roundabout continues nostalgia trip the new big-screen version of the magic roundabout  released in the uk on friday  is the latest attempt to turn children s television into box-office gold.  recent years have seen a less-than-successful adaptation of the 1960s puppet show thunderbirds and a moderately successful version of e nesbit s five children and it  previously filmed by the bbc in 1991. he-man and transformers  which were cartoon favourites in the 1980s  will soon receive their own costly makeovers. with screen versions of the a-team  the dukes of hazzard and even blake s seven on the cards  nostalgia is clearly big business. but some critics complain that these expensive takes on iconic series of yesteryear do not match up to our fond memories of the originals. the new version of the magic roundabout  which will be released as sprung! in the us  replaces the stop-motion models of the 1960s tv show with polished  computer-generated animation.  in a similar fashion  the 2004 thunderbirds used human actors and special effects in place of the original s puppets and models. the films are squarely pitched at younger audiences. pop stars robbie williams and kylie minogue provide voices in the magic roundabout  while the now-defunct boy band busted performed the thunderbirds theme song. but while some reviewers have been won over  there has nonetheless been a significant backlash.  this cg-animated adventure airbrushes the sly charm and trippy otherworldliness which made the 60s stop-motion roundabout a cult hit   writes stella papamichael on the bbc movies site.  and the recent puppet comedy team america: world police was in part provoked by its directors  outrage that gerry anderson s thunderbirds was remade without its signature mannequins. dan jolin  reviews editor of empire magazine  says classic children s tv shows have a built-in audience that make them ideal for reinvention.   i can understand why people are taking these intellectual properties and repackaging them for the kids of today.  but i think it s backfiring. what s next - the clangers on some distant planet  with some giant cgi soup dragons chasing after them   despite thunderbirds  disappointing global box-office performance - the film cost $42m (£22m) but only recouped $21m (£11m) - the nostalgia craze shows no signs of abating. it can therefore be only a matter of time before some other tv favourites receive the hollywood treatment.  after the success of garfield: the movie  britain s shabby tabby  surely deserves his own film vehicle. with only 13 episodes made of the 1974 series  there is plenty of room to explore the lives of the pink cat  professor yaffle and the mice of the marvellous mechanical mouse organ.  furry recyclers  have already had one big-screen outing - 1977 s wombling free. but with environmental issues still occupying our thoughts it is high time they made a comeback. advances in special effects technology could do wonders for the bbc s supernatural comedy  . and the success of pirates of the caribbean must surely herald a comeback for tv s most popular cartoon buccaneer   . it might also remind viewers the lewd character names often associated with the show never actually existed.  the magic roundabout is out in the uk on 11 february.    how about bringing catweazle to the big screen  he could give gandalf a run for his money!  thundercats!! i loved it. should be fun to see on the big screen  if some effort is put in! it will bring my youth back!  get your hands off the clangers! is nothing sacred   make a movie version of the banana splits!  what about keanu reeves and richard gere in a remake of the wooden tops  or perhaps robbie williams could get his much mooted acting career off the ground by taking on the role of andy pandy.  you forgot to mention the grearest of them all  danger mouse! but then again  it couldn t be better than the original series  could it   it s always nice to see these old toons re-released  but after the abysmal thunderbirds movie (and the song!) i think i ve been completely put off. just leave these classics alone as good memories.  i think remakes are a good idea. as the world moves on people tend to look more and more into the past to things that make them feel safe. i believe this is the whole reason  retro  has become so popular. as long as a remake does justice to the original then all it can do is create a wider audience and possibly entice a new generation of persons to enjoy and revive and old series. personally i d like to see cartoons such as transformers  thundercats and m.a.s.k. get full hollywood remakes.  leave them alone  why ruin something that we all have very fond memories of in the first place  the thunderbirds film was apalling  not a patch on the puppet series i grew up with and the magic roundabout will never be the same without the voice of eric thompson.  love to see transformers with real actors and cgi. and make it at least a 15 rating.  part of the reason for the success of such classics as the magic roundabout was that the characters were not the sweet and cuddly creatures that you would expect. they were moody  sarcastic  and rather human. just looking at the pictures of the animations for the new film show that these characteristics have not been preserved. dougal never smiled like that! films of this sort have an unfortunate habit of disneyfying everthing  and they just lose the real magic that made the show special in the first place.  i have fond memories of bod (not least of which because i look like him) and would like to see someone attempt to make it into a film. it s got all the right material for an american blockbuster - no plot and no story. bod would likely be played by tom cruise and would undoubtedly have a girlfriend or two.  it s all very well and good remaking these classic tv shows and films with all the latest technology for a  new  audience  but for me a lot of the original charm is lost when they do this  and seems more like a money making exercise to cash in on the original success of the programme than reinventing or improving it. it maybe that to an audience who have never seen the originals they can watch them without prejudice  but to people who have grown up with all these shows such as thunderbirds and magic roundabout which are part of our childhood  they are never going to live up to expectation. it does pose the question though that with all the long line of remakes being made  are film-makers running out of original ideas   all i can say is bring back danger mouse  probably the greatest kids  show ever. i recently re-watched some episodes and realised that there was a level of humour shown in danger mouse that was completely lost on me when i was a child.  there was a new captain pugwash cartoon made a couple of years back. again  like so many of these nostalgia programmes  the animation - this time computer created flat-cell like animation - failed to match the original s cut out paper technique for inventiveness  and was woefully inadequate. we live in a sampling world - the music industry has been pludering past decades for inspiration  clipping sounds from 20 years ago is much cheaper and easier that doing something new. seems that the film and tv is doing the same now - it s just cheaper to take ideas from the past and rework them  rather than being daring and trying something new.  it got to be mr.benn. the story line about a man who changes in a fancy dress shop  steps into a door way and appears in another time and place would be amazing! if they got a decent producer and writer the story line could be great. and who to play the lead role  well if it was a comedy then it would have to be someone like steve martin. if its going to be an adventure then johnny depp playing a role similar to the pirates of the caribbean character.  muffin the mule perhaps   after all  grannies and grandpas go to the cinema as well you know!  why can t the british film industry try making gerry anderson s ufo or captain scarlet  or saphire and steel  or the tomorrow people.  in today s media  it seems the past is the future. tv shows such as battlestar galactica have new remakes  dj s are sampling or re-working 70 s and 80 s music. even computer games from 10-15 years ago are getting modern re-workings. personally  i think it shows that no one has any originality any more! why not just leave our misty-eyed nostalgia alone.  mary  mungo and midge. but of course for most of the episodes the lift would be out of order and they would have to use the stairs. plus would mary be more of a vicky pollard character as she lives in a high rise council block  yeah but no but i wasn t even there!  i d like to see mr. benn  with brad pitt in the title role. sean connery could play the mysterious costume shop owner.  it demonstrates a profound lack of imagination in today s film-makers that they continually try to remake and remodel the past in an effort to cash in on nostalgia. there are plany of modern children s book that would make excellent films or tv programmes  why not use them instead of rehashing the past   mr. benn with rowan atkinson as the lead.  would have loved to see dungeons & dragons made  but unfortunately the film that it was made into didn t come up to scratch. the only one that isn t to be remade as yet is thundercats  which i d like to see.  i m an expat living in norway  and i recently went through a period of buying the dvds of many of my favourite children s programs for my 2 daughters. my dearest wish  however  is to see a feature length version of noggin the nog appear on the big screen!! very scandinavian...  rainbow!  i believe that childrens classics should be left well alone  and i will not be surprised if the magic roundabout does not do well at the box office  especially since it will be going up against the spongebob squarepants movie  popular among children because it s original  witty  and modern. the magic roundabout will never appeal to the children of today as it did all those many years ago.  how about classics like chorlton and the wheelies  rentaghost  terrahawks  bod.....oh the list could go on and on!!!  if a transformers movie is indeed on the cards then i ll be the first one on amazon buying a copy  eagerly waiting at the front door with a frothy mouth and a nervous twitch. repackage my childhood and sell it to me at an extortionate price! i don t care! till then i ll have to make do with the citreon c4 advert.  i d luv to see willow the wisp on the big screen but sadly without the late kenneth williams doing the voices it wouldnt be the same. and who remembers trap door voiced by the late willie rushden  superb children s programme. could morph hold his own in a big screen movie    or even jamie and the magic torch....hmmmmm  i could go on and on. danger mouse  at 34 i m showing my age. :-)  noggin the nog was one of the best children s programs. the problem with bringing it to the big screen is that no-one could approach oliver postgate s wonderful voices. so in general leave well alone. the originals are good because they are of their time and the methods used are an integral part of the story.  just imagine what could be achieved by using cgi in a remake of fingerbobs... the already disturbing hand antics of the bearded hippy  yoffi could take on a whole new level with a more life-like fingermouse  bob the builder  postman pat and fireman sam together in an epic adventure of fire  post and bricks. in the ultimate struggle to save the women they love from the evil clowns  krusty and gobo. will they triumph or will they fail miserably  find out this fall.  one puppet show that i personally would love to see made into a live action movie is joe 90. it would be worth the price of admission alone to see the large screen version of joe s car. of course  gerry anderson s supermarionation is a rich seam of material worthy of big-screen  big-budget action. it was only that thunderbirds the movie was targetted as a children t movie that really let it down. after all  the children that remember those shows with such affection are now the parents of children themselves.  it s only because the people who were children when these programmes were first shown have grown up and are plundering their childhoods  isn t it  i d hate to see bagpuss with perfect animation - i love that  done in a shed  clunkiness and you couldn t recreate the magic. perhaps if the remakes were done in a  look around you  mock-authentic style i might be interested ...  chorton and the wheelies or jamie and his magic torch; that would be mega!  this re-gurgitation of old films and tv shows makes me angry - it is corporate laziness resting on the safety of other people s ideas  because it guarantees to bring in the $$$. the same can be said of modern day pop bands who release other peoples material  will young etc. the sad fact is nostalgia sells big bucks in the short-term. the fact that they will be forgotten in 6 months time is irrelevant (e.g. starsky & hutch) hence  the market is saturated with this mindless drivel  but it can only be stopped if people stop buying it!  i pray they never do a remake of chorlton and the wheelies. i m only 27 and don t remember the series from when it was on tv  but have the set on dvd and it s a classic. the fact it s so great comes from the fact that there were very few special effects involved and compared to today s stuff it looks amateurish. thats the appeal though  it s so innocent (like chorlton himself) and it would be a real shame if they did remake it.


