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


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


prime minister s questions so who  if anyone  is playing politics with the security of the nation   michael howard has no doubt it is the prime minister who  he claims  is  ramming  through parliament the controversial new anti-terror measures without proper debate. he didn t say so  but the tories believe the prime minister is playing the fear card on this one so he can look tough in the run up to the general election and they believe tony blair is using the issue to suggest the tories are soft on terrorism. why on earth will the prime minister not simply take up the tories  offer to extend the existing powers temporarily to allow proper parliamentary debate of the laws  he demanded. the prime minister claims this is the clearest indication that it is the tories who are playing politics with the issue by attempting to score cheap political points in parliament. is not the opposition against to the proposed laws  in principle   in which case delaying a decision for further debate would be pointless   what this is really about  believes mr blair  is the tories spotting an opportunity to embarrass  maybe even defeat the government. and that is more important to them than national security. liberal democrat leader charles kennedy avoided suggesting anyone was playing politics with the issue. he preferred to state that  as with other issues like id cards  the government s immediate instinct was authoritarian.  as is his habit nowadays  the prime minister was less rough with mr kennedy than he had been with mr howard - he prefers a more exasperated tone suggesting he believes the lib dems have  once again  just missed the point. apart from all that  it was electioneering as usual. the very first question to the prime minister from derby north s bob laxton asked him  in effect  if he would carry on the excellent policy of pouring more resources into schools. later birmingham s sion simon even went so far as to suggest the tories were such a shower that we should have the general election now. the prime minister almost blushed. this was not the appropriate place to announce election day  he stammered. but can anyone be in any doubt that that announcement is just days away - an announcement coming in the week beginning 4 april for an election on 5 may is where the big money is in the commons. and perhaps that simple fact alone means everyone is seen to be playing politics with just about everything at the moment.


profits slide at india s dr reddy profits at indian drugmaker dr reddy s fell 93% as research costs rose and sales flagged.  the firm said its profits were 40m rupees ($915 000; £486 000) for the three months to december on sales which fell 8% to 4.7bn rupees. dr reddy s has built its reputation on producing generic versions of big-name pharmaceutical products. but competition has intensified and the firm and the company is short on new product launches. the most recent was the annoucement in december 2000 that it had won exclusive marketing rights for a generic version of the famous anti-depressant prozac from its maker  eli lilly. it also lost a key court case in march 2004  banning it from selling a version of pfizer s popular hypertension drug norvasc in the us. research and development of new drugs is continuing apace  with r&d spending rising 37% to 705m rupees - a key cause of the decrease in profits alongside the fall in sales. patents on a number of well-known products are due to run out in the near future  representing an opportunity for dr reddy  whose shares are listed in new york  and other indian generics manufacturers.  sales in dr reddy s generics business fell 8.6% to 966m rupees. another staple of the the firm s business  the sale of ingredients for drugs  also performed poorly. sales were down more than 25% from the previous year to 1.4bn rupees in the face of strong competition both at home  and in the us and europe. dr reddy s indian competitors are gathering strength although they too face heavy competitive pressures.


profits stall at china s lenovo profits at chinese computer firm lenovo have stood still amid slowing demand at home and stiffening competition.  the firm is in the international spotlight after last year signing a deal to buy the pc division of personal computer pioneer ibm. lenovo s profit for the three months to december was hk$327m (us$42m; £22m)  less than 1% up on the year before. chinese pc sales have risen by a fifth in each of the past two years  but are now growing more slowly. the company is still by far the biggest player in china  with more than a quarter of the market. but western firms such as dell and hewlett-packard are also mounting a more solid fight for market share in china  and lenovo s sales were down 3.7% by revenue to hk$6.31bn.  if the $1.75bn agreement lenovo signed with ibm on 8 december goes through  it will mark the end of an era. ibm pioneered the desktop pc market in the early 1980s  although strategic mis-steps helped lose it its early dominance. in any case  margins in pc market are now wafer thin  and profits have been hard to come by for most vendors except direct-sales giant dell. but investors have been less than impressed with lenovo s move  designed to take it out of china and further onto the world stage. its shares are down 20% since the announcement two months ago  largely because of the unprofitability of the unit it is buying. there have been rumours that the deal could be in trouble because us government agencies fear it could offer china opportunities for industrial espionage. the reports of the possibility of an investigation into the risk sent lenovo s shares up 6% in late january.


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


japan turns to beer alternatives japanese brewers are increasingly making money from beer-flavoured drinks rather than beer itself  beer and spirits are heavily taxed in japan  driving breweries to search for alternatives. japan s long economic downturn helped drive the trend  as drinkers looked for cheaper opportunities to drown their sorrows. now  according to asahi breweries  the market for so-called  beer-like  drinks is set to grow 84% this year.  asahi is predicting profits to rise 50% in 2005 as it launches a drink based on soybean peptides rather than malt. the chosen name   shinnama  or  new draft   disguises its non-beer nature. but despite a record profit in 2004 of 30.6bn yen ($291m; £154m)  up 31.8% on the previous year  asahi is coming late to the market. key rival sapporo is already well-established with the beer-flavoured  draft one . suntory  meanwhile  is doing well with  super blue   which combines happoshu - an existing low-cost beer alternative made with malt and seawater - and shochu  a distilled alcohol derived from sweet potatoes or barley. happoshu has been a mainstay of brewery profits for years  taking over from beer thanks to its low tax and therefore low cost. kirin  the fourth big name  is launching its own  third-type  drink in april.


mcilroy wins 800m indoor title james mcilroy motored to the aaa s indoor 800m title in sheffied on sunday in a time of one minute  47.97 seconds.  the larne athlete dominated the race from start to finish although he had to hold off a late challenge from welshman jimmy watkins in the final 100 metres.  i had to go out and go through all the gears before the europeans and i won t run again until then   said mcilroy.   i though if i got lucky i d get close to the british record but i blew up in the end.   mcilroy has been in superb form at the start of the season and will now start his build-up for the european indoors at madrid on 4-6 march. meanwhile  paul brizzel and anna boyle reached the semi-finals of the 60m hurdles with boyle setting a season s best of 7.48. in the women s 60m final  ailis mcsweeney broke michelle carroll s long-standing irish record by clocking 7.37 which left her in third place. david gillick showed that he is a genuine medal contender in the european indoor championships by claiming an impressive 400m victory. gillick was more than half-a-second clear when taking gold in 46.45 - .02 outside his personal best set in saturday s semi-finals.  the irishman is now the fastest european this season. derval o rourke broke her own irish 60m hurdles record by clocking 8.06 which left her third behind new british record holder sarah claxton (7.96). james nolan (3:46.04) took second in the men s 1500m behind neil speaight (3:45.86) but the offaly man was outside the european indoor standard. colin costello was seventh in the 1500m final in 3:48.82). deirdre ryan was second in the women s high jump with a clearance of 1.87m while aoife byrne took silver in the 800m in a personal best of 2:06.73. lisburn s kelly mcneice reid (4:31.34) was seventh in the women s 1500m while gary murray (8:11.22) was 11th in the men s 3000m. meanwhile  stephen cairns and jill shannon claimed the individual titles at saturday s northern ireland cross country championship in coleraine. cairns came in ahead of paul rowan and allan bogle in the men s race. willowfield claimed their first men s team title in 72 years while shannon helped lagan valley win the women s team honours.


