gadgets galore on show at fair the 2005 consumer electronics show in las vegas is a geek s paradise with more than 50 000 new gadgets and technologies launched during the four-day event.  top gadgets at the show are highlighted in the innovations showcase  which recognises some of the hottest developments in consumer electronics. the bbc news website took an early pre-show look at some of those technologies that will be making their debut in 2005.      one of the key issues for keen gadget users is how to store all their digital images  audio and video files. the 2.5gb and 5gb circular pocket hard drive from seagate might help. the external usb drive won a ces best innovations design and engineering award and is small enough to slip into a pocket.  it is the kind of storage that appeals to people who want their pcs to look cool   said seagate.  it is all about style but it also has lots of functionality.   it is the first time you can say a hard drive is sexy   it said. in the centre of the device is a blue light that flashes while data is being written to ensure users do not unplug it when it is busy saving those precious pictures.      universal electronics  nevosl is a universal controller that lets people use one device to get at their multimedia content  such as photos  no matter where it is in their house. it can also act as a remote for home theatre and stereo systems. working with home broadband networks and pcs  the gadget has built-in wireless and a colourful  simple interface. paul arling  uei chief  said consumers face real problems when trying to get at all the files they own that are typically spread across several different devices. he said the nevo gave people a simple  single way to regain some control over digital media in the home. the nevo won two awards at ces  one as a girl s best friend award and another for innovation  design and engineering. the gadget is expected to go on sale before the summer and will cost about $799 (£425).      hotseat is targeting keen gamers with money to spend with its solo chassis gaming chair. the specially-designed chair lets gamers play in surround-sound while stretching out in their own  space . it is compatible with all the major games consoles  dvd players and pcs.  we found that kids love playing in surround sound   said jay leboff from hotseat.  we are looking at offering different types of seats  depending on the market success of this one.  the chair also lets people experience surround sound while watching videos  with wireless control for six surround sound speakers. and a drinks holder. the chair  which looks like a car seat on a skeletal frame  should go on sale in april and is expected to cost $399 (£211).      satellite radio is big business in the us. in the uk  the digital radio technology is known as dab and works on slightly different technology. eton corporation s porsche designed p7131 digital radio set will be launched both as a dab radio in the uk as well as a satellite radio set in the us. dab sets have been slow to take-off in the uk  but this one concentrates on sleek looks as much as technology.  it is for the risqué consumer   said an eton spokesperson.  we are proud of it because it has the sound quality for the audiophile and the looks for the design-conscious consumer.  the porsche radio is set to go on sale at the end of january in the us and in the first quarter of 2005 in the uk. in the us is it expected to cost $250 (£133).      the average person has a library of 600 digital images estimates the consumer electronics association  the organisation behind ces. this is expected to grow to a massive 3 420 images - or 7.2gb - in five years  time. one gadget that might help swell that collection is sanyo s tiny handheld vpc-c4 camcorder which is another innovation in design and engineering award winner. it combines high quality video and stills in a very small device. it takes mpeg4 video quality at 30 frames a second and has a four megapixel still camera. images and video are stored on sd cards  which have come down in price in recent months. a 512mb card will store about 30 minutes of video and 420 stills. the device is so tiny it can be controlled with one thumb. because images and video are stored on sd memory  it is portable to other devices and means other data like audio can be stored on the card too.      wearable technology has always promised much but failed to deliver because of lack of storage capability and poor design. mpio s tiny digital usb music players come in an array of fashionable colours  taking a leaf out of the apple ipod mini book of design and reflecting the desire for gadgets that look good. slung on a cord  the player would not look too geeky dangling discreetly from the neck. although the pendant design was launched three months ago  the device emphasises large storage as well as good looks for fashion-conscious gadget fiends. an even dinkier model  the fy500  comes out in may and will store about 256mb of music. the range of players recently won an international forum design award 2005.


lufthansa may sue over bush visit german airline lufthansa may sue federal agencies for damages after the arrival of us president george w bush disrupted flights.  lufthansa said that it may lose millions of euros as a result of air force one landing at frankfurt airport. flights were affected for an hour on wednesday morning  double the time that had been expected  leading to cancellations and delays. lufthansa accounts for six out of every 10 planes using frankfurt s airport.   we are doing research into the possibilities we have   michael lamberty  a lufthansa spokesman told the bbc.  we are checking if there is action to be taken and in which courts it could be taken.  mr lamberty explained that the company did not plan to pursue germany s air traffic controllers  organisation or the airport authority but wanted instead to see if it was possible to sue the german federal agencies that gave the orders. the company said that it had to cancel 77 short and medium-distance flights  affecting about 5 000 passengers. long-haul travellers were not disrupted.  central to the problem was that instead of half an hour  the arrival of president bush on the german leg of his european tour took the best part of an hour  lufthansa said. during that time  restrictions were put on planes taxiing  taking off and landing at frankfurt s rhein-main airport. the extra time taken by president bush and his entourage meant that there was a knock-on effect that led to significant delays. mr lamberty said that 92 outgoing flights and 86 income flights were delayed by an average of an hour following president bush s arrival  affecting almost 17 000 passengers. despite the problems  mr lamberty said that it was not certain that lufthansa would take legal action.


mps criticise child access system divorced parents seeking access to their children are often disadvantaged by the legal system  mps have said.  the constitutional affairs select committee said parents with custody could exploit delays in the system to stop former partners gaining access. courts should be used as a last resort  but where they are  their orders should be enforced more rigorously  mps said. but they rejected the claim made by some campaign groups that there should be a legal presumption of equal access.  currently the presumption is that the interests of the child are paramount.  an arbitrary  template  imposed on all families  whatever the needs of the child  would relegate the welfare of individual children to a secondary position   the mps said.  they said the law should be changed to require family courts specifically to take account of the importance of sustaining the relationship between the child and the non-resident parent in contested cases. this would  reassert the rights of non-resident parents to contact with their children  as well as the rights of children to contact with both their parents  while maintaining sufficient flexibility to cope with issues of safety   they said. delays in court hearings and the inability to effectively enforce court orders allowed  a new  status quo  arrangement for the children to become established by default   they said.   although the courts rigorously avoid conscious bias  there are considerable grounds for accepting that non-resident parents are frequently disadvantaged by the system as it is administered at present.  given the strong animosity between the parties which is common in contested family cases  we find it hard to believe that tactical delay is not sometimes used to the advantage of resident parents.  committee chairman alan beith said the five-month inquiry had been a  complex and emotive  one.  at the moment  far too many contact and residency cases are being dealt with by the courts when they could be better resolved through professional mediation and negotiation   he said.  this situation has to change. the court system should only be used as a last resort  where mediation and negotiation have completely broken down or where issues of abuse or domestic violence need to be dealt with.  this will help to reduce delays and improve the lives of many children across the country.


fockers fuel festive film chart comedy meet the fockers topped the festive box office in north america  setting a new record for christmas day.  the sequel took $44.7m (£23.2m) between 24 and 26 december  according to studio estimates. it took $19.1m (£9.9m) on christmas day alone  the highest takings on that day in box office history. meet the fockers is the sequel to ben stiller comedy meet the parents  also starring robert de niro  blythe danner  dustin hoffman and barbra streisand. despite the success of meet the fockers  takings were down 26.5% on 2003 s figures - which was blamed on christmas falling over a weekend this year.   when christmas falls on a weekend  it s bad for business   said paul dergarabedian  president of exhibitor relations  which compiles box office statistics. the weekend s top 12 films took an estimated $121.9m (£63.3m)  compared with $165.8m (£86.1m) last year  when the third lord of the rings film dominated the box office. meet the fockers knocked last week s top film  lemony snicket s a series of unfortunate events  down to third place  with $12.5m (£6.5m). comedy fat albert - co-written by bill cosby - entered the chart in second place after opening on christmas day  taking $12.7m (£6.6m). the aviator  starring leonardo dicaprio as howard hughes  took $9.4m after expanding from 40 to 1 796 cinemas on christmas day.


borders rail link campaign rally campaigners are to stage a rally calling for a borders rail link which was closed in 1969 to be reopened.  they will mark the 36th anniversary of the line closure  which ran from edinburgh through the borders and on to carlisle  with a walk at tweedbank. anne borthwick  of campaign for borders rail  said reopening the waverley line would restore the area s prosperity. msps are considering the reintroduction of passenger rail services through midlothian to the borders. campaigners have said that reopening the waverley line  which could cost up to £100m  would be a huge economic boost for the borders.  in 2000  borders council said the area s economy had suffered since the closure. ms borthwick said the lobby group was determined to keep the pressure on the scottish executive.  we are hoping that many people will join us in a march to mark the 36th anniversary of the closure of the waverley line   she said.  campaign for borders rail is the biggest independent lobby group in scotland and we have been lobbying tirelessly for the reinstatement of rail services to the borders and eventually to carlisle.   we believe that it is time for the scottish executive to commit to the first phase of the project by pledging to fund the line between edinburgh and tweedbank in the first instance and then investigate extending the line in the future.  ms borthwick said reopening the line would be a prosperous move and protect the character of the scottish borders. a study in 2000  which was commissioned by the executive  scottish borders council  midlothian council and scottish borders enterprise  found that a half-hourly service from tweedbank to edinburgh could cover its operating costs. it also found that a half-hourly service from gorebridge to edinburgh could cover operating costs and that a freight railway joining the west coast main line at longtown could also be reinstated.


