big war games battle it out the arrival of new titles in the popular medal of honor and call of duty franchises leaves fans of wartime battle titles spoilt for choice.  the acclaimed pc title call of duty has been updated for console formats  building on many of the original s elements. for its part  the long-running medal of honor series has added pacific assault to its pc catalogue  adapting the console game rising sun. call of duty: finest hour casts you as a succession of allied soldiers fighting on world war 2 battlefronts including russia and north africa. it is a traditional first-person-viewed game that lets you control just one character  in the midst of a unit where cohorts constantly bark orders at you. on a near-identical note  medal of honor: pacific assault does all it can to make you feel part of a tight-knit team and plum in the middle of all-out action. its arenas are the war s pacific battles  including guadalcanal and pearl harbour. you play one character throughout  a raw and rather talkative us soldier.  both games rely on a carefully stage-managed structure that keeps things ticking along. when this works  it is a brilliant device to make you feel part of a story. when it does not  it is tedious.  a winning moment is an early scene in pacific assault  where you come under attack at the famous us base in hawaii. you are first ushered into a gunboat attacking the incoming waves of japanese planes  then made to descend into a sinking battleship to rescue crewman  before seizing the anti-aircraft guns. it is one of the finest set-pieces ever seen in a video game. this notion of shuffling the player along a studiously pre-determined path  forcibly witnessing a series of pre-set moments of action  is a perilous business which can make the whole affair feel stilted rather than organic. the genius of something like half life 2 is that it skilfully disguises its linear plotting by various means of misdirection. this pair of games do not really accomplish that  being more concerned with imparting a full-on atmospheric experience.  call of duty comes with a suitably bombastic score and overblown presentation. finest hour has a similar determination  framing everything in moody wartime music  archive footage and lots of reflective voice-overs.  letting you play a number of different roles is an interesting ploy that adds new dimensions to the call of duty endeavour  even if it sacrifices the narrative flow somewhat. the game s drawback could be said to be its format; tastes differ  but these wartime shooters often do seem to work better on pc. the mouse control is a big reason why  along with the sharper graphics a top-end computer can muster and the apparent notion that pc games are allowed to get away with a bit more subtlety. call of duty on pc was more detailed  plot-wise and graphically  and this new adaptation feels a little rough and ready. targeting with the ps2 controller proved tricky  not helped by unconvincing collision-detection. you can shoot an enemy repeatedly with zero question as to your aim  yet the bullets will just refuse to hit him. checkpoints are so few and far between that when you get shot  which happens regularly  you are set harshly far back  and will find yourself covering vast tracts of scorched earth again and again. the game wants to be a challenge  and is  and many players will like it for that. it is as dynamic a battlefield simulator as you will experience and even if it is not as refined as its pc parent  the sense of being part of the action is thoroughly impressive.  both of these games feature military colleagues who are disturbingly bad shots and prone to odd behaviour. and in pacific assault in particular  their commands and comments are irritatingly meaningless.  but the teamwork element in titles like this is superficial  designed to add atmosphere and camaraderie rather than affect the gameplay mechanics at all. of the two games  pacific assault gets more things right  including little points like auto-saving intelligently and having tidier presentation. it engages you very well and also looks wonderful  making the most of the lush tropical settings that are reminiscent of the glorious far cry  although we had to ramp up the settings on a high-spec machine to get the most out of them. finest hour is by no means bad  and it is only because the pc original was so dazzling that this version sometimes feels underwhelming. those looking for a wartime game with plenty of atmosphere and a hearty abundance of enemies to shoot will be contented. but they will also have a niggling puzzlement as to why it does not break a little more ground rather then just being competent.


