bmw drives record sales in asia bmw has forecast sales growth of at least 10% in asia this year after registering record sales there in 2004.  the luxury carmaker saw strong sales of its three marques - bmw  mini and rolls-royce - in asia last year after the launch of three new models. the company  which is vying with mercedes-benz for the title of leading premium carmaker  is confident about its prospects for the region in 2005. it is launching a revamped version of its 3-series saloon class next month.  bmw sold nearly 95 000 cars in asia last year  up 2.6% on 2003.  bmw-brand sales rose 2.3% to 80 600 while sales of mini models rose 3.6% to 14 800. there was also a significant increase in sales of rolls-royces on the continent. bmw sold more than 100 of the iconic models compared with just ten the previous year. the german carmaker is aiming to boost annual sales in asia to 150 000 by 2008.  here in asia  we consider a double-digit increase in retail on the order of 10 to 15% to be realistic on the basis of current features   said helmut panke  bmw s group chief executive.  china remains the main area of concern for bmw after sales there fell 16% last year. however  bmw is hopeful of a much better year in 2005 as its direct investment in china begins to pay dividends. the company only began assembling luxury high-powered sedans in china in 2003. 2004 was generally a good year for bmw  which saw revenues from its core car-making operations rise 11%.


blair to face mps amid feud talk tony blair faces his first prime minister s questions of 2005 after a week of renewed speculation about his relationship with gordon brown.  meanwhile  the chancellor is leaving britain on a high-profile tour of africa to highlight poverty issues. but before doing so  he insisted he still trusted mr blair  despite claims to the contrary in a new book. labour mps have warned against disunity and tory leader michael howard may well take up the theme in the commons. the tories have already accused the prime minister and his chancellor of behaving like  schoolboys squabbling in a playground .  michael howard is likely to want to capitalise further on the spat when he goes head-to-head with the prime minister in the commons. at a campaign poster launch on tuesday  mr brown was joined by alan milburn  who mr blair controversially put in charge of election planning in place of the chancellor.  later this week the prime minister is due to set out the themes of his party s next election manifesto  which for the past two polls have been drawn up by the chancellor. mr brown  meanwhile  is visiting tanzania  mozambique and kenya to highlight the plight of many africans hit by aids  war and famine - issues which mr blair has also spoken out on. the prime minister and chancellor faced backbench discontent at monday s meeting of the parliamentary labour party over claims made in journalist robert peston s new book. mr blair told mps and peers:  i know from everyone here  in cabinet and government  nothing is going to get in the way of a unified labour party with a unified position and winning the third term people desperately need.  labour s paul flynn said the pair had had a  scorching  from mps.  on tuesday  deputy prime minister mr prescott told bbc news:  they told us very clearly  it was the troops telling the leaders: get in line.  the new book claims mr prescott hosted a dinner in november 2003 where the prime minister told mr brown he would stand down before the next election because he had lost trust over the iraq war. mr blair then changed his mind in june 2004  after cabinet allies intervened and amid suspicion the chancellor was manoeuvring against him  writes mr peston. in mr peston s book mr brown is alleged to have told the prime minister:  there is nothing you could ever say to me now that i could ever believe.


row threatens hendrix museum plan proposals to open a museum dedicated to jimi hendrix are flailing because of a row over the home of his late father.  the run-down house in seattle has already been moved wholesale once and local authorities are now demanding it be moved to another site. hendrix supporters hoped to turn the home into a museum for the guitarist.  the mayor is going to go down as the mayor who destroyed jimi hendrix s house   said ray rae marshall of the james marshall hendrix foundation. the foundation moved the building  in which al hendrix lived between 1953 and 1956  when the land it was built on was to be developed for housing in 2002. now the city of seattle wants its new plot to be used for development  giving a deadline of 22 february for the home to be moved. mr goldman said the authority had promised the house could remain on its new site and be turned into a memorial and community centre. seattle officials said no such deal had been offered.   we never said   you can own this property    said john franklin  chief of its operations department.  from our perspective  it was a temporary situation. we have not threatened to demolish the house. we ve simply asked that they have to move it.  now mr goldman is calling for the authority to pay to move the building to seattle s central district  where hendrix grew up. janie hendrix  the guitarist s stepsister  said the family were still hoping the guitarist would be honoured by having a road named after him.  that s something my father really wanted to see   she said.  it would be nice if we didn t have to fight for everything to get it.  hendrix was widely considered one of the most important guitarists of his time. he died of drug overdose in 1970 at the age of 27.


creator of first apple mac dies jef raskin  head of the team behind the first macintosh computer  has died.  mr raskin was one of the first employees at apple and made many of the design decisions that made the mac so distinctive when it was first released. he led the team that decided to use a graphical interface and mouse that let people navigate around the computer by pointing and clicking. the 1984 release of the mac reflected mr raskin s belief that good design should make computers easy to use.  mr raskin joined apple in 1978 as employee number 31  initially to lead the company s publications department. however  in 1979 he was put in charge of a small team to design a computer that lived up to his idea of a machine that was cheap  aimed at consumers rather than computer professionals and was very easy to use.  the result was the 1984 macintosh that did away with the then common text-based interface in favour of one based around graphics that resembled a virtual desktop and used folders and documents. users navigated around the machine using a mouse and by pointing  clicking and dragging. although now in common use in almost all computers  these methods were pioneering when first used in the macintosh. the gui was developed by xerox parc  and used in its star machine. but the acceptance of the interface did not truly begin until the concept was developed for use by apple in its pioneering lisa computer.  his role on the macintosh was the initiator of the project  so it wouldn t be here if it weren t for him   said andy hertzfeld  an early macintosh team member. although mr raskin drove the team that created the macintosh he did not stay at apple to see it released. in 1981 he was removed from the project following a dispute with apple s mercurial boss steve jobs. in 1982  mr raskin left apple entirely. the macintosh was reputedly named after mr raskin s favourite apple  though the name was changed slightly following a trademark dispute with another company. after leaving apple  mr raskin founded another company called information appliance and continued to work on better ways to interface with computers. he was also an accomplished musician  played three instruments and conducted san francisco s chamber opera society. mr raskin was diagnosed in december 2004 with pancreatic cancer and died on 26 february at his home in california.


millions to miss out on the net by 2025  40% of the uk s population will still be without internet access at home  says a study.  around 23 million britons will miss out on a wide range of essential services such as education and medical information  predicts the report by telecoms giant bt. it compares to 27 million  or 50%  of the uk  who are not currently online. the idea that the digital divide will evaporate with time is  wishful thinking   the report concludes.  the study calls on the government and telecoms industry to come up with new ways to lure those that have been bypassed by the digital revolution. although the percentage of britons without home access will have fallen slightly  those that remain digital refuseniks will miss out on more  the report suggests. as more and more everyday tasks move online and offline services become less comprehensive  the divide will become more obvious and more burdensome for those that have not got net access  it predicts.  the gap between  have-nets  and  have-nots  has been much talked about  but predictions about how such a divide will affect future generations has been less discussed. bt set out to predict future patterns based on current information and taking account of the way technology is changing. optimists who predict that convergence and the emergence of more user-friendly technology will bridge the digital divide could be way off mark  the report suggests.  internet access on other devices tends to be something taken up by those who already have it   said adrian hosford  director of corporate responsibility at bt. costs of internet access have fallen dramatically and coverage in remote areas have vastly improved over the last year but the real barrier remains psychological.  there is a hard rump of have-nots who are not engaging with the net. they don t have the motivation or skills or perceive the benefits   said mr hosford.  as now  the most disadvantaged groups are likely to remain among low income families  the older generation and the disabled.  those on low incomes will account for a quarter of the digital have-nots  the disabled will make up 16% and the elderly nearly a third by 2025  the report forecasts. organisations such as bt have a responsibility to help tackle the problem  said mr hosford. the telco has seen positive results with its everybody online project which offers internet access to people in eight deprived communities around britain. in one area of cornwall with high levels of unemployment  online training helped people rewrite cvs and learn skills to get new jobs  explained mr hosford. such grassroot activity addressing the specific needs of individual communities is essential is the problem of the digital divide is to be overcome  he said.  if we don t address this problem now  it will get a lot worse and people will find it more difficult to find jobs  education opportunities will be limited and they ll simply not be able to keep up with society   he said. the alliance for digital inclusion  an independent body with members drawn from government  industry and the voluntary sector has recently been set up to tackle some of the issues faced by the digital refuseniks.


imf  cuts  german growth estimate the international monetary fund is to cut its 2005 growth forecast for the german economy from 1.8% to 0.8%  the financial times deutschland reported.  the imf will also reduce its growth estimate for the 12-member eurozone economy from 2.2% to 1.6%  the newspaper reported. the german economy has been faltering  with unemployment levels rising to a seventy-year high of 5.2 million. its sluggish performance continues to hamper the entire eurozone.  the imf s draft world economic outlook - due to be published in april - would point to a marked deterioration in germany s economy  the ft report said.  in september  the imf had said that german growth for the current year would be 1.8%. the imf has also revised eurozone forecasts  the paper said  taking into account high oil prices  the strength of the euro and weak demand in many of the world s leading economies. europe s economic difficulties have been highlighted by the organisation for economic co-operation and development  which argued in a report published on tuesday that the continent could only achieve us living standards by freeing up its labour markets.  the eurozone does not look like it has a self-sustaining recovery   james carrick  an economist with abn amro  told the newspaper.  it is too dependant on the rest of the world.


