tottenham bid £8m for forest duo nottingham forest have confirmed they have received an £8m bid from tottenham for andy reid and michael dawson.  reid rejected a move to southampton after forest accepted a cash-plus-players offer while spurs had made previous bids for the 22-year-old. spurs had also made an undisclosed offer for 21-year-old defender dawson. forest chief executive mark arthur said:  we ve received an £8m bid from spurs for the two players and we re considering the offer.  southampton s offer for republic of ireland international reid comprised £3m-plus and two players - brett ormerod and darren kenton.  spurs had seen previous bids of £3m  £4m and £5m for reid rejected by the championship club.


bafta to hand out movie honours movie stars from across the globe are attending this year s bafta film award ceremony.  british stars imelda staunton and clive owen are hoping for awards at the odeon in london s leicester square. hollywood stars leonardo dicaprio  pierce brosnan  christian slater and richard gere are also in the audience for the biggest night in uk film. hollywood blockbuster the aviator  starring dicaprio  leads the field with 14 nominations  including best movie. it is up against eternal sunshine of the spotless mind  finding neverland  the motorcycle diaries and british film vera drake  which has 11 nominations.  staunton is one of the favourites to land the best actress award for her gritty role as a backstreet abortionist in the small-budget film. she arrived at the ceremony wearing a green silk and chiffon low cut evening dress decorated with beads.  it s lovely to be here at home  to be on british soil. it s very nice indeed   she told reporters.  asked whether she was nervous about her best actress nomination she said:  it s out of my hands  there s nothing i can do. i m here with a lot of mates and we re going to have a very nice evening.  other nominees in the best actress category include charlize theron for monster  ziyi zhang for house of flying daggers and uk star kate winslet  who has two nods for her roles in eternal sunshine of the spotless mind and finding neverland. dicaprio faces competition from bernal  jamie foxx  jim carrey and johnny depp in the best actor category. the crowed screamed when he arrived on the red carpet. it s unlike anything i ve ever encountered. it s very intense and very loud   he told the bbc.   it s the first time i ve come to the baftas because it s the first time i ve been nominated...i ve appreciated british cinema for a long time and to be recognised like this is a special honour.  gere  who is presenting the best film award  said:  it s a big party  i had no idea it was going to be this big. it s crazy  i think it s bigger than the academy awards.   british actor owen is hoping to repeat his golden globe success with a best supporting actor award for his role in closer. he raised one of the biggest cheers of the night when he walked down the red carpet.  i was always a huge fan of closer as a play  so when i got the call to appear in the film  it was a huge thrill for me   he said.  the whole experience has been a treat and i m very fortunate to have been given the role.  his co-star natalie portman is up against blanchett  heather craney  julie cristie and meryl streep in the best supporting actress category. mike leigh is up for the best director award for vera drake  alongside martin scorsese for the aviator  michael mann for collateral  michel gondry for eternal sunshine of the spotless mind and marc forster for finding neverland.  the orange british academy film awards will be shown on bbc one at 2010 gmt.


injury sidelines philippoussis mark philippoussis withdrew from the sydney international tennis tournament as expected on sunday after suffering a groin injury during the hopman cup.  his participation in the australian open  which begins on 17 january in melbourne  also remains in doubt. defending women s champion justine henin-hardenne is also out of the sydney event because of a knee injury. in the only main draw men s or women s singles match on sunday  nathalie dechy beat american lisa raymond 7-5 6-3. number one men s seed lleyton hewitt begins his quest for a fourth sydney title on tuesday when he plays karol beck. lindsay davenport  top seed in the women s draw  has been handed a first-round bye and plays france s dechy in the second round on tuesday.


lse doubts boost bidders  shares shares in deutsche boerse have risen more than 3% after a shareholder fund voiced opposition to the firm s planned takeover of the london stock exchange.  tci  which claims to represent owners of 5% of deutsche boerse s (db) shares  has complained that the £1.35bn ($2.5bn) offer for the lse is too high. opposition from tci has fuelled speculation that the proposed takeover could fail. rival exchange operator euronext has also said it may bid for the lse. euronext operates the paris  amsterdam  brussels and lisbon bourses  while deutsche boerse runs the frankfurt exchange.  bbc news spoke to a number of analysts on monday morning about shareholder worries over deutsche boerse s bid for lse. although none were prepared to speak on the record  most thought it was unlikely that tci s opposition would halt the deal   obviously we ll have to wait and see  but i don t think it will make much difference. deutsche boerse appears very committed   said one london-based broker. he forecast the takeover bid would succeed and was more concerned to see improvements in the daily running of the lse. in voicing its opposition to the planned takeover  tci said it would prefer to see deutsche boerse return $500m (£350m) to shareholders. the deutsche boerse was prepared to pay for the lse  exceeds the potential benefits of this acquisition   said tci.  another deutsche boerse shareholder on monday also appeared to back tci s call. another investor in deutsche boerse has supported the view that a payout to shareholders would be preferable to deutsche boerse overpaying for the lse  reuters news agency reported.  we prefer a sensible entrepreneurial solution at a price that is not too high   said rolf dress  a spokesman for union investment.  if that cannot be achieved  then we would wish for a distribution of liquid assets to shareholders.  the financial times also reported a third deutsche boerse shareholder as opposed to the deal. it quoted a spokesman for us-based hedge fund atticus capital complaining that the planned takeover appeared to be motivated by  empire-building  rather than the best interests of shareholders.  tci has called for deutsche boerse to hold an emergency general meeting to discuss the bid for lse. yet under german business law  db does not have to gain shareholder approval before making a significant acquisition. deutsche boerse said tci s opposition would not change its bid approach.  deutsche boerse is convinced that its contemplated cash acquisition of the london stock exchange is in the best interests of its shareholders and the company   it said. db s shares were up 3.4% to 45.25 euros by 1030 gmt  the highest gainer in frankfurt.


minister digs in over doping row the belgian sports minister at the centre of the svetlana kuznetsova doping row says he will not apologise for making allegations against her.  claude eerdekens claims the us open champion tested positive for ephedrine at an exhibition event last month. criticised for making the announcement  he said:  i will never apologise. this product is banned and it s up to her to explain why it s there.  kuznetsova says the stimulant may have been in a cold remedy she took. the russian said she did nothing wrong by taking the medicine during the event. the women s tennis association cleared kuznetsova of any offence because the drug is not banned when taken out of competition.  eerdekens said he made the statement in order to protect the other three players that took part in the tournament  belgian justine henin-hardenne  nathalie dechy of france and russia s elena dementieva. but dechy is fuming that she has been implicated in the row.  how can you be happy when you see your face on the cover page and talking about doping   dechy said.  i m really upset about it and i think the belgian government did a really bad job about this.  i think we deserve an apology from the guy. you cannot say anything like this - you cannot say some stuff like this  saying it s one of these girls. this is terrible.  dementieva is also angry and says that dechy and herself are the real victims of the scandal.  you have no idea what i have been through all these days. it s been too hard on me   she said.  the wta are trying to handle this problem by saying there are three victims  but i see only two victims in this story - me and nathalie dechy  who really have nothing to do with this.  to be honest with you  i don t feel like i want to talk to sveta at all. i m just very upset with the way everything has happened.


snow patrol feted at irish awards snow patrol were the big winners in ireland s top music honours  the meteor awards  picking up accolades for best irish band and album on thursday.  the belfast-born  glasgow-based band collected the prizes at the ceremony at dublin s point theatre. westlife won the award for best irish pop act  voted for by the public  beating former member brian mcfadden. franz ferdinand picked up best international band and album while paddy casey collected best irish male. singer-songwriter casey beat brian mcfadden and damien rice. juliette turner was named best irish female.  in the international categories  morrissey beat eminem  usher and robbie williams to best male while pj harvey pipped kylie minogue  joss stone  anastacia and natasha bedingfield to the female crown. the 8 000 fans at the ceremony were treated to performances from us rapper snoop dogg  brian mcfadden with delta goodrem and the thrills featuring rolling stones star ronnie wood. snow patrol s success came after a year in which they made a chart breakthrough with their third album final straw.  i think a lot of bands should go through a wee bit of a kicking before the make a success   singer gary lightbody and drummer jonny quinn said.  it has been good for us  but also hard for us over the past six years.  snow patrol will support u2 on their european tour later this year - but u2 were not nominated for best irish band and album.


beckham relief as real go through david beckham expressed his relief at real madrid s passage to the champions league knockout phase.  after real s 3-0 win at roma  the england skipper admitted another season of under-achievement would not be tolerated at the bernabeu stadium. beckham said:  it s expected of madrid to get through  but it s a relief for the club and players to have won.  we lost momentum last season but we cannot afford to to go another season without winning anything.  real s finish as runners-up in their champions league group means they cannot face his old club manchester united in the next round. but real could be drawn against other premiership hopefuls  arsenal or chelsea  who won their respective groups.  it s going to be great whoever we play  even if we don t get either of the two english teams.