tory backing for id cards the tories are to back controversial government plans to introduce id cards.  the shadow cabinet revealed its support ahead of next week s commons vote on a bill to introduce compulsory id. the decision follows a  tough meeting  where some senior tories argued vociferously against the move  party sources told the bbc. the bill  which ministers claim will tackle crime  terrorism and illegal immigration  is expected to be opposed by the liberal democrats.  they have said the scheme is  deeply flawed  and a waste of money. sources within the conservative party told the bbc michael howard has always been in favour of id cards  and tried to introduce them when he was home secretary. the party has been  agnostic  on the issue until now but had now decided to come off the fence  the tory source said. despite giving their backing to id cards  the conservatives insisted they would hold ministers to account over the precise purpose of the scheme.  they said they would also press labour over whether objectives could be met and whether the home office would deliver them. and they pledged to assess the cost effectiveness of id cards and whether people s privacy would be properly protected.  it is important to remember that this bill will take a decade to come into full effect   a spokesman said.  it will do nothing to solve the immediate problems of rising crime and uncontrolled immigration.   lib dem home affairs spokesman mark oaten said:  this has all the signs of michael howard overruling colleagues  concerns over id cards.  the tories should have the courage to try and change public opinion not follow it.  the new chairman of the bar council  guy mansfield qc warned there was a real risk that people on the  margins of society  would be driven into the hands of extremists.  what is going to happen to young asian men when there has been a bomb gone off somewhere  they are going to be stopped. if they haven t [id cards] they are going to be detained.


fockers keeps us box office lead film comedy meet the fockers  sequel to meet the parents  has topped the us box office for a third week.  the movie  which stars ben stiller  robert de niro  dustin hoffman and barbra streisand  took $28.5m (£15.2m)  making a total of 204.3m (£109m). michael keaton thriller white noise was second with $24m (£12.8m) despite negative reviews. martin scorsese s howard hughes biopic the aviator came third with $7.6m (£4m) and a total of $42.9m (£22.8m). children s adventure lemony snicket s a series of unfortunate events  starring jim carrey and meryl streep  fell two places to fourth position with $7.4m (£3.9m).  it is also the ninth jim carrey film to hit the $100m (£53.2m) mark  according to exhibitor relations. and fat albert  a live-action adaptation of bill cosby s tv cartoon  fell one place to number five  with takings over the three days beginning on friday of $5m (£2.6m). ocean s twelve took sixth place in the us chart with $5.4m (£2.8m)  but it led the non-us chart at the weekend  according to hollywood reporter  with an estimated $17.7m (£9.4m) and total takings of $137m (£73m). the incredibles took $300m (£160m) outside the us  while meet the fockers topped box office charts in australia and mexico with non-us takings of $19.35m (£10.2m).


conservative mp defects to labour a conservative mp and former minister has defected to labour.  robert jackson  58  mp for wantage in oxfordshire  said he was disillusioned with the party s leadership and its  dangerous  views on europe. prime minister tony blair declared himself  delighted   saying mr jackson would be warmly welcomed by labour mps. mr jackson  who has clashed with his leaders over tuition fees and europe in the past  served as higher education minister between 1987 and 1990. in a letter to his constituency chairman he wrote:  it is in the country s best interest that tony blair rather than michael howard should form the next government.  while saying he admired mr blair s  courageous  leadership of the country  he bitterly criticised the conservatives stance on europe.  the conservative party s hostility to europe has now hardened to the point at which it advocates the unilateral denunciation of britain s treaty obligations   he wrote.  mr blair said mr jackson was a  decent  fair-minded and dedicated public servant... who will be warmly welcome by labour mps and members .  as he rightly says  [the conservatives] have learned nothing from their two election defeats and are  if anything  drifting further rightwards   he added. a spokesman for michael howard said mr jackson s views on policy issues were  very different  from those of the party leadership.  he believes students should pay tuition fees  that tony blair should not be criticised over his handling of the iraq war and that more powers should be given to europe   the spokesman said. he added that it was not surprising mr jackson had chosen to leave the conservatives. mr jackson is due to stand down at the next election. he is the third conservative mp to defect to labour since 1997.