looks and music to drive mobiles mobile phones are still enjoying a boom time in sales  according to research from technology analysts gartner.  more than 674 million mobiles were sold last year globally  said the report  the highest total sold to date. the figure was 30% more than in 2003 and surpassed even the most optimistic predictions  gartner said. good design and the look of a mobile  as well as new services such as music downloads  could go some way to pushing up sales in 2005  said analysts. although people were still looking for better replacement phones  there was evidence  according to gartner  that some markets were seeing a slow-down in replacement sales.   all the markets grew apart from japan which shows that replacement sales are continuing in western europe   mobile analyst carolina milanesi told the bbc news website.  japan is where north america and western european markets can be in a couple of years  time.  they already have tv  music  ringtones  cameras  and all that we can think of on mobiles  so people have stopped buying replacement phones.   but there could be a slight slowdown in sales in european and us markets too  according to gartner  as people wait to see what comes next in mobile technology. this means mobile companies have to think carefully about what they are offering in new models so that people see a compelling reason to upgrade  said gartner. third generation mobiles (3g) with the ability to handle large amounts of data transfer  like video  could drive people into upgrading their phones  but ms milanesi said it was difficult to say how quickly that would happen.  at the end of the day  people have cameras and colour screens on mobiles and for the majority of people out there who don t really care about technology the speed of data to a phone is not critical.  nor would the rush to produce two or three megapixel camera phones be a reason for mobile owners to upgrade on its own. the majority of camera phone models are not at the stage where they can compete with digital cameras which also have flashes and zooms.  more likely to drive sales in 2005 would be the attention to design and aesthetics  as well as music services. the motorola razr v3 phone was typical of the attention to design that would be more commonplace in 2005  she added. this was not a  women s thing   she said  but a desire from men and women to have a gadget that is a form of self-expression too. it was not just about how the phone functioned  but about what it said about its owner.  western europe has always been a market which is quite attentive to design   said ms milanesi.   people are after something that is nice-looking  and together with that  there is the entertainment side.  this year music will have a part to play in this.  the market for full-track music downloads was worth just $20 million (£10.5 million) in 2004  but is set to be worth $1.8 billion (£9.4 million) by 2009  according to jupiter research. sony ericsson just released its walkman branded mobile phone  the w800  which combines a digital music player with up to 30 hours  battery life  and a two megapixel camera. in july last year  motorola and apple announced a version of itunes online music downloading service would be released which would be compatible with motorola mobile phones. apple said the new itunes music player would become motorola s standard music application for its music phones. but the challenge will be balancing storage capacity with battery life if mobile music hopes to compete with digital music players like the ipod. ms milanesi said more models would likely be released in the coming year with hard drives. but they would be more likely to compete with the smaller capacity music players that have around four gigabyte storage capacity  which would not put too much strain on battery life.


post-christmas lull  in lending uk mortgage lending showed a  post-christmas lull  in january  indicating a slowing housing market  lenders have said.  both the council of mortgage lenders (cml) and building society association (bsa) said lending was down sharply. the cml said gross mortgage lending stood at £17.9bn  compared with £21.8bn in january last year. the bsa said mortgage approvals - loans approved but not yet made - were £2bn  down from £2.6bn in january 2004.  at the same time  the british bankers  association (bba) said lending was  weaker . overall  the bba said mortgage lending rose by £4bn in january  a far smaller increase than the £5.1bn seen in december. this was a return to the  weaker pattern  of lending seen in the last months of 2004  the bba added. however  it is the year-on-year lending comparisons which are the most striking. the cml said lending for house purchases and gross mortgage lending were 29% and 18% lower year-on-year respectively.  these figures show beyond doubt the recent slowdown in the housing market   peter williams  cml deputy director  said.


call centre users  lose patience  customers trying to get through to call centres are getting impatient and quicker to hang up  a survey suggests.  once past the welcome message  callers on average hang up after just 65 seconds of listening to canned music. the drop in patience comes as the number of calls to call centres is growing at a rate of 20% every year.  customers are getting used to the idea of an  always available  society   says cara diemont of it firm dimension data  which commissioned the survey. however  call centres also saw a sharp increase of customers simply abandoning calls  she says  from just over 5% in 2003 to a record 13.3% during last year. when automated phone message systems are taken out of the equation  where customers have to pick their way through multiple options and messages  the number of abandoned calls is even higher - a sixth of all callers give up rather than wait. one possible reason for the lack in patience  ms diemont says  is the fact that more customers are calling  on the move  using their mobile phones.  the surge in customers trying to get through to call centres is also a reflection of the centres  growing range of tasks.  once a call centre may have looked after mortgages  now its agents may also be responsible for credit cards  insurance and current accounts   ms diemont says. problems are occurring because increased responsibility is not going hand-in-hand with more training  the survey found.  in what dimension data calls an  alarming development   the average induction time for a call centre worker fell last year from 36 to just 21 days  leaving  agents not equipped to deal with customers . this  ms diemont warns  is  scary  and not good for the bottom line either. poor training frustrates both call centre workers and customers. as a result  call centres have a high  churn rate   with nearly a quarter of workers throwing in the towel every year  which in turn forces companies to pay for training new staff. resolution rates - the number of calls where a customer s query is resolved to mutual satisfaction - are running at just 50%. when the query is passed on to a second or third person - a specialist or manager - rates rise to about 70%  but that is still well below the industry target of an 85% resolution rate.  suggestions that  outsourcing  - relocating call centres to low-cost countries like india or south africa - is to blame are wrong  ms diemont says.  there are  no big differences in wait time and call resolution  between call centres based in europe or north america and those in developing countries around the world.  you can make call centres perform anywhere if you have good management and the right processes in place   she says. however  companies that decide to  offshore  their operations are driven not just by cost considerations. only 42% of them say that saving money is the main consideration when closing domestic call centre operations. half of them argue that workers in other countries offer better skills for the money. but not everybody believes that outsourcing and offshoring are the solution. nearly two-thirds of all firms polled for the survey have no plans to offshore their call centres. they give three key reasons for not making the move:  - call centre operations are part of their business  core function     - they are worried about the risk of going abroad    - they fear that they will damage their brand if they join the offshoring drive. the survey was conducted by sunovate on behalf of dimension data  and is based on in-depth questionnaires of 166 call centres in 24 countries and five continents. what are your experiences with call centres  are you happy to listen to vivaldi or greensleeves  or do you want an immediate response  and if you work in a call centre: did your training prepare you for your job


greene sets sights on world title maurice greene aims to wipe out the pain of losing his olympic 100m title in athens by winning a fourth world championship crown this summer.  he had to settle for bronze in greece behind fellow american justin gatlin and francis obikwelu of portugal.  it really hurts to look at that medal. it was my mistake. i lost because of the things i did   said greene  who races in birmingham on friday.  it s never going to happen again. my goal - i m going to win the worlds.  greene crossed the line just 0.02 seconds behind gatlin  who won in 9.87 seconds in one of the closest and fastest sprints of all time. but greene believes he lost the race and his title in the semi-finals.  in my semi-final race  i should have won the race but i was conserving energy.  that s when francis obikwelu came up and i took third because i didn t know he was there.  i believe that s what put me in lane seven in the final and  while i was in lane seven  i couldn t feel anything in the race.   i just felt like i was running all alone.  i believe if i was in the middle of the race i would have been able to react to people that came ahead of me.  greene was also denied olympic gold in the 4x100m men s relay when he could not catch britain s mark lewis-francis on the final leg. the kansas star is set to go head-to-head with lewis-francis again at friday s norwich union grand prix. the pair contest the 60m  the distance over which greene currently holds the world record of 6.39 seconds. he then has another indoor meeting in france before resuming training for the outdoor season and the task of recapturing his world title in helsinki in august. greene believes gatlin will again prove the biggest threat to his ambitions in finland. but he also admits he faces more than one rival for the world crown.  there s always someone else coming. i think when i was coming up i would say there was me and ato (boldon) in the young crowd   greene said.  now you ve got about five or six young guys coming up at the same time.