enron bosses in $168m payout eighteen former enron directors have agreed a $168m (£89m) settlement deal in a shareholder lawsuit over the collapse of the energy firm.  leading plaintiff  the university of california  announced the news  adding that 10 of the former directors will pay $13m from their own pockets. the settlement will be put to the courts for approval next week. enron went bankrupt in 2001 after it emerged it had hidden hundreds of millions of dollars in debt.  before its collapse  the firm was the seventh biggest public us company by revenue. its demise sent shockwaves through financial markets and dented investor confidence in corporate america.   the settlement is very significant in holding these outside directors at least partially personally responsible   william lerach  the lawyer leading the class action suit against enron  said.  hopefully  this will help send a message to corporate boardrooms of the importance of directors performing their legal duties   he added. under the terms of the $168m settlement - $155m of which will be covered by insurance - none of the 18 former directors will admit any wrongdoing. the deal is the fourth major settlement negotiated by lawyers who filed a class action on behalf of enron s shareholders almost three years ago. so far  including the latest deal  just under $500m (£378.8m) has been retrieved for investors.  however  the latest deal does not include former enron chief executives ken lay and jeff skilling. both men are facing criminal charges for their alleged misconduct in the run up to the firm s collapse. neither does it cover andrew fastow  who has pleaded guilty to taking part in an illegal conspiracy while he was chief financial officer at the group. enron s shareholders are still seeking damages from a long list of other big name defendants including the financial institutions jp morgan chase  citigroup  merrill lynch and credit suisse first boston. the university of california said the trial in the case is scheduled to begin in october 2006. it joined the lawsuit in december 2001alleging  massive insider trading  and fraud  claiming it had lost $145m on its investments in the company.


rap boss arrested over drug find rap mogul marion  suge  knight has been arrested for violating his parole after he was allegedly found with marijuana.  he was arrested in barstow  california  on saturday following an alleged traffic offence. he is expected to be transferred to a state prison while a decision is made on whether he should be released. mr knight  founder of death row records  served a 10-month jail term in 2004 for punching a man while on parole for an assault conviction. police said mr knight was stopped on saturday after performing an illegal u-turn and a search of his car allegedly found marijuana.  he is also accused of not having insurance. a 18-year-old woman in the car was arrested for providing false information and having a fake id card. she was later released. it was his second alleged violation  having previously served half of a nine-year sentence for breaking the terms of his parole. mr knight  39  was jailed in october 1996 following his involvement in a fight with a rival gang just hours before rapper tupac shakur was killed in a las vegas drive-by shooting. he was driving shakur s car at the time and was shot in the head. at the time he was on probation for assaulting two musicians. mr knight  a former bodyguard  set up death row records in the early 1990s with shakur and dr dre among his protegees. but the label has always been dogged by allegations it supports gang culture and fuels the east and west coast rap rivalry.


ultimate game  award for doom 3 sci-fi shooter doom 3 has blasted away the competition at a major games ceremony  the golden joystick awards.  it was the only title to win twice  winning ultimate game of the year and best pc game at the awards  presented by little britain star matt lucas. the much-anticipated sci-fi horror doom 3 shot straight to the top of the uk games charts on its release in august. other winners included grand theft auto: san andreas which took the most wanted for christmas prize. only released last week  it was closely followed by halo 2 and half-life 2  which are expected to be big hits when they are unleashed later this month.  but they missed out on the prize for the most wanted game of 2005  which went to the nintendo title  the legend of zelda. the original doom  released in 1994  heralded a new era in computer games and introduced 3d graphics. it helped to establish the concept of the first-person shooter. doom 3 was developed over four years and is thought to have cost around $15m (£8.3m). the top honour for the best online game of the year went to battlefield vietnam. the chronicles of riddick: escape from butcher bay was handed the unsung hero game of 2004. its release was somewhat eclipsed by doom 3  which was released on the same week. it was  however  very well received by gamers and was praised for its storyline which differed from the film released around the same time. electronic arts was named top publisher of the year  taking the crown from nintendo which won in 2003. the annual awards are voted for by more than 200 000 readers of computer and video games magazines. games awards like this have grown in importance. over the last six years  the uk market for games grew by 100% and was worth a record £1 152m in 2003  according to a recent report by analysts screen digest.


dundee utd 4-1 aberdeen dundee united eased into the semi-final of the scottish cup with an emphatic win over aberdeen.  alan archibald prodded united ahead in 19 minutes and james grady made it two from close range 10 minutes later. richie byrne s header gave aberdeen a way back into the game  but stevie crawford restored united s lead from 18 yards before half time. the scoring was completed by grady just after the break - a superb shot on the turn making it 4-1. tony bullock in the united goal was called into action for the first time with just over a quarter-of-an-hour on the clock. noel whelan laid the ball off to jamie winter on the edge of the box  but his first-time effort was gathered by the united keeper. moments later though  the home side took the lead. barry robson whipped in a free kick from the right  which stevie crawford caught on the volley. russell anderson failed to deal with it and whelan s clearance off the line landed kindly at the feet of archibald  who poked the ball into the net. united doubled their lead after 29 minutes when grady tapped the ball into an empty net after robson had headed mark wilson s cross off the angle of post and bar. but only three minutes later aberdeen clawed their way back into the match. a free kick from the left by winter was met powerfully by the head of byrne at the back post  leaving bullock helpless.  united restored their two-goal lead four minutes before the end of a highly entertaining first half. jason scotland played a perfectly-weighted pass into the path of the onrushing crawford and he coolly beat ryan esson from 18 yards. united ended the game as a contest just two minutes after the interval. grady received a pass from crawford with his back to goal on the edge of the box and after taking one touch  he spun to volley the ball past the despairing dive of esson. the home side were in complete control and it required a good stop from esson to keep out robson s drive after 62 minutes. the keeper denied the same player again 10 minutes later  beating away his fierce shot from the left of the penalty area. robson saw another long-range effort tipped round the post before a cute lob was headed off the line.  bullock  duff  wilson  ritchie  archibald  scotland (samuel 63)  brebner  kerr (cameron 87)  robson  crawford  grady.  colgan  dodds  kenneth.  brebner.  archibald 19  grady 29  crawford 41  grady 47.  esson  hart  anderson  diamond  byrne (morrison 75)  mcnaughton  heikkinen (foster 27)  winter  clark (stewart 51)  mackie  whelan.  blanchard  mcguire.  : anderson  diamond.  byrne 33.  8 661  k clark


ferguson rues failure to cut gap boss sir alex ferguson was left ruing manchester united s failure to close the gap on chelsea  everton and arsenal after his side s 1-1 draw with fulham.  premiership leaders chelsea and the gunners endured a 2-2 stalemate on sunday  giving united the chance to make up some ground in the league. but ferguson said:  i think what makes it so bad is that both our rivals dropped points at the weekend.  it was a great opportunity - and we haven t delivered.  united went ahead through alan smith in the 33rd minute before bouba diop s superb 25-yard strike cancelled out the visitors  lead in the 87th minute. ferguson described the result as an  absolute giveaway  after united had earlier missed a host of opportunities to finish off the encounter. he said:  it was a good performance - some of the football was fantastic - but we just didn t finish them off.  in fairness  it s a fantastic strike from the fulham player.  the result leaves ferguson s side fourth in the league on 31 points - four points behind arsenal and a further five back from chelsea.


protect whistleblowers  tuc says the government should change the law to give more protection to employees who raise health and safety concerns about their workplaces  the tuc has said.  it said data from employment tribunals suggested 1 500  safety whistleblowers  had lost their jobs since 1999. some firms found it cheaper to sack a worker than to improve buildings or change working conditions  it said. the health and safety executive said it was trying to get workers more involved in helping to make workplaces safer. the tuc figures were drawn from unfair dismissal cases at tribunals were health and safety were the main issue.  safety representatives were often ignored when raising concerns because there was no legal duty to respond  claimed the union organisation. general secretary brendan barber said:  it shouldn t be a firing offence to object to unsafe work.  workers should not be placed in the situation where they are forced to choose between risking their job or risking their personal health and safety.  mr barber  who said the  problem is far worse than official statistics show   called for a legal system that  protects safety whistleblowers . he added that workers who are not in a union  as well as casual and migrant workers   stand little chance of redress.   rory o  neill  editor of union-backed hazards magazine  which conducted the research  said:  giving union safety reps more rights in more workplaces is the ultimate win-win.  death and injuries at work increased last year  for the second time since the turn of the century.  it would be a fatal mistake not to take full advantage of the union safety effect.  the tuc has called on the government to appoint  roving  safety reps and to increase spending on health and safety work inspections. the health and safety executive had said that it had launched an initiative to make factories and offices safer  with more worker involvement.


