healthsouth ex-boss goes on trial the former head of us medical services firm healthsouth overstated earnings and assets to boost the company s share price  it was claimed in court.  richard scrushy  52  is accused of  directing  a $2.7bn (£1.4bn) accounting fraud at the company he co-founded in alabama in 1984. prosecutors said he was motivated by wealth - spending about $200m between 1996 and 2002 while earning much less. defence lawyers said mr scrushy had been deceived by other executives. several former healthsouth employees have already pleaded guilty to fraud and are expected to give evidence against mr scrushy.   we will present evidence that richard scrushy knew about the conspiracy  that he participated in the conspiracy and that he profited   prosecutor alice martin told the court. mr scrushy is the first chief executive to be tried for breaching the sarbanes oxley act - a law introduced in the wake of the enron and worldcom frauds which obliges corporate bosses to vouch for the accuracy of their companies  results. among the charges he faces are conspiracy to commit fraud  filing false statements and money laundering. after federal agents raided healthsouth s offices in march 2003  the company said none of its past financial statements could be relied on. the firm has since reorganised its board and management team and currently operates about 1 400 health clinics.


mexican in us send $16bn home mexican labourers living in the us sent a record $16.6bn (£8.82bn) home last year.  the bank of mexico said that remittances grew 24% last year and now represent the country s second-biggest source of income after oil. better records and greater prosperity of mexican expatriates in the us are the main reasons behind the increase. about 10 million mexicans live in the us  where there are 16 million citizens of mexican origin. remittances now represent more than 2% of the country s gdp  according to the bank of mexico s figures. last year  there were 50.9 million transactions  with an average value of $327 per remittance  the bank said. according to standard & poor s  which has recently upgraded mexico s sovereign debt rating  the rise in remittances helps protect the mexican economy against a potential fall in the international oil prices.  the growth in remittances has sparked fierce competition between banks. bank of america announced last week that it planned to eliminate transfer fees for some customers. remittance charges are estimated to have dropped by between 50 and 60%  reports from the us treasury and the inter-american development bank have said. the inter-american development bank estimates that remittances to latin america and the caribbean reached $45bn in 2004.


continental  may run out of cash  shares in continental airlines have tumbled after the firm warned it could run out of cash.  in a filing to us regulators the airline warned of  inadequate liquidity  if it fails to reduce wage costs by $500m by the end of february. continental also said that  if it did not make any cuts  it expects to lose  hundreds of millions of dollars  in 2005 in current market conditions. failure to make cutbacks may also push it to reduce its fleet  the group said. shares in the fifth biggest us carrier had fallen 6.87% on the news to $10.44 by 1830 gmt.  without the reduction in wage and benefit costs and a reasonable prospect of future profitability  we believe that our ability to raise additional money through financings would be uncertain   continental said in its filing to the us securities and exchange commission (sec).  airlines have faced tough conditions in recent years  amid terrorism fears since the 11 september world trade centre attack in 2001. but despite passengers returning to the skies  record-high fuel costs and fare wars prompted by competition from low cost carriers have taken their toll. houston-based continental now has debt and pension payments of nearly $984m which it must pay off this year. the company has been working to streamline its operations - and has managed to save $1.1bn in costs without cutting jobs. two weeks  ago the group also announced it would be able to shave a further $48m a year from its costs with changes to wage and benefits for most of its us-based management and clerical staff.


euronext joins bid battle for lse pan-european stock market euronext has approached the london stock exchange (lse) about a possible takeover bid.   the approach is at an early stage and therefore does not require a response at this point   lse said. talks with the european stock market and with rival bidder deutsche boerse will continue  the lse said. last week  the group rejected a £1.3bn ($2.5bn) takeover offer from deutsche boerse  claiming that it undervalued the business. lse saw its shares surge 4.9% to a new high of 583p in early trade  following the announcement on monday.  the offer follows widespread media speculation that euronext would make an offer for lse. experts now widely expect a bidding war for europe s biggest stock market  which lists stocks with a total capitalisation of £1.4 trillion  to break out. commentators say that a deal with euronext  which owns the liffe derivatives exchange in london and combines the paris  amsterdam and lisbon stock exchanges  could potentially offer the lse more cost savings than a deal with deutsche boerse.  a weekend report in the telegraph had quoted an unnamed executive at euronext as saying the group would make a cash bid to trump deutsche boerse s offer.  because we already own liffe in london  the cost savings available to us from a merger are far greater than for deutsche boerse   the newspaper quoted the executive as saying. euronext chief executive jean-francois theodore is reported to have already held private talks with lse s chief executive clara furse. further reports had suggested that euronext could make an offer in excess of the lse s 533p a share closing price on friday. however  euronext said it could not guarantee  at this stage  that a firm offer would be made for lse. there has been extensive speculation about a possible takeover of the company since an attempted merger with deutsche boerse failed in 2000.


steel firm  to cut  45 000 jobs mittal steel  one of the world s largest steel producers  could cut up to 45 000 jobs over the next five years  its chief executive has said.  the netherlands-based company is due to complete its $4.5bn acquisition of us firm isg next month  making it one of the largest global firms of its kind. however  lakshmi mittal has told investors the combined company will have to shed thousands of jobs. the indian-born magnate did not say where the job losses would fall.  mr mittal told us investors that once the acquisition of international steel group was completed  the company would aim to reduce its workforce by between 7 000 and 8 000 annually. this could see its workforce trimmed from 155 000 to 110 000 staff by 2010.  we are investing in modernisation so employees will go down   mr mittal told the conference in chicago.  mittal steel was formed last year when mr mittal s lnm holdings merged with dutch firm ispat. a combination of mittal steel and isg would have annual sales of $32bn (£16.7bn; 24.1bn euros) and a production capacity of 70 million tonnes.  a mittal steel spokeman said that no decisions on job cuts have been made yet.  we are trying to create a sustainable steel industry and if we want to do that  we have to invest in new technology   a spokesman said. mittal steel has operations in 14 countries. many of its businesses - particularly those in eastern europe - were previously state owned and have huge workforces. it employs 50 000 staff in kazakhstan alone  and has large operations in romania  the czech republic  south africa and the united states.


ivanovic seals canberra victory serbia s ana ivanovic captured her first wta title with a straight-sets victory over hungarian melinda czink in the final of the canberra classic.  the 17-year-old took 83 minutes to take the match 7-5 6-1. ivanovic beat czink in the last round of qualifying but the hungarian made the main draw as a lucky loser after katarina srebotnik withdrew injured. ivanovic said:  i was really nervous in the beginning  but i pulled through and didn t do too much wrong.  a junior wimbledon finalist last year  she added:  it s my first wta title  and to win it has really given me more energy to practice and improve.  ivanovic will play 32nd seed iveta benesova of the czech republic in the first round.said of the australian open in melbourne.


tories unveil quango blitz plans plans to abolish 162 quangos have been unveiled by the conservatives as part of their effort to show how government red tape can be cut.  six government units would also be scrapped under proposals which the tories say would save more than £4.3bn. among the targets are strategic health authorities and the new fair access regulator for universities. tory frontbencher john redwood said britain needed a slimmer government and lower taxes to be competitive.  the plans would abolish regional assemblies and other regional bodies  such as boards tackling industrial development and housing. their powers would be returned to elected local councils or national government. the tories say the strategic health authorities are not needed as it is better that local people  rather than officials  run hospitals and surgeries.  announcing the plans  mr redwood said:  mr blair has forgotten the interests of taxpayers  and has broken the pledges he made.  far from improving public services  spending taxpayers  money on quangos has led only to more bureaucrats  more regulation and higher taxes.  his party leader  michael howard  argued a change in direction was needed to get a grip on spending.  labour are creating two britains: the britain of the forgotten majority and bureaucratic britain   he said.  in the real world  people are working harder just to stand still. they ve seen their pensions knocked for six.  they re being squeezed by extra taxes. the forgotten majority are paying the price of bureaucratic britain.   the government has announced plans to cut 100 000 civil servants as part of its efficiency drive. but chief secretary to the treasury paul boateng attacked the tory plans.  the conservatives are committed to cutting labour s public spending plans by a massive £35 billion   he said.  cuts on this scale cannot be found from cutting  bureaucracy  but would require massive cuts to front-line public services such as schools  hospitals and the police.  the liberal democrats have said they would cut the number of whitehall departments to make sure money reaches frontline services.