dallaglio eyeing lions tour place former england captain lawrence dallaglio still harbours hopes of a place on the british and irish lions tour to new zealand.  lions coach sir clive woodward has made it clear he will pick his squad to tour next summer based on form shown in the six nations championship. but dallaglio  who called time on england earlier this year  said:  i assure you i wouldn t let anyone down.  i know what it takes and what i have to offer   he told the daily telegraph. dallaglio toured south africa with the lions in 1997 but was forced home early with a knee injury from the trip to australia three years ago.  the 32-year-old also felt concentrating on club rugby could have prolonged his international shelf-life. he said:  i ll be in good shape and fresh without another 10 tests on the clock.  from what i witnessed at close quarters on sunday in our heineken cup match against leicester  i certainly didn t feel out of place alongside those players  many of whom will be on the trip.   if i m fit and playing well  then i m most certainly available.  if clive feels he has no need to look outside the international crop  then fine. if he does  then he won t need to look too far  will he


ministers lose slopping out case the scottish executive has lost an appeal against an inmate s compensation for being forced to slop out in prison.  armed robber robert napier  25  won £2 450 after he claimed he suffered an outbreak of the skin complaint  eczema  when slopping out at barlinnie prison. napier said that the practice  where prisoners use buckets in their cells as toilets  breached his human rights. on thursday  the court of session threw out a move by the executive to apply a more rigorous standard of proof.  the executive faces more than 1 000 similar claims for damages from prisoners and former inmates. more than 310 actions have already been raised in the court of session and sheriff courts in scotland. an executive spokesman said:  we will study this judgement in detail. much has changed to address the issues raised in the napier case  for example  slopping out has ended at barlinnie and work in other prisons is being accelerated.  today s judgement does not affect the outcome of other cases.  napier  a remand prisoner at the time  raised a legal challenge in 2001 under the european convention on human rights  in which he sought £5 000. he was awarded compensation last april after winning his case.  executive ministers raised an appeal arguing that the standard of proof to be applied in cases alleging a breach of the european convention on human rights through degrading and inhumane treatment should  be beyond reasonable doubt . this is the standard normally applied in criminal trials in scotland. however  civil litigation is settled on the test of  a balance of probabilities . judge lord cullen  sitting with lord osborne and lord hamilton  ruled that alleged human rights breaches involving degrading treatment should be dealt with on the normal civil standard. napier s lawyer tony kelly believes the action will soon be followed by others. mr kelly said:  there are hundreds of people still undergoing slopping out  overcrowding and poor regime and those people will certainly be heartened by today s judgement.  scottish national party justice minister kenny macaskill said that the slopping out case had been  a fiasco from start to finish . he said:  ministers were fully aware of the state of scotland s jails. funds were available but they chose to ignore the problem and after this ruling i suspect we will be faced with even more claims and no doubt more payouts.  a short term executive saving has resulted in a long term public cost.


eu rules  won t stop uk spending  the shape of the uk s economy in graphics  but he denied that he was ruling out british membership of the euro despite saying there would be no assessment of the five economic tests this year. mr brown said that it was vital the uk continued to invest in infrastructure  science  and education in the future. otherwise it would be overtaken by the likes of china  he told mps.  the chancellor said that the eu s planned changes in the growth and stability pact - designed to ensure that countries in the euro zone do not borrow too much - would force britain to run a budget surplus of 1% over the economic cycle.  under mr brown s rules  the uk current budget must be in balance over the economic cycle  but public investment is not counted as part of that deficit. he told the house of commons treasury select committee that the eu rules  make it difficult for a low debt country to run the investment programmes that are necessary to improve its infrastructure . but he argued that the eu was moving in the direction of the uk principles  and would eventually recognise the need to consider budget deficits over a longer period than one year  to include investment  and to take more account of the total size of government debt as well as the balance each year. under mr brown s  sustainable investment  rule  government debt should be under 40% - in contrast to the 60% allowed under the growth and stability pact.  mr brown vigorously denied conservative claims that he had in effect fiddled the figures to ensure that he met his own fiscal rules. in march the office of national statistics (ons) reclassified £3.4bn of spending on road repairs as public investment - shortly before the chancellor announced in the budget that he would meet his own fiscal budget rule by only £6bn. conservative michael fallon asked mr brown whether the treasury had leaned on ons to make this change  and said that the ons had received a written paper from the treasury on this matter. but the chancellor said mr fallon was  impugning the integrity  of the office of national statistics and said the decision had been made completely independently. mr brown also denied that he was increasing taxes to fund his spending gap. he told the treasury select committee that a growing economy meant more people in work and more profits for companies which would boost treasury coffers.  earlier  ex-conservative chancellor ken clarke welcomed a relaxation of the rules governing the euro zone. speaking on radio 4 s today programme  mr clarke said political give and take would replace more  rigid  rules. but fellow tory david heathcoat-amory said the folly of the system was in trying to run europe s varied economies on one set of rules.  the essential point here is that the stability and growth pact has turned out to be a fake   he said.  the warning is about the european constitution  which we are going to have a vote on in a year or two  and that centralises and entrenches these rules in a constitution. it gives more powers to brussels to co-ordinate things like employment and economic policy.  but  speaking to the treasury select committee  gordon brown said that the new stability pact rules were not part of a binding treaty and could be changed again the future - potentially opening the way for future euro membership.  the conditions for euro entry are unchanged by this new decision about the stability and growth pact   mr. brown said.


aviation firms eye booming india india s defence minister has opened the country s aero india 2005 air show with an invitation for global aerospace firms to outsource jobs to the nation.  pranab mukherjee said such companies could take advantage of india s highly skilled workers and low wages. more than 240 civil and military aerospace firms from 31 countries are attending the show. analysts said india could spend up to $35bn (£18.8bn) in the aviation market over the next 20 years. giants such boeing and airbus - on the civil aviation front - as well as lockheed martin and france s snecma - on the military side - are some of the firms attending the show.  there is tremendous scope for outsourcing from india in areas where the companies are competitive   said mr mukerjee.  we are keen to welcome international collaborations that are in conformity with our national goals.   lockheed said it had signed an agreement with state-owned hindustan aeronautics (hal) to share information on the p-3 orion maritime surveillance aircraft.  in fact  the indian armed force is considering the buying of used p-3 orion as well as f-16 fighter jets from lockheed. the us military industry has show a strong interest to open a link with india  now that relations between the two countries have improved a lot. in fact  it is the first time the us air force will attend the air show since sanctions imposed in 1998 after india s nuclear tests were lifted. but the indian air force is also considering proposals from other foreign firms such as france s dassault aviation  sweden s saab and russia s mikoyan-gurevich. meanwhile  france s snecma has also said it plans a joint venture with hal to make engine parts  with an initial investment of $6.5m.  on the civilian front  boeing announced a deal with india s hcl technologies to develop a platform for the flight test system of its 787 dreamliner aircraft. the us company also said it had agreed with a new indian budget airline the sale of 10 737-800 planes for $630m. the airline  spicejet  will also have the option to acquire 10 more aircraft. airbus has also recently signed fresh deals with two indian airlines - air deccan and kingfisher. in addition  the european company has plans to open a training centre in india. meanwhile  flag carrier air india is considering to buy 50 new aircraft from either boeing or airbus.  no other market is going to see the growth that will be seen here in the coming years   said dinesh keskar  senior vice president boeing.


assembly ballot papers  missing  hundreds of ballot papers for the regional assembly referendum in the north east have  disappeared .  royal mail says it is investigating the situation  which has meant about 300 homes in county durham are not receiving voting packs. officials at darlington council are now in a race against time to try and rectify the situation. the all-postal votes of about two million electors are due to be handed in by 4 november. a spokesman for darlington council said:  we have sent out the ballot papers  the problem is with royal mail.  somewhere along the line  something has gone wrong and these ballot papers have not been delivered.  the royal mail is investigating to see if they can find out what the problem is.   a spokeswoman for royal mail said:  we are investigating a problem with the delivery route in the mowden area of darlington.  this is affecting several hundred properties  which have failed to receive ballot papers.  we are working closely with the council and will do all we can to help rectify the problem.  no-one will not receive their ballot paper as special hand deliveries will take place where necessary.  we are unaware of any other problems of this kind to do with the regional assembly vote.   the darlington council spokesman added:  initially we had complaints from a couple of residents in mowden to say they thought they should have had their ballot papers by now.  we then made further investigations and it became clear this was a bigger issue.  a spokeswoman for the electoral commission told bbc news online that letters were being sent out to those homes affected. she said the commission was satisfied that measures had been put in place to ensure all voters received ballot papers in time. so far a total of 569 072 ballot envelopes have been scanned by bar code at counting offices across the north east.