no uk premiere for rings musical the producers behind the lord of the rings musical have abandoned plans to premiere the show in london because no suitable theatre was available.  the £11.5m show will make its debut in toronto in march 2006  after it was found that all three west end theatres with sufficient capacity were booked. the musical is not expected in london before december 2006. producer kevin wallace said it would be  worth waiting for .  it will be like nothing they have ever seen before.   i know there will be a lot of disappointed british tolkien fans who hoped to see the show in london  but we couldn t get a london theatre in time   added the british producer. the world premiere of the stage musical  co-produced by canadian theatrical impresarios david and ed mirvish  will take place at toronto s princess of wales theatre next year.   toronto really wanted this premiere. the tolkien books and films are hugely popular in canada   said mr wallace  shortly after signing the deal in canada.  we hope the anticipation and excitement over here will create an even bigger buzz by the time we open in london.  auditions begin in canada on thursday  but up to five british actors may join the cast  under a deal struck with canadian actors  equity. the music for the show is being written by bollywood composer ar rahman  who was behind andrew lloyd webber s west end musical bollywood dreams  and in conjuction with the finnish group varttina.   there will be no singing and dancing hobbits. the music will be in a very traditional mould and draw on ethnic traditions   assured mr wallace. the musical s british director is matthew warchus  best known for staging the worldwide stage hit art.  the production will be a hybrid of text  physical theatre  music and spectacle never previously seen on this scale   he said.  only in the theatre are we actually plunged into the events as they happen. the environment surrounds us and we are in middle earth.  new zealander peter jackson took 10 years to bring jrr tolkien s fantasy trilogy to the big screen  winning academy awards for best film and best director for the final film the return of the king in 2004.


hewitt fights back to reach final lleyton hewitt kept his dream of an australian open title alive with a four-set win over andy roddick in friday s second semi-final.  the home favourite will face marat safin in sunday s final after coming through 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-4) 6-1. hewitt fought back from a set down and trailed in both tie-breaks but would not be denied  thrilling the melbourne crowd with a typically battling effort. he is aiming to be the first australian winner since mark edmondson in 1976. hewitt is the first australian to make the final since pat cash lost to mats wilander in 1988  but faces a huge challenge against safin - the conqueror of roger federer. after needing five sets in his last two matches there was reason to think hewitt might struggle for fitness. he certainly made a sluggish start  dropping his opening service game  and roddick dominated with his huge serve as he took the first set.  after 12 tense games in the second  the key moment came when hewitt raised his game in the tie-break to overturn an early mini-break. that energised the crowd but roddick was not finished and raced 4-1 clear in the crucial third before hewitt pegged him back and forced another tie-break. again roddick broke first and again hewitt fought back  taking the lead with a superb backhand pass.  the australian was not to be denied and a disheartened roddick made little impact in the fourth set as hewitt raced to victory  sending the melbourne crowd wild and ensuring the final will be a huge occasion.  it s awesome   said hewitt.  i started preparing for this tournament nine months ago.  i ve done a lot of hard yards to get here.  i ve always said i d do anything to get in the first night final at the australian open. now i ve got my chance.  roddick was furious with himself for failing to take advantage of leads in both tie-breaks.  i m usually pretty money in those   said roddick.  either one of those would have given me a distinct advantage.  i m mad  i felt i was in there with a shot. he put himself in position to win big points. i donated a little more than i would have wanted.  and the american played down the influence of one spectator who appeared to contribute to a double fault by shouting during rodick s service action.  it just took one jackass to shout out   said roddick  adding that the crowd overall was  very respectful .


iran jails blogger for 14 years an iranian weblogger has been jailed for 14 years on charges of spying and aiding foreign counter-revolutionaries.  arash sigarchi was arrested last month after using his blog to criticise the arrest of other online journalists. mr sigarchi  who also edits a newspaper in northern iran  was sentenced by a revolutionary court in the gilan area. his sentence  criticised by human rights watchdog reporters without borders  comes a day after an online  day of action  to secure his release. iranian authorities have recently clamped down on the growing popularity of weblogs  restricting access to major blogging sites from within iran. a second iranian blogger  motjaba saminejad  who also used his website to report on bloggers  arrests  is still being held.  a spokesman for reporters without borders  which tracks press freedom across the globe  described mr sigarchi s sentence as  harsh  and called on iranian president mohammed khatami to work to secure his immediate release.  the authorities are trying to make an example of him   the organisation said in a statement.   by handing down this harsh sentence against a weblogger  their aim is to dissuade journalists and internet-users from expressing themselves online or contacting foreign media.  in the days before his arrest mr sigarchi gave interviews to the bbc persian service and the us-funded radio farda. iranian authorities have arrested about 20 online journalists during the current crackdown. they accused mr sigarchi of a string of crimes against iranian state  including espionage  insulting the founder of iran s islamic republic  ayatollah ruhollah khomenei  and current supreme leader ayatollah ali khamenei. mr sigarchi s lawyer labelled the revolutionary court  illegal and incompetent  and called for a retrial in a public court.  mr sigarchi was sentenced one day after an online campaign highlighted his case in a day of action in defence of bloggers around the world.  the committee to protect bloggers designated 22 february 2005 as free mojtaba and arash day. around 10 000 people visited the campaign s website during the day. about 12% of users were based in iran  the campaign s director told the bbc news website. curt hopkins said mr sigarchi s sentence would not dent the resolve of bloggers joining the campaign to help highlight the case.  the eyes of 8 million bloggers are going to be more focused on iran since sigarchi s sentence  not less.  the mullahs won t be able to make a move without it be spread across the blogosphere.


broadband takes on tv viewing the number of europeans with broadband has exploded over the past 12 months  with the web eating into tv viewing habits  research suggests.  just over 54 million people are hooked up to the net via broadband  up from 34 million a year ago  according to market analysts nielsen/netratings. the total number of people online in europe has broken the 100 million mark. the popularity of the net has meant that many are turning away from tv  say analysts jupiter research. it found that a quarter of web users said they spent less time watching tv in favour of the net  the report by nielsen/netratings found that the number of people with fast internet access had risen by 60% over the past year.  the biggest jump was in italy  where it rose by 120%. britain was close behind  with broadband users almost doubling in a year. the growth has been fuelled by lower prices and a wider choice of always-on  fast-net subscription plans.  twelve months ago high speed internet users made up just over one third of the audience in europe; now they are more than 50% and we expect this number to keep growing   said gabrielle prior  nielsen/netratings analyst.  as the number of high-speed surfers grows  websites will need to adapt  update and enhance their content to retain their visitors and encourage new ones.  the total number of europeans online rose by 12% to 100 million over the past year  the report showed  with the biggest rise in france  italy  britain and germany.  the ability to browse web pages at high speed  download files such as music or films and play online games is changing what people do in their spare time.  a study by analysts jupiter research suggested that broadband was challenging television viewing habits. in homes with broadband  40% said they were spending less time watching tv. the threat to tv was greatest in countries where broadband was on the up  in particular the uk  france and spain  said the report. it said tv companies faced a major long-term threat over the next five years  with broadband predicted to grow from 19% to 37% of households by 2009.  year-on-year we are continuing to see a seismic shift in where  when and how europe s population consume media for information and entertainment and this has big implications for tv  newspaper and radio   said jupiter research analyst olivier beauvillian.


faith schools citizenship warning schools must improve the quality of citizenship lessons - or social cohesion and democracy will suffer  says the education watchdog.  independent faith schools were singled out by ofsted chief  david bell  for not doing enough to promote the  wider tenets of british society . mr bell said muslim  jewish and evangelical christian schools must be  intolerant of intolerance . diversity  certainly must not mean segregated or separate   he said. mr bell s speech called for a much greater effort in all types of schools to teach citizenship - with an accompanying survey showing that young people knew little about politics and had no enthusiasm to find out more.  badly-taught citizenship lessons have previously been criticised by mr bell  and in a speech to the hansard society  he warned that it was failing to pass on an understanding of democracy  public service and shared values. he highlighted his particular concern for citizenship in the growing number of independent faith schools - which he said included about 100 muslim  100 evangelical christian and 50 jewish schools.  mr bell expressed concern about schools which did not teach children enough about a  common heritage  and needed to do more to promote principles of mutual tolerance and social inclusion.  i worry that many young people are being educated in faith-based schools  with little appreciation of their wider responsibilities and obligations to british society   said mr bell. the ofsted chief said his forthcoming annual report would make particular reference to muslim schools.  many must adapt their curriculum to ensure that it provides pupils with a broad general knowledge of public institutions and services in england and helps them to acquire an appreciation of and respect for other cultures in a way that promotes tolerance and harmony.  mr bell said such questions of religion and cultural identity were  tricky issues . but he argued that  we must not allow our recognition of diversity to become apathy in the face of any challenge to our coherence as a nation .  i would go further and say that an awareness of our common heritage as british citizens  equal under the law  should enable us to assert with confidence that we are intolerant of intolerance  illiberalism and attitudes and values that demean the place of certain sections of our community  be they women or people living in non-traditional relationships   said mr bell.