brown comes out shooting labour may have abolished hunting - but that didn t stop chancellor gordon brown using his budget to fire both barrels at some of the opposition parties  core election foxes.  specifically  it saw him attempting to slaughter the council tax as an election issue and to tear limb from limb their wider policies for pensioners and families. in a relatively short speech he kept the best for last and was clearly out to give exactly that pre-election boost everyone had been predicting. so if you are a couple with children  a pensioner  a patient or a youngster  there was something pulled from mr brown s red box in an attempt to persuade you to stick with or switch to a new labour government. like a surgeon  he attempted to target his handouts with absolute precision onto exactly the groups the government needs to appeal to in the election campaign.  the announcements brought great cheers from his own mps who are now in full-on election mode and had been looking to their man to give them ammunition for the doorsteps. they obviously believed he had done that for them and  coincidentally  given his own image as a prime minister-in-waiting another little boost.  labour mps  for example  will undoubtedly now engage in a debate over exactly how redistributive - a lovely old labour word - this chancellor really is. but gordon brown is never going to put on a show and even as he was out to cast himself as the man who will win labour an historic third term  his demeanour remained quiet  confident and reassuring. prudence made an appearance  albeit towards the end of his address  as he assured voters he would do nothing to mess up the economic stability he had brought to britain and which  he claimed  would be thrown away by anyone else. according to the opposition parties  however  it is all one big con trick.  as always  they accused him of glossing over the facts of the  black hole  at the centre of his finances which  they claim  would ensure tax increases after the election. he did it most obviously with his increase in national insurance contributions after the 2001 election campaign during which he had pledged not to increase income tax. as liberal democrat leader charles kennedy claimed  for most families the distinction between income tax and a tax on income is meaningless.  tory leader michael howard said the chancellor was up to his old trick of deliberately re-casting his forecasts to give the illusion that everything in the treasury larder is as fresh as the day it was first stored away for future use. he branded it a dodgy  vote now pay later  budget based on dodgy figures from a dodgy government that gave britain the dodgy dossier. where the chancellor mostly avoided direct electioneering  mr howard felt no such constraint with attacks like comparing mr brown s forecasts to the prime minister s forecasts on iraq s weapons of mass destruction. as ever  there will now be a period of frantic activity by the opposition parties  treasury specialists as they pore over the chancellor s red book  which sets out the fine detail of his budget  in an attempt to spot the flaws. in particular there will be an argument over precisely whose policies on the council tax will offer people the best deal. and in labour circles there will undoubtedly be an argument over just how good a prime minister gordon brown will make at some point after the next election.


bets off after big brother  leak  a bookmaker has stopped taking bets on celebrity big brother after claiming  sensitive information  about the channel 4 show had been leaked.  william hill made the move after four people tried to place bets on friday s surprise double eviction.  this is highly unlikely to have been an inspired guess   william hill spokesman rupert adams said. however  a big brother spokeswoman was  satisfied  that sensitive information about the show remained confidential.  the bookmaker said its suspicions had been aroused by betting for the last two contestant evictions  when people were still trying to place large sums despite odds as short as 1/14. but william hill s  overwhelming evidence  came on friday when four unknown callers asked to place bets on the show s surprise double eviction.  shortly afterwards model caprice and actor jeremy edwards left the show. mr adams believed someone had gained access to figures which revealed how viewers were voting  and was using them to predict which celebrity would be evicted next.  we think somebody somewhere has got them and has been trying very hard to take us to the cleaners   he said. the bets were not taken. mr adams did not believe anyone from channel 4 or big brother producer endemol had tried to place the queried bets. but he added:  they need to look at how many people are privy to the sensitive information.   big brother s spokeswoman said:  only a handful of senior production executives are privy to any sensitive information regarding eviction voting and there are strict procedures in place to keep this information strictly confidential.  we do not feel the need to investigate this further as we are satisfied that these measures are effective.  the show s independent adjudicator - the electoral reform services - was also satisfied  she added. the current series of celebrity big brother ends on sunday  with happy mondays star bez  actress brigitte nielsen and blazin  squad rapper kenzie competing for a £50 000 charity prize.  bookmaker ladbrokes said it would continue to accept bets on the final  with kenzie its favourite at 2/9.  we felt no need whatsoever to close the book   spokesman warren lush said.  we ve seen absolutely no suspicious betting patterns.  mr lush added that people sometimes vote on short odds  because they think it s like buying money .  you do have to risk quite a lot of money for a very small gain but if they think there s no chance of an upset they will still do it   he said.


howard and blair tax pledge clash tony blair has said voters will have to wait for labour s manifesto to see if the party has plans to increase tax.  the premier was responding to a challenge from tory leader michael howard who said labour would raise taxes in its post-election budget. mr blair derided tory claims they could cut £35bn in  wasteful spending  saying the party had got its sums wrong. the two political leaders clashed just days after the opening salvoes of the pre-election period. mr howard told mps that  every independent expert  from the international monetary fund to the institute of fiscal studies had suggested the  government was spending more than it is raising and a labour chancellor would have to put up taxes . mr blair replied:  i think they are wrong for this very simple reason: that the treasury forecasts on the economy have been proven right.  the tories on monday highlighted their plans for tax cuts worth £4bn  although the specific taxes to be cut have not been announced.  they also spelled out their plans for reduced government borrowing and more spending on key services. labour and the liberal democrats have said the party s sums do not add up and claim it would cut frontline services. but mr howard said voters faced a clear choice at the next election between more waste and more tax under labour and tory value for money and lower taxes. the liberal democrats have also launched their pre-election platform  with leader charles kennedy saying his party was the  authentic opposition   particularly on the iraq war  council tax and university tuition fees. labour hit back at the tory proposals even before their publication with election coordinator alan milburn accusing mr howard of producing a  fraudulent prospectus .


lopez misses uk charity premiere jennifer lopez cancelled an appearance at the uk charity premiere of her new movie saying she was too ill to fly.  the actress and singer dropped out at the last minute and has now cancelled all european promotion of the film shall we dance  and her new album. she said:  i very much wanted to be in london but unfortunately i m not well. at the advice of my doctors i m unable to travel.  co-star richard gere attended the event held in aid of the tsunami appeal. thousands braved the cold weather to see the stars in london s leicester square. the red carpet boasted waltzing dancers in honour of the film s ballroom dancing theme. the film s director peter chelsom said he was disappointed that lopez did not attend.   it s a shame. i know it s true that she s not well because she has also cancelled her promotional tour. i ve heard she has swollen glands.  gere  55  greeted the crowd and signed autographs  accompanied by his wife carey lowell. other stars who turned out on the night included honor blackman  strictly come dancing presenter tess daly and actress anita dobson. lopez issues a statement apologising for her absence.  i m so proud of shall we dance and was looking forward to visiting london   she said.  this film was a labour of love for me  and i want to thank everyone involved in bringing it to you  from the cast  to the film director  to the crew.  lopez appeared at the grammy awards on sunday  singing a duet with her third husband marc anthony.


beckham rules out management move real madrid midfielder david beckham has no plans to become a manager when his playing career is over.   i am not interested in being a coach but i would like to have football schools   the england captain said on television station canal plus.  i have wanted to do that since i went to the bobby charlton school. i m going to open one in london and one in la.  my second passion is charity work - i am an ambassador for unicef and it gives me great pride.  but beckham revealed that his immediate priority was winning the spanish league title with real madrid.  real slipped to 13 points behind leaders barcelona with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of sevilla on wednesday. beckham admitted:  it s disappointing and frustrating to see the results  considering the team we have.  i would really like to win la liga with real madrid - i have been here two years and we still have not done it.  in a wide-ranging interview  beckham also revealed that his sending-off against argentina - and the resulting media storm - had been the most significant moment in his career. asked for his worst memory  he said:  to be sent off against argentina - it was not for the sending-off but for what happened afterwards.  i was lucky because i had a manager  sir alex ferguson  who supported me and a strong family behind me but i believe that changed me.  i believe it changed me for the better.


open source leaders slam patents the war of words between microsoft and the open source movement heated up this week as linux founder linus torvalds led an attack on software patents.  in a panel discussion at a linux summit in california mr torvalds said software patents were a problem for the open source movement. mitchell kapor  chairman of the mozilla foundation  warned that microsoft could use patent lawsuits in the future. linux is a freely-available alternative to microsoft s windows. it relies on a community of programmers for its development and is based on open source principles  which allow others to use and modify it without having to pay licence fees. the attack on software patents comes at a time when ibm has made 500 of its patents freely available. other companies are expected to follow suit.  there are between 150 000 and 300 000 registered software patents in the us and open source developers argue that many should never have been granted. this is a view corroborated by the uk patent office.  some of the patents have dubious validity and are being wielded by some big companies to force smaller companies to buy licenses in the knowledge that they can t afford to take them to court   said dr jeremy philpott of the uk patent office. some panel members are worried that microsoft would issue a series of patent lawsuits in the future.  if totally pushed to the wall - because their business model no longer holds up in an era in which open source is an economically superior way to produce software...of course they re going to unleash the wmds   mr kapor is reported as saying. microsoft did not want to comment directly  referring the issue instead to trade body intellect  of which it is a member.  as far as intellect is concerned  open source and patents have co-existed for many years without problems   said spokeswoman jill sutherland.  the industry respects the open source movement and in fact many of the members we represent use the open source system to develop software    we think the important point to make is that companies should be able to choose between patents  copyrights and open source as to the treatment of their intellectual discoveries  and not be forced into using one or the other   she added.