dibaba breaks 5 000m world record ethiopia s tirunesh dibaba set a new world record in winning the women s 5 000m at the boston indoor games.  dibaba won in 14 minutes 32.93 seconds to erase the previous world indoor mark of 14:39.29 set by another ethiopian  berhane adera  in stuttgart last year. but compatriot kenenisa bekele s record hopes were dashed when he miscounted his laps in the men s 3 000m and staged his sprint finish a lap too soon. ireland s alistair cragg won in 7:39.89 as bekele battled to second in 7:41.42.  i didn t want to sit back and get out-kicked   said cragg.  so i kept on the pace. the plan was to go with 500m to go no matter what  but when bekele made the mistake that was it. the race was mine.  sweden s carolina kluft  the olympic heptathlon champion  and slovenia s jolanda ceplak had winning performances  too. kluft took the long jump at 6.63m  while ceplak easily won the women s 800m in 2:01.52.


us trade gap hits record in 2004 the gap between us exports and imports hit an all-time high of $671.7bn (£484bn) in 2004  latest figures show.  the commerce department said the trade deficit for all of last year was 24.4% above the previous record - 2003 s imbalance of $496.5bn. the deficit with china  up 30.5% at $162bn  was the largest ever recorded with a single country. however  on a monthly basis the us trade gap narrowed by 4.9% in december to £56.4bn. the us consumer s appetite for all things from oil to imported cars  and even wine and cheese  reached record levels last year and the figures are likely to spark fresh criticism of president bush s economic policies.  democrats claim the administration has not done enough to clamp down on unfair foreign trade practices. for example  they believe china s currency policy - which us manufacturers claim has undervalued the yuan by as much as 40% - has given china s rapidly expanding economy an unfair advantage against us competitors.  meanwhile  the bush administration argues that the us deficit reflects the fact the america is growing at faster rate than the rest of the world  spurring on more demand for imported goods. some economists say this may allow an upward revision of us economic growth in the fourth quarter. but others point out that the deficit has reached such astronomical proportions that foreigners many choose not to hold as many dollar-denominated assets  which may in turn harm growth. for all of 2004  us exports rose 12.3% to $1.15 trillion  but imports rose even faster by 16.3% to a new record of $1.76 trillion. foreign oil exports surged by 35.7% to a record $180.7bn  reflecting the rally in global oil prices and increasing domestic demand. imports were not affected by the dollar s weakness last year.  we expect the deficit to continue to widen in 2005 even if the dollar gets back to its downward trend   said economist marie-pierre ripert at ixis.


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


eu ministers to mull jet fuel tax european union finance ministers are meeting on thursday in brussels  where they are to discuss a controversial jet fuel tax.  a levy on jet fuel has been suggested as a way to raise funds to finance aid for the world s poorest nations. airlines and aviation bodies have reacted strongly against the plans  saying they would hurt companies at a time when earnings are under pressure. the eu said a tax would only be passed after full consultation with airlines. it was keen to point out earlier this week that any new tax on jet fuel should not hurt the  competitiveness of the airlines . ministers will also be discussing reforms to regulations governing european public spending.  global leaders have focused attention on poverty reduction and development at recent meetings of the g7 group and world economic forum. the world s richest countries have said they want to boost the amount of aid they give to 0.7% of their annual gross national income by 2015. many eu ministers are thought to support the plan to tax jet fuel - tabled by france and germany following the recent g7 meeting. at present  the fuel used by airlines enjoys either a very low tax rate or is untaxed in eu member states.


web radio takes spanish rap global spin the radio dial in the us and you are likely to find plenty of spanish-language music. but what you will not find is much spanish-language hip-hop.  hip-hop and rap are actually quite popular in the spanish-speaking world  but local artists are having trouble marketing their work abroad. but now  a us company is bringing rap and hip-hop en espanol to computer users everywhere. los caballeros de plan g are one of mexico s hottest hip-hop acts. they have a devoted fan base in their native monterrey. but most mexican hip-hop fans  not to mention fans in most of the spanish-speaking world  rarely get a chance to hear the group s tracks on the radio.   you can t really just go on the radio and listen to hip-hop in spanish... it s just not accessible   says manuel millan  a native of san diego  california.  it s really hard for the spanish hip-hop scene to get into mainstream radio. you usually have a very commercialised sound and the groups are not really known around the country or around the world.  millan and two friends set out to change that - they wanted to make groups like los caballeros de plan g accessible to fans globally.  mainstream radio stations were not going to play this kind of music  and starting their own broadcast station was economically impossible. so  millan and his friends launched a website called latinohiphopradio.com. the name says it all: it is web-based radio  devoted to the hottest spanish language rap and hip-hop tracks. the site  which is in both in english and spanish  is meant to be easy to navigate. all the user has to do is download a media player. there are no djs. it is just music streamed over the net for free. suddenly  with the help of the website  los caballeros de plan g are producing  export quality  rap.  the web might be just the right medium for spanish language hip-hop right now. the genre is in what millan calls its  infant stage . but the production values are improving  and artists such as argentina s mustafa yoda are pushing to make it better and better. mustafa yoda is currently one of the hottest tracks on latinohiphopradio.com.  he s considered the eminem of argentina  and the latin american hip-hop scene   millan says.  he really hasn t had that much exposure as far as anywhere in the world  but he s definitely the one to look out for as far as becoming the next big thing in the spanish-speaking world.  currently  the chilean group makisa is also in latinohiphopradio.com s top 10  as is cuban artist papo record.  every country s got it s own cultural differences and they try to put those into their own songs   millan says. latinohiphopradio.com has been up and running for a couple of months now. the site has listeners from across the spanish speaking world. right now  mexico leads the way  accounting for about 50% of listeners. but web surfers in spain are logging in as well - about 25% of the web station s traffic comes from there. that is not surprising as many consider spain to be the leader in spanish-language rap and hip-hop. millan says that spain is actually just behind the united states and france in terms of overall rap and hip-hop production. that might be changing  though  as more and more latin american artists are finding audiences.  but one spaniard is still firmly in latinohiphopradio.com s top 10. his name is tote king and manuel millan says that he is the hip-hop leader in spain. on his track uno contra veinte emcees  or one against 20 emcees  tote king shows he is well aware of that fact.  it s basically him bragging that he s one of the best emcees in spain right now   millan says.  and it s pretty much true. he has the tightest productions  and his rap flow is impeccable  it s amazing.  latinohiphopradio.com is hoping to expand in the coming year. millan says they want to include more music and more news from the world of spanish language hip-hop and rap.  clark boyd is technology correspondent for the world  a bbc world service and wgbh-boston co-production.


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


horror film heads us box office a low-budget horror film produced by evil dead director sam raimi has topped the north american box office.  boogeyman  which focuses on a man who returns to his childhood home to confront his traumatic past  took $19.5m (£14.9m) in three days. last week s chart-topper  the robert de niro thriller hide and seek  fell to number four. other new entries included the wedding date  a comedy starring will and grace s debra messing  at number two.  the road-trip comedy are we there yet  and multiple oscar nominee million dollar baby completed the top five. other oscar contenders  including the aviator and sideways  continued to perform strongly at the box office. the aviator has taken $75m (£40m) so far  while sideways has taken $46.8m (£24.8m) in a more limited release.  boogeyman  which cost just $7m (£3.5m) to make  performed well even though it was not screened to critics before release - normally a sign that a film will get bad reviews or perform poorly at the box office.  i certainly believe it s a genre where people are going to be more moved by the marketing materials for the movie than by what the critics say   said rory bruer  head of distribution for sony pictures  which released the film in the us. overall the weekend box office was strong despite the fact that it was american football s super bowl weekend - a time when cinema admissions generally fall. this year  the top 12 films grossed around $91m (£48.3m)  compared to 2004 s super bowl weekend when the total box office was $73.4m (£38.9m).