british library gets wireless net visitors to the british library will be able to get wireless internet access alongside the extensive information available in its famous reading rooms.  broadband wireless connectivity will be made available in the eleven reading rooms  the auditorium  café  restaurant  and outdoor piazza area. a study revealed that 86% of visitors to the library carried laptops. the technology has been on trial since may and usage levels make the library london s most active public hotspot.  previously many were leaving the building to go to a nearby internet café to access their e-mail  the study found.  at the british library we are continually exploring ways in which technology can help us to improve services to our users   said lynne brindley  chief executive of the british library.  surveys we conducted recently confirmed that  alongside the materials they consult here  our users want to be able to access the internet when they are at the library for research or to communicate with colleagues   she said. the service will be priced at £4.50 for an hour s session or £35 for a monthly pass. the study  conducted by consultancy building zones  found that 16% of visitors came to the library to sit down and use it as a business centre. this could be because of its proximity to busy mainline stations such as kings cross and euston. the study also found that people were spending an average of six hours in the building  making it an ideal wireless hotspot. since may the service has registered 1 200 sessions per week  making it london s most active public hotspot. the majority of visitors wanted to be able to access their e-mail as well as the british library catalogue. the service has been rolled out in partnership with wireless provider the cloud and hewlett packard.  it will operate independently from the library s existing network. the british library receives around 3 000 visitors each day and serves around 500 000 readers each year. people come to view resources which include the world s largest collection of patents and the uk s most extensive collection of science  technology and medical information. the library receives between three and four million requests from remote users around the world each year.


ore costs hit global steel firms shares in steel firms have dropped worldwide amid concerns that higher iron ore costs will hit profit growth.  shares in germany s thyssenkrupp  the uk s corus and france s arcleor fell while japan s nippon steel slid after it agreed to pay 72% more for iron ore. china s baoshan iron and steel co. said it was delaying a share sale because of weak market conditions  adding it would raise steel prices to offset ore costs. the threat of higher raw material costs also hit industries such as carmakers. france s peugeot warned that its profits may decline this year as a result of the higher steel  plastic and commodity prices.  steelmakers have been enjoying record profits as demand for steel has risen  driven by the booming economies of countries such as china and india. steel prices rose by 8% globally in january alone and by 24% in china.  the boom times are far from over  but analysts say that earnings growth may slow. the share price fall was initially triggered by news that two of the world s biggest iron ore suppliers had negotiated contracts at much-higher prices. miners rio tinto and cia. vale do rio dolce (cvrd) this week managed to boost by 72% the price of their iron ore  a key component of steel. analysts had expected japan s nippon to agree to a price rise of between 40% and 50%. steel analyst peter fish  director of sheffield-based consulting group meps  said the extent of cvrd s price rise was  uncharted territory   adding that the steel industry  hasn t seen an increase of this magnitude probably in 50 years . analysts now expect other iron ore producers  such as australia s bhp billiton  to seek annual price rises of up to 70%.  the news triggered the share price weakness.  it sparked worries that steel makers might not be able to increase product prices further [ to cover rising ore costs]  explained kazuhiro takahashi of daiwa securities smbc. in europe  arcelor shed 2.1% to 17.58 euros in paris  with thyssenkrupp dropping 1.7% to 16.87 euros. in london  corus fell 2.2% to 55.57 pence. japan s biggest steel company nippon steel lost 2.5% to 270 yen  with closest rival jfe holdings down 3.4%. china s baoshan  the country s largest steel producer  said that the uncertainty surrounding the industry has prompted it to pull its planned share sale. the firm had been expected to offer 22.5bn yuan ($2.7bn) worth of shares to investors. no date has been given for when the 5 billion shares will come to the market. baoshan stock climbed on news of the delay and its decision to increase the price of its steel by 10%.


uk young top euro earnings league british children enjoy the highest average annual income in europe - more than double that of spanish or italian youngsters  a report suggests.  children in the uk between the ages of 10 and 17 had an annual income of £775  said market analyst datamonitor. they use  pester power  to get their parents to stump up nearly a third of this income  the report said. as for how they spend their cash  the bulk goes on personal care  soft drinks and food  datamonitor said.  datamonitor adds that british teenagers are keen on personal care because it helps them combine two seemingly contradictory emotional needs - the desire to fit in and the desire to express their individuality.  british teenage girls  compared to their counterparts in seven european countries  are the most keen to use make-up products. nearly three out of four girls said they used make-up. according to the datamonitor report the trend marked british teenagers out as  particularly important to cosmetics manufacturers as they are likely to experiment more with brands and products and form long-term beauty routines . and the good times are likely to keep rolling for british children  as the report predicts that they will still be topping the earnings table in 2008.


aaliyah claim dismissed by court late r&b star aaliyah s record company has failed in an attempt to sue the video producer who booked the ill-fated flight on which she died in 2001.  a new york appeals court has told blackground records that only the singer s parents had the right to launch a claim for wrongful death. the 22-year-old singer s family came to an undisclosed settlement over a negligence claim in 2003. aaliyah had completed a music video when the plane crashed in the bahamas. she and eight others were killed on the plane  which crashed as if left for florida. blackground records  lawyer frank penski said he had yet to examine the decision and did not know whether they would pursue the case.  an investigation into the crash revealed the twin-engined cessna was overloaded by 700 pounds (320kg). a post-mortem carried out on the remains of the pilot showed there was cocaine and alcohol in his body. aaliyah was a rising star in music and film before she was killed. she was honoured with a string of posthumous awards and her single more than a woman went to number one in the uk.


almagro continues spanish surge unseeded nicolas almagro became the fifth spaniard to reach the last eight at the buenos aires open  ousting eighth seed mariano zabaleta.  he showed admirable resolve to win a rain-affected match 6-7 6-4 6-4. compatriot and seventh seed rafael nadal also reached the last eight  beating italian potito starace 6-1 6-3. nadal  playing in the outdoor clay event for the first time  hit some powerful forehands to oust starace in a match delayed over an hour by rain.  it s always a problem to have to stop for rain but one gets used to it   said spanish teenager nadal.  luckily  i was able to keep my pace going throughout the match.  he will now play gaston gaudio  who beat unseeded brazilian flavio saretta 6-3 6-2 in the day s late match.


robinson out of six nations england captain jason robinson will miss the rest of the six nations because of injury.  robinson  stand-in captain in the absence of jonny wilkinson  had been due to lead england in their final two games against italy and scotland. but the sale full-back pulled out of the squad on wednesday because of a torn ligament in his right thumb. the 30-year-old will undergo an operation on friday but england have yet to name a replacement skipper.  robinson said:  this is very disappointing for me as this means i miss england s last two games in the six nations at twickenham and two games for my club  sale sharks.  but i m looking to be back playing very early in april.   robinson picked up the injury in the 19-13 defeat to ireland at lansdowne road on saturday. and coach andy robinson said:  i am hugely disappointed for jason.  as england captain he has been an immense figure during the autumn internationals and the six nations  leading by example at all times. i look forward to having him back in the england squad.  the announcement is the latest setback for robinson s injury-depleted squad.  among the key figures already missing are jonny wilkinson  mike tindall  will greenwood  julian white and phil vickery - a list which leaves robinson short on candidates for the now vacant captaincy role. former england skipper jeremy guscott told bbc radio five live his choice would be matt dawson  even though he is does not hold a regular starting place.   the obvious choice is dawson  said guscott.  especially given that harry ellis did not have his best game at scrum-half on saturday.  dawson has the credentials and the experience  even though his winning record at captain is not great.  the other option in martin corry  who is the standout forward at the moment.  unfortunately england cannot rely on leaders on the field at the moment.  england will announce their squad for the 12 march game against italy on saturday.


mourinho takes swipe at arsenal chelsea boss jose mourinho has attempted to pile the pressure on title rivals arsenal ahead of the gunners facing newcastle on wednesday.  arsenal will play the magpies a day after chelsea beat portsmouth during a busy festive programme. and mourinho said:  they always seem to have two or three days  rest in which to recover. perhaps it s something to do with the television schedule.  all my players are tired  especially john terry.   chelsea boss jose mourinho admitted his side were  lucky  to win at fratton park but is still unhappy with the amount of games in such a short space of time during this time of year. he added:  we have had to play two matches in three days which is foreign to many of my players and  although i understand the traditions of football here at this time of year  it is not good for your health to do it.   you can sit back and smoke cigars  one after another  and it is a good life  but it is not actually good for you.  playing so many games is certainly not healthy  especially for teams who still have european commitment.