mccririck out of big brother show racing pundit john mccririck has become the latest contestant to be evicted from celebrity big brother.  he was nominated to leave the channel 4 show by fellow housemates  alongside happy mondays dancer bez. at one time bez was among the most popular contestants but he has since become withdrawn and argumentative. mccririck was ordered to leave the house on monday  following jackie stallone  the actor sylvester s mother  who was first to be evicted. bez reacted badly to the news that he had been nominated by five of his fellow housemates  whilst john received four votes against him. sylvester stallone s ex-wife brigitte nielsen nominated both john and bez. she said:  bez is a difficult human being. there s something wrong with him. even though he s making an effort  he s not very happy in here.  former holby city actor jeremy edwards said he had nominated bez after he became agitated on friday night and talked about escaping over the wall to go clubbing. he said bez was being  loopy  and  stressed . according to bookmaker ladbrokes  john mccririck was 1/3 favourite to be evicted on monday while bez was at 9/4 . mccririck faced the public vote on friday and received 67% of the vote to keep him in the house  whilst jackie stallone was evicted.


indonesia  declines debt freeze  indonesia no longer needs the debt freeze offered by the paris club group of creditors  economics minister aburizal bakrie has reportedly said.  indonesia  which originally accepted the debt moratorium offer  owes the paris club about $48bn (£25.5bn). mr bakrie told the bisnis indonesia newspaper that a $1.7bn donors  aid package meant that the debt moratorium was unnecessary. this aid comes on top of a previously-pledged $3.4bn package. most of this  normal aid  would be used to finance the country s budget deficit. the indonesian economics minister explained that the money - $1.2bn in grants and $500m in soft loans - was for the rebuilding of aceh province  which was badly hit by the tsunami of 26 december. nevertheless  one of mr bakrie s deputies  mahendra siregar  told afp news agency that indonesia was still considering the offer by the paris club of rich creditor nations to temporarily suspend its debt payments.  what is true is that we are still discussing... the paris club decision to find out more details such as how much of our debt will be subject to a moratorium. that s how far we are at this stage   said mr siregar.  the 19 member countries of the paris club are owed about $5bn this year in debt repayments by nations affected by the indian ocean tsunami. indonesia  sri lanka and the seychelles accepted the paris club offer  which was criticised by some aid groups as being too little. thailand and india have however declined the offer  with thailand prefering to keep up with its payments while india said it would prefer to rely on its own resources rather than on international aid. putting off payments may lower a country s rating among financial organisations  making it more expensive and more difficult for them to borrow money in the future  analysts said. separately  the indonesian government has said it will announce monthly how much it has received in foreign donations and how it has spent the money. welfare minister alwi shihab told ap news agency that this announcement should allay suspicion of official corruption in relief operations.


labour in constituency race row labour s choice of a white candidate for one of the uk s most multi-racial seats proves the need for all-black short lists  says a race group.  local councillor lyn brown was selected for west ham  east london  in a contest between two white and five ethnic minority women. an operation black vote spokesman said they now wanted to meet labour party chairman ian mccartney for discussions. mr mccartney recently announced party consultation on all-black shortlists. however  labour has so far unable been unable to comment on the implications of the west ham result.  ashok vishwanathan of operation black vote  which aims to increase ethnic minorities  participation in the political process and their representation  said the result again showed all-women shortlists were not effective in getting minority women selected.  i think all-black shortlists are the only way to cut to the chase and address the lack of minority candidates   mr vishwanathan said.  last month the chairman of the commission for racial equality (cre) also called for ethnic minority shortlists in certain circumstances. a cre spokesman said the organisation had nothing to add on the shortlist issue specifically but would be working with all the political parties to address the under-representation of ethnic minorities in parliament.  we will be raising it with each of the party leaders on a formal basis and helping them find the most appropriate way forward   the spokesman said. ethnic minorities make up 8% of the united kingdom population but only 2% of mps - 13 out of 659 - are from a visible minority group. twelve of them represent labour  and one is a liberal democrat. if ethnic minorities were represented in the house of commons in proportion to their numbers in the population  there would be 42 ethnic minority mps.


baron kinnock makes lords debut former labour leader neil kinnock has officially been made a life peer during a ceremony in the house of lords.  he will be known baron kinnock of bedwellty - after his former constituency. lord kinnock - who led labour from 1983 until 1992 - was until recently one of britain s eu commissioners. a former critic of the house of lords  he has said he will use the upper house to advocate its reform and to talk on issues like higher education.  i accepted the kind invitation to enter the house of lords as a working peer for practical political reasons   he said when his peerage was first announced.  it is a good base for campaigning on national issues like education  sustainable transport  industrial change and the ageing society and global concerns  particularly poverty and oppression.  during his induction into the upper house  lord kinnock was accompanied by lords leader baroness amos and baroness royall of blaisdon  a former aide to the ex-labour leader. it has been a long journey for the new lord kinnock from his earliest days as a rebellious youngster in the south wales valleys. born in 1942 in tredegar to a miner father and nurse mother  he attended lewis boys  school in nearby pengam  known then as the  eton of the valleys . from there he went to cardiff university  where he met his future wife glenys  now a labour mep.  after a brief career as a tutor for the workers  educational association  he became an mp at the age of just 28 for his home seat of bedwellty (later islwyn). he gained a reputation as a left-wing firebrand  voting against his own labour government s spending cuts proposals in 1975  and later rejecting a junior post in james callaghan s administration. but he joined the shadow cabinet in 1980  and after labour s heavy defeat in the 1983 he was elected leader. he took on the far-left militant tendency and began the long process of returning his party to the centre ground. he was not expected to win the 1987 election  when margaret thatcher was still riding high  but was bitterly disappointed to lose the next one in 1992 to john major  and stepped down. he remained an mp until 1995  when he resigned to become european commission for transport. four years later he became vice-president of the european commission  with responsibility for internal reform. as he assumes the title of lord kinnock  he has also become chairman of the british council  which promotes the uk s reputation for arts  science and education.


doors open at biggest gadget fair thousands of technology lovers and industry experts have gathered in las vegas for the annual consumer electronics show (ces).  the fair showcases the latest technologies and gadgets that will hit the shops in the next year. about 50 000 new products will be unveiled as the show unfolds. microsoft chief bill gates is to make a pre-show keynote speech on wednesday when he is expected to announce details of the next generation xbox.  the thrust of this year s show will be on technologies which put people in charge of multimedia content so they can store  listen to  and watch what they want on devices any time  anywhere. about 120 000 people are expected to attend the trade show which stretches over more than 1.5 million square feet. highlights will include the latest trends in digital imaging  storage technologies  thinner flat screen and high-definition tvs  wireless and portable technologies  gaming  and broadband technologies. the show also includes several speeches from key technology companies such as intel  microsoft  and hewlett packard among others.  the story this year remains all about digital and how that is completely transforming and revolutionising products and the way people interact with them   jeff joseph  from the consumer electronics association (cea) told the bbc news website.  it is about personalisation - taking your mp3 player and creating your own playlist  taking your digital video recorder and watch what you want to watch when - you are no longer at the whim of the broadcasters.   consumer electronics and gadgets had a phenomenal year in 2004  according to figures released by ces organisers  the cea  on tuesday. the gadget explosion signalled the strongest growth yet in the us in 2004. shipments of consumer electronics rose by almost 11% between 2003 and 2004. that trend is predicted to continue  according to cea analysts  with wholesale shipments of consumer technologies expected to grow by 11% again in 2005. the fastest-growing technologies in 2004 included blank dvd media  liquid crystal display (lcd) tvs  digital video recorders (dvrs)  and portable music players.  this year we will really begin to see that come to life in what we call place shifting - so if you have your pvr [personal video recorder] in your living room  you can move that content around the house.  some exhibitors will be showcasing how you can take that content anywhere   said mr joseph. he said the products which will be making waves in the next year will be about the  democratisation  of content - devices and technologies that will give people the freedom to do more with music  video  and images. there will also be more focus on the design of technologies  following the lead that apple s ipod made  with ease of use and good looks which appeal to a wider range of people a key concern.  the cea predicted that there would be several key technology trends to watch in the coming year. gaming would continue to thrive  especially on mobile devices  and would reach out to more diverse gamers such as women. games consoles sales have been declining  but the launch of next generation consoles  such as microsoft s xbox and playstation  could buoy up sales. although it has been widely predicted that mr gates would be showcasing the new xbox  some media reports have cast doubt on what he would be talking about in the keynote. some have suggested the announcement may take place at the games developers conference in the summer instead. with more than 52% of us homes expected to have home networks  the cea suggested hard drive boxes - or media servers - capable of storing thousands of images  video and audio files to be accessed through other devices around the home  will be more commonplace. portable devices that combine mobile telephony  digital music and video players  will also be more popular in 2005. their popularity will be driven by more multimedia content and services which will let people watch and listen to films  tv  and audio wherever they are. this means more storage technologies will be in demand  such as external hard drives  and flash memory like sd cards. ces runs officially from 6 to 9 january.


yelling takes cardiff hat-trick european cross-country champion hayley yelling completed a hat-trick of wins in the reebok cardiff cross challenge in bute park on sunday afternoon.  the part-time maths teacher beat irish international jolene byrne by 40 metres in the six-kilometre race. another great britain international  louise damen  finished third as part of the contingent representing england. peter riley  who secured bronze for the gb men s team at last month s european championships  won the men s 9km race. riley  representing england  moved away over the last two kilometres to win by 25 metres from ireland s gary murray. glynn tromans - the reigning uk inter-countries and england cross-country champion - came in third place as he continues his comeback from a five-month injury lay-off.