mystery surrounds new yukos owner the fate of russia s yuganskneftegas - the oil firm sold to a little-known buyer on sunday - is the subject of frantic speculation in moscow.  baikal finance group emerged as the auction winner  agreeing to pay 260.75bn roubles (£4.8bn; $9.4bn). russia s newspapers claimed that baikal was a front for gas monopoly gazprom  which had been expected to win. the sale has destroyed yukos  once the owner of yuganskneftegas  said founder mikhail khodorkovsky.  yuganskneftegas has been sold in the best traditions of the 90s. the authorities have made themselves a wonderful christmas present - russia s most efficient oil company has been destroyed   the interfax news agency quoted mr khodorkovsky as saying via his lawyers.  gazprom had been expected to win the auction but is thought to have failed to get finance for the deal after a us court injunction barred it from taking part. last week  yukos filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the us in a last-ditch attempt to hang on to yuganskneftegas  which accounts for 60% of its output. a us judge banned gazprom from taking part in the auction and barred international banks from providing the firm with cash.  they screwed up the financing   said ronald smith  an analyst at renaissance capital in moscow.  and gazprom doesn t have this sort of money lying around.   gazprom has denied that it is behind the purchase.  it is a front for somebody but not necessarily for gazprom   said oleg maximov  an analyst at troika dialog in moscow.  we don t know if this company is linked 100% to gazprom.   we tried to find it  but we couldn t and as far as i know  the papers had the same result.  the sale has however bought time for gazprom to raise the money needed for the purchase  analysts said. one scenario is that baikal will not pay when it is supposed to in two weeks time  putting yuganskneftegas back in the hands of bailiffs and back within the reach of gazprom. yukos is not planning on letting go of its unit without a fight and has threatened legal action against any buyer. menatep  yukos main shareholders  group  has also threatened legal action. yukos claims that it is being punished for the political ambitions of its founder  mikhail khodorkovsky  who is now in jail facing separate fraud charges. it has been hit with more than $27bn in taxes and fines and many observers now say that the break up of the firm that accounts for 20% of russia s oil output is inevitable.


newcastle to join morientes race newcastle have joined the race to sign real madrid striker fernando morientes and scupper liverpool s bid to snap up the player  according to reports.  liverpool were reported to have bid £3.5m for the 28-year-old spanish international this week. but the liverpool echo newspaper has said anfield boss rafa benitez will avoid a bidding war and instead turn his attentions to nicolas anelka. real are believed to still want £7m before selling morientes. monaco are also in the race for the player they had on loan last season. reports suggest liverpool will lift their offer to £5m - the highest they are willing to go before bowing out of any deal.  on tuesday  morientes had said:  i like liverpool and i am pleased that a club of their stature want to buy me. i have told madrid that i want it to happen.  madrid know my situation and they know they must do something about me. they must sort out the situation by being sensible.  i am in a position where i want to play  and i will have to look elsewhere to do that. if madrid do not want me then it s in the best interests of everyone that they are realistic.   i haven t spoken to rafa benitez but i have always appreciated his work and i would like to play for him. but benitez could yet turn his attentions to the younger anelka should morientes be reluctant to pledge his future to liverpool. anelka previously played at anfield under gerard houllier before sealing his permanent switch to manchester city.


a year to remember for irish there used to be one subliminal moment during a year in irish rugby that stood out more than most.  well  at least there used to one. now there is a handful to look back with a mixture of satisfaction  and sorrow. it has been quite a year for the irish  and not just with eddie o sullivan s triple crown winning international outfit either. right down through the ranks irish rugby is creating waves and upsetting the more established teams in the game. but most of the kudos will go to o sullivan and his merry band of warriors who not only collected their first triple crown for 29 years  but also finished their autumn campaign with a 100% record. for the second year in succession they also finished in the runners-up spot in the rbs six nations. but in the three games in november which included a victory over tri-nations champions and grand slam chasing south africa  ireland finsihed the year on a high. the 18-12 victory at lansdowne road was only their second victory over the boks after the initial success back in 1965. that success was revenge for the consecutive defeats in blomefontein and cape town in the summer. those two reverses and the 35-17 flop against france  were the only dark patches in an otherwise excellent 12 months. but the big one  of course  was the 19-13 defeat of world cup champions england on their precious twickenham turf. the winning try was conceived in o sullivan s mind  perfectly executed by the team and finished immaculately by girvan dempsey. for me  the try of the championship. o sullivan s career is now in vertical take-off mode. it is no wonder that sir clive woodward has elevated the galway-based coach to head the lions test side. not only that  but a fair majority of the present ireland side will be wearing red next june in new zealand.  there can be no doubt that ireland s representation will be the biggest ever  albeit in a proposed 44-man squad. in brian o driscoll and paul o connell  ireland have now the two front-runners for the captaincy. gordon d arcy  whose career began as a teenager back in 1999  finally arrived when he was named the six nations player of the tournament. but it was not only the senior squad that brought kudos to ireland  the youngsters strutted their stuff on the big stage as well. the under-21 squad confounded the doubters as they went all the way to the world cup final in scotland only to be beaten by a powerful all black side in the decider. the young irish boys had stated their intentions earlier in the season when they finished runners-up to england in the six nations under-21 tournament. on the provincial front  leinster  for second year in succession  blew it when the heineken cup looked a good wager. while ulster finished runners-up in their very tight group for the second season in succession  it was munster again flying the flag for the irish. looking to reach their third final  they went down 37-32 to eventual winners wasps in what many beileve was the most competitive and thunderous game ever witnessed at lansdowne road. how wasps recovered from that energy-sapping duel  and then go onto to defeat toulouse in the final was anybody s guess. ulster  meanwhile  just lost out to adding the inaugural celtic cup in winning the celtic league when they were pipped at the post by the scarlets in the final game.  ulster  however  took time to start the new season under new coach mark mccall. the once famous ravenhill fortress was breached four times as ulster only manged five wins from their first 12 outings in the celtic league. leinster are again looking the most potent outfit going into 2005  but whether they can take that final step under declan kidney is another thing. on the down side  irish rugby was hit by a number of tragedies. teenage star john mccall died while playing for the ireland against new zealand in the under-19 world cup game in durban. that happened only 10 days after he led royal armagh to their first ulster schools  cup success since 1977. the death of former ireland coach and lions flanker mike doyle in a car crash in northern ireland shocked the rugby fraternity a larger than life character  doyle had coached ireland to the triple crown in 1985  the last time that goal had been achieved before this season. ulster rugby also suffered the sudden deaths of well-known londonderry ym player jim huey  coleraine s jonathan hutchinson  and belfast harlequins lock johnny poole. they all passed away long before the full-time whistle.


clarke to unveil immigration plan new controls on economic migrants and tighter border patrols will be part of government plans unveiled on monday.  home secretary charles clarke wants to introduce a points system for economic migrants and increase deportations of failed asylum seekers. tony blair has said people are right to be concerned about abuses of the system but there is no  magic bullet . the tories say labour is acting too late while the lib dems say the plans may not produce an efficient system.  the government s new five-year plan is designed to show how labour would reform immigration and asylum controls if it wins the election  expected to be held in may. ministers deny they have been spurred into action by tory campaigning or because the prime minister is worried too little has been done.  instead  they say the plans are part of an  evolving  process aimed at winning public confidence. mr clarke is expected to announce an end to the automatic right to settle for immigrants  families  and the introduction of fingerprinting for all visa applicants. the prime minister on sunday said immigration would be  toughened up  to ensure only those immigrants with skills the uk really needs will be granted work permits. but he rejected the tories  call for a quota on economic migrants  saying no  arbitrary figure  could reflect the uk s needs.  mr blair told bbc radio 4 s westminster hour:  we should cut the number or increase it depending on the country s needs...  the public are worried about this  they are worried rightly  because there are abuses of the immigration and asylum system.  but he defended the uk s current regime  saying all systems around the world were subject to abuse. tory proposals to cap the number of asylum seekers and process all claims abroad would not work  argued mr blair.  he said:  we will not be... pretending there is some simple easy way of processing britain s asylum seekers in some other country  because no such other country exists.  conservative shadow home secretary david davis said the government had failed to remove 250 000 failed asylum seekers from the uk and limits on economic migrants had been a  shambles .  what we are seeing today is a rather panicky response from the government after eight years of failure   he said. liberal democrat home affairs spokesman mark oaten said labour was right to reject the tories  idea of quotas on asylum. but he said it was yet to be seen if mr clarke could deliver  a fair and efficient asylum system .


standoff  on deutsche s lse bid deutsche boerse investors unhappy with its london stock exchange bid will have no chance to throw out the exchange s management until may  reuters says.  the sunday times reported that hedge funds tci and atticus were planning to demand the removal of the group s chairman and chief executive. but deutsche boerse told news agency reuters such a move would have to wait until may s annual general meeting. investors want deutsche to return cash to shareholders rather than bid.  we are long-term investors and are experienced in removing management. we are not scared to take this to its conclusion this time   atticus  david slager told the sunday times. however  deutsche boerse told reuters:  tci s request for the removal of the supervisory board will be considered at the annual general meeting on may 25.   the sunday times reported that tci had been drawing up a list of heavyweight executives to replace deutsche s chairman rolf breuer and chief executive werner seifert. the group owns more than 5% of deutsche - more than enough to demand an extraordinary general meeting to call on shareholders to oust the german exchange s management. under german law deutsche does not need investor backing to make a takeover bid. tci and atticus have opposed the lse bid for some time saying it would destroy shareholder value  and would be better spent on a share buyback. deutsche is in competition with pan-european bourse euronext to take over the london exchange. many commentators have suggested a bidding war between the two could break out. however  any such move would have to wait until march when the office of fair trading completes an investigation into the competition aspects of the pair s takeover proposals.


