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.


famed music director viotti dies conductor marcello viotti  director of venice s famous la fenice theatre  has died in germany at 50.  viotti  director of la fenice since 2002  conducted at renowned opera houses worldwide including milan s la scala and the vienna state opera. his time at la fenice coincided with its reopening in 2003 after it was destroyed by fire in 1996. he fell into a coma after suffering a stroke during rehearsals for jules massenet s manon last week.  he conducted some of the best orchestras in the world including the berlin philharmonic and the english chamber orchestra. viotti was born in switzerland and studied the piano  cello and singing at the lausanne conservatory. his career breakthrough came in 1982 when he won first prize at the gino marinuzzi conducting competition in italy. viotti established himself as chief conductor of the turin opera and went on to become chief conductor of munich s radio orchestra. at la fenice viotti was widely acclaimed for his production of the french composer massenet s thais and some of his other productions included giuseppe verdi s la traviata and richard strauss s ariadne auf naxos.  the last opera he directed at la fenice was massenet s le roi de lahore. viotti s debut at the new york s metropolitan opera came in 2000 with giacomo puccini s madame butterfly  followed by la boheme  la traviata and fromental halevy s la juive. giampaolo vianello  superintendent of the fenice theatre foundation  said:  i am filled with extreme sadness because  other than a great artist  he is missed as a friend - a main character in the latest joyous times  during the rebirth of our theatre.  viotti s last public performance was on 5 february when he conducted vincenzo bellini s norma at the vienna state opera.


band aid 20 single storms to no 1 the new version of the band aid song do they know it s christmas  has gone straight in at number one in the uk singles chart.  the charity record is also tipped to be this year s christmas number one. it features vocals from the likes of chris martin  dido  robbie williams and the sugababes. the original version - which was the christmas number one in 1984 - sold 750 000 copies in its first week and 3.5 million in total. it was released in the us  and reached number 13 in the singles chart. however  band aid 20 is not going to be released in the us  despite being sold in many countries around the world. us record shops are stocking an import version of do they know it s christmas  which is said to be selling very well in los angeles and new york.  british stars who appear on the current recording  such as dido and coldplay s chris martin  are well known to music fans across the atlantic  along with u2 frontman bono. record company universal is responsible for the global distribution of the single  which will be available across europe  asia  south america and canada. but music fans in the us are still able to access the song and download it on band aid 20 s official website. in 1985  a group of high-profile american stars known as usa for africa came together to record their own fund-raising single  we are the world. the song was written by lionel richie and michael jackson  with quincy jones as producer.  it topped the us charts for three weeks and went on win grammy awards for best record and song. dionne warwick  diana ross and tina turner were among the line-up of performers. proceeds from the sales of the band aid 20 single will go towards aid relief in africa  in countries such as ethiopia and sudan. the money raised will also be used to help combat hiv and aids across the continent. the band aid trust which was set up 20 years ago  when the original single was released  handed out $144m (£75m) to famine relief projects across africa between january 1985 and november 2004.


hong kong in 2011 world cup bid hong kong is hoping to join japan as co-host of the 2011 rugby world cup.  japan has applied to host the tournament on its own  with the aim of taking it outside rugby s traditional strongholds for the first time. but hong kong rugby football union (hkrfu) chairman john molloy has called for the territory to host one of the pools and a quarter-final. the japanese rugby football union (jrfu) says it has yet to receive a formal presentation from the hkrfu.  at this stage  we are only considering hosting the event by ourselves   said jrfu secretary koji tokumasu.  we cannot examine any proposal unless we get it in a definitive form.  japan faces stiff competition in the form of south africa and new zealand to host the event in seven years  time.   until now  the world cup has been held in countries from the six nations or tri-nations   said tokumasu.  we think  and the irb thinks  that it is time for rugby to go global.  japan is ready to host the tournament and we are looking forward to welcoming the world of rugby to japan.  tokumasu added that the 2002 football world cup  co-hosted by japan and south korea  had been a huge success.  as well as having the infrastructure in place  japan also has the commercial clout to host one of sport s top competitions   he said. last year  japan launched its first professional rugby league and it has the fourth largest number of registered players (125 508) in the world after england  south africa and france.