weak dollar hits reuters revenues at media group reuters slipped 11% during 2004  mainly due to the weakness of the dollar  the group said.  the company said it was optimistic about growth even as revenues slipped 11% from £3.24bn ($6.13bn) in 2003 to £2.89bn in 2004. reuters beat profit forecasts  posting a 52% rise in profits for the year to £198m from the £130m seen a year earlier. reuters also beat its savings target for 2004  delivering £234m of cuts. under its three-year fast forward turnaround plan it had aimed to save £220m during the 12 months to 31 december.  reuters also managed to slow a decline in underlying revenues to 5.4% from 10.2% in 2003 and cut its debt back to £160m from £610m a year earlier. the news and financial data seller said the year had begun well  adding it expected  further gradual improvement  in the second quarter of the year after good january sales. it added it was planning to deliver a further £105m of savings over the coming year - but said it expects to be hit with an £80m restructuring charge to pay for the cost of moving from fleet street to new headquarters in london at canary wharf.  improving customer relationships  more competitive products and continued strong cost discipline position us well for 2005   chief executive tom glocer said  adding the company was beginning  to look beyond recovery to growth .


what high-definition will do to dvds first it was the humble home video  then it was the dvd  and now hollywood is preparing for the next revolution in home entertainment - high-definition.  high-definition gives incredible  3d-like pictures and surround sound. the dvd disks and the gear to play them will not be out for another year or so  and there at are still a number of issues to be sorted out. but when high-definition films do come out on the new format dvds  it will profoundly change home entertainment. for rick dean  director of business development for digital content company thx  a high-definition future is an exciting prospect. he has worked on the star wars dvd trilogy  finding nemo  the incredibles and indiana jones.  there was a time not so long ago when the film world and the video world were two completely separate worlds   he told the bbc news website.   the technology we are dealing with now means they are very much conjoined.  the film that we see in theatres is coming from the same digital file that we take the home video master   he says. but currently  putting a master feature film onto dvd requires severe compression because current dvd technology cannot hold as much as high-definition films demand.  as much as you compress the picture data rate wise  you also take qualities away from the picture that we fight so hard to keep in the master   he explains.  i would love to be able to show people what projects that we worked on really look like in the high-def world and i find it very exciting.   high-definition dvds can hold up to six times more data than the dvds we are used to. it will take time though to persuade people who spent money on dvd players to buy the different players and displays required to watch high-definition dvds in 18 months  time. mr dean is confident though:  i think if they see real hd [high-definition]  not some heavily compressed version of it  there is such a remarkable difference.  i have heard comments from people who say the images pop off the screen.   high-definition will mean some changes for those working behind the scenes too. on the whole  producing films for high-definition dvds will be easier in some ways because less compression is needed. equally  it may mean hollywood studios ask for more to be put onto the average dvd.  when we master movies right now  our data rates are running at about 1.2 gigabits per second   says mr dean.  our dvds that we put out today have to be squashed down to about five or six megabits per second.  that s a huge amount of compression that has to be applied - about 98%. so if you have anything that allows more space  you don t have to compress so hard.  studios could fit a lot more marketing material  games  and features  onto high-capacity dvds. currently  an entire dvd project can take up to three months  says mr dean. although the step of down-converting will be bypassed  this will realistically only save a day s work  says mr dean. one of the most time consuming elements is building dvd navigation and menu systems. on the fairly complex star wars disks  making sure the menu buttons worked took 45 human hours alone. if studios want to cash in on the extra space  it could mean extra human hours  for which someone has to pay.  if the decision on the studio side is that they are going to put a lot more on these disks  it could be more expensive because of all the extra navigation that is required.  and if studios do focus on delivering more  added value content   thinks mr dean  ultimately it could mean that they will want more money for it. those costs could filter down to the price ticket on a high-definition dvd. but if the consumer is not willing to pay a premium price  studios will listen  thinks mr dean.  high-definition throws up other challenge to film makers and dvd production alike. more clarity on screen means film makers have to make doubly sure that attention to detail is meticulous.  when we did the first hd version of star wars episode i  everybody was very sun-tanned  but that was make-up.  in the hd version of episode i  all these make-up lines showed up   explains mr dean. the restoration of the older star wars episodes revealed some interesting items too.   there are scans of a corridor [on the death star] and fairly plainly in one of those shots  there is a file cabinet stuck behind one of the doorways.  you never used to be able to see it because things are just blurred enough during the pan that you just didn t see it.  what high-definition revolution ultimately means is that the line between home entertainment and cinema worlds will blur. with home theatre systems turning living rooms into cinemas  this line blurs even further. it could also mean that how we get films  and in what format  will widen.  in the future we are going to look towards file delivery over ip [internet protocol - broadband]  giving a dvd-like experience from the set-top box to the hard drive   says mr dean. but that is some time off for most  and for now  people still like to show off something physical in their bookshelves.


gallas sees two-horse race chelsea s william gallas believes they will battle it out with arsenal for the premiership in the coming months.   it ll be a two-horse race all the way to the end of the season because we are both going to give it everything   he told bbc sport.  you need to be good and you need a lot of luck. you need a bit of both but it will be as hard for the arsenal players as it is for the chelsea boys.   we know that we have got the power in our hands just now   added gallas.   but you never know what is going to happen in football - two seasons ago manchester united picked up so many points towards the end of the season when they won the title.  obviously  nobody at chelsea wants to come second but you never know what happens in football.  we will be challenging to come first as much as every arsenal player will be challenging to come first.  gallas has been given extra confidence by the impact manager jose mourinho has had since taking over as manager during the summer.  and the french international defender believes mourinho is perfectly suited to boss the squad of chelsea stars and says his managerial expertise will prevent any player revolt.  it s only normal when you have got a team put together of such big names that you put the finishing touch to it and the finishing touch at chelsea is a fantastic manager like mourinho   he said.  he is the icing on the cake at the club. he has this fantastic knack of thinking of everything.  another incredible quality that mourinho has is that every player  even though the fans may consider them to be a stars  within the dressing-room they are absolutely equal.  mourinho reminds everyone but he doesn t have to because he has created a wonderful atmosphere where everybody is playing and laughing every day.  it is a changed dressing-room from the atmosphere there was last year.


blogger grounded by her airline a us airline attendant is fighting for her job after she was suspended over postings on her blog  or online diary.  queen of the sky  otherwise known as ellen simonetti  evolved into an anonymous semi-fictional account of life in the sky. but after she posted pictures of herself in uniform  delta airlines suspended her indefinitely without pay. ms simonetti was told her suspension was a result of  inappropriate  images. delta airlines declined to comment.   i was really shocked  i had no warning   ms simonetti told bbc news online.  i never thought i would get in trouble because of the blog. i thought if they had a problem  someone would have said something before taking action.  the issue has highlighted concerns amongst the growing blogging community about conflicts of interest  employment law and free speech on personal websites. ms simonetti was suspended on 25 september pending an investigation and has since lodged a complaint with the us equal employment opportunity commission (eeoc). a spokesperson for delta airlines told bbc news online:  all i can tell you is we do not discuss internal employee issues with the media.  she added she could not say whether a similar situation over personal websites had occurred in the past.  ms simonetti started her personal blog in january to help her get over her mother s death. she had ensured she made no mention of which airline she worked for  and created fictional names for cities and companies. the airline s name was changed to anonymous airline and the city in which she was based was called quirksville. a large part of the blog contained fictional stories because queen of the sky developed over the months as a character in her own right  according to ms simonetti.  the images were taken from a digital camera she had inherited from her mother.  we often take pictures on flight or on layovers. i just though why not include them on my blog for fun.  i never meant it as something to harm my company and don t understand how they think it did harm them   ms simonetti said. she has also claimed that pictures of male delta airline employees in uniform are freely available on the web. of the 10 or so images on the site  only one showed ms simonetti s flight  wings .  they did not tell me which pictures they had a problem with. i am just assuming it was the one of me posing on seats where my skirt rode up   she said. the images were removed as soon as she learned she had been suspended. as far as ms simonetti knows  there is no company anti-blogging policy. there is guidance which suggests the company uniform cannot be used without approval from management  but use in personal pictures on websites is unclear.  jeffrey matsuura  director of the law and technology programme at the university of dayton  said personal websites can be hazardous for both employers and their employees.  there are many examples of employees who have presented some kind of material online that have gotten them in trouble with employers   he said. it was crucial that any policy about what was and what was not acceptable was expressed clearly  was reasonable  and enforced fairly in company policy.  you have to remember that as an employee  you don t have total free speech anymore   he said. mr matsuura added that some companies actively encouraged employees to blog.  one of the areas where it does become a problem is that they encourage this when it suits them  but they may not be particularly clear when they [employees] do cross the line.  he speculated that delta might be concerned that the fictional content on the blog may be linked back to the airline after the images of ms simonetti in uniform were posted.  whether or not that is successful will depend on what exactly is prohibited  and whether you can reasonably say this content now crosses that line   he said. ms simonetti said her suspension has caused two of her friends to discontinue their blogs. one of them was asked to stop blogging by his company before any action was taken.  if they had asked me just take down the blog  i would have done it  but that was not been given to me as an option   she said.  this blogging thing is obviously a new problem for employers and they need to get a policy about it. if i had known it would cost me my job  i would not have done that.