benitez  to launch morientes bid  liverpool may launch an £8m january bid for long-time target fernando morientes  according to reports.  the real madrid striker has been linked with a move to anfield since the summer and is currently behind raul  ronaldo and michael owen at the bernabeu. liverpool boss rafael benitez is keen to bolster his forward options with djibril cisse out until next season.  if there is an attractive propostition it could be i would be keen to leave   admitted the 28-year-old morientes. he added:  unfortunately  i m not in control of the situation. i m under contract to real and they will make any decisions.  the fee could put liverpool off a prospective deal but real are keen to net the cash as they are reported to be preparing a massive summer bid for inter milan striker adriano. the reds are currently sixth in the premiership  15 points behind leaders chelsea.


souness eyes summer move for owen newcastle boss graeme souness is lining up a summer move for england and real madrid striker michael owen.  he sees owen as the ideal replacement for alan shearer  who is due to retire in the summer  although he hopes to persuade shearer to carry on.  michael is in the category of players who would excite the fans and we re monitoring him   he told bbc newcastle.  he is a great centre-forward and only 25 but i don t think we re the only ones monitoring the situation at real.  souness has also hinted he thinks shearer may carry on despite his stated intent to retire at the end of the season. he believes the prospect of breaking jackie milburn s club scoring record may influence the striker s decision.  milburn scored 200 league and cup goals between 1946 and 1957  while shearer currently has 187 goals to his name.  without giving too much away  i am confident he will be here next season   said souness.  i can t imagine him leaving without breaking jackie milburn s scoring record.  souness also revealed he tried to bring back nolberto solano during the january transfer window. the peruvian international was sold to aston villa a year ago but in the phone-in for bbc newcastle  souness said tried to re-sign him  but villa were not interested in selling.  the former rangers and liverpool boss is also looking to bring in a number of new acquisitions once the current campaign has been completed.  i m after three  four or five new players in the summer - we have got lots of targets   he said.  don t think we will wait to the last day of the season to say: `who are we going to target now


aragones angered by racism fine spain coach luis aragones is furious after being fined by the spanish football federation for his comments about thierry henry.  the 66-year-old criticised his 3000 euros (£2 060) punishment even though it was far below the maximum penalty.  i am not guilty  nor do i accept being judged for actions against the image of the sport   he said.  i m not a racist and i ve never lacked sporting decorum. i ve never done that and i have medals for sporting merit.  aragones was handed the fine on tuesday after making racist remarks about henry to arsenal team-mate and spanish international jose reyes last october.  the spanish football federation at first declined to take action against aragones  but was then requested to do so by spain s anti-violence commission. the fine was far less than the expected amount of about £22 000 or even the suspension of his coaching licence. arsenal boss arsene wenger  who was fined £15 000 in december for accusing manchester united striker ruud van nistelrooy of cheating  believes that aragones  punishment was too lenient.  you compare his fine and my fine  and if you consider his was for racist abuse  then you seem to get away with it more in spain than you should   wenger said.  he shouldn t have said what he said  and how much money is enough  i don t know but it doesn t look a big punishment.  however  aragones insists the fine is unjustified and unfair.  i have been treated like islero (the bull that killed famous bullfighter manolete)   said aragones on hearing he had been fined for his actions.  i have not liked one thing about this whole affair and i do not agree with the sanction. they have looked for a scapegoat.  spain s anti-violence commission must now ratify the spanish fa s decision and has until next week to announce its verdict. aragones has 10 days to appeal  and the commission can also appeal. alberto flores  president of the spanish fa s disciplinary committee  said no-one in the committee felt aragones was a racist nor had  acted in a racist way.   a fine  the highest we could apply  is sufficient punishment. suspension would have been a bit exaggerated   flores told sports daily marca.


