate: at the time of the crisis  his savings were held in dollar accounts abroad. but now he is using his money to help with the start-up a trading company. he explained that initially  his firm is going to export building materials to spain and united states. then  he would like to diversify to other areas  depending on the market.  locally there is a sense of recovery  many companies are exporting now   he said  noting that a lot of firms  which were closed during the crisis  are re-opening.  but not all that shines is gold. argentina is still burdened by its failure to pay private creditors at the end of 2001. president nestor kirchner s administration is still trying to hammer out an agreement with the creditors  but with the debts  nominal value standing at around $100bn it is not proving easy. debt defaults make further lending agreements both difficult and expensive to negotiate. argentina s current offer implies that the creditors would get just 25 cents for each dollar they are owed  according to the creditors. understandably  they want more and until they do  both they and others are loath to continue lending. for president kirchner  this proves a hopeless challenge. real losses have been suffered and somebody has to pay  observed jack boorman  adviser to imf s managing director  rodrigo rato.  everyone needs to keep in mind the enormous cost on the part of both creditors and the argentine society and people that will have been endured by the time a settlement is reached   he said.  the cost is enormous  and continues to be paid  and will not be reversed by any restructuring.   with the international negotiations being troubled  it is of little help to president kirchner that the domestic situation remains strained as well.  this is partly because there are still bank account holders who are waiting to recover some of their deposits.  the situation is bad for those who had previously chosen to save in argentina    said carlos baez silva  president of aara  an association that represents bank account and bond holders. few people have recovered more than about half their savings  mr baez silva estimated  pointing out that many of the savers who have lost out are pensioners or others who once trusted the government  people who set aside money for the future in the belief that their investment would be safe.  a lot of them invested in good faith   he said.  the argentine state responded by taking most of their investments.  the affair has made mr baez silva disillusioned with the country s legal system. on occasion  the supreme court has ruled against the interests of the people he represents  he says  insisting that the system cannot be trusted.  people have to deposit their money in the banks  not necessarily because they trust them but because crime is so high that people cannot have their money in their homes beneath their mattresses.  mr valentine  who was born in the united states but grew up in argentina  agreed.  if i have to save pesos [the local currency] there is not much problem  but i will think twice before i deposit dollars in a bank .


cage film s third week at us top nicolas cage movie national treasure has topped the us and canada box office for the third week in a row.  national treasure made $17.1m (£8.8m) in ticket sales from friday to sunday  according to studio estimates  taking its total to $110.2m (£56.7m). comedy christmas with the kranks  starring tim allen and jamie lee curtis  was in second place. the polar express entered in third place while jude law film closer made its debut at number six.  oliver stone s big-budget epic alexander  starring colin farrell  followed last week s disappointing sixth-place opening with a slump to seventh place and takings of $4.7m (£2.4m). critics have savaged the three-hour epic  which reportedly cost $150m (£77m) to make. national treasure  which sees cage s character ben gates chase a hidden fortune  has been made by disney studios. it is cage s fourth collaboration with jerry bruckheimer  who is usually noted for his male-orientated action films.


prodigy join v festival line-up essex act prodigy are to headline the second stage at this year s v festival  joining main stage headliners scissor sisters and franz ferdinand.  the event  which is in its 10th year  will be held at two venues - hylands park in essex and weston park in staffordshire on 20 and 21 august. meanwhile  rock veterans new order have joined the t in the park line-up alongside athlete and green day. the manchester band will play on 9 july at scotland s biggest festival. it will be their debut performance at the music event which is held over the weekend of 9 and 10 july in balado near kinross. other bands at the sold-out festival include queens of the stone age  the killers  keane  the streets and foo fighters.  a month later at the v festival  prodigy will play at weston park on saturday 20 august and hylands park on sunday 21 august and the chemical brothers vice versa. it will be the chemical brothers  only uk festival performance of the year. v festival director bob angus said:  with the prodigy and the chemical brothers now confirmed to headline the second stage  we are headed for a really stellar line-up.  we pride ourselves on putting on an unbeatable live music experience and v festival 2005 will not disappoint.  tickets for the v festival go on sale on friday 11 march.