ferguson puts faith in youngsters manchester united manager sir alex ferguson said he has no regrets after his second-string side lost 3-0 away at fenerbahce in the champions league.  ferguson said:  the good thing about being manager is that you are in control of which team to pick.  i care about united  that s important  so while i am disappointed at the result i am not at the team i selected.  this game was important for the young lads. they will remember it and next time they come they will be better.  ferguson admitted his side were well-beaten by the turks  a result which meant they finished second in group d behind lyon. he added:  they ll know not to play like that again. we showed a lack of strength. but i have no complaints about the scoreline.  in the second half we had some good moments in attack. and in that situation  you have to take one chance.  but we didn t do that  so the game just petered out for us.  i didn t think it made much difference whether we won the group or finished second and i still don t.  we could get inter  ac milan and juventus but bayern  barcelona and real madrid were among the runners-up. all we can do is let fate decide how it works out.


premier league planning cole date the premier league is attempting to find a mutually convenient date to investigate allegations chelsea made an illegal approach for ashley cole.  both chelsea and arsenal will be asked to give evidence to a premier league commission  but no deadline has been put on when that meeting will convene.  it s hard to put a date on it   a premier league spokesman confirmed to bbc sport.  it s not a formal situation where they ve got so much time to respond.  arsenal and england defender cole reportedly met blues boss jose mourinho and chief executive peter kenyon in a london hotel 11 days ago. chelsea have yet to officially confirm or deny the meeting  which would be in breach of premier league rule k3.  now the gunners have asked for an inquiry to look into claims that their player has been  tapped up . both clubs have pledged to co-operate with the inquiry which will be conducted on a single day as opposed to being run as an ongoing evaluation. cole is in negotiations with the gunners over extending his current deal which ends in 2007. and his arsenal team-mate robert pires has urged the england left-back to stay at highbury. pires told the evening standard:  he has been at arsenal for ever. he is a very attacking left-back and i think he is enjoying his football because at arsenal he plays in an offensive team.  i am not sure he will get the same pleasure at chelsea  even though they are doing so well at the moment.  i have built a fantastic playing relationship with ashley.  we play together so well - we could do it with our eyes shut.  but you have to respect the decision of the player. everybody has that right.


jp morgan admits us slavery links thousands of slaves were accepted as collateral for loans by two banks that later became part of jp morgan chase.  the admission is part of an apology sent to jp morgan staff after the bank researched its links to slavery in order to meet legislation in chicago. citizens bank and canal bank are the two lenders that were identified. they are now closed  but were linked to bank one  which jp morgan bought last year. about 13 000 slaves were used as loan collateral between 1831 and 1865.  because of defaults by plantation owners  citizens and canal ended up owning about 1 250 slaves.  we all know slavery existed in our country  but it is quite different to see how our history and the institution of slavery were intertwined   jp morgan chief executive william harrison and chief operating officer james dimon said in the letter.  slavery was tragically ingrained in american society  but that is no excuse.   we apologise to the african-american community  particularly those who are descendants of slaves  and to the rest of the american public for the role that citizens bank and canal bank played.   the slavery era was a tragic time in us history and in our company s history.  jp morgan said that it was setting up a $5m scholarship programme for students living in louisiana  the state where the events took place. the bank said that it is a  very different company than the citizens and canal banks of the 1800s .


brando  rejected godfather role  late film star marlon brando is said to have repeatedly turned down his oscar-winning role in the godfather.  the actor s friend budd schulberg told vanity fair magazine that brando s assistant suggested he read the novel. the actor repeatedly refused  throwing the book at her and saying:  for the last time  i won t glorify the mafia . but brando  who died last july at the age of 80  eventually took the role of don corleone  winning him an oscar in 1973 which he notoriously refused. the actor sent a young woman dressed in native american costume to refuse the award on his behalf and to draw attention to the plight of native americans.  schulberg told the magazine that brando s assistant realised the film star had warmed to the idea of the godfather role when he sported a drawn-on pencil moustache and asked:  how do i look   his assistant  alice marchak  said that he looked like george raft  an actor famed for playing gangsters on the silver screen. every time she went to see brando from then on  she added  he was wearing a different gangster-style moustache. brando was asked to screen test for the role in the godfather  as studio executives were said to be reluctant for the actor to play the part following problems on the set of brando s previous film mutiny on the bounty . in fact brando s academy award triumph revived his career. the actor was nominated for an oscar the following year for his role in bernardo bertolucci s last tango in paris. before his death  brando granted gaming company electronic arts the rights to use his voice and image in a video game based on the godfather film and book and recorded voice-overs which closely resembled his role as don corleone. brando s co-stars from the godfather  james caan and robert duvall  will also reprise their roles for the video game  it was confirmed on wednesday.