kluft impressed by sotherton form olympic heptathlon champion carolina kluft was full of admiration for britain s kelly sotherton as the pair prepared to clash in birmingham.  both will be in action on friday in the 60m hurdles and long jump ahead of the european indoor championships later this month in madrid. sotherton finished third behind the swede in athens  and kluft said:  i knew about her  she s a great girl.  she looked very good early in the season and was competing really well.  kluft showed impressive early-season form on tuesday in stockholm s ge galan meeting  winning the sprint hurdles  the long jump and the 400m. sotherton has also displayed promise  with a new high jump personal best in sheffield at the combined norwich union european trials and aaa championships  and a second place in the long jump behind jade johnson.


voters  don t trust politicians  eight out of 10 voters do not trust politicians to tell the truth  a new poll conducted for the bbc suggests.  and 87% of the 1 000 adults quizzed by icm for bbc news 24 said politicians did not deliver what they promised. the poll comes after foreign secretary jack straw predicted trust would be  the key choice  at the next election. both the tories and the lib dems are keen to emphasise a perceived lack of trust in tony blair  following his claims over iraqi weapons.  but according to the bbc poll  61% said the issue of trust made no difference to whether or not they would vote at the next election  widely expected on 5 may. the poll also looked at what lay behind the lack of trust in politicians. some 87% said politicians did not keep the promises they made before elections  while 92% said they never gave  a straight answer . just under three-quarters of respondents (73%) said politicians had shown themselves to be dishonest too often.  mr straw told activists in blackburn on thursday that voters would have to decide at the next election which party  best deserves  their  future trust .  that in the end is the key choice at the next election.   he acknowledged that the public had lost faith in labour  but suggested it could persuade people to  reinvest their trust with us  if the party could overcome tory attempts to spread cynicism in politics. the conservatives are keen to highlight the trust issue. during his response to gordon brown s budget statement on tuesday  michael howard compared the chancellor s figures to the prime minister s claims about iraq s weapons of mass destruction.  the lib dems are also keen to highlight the trust issue  with charles kennedy has claiming voters had a  fundamental lack of trust in the prime minister . and the green party unveiled a billboard opposite the palace of westminster accusing the government of lying over the iraq war.  former education secretary estelle morris told bbc news 24 that there was a  real problem of trust  between the public and the politicians. she said she did not feel her own colleagues could be trusted  but suggested the  three-cornered relationship  between the press  politicians and the public had a hand in the issue. the public was often turned off by sitting on the sidelines in  the battle of words  between the politician and the journalist  she added. lib dem foreign affairs spokesman menzies campbell said the iraq war had hit trust in politicians hard.  issues of war and peace  life and death do have a very damaging effect on the credibility of politicians . martin bell  who won the tatton seat from tory neil hamilton on anti-corruption platform  said politicians often failed to see themselves as others did.  we need public figures we trust to tell the truth and who can see themselves as others see them.


tv future in the hands of viewers with home theatre systems  plasma high-definition tvs  and digital video recorders moving into the living room  the way people watch tv will be radically different in five years  time.  that is according to an expert panel which gathered at the annual consumer electronics show in las vegas to discuss how these new technologies will impact one of our favourite pastimes. with the us leading the trend  programmes and other content will be delivered to viewers via home networks  through cable  satellite  telecoms companies  and broadband service providers to front rooms and portable devices.  one of the most talked-about technologies of ces has been digital and personal video recorders (dvr and pvr). these set-top boxes  like the us s tivo and the uk s sky+ system  allow people to record  store  play  pause and forward wind tv programmes when they want.  essentially  the technology allows for much more personalised tv. they are also being built-in to high-definition tv sets  which are big business in japan and the us  but slower to take off in europe because of the lack of high-definition programming. not only can people forward wind through adverts  they can also forget about abiding by network and channel schedules  putting together their own a-la-carte entertainment. but some us networks and cable and satellite companies are worried about what it means for them in terms of advertising revenues as well as  brand identity  and viewer loyalty to channels. although the us leads in this technology at the moment  it is also a concern that is being raised in europe  particularly with the growing uptake of services like sky+.  what happens here today  we will see in nine months to a years  time in the uk   adam hume  the bbc broadcast s futurologist told the bbc news website. for the likes of the bbc  there are no issues of lost advertising revenue yet. it is a more pressing issue at the moment for commercial uk broadcasters  but brand loyalty is important for everyone.  we will be talking more about content brands rather than network brands   said tim hanlon  from brand communications firm starcom mediavest.  the reality is that with broadband connections  anybody can be the producer of content.  he added:  the challenge now is that it is hard to promote a programme with so much choice.   what this means  said stacey jolna  senior vice president of tv guide tv group  is that the way people find the content they want to watch has to be simplified for tv viewers. it means that networks  in us terms  or channels could take a leaf out of google s book and be the search engine of the future  instead of the scheduler to help people find what they want to watch. this kind of channel model might work for the younger ipod generation which is used to taking control of their gadgets and what they play on them. but it might not suit everyone  the panel recognised. older generations are more comfortable with familiar schedules and channel brands because they know what they are getting. they perhaps do not want so much of the choice put into their hands  mr hanlon suggested.  on the other end  you have the kids just out of diapers who are pushing buttons already - everything is possible and available to them   said mr hanlon.  ultimately  the consumer will tell the market they want.   of the 50 000 new gadgets and technologies being showcased at ces  many of them are about enhancing the tv-watching experience. high-definition tv sets are everywhere and many new models of lcd (liquid crystal display) tvs have been launched with dvr capability built into them  instead of being external boxes. one such example launched at the show is humax s 26-inch lcd tv with an 80-hour tivo dvr and dvd recorder. one of the us s biggest satellite tv companies  directtv  has even launched its own branded dvr at the show with 100-hours of recording capability  instant replay  and a search function. the set can pause and rewind tv for up to 90 hours. and microsoft chief bill gates announced in his pre-show keynote speech a partnership with tivo  called tivotogo  which means people can play recorded programmes on windows pcs and mobile devices. all these reflect the increasing trend of freeing up multimedia so that people can watch what they want  when they want.


turkey knocks six zeros off lira turkey is to relaunch its currency on saturday  knocking six zeros off the lira in the hope of boosting trade and powering its growing economy.  the change will see the end of such dizzyingly-high denominations as five million lira - enough for a short taxi ride - and the 20m note  worth $15. these valuations were the product of decades of inflation which  as recently as 2001  was as high as 70%. inflation has since been tamed and economic prospects are improving.  the currency - officially to be known as the new lira - will be launched at midnight on 1 january. from that point  the one-million lira note will become the new one-lira coin. the government hopes the change will be seen as a promise of growing economic stability as turkey embarks on the long process of trying to join the european union.  on an everyday level  it is hoped the change will stimulate more international trade and end confusion among foreign investors and turks alike.  the transition to the new turkish lira shows clearly that our economy has broken the vicious circle that it was imprisoned in for long years   said sureyya serdengecti  head of the turkish central bank.  the new lira is also the symbol of the stable economy that we dreamed of for long years.   the turkish economy teetered on the brink of collapse in 2001 when the lira plunged in value and two million people lost their jobs.  turkey had to turn to the international monetary fund for financial assistance  accepting a $18bn loan in return for pushing through a wide-ranging austerity programme. these tough measures have borne fruit. inflation fell below 10% earlier this year for the first time in decades while exports are up 30% this year. meanwhile  the economy is expanding at a healthy rate  with 7.9% growth expected in 2004. the government hopes that the new currency will cement the country s economic progress  two weeks after eu leaders set a date for the start of turkey s accession talks.  the slimmed-down lira is likely to be widely welcomed by the business community.   the turkish lira has been like funny money   tevfik aksoy  chief turkish economist for deutsche bank  told associated press.  now at least in cosmetic terms it will look like real currency.  however  some do not feel quite so happy about seeing the nominal value of their investments reduced.  if a person has 10 billion lira in investments this will suddenly decrease   shop owner hayriye evren  told associated press.  this will definitely affect people psychologically.