funding cut hits wales students the wales students rugby side has become a casualty of the welsh rugby union s reorganisation at youth level.  an amalgamated under-18 side formed from separate schools and national youth teams plays its first match on thursday  against italy at the gnoll. but that move has seen the wru decide to end its funding of representative sides such as wales students. as a result  traditional international fixtures against england and france in the new year have been cancelled. the welsh students rugby football union feels that it is unable to properly prepare for or stage the matches. the secretary of the welsh students rugby football union  reverend eldon phillips  said:  it is a shame that fixtures cannot be maintained this year.  the competition provided by the strong english and french teams has enabled the welsh students to test themselves in high quality matches.  the increasing number of young rugby players entering higher education look for the biggest challenge  that is representative rugby  but this year that opportunity will be denied them. players who have played for wales students before going on to win full senior representative honours include robert jones  rob howley  jon humphreys  darren morris  martyn williams and ceri sweeney.


tsunami slows sri lanka s growth sri lanka s president has launched a reconstruction drive worth $3.5bn (£1.8bn) by appealing for peace and national unity.  president kumaratunga said it was now important to find a peaceful solution to years of internal conflict. meanwhile  the international monetary fund (imf) said damage from the tsunami would cut one percentage point from sri lanka s economic growth this year. it estimated the wave left physical damage equal to 6.5% of the economy.  separately  the international labour organisation (ilo) said that at least one million people have lost their livelihoods in sri lanka and indonesia alone. it called for action to create jobs. president kumaratunga attended a ceremony in the southern town of hambantota. she was joined by government and opposition politicians  together with buddhist  hindu  muslim and christian clergy.  prime minister mahinda rajapakse laid the foundation stone on a new housing project intended to provide 6 000 homes for survivors of the tsunami. mrs kumaratunga called for the tragedy to be  the start of a new beginning to rebuild our nation .  we are a country blessed with so many natural resources and we have not made use of them fully. instead we have been squabbling  fighting   she added. norway s peace negotiator erik solheim is due to arrive on wednesday to try to revive peace talks in the decades-long conflict between government forces and the tamil tigers  who want a separate state in the north east of the country. reconstruction efforts in eastern sri lanka have been hampered by tensions between the two sides.  the imf said that the sri lankan authorities  initial estimates have put the physical damage at $1.3 to $1.5bn  but added that the implications for the economy were much wider than this.  the broader macroeconomic impact will clearly be substantial but the details are difficult to assess at this early stage   the imf said. growth  inflation  the balance of payments and foreign exchange reserves are all expected to show the effects of lost businesses and reconstruction costs.  the fishing industry has been devastated  agricultural production may be affected and tourism will suffer  especially in the short term   the report said. the ilo estimated that 400 000 sri lankans have lost their jobs  mostly in these three industries. earnings from tourism this year are expected to be 15% lower than last year. economic growth this year is expected to be 4%  which is about 1% less than previously forecast. inflation could climb to 14% compared to a previous estimate of 12%. although major exports have not suffered  the imf expects the reconstruction effort will require higher imports which could damage the balance of payments. foreign exchange reserves may become strained as  sri lanka will be hard pressed to keep international reserves at the pre-tsunami level  which totalled more than two months worth of imports. last week  the imf approved sri lanka s request for a freeze on loan repayments.


faultless federer has no equal roger federer - nice bloke  fantastic tennis player - the ultimate sportsman.  when lleyton hewitt shook his hand after getting another thrashing  a third in as many months  the australian said;  you re the best.  how right he is. the stats speak for themselves: 11 titles from 11 finals during 2004 - three of them grand slams - and 13 final victories in a row going back to vienna 2003. that s an open-era record. hewitt  at times in houston  showed form which easily matched his grand slam-winning efforts of 2001 and 2002. but he was outplayed. twice. hewitt  along with andy roddick and marat safin  is sure to be prominent during 2005. but realistically  all three will be fighting for the world number two ranking. according to all those players and even federer himself  the swiss star is in a different league.   right now i feel that a little bit   he told bbc sport.  i ve dominated all the top ten players. they say nice things about me because i have beaten them all. i am dominating the game right now and i hope it continues!  the number one player in the world is also the main man for promoting the sport off court. he has just been voted  by the international tennis writers  as the best  ambassador for tennis  on the atp tour. he has time for everyone. every match  from first round to final  is followed by a series of press interviews in three languages; english  french and swiss-german. after a major win  there are extra requests  obligations and interviews  all seen through to the end with courtesy and  most importantly  good humour.  you guys are funny  i have a good time with you guys   he said  genuinely happy to talk into yet another tape recorder.  i see you pretty much every day on the tour so to give away an hour for interviews is really no problem for me.  if i can promote tennis and the sport then that is good for me. people say thanks back and that is nice.  what a refreshing attitude from someone who could easily dominate the sports pages for a decade. it sums up his modest personality. shortly after collecting a waterford crystal trophy  a mercedes convertible and a tasty cheque for $1.5m  federer addressed the houston crowd and concluded by saying  thanks for having me . now he just needs to find a way of winning the french open  the one grand slam to so far elude him.


row brewing over peer-to-peer ads music download networks are proving popular not just with an audience of youngsters keen to take advantage of free music but with advertisers equally keen to reach out to a captive audience.  the debate over the legitimacy of file-sharing networks rages on as the music industry continues its threats to close the services down for good. meanwhile the millions of downloaders are proving both an advertiser s dream come true and a branding nightmare. paul myers  chief executive of wippit - a peer to peer service which provides paid-for music downloads - believes it is time advertisers stopped providing  oxygen  for companies that support illegal downloading.  you may be surprised to know that current advertisers on the most popular peer to peer service edonkey who now steadfastly support copyright theft with real cash money include nat west  vodafone  o2  first direct  ntl  and renault   he said in an open letter to the british phonographic industry last month.  he urged people to follow his lead and  dump  brands associated with companies such as edonkey. the bpi is equally quick to condemn established brands becoming bedfellows with peer to peer networks.  networks like edonkey  kazaa and grokster facilitate illegal filesharing. the bpi strongly believes that any reputable company should look carefully at the support they are giving these networks through their advertising revenue   it said in a statement.  illegal file-sharers steal millions of pounds worth of music through these services. we are sure that the companies advertising on them would not put up with theft on such a scale from their own businesses   it said. but the issue is often more complicated for advertisers  said mark mulligan  a music analyst with jupiter research.  this has been a problem for a long time  ever since the days of napster   he told the bbc news website.  the reality is that the millions of downloaders represent a very attractive audience.  advertisers probably pay a lot less for putting ads here than on more respected sites and they are reaching the perfect target audience   he said.  if you put the legality issues aside  not to advertise here would mean missing out on a valuable audience   he added. meanwhile companies contacted by the bbc news website insist that they were not directly aware of where their ads have been appearing. onetel adverts were spotted on edonkey this week and its response was typical.  we have investigated this matter and believe that one of our affiliate partners has placed this advert without our knowledge. it is not our policy to advertise through peer-to-peer networks   read a statement from the discount phone firm. it has requested the advert be removed immediately  said a spokeswoman. similarly telecommunications firm ntl blames its media buying agency which places adverts with third party networks featuring thousands of sites. since the matter was brought to its attention last month  the agency has strict instructions to make sure ads do not appear on such sites  a spokesman told the bbc news website.  however mr mulligan was not entirely convinced by these explanations. while smaller brands might not necessarily be aware of where the money they allocate to online advertising actually ends  this is no excuse for well-known brands  he said.  i would be surprised if these brands didn t have the know-how to prevent this happening   he said. at the moment edonkey is enjoying the benefits of having some very well-known faces advert on its network.  many big brands have leveraged the opportunity  including perhaps two of the biggest brands in the world - senator john kerry and president george w. bush   said chief executive sam yagan. there are some distinct advantages of advertising on such a network  he thinks.  peer-to-peer clients offer big brands a unique opportunity to engage with their customers where they re most comfortable: at their desks interacting with their favourite digital media   he said.


dal maso in to replace bergamasco david dal maso has been handed the task of replacing the injured mauro bergamasco at flanker in italy s team to face scotland on saturday.  alessandro troncon continues at scrum-half despite the return to fitness of paul griffen. the experienced cristian stoica is recalled at centre at the expense of walter pozzebon.  we are going to scotland for the first away win and nothing else   said manager marco bollesan.  i really believe this is the team who will have all our faith for saturday s game.  we lost a player like mauro bergamasco who has been important for us  but (coach) john (kirwan) has put together the best team at present  if not ever.  r de marigny (parma); mirco bergamasco (stade francais)  c stoica (montpellier)  a masi (viadana)  l nitoglia (calvisano); l orquera (padova)  a troncon (treviso); a lo cicero (l aquilla)  f ongaro (treviso)  m castrogiovanni (calvisano)  s dellape (agen)  m bortolami (narbonne  capt)  a persico (agen)  d dal maso (treviso)  s parisse (treviso).  g intoppa (calvisano)  s perugini (calvisano)  ca del fava (parma)  s orlando (treviso)  p griffen (calvisano)  r pedrazzi (viadana)  k robertson (viadana).