us trade gap ballooned in october the us trade deficit widened by more than expected in october  hitting record levels after higher oil prices raised import costs  figures have shown  the trade shortfall was $55.5bn (£29bn)  up 9% from september  the commerce department said. that pushed the 10 month deficit to $500.5bn. imports rose by 3.4%  while exports increased by only 0.6%. a weaker dollar also increased the cost of imports  though this should help drive export demand in coming months.  things are getting worse  but that s to be expected   said david wyss of standard & poor s in new york.  the first thing is that when the dollar goes down  it increases the price of imports.  we are seeing improved export orders. things seem to be going in the right direction.   despite this optimism  significant concerns remain as to how the us will fund its trade and budget deficits should they continue to widen. another problem highlighted by analysts was the growing trade gap with china  which has been accused of keeping its currency artificially weak in order to boost exports. the us imported almost $20bn worth of goods from china during october  exporting a little under $3bn.  it seems the key worry that has existed in the currency market still remains   said anthony crescenzi  a bond strategist at miller tabak in new york. the trade deficit and the shortfall with china  are big issues going forward . the commerce department figures caused the dollar to weaken further despite widespread expectations that the federal reserve will raise interest rates for a fifth time this year. borrowing costs are tipped to rise by a quarter of a percentage point to 2.25% at a fed meeting later on tuesday.


kidman wins photographer battle actress nicole kidman has won a restraining order against two paparazzi photographers who she claims left her fearful of leaving her sydney mansion.  the oscar-winning star took action against jamie fawcett and ben mcdonald after a bugging device was found outside her home earlier this week. lawyers for the pair denied allegations they had planted the device. the australian actress is currently in sydney to film her latest movie  eucalyptus  with russell crowe. kidman was prompted to take action following a reported high-speed car chase with members of the paparazzi in sydney last weekend.  according to local newspaper the daily telegraph  the incident involved paparazzi driving through red lights and on the wrong side of the road in pursuit of kidman s vehicle. lawyers for mr fawcett and mr mcdonald denied that the pair were involved in the chase. kidman sought the  apprehended violence  orders - normally used in australia in cases of domestic violence and similar incidents - after being advised to do so by local police.  nicole would like to make it clear that she acknowledges she is a public figure and that reporters and photographers have a job to do and she respects that   said kidman s publicist wendy day.  however  these are specific actions against two individuals who  over a period of time  have caused her to feel threatened  intimidated and unable to leave her home without fearing for her safety.  magistrate lee gilmore  who issued the restraining order at waverley local court in sydney  said she understood the photographers were entitled to earn a living but there had to be limits to their behaviour.  miss kidman says she s willing to put up with some of it  but it s gone beyond that   she said.  i do believe the allegation in relation to the driving is a serious issue.


barcelona title hopes hit by loss barcelona s pursuit of the spanish title took a blow on sunday as they fell to a 2-0 defeat at home to atletico madrid.  fernando torres gave athletico an ideal start with a goal in the first minute. ronaldino wasted a second-half chance to equalise for barca when he put a penalty wide  but torres made no such mistake with a last-minute spot-kick. the defeat  coupled with real madrid s 4-0 win over espanyol on saturday  reduces barca s lead to four points. former everton midfielder thomas gravesen scored his first goal for real in the comfortable victory at the bernabeu. zinedine zidane had opened the scoring before raul bagged a brace. gravesen  who replaced zidane  completed the scoring in the 84th minute with a low shot. david beckham  watched by sven-goran eriksson  came off in the 67th minute with a shoulder injury but should be fit for england s game against holland. england team-mate michael owen came on for raul after 76 minutes with the game already won. real have now won six consecutive primera liga games since coach wanderley luxemburgo took charge.