muslims discuss election concerns issues that muslims should be considering before voting in the next general election are to be debated by uk community representatives.  the event is being held by the muslim association of britain (mab)  which believes muslim voters could influence the result in up to 50 constituencies. last year mab  which opposed the war in iraq  urged muslims not to vote for labour in the european elections. but a spokesman stressed the meeting was  not necessarily anti-labour .  this meeting is not anti-party in particular  it s anti-policy  it s on the issues we are going to ask muslims to vote on   mab spokesman dr azzam tamimi said of tuesday s event.   there are issues of concern to muslims  and muslims generally agree on them but have not in the past been aware of how a vote can serve these issues.  dr tamimi said the main issues muslims should consider were what he referred to as the war on iraq  the palestinian situation  the erosion of civil liberties for muslims in the uk and economic  social and education problems.  approximately 1.1m of the uk s 1.6m muslims are of voting age. previous election research has shown the overwhelming majority have traditionally voted labour  but more recent studies have suggested labour support has been falling away significantly among some muslim voters.  anger over the war in iraq has appeared to be the main reason  with many saying it was  unjustified . representatives from a number of muslim organisations will attend tuesday s event. among them will be the muslim council of britain (mcb). the chairman of the mcb s public affairs committee  sher khan  said the war in iraq would be a  significant factor  affecting muslims  voting intentions.  i think it s going to be quite significant because of the number of seats in which they could have an impact   mr khan said.  however  professor john curtice  of the university of strathclyde  is sceptical about how much difference tactical voting by muslims could make.  for the most part the labour constituencies where there s a large muslim community are relatively safe  but there are one or two that are not quite so safe   professor curtice said.  the constituencies where labour was most at risk from a muslim tactical vote were bethnal green  in east london  and rochdale in lancashire  he added. in bethnal green  former labour mp george galloway  who founded the anti-war party respect  is standing against sitting mp oona king  who had a 10 000-vote majority in 2001. in rochdale  the liberal democrats - the mainstream party a 2004 icm survey showed was benefiting most from muslim disaffection with labour - secured second place in the 2001 election  securing just under 6 000 votes fewer than labour s lorna fitzsimons. but professor curtice said the muslim anti-war vote could be split between the liberal democrats and respect  meaning neither would benefit much at the ballot box.  ironically the tories might be the beneficiaries if labour does lose seats  which is generally the case   he said. but dr tamimi said mab s intention was not to  empower  the tories.  we know the next government will be labour  but we are aiming to send a message that it will make a difference if the muslims use their vote properly.  if the next labour government has a reduced majority that s a great achievement because having a very big majority has been very harmful for politics in this country   dr tamimi said.


uk interest rates held 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.


relay squad thrilled with honours jason gardener says being made an mbe in the new year honours list underlines the achievement of great britain s 4x100m relay squad at the olympics.  gardener  darren campbell  marlon devonish and mark lewis-francis have all been awarded mbes after beating pre-race favourites usa to gold.  i think this award reinforces what we did on that fantastic night   he said.  this recognition is really inspiring and makes me want to have more success   said lewis-francis. the british sprint quartet produced a string of faultless baton changes in the final to put pressure on the americans.  and when the usa stumbled with a poor switch between justin gatlin and coby miller at the 300m stage  britain edged ahead going into the final bend. then  on cue  lewis-francis ran a textbook final leg  holding off maurice greene to bring team gb home in 38.07 seconds - just one hundredth of a second ahead of their rivals.  winning the gold medal was the highlight of my athletics career so far   said the birchfield harrier.  this award is not just for me  but for all my friends  family and the people who have helped me to get to this level in my sport.  gardener added:  all of us had worked very hard for a long  long time to carry off what most believed was an impossible task.  of course this award is very special  but for me nothing will ever take away winning an olympic gold medal. it s all i ever wanted.  all my life that is what i dreamed of doing. life since then has been fantastic.  campbell agreed receiving the honour capped off what has been a difficult year for the sprinter.  i think the mbe is important because the people closest to me know my journey   said the newport-based athlete.  i ve not just stumbled upon this.  it gives me a lot of joy and satisfaction to know the stuff you do for your country does mean something.   - there was also recognition for james clarke  chairman of the london marathon. he becomes an obe.


text message record smashed again uk mobile owners continue to break records with their text messaging  with latest figures showing that 26 billion texts were sent in total in 2004.  the figures collected by the mobile data association (mda) showed that 2.4 billion were fired off in december alone  the highest monthly total ever. that was 26% more than in december 2003. the records even surpassed the mda s own predictions  it said. every day 78 million messages are sent and there are no signs of a slow down. before december s bumper text record  the previous highest monthly total was in october 2004  when 2.3 billion were sent. text messaging is set to smash more records in 2005 too  said the mda  with forecasts suggesting a total of 30 billion for the year.  even though mobiles are becoming increasingly sophisticated with much more multimedia applications  texting is still one of the most useful functions of mobiles. people are using sms to do much more too. booking cinema tickets  text voting  and news or sports text alerts are growing popular. mobile owners have also given the chance to donate to the disasters emergency committee s (dec) asian tsunami fund by texting  donate  to a simple short code number. looking further ahead in the year  the mda s chairman mike short  has predicted that more people will go online through their mobiles  estimating 15 billion wap page impressions. handsets with gprs capability - an  always on  net connection - will rise to 75%  while 3g mobile ownership growing to five million by the end of 2005. these third generation mobiles offer a high-speed connection which means more data like video can be received on the phone. globally  mobile phone sales passed 167 million in the third quarter of 2004  according to a recent report from analysts gartner. that was 26% more than the previous year. it is predicted that there would be two billion handsets in use worldwide by the end of 2005.


rings of steel combat net attacks gambling is hugely popular  especially with tech-savvy criminals.  many extortionists are targeting net-based betting firms and threatening to cripple their websites with deluges of data unless a ransom is paid. but now deep defences are being put in place by some of the uk s biggest net firms to stop these attacks. increasing numbers of attacks and the huge amounts of data being used to try to bump a site off the web are prompting firms to adopt the measures.  net firms are realising that it s not just about anti-virus and firewalls   said paul king  chief security architect at cisco.  there are more things that can be done in the network to protect data centres.  mr king said the only way to properly combat these so-called distributed denial-of-service attacks was with intelligent net-based systems. many of the gambling sites suffering ddos attacks are in offshore data and hosting centres  so any large scale data flood could knock out access to many more sites than just the one the criminals were targeting  said mr king. this overspill effect was only likely to grow as attacks grow in size and scale.  malcolm seagrave  security expert at energis  said the most common types of attacks hit sites with 10 megabytes of data over short periods of time. bigger attacks sending down 200 megabytes of traffic or more were rarely seen  he said.  it does feel like they are turning the dial because you see this traffic gradually growing   he said.  so far there have been no attacks involving gigabytes of data  said mr seagrave. however  he added that it was only a matter of time before such large attacks were mounted. maria capella  spokeswoman for net provider pipex  said that when ddos attacks were at their height  customers were getting hit every four to five days. the defences being put in place constantly monitor the streams of data flowing across networks and pluck out the traffic destined for target sites.  it s about understanding what s genuine traffic and keeping attack traffic from going to the site   she said.  we study the profile of their traffic and as soon as we see an anomaly in the profile that s when we start to get the backbone engineering boys to see if we are going to sustain an attack   said ms capella. this traffic can be hard to spot because ddos attacks typically use thousands of computers in many different countries  each participating machine only sends a small part of the entire data flood.  typically these computers have been infected by a virus or worm which reports its success and the net address of compromised machines back to the malicious hacker or hi-tech criminal that set off the virus. hijacked computers are known as zombies or  bots and collections of them are called  bot nets. many spammers rent out  bot nets to help them anonymously send junk mail.  most of the zombies are based outside the country that hosts the target site so getting the attacking pcs shut off can be difficult. often pipex and other net suppliers do get advance notice that an attack is about to happen.  the serious players tend to precede an attack with some kind of ransom e-mail   said ms capella.  we ask  as part of the service we provide  that customers notify us of anything they have in advance that would give us forewarning.  once an attack is spotted dedicated net hardware takes over to remove the attack traffic and ensure that sites stay up. energis took a similar approach  said mr seagrave.  we have technology out there that allows us to detect attacks in minutes rather than let network engineers spend hours pulling the information together   said mr seagrave. also net firms were starting to work more closely together on the problem of ddos attacks and pool information about where they are coming from. information gathered on attacks and where they originated has led to some arrests. he said energis also did its own intelligence work to get in insight into which sites criminal gangs plan to target.  we have people in places where they shouldn t be  monitoring tech sites   he said. sometimes though  he said  spotting the next victim was easy.  you can see them going alphabetically through the list with the gambling sites  trying one after another   said mr seagrave.


saudi ministry to employ women women will be employed in saudi arabia s foreign ministry for the first time this year  foreign minister prince saud al-faisal has been reported as saying.  the move comes as the conservative country inches open the door to working women. last year  crown prince abdullah  the de-facto ruler  told government departments to put plans in place for employing women. but progress has been slow  reports from the country say.  earlier this week  the local arab news said labour minister ghazi al-gosaibi had  caused uproar  when he said his ministry was having difficulty hiring women because they demanded segregated offices. the newspaper said many saudi women found his explanation  a pitiful excuse for not employing women . women now make up more than half of all graduates from saudi universities but only 5% of the workforce.  our educational reforms have created a new generation of highly-educated and professionally trained saudi women who are acquiring their rightful position in saudi society   arab news quoted prince saud as saying.  i am proud to mention here that this year we shall have women working in the ministry of foreign affairs for the first time.