tindall aiming to earn lions spot bath and england centre mike tindall believes he can make this summer s lions tour  despite missing most of the season through injury.  the world cup winner has been out of action since december  having damaged both his shoulder and his foot. but tindall  who recently signed for bath s west-country rivals gloucester  told rugby special he would be fit in time for the tour to new zealand.  i m aiming to be fit by 18 april and hope i can play from then   he said.  i ve spoken to sir clive woodward and he understands the situation  so i just hope that i can get on the tour.  the 26-year-old will face stiff competition for those centre places from brian o driscoll  gordon d arcy and gavin henson  and is aware that competition is intense.  but after missing out on the 2001 tour to australia with a knee injury  tindall says he will be happy just to have an opportunity to wear the red shirt.  i m quite laid back about it to be honest - it s quite hard for me to expect to be pushing for a test spot   he said.  but after what s happened this season at least clive knows i ll be 100% fresh!   - for the full interview with mike tindall tune into this sunday s rugby special  2340 on bbc two


cherie accused of attacking bush cherie blair has been accused of criticising george w bush s policies in a private address she gave during a united states lecture tour.  the prime minister s wife is said to have praised the supreme court for overruling the white house on the legal rights of guantanamo bay detainees. the tories said she broke a convention that british political figures do not act in a partisan way when abroad. but downing street said she was speaking in her capacity as a lawyer. it said she was not expressing political opinions. mrs blair s remarks are said to have been made in a speech to law students in massachusetts. she said the decision by the us supreme court to give legal protection to two britons held at guantanamo bay was a significant victory for human rights and the international rule of law. she also described the us legal code as an outdated grandfather clock and welcomed a decision to throw out a law backed by mr bush relating to sodomy in texas.  bbc news correspondent gary o donoghue said mrs blair was likely to face further calls for restraint  since the us election is imminent.  there have been some objections from people reasonably close to the bush administration about her making these comments in their backyard just two days before a presidential election   he said.  conservatives here too have made their feelings clear.  cherie booth has always regarded herself as having an independent career. she has continued to practise as a major human rights lawyer in the courts.  it s not unusual for her to make these sorts of criticisms clear but it can be embarrassing.


blair dismisses quit claim report tony blair has dismissed reports he told gordon brown he would quit before the next general election.   you don t do deals over jobs like this   the prime minister told bbc one s breakfast with frost programme. according to a new book  brown s britain  mr blair went back on a pledge to make way for mr brown after cabinet allies intervened in june 2004. mr blair said the claims were  reheated from six months ago  and that he was concentrating on running the country. 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.  the book  by sunday telegraph journalist robert peston and serialised in the newspaper  said the pair had  mutual animosity and contempt  for each other.  it claims tony blair felt by november 2003 he had lost voters  trust because of the iraq war and that he was no longer an asset to the labour party. and that at a dinner hosted by deputy prime minister john prescott he told mr brown of his intention to stand down. according to mr peston the prime minister said:  help me to get through the year and i will then stand down.  but 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.  mr peston told bbc news:  my understanding is that they are not nearly as close or as friendly as they once were.  what the book says is there is now a pretty profound mutual mistrust  mutual animosity.  i think in public you see this double-act pretending everything is alright  but in private i don t think the relationship is good because brown  understandably  feels deeply betrayed - particularly over this issue of the leadership.  but  in a wide-ranging bbc interview covering issues such as the asian tsunami disaster  the middle east peace process and northern ireland  mr blair said:  when you get to the top in politics you get this huge swell around you.  all sorts of people make all sorts of claims and counter-claims.  he admitted to a  sense of frustration  about the allegations which he said had been made  countless times .  there has been fresh speculation of a rift recently  following their 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 . former welfare minister frank field mp said the prime minister should sack mr brown  but did not believe mr blair was strong enough to do so.  tory leader michael howard accused the prime minister and mr brown of  squabbling like schoolboys . he told sky news  sunday with adam boulton:  this is the politics of the playground and britain really does deserve better.  the liberal democrat parliamentary chairman matthew taylor said the personal ambition of mr blair and mr brown was  getting in the way of good government .  either they need to grow up and put their squabbles to one side or they cannot expect the electorate to support a divided government at the next election.  during the interview mr blair also said the former home secretary david blunkett would play a  big role  at the general election.


council tax rise  reasonable  welsh councils should set their taxes at  reasonable levels  after being given an average funding increase of 6%  says the assembly government.  finance minister sue essex said it was a  good deal  for local government. the £3.2bn settlement includes the  full  £7.4m from the uk treasury announced by chancellor gordon brown. but opposition parties said rebanding of council taxes would mean steep rises. in addition  £13.4m will come from the business support grant - a scheme which enables local authorities to keep part of business rates. she said where spending rises were kept to around 5% she was  confident that councils will be able to set council taxes at reasonable levels.  the welsh local government association (wlga) had said on the eve of the announcement said that  significant  cuts to services may still be unavoidable. after the announcement wlga finance spokesman bob wellington  of torfaen  said it was vital that rises were minimsed.  a limited amount of money has come available but this is not the answer to our problems   said mr wellington.  it is vital that we start now to plan for future years and accept that resources will continue to reduce while pressures on services increase.  on monday  a delegation of north wales councils visited ms essex to lobby for increased funds. ms essex said:  i have listened to the views of local government and council tax payers and recognise the funding pressures and the concerns they have about council tax rises.  i have met a large number of local authorities in recent weeks and i am aware of the pressures on them to provide local services and keep down the level of council tax  particularly for those people to are moving up a band due to the revaluation of domestic properties.  she said council taxes could be kept at reasonable levels   even for those people who have moved up a band .  the settlement includes a rise in the grant to help councils with the most deprived communities and a 16.4% rise in capital expenditure support. ms essex said:  this is a good deal for local government  which will allow the well-managed councils of wales to develop their services and charge reasonable levels of council tax. it is now a matter for council leaders to manage their budgets at a local level.  plaid cymru s local government spokesman dai lloyd called the announcement  hugely disappointing . he said:  wales and its local authorities have been short changed yet again. this is not whinging as the labour assembly government so often claims - it is anger.   this will mean either a massive hike in council tax  massive cuts in services provided by councils  or both.  mike german  leader of the liberal democrats in the assembly  claimed that one in three homes were still likely to face council tax rises due to rebanding. mr german said:  i know from my discussions with welsh liberal democrat council leaders that they are doing their utmost to keep council tax to a minimum. but the random redistribution effect of rebanding...will create a great deal of difficulty.  conservative local government spokesman glyn davies said that for the minister to claim that the majority of council tax payers in wales should see very little change  is taking spin to the very verge of deception . he added:  around a third of welsh households have been re-valued upwards by at least one band and inevitably face increases into double figures.


sun offers processing by the hour sun microsystems has launched a pay-as-you-go service which will allow customers requiring huge computing power to rent it by the hour.  sun grid costs users $1 (53p) for an hour s worth of processing and storage power on systems maintained by sun. so-called grid computing is the latest buzz phrase in a company which believes that computing capacity is as important a commodity as hardware and software. sun likened grid computing to the development of electricity.  the system could mature in the same way utilities such as electricity and water have developed  said sun s chief operating officer jonathan schwartz.  why build your own grid when you can use ours for a buck an hour   he asked in a webcast launching sun s quarterly network computing event in california. the company will have to persuade data centre managers to adopt a new model but it said it already had interest from customers in the oil  gas and financial services industries.  some of them want to book computing capacity of more than 5 000 processors each  sun said. mr schwartz ran a demonstration of the service  showing how data could be processed in a protein folding experiment. hundreds of servers were used simultaneously  working on the problem for a few seconds each.  although it only took a few seconds  the experiment cost $12 (£6.30) because it had used up 12 hour s worth of computing power. the sun grid relies on solaris  the operating system owned by sun. initially it will house the grid in existing premises and will use idle servers to test software before shipping it to customers. it has not said how much the system will cost to develop but it already has a rival in ibm  which argues that its capacity on-demand service is cheaper than that offered by sun.