safety alert as gm recalls cars the world s biggest carmaker general motors (gm) is recalling nearly 200 000 vehicles in the us on safety grounds  according to federal regulators.  the national highway traffic safety administration (nhtsa) said the largest recall involves 155 465 pickups  vans and sports utility vehicles (suvs). this is because of possible malfunctions with the braking systems. the affected vehicles in the product recall are from the 2004 and 2005 model years  gm said. those vehicles with potential faults are the chevrolet avalanche  express  kodiak  silverade and suburban; the gmc savana  sierra and yukon.  the nhtsa said a pressure accumulator in the braking system could crack during normal driving and fragments could injure people if the hood was open. this could allow hydraulic fluid to leak  which could make it harder to brake or steer and could cause a crash  it warned. gm is also recalling 19 924 cadillac xlr coupes  srx suvs and pontiac grand prix sedans from the 2004 model year. this is because the accelerator pedal may not work properly in extremely cold temperatures  requiring more braking. in addition  the car giant is calling back 17 815 buick raniers  chevrolet trailblazers  gmc envoys and isuzu ascenders from the 2005 model years because the windshield is not properly fitted and could fall out in a crash. however  gm stressed that it did not know of any injuries related to the problems. news of the recall follows an announcement last month that gm expects earnings this year be lower than in 2004. the world s biggest car maker is grappling with losses in its european business  weak us sales and now a product recall. in january  gm said higher healthcare costs in north america  and lower profits at its financial services subsidiary would hurt its performance in 2005.


seamen sail into biometric future the luxury cruise liner crystal harmony  currently in the gulf of mexico  is the unlikely setting for tests of biometric technology.  as holidaymakers enjoy balmy breezes  their ship s crew is testing prototype versions of the world s first internationally issued biometric id cards  the seafarer s equivalent of a passport. along with the owner s picture  name and personal details  the new seafarers  identity document incorporates a barcode representing unique features of its holder s fingerprints. the cards are due to be issued in february next year  in line with the revised un convention on seafarers  identity documents of june 2003. tests currently under way in the caribbean are designed to ensure that new cards and their machine readers  produced by different companies in different countries  are working to interoperable standards. results of the current tests  which involve seafarers from a wide range of occupations and nationalities  will be published by the international labour organisation (ilo) by the end of november. crystal cruises  which operates the crystal harmony  is exploring the use of biometrics but has not yet committed to the technology.  authenti-corp  the us technology consultancy  has been working with the ilo on its technical specifications for the cards.   if you re issued a seafarer s id in your country  you want to be sure that when the ship lands in a port in  say  my country you can validate yourself using whatever equipment we have installed   authenti-corp s ceo  cynthia musselman  told the bbc s go digital programme. she said french  jordanian and nigerian nationals would be the first seafarers to get the new id cards since their countries have already ratified the convention. it aims to combat international terrorism whilst guaranteeing the welfare the one million seafarers estimated to be at sea. the convention highlights the importance of access to shore facilities and shore leave as vital elements to a sailor s wellbeing and  therefore  it says  to safer shipping and cleaner oceans.  by increasing security on the seas as well as border control and protection  the cards will hopefully reduce the number of piracy problems around the world   said ms musselman.  it should be a safer environment for seafarers to work in  and will allow people protecting their borders to have confidence that the people getting off the ship are  in fact  seafarers.