parker s saxophone heads auction a saxophone belonging to legendary jazz musician charlie parker is expected to fetch up to $1m (£535 000) at an auction of jazz memorabilia next month.  the sale  at guernsey s auction house in new york  will feature instruments from other musicians including john coltrane and benny goodman. other items will include an evening gown belonging to ella fitzgerald. organisers said the auction was the first in the us to be devoted to items belonging to jazz musicians.  other items that will be auctioned include unreleased tape recordings of music by parker as well as handwritten sheet music by jazz composers john coltrane and theolonius monk. among the instruments in the sale will be a trumpet which belonged to dizzy gillespie  which is expected to fetch around $500 000 (£267 000)  as well as jj johnson s trombone and a vibraphone which beloned to lionel hampton. works of art by musicians including miles davis and bruni sablan will also be featured. the proceeds from the auction  which will take place on 20 february  will go towards several organisations including the john coltrane foundation  a foundation set up in memory of benny goodman  and the red cross.


minister hits out at yukos sale russia s renationalisation of its energy industry needs to be reversed  a senior government figure has warned.  economy minister german gref told the kommersant newspaper that direct state involvement in oil was  unjustified . his comments follow the sale of much of oil giant yukos to cover back taxes - a deal which effectively took most of the firm s assets into public ownership. on 28 december  another senior economic adviser called the sale  the swindle of the century . yuganskneftegaz  the unit which produced 60% of yukos  output  had been seized and sold in december for less than $10bn to a previously unknown firm called baikal.  baikal promptly passed into the hands of state-controlled firm rosneft  itself shortly to merge with state gas giant gazprom.  we used to see street hustlers do this kind of thing   andrei illarionov - then economic adviser to president vladimir putin - told a press conference.  now officials are doing it.  within days  he was stripped of most of his responsibilities.  mr gref  a well-known opponent of nationalisation in competitive parts of the market  was keen to distance himself from mr iliaronov s comments. the privatisation of companies such as yukos in the 1990s had been badly handled  he said. but he stressed that the government needed to get out of oil.  i think that rosneft and yuganskneftegaz  should it become a state-owned company  must be privatized   he said.   today our government is ineffective and state companies  as a result  are for the overwhelming part ineffective as well.  and he warned that using back taxes to deal with firms like yukos - a technique now being applied by the kremlin to several other firms - was a mistake.  if we follow that logic  we should nationalise all businesses   he said. many large russian companies  particularly in the energy sector  use complex webs of offshore companies to avoid taxes.  mr gref also poured cold water on president putin s promises of doubled economic growth within a decade. the assault on yukos  assets has been widely blamed for a slowdown in economic growth in recent months.  the task is not simply to double gdp; instead it is to use gdp to qualitatively improve people s lives   mr gref told kommersant.  we don t need simply to increase gdp  but to improve its structure.  instead of focusing on headline growth figures  russia needed to focus on better institutions  such as a more efficient - and less corrupt - court system.


executive trio leave aer lingus three senior executives of ireland s state-owned airline  aer lingus  are set to leave early on 28 january after accusations of a conflict of interest.  the trio are chief executive willie walsh  chief financial officer brian dunne and chief operations officer seamus kearney. the three have refused to confirm reports they plan to launch a private airline in competition with aer lingus. they announced in november they would quit in may  but did not give a reason. that decision had followed an announcement by irish prime minister bertie ahern - who is still considering the future of the airline - which ruled out a proposed management buy-out of aer lingus. mr walsh denied they had been forced out early because of the reports claiming they were set to launch a competitor airline.   what i do after i leave aer lingus is still too early to say   mr walsh told ap news agency on wednesday.  i have opportunities open to me. brian and seamus are in the equally fortunate position.  he said he had received more than 40 business proposals  mostly aviation-related  since the trio announced their resignations two months ago. mr walsh said there was no conflict of interest  and  if he was to launch a rival airline or join an existing competitor   this thing happens in every business .  there s absolutely no question of a conflict of interest. i ve been completely focused on my responsibilities at aer lingus   he told ap.  this week opposition politicians had called on the irish government to make an urgent decision on the future of the airline. on wednesday irish transport minister martin cullen said in a statement:  a conflict of interest cannot  should not and will not be allowed to arise between their current roles at aer lingus and their future career intentions.  last friday the minister had announced he was to advertise for three senior executives for aer lingus. mr walsh  who took charge in 2000  and his team have earned praise for turning aer lingus around  by cutting air fares and staff  and re-positioning it as a low-fare airline to rival ryanair. the company is 85% owned by the government and 15% by its staff.


long life promised for laptop pcs scientists are working on ways to ensure laptops can stay powered for an entire working day.  building batteries from new chemical mixes could boost power significantly  say industry experts. the changes include everything from the way chips for laptops are made  to tricks that reduce the power consumption of displays. ever since laptops appeared the amount of time they last between recharges has been a frustration for users.  a survey carried out in 2000 by forrester research found that the shortness of battery life was the most complained about feature of laptops.  the focus back then was more on performance and features   said mike trainor  chief mobile technology evangelist for chip giant intel.   for most of the 90s battery life was stuck on two to 2.5 hours.  but now  he said  laptops can last much longer. it was not just a case of improving battery life by squeezing more out of the lithium ion power packs  he explained. other changes are needed to get to the holy grail of a laptop running for about eight hours before needing a recharge.  lithium ion is never going to get there by itself   he said.  the industry has done a great job of wringing all possible energy storage out of that technology that they can.  some new battery chemistries promise to cram more power into the same space  said mr trainor  though work still needed to be done to get them successfully from the lab to manufacturing. he was sceptical that fuel cells would develop quick enough to take over from solid batteries even though they have the potential to produce several times more energy than lithium ion power packs.  in fuel cells you need to have pumps and separators and evaporation chambers   he said.  it s a mini energy plant that needs to be shrunk and shrunk and shrunk.   intel has been working with component makers to test energy consumption on all the parts inside a laptop and find ways to make them less power hungry.  this work has led to the creation of the mobile pc extended battery life (ebl) working group that shares information about building notebooks that are more parsimonious with power. some of the improvements in power use come simply because components on chips are shrinking  said mr trainor. intel has also changed the way it creates transistors on silicon to reduce the power they need. on a larger scale  said mr trainor  improvements in the way that voltage regulators are made can reduce the amount of power lost as heat and make a notebook more energy efficient. also  said mr trainor  research is being done on ways to cut energy consumption on displays - currently the biggest power guzzler on a laptop. many laptop makers have committed to creating 14 and 15 inch screens that draw only three watts of power. this is far below the power consumption levels of screens in current notebooks.  if we can get close to eight hours that s a place that people see as extraordinarily valuable that s what the industry has to deliver   mr trainor said.


millions go missing at china bank two senior officials at one of china s top commercial banks have reportedly disappeared after funds worth up to $120m (£64m) went missing.  the pair both worked at bank of china in the northern city of harbin  the south china morning post reported. the latest scandal at bank of china will do nothing to reassure foreign investors that china s big four banks are ready for international listings. government policy sees the bank listings as vital economic reforms. bank of china is one of two frontrunners in the race to list overseas. the other is china construction bank. both are expected to list abroad during 2005.  they shared a $45bn state bailout in 2003  to help clean up their balance sheets in preparation for a foreign stock market debut.  however  a report in the china-published economic observer said on monday that the two banks may have scrapped plans to list in new york because of the cost of meeting regulatory requirements imposed since the enron scandal. bank of china is the country s biggest foreign exchange dealer  while china construction bank is the largest deposit holder. china s banking sector is burdened with at least $190bn of bad debt according to official data  though most observers believe the true figure is far higher. officially  one in five loans is not being repaid. attempts to strengthen internal controls and tighten lending policies have uncovered a succession of scandals involving embezzlement by bank officials and loans-for-favours. the most high-profile case involved the ex-president of bank of china  wang xuebing  jailed for 12 years in 2003. although  he committed the offences whilst running bank of china in new york  mr wang was head of china construction bank when the scandal broke. earlier this month  a china construction bank branch manager was jailed for life in a separate case.  china s banks used to act as cash offices for state enterprises and did not require checks on credit worthiness. the introduction of market reforms has been accompanied by attempts to modernise the banking sector  but links between banks and local government remain strong. last year  china s premier  wen jiabao  targeted bank lending practices in a series of speeches  and regulators ordered all big loans to be scrutinised  in an attempt to cool down irresponsible lending. china s leaders see reforming the top four banks as vital to distribute capital to profitable companies and protect the health of china s economic boom. but two problems persist. first  inefficient state enterprises continue to receive protection from bankruptcy because they employ large numbers of people. second  many questionable loans come not from the big four  but from smaller banks. another high profile financial firm  china life  is facing shareholder lawsuits and a probe by the us securities and exchange commission following its 2004 new york listing over its failure to disclose accounting irregularities at its parent company.