us bank in $515m sec settlement five bank of america subsidiaries have agreed to pay a total of $515m (£277m) to settle an investigation into fraudulent trading share practices.  the us securities and exchange commission announced the settlements  the latest in an industry-wide clean-up of us mutual funds. the sec also said it had brought fraud charges against two ex-senior executives of columbia distributor. columbia distributor was part of fleetboston  bought by boa last year. three other ex-columbia executives agreed settlements with the sec.  the sec has set itself the task of stamping out the mutual funds  use of market-timing  a form of quick-fire  short-term share trading that harms the interests of small investors  with whom mutual funds are particularly popular. in the last two years  it has imposed penalties totalling nearly $2bn on 15 funds. the sec unveiled two separate settlements  one covering boa s direct subsidiaries  and another for businesses that were part of fleetboston at the time. in both cases  it said there had been secret deals to engage in market timing in mutual fund shares. the sec agreed a deal totalling $375m with banc of america capital management  bacap distributors and banc of america securities. it was made up of $250m to pay back gains from market timing  and $125m in penalties. it is to be paid to the damaged funds and their shareholders. separately  the sec said it had reached a $140m deal - equally split between penalties and compensation - in its probe into columbia management advisors (cam) and columbia funds distributor (cfd) and three ex-columbia executives. these businesses became part of boa when it snapped up rival bank fleetboston in a $47bn merger last march.  the sec filed civil fraud charges in a boston federal court against james tambone  who it says headed cfd s sales operations  and his alleged second in command robert hussey. the sec is pressing for the highest tier of financial penalties against the pair for  multiple violations   repayment of any personal gains  and an injunction to prevent future breaches  a spokeswoman for the sec s boston office told the bbc. there was no immediate comment from the men s  lawyers. the sec s settlement with cam and cfd included agreements with three other ex-managers  peter martin  erik gustafson and joseph palombo  who paid personal financial penalties of between $50-100 000.


parties  plans for council tax anger at council tax rises spilled over into mass protests in 2003  when the average english bill rose 12.9%.  pensioners  protests spread - some marched  others simply refused to pay the increase. some  such as 83-year-old elizabeth winkfield  said they would rather go to jail. the audit commission found the whole local government finance system was  fundamentally flawed  and all three of the main parties have said the system has to change.  labour says it wants to retain the property-based tax but reform it to make it fairer and says there is scope for councils to become more efficient. they say they are already helping pensioners with council tax bills  with a £100 lump sum for the over-70s and last year the government capped some local councils  budgets to keep demands down. deputy prime minister john prescott has said the current system is not sustainable in the long term and said there would be  radical reform . the party says this year s increases will be the lowest in a decade. a report last year looked at increasing the number of council tax bands and other forms of local taxation  such as reformed business rates  although no decisions have been made. an independent inquiry into its findings  the lyons review  is due to report back at the end of 2005.  the tories have promised a reduction on bills for pensioners  who they say have been hardest hit by year-on-year increases in council tax. they say they can save £4bn on  government waste   of which £1.3bn could be used to cut pensioners  bills by an average of £340. it would not be means tested  say the tories  because that would create more bureaucracy and could discourage people from saving for their retirement. instead households where council tax payers are over 65 would get a rebate covering half their bill  up to a maximum of £500. the tories also say they are suspicious about any proposals to revalue homes - currently graded according to their value in 1991 - because they believe seven million of homes could move up a band.  the liberal democrats want to do away with the council tax altogether and switch to a local income tax of the kind seen in the usa  norway and switzerland. the rate would be set locally  but administered by the inland revenue which they say would save at least £300m. they say the council tax is the most unpopular and most unfair tax in britain  because it puts a  ceiling  on what the richest pay. the party says it would aim for a £5 000 tax-free personal allowance  or a £7 000 allowance for the over-65s. after that income would be taxed up to £100 000. the lib dems say their plan is fairer  more efficient  has already been tested abroad and offers more accountability.


fannie mae  should restate books  us mortgage company fannie mae should restate its earnings  a move that is likely to put a billion-dollar dent in its accounts  watchdogs have said.  the securities & exchange commission accused fannie mae of using techniques that  did not comply in material respects  with accounting standards. fannie mae last month warned that some records were incorrect. the other main us mortgage firm freddie mac restated earnings by $5bn (£2.6bn) last year after a probe of its books. the sec s comments are likely to increase pressure on congress to strengthen supervision of fannie mae and freddie mac.  the two firms are key parts of the us financial system and effectively underwrite the mortgage market  financing nearly half of all american house purchases and dealing actively in bonds and other financial instruments. the investigation of freddie mac in june 2003 sparked concerns about the wider health of the industry and raised questionsmarks over the role of the office of federal housing enterprise oversight (ofheo)  the industry s main regulator. having been pricked into action  the ofheo turned its attention to fannie may and in september this year said that the firm had tweaked its books to spread earnings more smoothly across quarters and play down the amount of risk it had taken on. the sec found similar problems. the watchdog s chief accountant donald nicolaisen said that  fannie mae s methodology of assessing  measuring and documenting hedge ineffectiveness was inadequate and was not supported  by generally accepted accounting principles.


apple laptop is  greatest gadget  the apple powerbook 100 has been chosen as the greatest gadget of all time  by us magazine mobile pc.  the 1991 laptop was chosen because it was one of the first  lightweight  portable computers and helped define the layout of all future notebook pcs. the magazine has compiled an all-time top 100 list of gadgets  which includes the sony walkman at number three and the 1956 zenith remote control at two. gadgets needed moving parts and/or electronics to warrant inclusion. the magazine staff compiled the list and specified that gadgets also needed to be a  self-contained apparatus that can be used on its own  not a subset of another device .   in general we included only items that were potentially mobile   said the magazine.   in the end  we tried to get to the heart of what really makes a gadget a gadget   it concluded. the oldest  gadget  in the top 100 is the abacus  which the magazine dates at 190 a.d.  and put in 60th place. other pre-electronic gadgets in the top 100 include the sextant from 1731 (59th position)  the marine chronometer from 1761 (42nd position) and the kodak brownie camera from 1900 (28th position). the tivo personal video recorder is the newest device to make the top 10  which also includes the first flash mp3 player (diamond multimedia)  as well as the first  successful  digital camera (casio qv-10) and mobile phone (motorola startac). the most popular gadget of the moment  the apple ipod  is at number 12 in the list while the first sony transistor radio is at number 13.  sony s third entry in the top 20 is the cdp-101 cd player from 1983.  who can forget the crystalline  hiss-free blast of madonna s like a virgin emanating from their first cd player   asked the magazine. karl elsener s knife  the swiss army knife from 1891  is at number 20 in the list. gadgets which could be said to feature surprisingly low down in the list include the original telephone (23rd)  the nintendo gameboy (25th)  and the pulsar quartz digital watch (36th). the list also contains plenty of oddities: the pez sweet dispenser (98th)  1990s toy tamagotchi (86th) and the bizarre ronco inside the shell egg scrambler (84th).  almost everyone has a mobile phone  how many people own a powerbook  or an ipod  the findings of this magazine are not very convincing.  what about the magnetic compass  we still use it 1 000 years after it was invented.  i am amazed by the obsession with individual gadgets rather than genre. for example the sony walkman was the first truly portable way of listening to your own music on the move whereas minidisc  flash mp3  portable cd players etc. are really just improvements in technology.  my favourite  true  gadgets are probably my portable minidisc player and the little battery powered whizzy thing i use to froth up my coffee!  calm down it s only in their opinion  and any list that includes the taser in the top 100 gadgets has to be suspect....  swiss army knife and no question about it. how many of the other items are still relatively unchanged from the original idea and still as useful/popular  you don t need a laptop or even a pocket calculator to work that one out!  this list merely illustrates interesting cultural divides between the american authors and the overwhelmingly british responses. brits see no further than mobile phones and the over thirties sinclair; whilst the americans focus on apple  tv remotes and tivo (which probably is rather obscure in europe).  what about the soda stream. this gadget changed my pre-teen life. lap tops may enable you to  think different  but you cant use them to  get busy with the fizzy   how about astro wars  one of the pioneers for computer games  i remember spending many an hour playing this and it still works today! however tried it the other day and it was rubbish  still a great gadget of its time.  why worry about mobile phones. soon they will be subsumed into the pda s / laptops etc.  what about the marine chronometer  completely revolutionised navigation for boats and was in use for centuries. for it s time  a technological marvel!  sony net minidisc! it paved the way for more mp3 player to explode onto the market. i always used my netmd  and could not go anywhere without it.  a laptop computer is not a gadget! it s a working tool!  the sinclair executive was the world s first pocket calculator. i think this should be there as well.  how about the clockwork radio  or gps  or a pocket calculator  all these things are useful to real people  not just pc magazine editors.  are the people who created this list insane   surely the most important gadget of the modern age is the mobile phone  it has revolutionised communication  which is more than can be said for a niche market laptop. from outside the modern age  the marine chronometer is the single most important gadget  without which modern transportation systems would not have evolved so quickly.  has everyone forgot about the breville pie maker    an interesting list. of the electronic gadgets  thousands of journalists in the early 1980s blessed the original noteboook pc - the tandy 100. the size of a4 paper and light  three weeks on a set of batteries  an excellent keyboard  a modem. a pity tandy did not make it dos compatible.  what s an apple powerbook 100   it s out of date - not much of a  gadget . surely it has to be something simple / timeless - the tin opener  swiss army knife  safety razor blade  wristwatch or the thing for taking stones out of horses hooves    it has to be the mobile phone. no other single device has had such an effect on our way of living in such a short space of time.  the ball point pen has got to be one of the most used and common gadgets ever. also many might be grateful for the pocket calculator which was a great improvement over the slide rule.  the casio pocket calculator that played a simple game and made tinny noises was also a hot gadget in 1980. a true gadget  it could be carried around and shown off.  all top 10 are electronic toys  so the list is probably a better reflection of the current high-tech obsession than anything else. i say this as the swiss army knife only made no 20.  sinclair ql a machine far ahead of its time. the first home machine with a true multi-takings os. shame the marketing was so bad!!!  apple.. a triumph of fashion over... well everything else.  utter rubbish. yes  the apple laptop and sony walkman are classic gadgets. but to call the sextant and the marine chronometer  gadgets  and rank them as less important than a tv remote control reveals a quite shocking lack of historical perspective. the former literally helped change the world by vastly improving navigation at see. the latter is the seed around which the couch potato culture has developed. no competition.  i d also put apple s newton and the first palm pilot there as the front runners for portable computing  and possibly the toshiba libretto for the same reason. i only wish that vulcan inc s flipstart wasn t just vapourware otherwise it would be at the top.  how did a laptop ever manage to beat off the challenge of the wristwatch or the telephone (mobile or otherwise)  what about radios and tvs   the swiss army knife. by far the most useful gadget. i got mine 12 years ago. still wearing and using it a lot! it stood the test of time.  psion organiser series 3  should be up there. had a usable qwerty keyboard  removable storage  good set of apps and programmable. case design was good (batteries in the hinge - a first  i think). great product innovation.  the first mobile pc was voted best gadget by readers of...err... mobile pc ! why do you keep putting these obviously biased lists on your site  it s obviously the mobile phone or remote control  and readers of a less partisan publication would tell you that.  the motorola startac should be number one. why  there will be mobile phones long after notebook computers and other gadgets are either gone or integrated in communications devices.  the psion series 3c! the first most practical way to carry all your info around...  i too would back the sinclair spectrum - without this little beauty i would never have moved into the world of it and earn the living that i do now.  i d have put the mobile phone high up the list. probably a nokia model.  sinclair spectrum - 16k. it plugged into the tv. games were rubbish but it gave me a taste for programming and that s what i do for a living now.  i wish more modern notebooks -- even apple s newest offerings -- were more like the pb100. particularly disheartening is the demise of the trackball  which has given way to the largely useless  trackpad  which every notebook on the market today uses. they re invariably inaccurate  uncomfortable  and cumbersome to use.  congratulations to apple  a deserved win!