wales make two changes for france wales coach mike ruddock has made two changes from the team that beat italy 38-8 for saturday s trip to france.  kevin morgan takes over from his injured newport-gwent dragons colleague hal luscombe on the right wing. and in the pack neath-swansea ospreys forward ryan jones is preferred at blindside flanker to jonathan thomas. thomas  a try-scorer in rome  drops down to the bench instead of ian gough  while cardiff back rhys williams steps up in place of morgan. luscombe is sidelined by a hamstring problem sustained during the six nations game against italy last weekend.  however  the experienced and in-form morgan was already pushing hard for a start at stade de france.  due to his impressive performances from the bench  kevin was very much in the selection mix anyway  and the unfortunate injury to hal gives him the chance to start   said ruddock.  now that ryan jones has recovered from injury  we have increased the options in the back row.  jonathan thomas is unlucky to lose his spot after performing well against italy and scoring a try  but such is the competition for places that every position is debated in detail.  for this particular game  we felt we might not always be afforded the open spaces out wide we were able to exploit against italy  so an extra big ball-carrier in the back-row is thought to be necessary on this occasion.  obviously  it s a 22-man game these days  and there is every chance that jonathan will be making an impact from the bench.  wales have beaten france on two of their last three visits to paris  and another victory this time around would keep them firmly on course for a first five or six nations title triumph since 1994.  graham henry (former wales coach) said a couple of years ago that we should  be bold  when going to france  and he was proved right   said ruddock.  that is a great way to approach the game  and something we will further endorse with the players this week.   g thomas (toulouse  capt); k morgan (newport-gwent)  t shanklin (cardiff)  g henson (neath-swansea)  s williams (neath-swansea); s jones (clermont auvergne)  d peel (llanelli); g jenkins (cardiff)  m davies (gloucester)  a jones; (neath-swansea)  b cockbain (neath-swansea)  r sidoli (cardiff); r jones (neath-swansea)  m williams (cardiff)  m owen (newport-gwent).  replacements: r mcbryde (llanelli)  j yapp (cardiff)  j thomas (neath-swansea)  r sowden-taylor (cardiff)  g cooper (newport-gwent)  c sweeney newport-gwent)  r williams (cardiff).


green fear for transport ballot the green party is concerned thousands of residents may not be able to vote in edinburgh s transport referendum.  edinburgh city council is to ballot constituents on proposals to introduce congestion charging in the capital. but green msp mark ballard fears people not on the council s edited electoral register may miss out. local authorities can only send ballot papers to those on the edited list over non-statutory matters  such as the transport referendum. therefore  residents who have exercised their right to have their details left off the list could miss the chance to vote.  however  there is still time for those who are not on the list to contact the council and make sure they are sent ballot forms ahead of february s voting deadline. mr ballard said:  this vote will set the future of transport in edinburgh for decades to come.  it is therefore vital that as many residents as possible in edinburgh city and the surrounding areas  are registered to vote in the ballot.  many people are not aware that they may miss out on their chance to have a say.  everyone involved in this debate - both for and against - wants the ballot to be as fair and representative as possible  and that means encouraging people to take part.  the ballot will ask residents to vote for or against the council s proposed congestion charge scheme and a host of transport improvements to be funded by it. the outcome of the referendum will be known next month after the ballot forms are sent out and returned to the council. towards the end of february  the council will meet to decide whether to proceed with an application to scottish ministers for approval for its planned congestion charging scheme and the other parts of its transport package.


celtic unhappy over bulgaria date martin o neill hopes to block stilian petrov s call-up by bulgaria during celtic s busy festive programme.  the celtic manager does not view the friendly against valenciana - a region of spain - on 28 december as important.  i can t say i was overly pleased at the fixture being played just after christmas   said o neill.  we will have to speak with the bulgarian fa. it s their prerogative for them to arrange a fixture and our prerogative how we handle it.  bulgaria s game comes between celtic s boxing day meeting with hearts and their 2 january fixture against livingston. o neill believes the extra game will not help a midfielder whose season has already been affected by injury.  they have organised a game at a rather awkward time   he added.  when we were out playing barcelona  i spoke with the bulgarian manager  hristo stoichkov  and he mentioned this game to me.  we pay his wages  we are the ones that if an awkward fixture is going to be played at some stage or another it should be to our benefit  rather than anyone else.  i have said this before  but bulgaria are the one nation who seem to organise a lot of friendly games.


tories urge  change at the top  tory delegates are gathering for what is expected to be their last conference before the general election  declaring britain needs  a change at the top .  the party goes into its spring forum trying to highlight what it sees as a clear choice between it and labour. tory co-chairman liam fox has opened proceedings with a speech criticising tony blair s record in government. labour s rule has been characterised by  lost trust and failure to deliver   he told the brighton conference. he also attacked the government s  failure  to control immigration and asylum and criticised its record on the nhs  telling delegates labour cannot be trusted on education or crime. a tory government would sort out the  shambles  of immigration  put patients before statistics and bring discipline to schools  he said. dr fox also underlined tory promises to cut tax by £4bn.  bbc political correspondent shaun ley says opinion polls suggest the tories still lag some way behind labour on the issues of health  education and the economy. conservative leader michael howard  who had been due to welcome delegates to the conference on friday  will address them in a lunchtime speech. his welcome address had to be postponed after he stayed in london to lead the party s opposition to the prevention of terrorism bill in its lengthy progress through parliament. the bill was finally passed on friday evening  after more than 30 hours of debate. mr howard is likely to defend his party s handling of the bill  which was only passed after the conservatives accepted prime minister tony blair s promise that mps would be able to review it within a year.