tate & lyle boss bags top award tate & lyle s chief executive has been named european businessman of the year by a leading business magazine.  iain ferguson was awarded the title by us publication forbes for returning one of the uk s  venerable  manufacturers to the country s top 100 companies. the sugar group had been absent from the ftse 100 for seven years until mr ferguson helped it return to growth. tate s shares have leapt 55% this year  boosted by firming sugar prices and sales of its artificial sweeteners.   after years of a sagging stock price and a seven-year hiatus from the ftse 100  one of britain s venerable manufacturers has returned to the vaunted index   forbes said. mr ferguson took the helm at the company in 2003  after spending most of his career at consumer goods giant unilever. tate & lyle  which was an original member of the historic ft-30 index in 1935  operates more than 41 factories and 20 more additional production facilities in 28 countries. previous winners of the forbes award include royal bank of scotland chief executive fred goodwin and former vodafone boss chris gent.


federer breezes into semi-finals roger federer reached the last four of the qatar open with an easy 6-1 6-2 win over seventh seed feliciano lopez.  the swiss world number one reeled off a series winners to outclass the spaniard and set up a semi-final match against russian nikolay davydenko. federer  who lost in the quarter-final in his last qatar appearance in 2003  was happy with his form.  i think i played better than against greg rusedski and i am happy i am playing so well   said the top seed. lopez showed glimpses of resolve early in the second set when he held his first service game and came close to breaking federer. but the swiss saved a break point and promptly broke serve in the following game to seize control. davydenko  meanwhile  upset french third seed sebastien grosjean 2-6 6-3 6-2. fabrice santoro completed a miserable day for france when he was forced to retire when 6-2 3-0 down to albert costa. spaniard costa will next face croatian ivan ljubicic after the sixth seed beat rafael nadal 6-2 6-7 (3/7) 6-3.


parry firm over gerrard listen to the full interview on sport on five and the bbc sport website from 1900 gmt.  but parry  speaking exclusively to bbc sport  also admits gerrard  who has been constantly linked with chelsea  will have the final say on his future. he told bbc five live:  steven is above money. he is the future of liverpool.  it doesn t matter if it s £30m  £40m or £50m  we will not accept offers. but we are also realistic enough to know we can t keep steven against his will.  on the subject of liverpool s finances  parry also revealed the club is ready to explore the possibility of a sponsorship deal for its proposed new stadium.  and responding to criticism from bbc sport pundit and former liverpool stalwart alan hansen  he insisted talks on new investment are ongoing  but added the door has not closed on shareholder and lifelong fan steve morgan. parry joined liverpool as chief executive in july 1998 from a similar role at the premier league. there have been several highs and lows during his time in charge at anfield - and he had a busy summer  overseeing the arrival of new manager rafael benitez and managing to hold on to steven gerrard.  on the subject of liverpool s captain and prize asset  parry revealed real madrid  did  ask for an option on the england midfield man during negotiations for striker fernando morientes. he said:  they were looking for ways of saying they got more out of the deal for fernando morientes  but the response to real madrid was the same - steven is not for sale.  but when asked if gerrard would be a liverpool player on the first day of next season  parry said:  i sincerely hope he will be. steven knows my views. he knows rafa s views.  we have re-affirmed recently to steven that we are trying to build a team around him. we crave success as much as he does. we know he s ambitious and nobody can argue with that.   i think steven would dearly love to win things with liverpool more than he d like to do anything else.  we all want to see progress by next season. he s not alone in that. there are a lot of other players who feel the same  so we all have a common aim.  it is expected chelsea will test liverpool with a £30m-plus bid in the summer - but parry claims he will be in no mood to listen.  there have been a lot of open secrets about steven  most of which have been complete myths. it is suggested we had a deal tied up last summer. we didn t had an offer last summer   parry explained.  we had told chelsea that as far as we were concerned he was not for sale and we didn t want to sell him. in reality it didn t go beyond that.  maybe there will be an offer in the summer. maybe there won t.   our position is we want steven to stay  but we are also realistic enough and have enough respect for steven - and he has enough respect for us - to know that it is his decision that will be crucial.  you are not going to keep a player like steven against his will. that just doesn t work  but any idea we are going to accept offers for steven and then tell him  by the way we ve decided to sell you  is not on the agenda. you can forget that.  parry is currently in the process of finalising funding for liverpool s new stadium in stanley park  which is set to open in 2007. and he confessed arsenal s £100m deal with emirates to sponsor their new ground - complete with naming rights - has given the anfield club serious food for thought. he said:  i have to say historically it is something i have been against  and i have been on record as saying that  but i think the size of the arsenal deal is a real eye-opener.   i would say in the past deals have been done frankly far too cheaply and it just hasn t even been worth contemplating.  but the arsenal deal is the sort of deal that causes you to draw breath and say  wow - that s interesting.   my personal point of view is that i would find it a hell of a lot more palatable than a shared stadium.  some liverpool fans would find such a move highly controversial  but parry countered:  i recognise it would be an emotive issue for many supporters  but you look at the amount of money available and it could go into the team.  if it was the right partner how strong an issue is it  time will tell.  i think the stadium will always be anfield  not least because of where it is  but do we need to investigate the possibilities of sponsorship  i think it would be remiss not to.  that s not to say we have made a decision that we will go down that road  but i think it is clearly something we have to explore.   on the subject of possible new investment  parry revealed liverpool are still in negotiations with a mystery investor  with rumours of interest from the middle east. that prompted the withdrawal of tycoon steve morgan  who got frustrated by failed bids and what he claimed was indecision by the board. he also accused liverpool of using him as  a stalking horse  to attract other bids  but parry explained:  steve has never been used as a stalking horse. there s no need  and that is not the way we do business.  we had discussions with steve over the course of 2004. i think we came close to concluding a deal in the summer but it didn t happen.  quite genuinely  the new interest did appear relatively late in the day just prior to the agm in december  and as i have said it was of such potential magnitude  and that potential is so exciting  we felt we had to evaluate it. we are still evaluating it.  steve s interest was taken very much on its own merits. his enthusiasm for the club is there for all to see and who knows what the next few months will hold   the door isn t closed on anything. we had a perfectly sensible dialogue with steve last year.  we have a common interest in making liverpool successful. that s a dream we all share  so as far as i m concerned the door is not closed.   i would take £50m if we had no investment  but if we did  keep him. as for the stadium  if it gets us cash what difference does it make really   £50m for gerrard  i don t care who you are  the directors would take the money and it is the way it should be. we cannot let that sum of money go  despite gerrard s quality.  through a cleverly worded statement  the club has effectively forced gerrard to publicly make the decision for himself  which i think is the right thing to do.  critical time for liverpool with regards to gerrard. ideally we would want to secure his future to the club for the long term. i am hoping he doesn t walk out of the club like michael owen did for very little cash.  £50m realistically would allow rafa to completely rebuild the squad  however  if we can afford to do this and keep gerrard we will be better for it. i would however be happy with gerrard s transfer for any fee over £35m.  parry s statements are clever in that any future gerrard transfer cannot be construed as a lack of ambition by the club to not try and keep their best players. upping the ante is another smart move by parry.  i would keep gerrard. no amount of money could replace his obvious love of the club and determination to succeed.  the key is if gerrard comes out and says that he is happy. clearly  if he isn t  then we would be foolish not to sell. the worrying thing is who would you buy (or who would come) pending possible non-champions league football.


gamers could drive high-definition tv  films  and games have been gearing up for some time now for the next revolution to transform the quality of what is on our screens.  it is called high-definition - hd for short - and it is already hugely popular in japan and the us. it is set  according to analysts  to do for images what cds did for sound. different equipment able to receive hd signals is needed though and is expensive. but europe s gamers may be the early adopters to drive demand. europeans will have to wait until at least 2006 until they see mainstream hdtv.  to view it  it needs to be transmitted in hd format  and people need special receivers and displays that can handle the high-quality resolution. the next generation of consoles  however  are expected to start appearing at the end of 2005  start of 2006. and most new computer displays and plasma sets are already capable of handling such high-resolution pictures.  in the next generation [of consoles] hd support is mandatory   dr mark tuffy games systems director at digital content firm thx told the bbc news website.  every game is going to be playable in hd.  so consumers who have gone out and spent all this money on hdtvs  and who have no content to watch  are going to be blown away by these really high-detail pictures.  it s going to change really the way they look at gaming.   at the end of last year  chris deering  sony s european president  made a prediction that 20 million european households would have hdtv sets by 2008. a previous prediction from analysts datamonitor put the figure at 4.6 million by 2008  an increase from an estimated 50 000 sets at the end of 2003. but those in europe may see little point in buying what is quite an expensive bit of technology - about £2 000 - if there are few programmes or films to watch on them. satellite broadcaster bskyb is planning hdtv services in 2006 and the bbc intends to produce all of its content in hd by 2010.  until broadcast rights  format standards - and the practicalities of updating equipment - are agreed  tv content will be limited. all tv images are made up of pixels which go across the screen  and scan lines which go down the screen. most standard uk tv pictures are made up of 625 lines and about 700 pixels. hd offers up to 1 080 active lines  with each line made up of 1 920 pixels. this means the picture is up to six times as sharp as standard tv.  probably  in the uk [gaming] is going to be the only thing you are going to really be able to show off  as in  look what this tv can do   until hd is really adopted by broadcasters   explains dr tuffy. but gamers are also the ideal target audience for hd because they always crave better quality graphics  and more immersive gaming experiences. they are used to spending money on hardware to match a game s requirements. demographics have changed too and the  sweet spot  for the games industry is the gamer in his or her late 20s. this means they are likely to have higher disposable incomes and can afford the price of big-screen  high-definition display technologies and hd projectors  earlier than others.  higher capacity storage discs  such as hd-dvd and blue-ray   are set to be standard in the next round of games consoles - allowing developers more room for detailed graphics.  for console developers though  hd offers some production changes. it could make games production slightly more expensive  thinks dr tuffy.  but we may see the cross-platform development of games becoming more common because they will more easily be able to take a pc game and apply it to a console   he says.  you are literally going to get to the point  with a lord of the rings game for example  is going to be closer and closer to the actual film  especially the cgi stuff from the dvd.  and the transition when they move from a cut scene to the game  just now they have almost got it seamless.  with hd  he says  the transition will be completely seamless and the same quality as the big-screen cinema release. this could herald an increasing convergence between the film and gaming industry. but it may not be until the generation after the next games consoles where the two industries really collide. at that point  says dr tuffy  games could become more or less interactive movies.