brown in appeal for labour unity gordon brown has made an appeal for unity after reports claimed mr blair went back on a pledge to stand down before the next general election.  the chancellor would not comment on the reports  but insisted he would not be  diverted or distracted  from tackling the challenges faced by the country. his only  motivation  was to ensure labour was re-elected  he insisted. mr blair earlier dismissed the claim he had reneged on a promise to stand aside for gordon brown as old news. according to a new book  brown s britain by sunday telegraph journalist robert peston  mr blair went back on a pledge to make way for mr brown after cabinet allies intervened in june 2004.  in an interview with bbc one s breakfast with frost  mr blair said:  i ve dealt with this six months ago. i said then you don t do deals over jobs like this - you don t.  what both of us are actually concentrating on are the issues that concern the country.   in a separate interview with bbc political editor andrew marr  mr brown said:  it s very important that we all do what we can in a unified way to ensure the election of a labour government.  i think it is very important to stress that that is the motivation that i have.  that is my purpose in politics  and that is what every day i seek to do. and i am not going to be diverted or distracted  nor is tony blair  by newspaper stories or books or rumours or gossip.  the only reason why we are in government is to get on with the job in a unified way to deal with the challenges facing this country.  mr brown also said he had discussed the general election campaign with the prime minister on saturday and pledged to play his part as he had been asked to do.  but mr peston said the pair had  mutual animosity and contempt  for each other and that mr blair had decided in november 2003 he would quit because he felt he had lost voters  trust because of the iraq war. he then changed his mind in june 2004  following intervention from allies in the cabinet and the suspicion that the chancellor was deliberately manoeuvring against him  according to the book. andrew marr said:  this is enormously damaging. gordon brown knows it as well as tony blair.  i think the relationship is genuinely  privately  very poor indeed. things are very difficult.  he added:  lots of ministers believe tony blair will attempt to move gordon brown out of the treasury after the election.  that depends on whether there s still a labour government and their majority.   senior mps are expected to raise concerns about the latest reports of infighting at the regular meeting of labour backbenchers on monday.  health secretary john reid said those fuelling such reports were damaging labour s re-election chances and would not be easily forgiven. fresh speculation of a rift recently followed mr blair and mr brown s separate responses to the asian tsunami. these rumours were fuelled by mr blair s decision to hold his monthly media conference at the same time as a long-planned speech by mr brown on uk plans to tackle global poverty with a new  marshall plan  for africa. there was speculation the pair were trying to outdo each other s response to the disaster. but the prime minister said he had discussed these claims with the chancellor and dismissed them as a  load of nonsense . tory leader michael howard accused the prime minister and mr brown of squabbling like schoolboys . liberal democrat parliamentary chairman matthew taylor said the personal ambition of mr blair and mr brown was  getting in the way of good government .


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


russian oil merger excludes yukos the merger of russian gas giant gazprom and oil firm rosneft is to go ahead  but will not include yugansk  which was controversially bought last year.  the merger  backed by russian authorities  will allow foreigners to trade in gazprom shares. gazprom chief alexei miller confirmed rosneft-owned yugansk was not part of the deal and will instead be spun off. under the agreement  the state will get a controlling share of gazprom in exchange for rosneft. the state wanted to control gazprom before allowing foreigners to trade. speaking on ntv television  which is controlled by gazprom  mr miller added that yugansk  which was swallowed up by rosneft late last year  will operate as a separate  state-owned oil firm headed by current rosneft chief sergei bogdanchikov. according to reports from russian news agency interfax  the deal should go through in the next two to three months.   obtaining majority control over gazprom is the beginning of the liberalisation of the market in gazprom shares   mr miller added. by opening up trading in gazprom to foreigners  the firm will become a top emerging market play for traders. currently  foreigners can only trade in gazprom via a small issue of london-listed proxy shares.  this is positive news for the international investment community   global asset management investment chief david smith said.  the majority of investors are going to be happy   he added.  however  analysts were disappointed that yugansk would not be included in the deal.  yugansk is a heavy cashflow generator and would have been a much better asset for gazprom   renaissance capital energy analyst adam landes told reuters news agency. but he said the latest development was simply an interim step to allow foreigners to trade in gazprom.  ultimately and industrially  gazprom needs yugansk   he added. analysts said the deal would give gazprom control of 8% of russia s total oil production  an improvement on its current 2.5%  but still far less than the 20% share it would have gained had it also taken over yugansk. however  the merged group will still remain outside russia s top five oil producers - led by lukoil with 11% of the market   followed by tnk-bp which is half owned by bp  and surgutneftegaz. instead  the merged gazprom-rosneft group will rank alongside sibneft with 7% of the market. yugansk was sold to a little-known shell company in a disputed auction in december  following what many thought was a politically-motivated attack on yukos. the shell company was then snapped up by rosneft. yukos unsuccessfully sought to halt the auction by applying for bankruptcy through the us courts. the unit was auctioned by russian authorities to help pay off a $27.5bn back-tax bill.


uk economy facing  major risks  the uk manufacturing sector will continue to face  serious challenges  over the next two years  the british chamber of commerce (bcc) has said.  the group s quarterly survey of companies found exports had picked up in the last three months of 2004 to their best levels in eight years. the rise came despite exchange rates being cited as a major concern. however  the bcc found the whole uk economy still faced  major risks  and warned that growth is set to slow. it recently forecast economic growth will slow from more than 3% in 2004 to a little below 2.5% in both 2005 and 2006.  manufacturers  domestic sales growth fell back slightly in the quarter  the survey of 5 196 firms found. employment in manufacturing also fell and job expectations were at their lowest level for a year.   despite some positive news for the export sector  there are worrying signs for manufacturing   the bcc said.  these results reinforce our concern over the sector s persistent inability to sustain recovery.  the outlook for the service sector was  uncertain  despite an increase in exports and orders over the quarter  the bcc noted.  the bcc found confidence increased in the quarter across both the manufacturing and service sectors although overall it failed to reach the levels at the start of 2004. the reduced threat of interest rate increases had contributed to improved confidence  it said. the bank of england raised interest rates five times between november 2003 and august last year. but rates have been kept on hold since then amid signs of falling consumer confidence and a slowdown in output.  the pressure on costs and margins  the relentless increase in regulations  and the threat of higher taxes remain serious problems   bcc director general david frost said.  while consumer spending is set to decelerate significantly over the next 12-18 months  it is unlikely that investment and exports will rise sufficiently strongly to pick up the slack.


lord scarman  93  dies peacefully distinguished lawyer lord scarman  who conducted the inquiry into the 1981 brixton riots  has died aged 93.  the peer enjoyed a celebrated judicial career  serving as law commission chairman in its first seven years. he also chaired the 1969 tribunal set up to investigate civil disturbances in northern ireland. paying tribute  the lord chancellor lord falconer said lord scarman was one of the  great advocates of our generation .   his legacy from his decisions in the lords and the court of appeal is substantial.  his work in the wake of the brixton riots and his commitment to the vulnerable and dispossessed was second to none.   a great judge  a great lawyer and a great man.  lord scarman s nephew george ritchie said the peer  who passed away peacefully on wednesday  would be  sadly missed .  the lord chief justice  lord woolf  who is the most senior judge in england and wales  said it was lord scarman s  pioneering work  which paved the way for the human rights act 1998.  he was a lawyer and a judge who had a remarkable insight into human nature  and an exceptional sensitivity to the needs of a healthy society   he said.  he was  personally  totally charming and he will be remembered with great affection and admiration by all who came into contact with him.   dame elizabeth butler-sloss  the president of the family justice division  said lord scarman was a  good and humane judge  and one of the greatest figures of the late 20th century. lord scarman will be remembered for the public inquiry he led into a string of race riots which began in brixton when racial tensions rose after a police crackdown on street robbery. during the following three days of disturbances that spread to the midlands  merseyside  bristol and leeds  nearly 400 people were injured and buildings and vehicles were set alight.  the inquiry famously settled on the so-called  rotten apples  theory  which argued that only a few police officers were racist  saying most were not. it spawned new law enforcement practices and led to the creation of the police complaints authority. trevor phillips  chair of the commission for racial equality  praised lord scarman s  ability to listen . he said:  when lord scarman toured the streets of brixton his presence was electrifying.  a community which had been systematically ignored by everyone else was suddenly embraced by the epitome of the english establishment.  his great quality was the ability to listen to young people of all backgrounds  many of whose language he could barely understand  genuinely to hear what they had to say and to talk to them as human beings.  he never lost the special combination of wisdom  humanity and the spark of radicalism that marked his watershed report into the brixton riots.


vickery out of six nations england tight-head prop phil vickery has been ruled out of the rest of the 2005 rbs six nations after breaking a bone in his right forearm.  vickery was injured as his club side  gloucester  beat bath 17-16 in the west country derby on saturday. he could be joined on the sidelines by bath centre olly barkley  who sat out the derby due to a leg injury. barkley will have a scan on sunday and might miss england s trip to six nations leaders ireland next weekend. the news is just the latest blow for coach andy robinson  who has seen his side lose their opening two matches in the 2005 six nations. robinson is already without world cup winners jonny wilkinson  will greenwood  mike tindall  richard hill and trevor woodman through injury. vickery has broken the radius  a large bone in his forearm. he only returned to the england side last weekend after a long-term back injury  which was followed by a fractured eye socket. and the gloucester prop was only recalled after leicester tight-head julian white suffered a neck injury which has already seen him ruled out of the ireland game.  bath prop matt stevens is the only remaining tight-head in england s training squad and could be involved against ireland. but he has to play second fiddle at club level to duncan bell  who excelled for england a against france and may now be called into the squad. the extent of barkley s injury is not yet clear but bath boss john connolly rates him no better than  50-50  to face ireland. barkley played at inside cente in england s defeat by france and if he is unable to play  england s constantly-changing midfield will once again have to be altered.  robinson could choose to recall mathew tait or henry paul  although tait endured a nightmare for newcastle against leicester on saturday and paul limped off with an ankle injury against bath. in-form leicester centre ollie smith is the other outstanding candidate  and two tries against newcastle will have boosted his chances. fly-half andy goode is also a strong contender for the match-day 22 after an immaculate kicking display on saturday. england  fourth in the six nations table with zero points  play ireland  top of the table  in dublin on 27 february  kick-off 1500 gmt.