vw considers opening indian plant volkswagen is considering building a car factory in india  but said it had yet to make a final decision.  the german giant said it was studying the possibility of opening an assembly plant in the country  but that it remained only a  potential  idea. its comments came after the industry minister of india s andhra pradesh state said a team of vw officials were due to visit to discuss the plans. b. satyanarayana said he expected vw to co-sign a memorandum of agreement. several foreign carmakers  including hyundai  toyota  suzuki and ford  already have indian production facilities to meet demand for automobiles in asia s fourth-largest economy. vw s proposed plant would be set up in the port city of visakhapatnam on india s eastern coast. an andhra pradesh official added that vw had already approved a factory site measuring 250 acres.


web logs aid disaster recovery some of the most vivid descriptions of the devastation in southern asia are on the internet - in the form of web logs or blogs.  bloggers have been offering snapshots of information from around the region and are also providing some useful information for those who want to help. indian writer rohit gupta edits a group blog called dogs without borders. when he created it  the site was supposed to be a forum to discuss relations between india and pakistan. but in the wake of sunday s tsunami  mr gupta and his fellow bloggers switched gears.  they wanted to blog the tsunami and its aftermath. one sri lankan blogger in the group goes by the online name morquendi. with internet service disrupted by the tsunami  morquendi started sending sms text messages via cell phone from the affected areas of sri lanka.  we started publishing these smses   says mr gupta.   morquendi was describing scenes like 1 600 bodies washed up on a shore  and people burying  and burying and burying them. people digging holes with their hands. and this was coming through an sms message.  we didn t have visual accounts on radio or on tv  or in the print media.  soon  thousands of web users around the world were logging on to read morquendi s first hand accounts. in one message  morquendi wrote about a sri lankan woman who was running home with a friend when the wave hit.  she was being swept away   morquendi s message read.  she grabbed a tree with one hand and her friend with the other. she says she watched the water pull her friend away.  mr gupta says the power of morquendi s text message blogs was palpable.  he was running around  looking for friends  burying bodies  carrying bodies   mr gupta says of morquendi.  i can t even begin to imagine the psychological state he was in when he was sending us reports  and doing the relief work at the same time.  he was caught between being a journalist and being a human being.   others blogs are helping to spread information about relief efforts. dina mehta is an indian blogger who s helping with the newly created south east asia earthquake and tsunami blog. she says the blog is not meant to be filled with first person accounts.  what we re doing is we re building a resource   she says.  anyone who says  ok  i want to come and do some work in india  volunteer in india  or in sri lanka or malaysia  this is the sort of one-stop-shop that they can come to for all sorts of resources - emergency help lines  relief agencies  aid agencies  contacts for them etc.   ms mehta also says she wishes that governments in the region would realise the power of blogs.  imagine if they had this resource available to them  if there was a disaster  how quickly you could funnel aid in  and get people to help   she says. bloggers in the united states are also getting involved. ramdhan yadav kotamaraja is originally from india  but now lives in dallas. mr kotamaraja wanted to help those affected by the tsunami by pooling money with concerned friends. so  he set up an online payment system on his website. then  says mr kotamaraja  the blogging world found out.  all my blogger friends started linking up my site  and i saw a lot of people other than my friends. i d say 70% of the donations came from people i don t know.  it s simply unbelievable to me  that people that i don t know will come and start donating.  news spreads quickly on weblogs  a phenomenon that helps bloggers expand their audience and scope. in sri lanka  blogger morquendi is recruiting others to help. one recruit calls himself heretic. in one of his latest posts  heretic asks:  have you ever seen fishing trawlers on the road  ever seen a bus inside a house   well   heretic writes   that was just the least affected areas - so you can just imagine - or can you   he concludes:  keep it blogged.   clark boyd is technology correspondent for the world  a bbc world service and wgbh-boston co-production.


legendary music studio to close the new york music studio where john lennon spent his final hours is to close next month.  the hit factory  which opened 37 years ago  has played host to some of the biggest stars in music  including paul simon  madonna and david bowie. however  the rise in digital recording has affected business at the studio  which is relocating to smaller premises in miami. lennon recorded his final album double fantasy at the studio in 1979.  the studio was founded by jerry ragovoy in 1968. in 1975 it was sold to fellow producer edward germano  who turned it into a 100 000 square foot studio with seven recording rooms and live mastering suites. his first client was stevie wonder  who recorded part of his classic album songs in the key of life there. other well-known albums to be recorded or partially recorded at the studio include bruce springsteen s born in the usa  the rolling stones  emotional rescue and paul simon s graceland. michael jackson  billy joel  jay-z and beyonce are also among artists who have used the hit factory in the past  as well as 50 cent who survived an attempt on his life as he left the premises in 2000. the studio made history in 1994 when it won a record 41 grammy nominations for songs recorded  mastered or mixed there  including the soundtrack to the whitney houston film the bodyguard.


portable playstation ready to go sony s playstation portable (psp) will go on sale in japan on 12 december.  the long-awaited handheld game playing gadget will cost about 19 800 yen (145 euros) when it hits the shelves. at launch 21 games will be available for the psp  including need for speed  ridge racer  metal gear acid and vampire chronicle. sony has not yet announced when the psp will be available in europe and the us  but analysts expect it to debut in those territories in early 2005.  fifa 2005 is back at the top of the uk games charts  a week after losing it to rival pro evolution soccer 4. konami s pro evo dropped only one place to two  while the only new entry in the top 10 was another football title  lma manager 2005  in at number seven. tony hawk s underground 2 held its own at three  while star wars battlefront inched up to four places to four. there was good news for disney  with the spin-off from the shark s tale film moving up the charts into number eight.  fans of the gran turismo series in europe are going to have to wait until next year for the latest version. sony has said that the pal version of gt4 will not be ready for christmas.  the product is localised into 13 different languages across the pal territories  therefore the process takes considerably longer than it does in japan   it said. gran turismo 4 for the playstation 2 is still expected to be released in japan and the usa this year.  halo 2 has broken video game records  with pre-orders of more than 1.5 million in the us alone. some 6 500 us stores plan to open just after midnight on tuesday 9 november for the game s release.  halo 2 is projected to bring in more revenue than any day one box office blockbuster movie in the united states   said xbox s peter moore.  we ve even heard rumours of fan anticipation of the  halo 2 flu  on 9 november.


french suitor holds lse meeting european stock market euronext has met with the london stock exchange (lse) amid speculation that it may be ready to launch a cash bid.  euronext chief jean-francois theodore held talks with lse boss clara furse the day after rival deutsche boerse put forward its own bid case. the german exchange said it had held  constructive  professional and friendly  talks with the lse. but euronext declined to comment after the talks ended on friday. speculation is mounting that the germans may raise their bid to £1.5bn. deutsche boerse previously offered £1.3bn  which was rejected by the lse  while euronext is rumoured to have facilities in place to fund a £1.4bn cash bid. so far  however  neither have tabled a formal bid. but a deal with either bidder would create the biggest stock market operator in europe and the second biggest in the world after the new york stock exchange.  there was speculation euronext would use friday s meeting as an opportunity to take advantage of growing disquiet over deutsche boerse s own plans for dominance over the london market. unions for deutsche boerse staff in frankfurt has reportedly expressed fears that up to 300 jobs would be moved to london if the takeover is successful.  the works council has expressed concerns that the equities and derivatives trade could be managed from london in the future   reuters news agency reports a union source as saying. german politicians are also said to be angry over the market operator s promise to move its headquarters to london if a bid were successful.  meanwhile  lse shareholders fear that deutsche boerse s control over its clearstream unit - the clearing house that processes securities transactions - would create a monopoly situation. this would weaken the position of shareholders when negotiating lower transaction fees for share dealings. lse and euronext do not have control over their clearing and settlement operations  a situation which critics say is more transparent and competitive. the german group s ownership of clearstream has been seen as the main stumbling block to a london-frankfurt merger. commentators believe deutsche boerse  which has now formally asked german authorities to approve its plan to buy the lse  may offer to sell clearstream to gain shareholder approval. euronext  so far  has given little away as to what sweeteners it will offer the lse - europe s biggest equity market - into a deal.