kennedy criticises  unfair  taxes gordon brown has failed to tackle the  fundamental unfairness  in the tax system in his ninth budget  charles kennedy has said.  how was it right that the poorest 20% of society were still paying more as a proportion of their income than the richest 20%  the lib dem leader asked. the new £200 council tax rebate for pensioners did nothing to fix the  unfair tax   he added. the government could not go on  patching up  the system  he added. speaking in the commons after mr brown had delivered what is widely thought to be the last budget before the general election  mr kennedy acknowledged that the uk was one of the most successful economies in the world.  but he criticised both the chancellor and the tories for failing to address the  ticking bomb  of council tax revaluation. he said the recent experience of wales indicated seven million households in england would pay significantly more after revaluation. the chancellor s announcement that he was to offer a £200 council tax rebate paid by pensioner households was merely a  sticking plaster  to a much bigger problem. the lib dem plan for a local income tax would benefit the typical household by more than £450 a year  with half of all pensioners paying no local tax and about three million being better off.  on pensions  mr kennedy said it was a  scandal  that the system discriminated against women who had missed making national insurance payments when they were having children. he said a residency criteria would end  at a stroke this fundamental iniquity . mr kennedy added his party s priorities of free long-term care for the elderly  abolishing top-up fees and replacing the council tax would be funded by charging 50% income tax to those earning more than £100 000 per annum. he contrasted his approach with mr brown s pledge in 2001 not to increase income tax. the chancellor went on to put up national insurance contributions after the election.  for most individuals  most families  most households  it adds up to exactly the same thing   said mr kennedy.  and they wonder why people get cynical about their politicians when they give one impression before an election and do exactly the opposite after that election.


fightstar take to the stage charlie simpson took his new band fightstar to the stage on friday night  just hours after officially announcing his departure from pop band busted.  he was greeted by a sell-out crowd at the university of warwick. confirmation of busted s long-rumoured split had come earlier in the day  when simpson held a press conference in london with bandmates matt willis and james bourne. all three band members stressed that the break up was amicable  although bourne admitted he was  devastated  to hear of simpson s departure.  this has been a really difficult decision   19-year-old simpson revealed   i hope the fans will understand.   while simpson declared he would look back with pride on busted s enormous success  his focus turned immediately to fightstar  with friday s press conference coinciding with the start of the band s 13-date tour of the uk. fuelled by this news  all 1 400 tickets to see charlie s first post-busted live appearance - at the university of warwick s student union - sold out rapidly. mike eccleshall  the venue s promotions coordinator  said:  tickets had been selling strongly over the past few days  but sales went mad after the news broke. we had completely sold out by 4pm.   with queues outside the venue long and expectations high  the pressure was on fightstar to impress. although many dedicated fans travelled to the gig from around the country  they faced a tough crowd made up chiefly of students  the average age of the audience far exceeding that of any busted concert. gone were the screaming girls to which simpson had become accustomed. support act brigade  fronted by simpson s brother  played a short set first and were met with general approval. when fightstar eventually took to the stage around 11pm  however  a riotous cheer easily drowned out any hecklers lurking in the crowd.  unfortunately  the band were initially hindered by technical teething problems as simpson s guitar amplifier failed to work. as sound technicians rushed to fix it  other band members did their best to improvise. when they eventually got under way  fightstar s blend of emotionally charged rock was warmly received. far heavier and less commercial than busted s chart-topping pop-punk  the band will undoubtedly appeal to a more mature fan-base. warwick student helen clutterbuck admitted:  i came to check out fightstar because of all the controversy.  i ve never heard them before  but i m pretty impressed.  less impressed were fellow students ryan crabbe and gordon rennie  who observed   with fightstar  charlie has clearly progressed from busted s sound  but they re still not very inspiring.  fightstar played for around 45 minutes  showcasing material from their forthcoming ep called they liked you better when you were dead  due for release in february.


marsh executive in guilty plea an executive at us insurance firm marsh & mclennan has pleaded guilty to criminal charges in connection with an ongoing fraud and bid-rigging probe.  new york attorney general elliot spitzer said senior vice president robert stearns had pleaded guilty to scheming to defraud. the offence carries a sentence of 16 months to four years in state prison. mr spitzer s office added mr stearns had also agreed to testify in future cases during the industry inquiry.  we are saddened by the development   marsh said in a statement. the company added it would continue to co-operate in the case  adding it was  committed to resolving the company s legal issues and to serving our clients with the highest standards of transparency and ethics .  according to a statement from mr spitzer s office  the marsh executive admitted he instructed insurance companies to submit non-competitive bids for insurance business between 2002 and 2004. those bids were then  conveyed to marsh clients under false and fraudulent pretences . through the practice  marsh was allowed to determine which insurers won business from clients  and so control the insurance market  mr spitzer s office added. it also protected incumbent insurers when their business was up for renewal and helped marsh to maximise its fees  a statement said. in one case  an email showed mr stearns had instructed a colleague to solicit a non-competitive - or  b  - quote from aig that was  higher in premium and more restrictive in coverage  and so fixed the bids in a way that would support the present provider chubb. the company is also still being examined by us stock market regulator the securities and exchange commission (sec). late last month the sec asked for information about transactions involving holders of 5% or more of the firm s shares.


jobs growth still slow in the us the us created fewer jobs than expected in january  but a fall in jobseekers pushed the unemployment rate to its lowest level in three years.  according to labor department figures  us firms added only 146 000 jobs in january. the gain in non-farm payrolls was below market expectations of 190 000 new jobs. nevertheless it was enough to push down the unemployment rate to 5.2%  its lowest level since september 2001. the job gains mean that president bush can celebrate - albeit by a very fine margin - a net growth in jobs in the us economy in his first term in office. he presided over a net fall in jobs up to last november s presidential election - the first president to do so since herbert hoover. as a result  job creation became a key issue in last year s election. however  when adding december and january s figures  the administration s first term jobs record ended in positive territory.  the labor department also said it had revised down the jobs gains in december 2004  from 157 000 to 133 000.  analysts said the growth in new jobs was not as strong as could be expected given the favourable economic conditions.  it suggests that employment is continuing to expand at a moderate pace   said rick egelton  deputy chief economist at bmo financial group.  we are not getting the boost to employment that we would have got given the low value of the dollar and the still relatively low interest rate environment.   the economy is producing a moderate but not a satisfying amount of job growth   said ken mayland  president of clearview economics.  that means there are a limited number of new opportunities for workers.


yangtze electric s profits double yangtze electric power  the operator of china s three gorges dam  has said its profits more than doubled in 2004.  the firm has benefited from increased demand for electricity at a time when power shortages have hit cities and provinces across the country. as a hydroelectric-power generator it has not been hurt by higher coal costs. net income jumped to 3bn yuan in 2004 ($365m; £190m)  compared with 1.4bn yuan in 2003. sales surged to 6.2bn yuan  from 3bn yuan a year earlier. the figures topped analysts expectations  even though the rate of growth has slowed from 2003. analysts forecast that it is likely to decline further this year to a rate of expansion of closer to 20%.  yangtze electric has been expanding its output to meet demand driven by china s booming economy. the government has delayed the building of a number of power plants in an effort to rein in growth amid concerns that the economy may overheat. that has led to an energy crunch  with demand outstripping supply. earlier this month  work was halted on an underground power station  and a supply unit on the three gorges dam  as well as a power station on its sister xiluodu dam because of environmental worries. a total of 30 large-scale projects have been halted across the country for similar reasons. the three gorges dam project has led to more than half a million people being relocated and drawn criticism from environmental groups and overseas human rights activists. its sister project  the xiluodu dam  is being built on the jinshajiang - or  river of golden sand  as the upper reaches of the yangtze are known.


itunes now selling band aid song ipod owners can now download the band aid single from itunes after apple reached agreement with the charity.  apple had been unwilling to raise the cost of the single in line with other download services  said band aid. but the single is now on sale for 79p - the usual cost of a song from itunes - with apple donating a further 70p to the charity for each song downloaded. a copy of the original 1984 song is also available for download at 79p - with all proceeds going to the charity.  more than 72 000 copies of the new band aid single were sold on its first day of release on monday  according to sales figures. the track has become the fastest-selling single of the year so far  shifting more copies than the rest of the top 30 combined  hmv claimed. dido  robbie williams and chris martin are among those featured on the new version of do they know it s christmas   which is raising money to fight hunger in africa. if the track sold 500 000 copies  more than £1m would be raised for charity. the cd is being sold for £3.99  with hmv  virgin and woolworths all donating their profits.


uk homes hit £3.3 trillion total the value of the uk s housing stock reached the £3.3 trillion mark in 2004 - triple the value 10 years earlier  a report indicates.  research from halifax  the country s biggest mortgage lender  suggests the value of private housing stock is continuing to rise steadily. all regions saw at least a doubling in their assets during the past decade. but northern ireland led the way with a 262% rise  while scotland saw the smallest increase of just 112%.  the core retail price index rose by just 28% in the same period  underlining how effective an investment in housing has been for most people during the past decade. more than a third of the uk s private housing assets - representing more than a trillion pounds in value - are concentrated in london and the south east  the halifax s figures indicate. tim crawford  group economist at halifax  said:  the value of the private housing stock continues to grow and the family home remains  by a large margin  the most valuable asset of the majority of households in the uk.  halifax s own monthly figures on house sales - issued on thursday - suggest the average price of a british property now stands at £163 748 after a 0.8% rise in january. housing experts are split on prospects for the market  with some saying price growth will slow but not fall  while others predict a sharp drop in values.


cairn energy in indian gas find shares in cairn energy rose 3.8% to 1 088 pence on tuesday after the uk firm announced a fresh gas discovery in northern india.  the firm  which last year made a number of other new finds in the rajasthan area  said the latest discovery could lead to large gas volumes. however  chief executive bill gammell cautioned that additional evalution was first needed at the site. cairn has also been granted approval to extend its rajasthan exploration area. this approval has come from the indian government.  a spokesman said the company s decision to carry out further investigations at the new find showed that it believed there was significant gas. but he added:  it s still too early to say what the extent of it is.  cairn s string of finds in rajasthan last year saw it elevated to the ftse 100 index of the uk s leading listed companies. the company had bought the rights to explore in the area from oil giant shell. mr gammell is a former scottish international rugby player.