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


rapper snoop dogg sued for  rape  us rapper snoop dogg has been sued for $25m (£13m) by a make-up artist who claimed he and his entourage drugged and raped her two years ago.  the woman said she was assaulted after a recording of the jimmy kimmel live tv show on the abc network in 2003. the rapper s spokesman said the allegations were  untrue  and the woman was  misusing the legal system as a means of extracting financial gain . abc said the claims had  no merit . the star has not been charged by police.  the lawsuit  filed in los angeles on friday  says the woman s champagne was spiked and she was then assaulted. the rapper s spokesperson said:  snoop will have the opportunity to prove in a court of law that [the alleged victim] is opportunistic and deceitful.  we are confident that in this case  [the alleged victim s] claims against snoop dogg will be rejected.  the lawsuit names snoop dogg - real name calvin broadus - plus three associates  the walt disney company and its parent company abc inc.  the woman waited two years to sue because she was trying to negotiate a settlement with the media companies  her lawyer  perry wander  said. disney and abc  failed to provide a safe working environment for my client   he said. the legal action comes after the rap star sued a woman who claimed they tried to blackmail him to keep quiet about an alleged assault. the 32-year-old rapper has enjoyed six us top 10 albums since bursting onto the music scene with hit songs like what s my name  and gin and juice in 1993.


mixed signals from french economy the french economy picked up speed at the end of 2004  official figures show - but still looks set to have fallen short of the government s hopes.  according to state statistics body insee  growth for the three months to december was a seasonally-adjusted 0.7-0.8%  ahead of the 0.6% forecast. if confirmed  that would be the best quarterly showing since early 2002. it leaves gdp up 2.3% for the full year  but short of the 2.5% which the french government had predicted.  despite the apparent shortfall in annual economic growth  the good quarterly figures - a so-called  flash estimate  - mark a continuing trend of improving indicators for the health of the french economy. the government is reiterating a 2.5% target for 2005  while the european central bank is making positive noises for the 12-nation eurozone as a whole. also on friday  france s industrial output for december was released  showing 0.7% growth.  the numbers are good   said david naude  economist at deutsche bank.  they send a positive signal of a rebound in output... and open the way for a continuation in that trend into the new year.  service sector activity improved in january  hitting a seven-month high. but unemployment remains high at about 10%.


german bidder in talks with lse deutsche boerse bosses have held  constructive  professional and friendly  talks with the london stock exchange (lse)  its chief has said.  werner seifert met lse chief executive clara furse amid rumours the german group may raise its bid to £1.5bn ($2.9bn) from its initial £1.3bn offer. however  rival suitor euronext also upped the ante in the bid battle. ahead of talks with the lse on friday  the pan-european bourse said it may be prepared to make its offer in cash. the paris-based exchange  owner of liffe in london  is reported to be ready to raise £1.4bn to fund a bid.  the news came as deutsche boerse held its third meeting with the lse since its bid approach in december which was turned down by the london exchange for undervaluing the business. however  the lse did agree to leave the door open for talks to find out whether a  significantly-improved proposal  would be in the interests of lse s shareholders and customers. in the meantime  euronext  which combines the paris  amsterdam and lisbon stock exchanges  also began talks with the lse. in a statement on thursday  euronext said any offer was likely to be solely in cash  but added that:  there can be no assurances at this stage that any offer will be made.  a deal with either bidder would create the biggest stock market operator in europe and the second biggest in the world after the new york stock exchange. however  neither side has made a formal offer for the lse  with sources claiming such a step may still be weeks away.  deutsche boerse could also face mounting opposition to a bid at home. among sweeteners reported to have been discussed by mr seifert with ms furse were plans to move the management of its cash and eurex derivatives market to london  as well as two members of its executive board. but  hans reckers  a board member of germany s central bank  the bundesbank  said that cash trading should also remain in frankfurt  something deutsche boerse could move to the uk.  it is not just the headquarters of the boerse but also important market segments that must stay permanently in frankfurt. this has special importance for the business activities of the banks and the consultants   he said. local government officials in frankfurt s state of hessen have also spoken out against the move.  it is our wish that the headquarters stay here to maintain frankfurt s standing as the number one financial centre in continental europe   alois rhiel  its minister for economic affairs added.


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


yeading face newcastle in fa cup premiership side newcastle united face a trip to ryman premier league leaders yeading in the fa cup third round.  the game - arguably the highlight of the draw - is a potential money-spinner for non-league yeading  who beat slough in the second round. conference side exeter city  who knocked out doncaster on saturday  will travel to old trafford to meet holders manchester united in january. arsenal were drawn at home to stoke and chelsea will play host to scunthorpe. the only other non-league side in the draw are hinckley united  who held brentford to a goalless draw on sunday. they will meet league one leaders luton if they win their replay against martin allen s team at griffin park.  a number of premiership teams face difficult away games against championship sides on the weekend of 8/9 january. third-placed everton visit plymouth  liverpool travel to burnley  crystal palace go to sunderland  fulham face carling cup semi-finalists watford  bolton meet ipswich  while aston villa were drawn against sheffield united. premiership strugglers norwich  blackburn  west brom are away at west ham  cardiff and preston north end respectively. southampton visit northampton  having already beaten the league two side in the carling cup earlier this season. middlesbrough were drawn away against either swindon or notts county  while spurs entertain brighton at white hart lane.  arsenal v stoke  swindon/notts co v middlesbrough  man utd v exeter  plymouth v everton  leicester v blackpool  derby v wigan  sunderland v crystal palace  wolves v millwall  yeading v newcastle  hull v colchester  tottenham v brighton  reading v stockport/swansea  birmingham v leeds  hartlepool v boston  milton keynes dons v peterborough  oldham v man city  chelsea v scunthorpe  cardiff v blackburn  charlton v rochdale  west ham v norwich  sheff utd v aston villa  preston v west brom  rotherham v yeovil  burnley v liverpool  bournemouth v chester  coventry v crewe  watford v fulham  ipswich v bolton  portsmouth v gillingham  northampton v southampton  qpr v nottm forest  luton v hinckley/brentford  matches to be played on weekend of 8/9 january.


regiments  group in poll move a regiments  campaign group is to target nine marginal labour seats at the general election.  save the scottish regiments will also field a candidate against armed forces minister adam ingram in east kilbride. the group  which is unhappy at defence merger plans  is endorsing opposition candidates in nine seats. the marginals are aberdeen south  dumfriesshire  dundee east and west  south west edinburgh  ochil  stirling  east renfrewshire and western isles. the campaigners unveiled a huge poster featuring black watch soldiers fighting the war in iraq before they announced their election plans.  former scots guardsman allan hendry will challenge mr ingram. the group said it is well organised  with 350 volunteers  and will be announcing at least one other candidate later. it added that it can only be stopped from inflicting serious damage on labour if the government reverses its plan to merge the six scottish regiments.  scotland s only conservative mp peter duncan said the save the scottish regiments had done a  superb job  in fighting against defence cuts. he added:  their actions have reflected the pride that most people in this country have in our troops  and have shown a steely determination to make labour pay for their betrayal.  i have been honoured to speak at their rallies throughout scotland.  scottish national party leader alex salmond said it had received a  big boost  from the campaign s decision to endorse snp candidates in four marginal seats.   labour s arrogance has been their undoing. in trying to get rid of scotland s historic regiments  labour mps will end up being scrapped themselves   he said. however  labour mp george foulkes said the campaigners would not make any difference to the outcome of the election and would not win the argument.  a serving soldier knows that what labour is proposing is right   he said. as well as their election move  save the scottish regiments will join other campaigners at a rally in london in the spring. defence secretary geoff hoon announced last year that scotland s regiments would be combined into a single unit. the move was part of overall army reforms.