us economy shows solid gdp growth the us economy has grown more than expected  expanding at an annual rate of 3.8% in the last quarter of 2004.  the gross domestic product figure was ahead of the 3.1% the government estimated a month ago. the rise reflects stronger spending by businesses on capital equipment and a smaller-than-expected trade deficit. gdp is a measure of a country s economic health  reflecting the value of the goods and services it produces.  the new gdp figure  announced by the commerce department on friday  also topped the 3.5% growth rate that economists had forecast ahead of friday s announcement. growth was at an annual rate of 4% in the third quarter of 2004 and for the year it came in at 4.4%  the best figure in five years. however  the positive economic climate may lead to a rise in interest rates  with many expecting us rates to rise on 22 march. in the january-to-march quarter  the economy is expected to grow at an annual rate of about 4%  economists forecast. in the final quarter of 2004  businesses increased spending on capital equipment and software by 18%  up from 17.5% in the third quarter. consumer spending grew 4.2% in the final quarter  down from the third quarter s 5.1%.


microsoft releases bumper patches microsoft has warned pc users to update their systems with the latest security fixes for flaws in windows programs.  in its monthly security bulletin  it flagged up eight  critical  security holes which could leave pcs open to attack if left unpatched. the number of holes considered  critical  is more than usual. they affect windows programs  including internet explorer (ie)  media player and instant messaging. four other important fixes were also released. these were considered to be less critical  however. if not updated  either automatically or manually  pc users running the programs could be vulnerable to viruses or other malicious attacks designed to exploit the holes. many of the flaws could be used by virus writers to take over computers remotely  install programs  change  and delete or see data.  one of the critical patches microsoft has made available is an important one that fixes some ie flaws. stephen toulouse  a microsoft security manager  said the flaws were known about  and although the firm had not seen any attacks exploiting the flaw  he did not rule them out. often  when a critical flaw is announced  spates of viruses follow because home users and businesses leave the flaw unpatched. a further patch fixes a hole in media player  windows messenger and msn messenger which an attacker could use to take control of unprotected machines through .png files. microsoft announces any vulnerabilities in its software every month. the most important ones are those which are classed as  critical . its latest releases came the week that the company announced it was to buy security software maker sybari software as part of microsoft s plans to make its own security programs.


stuart joins norwich from addicks norwich have signed charlton midfielder graham stuart until the end of the season for an undisclosed fee.   it was a very easy decision to make   the 34-year-old told norwich s website.  the attraction for me was to continue to play in the premiership.  canaries boss nigel worthington added:  i m delighted that graham will be joining us until the end of the season.  he s gives us a wealth of experience. hopefully  he can be part of keeping us in the premier league.  stuart has extensive top-flight experience with everton  chelsea and charlton and can play across the midfield positions. he joins norwich with the norfolk club second-from-bottom in the premiership  but stuart is confident that the carrow road outfit have a bright future.  i ve been very impressed with the facilities here. it s obviously a very well run football club with excellent facilities and i ve always enjoyed playing at carrow road   he added.  it s a nice compact ground with a good atmosphere and hopefully i can help give the fans something else to cheer.   stuart  a former england under-21 international  made 110 appearances for chelsea  scoring 18 goals  before joining everton. he won the fa cup with the toffees in 1995 and remains a hero at goodison park after his 81st-minute winner against wimbledon saved everton from relegation in 1994. stuart spent just over four years at goodison park  making 125 senior appearances and scoring 25 goals  before signing for sheffield united - where he scored 12 goals in 68 appearances. after signing for charlton he made 164 appearances  scoring 23 times  but recently he has been battling a back problem and had not played for the londoners for three months before heading to norwich.