voters flock to blog awards site voting is under way for the annual bloggies which recognise the best web blogs - online spaces where people publish their thoughts - of the year.  nominations were announced on sunday  but traffic to the official site was so heavy that the website was temporarily closed because of too many visitors. weblogs have been nominated in 30 categories  from the top regional blog  to the best-kept-secret blog. blogs had a huge year  with a top us dictionary naming  blog  word of 2004. technorati  a blog search engine  tracks about six million blogs and says that more than 12 000 are added daily. a blog is created every 5.8 seconds  according to us research think-tank pew internet and american life  but less than 40% of the total are updated at least once every two months.  nikolai nolan  who has run the bloggies for the past five years  told the bbc news website he was not too surprised by the amount of voters who crowded the site.  the awards always get a lot of traffic; this was just my first year on a server with a bandwidth limit  so i had to guess how much i d need   he said. there were many new finalists this year  he added  and a few that had won bloggies before. several entries reflected specific news events.  there are four nominations for the south-east asia earthquake and tsunami blog  which is a pretty timely one for 2005   said mr nolan.  the big bloggies battle will be for the ultimate prize of blog of the year. the nominated blogs are wide-ranging covering what is in the news to quirky sites of interest. fighting it out for the coveted award are gawker  this fish needs a bicycle  wonkette  boing boing  and gothamist. in a sign that blogs are playing an increasingly key part in spreading news and current affairs  the south-east asia earthquake and tsunami blog is also nominated in the best overall category. greenfairydotcom  londonist  hicksdesign  plasticbag and london underground tube blog are the nominees in the best british or irish weblog.  included in the other categories is best  meme . this is for the top  replicating idea that spread about weblogs . nominations include flickr  a web photo album which lets people upload  tag  share and publish their images to blogs. podcasting has also made an appearance in the category. it is an increasingly popular idea that makes use of rss (really simple syndication) and audio technology to let people easily make their own radio shows  and distribute them automatically onto portable devices.  many are done by those who already have text-based blogs  so they are almost like audio blogs. three new categories have been added to the list this year  including best food  best entertainment  and best writing of a weblog. one of the categories that was scrapped though was best music blog. the winners of the fifth annual bloggies are chosen by the public. public voting closes on 3 february and the winners will be announced sometime between 13 and 15 march.


celebrities get to stay in jungle all four contestants still remain in i m a celebrity ... get me out of here as no evictions were made on the television show on saturday.  contestants paul burrell  joe pasquale  janet street-porter and fran cosgrave were told by hosts ant and dec. natalie appleton s decision to quit the show last monday had given them all a stay of execution  the group were told. model sophie anderton was the last person to be voted off the itv1 show  set in the australian jungle. the four remaining stars will do a joint bushtucker trial on sunday.  former all saints singer natalie appleton 31  walked out of the show after learning she would face a fifth so-called bushtucker trial. the celebrities are chosen by the viewers to pass trials in order to win food for the rest of the camp. appleton had endured a torrid time during the programme  including a well-publicised row with sophie anderton. and on 26 november singer brian harvey quit as a contestant after he had a blazing row with janet street-porter.


henman hopes ended in dubai third seed tim henman slumped to a straight sets defeat in his rain-interrupted dubai open quarter-final against ivan ljubicic.  the croatian eighth seed booked his place in the last four with a 7-5 6-4 victory over the british number one. henman had looked on course to level the match after going 2-0 up in the second set  but his progress was halted as the rain intervened again. ljubicic hit back after the break to seal a fourth straight win over henman. earlier in the day  spanish fifth seed tommy robredo secured his semi-final place when he beat nicolas kiefer of germany 6-4 6-4. afterwards  henman was left cursing the weather and the umpire after seven breaks for rain during the match.  it was incredibly frustrating   henman said.  it s raining and the umpire doesn t take control.  he kept telling us to play till the end of the game. but if it s raining  you come off - the score s irrelevant.  it couldn t be more frustrating as i was very happy with my form until now. you don t expect this in the desert.


slovakia reach hopman cup final slovakia will play argentina in the final of the hopman cup after beating group b rivals the netherlands 3-0.  daniela hantuchova defeated michaella krajicek 6-4 6-2 to give the slovaks the perfect start before dutchman peter wessels retired against dominik hrbaty. wessels was unable to compete in the mixed doubles but slovakia had already booked their place in the final for the second year running. argentina claimed top spot in group a with three wins from three matches. in the other group b match  the united states defeated australia 2-1.  meghann shaughnessy lost the opening match against alicia molik but james blake levelled the tie with a 6-3 6-4 win over paul baccanello  who came in as a replacement for the injured mark philippoussis. blake and shaughnessy then beat molik and baccanello in a tense mixed doubles contest to take the win. hantuchova  who did not win a hopman cup singles match in 2004  has been in good form during this year s event and has won two of her three matches.  i feel like it s really deserved this time as i ve helped dominik to get through   she said.  i think if i keep going the way i have been in the past few matches then i will be okay.  i was really pleased with my last two singles  even the first one  which was a really high standard.  you can t ask for a better preparation than to play a few matches here for the australian open.


ibm puts cash behind linux push ibm is spending $100m (£52m) over the next three years beefing up its commitment to linux software.  the cash injection will be used to help its customers use linux on every type of device from handheld computers and phones right up to powerful servers. ibm said the money will fund a variety of technical  research and marketing initiatives to boost linux use. ibm said it had taken the step in response to greater customer demand for the open source software.  in 2004 ibm said it had seen double digit growth in the number of customers using linux to help staff work together more closely. the money will be used to help this push towards greater collaboration and will add linux-based elements to ibm s workplace software. workplace is a suite of programs and tools that allow workers to get at core business applications no matter what device they use to connect to corporate networks. one of the main focuses of the initiative will be to make it easier to use linux-based desktop computers and mobile devices with workplace. even before ibm announced this latest spending boost it was one of the biggest advocates of the open source way of working. in 2001 it put $300m into a three-year linux program and has produced linux versions of many of its programs. linux and the open source software movement are based on the premise that developers should be free to tinker with the core components of software programs. they reason that more open scrutiny of software produces better programs and fuels innovation.


chip maker backs net phone calls rich templeton  the head of giant chip maker texas instruments  has given his backing to the growing sector of voice over internet telephony (voip)  voip allows pc users  and in some cases those with just a broadband connection  to make telephone calls via the net. mr templeton said voip would be the next major application to drive broadband connections into homes. internet service provider wanadoo has announced it is launching its own broadband telephony service in the uk.  subscribers to wanadoo s broadband service will be able to use the service to make free evening and weekend calls to any uk landline  and free calls at any time to other wanadoo users. the service will cost an extra £4 a month and will come with a free livebox  the broadband hub which wanadoo plans will be used in future to provide video-on-demand and home security services. the secondary phone line will mean customers can have an extra home phone number and will also provide wireless internet access around the home. eventually the service will replace existing landline services as wanadoo goes head to head with bt.  voice-over broadband is a key trend across europe and is set to have a dramatic impact on the telecommunications industry    eric abensur  wanadoo s chief executive told the bbc news website. mr templeton said he agreed.  voice-over-packet is going to be the second killer application after broadband internet access   he said. the world s largest maker of chips for mobile phones believes the technology will grow rapidly from the relatively small user base it has currently.  almost 83 million people have downloaded the software that powers the skype voip service  according to the net telephony firm s website. skype lets people make free calls to other skype users and also make low-cost calls to ordinary phone numbers. us firm vonage also offers a voip service  but one which lets people plug an ordinary phone into a broadband router to make calls. bill simmelink  general manager of ti s voip business  said the technology would only take off when people were making net calls with the ease of making a normal call.  it s not about the pipe  if you will  or the silicon per se  it s about the application   he said.   we want to communicate freely  effortlessly and economically wherever we are.  in a sign that voip is seeping into the mainstream  giant isp aol announced on tuesday that it had plans to launch a net-based phone service for some of its members within the month. customers will continue to use their traditional phones  but they will plug them into adapters connected to their broadband source rather than the jack provided by the telephone company. calls are received and placed just like on the old telephone network.  we can help mass-market adoption of voip   said aol chief executive jonathan miller.  we can utilise our national footprint. we can help the entire industry become well known.


us firm pulls out of iraq a us company has pulled out of a major contract to rebuild iraq s transport system after attacks on reconstruction efforts  pentagon officials have said.  contrack international  of arlington  virginia  heads a coalition of firms working on a series of schemes. its withdrawal from the $325m (£170m) contract in november is thought to be the largest cancellation to date. contrack said  the original scope of work that was envisioned could not be executed in a cost-effective manner . but the firm denied reports it was withdrawing completely from iraq.  members of the joint venture including contrack are committed to the ongoing reconstruction efforts  are actively working in iraq and continue to look for new construction opportunities in the country   it said in a statement. the pentagon s project and contract office (pco) in baghdad said it had taken over contrack s management of the subcontractors working on the transportation projects.  us firms and their workers have been targets of attacks  and security concerns are said to be a major reason for the slow pace of reconstruction in iraq. of the $18.4bn in reconstruction funds approved by congress  less than $2bn has been spent. lt col eric schnaible of the pco told the associated press news agency contrack s withdrawal from the transportation contract was a  mutually agreed-to separation  and did not indicate a movement by us companies to leave iraq.  some parts of the country are a whole lot more permissive than others   he added.  where we can get the work done  good things are happening.