egypt to sell off state-owned bank the egyptian government is reportedly planning to privatise one of the country s big public banks.  an investment ministry official has told the reuters news agency that the bank of alexandria will be sold sometime in 2005. the move is seen as evidence of a new commitment by the government to reduce the size of public sector. the official said the government has not yet decided whether the sale will take the form of a public flotation.  the most important thing to decide now is the method - whether by selling shares to the public or to a strategic investor from abroad   he said.  analysts say the public-sector banks have suited the government s monetary  credit and exchange policies. nevertheless  the egyptian government has spoken for years about privatising one of the big four state banks - banque misr  national bank of egypt  banque du caire and bank of alexandria. it had been expected one of the smallest of the four big public banks - bank of alexandria or banque du caire - would be sold first. the announcement reinforces the hopes of investors and international financial bodies for a revival of egypt s privatisation programme. about 190 state-run companies and facilities were sold off from the early 1990s to 1997. the appointment of mahmoud mohieldin  a reform-minded technocrat  to the new post of investment minister in july was taken as a sign that more sell-offs were on the way. both the imf and world bank have urged egypt to remove obstacles to the development of the private sector which they say has a vital role to play in reducing poverty by expanding the economy.


us gives foreign firms extra time foreign firms have been given an extra year to meet tough new corporate governance regulations imposed by the us stock market watchdog.  the securities and exchange commission has extended the deadline to get in line with the rules until 15 july 2006. many foreign firms had protested that the sec was imposing an unfair burden. the new rules are the result of the sarbanes-oxley act  part of the us clean-up after corporate scandals such as enron and worldcom. section 404 of the sox act  as the legislation is nicknamed  calls for all firms to certify that their financial reporting is in line with us rules. big us firms already have to meet the requirements  but smaller ones and foreign-based firms which list their shares on us stock markets originally had until the middle of this year.  over the past few months  delegations of european and other business leaders have been heading to the sec s washington dc headquarters to protest. they say the burden is too expensive and the timescale too short and some  particularly the uk s cbi  warned that companies would choose to let their us listings drop rather than get in line with section 404. the latest delegation from the cbi met sec officials on wednesday  just before the decision to relax the deadline was announced.  i think this signifies a change of heart at the sec   cbi director-general sir digby jones told the bbc s today programme.  they have been listening to us and to many overseas companies  who have reminded america what globalisation really means: that they can t make these rules in isolation.  the sec said it had taken into consideration the fact that foreign companies were already working to meet more onerous financial reporting rules in their home countries. the european union  in particular  was imposing new international financial reporting standards in 2005  it noted.  i don t underestimate the effort (compliance) will require... but this extension will provide additional time for those issuers to take a good hard look at their internal controls   said donald nicolaisen  the sec s chief accountant.


bt offers free net phone calls bt is offering customers free internet telephone calls if they sign up to broadband in december.  the christmas give-away entitles customers to free telephone calls anywhere in the uk via the internet. users will need to use bt s internet telephony software  known as bt communicator  and have a microphone and speakers or headset on their pc. bt has launched the promotion to show off the potential of a broadband connection to customers.  people wanting to take advantage of the offer will need to be a bt together fixed-line customer and will have to sign up to broadband online. the offer will be limited to the first 50 000 people who sign up and there are limitations - the free calls do not include calls to mobiles  non-geographical numbers such as 0870  premium numbers or international numbers. bt is keen to provide extra services to its broadband customers.  people already using bt communicator have found it by far the most convenient way of making a call if they are at their pc   said andrew burke  director of value-added services at bt retail. as more homes get high-speed access  providers are increasingly offering add-ons such as cheap net calls.  broadband and telephony are attractive to customers and bt wants to make sure it is in the first wave of services   said ian fogg  an analyst with jupiter research.  bt communicator had a quiet launch in the summer and now bt is waving the flag a bit more for it   he added.  bt has struggled to maintain its market share of broadband subscribers as more competitors enter the market. reports say that bt has lost around 10% of market share over the last year  down from half of broadband users to less than 40%. bt is hoping its latest offer can persuade more people to jump on the broadband bandwagon. it currently has 1.3 million broadband subscribers.


ad sales boost time warner profit quarterly profits at us media giant timewarner jumped 76% to $1.13bn (£600m) for the three months to december  from $639m year-earlier.  the firm  which is now one of the biggest investors in google  benefited from sales of high-speed internet connections and higher advert sales. timewarner said fourth quarter sales rose 2% to $11.1bn from $10.9bn. its profits were buoyed by one-off gains which offset a profit dip at warner bros  and less users for aol.  time warner said on friday that it now owns 8% of search-engine google. but its own internet business  aol  had has mixed fortunes. it lost 464 000 subscribers in the fourth quarter profits were lower than in the preceding three quarters. however  the company said aol s underlying profit before exceptional items rose 8% on the back of stronger internet advertising revenues. it hopes to increase subscribers by offering the online service free to timewarner internet customers and will try to sign up aol s existing customers for high-speed broadband. timewarner also has to restate 2000 and 2003 results following a probe by the us securities exchange commission (sec)  which is close to concluding.  time warner s fourth quarter profits were slightly better than analysts  expectations. but its film division saw profits slump 27% to $284m  helped by box-office flops alexander and catwoman  a sharp contrast to year-earlier  when the third and final film in the lord of the rings trilogy boosted results. for the full-year  timewarner posted a profit of $3.36bn  up 27% from its 2003 performance  while revenues grew 6.4% to $42.09bn.  our financial performance was strong  meeting or exceeding all of our full-year objectives and greatly enhancing our flexibility   chairman and chief executive richard parsons said. for 2005  timewarner is projecting operating earnings growth of around 5%  and also expects higher revenue and wider profit margins.  timewarner is to restate its accounts as part of efforts to resolve an inquiry into aol by us market regulators. it has already offered to pay $300m to settle charges  in a deal that is under review by the sec. the company said it was unable to estimate the amount it needed to set aside for legal reserves  which it previously set at $500m. it intends to adjust the way it accounts for a deal with german music publisher bertelsmann s purchase of a stake in aol europe  which it had reported as advertising revenue. it will now book the sale of its stake in aol europe as a loss on the value of that stake.


reliance unit loses anil ambani anil ambani  the younger of the two brothers in charge of india s largest private company  has resigned from running its petrochemicals subsidiary.  the move is likely to be seen as the latest twist in a feud between mr ambani and his brother mukesh. anil  45  has stepped down as director and vice-chairman of indian petrochemicals corporation (ipc). the company was not available for comment. ipc is 46%-owned by reliance industries which in turn is run by mukesh. mukesh has spoken of ownership issues between the two brothers  who took over control of the reliance empire following the death of their father in july  2002.  reliance s operations have massive reach  covering textiles  telecommunications  petrochemicals  petroleum refining and marketing  as well as oil and gas exploration  insurance and financial services. the brothers  spat has hogged headlines in india during recent weeks  despite a denial from the family that there was anything wrong. speculation has been rife about what has triggered the stand-off  with some observers blaming anil s political ambitions  others the heavy investment by mukesh and reliance in a mobile phone venture. shares of ipc dipped on the news in mumbai  but recovered to trade almost 6% higher. reliance shares added 1.7%  while reliance energy  headed by anil  jumped 7%.