will tory tax cuts lift spirits  michael howard has finally revealed the full scale of his planned tory tax cuts.  should he win the next general election  he has earmarked £4 billion that will be used to reduce taxes - although he still will not say which or how. this was the pre-election message many in his party have been pressing for and voters  he believes  will warm to. at its simplest  it is saying:  vote tory and you can have it both ways . not only would his government stick to labour spending plans on core public services  including health and education  it would increase spending on defence  police and pensions. and even after that was done  it would still have enough left over for a tax cut equivalent to about a penny off the basic rate of income tax.  all the money would come from its £35 billion efficiency savings which would see the axe taken to bureaucracy  waste and the civil service. of that  £23 billion would go on spending plans  with £8 billion to fill the black hole left  they claim  by gordon brown  and the rest going in tax cuts.  neither mr howard nor mr letwin would say exactly how they would use that cash  although a cut in the basic rate seems unlikely. ideas already floated include raising tax thresholds and abolishing or reducing inheritance tax  although some in the tory party are urging mr howard to announce something more eye-catching before the election. as the tory leader declared  the aim of the exercise is to open up a real economic policy divide between labour and the tories.  at this election  people will have a clear choice between mr blair who will waste more and tax more and the conservative party which will give value for money and tax less   he said.  it is a move back towards an almost traditional tory message which previously suggested labour was the party of tax rises and the conservatives the party of tax cuts.  the extension of that  however  was that labour was also seen as the party of big spending on the public services while the tories were the cutters. and that is where one of the problems lies for mr howard - can he persuade sceptical voters that they really can have it both ways with bigger spending on public services and lower taxes  he insists he will not promise anything before the election that he cannot deliver if put into downing street. labour  needless to say  claim his planned £35bn efficiency savings simply don t add up and that those sorts of figures are fantasy.  one of new labour s greatest successes before the historic 1997 election was to persuade voters  business and the city that it could be trusted to run the economy. so far that has not faced any real challenge  but independent analysts now claim a third new labour government would be forced to either increase taxation or taxes to plug a black hole it has at the centre of its finances. meanwhile  the liberal democrats are committed to increasing taxes for the most well off to finance their spending proposals launched earlier in the day. so  mr howard hopes his message will start to hit home during this unofficial election campaign and that his poll ratings might finally lift off the floor. and  while other issues like the iraq war and trust will play a major part in that campaign  it is likely - and the prime minister probably hopes - that the economy will be the deciding factor.


broadband in the uk gathers pace one person in the uk is joining the internet s fast lane every 10 seconds  according to bt.  the telecoms giant said the number of people on broadband via the telephone line had now surpassed four million. including those connected via cable  almost six million people have a fast  always-on connection. the boom has been fuelled by fierce competition and falling prices  as well as the greater availability of broadband over the phone line.  the take-up rate for broadband is accelerating at a terrific pace   said ben verwaayen  bt s chief executive.  we will be in a very strong position to hit our five million target by summer 2006 much earlier than we had previously expected.   the last million connections were made over the past four months  with thousands of people being added to the total every day of the week.  those signing up to broadband include those that get their service direct from bt or via the many companies that re-sell bt lines under their own name. part of the surge in people signing up was due to bt stretching the reach of adsl - the uk s most widely used way of getting broadband - beyond six kilometres. asymmetric digital subscriber line technology lets ordinary copper phone lines support high data speeds. the standard speed is 512kbps  though faster connections are available. according to bt  more than 95% of uk homes and businesses can receive broadband over the phone line. it aims to extend this figure to 99.4% by next summer. there are also an estimated 1.7 million cable broadband customers in the uk.


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


lasting influence of legend charles ray charles  who has won a string of posthumous grammy awards  belonged to a pioneering generation of artists that had a huge influence on the course of rock and pop music.  his sound encompassed so many styles - blues  gospel  jazz  rock  n  roll  even country - and had a real impact on the nascent uk beat and r&b scenes.  compared in stature to elvis presley by some commentators  charles  songs cast their spell on such 1960s stalwarts as joe cocker  steve winwood  eric burdon and van morrison. his influence has extended to contemporary artists such as norah jones  with whom he recently recorded a duet. if james brown was the godfather of soul  then ray charles was indisputably one of its founding fathers. along with sam cooke  he was instrumental in bringing together the gospel fervour of the deep south baptist church with the  devil s  music of r&b to pave the way for a new generation of soul artists.  without charles  it is hard to imagine the tear-stained atlantic r&b sound of aretha franklin  otis redding or wilson pickett. he was also a talented jazz composer  arranger and band leader  playing at the newport jazz festival and carnegie hall and recording with noted jazz musicians such as milt jackson and david  fathead  newman. unfortunately  he also shared another trait common among many jazz artists of the era - that of heroin addiction  which led to him being arrested in 1965. his string of 1950s atlantic r&b successes included songs that would be covered by the first-generation rock  n  roll greats  including i ve got a woman (roy orbison  elvis presley) and hallelujah  i love her so (eddie cochran). after the exuberance of his 1959 signature song what d i say  charles turned towards a more pop-oriented style  recording hoagy carmichael s sentimental string ballad georgia on my mind  and the upbeat hit the road jack.  he also won acclaim in the country arena with his interpretations of hank williams standards such as your cheating heart and you win again. more than 40 years after its release  his 1962 abc album modern sounds in country and western music is still regarded as a classic. his version of don gibson s i can t stop loving you topped the pop and r&b charts in the us. in 1972  he made a rare foray into protest songs with his album a message from the people.  on it  he took a stand on poverty and civil rights - echoing similar recordings of the era from progeny such as stevie wonder  james brown  curtis mayfield and marvin gaye. more than 20 years later  he would embrace contemporary production with his 1993 album my world  which featured hip-hop beats - although charles claimed at the time not to know what hip-hop was. among the tributes that poured in from all sections of the music world when charles died aged 73 in june 2004 was one from his friend  the producer quincy jones  who described him as a  brother in every sense of the word .  there will never be another musician who did as much to break down the perceived walls of musical genres as much as ray charles did   he said. former manfred mann singer paul jones  who sang on 1960s hits such as come tomorrow and sha la la  said charles was one of his heroes.  i m quite sure my own writing was influenced by him   he told bbc news online.  i would put money on the proposition that ray charles will have an influence on music forever.