gardener wins double in glasgow britain s jason gardener enjoyed a double 60m success in glasgow in his first competitive outing since he won 100m relay gold at the athens olympics.  gardener cruised home ahead of scot nick smith to win the invitational race at the norwich union international. he then recovered from a poor start in the second race to beat swede daniel persson and italy s luca verdecchia. his times of 6.61 and 6.62 seconds were well short of american maurice greene s 60m world record of 6.39secs from 1998.  it s a very hard record to break  but i believe i ve trained very well   said the world indoor champion  who hopes to get closer to the mark this season.  it was important to come out and make sure i got maximum points. my last race was the olympic final and there was a lot of expectation.  this was just what i needed to sharpen up and get some race fitness. i m very excited about the next couple of months.   double olympic champion  marked her first appearance on home soil since winning 1500m and 800m gold in athens with a victory. there was a third success for britain when  edged out russia s olga fedorova and sweden s jenny kallur to win the women s 60m race in 7.23secs. maduaka was unable to repeat the feat in the 200m  finishing down in fourth as  took the win for russia. and the 31-year-old also missed out on a podium place in the 4x200m relay as the british quartet came in fourth  with russia setting a new world indoor record. there was a setback for jade johnson as she suffered a recurrence of her back injury in the long jump. russia won the meeting with a final total of 63 points  with britain second on 48 and france one point behind in third.  led the way for russia by producing a major shock in the high jump as he beat olympic champion stefan holm into second place to end the swede s 22-event unbeaten record.  won the triple jump with a leap of 16.87m  with britain s tosin oke fourth in 15.80m.  won the men s pole vault competition with a clearance of 5.65m  with britain s nick buckfield 51cm adrift of his personal best in third. and  won the women s 800m  with britain s jenny meadows third. there was yet another russian victory in the women s 400m as  finished well clear of britain s catherine murphy. chris lambert had to settle for fourth after fading in the closing stages of the men s 200m race as sweden s  held off leslie djhone of france. france s  won the men s 400m  with brett rund fourth for britain.  took victory for sweden in the women s 60m hurdles ahead of russia s irina shevchenko and britain s sarah claxton  who set a new personal best. italy grabbed their first victory in the men s 1500m as  kicked over the last 200 metres to hold off britain s james thie and france s alexis abraham. a botched changeover in the 4x200m relay cost britain s men the chance to add further points as france claimed victory.


box office blow for alexander director oliver stone s historical epic alexander has failed in its bid to conquer the box office  entering the us film charts at number six.  the swords and sandals blockbuster  rumoured to have cost more than $150m (£79m) to make  earned just $13.5 (£7m) over three days at the us box office. due to the thanksgiving holiday  the film opened on wednesday  bringing its total takings to $21.6m (£11.4m). top of the box office for a second week was action movie national treasure. the family adventure  starring nicolas cage  took $33.1m (£17.m)  ahead of animated comedy the incredibles - now in its fourth week in the charts - which took $24.1m (£12.7m).  last week oliver stone s film met with scathing reviews from us critics. the film stars irish actor colin farrell as one of history s most celebrated leaders - a relentless and arrogant warrior who conquered much of the known world by the age of 25. in particular  its portrayal of alexander as a bisexual has met with a hostile reception and the threat of legal action from greek lawyers.  though the battles have the blood-and-sinew bravado you expect from oliver stone  this three-hour buttnumbathon is hamstrung by a hectoring grandiosity   wrote one reviewer in rolling stone magazine. others poured scorn on farrell s bleached hair and angelina jolie s unwieldy accent  which variety called  a combination of mata hari and count dracula  . but novelist gore vidal defended the film  saying it was  barrier-breaking  for its frank depiction of bisexuality.  in sweden last thursday  to pick up a lifetime achievement award at the stockholm international film festival  stone expressed the hope that alexander might be better appreciated in europe.  one of the reasons i am being honoured here is europeans tend to see me a little differently than they do in the us   said the director behind jfk  platoon and born on the fourth of july. he added alexander  was not an easy movie  but then i ve never made easy movies .