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


analysis: no pain  no gain  he called it his  masochism strategy  in the run-up to the iraq war and now tony blair has signed up for another dose of pain.  the idea is simple - the prime minister goes head to head with an often hostile group of  real  voters in the full spotlight of the television cameras. the theory is that talking to the great british public  even if they are the  great unwashed   is better than having the media filter what voters hear from politicians. it is also the most effective way of showing that he is aware of real people s concerns and - on occasions - of their outright fury. mr blair used the tactic before the iraq war to try to show he really was engaging with public concerns and you can expect to see it much more in the run-up to the election.  labour knows it has been damaged by accusations of spin   control freakery  and over-slick presentation - sometimes from within the ranks of its own mps. tony blair himself has said people complain he does not listen. mr blair s latest bout of flagellation came with a series of questions sessions on five television throughout wednesday.  the trouble began on the wright stuff show  with maria hutchings marching up to him  saying  tony  that s rubbish  as she tried to complain about her autistic son s school being threatened with closure. a few  don t worries  as mrs hutchings was led back to the audience averted a public slanging match - he spoke to her privately after the show. but that was only the start and later sessions produced the type of grilling not even the toughest television interviewer could produce.  writer neil coppendale  from west sussex  asked of the iraq war:  tens of thousands of innocent men  women and children died - how do you manage to sleep at night   on immigration  london teacher diane granger said:  where are you going to put everyone   and can you imagine even jeremy paxman putting the question posed by brighton nurse marion brown:  would you wipe somebody s backside for £5    mr blair tried to use the questioners  first names - and sometimes threw them off their stride by asking what they would do about the problems. many of the newspapers have branded the exercise a pr stunt which backfired. indeed there is a danger mr blair simply ends up looking  embattled . conservative michael howard and liberal democrat charles kennedy are to be offered chances to appear in similar slots on the channel next month. labour strategists believe more of the sessions will mean the hecklers no longer become a story and the real issues take prominence.  james humphreys  ex-head of corporate communications at number 10  says the strategy shows frustration with the media.  they feel they don t get their voice across and going direct to people is clearly their game on this occasion   he says. there are risks but the prize is tackling the trend of lower turnouts at the polls  he argues. the prime minister knows full well the potential hazards .  he must remember with gritted teeth his confrontation with sharron storer  the birmingham woman who harangued him over the state of her local hospital in the 2001 election campaign.  all you do is walk around and make yourself known  you don t do anything to help anybody   she told mr blair before stomping off  refusing his pleas to discuss the issue privately. former downing street media chief alastair campbell has described the episode as a  bit of a disaster  as it meant the launch of labour s election manifesto received little coverage. but it was seen as one of the few moments when that election campaign came alive  not least because it coincided with john prescott s even more direct contact - when he punched an egg-throwing protester.  former prime ministers too have come to grief at the hands of a persistent member of the public. the undoubted highlight of years of election phone-in shows was margaret thatcher discomfort on nationwide in 1983  when viewer diana gould put her on the spot about the sinking of the belgrano in the falklands war. john major reaped the benefits of street campaigning during the 1992 election campaign with his famous soapbox.  it may have left him splattered with eggs and engine oil at times but he felt it added  fizz  to his campaign. in his memoirs  he also argues the strategy contrasted with neil kinnock s  contrived photo opportunities  and attempts at an artful campaign.  he wanted to look like a prime minister. i  was  prime minister and i wanted a flesh and blood fight   says mr major. mr blair told prospective labour mps on thursday that taking part in phone-ins and public meetings could  enthuse and engage and give the public a sense of empowerment . but he also wants to counter complaints that he has spent too much time on international affairs and foreign trips. mr blair recalls how bill clinton once advised him:  always remember that what people see of you in the news in the evening is how they think you spend your day.  his hope must be that voters watching him on the rack will bear out for labour the old maxim:  no pain  no gain.


uk directors guild nominees named martin scorsese and clint eastwood are among the nominees for the top prize at the directors guild of great britain awards  now in their second year.  the oscar rivals will compete for the international film prize at the ceremony  to be held at the curzon mayfair cinema in london on 20 march. other nominees include bill condon for kinsey and michel gondry for eternal sunshine of the spotless mind. mike leigh s vera drake is among the nominees for best british film. the awards will see eastwood and scorsese once again competing for the directing prize  following last weekend s oscars. clint eastwood won best director for million dollar baby  beating scorsese who was nominated for a fifth time for the howard hughes biopic the aviator. mike leigh will compete for the british film prize with shane meadows for dead man s shoes  roger michell for enduring love and my summer of love director pawel pawlikowski.  nominees for best foreign film include spain s pedro almodovar for bad education and hong kong director wong kar-wai for 2046. in the tv categories  comedy series early doors and the alan clark diaries will compete for the best directing award for a 30-minute television show  while the directors of shameless  hustle and bodies are all nominated for the 60-minute television prize. the directors of omagh and sex traffic are among the nominees for a television movie or mini-series. american beauty s sam mendes will receive a lifetime achievement award for his work in film and theatre  while theatre director simon mcburney will be given an award for outstanding directorial achievement.


indonesians face fuel price rise indonesia s government has confirmed it is considering raising fuel prices by as much as 30%.  millions of indonesians use kerosene for basic cooking  and prices have been heavily subsidised for years. president susilo bambang yudhoyono s government has said it wants to curb fuel subsidies and direct the money into aid programmes for the poor. but critics argue cutting subsidies will hurt the poorer families that his government says it wants to help. millions of people were left homeless in indonesia aceh s region following the earthquake and tsunami disaster in late december.  indonesia pays subsidies to importers in order to stabilise domestic fuel prices  but higher oil prices have forced the government to spend more on holding prices down. it spent 59.2 trillion rupiah ($6.58bn; £3.5bn) on fuel subsidies in 2004  a sum far in excess of its original projection of 14.5 trillion rupiah. since president yudhoyono s government came to power in october  it has indicated its intention of raising domestic fuel prices by cutting subsidies.  the (january to march) quarter of this year is the best time for us to increase fuel prices   said sri mulyani indrawati  state minister for national development planning.  we are still considering if a 30% hike is suitable at the moment. the sooner the better for the state budget.  the bbc s correspondent in jakarta  rachel harvey  told world business report that there was likely to be a strong public reaction to any price rise.  the big question is whether they go for one big  short  sharp shock and raise prices between 20% and 30% or whether they try to stagger it   she said. indonesia s previous government  led by president megawati sukarnoputri  also attempted to cut subsidies in 2003  but was forced to back down in the face of public protests.


pixies take on reading and leeds pixies  foo fighters and iron maiden will headline this summer s leeds and reading festivals.  the trio of rock heavyweights will top the bill for the three-day events at bramham park  near wetherby  and at richfield avenue  reading. they are the pixies  and iron maiden s only uk festival gigs  while foo fighters are also at t in the park. the killers  razorlight and queens of the stone age are also playing the twin festivals  to be held on 26-28 august. other acts in this year s line-up include the charlatans  marilyn manson and kings of leon. pete doherty s band babyshamblers will appear on the nme/radio one stage along with kasabian  black rebel motorcycle club and bloc party.  organiser mean fiddler said more acts were still to be confirmed for the summer event.  we are all very excited to be going back to reading and intend to have a fantastic time   said iron maiden s bruce dickinson.  we re sure fans will too.  it will the first time the veteran british metal band have played reading in 23 years. at leeds  iron maiden will headline the first day of the festival on the friday  pixies will follow on saturday and the foo fighters will close the event on sunday. the pixies will headline the first day of reading  while foo fighters will play on sunday and iron maiden will close the event. weekend tickets are now on sale priced at £125 each.


business confidence dips in japan business confidence among japanese manufacturers has weakened for the first time since march 2003  the quarterly tankan survey has found.  slower economic growth  rising oil prices  a stronger yen and weaker exports were blamed for the fall. december s confidence level was below that seen in september  the bank of japan said. however  september s reading was the strongest for 13 years.  the economy is at a pause but unlikely to fall   the economy minister said.  it will feel a bit slower (next year) than this year  and growth may be a bit more gentle but the situation is that the recovery will continue   said economy minister heizo takenaka. in the bank of japan s december survey  the balance of big manufacturers saying business conditions are better  minus those saying they are worse  was 22  down from 26 in september.  japan s economy grew by just 0.1% in the three months to september  according revised data issued this month. with the recovery slowing  the world s second biggest economy is now expected grow by 0.2% in 2004. the tankan index is based on a survey of 10 227 firms. big manufacturers were even more pessimistic about the first quarter of 2005; their views suggest the march reading could go as low as 15 - still in positive territory  but weaker. the dollar s decline has strengthened the yen  making japanese exports more expensive in the us. china s attempts to cool down its fast-growing economy have also hit japanese industry s sales abroad. confidence among non-manufacturers was unchanged in the final quarter of 2004  but it is forecast to drop one point in the march survey. nonetheless  japanese firms have been stepping up capital investment  and the survey found the pace is quickening. companies reported they expect to invest 7.7% more in the year to march 2005 than the previous year - up from expectations of 6.1% increase in the september tankan.


actress roberts takes spider role actress julia roberts will play the part of a spider in a new film version of children s classic charlotte s web.  she will voice charlotte  who teams up with a girl to save their friend wilbur the pig  in the story by eb white. the film - a mix of live action and animation - will be roberts  first project since the birth of her twins  hazel and phinnaeus  two months ago. oprah winfrey will voice a goose  john cleese will voice a sheep and steve buscemi a rat in the 2006 film.  ten-year-old dakota fanning will play fern  the girl at the centre of the story  in the film to be directed by 13 going on 30 film-maker gary winick. filming is due to begin in melbourne  australia  later this month. charlotte s web has sold 45 million copies since it was published in 1952. an animated version was made in 1973 but this will be the first live action film. the actor who will voice wilbur the pig has yet to be revealed.


x factor show gets second series tv talent show the x factor is to return for a second series after being recommissioned by itv.  judges simon cowell  louis walsh and sharon osbourne are in discussions to sign up for the new series. the final of the first series will take place on 11 december. last saturday s show was beaten in the ratings by the bbc s strictly come dancing.  working on the x factor has been a blast... i predict series two will be even better   said cowell.  i think the production team have done an amazing job   he added.  the pop idol-style show votes off a group or contestant every week - the two that receive the lowest public vote have to perform a second time before the judges make a final decision. rowetta satchell  steve brookstein  tabby callaghan and group g4 are the remaining finalists. itv s controller of entertainment  claudia rosencrantz  said she had no hesitation in recommissioning the show.  there s much more to come this series as we build towards the final next month and it s great to have secured this terrific format for our viewers for another series   she said.