more power to the people says hp the digital revolution is focused on letting people tell and share their own stories  according to carly fiorina  chief of technology giant hewlett packard.  the job of firms such as hp now  she said in a speech at the consumer electronics show (ces)  was to ensure digital and physical worlds fully converged. she said the goal for 2005 was to make people the centre of technology. ces showcases 50 000 new gadgets that will be hitting the shelves in 2005. the tech-fest  the largest of its kind in the world  runs from 6 to 9 january.  the digital revolution is about the democratisation of technology and the experiences it makes possible   she told delegates.  revolution has always been about giving power to the people.  she added:  the real story of the digital revolution is not just new products  but the millions of experiences made possible and stories that millions can tell.  part of giving people more control has been about the freeing up of content  such as images  video and music. crucial to this has been the effort to make devices that speak to each other better so that content can be more easily transferred from one device  such as a digital camera  to others  such as portable media players. a lot of work still needs to be done  however  to sort out compatibility issues and standards within the technology industry so that gadgets just work seamlessly  she said.  ms fiorina s talk also touted the way technology is being designed to focus on lifestyle  fashion and personalisation  something she sees as key to what people want.  special guest  singer gwen stefani  joined her on-stage to promote her own range of hp digital cameras which ms stefani has helped design and which are heavily influenced by japanese youth culture. the digital cameras  which are due to go on sale in the us by the summer  are based on the hp 607 model. the emphasis on personalisation and lifestyle is a big theme at this year s ces  with tiny  wearable mp3 players at every turn and rainbow hues giving colour to everything. ms fiorina also announced that hp was working with nokia to launch a visual radio service for mobiles  which would launch in europe early this year. the service will let people listen to radio on their mobiles and download relevant content  like a track s ringtone  simultaneously. the service is designed to make mobile radio more interactive.  among the other new products she showcased was the digital media hub  a big upgrade to hp s digital entertainment centre. coming out in the autumn in the us  the box is a networked  high-definition tv  cable set-top box  digital video recorder and dvd recorder. it has a removable hard drive cartridge  memory card slots  and light scribe labelling software which lets people design and print customised dvd labels and covers. it is designed to contain all a household s digital media  such as pre-recorded tv shows  pictures  videos and music so it can all be managed in one place. the hub reflects the increasing move to re-box the pc so that it can work as part of other key centres of entertainment. research suggests that about 258 million images are saved and shared every day  equating to 94 billion a year. eighty per cent of those remain on cameras. media hubs are designed to encourage people to organise them on one box. ms fiorina was one of several keynote speakers  who also included microsoft chief bill gates  to set out what major technology companies think people will be doing with technologies and gadgets in the next 12 months. in a separate announcement during the keynote speech  ms fiorina said that hp would be partnering mtv to replace this year s mtv asia music award. mtv s asia aid will be held in bangkok on 3 february  and is aimed at helping to raise money for the asian tsunami disaster.


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


nintendo handheld given euro date nintendo s new handheld console  the ds  will launch in europe on 11 march  the company has announced.  the portable games machine  which features touch-screen control  will retail for £99 in the uk (149 euros). nintendo said 15 games would be available in the uk at launch  with prices ranging from £19 to £29. more than 2.8 million ds consoles have been sold since it first appeared in the us and japan at the end of 2004. rival sony has said it will launch its first handheld console  the psp  in the us and europe before the end of march. the psp is expected to compete for a large part of the same handheld market  despite sony s assertion that the machines are aimed at different consumers.  the 15 games available on the european launch date will include nintendo s super mario 64 ds  as well as titles from third-party developers such as ubisoft s rayman ds.  more than 120 games are in development for the new console  nintendo has said. the ds is backwards compatible with the game boy advance  allowing the earlier machine s back catalogue of 700 games to be played. additionally  a short-range wireless link for multiplayer gaming is built in to the ds  with a  download play  option which allows a group to play against each other  even if just one person owns a copy. other features include a short-range messaging application called pictochat  and a built-in microphone which is used in sega s launch title project rub. nintendo has also announced a media adapter  which will allow the console to play music and video on the move.  the launch price of £99 (149 euros) compares favourably with the us price of $149  according to john houlihan  editor of the computerandvideogames.com magazine.  it s a very  very competitive price point. there are some innovative features  and nintendo has created quite a buzz   he says.  however  the line-up of games could have been stronger. everyone wanted to see the eight-player mario kart ds  for example.   mr houlihan believes that there is likely to be an audience for both the nintendo ds and sony s new psp  with the former aimed largely at a younger audience and the latter expected to be marketed as a multimedia device.  the psp is a sexy bit of kit  but sony s attitude to the psp has been very understated in europe  so far   mr houlihan said. the worldwide handheld software market had an estimated worth of $2.6bn at the end of 2004  according to industry analysts screen digest.  in the past  games consoles and handhelds have generally launched much later in europe than in other parts of the world. however nintendo president satoru iwata said the company was  pleased to have offered such a short period of time between the us and european launch .  europe is an extremely important market for nintendo   mr iwata added. nintendo raised its sales targets for the ds console last december after selling a million in the us and japan in just a few weeks.


wilkinson to miss ireland match england will have to take on ireland in the six nations without captain and goal-kicker jonny wilkinson  according to his newcastle boss rob andrew.  wilkinson - who had targeted the 27 february match for his international comeback - has been missed by england  not least for his goal-kicking.  jonny s not fit yet   falcons chief andrew told bbc radio five live.  he won t be fit for dublin  there s no doubt about that  but he might be fit for scotland and italy.  the 25-year-old has not played for england since the 2003 world cup final after a succession of injuries. england  who have lost three six nations games in a row  wasted a 17-6 half-time lead in their 18-17 defeat to france. goal-kickers charlie hodgson and olly barkley missed six penalty attempts and a drop-goal between them.  they ve probably got two of the best english kickers in the premiership in hodgson and barkley   added andrew  a former england fly-half and goal-kicker.   they re both pretty good kickers. charlie is a good kicker week-in  week-out.  but it s all about pressure and unfortunately england are just not handling the pressure at the moment.  andrew also blamed england s poor run of recent results on a lack of leadership in the side following several high-profile retirements and injuries.  they just didn t have that leadership that would have seen them through. martin johnson  lawrence dallaglio and jonny are obviously huge losses and leadership is so important in those situations   he said.  i think it is really difficult for jason robinson to lead the side effectively from full-back.  meanwhile  former england full-back dusty hare put england s mistakes down to a lack of mental toughness.   jonny wilkinson has proved himself a cool customer with around an 80% kicking success rate   hare told bbc radio five live.  but natural-born toughness comes into it as well as all the practice you do.  you have to be able to shut out all the outside elements and concentrate on putting the ball between the posts.  hodgson  who has an excellent kicking record with club side sale sharks  has introduced crowd noise into his practice routine of late.  the top golfers don t hit the fairway every time  and it is the same with goal-kicking   hare added.  you need that mental toughness as well to put the ball over  but great goal-kickers like jonny wilkinson come along very rarely.


film star fox behind theatre bid leading actor edward fox is one of the men behind plans to reopen a swansea theatre thought to be wales  oldest.  the star of film and tv hits day of the jackal and edward and mrs simpson has joined forces with swansea-born actor-director terry palmer. they will set up a charity to raise money to buy the palace theatre  and hope to reopen it to audiences in summer 2006. it is estimated that £500 000 is needed to buy the grade ii listed building. the palace theatre  which will be known as the pavilion repertory theatre  was sold to an undisclosed bidder at auction 13 months ago for £340 000. before that it had been used as a nightclub for 10 years.  oscar-winner sir anthony hopkins  who was born in nearby port talbot  made his professional debut there  and charlie chaplin and lily langtry have also trodden its boards. fox told the south wales evening post that after visiting the theatre he was surprised by its beauty.  a lot of money needs to be spent on it  but all the bones are there - it just needs a beautiful skin   he said.   to call it a jewel is not an over-estimation. there are not many theatres left like this.  the hope for the immediate future is that we can attract enough people to come forward to allow it to prosper   he told the newspaper.  fox first found fame in the 1960s. one of his most memorable roles was as an assassin in the day of the jackal in 1973  and he won a tv bafta as the prince of wales in 1980 for edward and mrs simpson. he was brought on board to save the theatre by mr palmer  a long-standing friend of 40 years.  two years ago i decided to return to swansea and do something for the city   said mr palmer. he said he was excited by the idea of running the palace as a charity where young actors could develop  and with an annual shakespeare festival in the summer.  if in five years  time the theatre can function in all areas without me  i shall be well satisfied having helped to create a vital living theatre for the city   he added. keith poulton  a business adviser from swansea  has already committed an undisclosed amount of money to the project.  we need at least £75 000 to secure a deposit on the building and we ve only got two months to do that   said mr poulton.  a few benefactors have expressed their interest and mr fox is going to give it an awful lot of time   he added. last year  roads around the theatre were cordoned off when masonry from its roof fell onto a car  but engineers said they were happy that it was safe.