troubled marsh under sec scrutiny the us stock market regulator is investigating troubled insurance broker marsh & mclennan s shareholder transactions  the firm has said.  the securities and exchange commission has asked for information about transactions involving holders of 5% or more of the firm s shares. marsh has said it is co-operating fully with the sec investigation. marsh is also the focus of an inquiry the new york attorney-general into whether insurers rigged the market. since that inquiry was launched in october  marsh has replaced its chief executive and held a boardroom shake-out to meet criticism by lessening the number of company executives on the board. prosecutors allege that marsh - the world s biggest insurance broker - and other us insurance firms may have fixed bids for corporate cover. this is the issue at the heart of the inquiry by new york s top law officer  eliot spitzer  and a separate prosecution of five insurers by the state of california. the sec s investigation into so-called related party transactions includes dealings in the trident funds  managed by mmc capital  the company s private equity firm. marsh s new chief executive  michael cherkasky  is trying to negotiate a settlement with mr spitzer. mr spitzer has built up a reputation as a fierce critic and campaigner against corporate america s misdeeds.  the uncertainty unleashed by the scandal has prompted three credit rating agencies - standard & poor s  moody s and fitch - to downgrade marsh in recent weeks. according to the financial times  insurance analysts are now questioning whether marsh will be able to maintain its strong record of earning growth as they draw up forecasts for the first quarter of next year. doubts also exist over how much the company may have to pay regulators and lawyers to put the scandal behind.


grammys honour soul star charles the memory of soul legend ray charles dominated the music world s leading music ceremony on sunday as he was given eight posthumous grammy awards.  charles  who died in 2004  got honours including record and album of the year  while alicia keys and actor jamie foxx performed a musical tribute to him. r&b star keys won four awards herself at the grammy ceremony in los angeles. u2  usher  norah jones and kanye west got three each. west led the race going into the ceremony with 10 nominations.  charles  last album  genius loves company  a collection of duets that has sold more than two million copies  was named album of the year and best pop vocal album. his song here we go again with norah jones won record of the year and best pop vocal collaboration  while heaven help us all with gladys knight picked up best gospel performance. jones said:  i m glad he s getting recognised  because of who he is and how much i love him.  actor jamie foxx - who is nominated for an oscar for playing charles in the hit movie ray - dedicated a rendition of georgia on my mind to  old friends . keys  looking to replicate her grammys success of 2002  when she won five  picked up best r&b song for you don t know my name and best r&b album for the diary of alicia keys. she also shared the award for best r&b vocal performance by a duo or group with usher for my boo.  usher s other victories were for best contemporary r&b album for confessions and best rap/sung collaboration for yeah!  featuring lil jon and ludacris. kanye west dominated the rap categories  winning best rap song for jesus walks and best rap album for the college dropout. but in one of the night s biggest shocks  he lost out in the battle to be named best new artist to pop rock act maroon 5. vertigo by rock giants u2 won three trophies - best rock song  best short video and best rock vocal performance by a duo or group. one of the other main awards  song of the year  went to us singer-songwriter john mayer for daughters. mayer also won best male pop vocal performance. britney spears picked up her first ever grammy for her song toxic  which was named best dance recording.  rod stewart also won the first grammy of his career  getting the best traditional pop album award for stardust... the great american songbook: volume iii. in 2003  stewart said he was  astounded  he had never won a grammy - but  they tend not to give it to the british unless you re sting . there were few other high-profile british victors this year. annie lennox  metal group motorhead and dance act basement jaxx all took home trophies. but elvis costello  who had four nominations  and joss stone and franz ferdinand  who were both up for three awards  got nothing.  beach boys veteran brian wilson was another first-time winner - for best rock instrumental performance.  it represents triumph and achievement in music that i feel that i deserved  and i m really glad i won   he said. a live recording of composer john adams  11 september tribute  on the transmigration of souls  performed by the new york philharmonic  won three classical prizes. and former us president bill clinton picked up the second grammy of his career  winning the spoken word award for the audio version of his autobiography my life.


howard pitches for uk ethnic vote michael howard is to make a pitch for britain s ethnic vote urging people who feel  taken for granted  by tony blair to vote conservative.  he will say conservatives  share the same values  as the uk s minorities. and that he wants to build a  better britain  where everyone  whatever the colour of their skin or religion  can  make the most of their talents . but the tory leader will argue against positive discrimination saying it is  outdated and unjust .   it sets family against family and it leads ethnic communities to doubt their own abilities   he will argue. mr howard - himself the son of immigrants - will acknowledge that racial discrimination still exists in the uk.  people from ethnic communities  for example  still earn less than their white counterparts   he will say before arguing the answer to helping everyone to get on was  free enterprise  free trade  free speech . the tory leader will also call for religious tolerance arguing that hindus and sikhs as well as muslims got  caught in the downdraft of islamaphobia which was one of the terrible side effects of 9/11 .  mr howard will make his speech during a visit to support tory parliamentary hopefuls robert light and sayeeda warsi -  the first british muslim woman  selected to run for mp as a conservative candidate. he will attack labour s record in government over issues such as tax and he will set out tory plans for an immigration quota to be set by mps. mr howard will also attack the lib dems for wanting to abolish faith schools  introduce compulsory sex education from the age of seven  and  give contraceptives out in schools from the age of 11 .  so i say to all those people from ethnic minorities who feel mr blair and the liberal democrats take their votes for granted - come join us   he will say. lib dem president simon hughes branded mr howard  arrogant and wrong  for claiming the tories were the  natural party  for britain s ethnic minorities.  given the tories  considerably reduced support in urban areas  where many black and asian britons live  during their time in power  the evidence simply does not support his claims that the conservatives are the party for these communities   he said.


mobiles  not media players yet  mobiles are not yet ready to be all-singing  all-dancing multimedia devices which will replace portable media players  say two reports.  despite moves to bring music download services to mobiles  people do not want to trade multimedia services with size and battery life  said jupiter. a separate study by gartner has also said real-time tv broadcasts to mobiles is  unlikely  in europe until 2007. technical issues and standards must be resolved first  said the report. batteries already have to cope with other services that operators offer  like video playback  video messaging  megapixel cameras and games amongst others. bringing music download services based on the success of computer-based download services will put more demands on battery life.  fifty percent of europeans said the size of a mobile was the most important factor when it came to choosing their phone  but more power demands tend to mean larger handsets.  mobile phone music services must not be positioned to compete with the pc music experience as the handsets are not yet ready   said thomas husson  mobile analyst at jupiter research.  mobile music services should be new and different  and enable operators to differentiate their brands and support third generation network launches.  other problems facing mobile music include limited storage on phones  compared to portable players which can hold up to 40gb of music. the mobile industry is keen to get into music downloading  after the success of apple s itunes  napster and other net music download services.  with phones getting smarter and more powerful  there are also demands to be able to watch tv on the move. in the us  services like tivo to go let people transfer pre-recorded tv content onto their phones. but  the gartner report on mobile tv broadcasting in europe suggests direct broadcasting will have to wait. currently  tv-like services  where clips are downloaded  are offered by several european operators  like italy s tim and 3. mobile tv will have to overcome several barriers before it is widely taken up though  said the report.  various standards and ways of getting tv signals to mobiles are being worked on globally. in europe  trials in berlin and helsinki are making use of terrestrial tv masts to broadcast compressed signals to handsets with extra receivers. a service from the norwegian broadcasting corporation lets people watch tv programmes on their mobiles 24 hours a day. the service uses 3gp technology  one of the standards for mobile tv. but at the end of 2004  the european telecommunications institute (etsi) formally adopted digital video broadcasting handheld (dvb-h) as the mobile tv broadcasting standard for europe. operators will be working on the standard as a way to bring real-time broadcasts to mobiles  as well as trying to overcome several other barriers. the cost and infrastructure needs to set up the services will need to be addressed. handsets also need to be able to work with the dvb-h standard. tv services will have to live up to the expectations of the digital tv generation too  which expects good quality images at low prices  according to analysts. people are also likely to be put off watching tv on such small screens  said gartner. digital video recorders  like europe s sky+ box  and video-on-demand services mean people have much more control over what tv they watch. as a result  people may see broadcasting straight to mobiles as taking away that control. more powerful smartphones like the xda ii  nokia 6600  sonyericsson p900 and the orange e200  offering web access  text and multimedia messaging  e-mail  calendar and gaming are becoming increasingly common. a report by analysts instat/mdr has predicted that smartphone shipments will grow by 44% over the next five years. it says that smartphones will make up 117 million out of 833 million handsets shipped globally by 2009.