campaign  cold calls  questioned labour and the conservatives are still telephoning the millions of people who have signed up to make sure they do not get marketing  cold calls .  the parties say they can stick to the rules by ensuring that their calls are not marketing - for instance by asking about people s voting intentions. the lib dems are asking the watchdog overseeing the rules to stop the calls. the information commissioner s office says surveys are allowed but there is a  grey  area if personal data is kept. telephone call centres are expected to be used as never before by all the three major parties in the run-up to the general election.  but seven million telephone numbers are on the telephone preference service (tps) lists  which ban unsolicited sales and marketing calls. both schemes are run by the direct marketing association and backed by eu directives on privacy and electronic communications.  the rules on marketing calls apply as much to politicians as to private sector companies. but that does not mean labour and the tories are not calling people signed up to the tps. a labour party spokesman told the bbc news website the party avoided those on tps lists when telephoning people about membership or fundraising. but that did not happen for  voter identification  calls.  when we ask which party they will vote for  that is not marketing and we have very clear legal advice that it is not   he said.  so it is not covered by the telephone preference service.   he said the party always asked people if they would be happy to be contacted again and if they said no  they were not rung again. a conservative spokeswoman said the party stuck to the rules when it rang tps subscribers. she said:  we do apply tps but in line with the law. we would not do things that are not allowed in the law.  a spokesman for the information commissioner s office said it would be classed as marketing if political parties telephoned people to encourage them to vote for them. but the rules did allow polling organisations to telephone people about their voting intentions if they recorded them only as part of a bigger set of statistics  not person by person.  if a political party was doing that than it may be that also would not be marketing   he said.  the spokesman said it might be considered unsolicited marketing if a party recorded voting preferences with a view to marketing information in the future. the spokesman said there was  no yes or no  answer and the area was  pretty grey . he added:  if someone complained  then we would investigate that. political parties are aware of the regulations. at the last by-elections  we reminded them.  lib dem chairman matthew taylor has now written to the watchdog saying:  the advice we have received on several previous occasions is that such phone calls are illegal.  he says evidence from local lib dem parties around the country suggests there are  significant  numbers of such calls.  i hope you can therefore take swift and efficient action to ensure that this ceases   he tells the commissioner. mr taylor argues there should be new guidelines so all parties can act in the same way if the watchdog believes the rules allow parties to ring tps numbers about voting intentions and later urge those people to vote for them.


web helps collect aid donations the web is helping aid agencies gather resources to help cope with the aftermath of the tsunami disaster.  many people are making donations via websites or going online to see how they can get involved with aid efforts. high-profile web portals such as google  yahoo  ebay and amazon are gathering links that lead people to aid and relief organisations. so many were visiting some aid-related sites that some webpages were struggling to cope with the traffic. an umbrella organisation called the disasters emergency committee (dec) has been set up by a coalition of 12 charities and has been taking many donations via its specially created website. it urged people to go online where possible to help because donations could be processed more quickly than cash donated in other ways  meaning aid could be delivered as quickly as possible. the site has so far received almost £8 million  with more than 11 000 donations being made online every hour.  telco bt stepped in to take over the secure payments on the dec site and provided extra logistical support for phone and online appeals after it was initially crippled with online donations. it has also provided space in london s bt tower for one of the call centres dealing with donations.  some of the web s biggest firms are also helping to channel help by modifying their homepages to include links to aid agencies and organisations collecting resources. on its famously sparse homepage google has placed a link that leads users to a list of sites where donations can be made. among the 17 organisations listed are oxfam  medecins sans frontieres (doctors without borders) and network for good. many of the sites that google lists are also taking online donations. online retailer amazon has put a large message on its start page that lets people donate money directly to the american red cross that will be used with relief efforts. auction site ebay is giving a list of sites that people can either donate directly to  divert a portion of their profits from anything they sell on ebay to the listed organisations or simply buy items that direct cash to those in the list. yahoo is proving links direct to charities for those that want to donate. the auction drop website is asking people to donate old digital cameras  computers and other gadgets they no longer want that can be auction to raise cash for the aid effort. sadly  the outpouring of goodwill has also encouraged some conmen to try to cash in. anti-fraud organisations are warning about e-mails that are starting to circulate which try to convince people to send money directly to them rather than make donations via aid agencies. those wanting to give cash were urged to use legitimate websites of charities and aid agencies.


adriano s chelsea link rejected adriano s agent gilmar rinaldi has insisted that he has had no contact with chelsea over the striker.  chelsea were reported to have made inquiries about inter milan s 22-year-old brazilian star. rinaldi told bbc sport from rio de janeiro:  i can assure you that chelsea have had no dealings whatsoever with either me or adriano.  parma and real madrid are interested but there s nothing new there. their interest has been known for some time.  adriano has scored 14 goals in 20 serie a appearances this season. and chelsea boss jose mourinho had claimed that he was in milan talking to adriano on the day he is alleged to have held a clandestine meeting with arsenal defender ashley cole. mourinho said he was  just practising my portuguese with him because i don t need strikers . rinaldi told bbc sport:  i have to say that nobody from chelsea or any other london club has contacted me.  if they want to  that s fine. i can tell them what the situation is.  if chelsea are interested then they must make an offer.  inter are reported to have slapped a price tag in the region of £40m on the head of adriano  who joined them just over a year ago from parma. real madrid view him as a natural replacement for compatriot ronaldo. but rinaldi said:  i cannot give you a price that inter would accept for adriano. that s something that would have to be negotiated between the interested clubs.


ferguson fears milan cutting edge manchester united manager sir alex ferguson said his side s task against ac milan would not be made any easier by the absence of andriy shevchenko.  milan s talismanic european footballer of the year misses wednesday s champions league first-leg tie after fracturing his cheekbone.  it s a loss (to milan)  but it could be worse if they didn t have such quality to bring in   ferguson said.  how much they miss him i think they ll know tomorrow night.  ferguson said milan s front line would still represent a formidable challenge for his defenders.  they can play rui costa and play kaka forward. they can bring serginho in and they can play (jon dahl) tomasson   he said. ferguson s own goalscoring talisman ruud van nistelrooy is fit again  but the scot admitted he was unsure whether to start the dutchman  who has not played for three months.   ruud is the best striker in europe. what i have to judge is whether he will struggle with the early pace after being out for so long   he said.  his ability puts him in with a big shout but it is a major decision.  ferguson  though  is confident his young players  particularly wayne rooney and cristiano ronaldo  are up to the task.  we have an opportunity to win this cup this year  no question about that   he declared.  with the maturity we see every week in ronaldo and rooney  the return of van nistelrooy and the form of roy keane  paul scholes and ryan giggs  we must have a fantastic chance.  it is a view shared by rooney  who believes  if we can get past milan  we have a great chance .  as soon as i knew we were playing milan  i got excited. looking at the draw  it is anyone s trophy but we have every chance.  hopefully  we can get to that final in turkey and bring the cup back to manchester.  milan coach carlo ancelotti said his team were looking forward to returning to the venue where they lifted europe s most prestigious club title two seasons ago. milan beat juventus in a penalty shootout after a 0-0 tie at old trafford and ancelotti said:  we are all very happy to return (to old trafford) to play in the champions league and this will give us great motivation.  ancelotti said he was aware of the threat united posed to his hopes of champions league glory.  it s fundamental that we don t allow them to take control of the game. our intention is not to adapt to their play but to play our game   he said.  they have great quality in attack  they use the wings a lot and we will have to make sure we stop them.


online games play with politics after bubbling under for some time  online games broke through onto the political arena in 2004.  the us presidential election provided a showcase for many  aimed at talking directly to a generation that has grown up with joysticks and gamepads. experts say this reflects how video games are becoming a mainstream part of culture and society. the first official political campaign game was technically launched during the last week of 2003: the iowa game  commissioned by the democrat hopeful howard dean. more than 20 followed suit  including frontrunner  elections  president forever and the political machine  which allowed players to run an entire presidential campaign  including having to cope with the media. others helped raise the stakes during the bush/kerry contest by highlighting a candidate s virtues or his vices.  the phenomenon has astonished the forefathers of political games  a handful of multi-discipline games enthusiasts keen to push frontiers.   when i started researching political games at the university  about five years ago  i thought it was going to be something that would take decades to happen   said gonzalo frasca  computer games specialist at the information technology university of copenhagen.  i must admit that i was the first person to be surprised at seeing how fast they have evolved   added the uruguayan-born researcher  who has so far created games for two political campaigns. many artists and designers are experimenting with this form of gaming with an agenda in projects such as newsgaming.com. the aim is to comment on international news events via games.  the ability of games to simulate reality makes them a powerful modelling tool to interact with actual situations in an original way.   video games generate strong reactions mainly because they are new  but also because our culture needs to learn how to deal with simulation   mr frasca told the bbc news website. this was the case with the one he created for a political party in uruguay  cambiemos  an online puzzle game that offered a view on how the country s problems could be solved by working together.  it s up to us to explore what we can learn from ourselves through play and video games.  ultimately  dr frasca sees games as a small laboratory where we can play with our hopes  fears and beliefs.  children learn a lot about the world through play. there is no reason why we adults should stop doing it as we grow up.   but experts estimate it will still take at least about a decade until this new breed of video gaming communication become a common tool for political campaigns.  this is hardly surprising  compared to other forms of mass media like the worldwide web. only a few years ago  most politicians did not have a webpage  while now it is almost a must-have. dr frasca said:  political campaigns will continue to experiment with video games. they represent a new tool of communication that can reach a younger audience in a language that can clearly speak to them.   it will not replace other forms of political propaganda  but it will integrate itself on to the media ecology of political campaigns.