worldcom ex-boss launches defence lawyers defending former worldcom chief bernie ebbers against a battery of fraud charges have called a company whistleblower as their first witness.  cynthia cooper  worldcom s ex-head of internal accounting  alerted directors to irregular accounting practices at the us telecoms giant in 2002. her warnings led to the collapse of the firm following the discovery of an $11bn (£5.7bn) accounting fraud. mr ebbers has pleaded not guilty to charges of fraud and conspiracy.  prosecution lawyers have argued that mr ebbers orchestrated a series of accounting tricks at worldcom  ordering employees to hide expenses and inflate revenues to meet wall street earnings estimates. but ms cooper  who now runs her own consulting business  told a jury in new york on wednesday that external auditors arthur andersen had approved worldcom s accounting in early 2001 and 2002. she said andersen had given a  green light  to the procedures and practices used by worldcom. mr ebber s lawyers have said he was unaware of the fraud  arguing that auditors did not alert him to any problems.  ms cooper also said that during shareholder meetings mr ebbers often passed over technical questions to the company s finance chief  giving only  brief  answers himself. the prosecution s star witness  former worldcom financial chief scott sullivan  has said that mr ebbers ordered accounting adjustments at the firm  telling him to  hit our books . however  ms cooper said mr sullivan had not mentioned  anything uncomfortable  about worldcom s accounting during a 2001 audit committee meeting. mr ebbers could face a jail sentence of 85 years if convicted of all the charges he is facing. worldcom emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2004  and is now known as mci. last week  mci agreed to a buyout by verizon communications in a deal valued at $6.75bn.


guantanamo pair s passport ban the government has written to two of the british men freed from guantanamo bay telling them they will not be allowed passports.  a letter sent to martin mubanga said his british passport would not be issued in the light of evidence gathered against him by the us. this suggested he was likely to take part in action against uk or allied targets if he left britain  it said. an identical letter has been sent to feroz abbasi  the men s solicitor says.  it is not known whether the other two men released from the cuba detention camp in january - richard belmar and moazzam begg - have also received letters. the government is implementing the rarely used royal prerogative in order to withdraw the men s passports. it is only the 13th time the power has been used since 1947 - the last time was in 1976. the letter  from the home office  says:  i am writing to inform you that on the basis of the information which has come to light during your detention by the united states  the home secretary considered that there are strong grounds for believing that  on leaving the united kingdom  you would take part in activities against the united kingdom  or allied targets.   the home office said it could not comment on individual cases.  the liberal democrats say they suspect the move is part of a package of security measures agreed with the us in order for the men to be allowed home from guantanamo bay.  home affairs spokesman mark oaten also demanded assurances that the evidence against the men was not gained under torture. he added:  the power should only be used in absolute extreme circumstances and i find it hard to believe that these conditions have been met this time.  he said the move also raised complex questions about the use of the royal prerogative. the liberal democrats have promised to raise the issue in parliament.  amnesty international uk also questioned whether the decisions had been based on  torture evidence  obtained at guantanamo bay.  furthermore  we believe there should be an investigation into the role played by the uk in the detention of uk residents and nationals and possibly many others at guantanamo bay   said director kate allen. the men s solicitor  louise christian  has raised questions about whether the evidence was gathered through torture. but the pentagon told bbc news us policy  condemns and prohibits  torture and said there was no evidence that any british detainee was tortured or abused. mr abbasi  23  from croydon  south london  was taken to guantanamo bay after being captured in afghanistan in 2001. mr mubanga  29  from north london  was originally detained in zambia.