m&s cuts prices by average of 24% marks & spencer has cut prices in london and the regions by an average of 24%  according to research from a city investment bank.  dresdner kleinwort wasserstein said:  in spite of the snow in the uk  it still feels very early to be cutting prices of spring merchandise.  stuart rose  head of m&s  said last year its prices were too high.  we are bringing in ranges at new price points to compete against mid-market retailers like next   said m&s.  next is one of m&s s biggest competitors and the move may force it to lower prices. drkw said the cuts are either to clear stock or could indicate a longer term  step change in pricing in certain areas  at m&s.  either way  this cannot be good news for m&s  margin   it added.  we have brought in quite a lot of new clothing at new price points as part of stuart rose s strategy of quality  style -and price   said the m&s spokesman. many analysts believe february is proving to be a difficult month for retailers and british retail consortium figures  due in a few weeks  are expected to reflect the tough trading environment. separately  investment bank goldman sachs produced reseach showing that a basket of 35 m&s goods is now 11% above the high-street average  compared with 43% higher last year.  it has been a strange week for m&s  which on tuesday received a statement from philip green  the billionaire bhs owner  confirming he was not rebidding for the company. this was followed the same day by mark paulsmeier  a south african financier  issuing a press release saying his paulsmeier group was interested in m&s. a sudden spike in m&s s share price followed. however  an m&s spokesman said on sunday it had no evidence that mr paulsmeier had lined up sufficient finance for a bid. he also said the takeover panel and the uk s financial watchdog the financial services authority had been in touch with m&s at the beginning of the week to find out what it knew about the paulsmeier developments.


mobiles rack up 20 years of use mobile phones in the uk are celebrating their 20th anniversary this weekend.  britain s first mobile phone call was made across the vodafone network on 1 january 1985 by veteran comedian ernie wise. in the 20 years since that day  mobile phones have become an integral part of modern life and now almost 90% of britons own a handset. mobiles have become so popular that many people use their handset as their only phone and rarely use a landline.  the first ever call over a portable phone was made in 1973 in new york but it took 10 years for the first commercial mobile service to be launched. the uk was not far behind the rest of the world in setting up networks in 1985 that let people make calls while they walked. the first call was made from st katherine s dock to vodafone s head office in newbury which at the time was over a curry house. for the first nine days of 1985 vodafone was the only firm with a mobile network in the uk. then on 10 january cellnet (now o2) launched its service. mike caudwell  spokesman for vodafone  said that when phones were launched they were the size of a briefcase  cost about £2 000 and had a battery life of little more than 20 minutes.   despite that they were hugely popular in the mid-80s   he said.  they became a yuppy must-have and a status symbol among young wealthy business folk.  this was also despite the fact that the phones used analogue radio signals to communicate which made them very easy to eavesdrop on. he said it took vodafone almost nine years to rack up its first million customers but only 18 months to get the second million.  it s very easy to forget that in 1983 when we put the bid document in we were forecasting that the total market would be two million people   he said.  cellnet was forecasting half that.  now vodafone has 14m customers in the uk alone. cellnet and vodafone were the only mobile phone operators in the uk until 1993 when one2one (now t-mobile) was launched. orange had its uk launch in 1994. both newcomers operated digital mobile networks and now all operators use this technology. the analogue spectrum for the old phones has been retired. called global system for mobiles (gsm) this is now the most widely used phone technology on the planet and is used to help more than 1.2 billion people make calls. mr caudwell said the advent of digital technology also helped to introduce all those things  such as text messaging and roaming that have made mobiles so popular.


venezuela and china sign oil deal venezuelan president hugo chavez has offered china wide-ranging access to the country s oil reserves.  the offer  made as part of a trade deal between the two countries  will allow china to operate oil fields in venezuela and invest in new refineries. venezuela has also offered to supply 120 000 barrels of fuel oil a month to china. venezuela - the world s fifth largest oil exporter - sells about 60% of its output to the united states. mr chavez s administration  which has a strained relationship with the us  is trying to diversify sales to reduce its dependence on its largest export market.  china s quick-growing economy s need for oil has contributed to record-high oil prices this year  along with political unrest in the middle east and supply bottlenecks. oil prices are finishing the year roughly 30% higher than they were in january 2004.  in 2004  according to forecasts from the ministry of commerce  china s oil imports will be 110m tons  up 21% on the previous year. china has been a net importer of oil since the mid 1990 s with more than a third of the oil and gas it consumes coming from abroad. a lack of sufficient domestic production and the need to lessen its dependence on imports from the middle east has meant that china is looking to invest in other potential markets such as latin america. mr chavez  who is visiting china  said his country would put its many of its oil facilities at the disposal of china. chinese firms would be allowed to operate 15 mature oil fields in the east of venezuela  which could produce more than one billion barrels  he confirmed. the two countries will also continue a joint venture agreement to produce stocks of the boiler fuel orimulsion. mr chavez has also invited chinese firms to bid for gas exploration contracts which his government will offer next year in the western gulf of venezuela. the two countries also signed a number of other agreements covering other industries including mining.


gardener battles to narrow win jason gardener fought all the way to the line to narrowly claim the men s 60m title at the norwich union indoor trials and aaas championships.  the world 60m champion got off to a rolling start and had to dig deep to dip ahead of mark findlay and darren chin  who both set personal bests.  it was a close race   admitted gardener.  i stumbled out the blocks but my experience told through.  i still feel there s more life in me and i believe i can go faster.  gardener s performance in sheffield could have been affected by the news  which he heard before his semi-final  that his european record had been broken frenchman ronald pognon  who will be a real threat at the european championships  set a new time of 6.45  one-hundreth of a second faster than gardener s previous mark. favourite  delivered a powerful performance to take the women s 60m title in 7.27 seconds.  you ll see me in madrid and i feel there is a lot more to come along   said the 22-year-old. katherine endacott battled hard to take second and dip under the european qualifying mark. defending champion joice maduaka had pulled out of the final with a chest infection.  was on record-breaking form as she stormed to the women s 60m hurdles crown. the 25-year-old set a new british record for the second time in seven days  clocking 7.96 seconds to finish ahead of rival diane allahgreen.  i m so happy   a tearful claxton told bbc sport.  all the years i ve been running and i m getting recognition.  claxton s time was also good enough to qualify for the european championships.  the men s 800m went to form in sheffield as  dominated the race from start to finish. the northern ireland athlete went off at a startling pace but had to hold off the challenge of welshman jimmy watkins over the final 200m to win in one minute  47.96 seconds. both mcilory and watkins  who set a life-time best of 1:48.32  had already booked their places in madrid and were again well within the qualifying time.  i had to go out and go through all the gears before the europeans and i won t run again until then   said mcilroy.  could not reach the european mark in the women s race as she crossed the line to win in 2:04.45. olympic bronze heptathlon medallist  rounded off a useful weekend with two more personal bests in sheffield. the 28-year-old reached 1.80m in the high jump and clocked 8.47secs in the heats of the 60m hurdles.  i ve surprised myself   said sotherton.  i m starting to thrive on the pressure but if i don t perform then it s not the end of the world.  pole vaulter  made a winning return to major competition after a drugs ban. the trafford athlete  who has served a two-year ban after testing positive for anabolic steroids  clinched the title with a championship record 4.25m.  also set a new championship mark in the men s triple jump title in sheffield. the 26-year-old  who has been training in australia over the winter  landed 17.30m with his final effort - the longest leap in the world this year.  i didn t have a clue   said idowu.  i ve not jumped indoors before and i just wanted the qualifying mark.  but this isn t a bad start and hopefully i ll come back from madrid with a gold medal.  nathan douglas continued his steady progress this season as he set a life-time best of 16.76m in second while jonathan moore took third.  and  resumed their rivalry in the long jump competition  both achieving the european standard. commonwealth champion morgan reached a personal best of 7.96m on his very first jump and then promptly retired with a bruised heel. olympian tomlinson tried to play catch up with his six jumps but had to settle for a season s best jump of 7.91m.  i was advised not to jump by my doctor and so i m pleased to come here and get the qualifying mark   said tomlinson.    now based at loughborough  sprinted past front runner catherine murphy in the final 100m to steal the women s 400m title. the 21-year-old ran a personal best of 53.45 seconds to win her first indoor title. wall s time was just short of the qualifying mark - something murphy already has. ireland s  took the men s title in 46.46 ahead of promising channel islands decathlete dale garland. sudanese 18-year-old rabah yusuf  who is seeking british citizenship  showed his raw talent as he burst through in third.  cleared the required 1.90m to qualify for the european championships and claim the aaas title in the women s high jump. in the men s 3 000m   powered to a new personal best of seven minutes  56.86 seconds to defend his aaas title in style. it was the first time in 11 years the eight-minute barrier has been broken at the championships and was just within the european mark.  took the women s 1500m aaas title in the absence of kelly holmes. her time of 4:19.11 was not good enough to qualify for madrid but ovens had already opted out of the championships. the men s race was won by    who had to fight off a closing pack to claim the title in 3:45.87.