us tv host clark suffers stroke veteran us television host dick clark is in hospital in los angeles after suffering a mild stroke.  the 75-year-old presented long-running show american bandstand from 1956-87 and has since hosted game shows and produced award ceremonies. clark is scheduled to welcome in the new year on the abc network  a job he has done for 33 years. the presenter said that he is  hopeful  of getting better in time to lead the festivities in new york s times square. clark s publicist paul shefrin said the television host was  recovering  and there was no cause for alarm. clark  who produces the golden globe and american music awards  disclosed last year that he was suffering from diabetes.  his popular music show american bandstand was first broadcast in 1952  and attracted an audience of 20 million people after it was picked up by abc in 1957. the long-running weekly series  which featured guests including elvis presley  buddy holly and aretha frankin  came to an end in 1989. clark was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame in 1993 for his contribution to the music industry. he has also been responsible for television series such as tv bloopers  celebrity boxing and drama american dreams. clark is also expected to act as executive producer for the upcoming golden globe awards ceremony  which is taking place on 16 january.


sec to rethink post-enron rules the us stock market watchdog s chairman has said he is willing to soften tough new us corporate governance rules to ease the burden on foreign firms.  in a speech at the london school of economics  william donaldson promised  several initiatives . european firms have protested that us laws introduced after the enron scandal make wall street listings too costly. the us regulator said foreign firms may get extra time to comply with a key clause in the sarbanes-oxley act.  the act comes into force in mid-2005. it obliges all firms with us stock market listings to make declarations  which  critics say  will add substantially to the cost of preparing their annual accounts.  firms that break the new law could face huge fines  while senior executives risk jail terms of up to 20 years. mr donaldson said that although the act does not provide exemptions for foreign firms  the securities and exchange commission (sec) would  continue to be sensitive to the need to accomodate foreign structures and requirements . there are few  if any  who disagree with the intentions of the act  which obliges chief executives to sign a statement taking responsibility for the accuracy of the accounts. but european firms with secondary listings in new york have objected - arguing that the compliance costs outweigh the benefits of a dual listing. the act also applies to firms with more than 300 us shareholders  a situation many firms without us listings could find themselves in.  the 300-shareholder threshold has drawn anger as it effectively blocks the most obvious remedy  a delisting. mr donaldson said the sec would  consider whether there should be a new approach to the deregistration process  for foreign firms unwilling to meet us requirements.   we should seek a solution that will preserve investor protections  without turning the us market into  one with no exit   he said. he revealed that his staff were already weighing up the merits of delaying the implementation of the act s least popular measure - section 404 - for foreign firms. seen as particularly costly to implement  section 404 obliges chief executives to take responsibility for the firm s internal controls by signing a compliance statement in the annual accounts. the sec has already delayed implementation of this clause for smaller firms - including us ones - with market capitalisations below $700m (£374m).  a delegation of european firms visited the sec in december to press for change  the financial times reported.  it was led by digby jones  director general of the uk s confederation of british industry (cbi) and included representatives of basf  siemens and cadbury schweppes. compliance costs are already believed to be making firms wary of us listings. air china picked the london stock exchange for its secondary listing in its $1.07bn (£558m) stock market debut last month. there are also rumours that two chinese state-run banks - china construction bank and bank of china - have abandoned plans for multi-billion dollar listings in new york later this year. instead  the cost of sarbanes-oxley has persuaded them to stick to a single listing in hong kong  according to press reports in china.


tsunami cost hits jakarta shares the stock market in jakarta has seen its biggest slide in a month  after the country doubled the likely cost of rebuilding from the asian tsunami.  the fall came as indonesia said it expected debt repayments of up to 30 trillion rupiah ($3.2bn; £1.7bn) to be frozen to help pay for the recovery. by monday s close  the jakarta stock exchange was down 2.1% at 1 011.15. bar a slight dip at the new year  the jse had risen steadily by 4.7% since the tsunami hit on 26 december. construction and property companies in particular have gained ground  although banks were among the main fallers on monday.  so far  more than 100 000 people are believed to have been killed in indonesia  the country closest to the earthquake which triggered the great wave.  on friday  the government said its five-year estimate of rebuilding costs for banda aceh province - much of which was flattened by the quake and the tsunami - was 20 trillion rupiah ($2.2bn; £1.1bn)  twice what it had previously estimated. that cost could be defrayed by temporary debt relief. on monday  indonesian economy minister aburizal bakrie told reporters that the paris club group of creditor countries was expected to freeze 20-30bn rupiah in payments due in 2005 and 2006.  we hope we can resume the repayments at least from 2007   mr bakrie said. french finance minister herve gaymard said on sunday that the paris club had already agreed to a moratorium on repayments for tsunami-hit countries ahead of its meeting on 12 january.


koubek suspended after drugs test stefan koubek says he has been banned for three months by the international tennis federation (itf) after testing positive for a banned substance.  the world number 60 failed a routine drugs test at this year s french open but now plans to lodge an appeal. koubek believes an injection given to him by an austrian doctor to treat a wrist injury is to blame for producing traces of the substance in his system.  i have acted correctly   the 27-year-old austrian said in a statement. koubek  who defeated britain s greg rusedski in the decisive rubber of the davis cup in september  is now set to miss the start of the season. he said   a three-month ban would mean that i not only will miss the australian open  but also the davis cup in australia.


gallery unveils interactive tree a christmas tree that can receive text messages has been unveiled at london s tate britain art gallery.  the spruce has an antenna which can receive bluetooth texts sent by visitors to the tate. the messages will be  unwrapped  by sculptor richard wentworth  who is responsible for decorating the tree with broken plates and light bulbs. it is the 17th year that the gallery has invited an artist to dress their christmas tree. artists who have decorated the tate tree in previous years include tracey emin in 2002.  the plain green norway spruce is displayed in the gallery s foyer. its light bulb adornments are dimmed  ordinary domestic ones joined together with string. the plates decorating the branches will be auctioned off for the children s charity artworks. wentworth worked as an assistant to sculptor henry moore in the late 1960s. his reputation as a sculptor grew in the 1980s  while he has been one of the most influential teachers during the last two decades. wentworth is also known for his photography of mundane  everyday subjects such as a cigarette packet jammed under the wonky leg of a table.


apple makes blogs reveal sources apple has won its legal fight to make three bloggers reveal who told them about unreleased products.  the bid to unmask the employees leaking information was launched in december 2004 following online articles about apple s asteroid product. now apple has won the right to see e-mail records from the three bloggers to root out the culprit. a lawyer for the three bloggers said the ruling set a dangerous precedent that could harm all news reporters.  apple s lawsuit accused anonymous people of stealing trade secrets about the asteroid music product and leaking them to the powerpage  apple insider and think secret websites. all three are apple fan sites that obsessively watch the iconic firm for information about future products. apple is notoriously secretive about upcoming products which gives any snippets of information about what it is working on all the more value. the lawsuit to reveal the names of the leakers was filed against the power page and apple insider sites.  the separate legal fight with think secret has yet to be resolved. in the ruling handed down this week by santa clara county superior court judge james kleinberg  apple can now get its hands on e-mail records from the bloggers  net providers. in making his ruling  judge kleinberg said that laws covering the divulging of trade secrets outweighed considerations of public interest. california has so-called  shield  laws which protect journalists from prosecution if what they are writing about can be shown to be in the public interest. the judge wrote:  ...it is not surprising that hundreds of thousands of  hits  on a website about apple have and will happen. but an interested public is not the same as the public interest . judge kleinberg said the question of whether the bloggers were journalists or not did not apply because laws governing the right to keep trade secrets confidential covered journalists  too. the electronic frontier foundation  which is acting as legal counsel for power page and apple insider  said the ruling had potentially wide implications.  anyone who reports on companies or the trade press should be concerned about this ruling   said eff lawyer kurt opsahl. mr opsahl said the eff was planning to appeal against the ruling because the bloggers were journalists and us federal laws stop net firms handing over copies of e-mail messages if the owner of that account does not give their consent.