brown ally rejects budget spree chancellor gordon brown s closest ally has denied suggestions there will be a budget giveaway on 16 march.  ed balls  ex-chief economic adviser to the treasury  said there would be no spending spree before polling day. but mr balls  a prospective labour mp  said he was confident the chancellor would meet his fiscal rules. he was speaking as sir digby jones  cbi director general  warned mr brown not to be tempted to use any extra cash on pre-election bribes.  mr balls  who stepped down from his treasury post to stand as a labour candidate in the election  had suggested that mr brown would meet his golden economic rule -  with a margin to spare . he said he hoped more would be done to build on current tax credit rules.  he also stressed rise in interest rates ahead of an expected may election would not affect the labour party s chances of winning. expectations of a rate rise have gathered pace after figures showed house prices are still rising. consumer borrowing rose at a near-record pace in january.  if the mpc (the bank of england s monetary policy committee) were to judge that a rate rise was justified before the election because of the strength of the economy - and i m not predicting that they will - i do not believe that this will be a big election issue in britain for labour   he told a parliamentary lunch.  this is a big change in our political culture.   during an interview with bbc radio 4 s today programme  mr balls said he was sure mr brown s budget would not put at risk the stability of the economy.  i don t think we ll see a pre-election spending spree - we certainly did not see that before 2001   he said.  his assurances came after sir digby jones said stability was all important and any extra cash should be spent on improving workers  skills. his message to the chancellor was:  please don t give it away in any form of electioneering.  sir digby added:  i don t think he will. i have to say he has been a prudent chancellor right the way through. stability is the key word - british business needs boring stability more than anything.  we would say to him  don t increase your public spending  don t give it away. but if you are going to anywhere  just add something to the competitiveness of britain  put it into skilling our people .  that would be a good way to spend any excess.   mr balls refused to say whether mr brown would remain as chancellor after the election  amid speculation he will be offered the job of foreign secretary.  i think that gordon brown wants to be part of the successful labour government which delivers in the third term for the priorities of the people and sees off a conservative party that will take britain backwards   mr balls told today. prime minister tony blair has yet to name the date of the election  but most pundits are betting on 5 may.


fox  too reliant on reality tv  the head of us tv network fox has admitted the broadcaster had relied too heavily on reality tv shows such as the poor-rating who s your daddy.  chief executive gail berman said  in the case of this fall we drifted to too much on the unscripted side . the series who s your daddy  where a young woman tries to pick her natural father for a cash prize caused outrage from adoption groups and rated badly. last season  fox s prime-time audience fell by 600 000 to 5.9 million. ms berman said:  i think the audience expects loud things from fox. sometimes they work  and sometimes they don t.   who s your daddy  the first episode of which was shown on 3 january  pulled in a disappointing audience of 6.3 million  according to the nielsen ratings system. five other episodes of the show had also been filmed will be dropped from fox s schedules  ms berman said. she was predicting a drop in ratings even for some of the network s established reality shows  such as american idol  which is due to start its fourth series this week. fox had unveiled a new strategy last year promising to launch new shows every season  including the traditionally quiet summer season. though that had met with a poor reception  ms berman said  there s no question that the audience  in our mind  is ready  willing and able to accept new programming in the summer . fox has changed this plan  launching new shows in may instead of june. one of the new shows will be the animated series american dad  made by seth macfarlane  the creator of family guy. that series  after becoming a hit on dvd  is also set to return with new episodes.


sella wants michalak recall former france centre philippe sella believes coach bernard laporte must recall frederic michalak to give his side any chance of beating ireland.  sella admitted he had been impressed by current fly-half yann delaigue in the rbs six nations to date. but he told bbc sport:  michalak is the answer both now and for the future. delaigue deserved his chance but the time has come to bring back michalak.  he does have weaknesses but has the all-round game to upset ireland.  the 22-year-old michalak has spent much of the tournament on the bench after delaigue impressed for castres early in the season. with michalak overlooked  the french stuttered to narrow wins over scotland and then england before ironically playing their best rugby in the defeat to wales.  the wales game was amazing to watch but never did i think the french could lose that game at half-time   said sella.   their only mistakes were that they didn t score enough points in the first half and were a little bit less focused in the second... but only a little bit.  sella  however  insisted the pressure had eased on the under-fire laporte  despite the defeat at the stade de france.  this season is very important for shaping a team for the 2007 world cup   said sella   which laporte is doing very well. the french get better every game.  it s difficult  though  when you change a team and you change your tactics as everything has to gel.  but he has the players and the talent to take them all the way to world cup victory.  as a result  it is important that people give him time. it may not seem good now that we re not winning the grand slam but no one will care in two years time if we re world champions.   the majority of media criticism centred on the way in which france produced a performance devoid of running rugby in their opening two games. but while sella admitted he liked the more flowing style employed against wales  he said  the win was most important .  winning is all that matters   he added.  ok  the flair may not have been so good  but the discipline  organisation and defence was there  which are all important ahead of 2007.  france play what sella believes is their hardest game of the six nations against ireland in dublin on saturday 12 march. the french go into the game as clear underdogs. but sella added:  people forget that france can still win the six nations and they ll be focused on that.  but ireland will be going for even more in front of their home crowd. it s going to be tough.