mci shares climb on takeover bid shares in us phone company mci have risen on speculation that it is in takeover talks.  the wall street journal reported on thursday that qwest has bid $6.3bn (£3.4bn) for mci. other firms have also expressed an interest in mci  the second-largest us long-distance phone firm  and may now table rival bids  analysts said. shares in mci  which changed its name from worldcom when it emerged from bankruptcy  were up 2.4% at $20.15. press reports suggest that qwest and mci may reach an agreement as early as next week  although rival bids may muddy the waters. the largest us telephone company verizon has previously held preliminary merger discussions with mci  reuters quoted sources as saying.  consolidation in the us telecommunications industry has picked up in the past few months as companies look to cut costs and boost client bases. a merger between mci and qwest would be the fifth billion-dollar telecoms deal since october. last week  sbc communications agreed to buy its former parent and phone trailblazer at&t for about $16bn. competition has intensified and fixed-line phone providers such as mci and at&t have seen themselves overtaken by rivals. buying mci would give qwest  a local phone service provider  access to mci s global network and business-based subscribers. mci also offers internet services.  mci was renamed after it emerged from chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in april last year. it hit the headlines as worldcom in 2002 after admitting it illegally booked expenses and inflated profits. the scandal was a key factor in a global slide in share prices and the reverberations are still being felt today. shareholders lost about $180bn when the company collapsed  while 20 000 workers lost their jobs. former worldcom boss bernie ebbers is currently on trial  accused of overseeing an $11bn fraud.


intel unveils laser breakthrough intel has said it has found a way to put a silicon-based laser on a chip  raising hopes of much faster networks.  scientists at intel have overcome a fundamental problem that before now has prevented silicon being used to generate and amplify laser light. the breakthrough should make it easier to interconnect data networks with the chips that process the information. the intel researchers said products exploiting the breakthrough should appear by the end of the decade.   we ve overcome a fundamental limit   said dr mario paniccia  director of intel s photonics technology lab. writing in the journal nature  dr paniccia - and colleagues haisheng rong  richard jones  ansheng liu  oded cohen  dani hak and alexander fang - show how they have made a continuous laser from the same material used to make computer processors. currently  says dr paniccia  telecommunications equipment that amplifies the laser light that travels down fibre optic cables is very expensive because of the exotic materials  such as gallium arsenide  used to make it.  telecommunications firms and chip makers would prefer to use silicon for these light-moving elements because it is cheap and many of the problems of using it in high-volume manufacturing have been solved.  we re trying to take our silicon competency in manufacturing and apply it to new areas   said dr paniccia. while work has been done to make some of the components that can move light around  before now silicon has not successfully been used to generate or amplify the laser light pulses used to send data over long distances. this is despite the fact that silicon is a much better amplifier of light pulses than the form of the material used in fibre optic cables. this improved amplification is due to the crystalline structure of the silicon used to make computer chips. dr paniccia said that the structure of silicon meant that when laser light passed through it  some colliding photons rip electrons off the atoms within the material.  it creates a cloud of electrons sitting in the silicon and that absorbs all the light   he said. but the intel researchers have found a way to suck away these errant electrons and turn silicon into a material that can both generate and amplify laser light. even better  the laser light produced in this way can  with the help of easy-to-make filters  be tuned across a very wide range of frequencies. semi-conductor lasers made before now have only produced light in a narrow frequency ranges. the result could be the close integration of the fibre optic cables that carry data as light with the computer chips that process it. dr paniccia said the work was the one of several steps needed if silicon was to be used to make components that could carry and process light in the form of data pulses.  it s a technical validation that it can work   he said.


toxic web links help virus spread virus writers have begun using the power of the web to spread their malicious wares.  a windows virus called bofra is turning infected machines into distributors of its malicious code. those clicking on the poisoned links in e-mail messages sent out by infected machines may fall victim to the virus. the trick is being used to prevent the progam being caught by anti-virus software that combs through code contained in e-mail attachments.  the virus that uses this trick is called bofra and the first member of the family of worms appeared on 10 november. they exploit a windows vulnerability that was discovered only a few days earlier.  like many other recent viruses  bofra plunders the address book in microsoft outlook for e-mail addresses and scours other files on an infected machine for fresh target addresses. the virus uses its own mail sending software to despatch e-mail messages to potential victims but  unlike many other recent viruses  does not itself travel via mail. instead the body of the mail messages sent out contain fake weblinks that  when clicked on  connect back to the machine that distributed that e-mail. essentially  bofra turns infected machines into small web servers that happily dole out copies of the virus. the messages try to trick people into clicking on the links by promising pornographic videos and images or by posing as payment confirmation for a paypal transaction.  copies of the messages seen by the bbc news website had bright yellow and green backgrounds. those clicking on the links will inadvertently download the bofra virus which will then start searching for new addresses to send itself to. filtering firm clearswift said this tactic of creating thousands of mini web servers was designed to help the virus spread quickly and avoid attempts to shut it down. in the past other malicious programs have relied on a single web server that downloads viral code to target machines. shutting down this central server usually stops the virus spreading.  clearswift said that fact that no viral code travels in the e-mail messages sent out by machines infected by bofra could hamper effects to limit its spread. finnish anti-virus firm f-secure said that  so far  it had not seen many copies of the bofra virus and its variants in circulation.  tim warner  spokesman for anti-virus firm finjan  said:  you have people getting very creative now to deliver the virus and get it propagating.  mr warner said organisations needed to prepare deep defences to keep out the modern form of malicious mobile code.  most firms have secured their e-mail gateway   said mr warner   but the irony is that most of them let malicious content through the web gateways.  he said behavioural systems that monitor what users do can help to spot when viruses have penetrated organisations and have started hunting for other victims. the bofra family of viruses  which were originally thought to be offshoots of the mydoom bug  can infect machines running windows 2000  95  98  me  nt  xp and server 2003. users running windows xp that have applied the sp2 update are not vulnerable to the loophole that bofra exploits.


bad weather hits nestle sales a combination of bad weather  rising raw material costs and the sluggish european economy has hit sales at swiss food and drink giant nestle.  revenue dipped 1.4% to 86.7bn swiss francs ($74.6bn; £39.1bn) in 2004 as sales of ice cream and mineral water were dampened by the wet summer. however  nestle s profits margins were helped by a strong performance in the americas and china. nestle is to raise its dividend by 11% after paying back some of its debt.  nestle said that the strength of the swiss franc against the us dollar  the disposal of businesses and challenging trading conditions in europe all dented sales. a poor summer across the continent - in contrast to the prolonged heat wave in 2003 -  severely affected  demand for ice cream. sales of bottled water also fell  although chocolate  coffee  frozen goods and petcare products performed better.  elsewhere  nestle said it had enjoyed an  exceptional  year in north america  outperforming the market in terms of sales growth. nestle added that it had performed strongly in africa and asia despite the impact of high oil prices and political instability. nestle s total earnings before interest remained broadly flat over the past year  despite the company managing to boost profit margins. as well as increasing its dividend  nestle plans to buy back shares worth 1bn swiss francs ($861m; £451m). looking forward  nestle forecasts organic earnings growth of about 5% in 2005  although it warned that trading would remain just as competitive.  uncertainty remains over the future of perrier  the iconic french mineral water owned by nestle. perrier has been locked in a long-standing dispute with unions about productivity levels at the business  which has lead nestle to consider selling the firm.  the option of selling is perrier is still on the table   chief executive peter brabeck-letmathe confirmed on thursday.


mourinho to escape fa charge chelsea boss jose mourinho will not face any football association action over the comments he made after their carling cup tie with manchester united.  mourinho intimated that united boss sir alex ferguson influenced referee neale barry after the duo walked down the tunnel together at half-time. but an fa spokesman told bbc sport:  we are not taking action over mourinho.  we have looked at the comments and we have decided that no further action is required. that is the end of it.  mourinho was concerned that ferguson s conversation with barry was followed by an inconsistent display by the official.  i see one referee in the first half and another in the second   said mourinho.  if the fa ask me what happened  i will tell them. what i saw and felt made it easier to understand a few things.   maybe when i turn 60 and have been managing in the same league for 20 years and have the respect of everybody i will have the power to speak to people and make them tremble a little bit.  the referee controlled the game in one way during the first half but in the second they had dozens of free-kicks. it was fault after fault  dive after dive.  but i know the referee did not walk to the dressing rooms alone at half-time. he should only have had his two assistants and the fourth official with him  but there was also someone else.  referees chief keith hackett believes mourinho should retract his comments about ferguson and barry as he believes the blues boss has questioned their integrity.  i m hoping he might reconsider his comments  unfortunately this is the nature of the game   said hackett.  i don t want referees or myself getting in the psychological warfare between two managers. for the second leg we have an experienced referee  and we should be talking about the quality of that game rather than the refereeing.  sometimes managers have grounds for comments  and i note that  but a referees integrity has been questioned  that is offensive and should be avoided. mr mourinho should look at the facts.  mourinho added that the match was entertaining for a goalless draw and insisted his team could still reach the final.  it s 0-0  so if we win we go through and if we get a draw we go to extra time   he said.  we have exactly the same chance we had before this game.  we are confident of getting a result but we know what manchester united is  a footballing power. it ll be difficult for us  but also for them.