why few targets are better than many the economic targets set out at the lisbon summit of european union leaders in 2000 were meant to help europe leapfrog its way past the united states to become the world s leading economy by 2010.  but the lisbon targets are about much more than just economic prestige. for many economists and analysts they are about ensuring europe doesn t become a global economic laggard. they are also about ensuring europe can continue to compete as an equal with the growing economic giants of asia  india and china  as well as with the economic might of the united states. that s why there was a tone of urgency in the report  out on wednesday  by the former dutch prime minister wim kok. mr kok was commissioned by the european commission in march this year to assess how far the eu has come towards meeting the lisbon targets  five years on from their inception. his conclusion was simple: too many of the targets will be seriously missed.  lisbon risks becoming a  synonym for missed objectives and failed promises   his report said.  the status quo is not an option.   at risk in the medium to long run is nothing less than the sustainability of the society europe has built  it said. the report comes at a time when europe s competitive position is waning. the eu s economic growth rate is projected to be 2% this year and 2.4% next. while there has been growth in overall employment rates in europe  productivity lags behind that of the us. but meeting the lisbon targets requires a political commitment that no eu member state has volunteered so far. that has in part been due to the state of the global economy in the past few years.  as mr kok s report noted:  the ink had scarcely dried on the [lisbon] agreement before the worldwide stock market bubble imploded.   the us suffered two years of economic slowdown and recession and the european economy followed suit.   the circumstances weren t conducive to creating the 20 million new jobs promised by eu leaders in lisbon in 2000. neither were they conducive to getting governments to spend more on research and development  money needed if the eu was to meet its target of becoming a so-called  knowledge-based economy .  the [lisbon] vision is a compelling one  but in order to do it society has to change   said paul hofheinz of the lisbon council  a brussels-based citizen action group.  what you find is that a lot of people have been fighting change. you find trade unions fighting change. but also the employers  associations.  even though they tell you they re in favour of change  many are actually pushing for less competition  more subsidy and less free market activity.   but part of the problem was also linked to the original targets set out in lisbon five years ago. targets have a habit of coming back to haunt you and in the lisbon case  they covered too much  according to the wim report. economic growth and job creation were linked to issues ranging from environmental protection to social inclusion  and even safety at sea. the agenda was just too broad and as a result nothing was prioritised.   lisbon is about everything and thus about nothing   the kok report said.  everybody is responsible and thus no one.  that s why the kok report recommends that the lisbon targets be narrowed down to 14 key indicators  with an emphasis on creating jobs and economic growth. it also recommends that the european commission draw up a league table which ranks countries according to the steps they re taking towards meeting the targets  effectively  naming  shaming and faming .  rhetoric and delivery don t necessarily go hand in hand   mr kok said in a press conference alongside the publication of his report.  we don t have the luxury anymore just to exchange politeness with one another.   on one point mr kok was very clear: the european union should not try to emulate the us economy. the european economic and social model needs to change  but not so much so that social and environmental issues take a backseat to economic growth. in that sense  the lisbon agenda is sailing into unchartered waters. the kok report tries to do away with a belief that jobs need to be sacrificed at the altar of economic growth.  it s very ambitious   said john palmer  political director at the european policy centre  a brussels-based think-tank.  this is something that no advanced economy in the world has tried to do. it s going to require quite new and innovative policies.  but some analysts believe that the kok report doesn t come up with the sort of innovative policies and thinking needed to make the lisbon targets a reality. for example  it recommends putting in place policies which encourage women and older people to remain in the workforce. but it doesn t say how companies should be convinced to do this. it will be up to the incoming president of the european commission  jose manuel barroso  to adopt mr kok s recommendations and press them on eu governments. mr barroso has said that the eu s competitiveness will be his top priority. he expects his five-year term in office to be judged on europe s success in meeting the lisbon agenda.


boothroyd calls for lords speaker betty boothroyd has said the house of lords needs its own speaker and that peers should lead the way on reforming the upper chamber.  baroness boothroyd  who was the first woman to be commons speaker  said she believed tony blair initiated reforms without a clear outcome in mind.  now we have to take care of it ourselves and make the best of it   she told the bbc s breakfast with frost. in 1999 labour removed all but 92 of the lords  750 hereditary peers. that was billed as the first stage of reform of the institution. the lord chancellor hinted further reforms could be unveiled in the next labour manifesto.   i think we need to look very carefully at the relationship between the lords and the commons   lord falconer told bbc1 s breakfast with frost.  how it interacts with the commons is a very  very important issue.  we need to address the issue in the manifesto  but you will have to wait for when the manifesto comes.  the lord chancellor currently has the role of house of lords speaker. he is also head of the judiciary and a member of the cabinet as constitutional affairs secretary.  lady boothroyd said she believed it was unacceptable for the lord chancellor to have the role of speaker.  i would really like to see a speaker of the house of lords   she said.  i don t go for the idea of somebody - a lord chancellor - who is head of the judiciary  a senior cabinet minister and speaker of the lords.  i want somebody there who is going to look after that house and do a job there.