low-cost airlines hit eurotunnel channel tunnel operator eurotunnel has seen sales fall in the face of the upsurge in european low-cost airlines.  the firm said sales were down 4% in 2004 to 789m euros ($1.03bn; £548m).  the impact of the development of no-frills airlines is being felt ever more strongly   said chief executive jean-louis raymond. income from its vehicle-carrying shuttle services fell 7%  although 15% more passengers meant a 2% rise in railway revenue.  the cross-channel truck market is improving  eurotunnel said  but warned that it was not benefiting since much of the traffic was in containers destined for ports. the passenger-only trains which use the tunnel are run by a separate company  eurostar.  eurotunnel is still struggling with debts of more than 6bn euros. the company is currently kept afloat by the 200-plus banks to whom it owes the money. a shareholder revolt threw out the old board in 2004. but the bbc s business editor  jeff randall  said the banks could yet step in and take over altogether.  at the moment it can t even service the interest on its debt   he said.  this is a company in the departure lounge of life.


will the budget bring out smiling voters  as tory spokesman oliver letwin said - any chancellor would use his pre-election budget to offer some vote winning sweeteners  wouldn t he.  and everyone does  indeed  expect gordon brown to do just that in his last budget before the expected polling day of 5 may. there will be plenty of talk about taking no risks with the economy or handing out irresponsible giveaways. but mr brown will stun westminster and break just about every historical precedent if he fails to do something designed to put a smile on voters  faces and make them more inclined to back labour in the election. and there has already been speculation about possible tax reductions for the poorest and increasing the threshold on stamp duty in this week s budget. the aim of his package will be to keep any disillusioned core labour voters in the fold  while ensuring the middle england voters who gave tony blair two election victories don t desert him at the third poll.  and  needless to say  there will be plenty of analysis of what impact the budget will have on mr brown s own ambitions to replace mr blair as prime minister at some point after a third win. but there is a shadow hanging over this pre-election performance - in the shape of £11 billion or thereabouts. that is the size of the financial  black hole  the tories  backed by some independent forecasters  believe mr brown will have to fill with tax increases after the election.  the opening shot in that battle was fired at the weekend with claims a treasury leak suggested mr brown was ready to slap capital gains tax on home sales to raise some of that cash. it was immediately denied  but the tories remain suspicious  claiming that  as mr letwin said  if the money does not come from there  where will it come from.  mr brown will undoubtedly claim the forecasts are simply wrong and that he will have absolutely no need to raise taxes after the election  should labour win. previous gloomy forecasts proved wrong  he will argue  while suggesting that only by sticking with him can britain continue to have a sound economy  low unemployment and high public spending. the opposition will reject that by claiming they can keep the economy sound  increase spending and cut taxes at the same time.  the liberal democrats will also promise to run a sound economy  but based on increased taxes to fund spending and  amongst other things  abolishing the council tax in favour of a local income tax. and there will be prolonged argument over which of the parties can make the greatest savings in whitehall and beyond to fund their policies. but probably what that all boils down to is a simple question of which of the parties the voters most trust to keep the economy stable and avoid any unpleasant surprises in the coming years. and it is probably still the answer to that one question that will overwhelmingly decide the outcome of the general election.


jowell confirms casino climbdown tessa jowell has announced plans to limit the number of new casinos in the uk to 24  in a move branded a  humiliating retreat  by the tories.  it puts an end to plans for up to 40 super casinos  originally outlined in the government s gambling bill. instead there will be a cap of eight new casinos in each size category - small  medium and large. the culture secretary said the move showed she listened to critics who feared an explosion in gambling.  but conservative shadow culture secretary john whittingdale said the way the government had handled the bill was a  shambles .  this announcement is a further humiliating retreat by the government.  instead of the initial intention of the gambling bill  to liberalise the rules governing gambling  the bill now imposes a more restrictive regime than exists at present.  shares in british casino operators london clubs international  rank group and stanley leisure  who had been hoping the bill would pave the way for a big expansion in smaller casinos  fell by between 10 and 25% following the announcement. ms jowell s deputy  richard caborn  said the government had adopted a cautious approach to the issue  and responded to the concerns raised.  limiting the number of regional casinos to eight in the first phase is a cautious move that will allow us to test the impact of a new kind of casino on the levels of problem gambling   he said.  we also believe it s right to apply this same level of caution to small and large casinos.   he added that local authorities would still be able to stop new casinos coming to their areas. church groups welcomed the limit on the number of casinos. salvation army spokesman jonathan lomax said:  the proliferation of these casinos on high streets across the country was a real concern and the [three year] trial period  which we think should last at least five years  will enable research into the potentially severe social consequences of an increase in hard and addictive forms of gambling.  but british british casino association chairman penny cobham said her members were  outraged  by the decision  which followed a campaign in the daily mail newspaper.  there was never going to be a massive explosion of casinos. talk of a casino on every high street was just a scaring tactic.


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


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


the force is strong in battlefront the warm reception that has greeted star wars: battlefront is a reflection not of any ingenious innovation in its gameplay  but of its back-to-basics approach and immense nostalgia quotient.  geared towards online gamers  it is based around little more than a series of all-out gunfights  set in an array of locations all featured in  or hinted at during  the two blockbusting film trilogies. previous star wars titles like the acclaimed knights of the old republic and jedi knight have regularly impressed with their imaginative forays into the far corners of the franchise s extensive universe  and their use of weird and wonderful new characters. battlefront on the other hand wholeheartedly revisits the most recognisable elements of the hit movies themselves.  the sights  sounds and protagonists on show here will all be instantly familiar to fans  who may well feel that the opportunity to relive star wars  most memorable screen skirmishes makes this the game they have always waited for. the mayhem can be viewed from either a third or first-person perspective  and you can either fight for the forces of freedom or join darth vader on the dark side  depending on the episode and type of campaign as well as the player s personal propensity for good or evil.  there is ample chance to be a wookie  shoot ewoks and rush into battle alongside a fired-up luke skywalker. in each section  the task is simply to wipe out enemy troops  seize strategic waypoints and move on to the next planet. it really is no more complicated than that. locations include the frozen wastes of hoth  the ice planet from the empire strikes back  complete with massive mechanical at-ats on the march. there are also the dusty  sinister deserts of tatooine and geonosis  as well as the forest moon of endor  where return of the jedi s much-maligned ewoks lived. the feel of those places is well and truly captured  with both backdrops and characters looking good and very authentic. it is worth noting though that on the playstation 2  the game s graphics are a curiously long way behind those of the xbox version. the pivotal element behind battlefront s success is that it successfully gives you the feel of being of being plunged into the midst of large-scale war. the number of combatants  noise and abundance of laser fire see to that  and the sense of chaos really comes over.  speaking of noise  battlefront is a real testament to the strength of the star wars galaxy s audio motifs.  the multitude of distinctive weapon and vehicle noises are immensely familiar  as are the stirring john williams symphonies that never let up. there is also a particularly snazzy remix of one of his themes in the menu section. it has to be said if the game did not have the boon of being star wars  it would not stand up for long. the gameplay is reliable  bog-standard stuff  short on originality. there are also odd annoyances  like the game s insistence on re-spawning you miles away from the action  an irritating price to pay for not getting blown up the second you appear. and some of the weapons and vehicles are not as responsive and fluid to operate as they might be. that said  it is still great fun to pilot a scout walker or speeder bike  however non user-friendly they prove. whilst it is firmly designed with multiplayer action in mind  battlefront is actually perfectly good fun as an offline game. the above-average ai of the enemy sees to that  although given the frenetic environments they operate in  their strategic behaviour does not need to be all that sophisticated. battlefront s novelty value will doubtless wear off relatively fast  leaving behind a slightly empty one-trick-pony of a game. but for a while  it is an absolute blast  and one of the most immediately satisfying video game offerings yet from george lucas  stable.