o driscoll out of scotland game ireland captain brian o driscoll has been ruled out of saturday s rbs six nations clash against scotland.  o driscoll was originally named in the starting line-up but has failed to recover from the hamstring injury he picked up in the win over italy. his replacement will be named after training on friday morning. fellow centre gordon d arcy is also struggling with a hamstring injury and he will undergo a fitness test on friday to see if he can play.  kevin maggs would be an obvious replacement at centre while shane horgan could also be moved from wing. ulster wing tommy bowe could also be asked to travel with the squad to scotland as a precautionary measure. the only other change to the ireland side sees wasps flanker johnny o connor replacing denis leamy. o connor will be winning his third cap after making his debut in the victory over south africa last november.  : murphy  horgan  tbc  d arcy  hickie  o gara  stringer  corrigan  byrne  hayes  o kelly  o connell  s easterby  o connor  foley.  : sheahan  horan  o callaghan  miller  g easterby  humphreys  dempsey.


moya suffers shock loss fifth seed carlos moya was the first big name to fall at the australian open as he went down to fellow spaniard guillermo garcia-lopez on monday.  moya began the year with victory at the chennai open but looked out of sorts from the start in the melbourne heat. garcia-lopez  ranked 106 in the world  dominated from the outset and withstood a third-set rally from moya to hang on for a 7-5 6-3 3-6 6-3 victory. the 21-year-old plays kevin kim or lee hyuung-taik in the second round. garcia-lopez was delighted with the victory in only his third ever grand slam match.  i think this was the most important win of my life as carlos is one of the best players in the world   he said.  this has given me a lot of confidence. now i feel i can beat all these players.  moya said:  i was playing well before i came here. it was the perfect preparation but something was wrong today.   four-time champion andre agassi began what could be his last australian open with a convincing win over german qualifier dieter kindlmann. the 34-year-old american  who had been struggling with a hip injury earlier in the week  stormed to a 6-4 6-3 6-0 win. agassi will play france s olivier patience or germany s rainer schuettler - the man he beat in the 2003 final - in the next round.  no one was more concerned (about the injury) than myself   said eighth seed agassi.  i d worked hard to be down here and ready. but the last few days  i ve pushed through the injury and it seemed to do pretty good.  in other matches  world junior champion gael monfils made use of his wild card with a magnificent 1-6 6-3 6-4 7-6 (8-6) win over american robby ginepri. the 2002 champion thomas johansson fought back to beat peter luczak 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 6-3 4-6 6-0  and french open champion gaston gaudio beat justin gimelstob 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 6-3. seeds dominik hrbaty  ivan ljubicic and mario ancic made comfortable progress  but former french open champion albert costa lost to bjorn phau.


call for action on internet scam phone companies are not doing enough to warn customers about internet  rogue-dialling  scams  according to premium phone line regulator icstis.  it has received 45 000 complaints in recent months about dial-up internet connections diverting to premium rate numbers without users  knowledge. phone companies refuse to pay compensation because they say calls must be paid for. they must warn people earlier about possible fraud  icstis said.  people who use dial-up connections can be affected by the scams. without realising  a program can be downloaded which diverts internet calls via a premium phone line. victims often fail to notice until they receive an unusually high bill. icstis spokesman rob dwight said:  phone companies should get in touch with their customers sooner.  if my bill goes over the usual £50 a month i want to know about it straight away - i don t want to be told when it s hit £750.   phone companies had the systems in place to spot fraudulent activity and artificially-inflated traffic  he said.  we alert them to the numbers that we have under investigation and they should be looking out for these numbers   he added.  telecoms ombudsman elizabeth france said:  certainly i would not be surprised to find my credit card company phoning me if i do something out of the ordinary.  so i would expect phone companies to be looking to see if they can have a similar approach.  the biggest phone company bt says it is doing what it can to monitor fraud and warn people about rogue dialling. its advice to customers is to use call barring if they want to prevent calls to premium lines because  under the current system  once the call has been made there s little that can be done.  gavin patterson  group managing director for bt consumer  said  we do look at customer s calling patterns and we do make interventions when they are out of the ordinary.  we re looking at the moment at whether we can improve this.  but as bt handled 180 million calls a day monitoring was  quite a task in itself   he added. the government has ordered a review of premium line services and is likely to say icstis should have more power to deal with rogue diallers in future. at the moment  it cannot demand pay-outs on the behalf of customer - it can only close illegal services down.  i use free anti-virus software (avg) and free firewall protection (zonealarm). both of these tools have prevented unauthorised access and outgoing calls inadvertently and innocently caused by my daughter s love of music sites. how about isps informing all customers of such facilities  the responsibility clearly falls with the customer but many fall prey through simply not knowing how to avoid these issues.  ignorance is and always has been an expensive business.  does any one know what happens once this fraud has been committed and recognised  the phone companies pay the people who obtaining money fraudulently  so are these people followed up and prosecuted    these diallers are mainly downloaded from sites offering illegal mp3s  porn and pirated software. if people didn t visit such sites they d be considerably less at risk. whatever happened to personal responsibility  it seems everyone has to be a  victim  these days!  part of the blame has to rest with the manufacturers of home computer operating systems. a secure system should not allow a web page or email to download and install anything without the user s knowledge.  these scams are illegal and telephone companies should have nothing to do with them. they should refuse to pay money over to the perpetrators. or are they themselves receiving such good returns that it is in their interest to keep the scam going   why don t bt et al block all premium numbers by default and only turn it off at the customer s request  to anyone who falls foul of this scam - refuse to pay your telephone provider for these calls. after you notify your telephone provider of these fraudulent transactions  they cannot insist on you paying the bill. to do so would be to knowingly assist the fraudsters to commit the fraud. no customers have yet been taken to court for refusing to pay these bills.  disable or remove your modem and use broadband instead - then you have nothing to worry about. or buy some decent firewall software and anti-virus. you would not walk out in the freezing cold without a coat - you would not drive your car without any insurance - so why not protect your pc  stop blaming the phone companies - it s not their fault!  i was very impressed with our phone company recently. i had kept ringing a hotline number for kylie tickets and next day they rang back to ask if i was aware there were 40-odd calls to the same number. great service. and i got the tickets as well!  i have a colleague who has fallen victim to this kind of scam. he informed the phone company about it  they subsequently put a block on premium rate numbers. three months later another huge bill of over £1 000 came in - the block apparently didn t work and he still has to pay for it  even though a block was in place. phone companies are probably quite happy for their customers to be hit with a huge bill  otherwise they d be taking extra steps to prevent this kind of problem.  i have been scammed of £139. the operator will do nothing about this and  to add insult to injury  i was charged vat by the government.  premium rate numbers have been subject to various scams ever since they were invented. one example was where thieves would set up a premium rate number and then dial it day and night from phones whose quarterly bills were never paid. the telephone company was the victim here and you can bet that loophole was blocked very quickly.  i know people who have run up large bills  despite being it-literate. from talking to bt in belfast  i believe that they will shortly be giving out a free application that can stop you dialling expensive numbers without knowing. it s not the fault of phone companies  and at last they are doing something about it.  it s about time that the profiteering by the  legitimate  phone companies came to an end  mainly by doing away with dial-up altogether and bring broadband down to the same price as dial-up! not only will this ruin things for the dialler scammers but also allow people to update and upgrade their security more easily and quickly.  i haven t  fallen victim to a rogue-dialling scam  but i think you re seriously remiss in not pointing out that the vast majority of these scams arise from people trying to access services purporting to provide free pornography. in most cases the user is entirely at fault  which is probably why the telephone companies are rightly unwilling to refund them.  my telephone supplier did not inform me that my monthly bill had risen from its normal £3 to £5  to £320. this was because of the scam. they simply billed me. what particularly galls me  over and above having over £300 stolen  is that the supplier and the government (through vat) are profiting from this crime and will not reimburse me their portion of my losses.  how about an automatic monthly cap of say £20 on premium rate calls that you would have to contact your provider to have lifted  that way you could use legitimate premium rate numbers while limiting fraudulent usage. at least any disputed amount would be limited  far easier for a telecoms operator to write off £20 than it is £750.  a few years back i was also the target of such scams but thank god i have already upgraded to broadband and nothing was connected to my modem so all i heard was the sound of an attempted connection.  how about home users take some responsibility and ensure their anti-virus and firewall software is up to date  that should prevent the vast majority of these scams.