jansen suffers a further setback blackburn striker matt jansen faces three weeks out after surgery to treat a cartilage problem.  but central defender lorenzo amoruso is moving closer to fitness following a knee operation. rovers  assistant manager mark bowen said:  matt had a small operation to trim knee cartilage.  it s a tiny piece of work  which should be a fairly quick recovery. lorenzo is also jogging for the first time  along with kicking a ball.  jansen s career has been dogged by injury since a freak scooter accident two years ago.  he returned to first-team action soon after mark hughes  appointment as blackburn boss and marked it with a goal against portsmouth in his first appearance of the season. bowen added:  i m guessing  but i reckon maybe two to three weeks before he is back in action completely.  the rovers assistant boss forecast a longer time spell for amoruso s availability for first-team duties. bowen said:  there s still some scar tissue present so it will be some weeks.  it s a case of see how he goes. you can t put a real time on a comeback  we ll see how he progresses.


more to do  on adult literacy the government will only hit its target for improving adult maths and literacy skills if courses are made more attractive  a report says.  the national audit office praised ministers for reaching the benchmark of 750 000 adults in england gaining basic qualifications by this year. but a target of 1.5 million more by 2010 needed  creative  ideas. some 26 million adults lack maths or english skill levels expected of school-leavers.  according to the report   more than half  the qualifications achieved were by learners aged 16 to 18. these are defined as  adults  by the government for the purpose of compiling these figures. normally adults are defined as being aged over 19. the number of these people gaining qualifications was  rising slowly . auditor general sir john bourn said:  higher levels of literacy and numeracy will benefit england both socially and economically.  more people will have the opportunity to live richer lives.  in 2001  the government launched the get on scheme - aimed at reducing illiteracy and innumeracy. sir john said  substantial progress  had been made since  adding that this was  only the beginning . the government and its partners would  need to be creative and responsive . some £3.7bn will be spent on implementing the programme by 2006. the report recommends gathering more details on the educational needs of areas  so courses can be set to meet local demand. existing adult learners could use their  enthusiasm  commitment and local knowledge  to attract other people. the department for education and skills could also use more  personalised learning  and work with voluntary groups  councils and employers.  it should also assess adult learners  progress  at frequent intervals   the report adds. when the government announced it had reached its 2004 target earlier this month  prime minister tony blair said it was  only the start of the journey . an estimated 5.2 million adults have worse literacy than that expected of 11 year olds  while 14.9 million have numeracy skills below this level. this is thought to cost the uk economy hundreds of millions of pounds each year. the qualifications achieved by those taking part in the government s scheme range up to gcse equivalents. get on s participation target has been set at 2.25 million by 2010  with an interim figure of 1.5 million by 2007. education minister ivan lewis said:  we will continue to use creative ways of involving people with the lowest skill levels and the report shows that our efforts are gathering pace.  shadow education secretary tim collins said:  this is the third report in two days to highlight labour s failure to ensure young people acquire the necessary levels of literacy and numeracy for their working life.  employers and business leaders have repeatedly voiced concern over the number of school-leavers without these basic skills  but all the government have offered is more talk.  liberal democrat education spokesman phil willis added:  far too little has been done to enable adult learners to fit learning into their busy lives.