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


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


rapper 50 cent scores chart first rapper 50 cent has become the first solo artist to have three singles in the us top five in the same week.  his track candy shop remained at the top of the charts  while disco inferno crept up from six to five. 50 cent also appears on rap protege the game s song how we do  number four in the us but now outside the uk top ten. the pair had a recent dispute which saw the game thrown out of 50 cent s rap collective g-unit  accusing him of disloyalty in an ongoing feud.  50 cent  who burst onto the music scene in 2003  has had less success in the uk charts  with three singles making the top ten. his debut album  get rich and die tryin   narrowly missed out on becoming a uk chart topper.  but in the us  he headed the 2003 end of year charts for the album and r&b and hip hop artists. newcomer the game s debut reached the top of the charts five weeks ago  while 50 cent s second collection the masscre was released in the us at the end of last week. last may  r&b star usher scored a chart first  with three concurrent singles in the us top 10  a feat which was previously matched only by the bee gees and the beatles. the hit songs were taken from the 24-year-old s confessions album  which topped the american chart for eight weeks.


white prepared for battle tough-scrummaging prop julian white is expecting a resurgent wales to give him a rough ride in england s six nations opener in cardiff on saturday.  the leicester tight-head is in the form of his life  making the england number three shirt his own. but he knows wales will put his technique under immense scrutiny.  the welsh scrum is a force to be reckoned with   he told bbc sport.  they have made a lot of changes for the better over the last few years.  white is also impressed with the welsh pack s strength in depth.  gethin jenkins is starting at loose-head for them. he has played a bit at tight-head but i think his favoured position is loose-head and he is very good   he added. the 31-year-old has made a massive contribution to the england and leicester cause of late and is arguably the form tight-head prop in the world.  he destroyed south africa s os du randt in the scrum at twickenham last autumn to give england the platform for an impressive 32-16 victory. leicester  who signed white from bristol when the west country side were relegated from the zurich premiership in the summer of 2003  have also been aided by white s presence this season. the tigers are sitting pretty at the top of the premiership table and have also booked their place in the last eight of the heineken cup.  i am pleased with my form   he said.  but my form is helped by the people i play with at leicester - people like martin johnson and graham rowntree.  it s been a good season so far and to be in the starting xv for the first game of the six nations is what every player wants.  i am delighted with the way things have gone but we have to get it right this weekend.  white is now one of the more experienced members of the england squad which takes to the field on saturday. injuries have taken their toll and coach andy robinson has been deprived of richard hill  jonny wilkinson  martin corry  mike tindall  will greenwood and stuart abbott.  and with 27 caps and a world cup winner s medal to his name  white is now in a position to offer his experience to youngsters such as centres matthew tait and jamie noon.  i don t know how much experience a tight-head can give a centre but you are there to give them a pat on the back if things go wrong or to be there if they want to talk in any way   he added.  when i first came into the squad  people like jason leonard and martin johnson were the first to come over and talk through things and help out.   it gives you a lot of confidence when people like that speak to you.  i was in awe of a lot of them so to sit down and speak with them and realise you are on the same wavelength is good.  white missed the vast majority of last year s six nations because of a knee injury and is raring for the 2005 event to get going. and that is despite the opening game taking place amid the red-hot atmosphere in cardiff.  i enjoy the atmosphere. the millennium stadium is probably one of the best stadiums in the world   he said.  to go down there and hear the shouting and the singing - it s one of my favourite places to play.  this is probably the most even six nations for a long time. england  ireland  france and wales are all contenders.  on form  ireland should be favourites but you just don t know - that s the great thing about this tournament.


retail sales show festive fervour uk retail sales were better than expected in november as christmas shoppers began their seasonal flock to the high street  figures show.  the office for national statistics (ons) said retail sales rose 0.6% on the month and 6.1% on the year. but the figures  along with this week s inflation report  could trigger another interest rate rise in the new year. however  recent data from the british retail consortium showed a 0.2% slip in high street sales during november.  the ons data confounded analyst expectations. many had expected sales to fall slightly in november as shoppers put off buying christmas presents until december. however  retailers  attempts to draw in the crowds may be behind november s unexpected rise in sales  they say. aggressive tactics  such as one-day discount sales adopted by stores such as marks & spencer  appear to have paid off.  price discounting has certainly accounted for much of this because the value of retail sales hasn t grown as much as volumes   said investec economist david page. the figures sparked a rally for sterling as the data supported the view that it is too early to assume that base rates have peaked.


labour chooses manchester 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.