market unfazed by aurora setback as the aurora limped back to its dock on 20 january  a blizzard of photos and interviews seemed to add up to an unambiguous tale of woe.  the ship had another slice of bad luck to add to its history of health scares and technical trouble. and its owner  p&o cruises - now part of the huge us carnival corporation - was looking at a significant slice chopped off this year s profits and a potential pr fiasco. no-one  however  seems to have told the stock markets. the warning of a five-cent hit to 2005 earnings came just 24 hours after one of the world s biggest investment banks had upped its target for carnival s share price  from £35 to £36.20. other investors barely blinked  and by 1300 gmt carnival s shares in london were down a single penny  or 0.03%  at £32.26.  why the mismatch between the public perception and the market s response   the aurora issue had been an ongoing one for some time   says deutsche bank s simon champion.  it was clearly a source of uncertainty for the company - it was a long cruise  after all. but the stock market is very good at treating these issues as one-off events.   despite its string of bad luck  he pointed out  aurora is just one vessel in a large carnival fleet  the uk s p&o princess group having been merged into the much larger us firm in 2003. and generally speaking  carnival has a reputation for keeping its ships pretty much on schedule.  carnival has an incredibly strong track record   mr champion.  similarly  analysts expect the impact on the rest of the cruise business to be limited. the hundreds of disappointed passengers who have now had to give up the opportunity to spend the next three months on the aurora have got both a refund and a credit for another cruise. that should mitigate some of the pr risk  both for carnival and its main competitor  royal caribbean.  while not common  cancellations for technical reasons are not entirely unusual in the industry   wrote analysts from citigroup smith barney in a note to clients on friday.  moreover  such events typically have a limited impact on bookings and pricing for future cruises.  after all  the aurora incident may be big news in the uk - but for carnival customers elsewhere it s unlikely to make too much of a splash.  assuming that citigroup is right  and demand stays solid  the structure of the industry also works in carnival s favour. in the wake of p&o princess s takeover by carnival  the business is now to a great extent a duopoly. given the expense of building  outfitting and running a cruise ship   slowing supply growth  is a certainty  said david anders at merrill lynch on thursday. in other words  if you do want a cruise  your options are limited. and with carnival remaining the market leader  it looks set to keep selling the tickets - no matter what happens to the ill-fated aurora in the future.


wales coach elated with win mike ruddock paid tribute to his wales side after they came from 15-6 down to beat france 24-18 in the six nations.   after going two tries down in 12 minutes we had to show character   said the national team coach.  i didn t have to tell them anything at half-time because those players have stared down the barrel of a gun before.  they decided they didn t want to do that again and came out fighting. it was a great team effort and we showed great character to come back.  man-of-the-match stephen jones  who kicked three penalties  a drop goal and conversion  was ecstatic following after the win at stade de france.   it s just a special moment. two years ago we didn t win a single game in the six nations. but we re a very happy camp now   he said.  we worked hard as a squad and i m a proud welshman. we ve got hard matches to come  so we re just happy with the start.  double try scorer martyn williams was keen not to talk about a possible grand slam for wales.  we ve got more self-belief these days. two or three years ago we might have collapsed after going behind so early.  there s no mention of a grand slam among the players. we ve got a tough game against scotland at murrayfield. they could bring us crashing down to earth.


us actor ossie davis found dead us actor ossie davis has been found dead at the age of 87.  davis  who was married to actress ruby dee  was found dead on friday in his hotel room in miami beach  florida  where he was making a film. davis  whose 65-year career included credits as a producer  director  actor and writer for stage and screen  was also a civil rights activist. miami beach police spokesman bobby hernandez said the cause of death appeared to be natural.  davis s body was discovered by his grandson and paramedics at the shore club hotel in miami beach  where the actor had been shooting the film retirement. mr hernandez said:  after gaining entry  they found mr davis had passed away.  the cause of death appears to be natural. according to his grandson he was suffering from heart disease.  some of davis s best known roles included the joe louis story and gone are the days - a film he adapted from his own play  purlie victorious. he also appeared in 7 spike lee movies  including school daze  do the right thing and jungle fever.  his film debut  in 1950  was in the film no way out  starring sydney poitier and ruby dee. davis and dee were married for more than 56 years and together received kennedy center honours in 2004 for their body of work. the actors  equity association issued a statement calling davis  an icon in the american theatre  and he and dee  american treasures . davis was also a prominent figure in the civil rights movement and was a voice for racial equality. he was a featured speaker at the funerals of both martin luther king jnr and malcolm x. besides dee  davis is survived by three children nora  hasna and guy  a blues artist  and seven grandchildren.


ban hits half-life 2 pirates hard about 20 000 people have been banned from playing the half-life 2 game.  game maker valve shut down the online accounts of the players because it had evidence that their copy of the game had been obtained illegally. copies of half-life 2 had been circulating on file-sharing systems soon after it was officially released. experts said the success of the half-life 2 anti-piracy system might tempt other game makers into creating their own version.  half-life 2 was officially released on 16 november but before gamers could get to grips with the long-awaited title they were forced to authenticate their copy of the game online. authentication involved setting up an account with valve s gaming community system called steam and letting that check which copy of the game was being run.  in a statement detailing the banning of the accounts valve said this system helped identify who had got hold of pirated copies.  the method used was extremely easy for valve to trace and confirm  and so there is no question that the accounts disabled were used to try and illegally obtain half-life 2   read the statement. valve spokesman doug lombardi said that the company had not yet released sales figures for the game and would not say what proportion of all steam players the 20 000 represented. one effect of steam s popularity has been to limit the copies of the game sold in shops and artificially depress the game s ranking in the top ten. even so the title debuted at no 3 in the uk charts. valve also said that a small number of accounts were closed because people were using stolen credit cards to buy copies of the game or were using stolen steam accounts. some of those who have been banned by the move protested their innocence in the online forums on the main steam site and said they were being punished for what other people did with their account.  some contributors to the forums wondered if the action might force more piracy as people tried to get hold of successive copies of the game to keep ahead of valve s anti-piracy actions.  in its statement valve also said that rumours that it distributed fake half-life 2 keys  copies of the game or instructions on how to hack the game  just to catch pirates and cheats were false. the company said:  the hack came from the  community  as do they all.  it added that most of those banned simply tried to use copies of half-life 2 circulating on file-swapping systems such as bit torrent rather than use hacks to get around the need for cd keys. rob fahey  editor of online news site gamesindustry.biz  said the mass banning showed off the power of the steam system. before now  he said  it has been hard for game makers to do anything about piracy once the game was being played.  but with this  valve is taking really effective steps against people using illegitimate copies of half-life 2   he said. if steam proves effective at cutting the piracy of games to a minimum  said mr fahey  other game makers may be tempted to set up copycat systems.  it s not hard to see a point in the near future when every publisher wants you to run an application on your system purely to allow you to play their games   he said. this could mean that computers get cluttered with poorly written steam-type systems that are used to batter people with adverts. unless game firms were careful  he said  they could face a backlash from consumers who soon get tired of maintaining different accounts for every game they play.


newcastle 27-27 gloucester newcastle centre mathew tait answered his critics as he scored one try and made another  but he could not stop gloucester grabbing a draw.  the falcons were 22-6 down at the break before tait  recently axed by england after just one six nations outing  inspired his side to a 27-22 lead. a last-gasp touchdown from luke narraway pulled the visitors level. but gloucester missed out on victory when henry paul fluffed the conversion and seti kiole was denied a late try. newcastle had a couple of chances at the start of the second half with line-outs in the corner. but they failed to make them count until joe shaw found dave walder  who released mark mayerholfer in his own 22.  the former all black broke clear and popped the ball up for tait on halfway. he chipped ahead for michael stephenson to scorch through for the try  which walder converted to give newcastle a lifeline. they grabbed it with both hands  mayerhofler breaking through and tait making a brilliant early run to cut inside and race 30m to score. walder converted to make it 22-20 before he was just wide with a 40m penalty in the 70th minute.  mayerhofler then scythed through the middle for a try after hall charlton popped the ball up  and walder s conversion took newcastle 27-22 ahead. with three minutes of normal time left  narraway was driven over for a try in the corner which levelled the scores at 27-27. henry missed the conversion but gloucester nearly won it when kiole broke through only to be hauled down by charlton and tom may.  walder; may  tait  mayerhofler  stephenson; wilkinson  grindal; isaacson  long  ward; gross  hamilton; mccarthy  harris  dowson.  replacements: peel  wilson  thompson  parling  sititi  charlton  shaw.  goodridge; garvey  simpson-daniel  fanolua  kiole; paul  gomarsall; wood  curnier  powell; eustace  brown; forrester  buxton  balding.  replacements: elloway  sigley  cornwell  narraway  page  davies  mauger.