net regulation  still possible  the blurring of boundaries between tv and the internet raises questions of regulation  watchdog ofcom has said.  content on tv and the internet is set to move closer this year as tv-quality video online becomes a norm. at a debate in westminster  the net industry considered the options. lord currie  chairman of super-regulator ofcom  told the panel that protecting audiences would always have to be a primary concern for the watchdog. despite having no remit for the regulation of net content  disquiet has increased among internet service providers as speeches made by ofcom in recent months hinted that regulation might be an option. at the debate  organised by the internet service providers  association (ispa)  lord currie did not rule out the possibility of regulation.   the challenge will arise when boundaries between tv and the internet truly blur and then there is a balance to be struck between protecting consumers and allowing them to assess the risks themselves   he said. adopting the rules that currently exist to regulate tv content or self-regulation  which is currently the practice of the net industry  will be up for discussion.  some studies suggest that as many as eight million households in the uk could have adopted broadband by the end of 2005  and the technology opens the door to tv content delivered over the net. more and more internet service providers and media companies are streaming video content on the web. bt has already set up an entertainment division to create and distribute content that could come from sources such as bskyb  itv and the bbc. head of the division  andrew burke  spoke about the possibility of creating content for all platforms.  how risque can i be in this new age  with celebrity chefs serving up more expletives than hot dinners  surely i can push it to the limit   he said.  in fact  he said  if content has been requested by consumers and they have gone to lengths to download it  then maybe it should be entirely regulation free. internet service providers have long claimed no responsibility for the content they carry on their servers since the law commission dubbed them  mere conduits  back in 2002. this defence does not apply if they have actual knowledge of illegal content and have failed to remove it. the level of responsibility they have has been tested in several high-profile legal cases. richard ayers  portal director at tiscali  said there was little point trying to regulate the internet because it would be impossible. huge changes are afoot in 2005  he predicted  as companies such as the bbc offer tv content over the net. the bbc s planned interactive media player which will give surfers the chance to download programmes such as eastenders and top gear will make net tv mainstream and raise a whole new set of questions  he said.  one of these will be about the vast sums of money involved in maintaining the network to supply such a huge quantity of data and could herald a new digital licence fee  said mr ayers. as inappropriate net content  most obviously pornography viewed by children  continues to dominate the headlines  internet regulation remains a political issue said mp richard allan  liberal democrat spokesman on it. mr allan thinks that the answer could lie somewhere between the cries of  impossible to regulate  and  just apply offline laws online . in fact  instead of seeing regulation brought online  the future could bring an end to regulation as we know it for all tv content. after lord currie departed  the panel agreed that this could be a reality and that for the internet people power is likely to reign.  if content is on-demand  consumers have pulled it up rather than had pushed to them  then it is the consumers  choice to watch it. there is no watershed on the net   said mr burke.


parties warned over  grey vote  political parties cannot afford to take older uk voters for granted in the coming election  says age concern.  a survey for the charity suggests 69% of over-55s say they always vote in a general election compared with just 17% of 18 to 24 year olds. charity boss gordon lishman said if a  decisive blow  was struck at the election it would be by older voters who could be relied on to turn out. a total of 3 028 adults aged 18 or over were interviewed for the study. mr lishman urged the next government to boost state pension.  he also called for measures to combat ageism and build effective public services to  support us all in an ageing society .  older people want to see manifesto commitments that will make a difference to their lives   mr lishman said.  political parties must wake up to the fact that unless they address the demands and concerns of older people they will not keep or attract their vote.  in the survey carried out by icm research  14% of people aged between 18 and 34 said they never voted in general elections. among the over-65s  70% said they would be certain to vote in an immediate election  compared with 39% of people under 55. age concern says the over-55s are  united around  key areas of policy they want the government to focus on. for 57%  pensions and the nhs were key issues  while the economy was important for a third  and tax was a crucial area for 25%.


correction agency plans dropped plans to create a single correctional agency for scotland have been scrapped.  the scottish executive will not now merge the scottish prison service with local authority social work criminal justice departments. the national correctional agency would have provided a  one-stop  justice system but has been abandoned in the wake of stiff opposition. instead  scottish councils and the prison service will be compelled to work more closely to cut reoffending. the plan was to ensure offenders were monitored by the same body during and after prison  preventing many from being lost in the system and helping more of them to stop reoffending.  scotland s reoffending rate is high  with more than 60% of prisoners reconvicted within two years of release from jail. this is leading to an ever-expanding prison population and the executive wants to tackle the problem. ministers thought merging the prison service with the council-controlled criminal justice social work departments  which provide community sentences  might have provided an answer. however  following a consultation on the idea  justice minister cathy jamieson has decided to drop the plans. instead  ms jamieson will change the law to help produce a closer working relationship between both elements of the justice system.  she will announce the move in her criminal justice plan on monday  aiming to  break down the barriers between what happens in prison and what happens in the community . the new measures will place a new statutory duty on the sps to work with local authorities and others in area partnerships. a national advisory board on offender management will also be created to advise ms jamieson on the sps s role and performance in reducing reoffending. the minister said:  better joint working will help prisons play a much stronger role in ending reoffending behaviour and in particular help address the revolving door of reoffending that sees offenders entering prison for short periods during which little is done to address the behaviour that brought them there.  communities who are paying the price for this reoffending - both in terms of crime and in terms of prison costs - expect better.  it costs the taxpayer £35 000 a year to provide each prison place and that cost is increasing.  taxpayers who suffer the consequences of crime also end up paying for keeping those people in prison.  therefore  as we continue to invest in the service  it is only right that we seek to ensure that that service becomes more accountable to the public it serves  to ministers and to parliament.


bank holds interest rate at 4.75% the bank of england has left interest rates on hold again at 4.75%  in a widely-predicted move.  rates went up five times from november 2003 - as the bank sought to cool the housing market and consumer debt - but have remained unchanged since august. recent data has indicated a slowdown in manufacturing and consumer spending  as well as in mortgage approvals. and retail sales disappointed over christmas  with analysts putting the drop down to less consumer confidence.  rising interest rates and the accompanying slowdown in the housing market have knocked consumers  optimism  causing a sharp fall in demand for expensive goods  according to a report earlier this week from the british retail consortium. the brc said britain s retailers had endured their worst christmas in a decade.   today s no change decision is correct   said david frost  director general of the british chambers of commerce (bcc).  but  if there are clear signs that the economy slows  the mpc should be ready to take quick corrective action and cut rates.  dismal reports from the retail trade about christmas sales are worrying  if they indicate a more general weakening in consumer spending.   mr frost added:  the housing market outlook remains highly uncertain.  it is widely accepted that  if house prices start falling more sharply  the risks facing the economy will worsen considerably.  cbi chief economist ian mccafferty said the economy had  slowed in recent months in response to rate rises  but that it was difficult to gauge from the christmas period the likely pace of activity through the summer.  the bank is having to juggle the emergence of inflationary pressures  driven by a tight labour market and buoyant commodity prices  against the risk of an over-abrupt slowdown in consumer activity   he said.  interest rates are likely to remain on hold for some time.   on thursday there was more gloomy news on the manufacturing front  as the office for national (ons) statistics revealed british manufacturing output unexpectedly fell in november - for the fifth month in the past six. the ons said manufacturing output dropped 0.1% in november  matching a similar unrevised fall in october and confounding economists  expectations of a 0.3% rise. manufacturers  organisation  the eef  said it expected the hold in interest rates to continue in the near future. it also said there was evidence that manufacturers  confidence may be waning as the outlook for the world economy becomes more uncertain.   so far the evidence suggests that last year s rate increases have helped to rebalance the economy without damaging the recovery in manufacturing   said eef chief economist  steve radley.  however  should the business outlook start to deteriorate  the bank should stand ready to cut rates.  some economists have predicted rates will drop later in the year  although others feel the bank may still think there is a need for a rise to 5% before that happens. the bank remains concerned about the long-term risks posed by personal debt - which is rising at 15% a year - if economic conditions worsen.


new ukip defection to  veritas  the uk independence party has lost one of its two london assembly members to robert kilroy-silk s new political party  expected to launch on wednesday.  damian hockney said ex-chatshow host mr kilroy-silk would  deliver better  as the leader of a eurosceptic party. he said mr kilroy-silk had made him deputy party leader of veritas  latin for truth. sources close to mr hockney said around eight other members of london ukip were also planning to jump ship.  details of the coming week s events were hammered out at a meeting at mr kilroy-silk s buckinghamshire home on sunday  the bbc news website was told. the news came after ukip suspended a candidate for allegedly suggesting the criminally insane should be killed. john houston  54  was due to stand in the east kilbride seat in lanarkshire at the next election. a spokesman for ukip called on mr hockney to quit the london assembly. ukip asserts that mr hockney  has a moral obligation  if not a legal one  to stand down. mr hockney meanwhile told the bbc:  i believe that robert kilroy-silk can deliver better as a leader of a eurosceptic party than the current leadership of the uk independence party.   on the suspension of mr houston  ukip said those who selected him knew nothing of his views. mr houston is alleged to have said that the organs of the criminally insane should be  made available to law-abiding members of the community  and proposed the legalisation of drugs and the sex trade.  the document reportedly said:  we re looking for the resurrection of the british empire.  the problems for the human race - environmental and others - can only be dealt with on a global scale  and that calls for a radical alliance of the english-speaking nations  which they are uniquely able to do.  ukip spokesman mark croucher said the main issue would be that mr houston s reported views had been presented as ukip policy  which they were not.