johnson edges out rival sotherton jade johnson edged out rival kelly sotherton with her last effort to claim the aaas long jump title at the norwich union european indoor trials.  olympic heptathlon bronze medallist  sotherton  led the event with her first leap of 6.43m - a personal best. but johnson  who has not competed indoors for five years  leapt to a life-time best of 6.50m in her last jump  after four fouls. both johnson and sotherton passed the european championships qualifying mark. although sotherton s main aim in madrid next month will be the pentathlon where she will take on olympic heptathlon champion carolina kluft. ireland s  delivered a shock in the men s 200m as he stormed to his first major title in 21.01 seconds. british favourite chris lambert had to settle for second place while defending champion ireland s paul brizzel took third. there was some consolation for lambert as he set a personal best of 20.94 in the first round - good enough to qualify for europe.  two-time aaas champion allyn condon and ian mackie had no such luck as they were disqualified in the heats. there was plenty of hot action in the men s 60m hurdles where scotland s  was vying for top spot with olympian andy turner. scott  22  smashed his personal best on the way to the final  where he broke it again to win the aaas title in 7.58 seconds. turner finished second in 7.82 after previously setting a personal best on the 7.83 in the semi-finals  while damien greaves did not finish the final. the trio of athletes have reached the european qualifying mark this season though one of them is set to miss out on a call-up to the british squad.  comfortably defended her 3 000m title  clocking eight minutes  49.87 seconds to easily surpass the european qualifying mark. the european cross country bronze medallist is ranked number one in europe this season and will go to madrid with high hopes. helen clitheroe was agonisingly close to the 9:05.00 qualifying mark as she claimed the runners-up spot in a personal best of 9:05.73. in the men s 800m heats   qualified fastest in the 800m heats to lay down a challenge to in-form  . the welsh runner attacked the last 200m to come through ahead of james thie in one minute  49.87 seconds. mcilroy  who is third in the european rankings  eased across the finish in 1:50.87 to set up a showdown in sunday s final in sheffield. both watkins and mcilroy have already achieved the european qualifying mark. scotland s susan deacon stole   s thunder in the final of the women s 200m. fraser became the fastest british woman over the distance this season when she qualified for the final in 23.68 seconds - though that time is outside the european standard. but deacon claimed her first aaas title over the distance  edging fraser into second in 23.67. in the women s shot put veteran  claimed her fourth aaas title with a throw of 15.27m. but that mark was not good enough for the 39-year-old to book her place at next month s european indoor championships in madrid. sotherton finished fifth after producing two throws of 13.77m. in the absence of injured british number one carl myerscough   claimed the men s shot put title with a throw of 17.64m  which was below the qualifying mark.  sale s robert mitchell climbed to a season s best of 2.20m - just 3cm short of the european standard - to claim the british indoor high jump title.  could only clear 2.16m to finish in fourth but the 27-year-old s disappointment will be tempered as he had already achieved the qualifying mark at a meeting in slovenia on tuesday. there was bad luck for british number one  in the pole vault as he failed to clear the bar after deciding to come in at 5.45m. the aaas indoor title went instead to ashley swain  who climbed to a season s best of 5.25m and ireland s taniesha scanlon set a new national record of 13.28m in the women s triple jump.


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


halloween writer debra hill dies screenwriter and producer debra hill  best known for her work on the 70s horror classic halloween  has died in los angeles aged 54.  hill  who had been suffering from cancer  co-wrote the 1978 film  which starred jamie lee curtis as a babysitter terrorised by a psychopath. directed by john carpenter  it made over $60m (£31.3m) worldwide - a record for independent film at that time. hill also worked with carpenter on escape from new york and the fog. born in new jersey  hill began her career as a production assistant and worked her way through the ranks  becoming an assistant director and second-unit director before she began collaborating with carpenter.  she was regarded by many as a pioneering woman in film  taking on jobs in the 70s that were more commonly taken by men.  back when i started in 1974  there were very few women in the industry   she said in 2003.  i was assumed to be the make-up and hair person  or the script person. i was never assumed to be the writer or producer.   i took a look around and realised there weren t that many women  so i had to carve a niche for myself.  carpenter said that working with hill was  one of the greatest experiences of my life .  the ground that she trailblazed in the beginning can now be followed by anyone. she was incredibly capable and talented   he said. carpenter and hill collaborated on a number of halloween sequels  including halloween ii  halloween: resurrection and halloween: the curse of michael myers.  later in her career  hill formed a production company with her friend lynda obst  making a string of hit films including oscar nominee the fisher king and teen comedy adventures in babysitting. other films included the stephen king adaptation the dead zone in 1983 and 1985 s clue  a comedy based on the board game cluedo. in the 90s she pursued work in tv  although she was reunited with carpenter in 1996 for escape from la  the sequel to escape from new york. at the time of her death she was working on a film about the last two men pulled from the rubble of the twin towers following the 11 september terror attacks in 2001. she was also co-producing the remake of the fog  which is due for release early next year.


kennedy questions trust of blair lib dem leader charles kennedy has said voters now have a  fundamental lack of trust  of tony blair as prime minister.  he said backing his party was not a wasted vote  adding that with the lib dems  what you see is what you get . he made his comments at the start of a day of appearances on channel five in a session on the wright stuff programme. questions from callers  a studio audience and the show s presenter covered lib dem tax plans  anti-terror laws and immigration.  mr kennedy said during his nearly 22 years in parliament he had seen prime ministers and party leaders come and go and knew the pitfalls of british politics.  1983 was when i was first elected as an mp - so tony blair  michael howard and myself were all class of  83 - and over that nearly quarter of a century the world has changed out of recognition   he said.  we don t actually hear the argument any longer:  lib dems  good people  reasonable ideas but only if we thought they could win around here - it s a wasted vote .  you don t hear that because the evidence of people s senses demonstrates that it isn t a wasted vote.  but he said mr blair had lost the trust of the british people.  there is a fundamental lack of trust in tony blair as prime minister and in his government   he said.   what we ve got to do as a party - what i ve got to do as a leader of this party - is to convey to people that what you see is what you get.  mr kennedy also used his tv appearance to defend his party s plans to increase income tax to 50% for those earning more than £100 000  saying it would apply to just 1% of the population. he said the extra revenue would allow his party to get rid of tuition and top-up fees  introduce free personal care for the elderly and replace the council tax with a local income tax. mr blair has already spent a day with five and michael howard is booked for a similar session.