robots march to us cinema summit animated movie robots has opened at the top of the us and canada box office chart  taking $36.5m (£19m) on its first weekend on release.  featuring the voices of ewan mcgregor  halle berry  robin williams and mel brooks  robots follows a robot inventor who moves to a big city. vin diesel s family comedy the pacifier fell to the number two spot  taking $18.1m (£9.4m). new bruce willis movie hostage opened at number four with $9.8m (£5.1m).  however  a recut version of mel gibson s the passion of the christ  which featured less violence than last year s original movie  took just $239 850 (£125 000)  despite opening in 957 cinemas. the new version of the film received little publicity and the original version is available across the us on dvd.  we certainly had higher expectations than what we got   said rob schwartz  head of distribution for newmarket films  which released the passion of the christ.  we were trying to get the film out there  hoping it would reach an audience that it didn t quite reach the first time around. it doesn t seem to have worked out quite as well as we had hoped.  meanwhile  will smith comedy hitch has become the top film at the global box office after taking an estimated $30.1m (£15.6m) over the weekend at cinemas outside north america  according to industry website screen daily. it has taken $65.5m (£34.1m) so far  buoyed by opening at number one in the uk last weekend and a successful run in germany. the movie  which cost a reported $70m (£36.4m) to make  has taken $138m (£72m) in the us so far.


s korea spending boost to economy south korea will boost state spending next year in an effort to create jobs and kick start its sputtering economy.  it has earmarked 100 trillion won ($96bn) for the first six months of 2005  60% of its total annual budget. the government s main problems are  slumping consumption and a contraction in the construction industry . it aims to create 400 000 jobs and will focus on infrastructure and home building  as well as providing public firms with money to hire new workers.  the government has set an economic growth rate target of 5% for next year and hinted that would be in danger unless it took action.  internal and external economic conditions are likely to remain unfavourable in 2005   the finance and economy ministry said in a statement.  it blamed  continuing uncertainties such as fluctuating oil prices and foreign exchange rates and stagnant domestic demand that has shown few signs of a quick rebound . in 2004  growth will be between 4.7% and 4.8%  the ministry said. not everyone is convinced the plan will work.  our primary worry centres on the what we believe is the government s overly optimistic view that its front loading of the budget will be enough to turn the economy around   consultancy 4cast said in a report.  the problem facing south korea is that many consumers are reeling from the effects of a credit bubble that only recently burst. millions of south koreans are defaulting on their credit card bills  and the country s biggest card lender has been hovering on the verge of bankruptcy for months. as part of its spending plans  the government said it will ask firms to  roll over mortgage loans that come due in the first half of 2005  . it also pledged to look at ways of helping families on low incomes.  the government voiced concern about the effect of redundancies in the building trade.  given the economic spill over and employment effect in the construction sector  a sharp downturn in the construction industry could have other adverse effects   the ministry said.  as a result  south korea will give private companies also will be given the chance to build schools  hospitals  houses and other public buildings. it also will look at real estate tax system. other plans on the table include promoting new industries such as bio-technology and nano-technology  as well as offering increased support to small and medium sized businesses.  the focus will be on job creation and economic recovery  given that unfavourable domestic and global conditions are likely to dog the korean economy in 2005   the ministry said.


iaaf awaits greek pair s response kostas kenteris and katerina thanou are yet to respond to doping charges from the international association of athletics federations (iaaf).  the greek pair were charged after missing a series of routine drugs tests in tel aviv  chicago and athens. they have until midnight on 16 december and an iaaf spokesman said:  we re sure their responses are on their way.  if they do not respond or their explanations are rejected  they will be provisionally banned from competition. they will then face a hearing in front of the greek federation  which will ultimately determine their fate. their former coach christos tzekos has also been charged with distributing banned substances. under iaaf rules  the athletes could receive a maximum one-year suspension. kenteris and thanou already face a criminal trial after being charged with avoiding a drug test on the eve of the athens olympics and then faking a motorcyle crash.  no date for the trial has yet been set and again tzekos is also facing charges. the iaaf issued an official warning to the trio last year after they were discovered training in qatar rather than in crete  where they had said they would be. all athletes must inform their national federations where they are at all times  so they can be available for out-of-competition drugs tests. but kenteris and thanou then went on to skip tests in tel aviv and chicago  when they decided to fly back to greece early. then just before the olympics  the pair dramatically missed another test in athens and withdrew from the games.