players sought for $1m prize uk gamers are getting a chance to take part in a $1m tournament thanks to one of the country s top teams.  the four-kings clan is staging a pop idol type competition to find new members who can take on the world s best in the lucrative tournament. four-kings hopes the open qualifiers will turn up gamers good enough to beat all comers at the painkiller game. top players also get a contract with the four-kings team which will pay travelling expenses for the contest.  uk gamers have until 12 november to register their interest in taking part and can sign up via the four-kings  jolt.co.uk and painkiller tournament websites. philip wride  who co-manages the four-kings team  said online qualifiers will be held from 16-28 november to find the best eight players of the painkiller game. he said the clan was running the contest because four-kings does not currently have any players that excel at painkiller. these eight players will be brought together in london on 3-5 december for the bloodline tournament that will find the best two players.  the event will be filmed and the final cut made available online for others to watch. the movie is being put together by simon bysshe who has shot many other films about pro-gaming that have been widely shared online. said mr bysshe:  painkiller is a new game and the opportunity is there for a new player to step up.  painkiller has been described as a game that adds a few modern touches  such as improved graphics  to the old-fashioned first-person shooter. these two players will be put forward as the uk s entrants to the cyberathlete professional league $1m painkiller contest that will take place throughout 2005. the event is being billed as the cpl world tour and will be arranged around ten separate tournaments at different locations around the world. travel expenses to all the stops on the tour will be paid by four-kings for the two uk players who make the grade. the top prize at each stop on the world tour will be $15 000. a further $150 000 will be given to the winner of the grand final due to be held in december 2005. mr wride said any gamer that wins a few tour stop tournaments and the grand final will have a very good year. the first stop on the world tour will be istanbul  turkey from 10-13 february. a total of $50 000 in cash prizes is on offer. the cpl has said that it picked a one-on-one game such as painkiller to make it easier for spectators to follow the action. counter-strike  by far the most popular online game  pits teams against each other and can be confusing to follow if those watching are not familiar with the layout of the maps on which it is played. the decision to pick painkiller was greeted with surprise by many gamers  as it was widely expected that doom 3 would be chosen as the one-one-one title.


australia rates at four year high australia is raising its benchmark interest rate to its highest level in four years despite signs of a slowdown in the country s economy.  the reserve bank of australia lifted interest rates 0.25% to 5.5%  their first upwards move in more than a year. however  shortly after the bank made its decision  new figures showed a fall in economic growth in the last quarter. the bank said it had acted to curb inflation but the move was criticised by some analysts.  the rate hike was the first since december 2003 and had been well-flagged in advance. however  opposition parties and some analysts said the move was ill-timed given data showing the australian economy grew just 0.1% between october and december and 1.5% on an annual basis.  the figures  representing a decline from the 0.2% growth in gdp seen between july and september  were below market expectations. consumer spending remains strong  however  and the bank is concerned about growing inflationary pressures.  over recent months it has become increasingly clear that remaining spare capacity in the labour and goods markets is becoming rather limited   said ian macfarlane  governor of the reserve bank.  at 2.6%  inflation remains within the bank s 2-3% target range. however  exports declined in the second half of 2004  fuelling a rise in the country s current account deficit - the difference in the value of imports compared to exports - to a record australian dollar 29.4bn. the australian government said the economy remained strong with unemployment at a near 30 year low.  the economy has been strong and it is properly moderating but it doesn t look to me like it s slowing in any unreasonable way   said treasurer peter costello. stock markets had factored in the likelihood of a rate rise but analysts still expressed concern about the strength of the economy.  that 1.5% annual growth rate is the lowest we have seen since the post-election slump we saw back in 2000-1   said michael blythe  chief economist at the commonwealth bank of australia.  this suggests the economy really did slow very sharply in the second half of 2004.


ireland 19-13 england ireland consigned england to their third straight six nations defeat with a stirring victory at lansdowne road.  a second-half try from captain brian o driscoll and 14 points from ronan o gara kept ireland on track for their first grand slam since 1948. england scored first through martin corry but had  tries  from mark cueto and josh lewsey disallowed. andy robinson s men have now lost nine of their last 14 matches since the 2003 world cup final. the defeat also heralded england s worst run in the championship since 1987. ireland last won the title  then the five nations  in 1985  but 20 years on they share top spot in the table on maximum points with wales. and eddie o sullivan s side banished the ghosts of 2003 when england were rampant 42-6 victors in claiming the grand slam at lansdowne road. in front of a supercharged home crowd on a dry but blustery day in dublin  ireland tore into the white-shirted visitors from the kick-off and made their intentions clear when o gara landed a fourth-minute drop-goal.  england took their time to settle but their first real venture into ireland s half produced a simple score for corry. the number eight picked up the ball from the back of a ruck and found an absence of green jerseys between himself and the irish line  racing 25 yards to touch down. england fly-half charlie hodgson nailed the conversion from out on the left  but almost immediately o gara  winning his 50th cap  answered with two penalties in quick succession. england were awarded a penalty of their own on the halfway line after 20 minutes  and hodgson  the villain at twickenham  coolly bisected the posts. the first quarter was marked by periods of tactical kicking  but it was ireland who were showing more willingness to spread the ball wide to their eager and inventive backs. a series of probes led by the talismanic o driscoll  back from hamstring injury  resulted in a penalty but ireland chose to kick for touch.  from the line-out  the ball was recycled back to o gara  who stroked his second drop-goal  this time off the right upright. as the interval approached  wing josh lewsey was the catalyst for england s most promising attack. the wasps star raced up his touchline and hodgson s cross-kick put in mark cueto for an apparent score  but the sale wing was ruled to have started in front of the kicker. england began the second half well and had ireland pinned in their own half. but another english indiscretion on a rare irish break-out awarded o gara a kick at goal  which he missed. england s pressure continued  and a wave of attacks saw centre jamie noon dragged down yards from the line before hodgson landed a drop-goal.  the lead was shortlived  however. ireland raced upfield  deft handling from the backs  including a clever dummy from geordan murphy on hodgson  ending with o driscoll going over in the right corner and touching down close to the posts. o gara missed a penalty which would have put ireland nine points clear  and the home crowd breathed a sigh of relief when hodgson s cross-kick was fumbled by lock ben kay near the line. anticipation of a home win sent the noise level sky-high  but o gara missed another chance to seal the game with a wayward drop-goal attempt. inside the last 10 minutes  england poured forward  spurred on by scrum-half matt dawson  who replaced leicester s harry ellis. but despite one near miss with the pack over the line - not checked on the tv replay by referee jonathan kaplan - england were unable to pull off a face-saving win. ireland next face france at lansdowne road in two weeks  time before the potential title decider against wales in cardiff. england are still to meet italy at twickenham  in what is now a wooden spoon decider  and scotland.  g murphy; g dempsey  b o driscoll  s horgan  d hickie; r o gara  p stringer; r corrigan  s byrne  j hayes; m o kelly  p o connell; s easterby  j o connor  a foley.  f sheahan  m horan  d o callaghan  e miller  g easterby  d humphreys  k maggs.  j robinson (capt); m cueto  j noon  o barkley  j lewsey; c hodgson  h ellis; g rowntree  s thompson  m stevens; d grewcock  b kay; j worsley  l moody  m corry.  a titterrell  d bell  s borthwick  a hazell  m dawson  a goode  o smith.


fbi agent colludes with analyst a former fbi agent and an internet stock picker have been found guilty of using confidential us government information to manipulate stock prices.  a new york court ruled that former fbi man jeffrey royer  41  fed damaging information to anthony elgindy  36. mr elgindy then drove share prices lower by spreading negative publicity via his newsletter. the egyptian-born analyst would extort money from his targets in return for stopping the attacks  prosecutors said.  under the guise of protecting investors from fraud  royer and elgindy used the fbi s crime-fighting tools and resources actually to defraud the public   said us attorney roslynn mauskopf.  mr royer was convicted of racketeering  securities fraud  obstruction of justice and witness tampering. mr elgindy was convicted of racketeering  securities fraud and extortion.  the charges carry sentences of up to 20 years. when the guilty verdict was announced by the jury foreman  mr elgindy dropped his face into his hands and sobbed  the associated press news agency reported. he was led weeping from the court room by us marshals  ap said. defense lawyers contended that mr royer had been feeding information to mr elgindy and another trader in an attempt to expose corporate fraud. mr elgindy s team claimed that he also was fighting against corporate wrongdoing.  elgindy s conviction marks the end of his public charade as a crusader against fraud in the market   said ms mauskopf. one of the more bizarre aspects of the trial focused on the claims that mr elgindy may have had foreknowledge of the 11 september terrorist attacks in new york and washington. mr elgindy had been trying to sell stock prior to the attack and had predicted a slump in the market. no charges were brought in relation to these allegations.


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