butler strikes gold in spain britain s kathy butler continued her impressive year with victory in sunday s 25th cross internacional de venta de banos in spain.  the scot  who led gb to world cross country bronze earlier this year  moved away from the field with ines monteiro halfway into the 6.6km race. she then shrugged off her portuguese rival to win in 20 minutes 38 seconds. meanwhile  briton karl keska battled bravely to finish seventh in the men s 10.6km race in a time of 31:41. kenenisa bekele of ethiopia - the reigning world long and short course champion - was never troubled by any of the opposition  winning leisurely in 30.26. butler said of her success:  i felt great throughout the race and hope this is a good beginning for a marvellous 2005 season for me.  elsewhere  abebe dinkessa of ethiopia won the brussels iaaf cross-country race on sunday  completing the 10 500m course in 33.22. gelete burka then crowned a great day for ethiopia by claiming victory in the women s race.


uk pledges £1bn to vaccine effort uk chancellor gordon brown has offered £960m ($1.8bn) over 15 years to an international scheme aiming to boost vaccination and immunisation schemes.  in a speech  he called for action to reach the 2000 millennium declaration goals of halving global poverty and tackling child mortality rates. mr brown has just returned from a tour of african nations. the £1bn commitment is part of a five-point plan on debt relief  trade  aid  education and health.  the chancellor was speaking at an event jointly organised by the uk s department for international development and the un development programme on wednesday. mr brown welcomed news that the bill gates foundation and norway are joining up to put an extra £0.53bn ($1bn ) into the global alliance for vaccines and immunisation (gavi). britain  france  gavi and the gates foundation have drawn up proposals to apply the principles of the international finance facility (iff) to the area of immunisation. that could see donors making long-term  legally binding financial commitments which can then be used as collateral for raising extra funds from international capital markets. as well as pledging £960m over 15 years to the immunisation iff  britain urged other donors to contribute.  if gavi could increase its funding for immunisation by an extra £4bn ($7.4bn) over 10 years  then an extra five million lives could have been saved by 2015 and five million thereafter  mr brown argued. campaign groups including friends of the earth  the world development movement  and war on want said uk government policy on free trade was a major barrier to fighting poverty. war on want s john hilary said:  compassionate rhetoric cannot disguise the reality of the government s neo-liberal policies.  as long as mr blair and mr brown continue to push free trade and privatisation on developing countries  more and more people will be pushed deeper into poverty  not lifted out of it.


air passengers win new eu rights air passengers who are unable to board their flights because of overbooking  cancellations or flight delays can now demand greater compensation.  new eu rules set compensation at between 250 euros (£173) and 600 euros  depending on the length of the flight. the new rules will apply to all scheduled and charter flights  including budget airlines. airlines have attacked the legislation saying they could be forced to push prices higher to cover the extra cost. the european commission is facing two legal challenges - one from the european low-fare airlines association (elaa) and the other from the international air transport association (iata)  which has attacked the package as a  bad piece of legislation . previously  passengers could claim between 150 euros and 300 euros if they had been stopped from boarding.  however  only scheduled flight operators were obliged to offer compensation in cases of overbooking and they did not have to offer compensation for flight cancellations.  the eu decided to increase passenger compensation in a bid to deter airlines from deliberately overbooking flights. overbooking can often lead to  bumping  - when a passenger is moved to a later flight. when this happens against a passenger s will  airlines will now have to offer compensation. in addition  if a flight is cancelled or delayed for more than two hours through the fault of the airline  all passengers must be paid compensation.  however  airlines do not have to offer compensation if flights are cancelled or delayed due to  extraordinary circumstances . airlines fear that  extraordinary circumstances  may not include bad weather  security alerts or strikes - events which are outside of their control. all eu-based airlines and operators of flights which take off from the eu will have to adhere to the new compensation regime which came into force on thursday. low-cost airlines have criticised the new compensation levels  arguing that the pay-out could be worth more than the ticket.  it s a preposterous piece of legislation  we among all airlines are fighting this   ryanair deputy chief executive michael cawley told radio 4 s today programme.  the european regions airline association (eraa) claims that neither airlines nor consumers were consulted over the changes. andy clarke  eraa director of air transport  said that the ec advice misleads customers as it leads them to believe that airlines could be liable for payouts if flights are delayed because of bad weather.  ec spokeswoman marja quillinan-meiland conceded there were  grey areas  but said  these are not as big as the airlines are making out . in cases of dispute  national enforcement bodies would decide whether the passenger had a case  she said. new technology means it is easier for airlines to take off and land in bad weather  she added. the eraa s mr clarke also warned that while airlines would comply with the new rules  the extra costs would be passed onto passengers.  we reckon it s going to cost european air passengers - not the airlines  the airlines have no money  it has to be paid by passengers - 1.5bn euros  that s over £1bn a year loaded onto european passengers   mr clarke said.  that s basically a transfer of money from passengers whose journeys are not disrupted to passengers whose journeys are disrupted.   on wednesday  jacques barrot  vice president of the european commission and also commissioner for transport  said that the changes were necessary.  the boom in air travel needs to be accompanied by proper protection of passengers  right.   this is a concrete example of how the union benefits people s daily lives   he added. the ec has launched an information campaign in airports and travel agencies to inform airline passengers of their new rights.


digital uk driven by net and tv the uk s adoption of digital tv and broadband has helped make it the fourth most digitally-savvy nation in europe  according a report by jupiter research.  but the uk still lags in terms of broadband speeds compared to others. the most digitally sophisticated europeans  in terms of use of digital goods such as mobiles  tv  net and cameras  are the scandinavians. about 14 million households in the uk  60%  have digital tv  according to the communications regulator ofcom. the least digital of the european nations was greece  in 17th position  according to the digital life index.  scandinavian countries sweden  denmark and norway came out top in the report  but there were some differences in technology trends.  the european digital life index demonstrates that digital lifestyles are common today  but across europe there is no single digital lifestyle   said nate elliott  jupiter analyst.  consumers adopt different digital products and services in different countries.   although there are differences between different european nations  the gap between them is closing  the report concluded. the trend for gadgets and technologies  such as digital video recorders (dvr)  broadband  and video-on-demand will continue across europe  he added. more than six million uk households now have broadband net. by the middle of 2005  it is estimated that 50% of all uk net users will be on broadband. cable company ntl is trialling faster adsl (asymmetric digital subscriber line) broadband technology using adsl2+ which can give speeds of 18mbps compared to current speeds which are usually around 1mbps or 2mbps. bt is set to trial the technology later in the year. super-fast broadband will be necessary to the delivery of services such as high-definition tv (hdtv) and video-on-demand  already very popular in france and other european countries.  a separate survey by gmipoll last week found that  globally  people s appetite for technology and gadgets continues unabated. the poll of 20 000 people in 20 countries found that 59% wanted more technology.  the computer was the  must-have  gadget for most people (75%). the tv took second place (67%)  while the mobile was ranked in third position with 54%. digital cameras were the most popular choice of gadget for 2005  said the survey  with nearly 40% choosing this over wireless  home printing and dvr technologies. however  only 25% of britons said a digital camera would be their top gadget purchase of the year. almost a quarter  22%  said they would be buying some sort of wireless device. forty-four percent said they would be buying something  other . this might include digital music players  or gaming devices. the nintendo ds  sony s psp and gizmondo all hit the shops in 2005  and the first of the next generation of games consoles  xbox 2  is set to launch later this year. jupiter research s index is calculated using 40 different variables across net users  digital tv adoption  wireless and mobile  online activity  and digital devices.