at a glance: tory health checks the uk  opposition conservatives have unveiled plans to introduce health checks for immigrants if they win the general election. here s a guide to the plan:  people coming to live and work in britain from outside the eu. if they plan to stay six months or more and are from a country with lots of tb  they would have to have a chest x-ray and further tests if appropriate. all people from outside the european union who want to stay a year or more will have to undergo a full medical.  tuberculosis  hepatitis b and hiv. a positive test for tb would automatically mean visa applications being turned down. all other conditions would be dealt with on a case by case basis.  people would have to prove they have an acceptable standard of health and are unlikely to be a danger to public health in the uk  or impose significant costs or demands on the nhs. they would also  if appropriate  have to be able to undertake the work or study they applied to come here for.  people coming to britain for less than six months would not be medically tested unless they intended to work in health care  childcare or teaching. children and pregnant women wanting to live in britain permanently would not have to have a chest x-ray for tb. under 16s would not face tests for hepatitis and hiv.  the tories say people fleeing persecution will not be denied sanctuary in britain because of poor health. however  they will undergo health checks to ensure they receive the right medical treatment and do not spread infectious diseases.  they claim government figures show that tb in england has increased by 25% over the last 10 years and that nearly two-thirds of people with the disease were born overseas. they also believe there should be stricter controls over who comes into britain to ensure they are not a public health risk. they say the plans will protect access to the nhs.  applicants will be tested in their home country. only asylum seekers will be tested in the uk once their refugee status is established.  home office minister des browne says the government already routinely checks people for tb if they come into the uk for six months or more from high-risk countries. recent medical checks were carried out on 175 000 people at heathrow airport and 10 000 at gatwick. from those tests  about 100 infectious cases of tb were found.  the tories say 47 other countries across the world impose requirements of this kind. the party has looked at the way the system is operated in australia  canada and new zealand. the tory proposals are  quite closely modelled  on the new zealand system.  labour claims the policy is little more than a  desperate attempt to catch up with labour s five-year plan  for immigration and asylum  which was published last week. this says health screening for tb will be targeted on applicants from high-risk areas before they are given entry clearance. those who are diagnosed with the disease would then need to seek treatment at home before being allowed to enter the uk. the liberal democrats have warned labour and the tories they were  in danger of pandering to prejudice rather than challenging it .


hacker threat to apple s itunes users of apple s music jukebox itunes need to update the software to avoid a potential security threat.  hackers can build malicious playlist files which could crash the program and let them seize control of the computer by inserting trojan code. a new version of itunes is now available from the apple website which solves the problem. security firm idefence  which notified users of the problem  recommended that users upgrade to itunes version 4.7.1. the problem affects all users of itunes - windows and mac os - running versions 4.7 and earlier. users can automatically upgrade itunes by opening the  look for updates  window in the program. the security firm says users should avoid clicking on or accessing playlist files - which have the file extension of .pls or .m3u - which have come from unknown sources. itunes is the world s most popular online music store with more than 200 million songs downloaded since it launched in 2003.


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


act on detention ruling  uk urged the government must act quickly on the law lords  ruling that detention of foreign terror suspects without trial is unlawful  mary robinson has said.  the former un commissioner for human rights and irish president told radio 4 s today the government s response would be scrutinised internationally.  it would be very troubling if the government did not accept the judgement and then work within it   she said. home secretary charles clarke has said detainees will not be freed at present. speaking to parliament on his first day in office as home secretary following david blunkett s resignation  mr clarke said:  i will be asking parliament to renew this legislation in the new year.  in the meantime  we will be studying the judgement carefully to see whether it is possible to modify our legislation to address the concerns raised by the house of lords.   mrs robinson said the law lords  ruling was  in line with international legal opinion  and praised their  very decisive  eight to one majority.  what the law lords did was acknowledge the role of the government  but say that there had been a disproportionate use  that it amounted to executive detention and it was discriminatory because it didn t apply to british citizens   she said.  mrs robinson warned that a lack of action by the british government could lead to further action in legal arenas such as the european court of human rights in strasbourg.  if the government were not to accept this ruling then there is further redress  including possible damages for the individuals who could claim that the government either was tardy or was resisting the implications of the judgement of the law lords.  she said a meeting of the club of madrid - a group of former world leaders - to be held in the spanish capital on the march anniversary of the train bombings there would probably discuss the ruling and its implications.  i have no doubt that this judgement will be looked at  both as a very positive step in clarifying the law and restating the fundamental principles  but also the response of the british government will be under quite a clear international scrutiny there.   the detainees took their case to the house of lords after the court of appeal backed the home office s powers to hold them without limit or charge. the government opted out of part of the european convention on human rights concerning the right to a fair trial in order to bring in anti-terrorism legislation in response to the 11 september attacks in the us. any foreign national suspected of links with terrorism can be detained or can opt to be deported. the law lords said the rules were incompatible with the european convention on human rights as they allowed detentions  in a way that discriminates on the ground of nationality or immigration status . the case was heard by a panel of nine law lords rather than the usual five because of the constitutional importance of the case.


spector facing more legal action music producer phil spector is facing legal action from the mother of the actress he has been accused of killing.  donna clarkson  whose daughter lana was found dead in mr spector s home in february 2003  is seeking unspecified damages in a civil action. the legal action accuses mr spector of murdering the actress at his la home. mr spector is currently free on $1m (£535 000) bail and is awaiting trial. the 64-year-old has denied the killing  saying her death was accidental.  ms clarkson s legal action  filed in los angeles superior court  also accuses mr spector of negligence and battery  alleging he  grabbed  hit  fought with and restrained  lana clarkson before shooting her to death. her lawyers said in a statement:  the clarkson family had hoped that there would be some resolution with regard to the criminal proceedings before moving forward with the civil action.  however  ms clarkson and her family understand that the fair administration of justice takes time and in light of the numerous changes mr spector has made in his legal defence team over the last two years  ms clarkson was forced to file the action before (the statute of limitations expired) on 3 february 2005.  mr spector  known for his work with the beatles  has claimed that lana clarkson committed suicide. his lawyers  led by bruce cutler  have vowed to prove him innocent at trial.  mr cutler said:  phil did not cause the death of this woman  he s not criminally responsible and he s not civilly responsible either.  but i m not surprised they filed a suit for money  that seems to be de rigueur nowadays.  a los angeles superior court judge is expected to set a trial date later this month for spector  who was indicted on murder charges in september. roderick lindblom  one of ms clarkson s lawyers  said:  our intent is to let the criminal proceedings go forward and not do anything that would interfere with the prosecution.


howl helps boost japan s cinemas japan s box office received a 3.8% boost last year  with ticket sales worth 211bn yen (£1.08bn).  the surge was led by animated movie howl s moving castle  which took 20bn yen (£102m) to become the biggest film in japan in 2004. it is expected to match the 30.7bn yen (£157m) record of hayao miyazaki s previous film spirited away. japan motion picture producers figures showed that 170 million cinema admissions were made in japan in 2004. the last samurai  starring tom cruise  was the biggest foreign movie hit in japan last year  taking 13.8bn yen (£70.7m).  it was followed by harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban  finding nemo and the lord of the rings: the return of the king. the second highest-grossing japanese film was romantic drama crying out love in the centre of the world  followed by be with you and pocket monsters advanced generation. japanese films accounted for 37.5% of japan s box office total last year  with foreign films taking the remaining 62.5%. this represented a 4.5% gain for the proportion of japanese films in 2004 compared to 2003. the number of japanese films released rose to 310 in 2004 from 287 the previous year. sales of movies on dvd and video amounted to 497bn yen (£2.54bn) for the year.


algeria hit by further gas riots algeria suffered a weekend of violent protests against government plans to raise gas prices  local press reports.  demonstrators in a number of regions blocked roads  attacked public buildings and overturned vehicles  newspapers including el watan reported. the price of butane gas  a vital fuel for cooking  has risen to 200 dinars ($2.77) per canister from 170 dinars. even before the hike  failing economic conditions had been fanning resentment in some of algeria s poorest regions.  demonstrators took to the streets last week when the cost change was first announced  but police seemed to have restored order. according to local press reports  trouble flared up again on saturday and carried on into sunday. el watan said that a number of hot spots centred on the villages and towns close to bouira  about 100 kilometres (60 miles) south of the capital algiers. among the other main areas affected were the western tiaret region and sidi ammar in the east of the country  agence france presse (afp) reported. riots also flared up in the maghnia region close to the border with morocco in the west  afp said. butane gas and fuel oil are used as the main source of fuel to heat homes and cook food in algeria s remote mountain areas.


format wars could  confuse users  technology firms sony  philips  matsushita and samsung are developing a common way to stop people pirating digital music and video.  the firms want to make a system that ensures files play on the hardware they make but also thwarts illegal copying. the move could mean more confusion for consumers already faced by many different  and conflicting  content control systems  experts warned. they say there are no guarantees the system will even prevent piracy.  currently many online stores wrap up downloadable files in an own-brand control system that means they can only be played on a small number of media players. systems that limit what people can do with the files they download are known as digital rights management systems. by setting up the alliance to work on a common control system  the firms said they hope to end this current fragmentation of file formats. in a joint statement the firms said they wanted to let consumers enjoy  appropriately licensed video and music on any device  independent of how they originally obtained that content . the firms hope that it will also make it harder for consumers to make illegal copies of the music  movies and other digital content they have bought. called the marlin joint development association  the alliance will define basic specifications that every device made by the electronics firms will conform to. marlin will be built on technology from rights management firm intertrust as well as an earlier drm system developed by a group known as the coral consortium.  the move is widely seen as a way for the four firms to decide their own destiny on content control systems instead of having to sign up for those being pushed by apple and microsoft. confusingly for consumers  the technology that comes out of the alliance will sit alongside the content control systems of rival firms such as microsoft and apple.  in many ways the different drm systems are akin to the different physical formats  such as betamax and vhs  that consumers have seen in the past   said ian fogg  personal technology and broadband analyst at jupiter research.  the difference is that it is very fragmented   he said.  it s not a two-horse race  it s a five  six  seven or even eight-horse race  mr fogg said consumers had to be very careful when buying digital content to ensure that it would play on the devices they own. he said currently there were even incompatibilities within drm families. although initiatives such as microsoft s  plays for sure  program could help remove some of the uncertainty  he said  life was likely to be confusing for consumers for some time to come.  shelley taylor  analyst and author of a report about online music services  said the locks and limits on digital files were done to maximise the cash that firms can make from consumers. apple s itunes service was a perfect example of this  she said.  although itunes has been hugely successful  apple could not justify its existence if it did not help sell all those ipods   she said.  she said rampant competition between online music services  of which there are now 230 according to recent figures  could drive more openness and freer file formats.  it always works out that consumer needs win out in the long run   she said   and the services that win in the long run are the ones that listen to consumers earliest.  ms taylor said the limits legal download services place on files could help explain the continuing popularity of file-sharing systems that let people get hold of pirated pop.  people want portability   she said   and with peer-to-peer they have 100% portability.  cory doctorow  european co-ordinator for the electronic frontier foundation which campaigns for consumers on many cyber-rights issues  expressed doubts that the marlin system would achieve its aims.  not one of these systems has ever prevented piracy or illegal copying   he said. he said many firms readily admit that their drm systems are little protection against skilled attackers such as the organised crime gangs that are responsible for most piracy. instead  said mr doctorow  drm systems were intended to control the group that electronics firms have most hold over - consumers.  the studios and labels perceive an opportunity to sell you your media again and again - the ipod version  the auto version  the american and uk version  the ringtone version  and so on.


bush to outline  toughest  budget president bush is to send his toughest budget proposals to date to the us congress  seeking large cuts in domestic spending to lower the deficit.  about 150 federal programs could be cut or axed altogether as part of a $2.5 trillion (£1.3 trillion) package aimed at curbing the giant us budget deficit. defence spending will rise  however  while the proposals exclude the cost of continuing military operations in iraq. vice-president dick cheney said the budget was the  tightest  so far.  at the heart of the administration s fifth budget  presented to congress on monday  is an austere package of domestic measures. these would see discretionary spending rise below the projected level of inflation.  such belt-tightening is designed to tackle the massive budget deficit increases of president bush s first term. mr cheney admitted that the budget was the toughest of the bush presidency but argued it was  fair and responsible .  it is not something we have done with a meat axe  nor are we suddenly turning our back on the most needy people in our society   he said. the wars in iraq and afghanistan  increased expenditure on national security after 9/11 and the 2001 recession wiped out the budget surplus inherited by president bush in 2001 and turned it into a record deficit. the shortfall is projected to rise to $427bn in 2005.  education  environmental protection and transport initiatives are set to be scaled back as a first step towards reducing the deficit to $230bn by 2009.  most controversially  the government is seeking to cut the medicaid budget  which provides health care to the nation s poorest  by $45bn and to reduce farm subsidies by $587m. spending on defence and homeland security is set to increase  although not by as much as originally planned. president bush s proposals would see the pentagon s budget rise by $19bn to $419.3bn while homeland security would get an extra $2bn.  the budget does not include the cost of running military operations in iraq and afghanistan  for which the administration in expected to seek an extra $80bn from congress later this year.  also not featuring in the proposals is the cost of funding the administration s radical proposed overhaul of social security provision. some expects believe this could require borrowing of up to $4.5bn trillion over a twenty year period. despite the republicans holding a majority in both houses of congress  the proposals will be fiercely contested over the next few months.  john mccain  a republican senator  said he was pleased the administration was prepared to tackle the deficit.  with the deficits that we are now running  i am glad the president is coming over with a very austere budget   he said. however  democratic senator kent conrad said the proposals exposed the country to huge financial commitments beyond 2009.  the cost of everything he [president bush] advocates explodes   he said.


firefox browser takes on microsoft microsoft s internet explorer has a serious rival in the long-awaited firefox 1.0 web browser  which has just been released.  few people get excited when some new software is released  especially when the program is not a game or a music or movie player. but the release of the first full version of firefox has managed to drum up a respectable amount of pre-launch fervour. fans of the software have banded together to raise cash to pay for an advert in the new york times announcing that version 1.0 of the browser is available. the release of firefox 1.0 on 9 november might even cause a few heads to turn at microsoft because the program is steadily winning people away from the software giant s internet explorer browser.  firefox has been created by the mozilla foundation which was started by former browser maker netscape back in 1998. much of the development work done since then has gone into firefox which made its first appearance under this name in february. earlier incarnations  but which had the same core technology  were called phoenix and firebird. since then the software has been gaining praise and converts  not least because of the large number of security problems that have come to light in microsoft s internet explorer. rivals to ie got a boost in late june when two us computer security organisations warned people to avoid the microsoft program to avoid falling victim to a serious vulnerability.  internet monitoring firm websidestory has charted the growing population of people using the firefox browser and says it is responsible for slowly eroding the stranglehold of ie. before july this year  according to websidestory  internet explorer was used by about 95% of web surfers. that figure had remained static for years. in july the ie using population dropped to 94.7% and by the end of october stood at 92.9%. the mozilla foundation claims that firefox has been downloaded almost eight million times and has publicly said it would be happy to garner 10% of the windows- using  net-browsing population. firefox is proving popular because  at the moment  it has far fewer security holes than internet explorer and has some innovations lacking in microsoft s program. for instance  firefox allows the pages of different websites to be arranged as tabs so users can switch easily between them. it blocks pop-ups  has a neat way of finding text on a page and lets you search through the pages you have browsed.  one of the most powerful features of firefox is the many hundreds of extras  or extensions  produced for it. the mozilla foundation is an open source organisation which means that the creators of the browser are happy for others to play around with the core code for the program. this has resulted in many different add-ons or extensions for the browser which now include everything from a version of the familiar google toolbar to a homeland security monitor that keep users aware of current threat levels. firefox  which used to be called firebird and before that phoenix  also has a growing number of vocal net-based fans. a campaign co-ordinated by the spread firefox website attempted to raise the $50 000 needed for a full page advert in the new york times. the campaign set itself a target of recruiting 2500 volunteers. ten days in to the campaign 10 000 people had signed up and now about $250 000 has been raised. the ad is due to run sometime in a three-week period in late november/early december. the surplus cash will be used to help keep the mozilla foundation running. microsoft is facing a growing challenge to ie s hold on the web using population. from alternative browsers such as opera  safari  amaya and even netscape.


tarantino to direct csi episode film director quentin tarantino is to direct an episode of us television series csi: crime scene investigation.  the oscar-winning pulp fiction director has also written an original story for the season finale episode. csi s co-producer  carol mendelsohn  said the episode would have  more bugs and blood  than usual. it is not tarantino s first venture into tv. in 1995 he directed an episode of the medical drama er and has also appeared in alias.  ms mendelsohn said the production team had been trying for a while to get tarantino to direct an episode of csi  and added that he was a fan of the forensic drama. she said he finally agreed a few weeks ago while csi was doing some location shooting in las vegas and the show s stars persuaded him.  he knows everything there is to know about csi  and he is into the whole mythology of csi   mendelsohn said.  quentin came in a couple of weeks ago. we had a story meeting with the writers.  he had a great idea  and it was so much fun to have him in the room... we are positively giddy.  filming is due to start in early april and the tarantino-directed episode will be broadcast in the us on 19 may.


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


eastwood s baby scoops top oscars clint eastwood s million dollar baby beat martin scorsese s the aviator to the top awards at the oscars on sunday.  the boxing drama was named best picture and eastwood pipped scorsese to best director  while its stars hilary swank and morgan freeman won acting awards. the aviator took five prizes including best supporting actress for cate blanchett. the biopic of howard hughes led the nominations with 11. jamie foxx picked up best actor for playing soul star ray charles in ray. many expected this to be scorsese s year - but he was unsuccessful in the best director category for the fifth time in his career.  he has never won despite being nominated for such films as raging bull and goodfellas. instead  eastwood took his second oscar for best director after winning for unforgiven in 1993.  it was a wonderful adventure   eastwood said.  to make a picture in 37 days  it takes a well oiled machine. i am lucky to be here and lucky to be still working. i ve got a lot of stuff to do yet.  hilary swank picked up her second best actress oscar for playing a female boxer in million dollar baby  beating stars including annette bening  kate winslet and imelda staunton.  i don t know what i did in this life to deserve this   she told the audience.  i m just a girl from a trailer park who had a dream.  morgan freeman beat actors including clive owen  jamie foxx and alan alda to the prize for best supporting actor. he thanked eastwood and described the film as  a labour of love . this was the fourth nomination of his career but his first win. backstage  he said:  a lot of people say you re due - maybe you are  maybe you aren t - it s an accolade.  million dollar baby s success was the night s biggest surprise after the aviator seemed to have the advantage until the end of the ceremony.  cate blanchett  who won for playing late screen legend katharine hepburn in the aviator  said her award was  an indescribable surprise and honour . of hepburn  she said:  the longevity of her career is inspiring to everyone.  blanchett also paid tribute to the film s director martin scorsese  telling him:  i hope my son will marry your daughter.  the aviator s other awards came for cinematography  film editing  art direction and costume design. and jamie foxx  who had two nominations this year  paid tribute to the  beautiful legacy  of soul legend ray charles  who died last year  and thanked director taylor hackford.  you took a chance  man   he said.  that love for ray charles was deep down in the earth somewhere and you opened it up.  everybody s drowning in this love. thank you for taking a chance and thank you for waiting 15 years to get me to do it.   he broke down in tears when speaking about being whipped by his grandmother  whom he described as his first acting teacher  when he was young. in other awards  cartoon hit the incredibles won best animated feature and best sound editing. bittersweet comedy sideways won best adapted screenplay while the original screenplay prize went to eternal sunshine of the spotless mind. born into brothels  about the children of prostitutes in calcutta  was named best documentary  the sea inside was named best foreign language film and finding neverland got the accolade for best musical score. spider-man 2 triumphed in the visual effects category  ray won best sound mixing and lemony snicket s a series of unfortunate events picked up best make-up. former british tv presenter andrea arnold  who hosted children s shows motormouth and number 73 in the 1980s  won best short film for wasp. comedian chris rock  who hosted the ceremony for the first time  received a standing ovation before getting the show under way.


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


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


xbox 2 may be unveiled in summer details of the next generation of microsoft s xbox games console - codenamed xenon - will most likely be unveiled in may  according to reports.  it was widely expected that gamers would get a sneak preview of xbox s successor at the game developers conference (gdc) in march. but a microsoft spokeswoman confirmed that it would not be at gdc. sony  microsoft and nintendo are all expected to release their more powerful machines in the next 18 months. the next xbox console is expected to go on sale at the end of the year  but very few details about it have been released. it is thought that the machine may be unveiled at the electronic entertainment expo (e3) in los angeles  which takes place in may  according to a reuters news agency report. e3 concentrates on showing off the latest in gaming to publishers  marketers and retailers. the gdc is aimed more at game developers. microsoft chief  bill gates  used the gdc event to unveil the original xbox five years ago. since its launch  microsoft has sold 19.9 million units worldwide.  at the consumer electronics show earlier this year  there was very little mention of the next generation gaming machine. in his keynote speech  mr gates only referred to it as playing an essential part of his vision of the digital lifestyle.  but the battle between the rival consoles to win gamers  hearts and thumbs will be extremely hard-fought. sony has traditionally dominated the console market with its playstation 2. but earlier this year  microsoft said it had reached a european milestone  selling five million consoles since its european launch in march 2002. hit games like halo 2  which was released in november  helped to buoy the sales figures.  gamers are looking forward to the next generation of machines because they will have much more processing and graphical power.  they are also likely to pack in more features and technologies that make them more central as entertainment and communications hubs. although details of playstation 3  xenon  and nintendo s so-called revolution  are yet to be finalised  developers are already working on titles. rory armes  studio general manager for games giant electronic arts (ea) in europe  recently told the bbc news website in an interview that ea was beginning to get a sense of the capabilities of the new machines. microsoft had delivered development kits to ea  but he said the company was still waiting on sony and nintendo s kits. but  he added  the playstation 3 was rumoured to have  a little more under the hood [than xbox 2] .


watchdog probes e-mail deletions the information commissioner says he is urgently asking for details of cabinet office orders telling staff to delete e-mails more than three months old.  richard thomas  totally condemned  the deletion of e-mails to prevent their disclosure under freedom of information laws coming into force on 1 january. government guidance said e-mails should only be deleted if they served  no current purpose   mr thomas said. the tories and the lib dems have questioned the timing of the new rules.  tory leader michael howard has written to tony blair demanding an explanation of the new rules on e-mail retention. on monday lib dem constitutional affairs committee chairman alan beith warned that the deletion of millions of government e-mails could harm the ability of key probes like the hutton inquiry. the timing of the new rules just before the freedom of information act comes into forces was  too unlikely to have been a coincidence   mr beith said. but a cabinet office spokeswoman said the move was not about the new laws or  the destruction of important records . mr beith urged the information commissioner to look at how the  e-mail regime  could  support the freedom of information regime .  mr thomas said:  the new act of parliament makes it very clear that to destroy records in order to prevent their disclosure becomes a criminal offence.  he said there was already clear guidance on the retention of e-mails contained in a code of practice from the lord chancellor. all e-mails are subject to the freedom of information laws  but the important thing was the content of the e-mail  said mr thomas.   if in doubt retain  that has been the long-standing principle of the civil service and public authorities. it s only when you ve got no further use for the particular record that it may be legitimate to destroy it.  but any deliberate destruction to avoid the possibility of later disclosure is to be totally condemned.  the freedom of information act will cover england  wales and northern ireland from next year. similar measures are being brought in at the same time in scotland. it provides the public with a right of access to information held by about 100 000 public bodies  subject to various exemptions. its implementation will be monitored by the information commissioner.


pakistani women  must not hide  hiding women away in the home hidden behind veils is a backward view of islam  president musharraf of pakistan has said during a visit to britain.  he was speaking to the bbc s newsnight programme a few hours before visiting the pakistani community in manchester.  my wife is travelling around. she is very religious but she is very moderate   said general musharraf. it comes after pakistan s high commissioner to britain said some pakistanis should integrate more. dr maleeha lodhi said people could not expect others to listen to their grievances if they isolated themselves.  gen musharraf told the bbc:  some people think that the women should be confined to their houses and put veils on and all that and they should not move out - absolutely wrong.  the pakistani president was also asked whether he thought the war on terror had made the world less safe.  yes  absolutely. and i would add that unfortunately we are not addressing the core problems  so therefore we can never address it in its totality   he said.  we are fighting it in its immediate context but we are not fighting it in its strategic long-term context.   it is the political disputes and we need to resolve them  and also the issue of illiteracy and poverty. this combined are breeding grounds of extremism and terrorism.  on monday the pakistani president met prime minister tony blair at 10 downing street  on his first official visit to london. he is due to visit the pakistani community in manchester on tuesday afternoon.  the mirror newspaper said on tuesday it had been handed a sensitive dossier outling the details of gen musharraf s visit to britain. the paper said the document had been found in a london street by a member of the public. it said the dossier contained details about his movements and also confidential police radio channels  call signs and codes. speaking in london on monday  gen musharraf said al-qaeda was  on the run  in pakistan.  but standing next to mr blair he added that it was crucial to tackle the  core of what creates terrorists  what creates an extremist  militant environment which then leads on to terrorism .  that is the resolution of political disputes.   mr blair said the two leaders had talked about afghanistan  the wider war on terror  the situation in the middle east and the ongoing dispute over kashmir.  we agreed that in afghanistan there is some cause for optimism about the progress that has been made there   said mr blair.  in respect of iraq  we agreed that whatever the issues of the past  the important thing now is to see the strategy through and ensure that iraq is capable of becoming a stable and democratic state.


bargain calls widen softbank loss japanese communications firm softbank has widened losses after heavy spending on a new cut-rate phone service.  the service  launched in december and dubbed  otoku  or  bargain   has had almost 900 000 orders  softbank said. the firm  a market leader in high-speed internet  had an operating loss for the three months to december of 7.5bn yen ($71.5m; £38.4m). but without the otoku marketing spend it would have made a profit - and expects to move into the black in 2006. the firm did not give a figure for the extent of profits it expected to make next year. it was born in the 1990s tech boom  investing widely and becoming a fast-rising star  till the end of the tech bubble hit it hard. its recent return to a high profile came with the purchase of japan telecom  the country s third-biggest fixed-line telecoms firm. the acquisition spurred its broadband internet division to pole position in the japanese market  with more than 5.1 million subscribers at the end of december.


lacroix label bought by us firm luxury goods group lvmh has sold its loss-making christian lacroix clothing label to a us investment group.  the paris-based firm has been shedding non-core businesses and focusing on its most profitable brands including moet & chandon champagne and louis vuitton. lvmh said the french designer s haute couture and ready-to-wear labels had been purchased by the falic group for an unspecified sum. the falic group bought two cosmetics labels from lvmh in 2003. the sale of the lacroix label comes as many fashion houses are struggling to make money from their expensive haute couture ranges. the florida-based falic group  which also runs a chain of 90 duty free stores in the us  said it planned to expand the brand by opening new stores. mr lacroix said he planned to stay at the label he founded in 1987 although exact details are still to be confirmed.