blair sets date for africa report the commission for africa s report will be released on 11 march - comic relief day  tony blair has said.  july s g8 summit in gleneagles in perthshire - chaired by the prime minister - will use the report as the basis for talks on africa. the announcement followed the final meeting of the commission - which includes singer bob geldof - in london. as well as more aid  fairer trade and less debt  the commission is likely to demand action on corruption in africa. mr blair told a news conference:  it will be a report that s brutally frank about the reality  but i hope idealistic about what can be done if the will is there.  it s an ambitious project we have set ourselves and you will have to judge on its outcome when we publish it.   mr blair has vowed to put africa at the top of his agenda during his time at the helm of the g8. he acknowledged he would have a  a job of persuading to do  on other nations to get the necessary commitment to debt relief. bob geldof  in characteristically blunt style  promised that the commission would not just be a talking shop but would deliver radical new thinking to change direction for africa. the former rock star s presence on the commission has been interpreted as a sign that it will be uncompromising in its demands. the people involved include two african government leaders and a range of other african politicians  as well as experts from some other developed countries.


student  inequality  exposed teenagers from well-off backgrounds are six times more likely to go to university than those from the most deprived areas  a report says.  the higher education funding council for england said more people went to university between 1994 and 2000. but the percentage of poorer students  hardly changed at all   said its chief executive  sir howard newby. increasingly more women than men went to university  while tuition fees and student loans made no major difference.  the hefce report  drawing on child benefits data  said teenagers in the richest areas could expect a better than 50% chance of going to university  while in the poorest neighbourhoods it was 10%. participation at constituency level ranged from 69% in kensington and chelsea  65% in the city of london and westminster and 62% in sheffield hallam  down to 10% in bristol south and leeds central and 8% in nottingham north and sheffield brightside.  sir howard said the report highlighted the  entrenched divisions  between rich and poor areas  but added it was a social as much as an educational problem. he told bbc news:  we know  once children from deprived backgrounds get into university  they do very well. in fact surprisingly more go into postgraduate study than those from more affluent backgrounds.  the issue is  i think  one of raising aspirations amongst those families and those communities that university is something for them and not for other people.   he said by the time universities traditionally dealt with pupils  between the ages of 16 and 18  it was too late. instead they should be reaching out to communities and schools much earlier  even down to primary school level  to persuade them a university education was something they could aspire to  he said. but while the report revealed stark inequalities and exposed the extent of the challenge  there were some encouraging findings  he added.  tuition fees and student loans in england and wales - and the different fee regime in scotland - did not seem to have affected the choices of young people  even the poorest. the report also showed women were 18% more likely than men to enter higher education in 2000 - up from 6% in 1994. in the poorest areas  the gap was 30% in women s favour and growing faster than anywhere else. the higher education minister  kim howells  said:  we are working in schools to raise the attainment and aspiration of young people in disadvantaged areas.  higher standards in schools would lead to greater participation in higher education. from 2006 upfront tuition fees in england would be removed  with grants for the less well off. the shadow education secretary  tim collins  said:  it is clear from this report that children from disadvantaged areas are far more likely to have encountered poor standards in their secondary education.  tackling these must be the top priority for any government looking to improve university access.  the group which represents university vice-chancellors  universities uk  said the new system of deferred fees in england  due to start in 2006  with grants and bursaries for poorer students  would encourage more of them to go into higher education. the national union of students argued the opposite - that the situation was  likely to get much worse  with poorer students being restricted in choice and having to make decisions based on their financial situation rather than aspiration .  the tables below show the participation rate for each parliamentary constituency in britain:


berlin hails european cinema organisers say this year s berlin film festival  which opens on thursday with period epic man to man  will celebrate a revitalised european cinema.  of the 21 films in competition for the golden and silver bear awards  more than half are from europe with france particularly well represented. festival director dieter kosslick says this strong showing signals  a new consciousness for european films .  they re on an incredible winning streak   he told the reuters agency.  this isn t to say there aren t any good american films   he continued.  it s just that there are more good european films.   however  mr kosslick refused to accept that widespread opposition to the iraq war had turned audiences against hollywood imports.  there is no anti-american mood   he said. some 350 films will be screened at this year s festival  with a further 300 shown at the european film market that runs alongside it. more than a dozen celebrities are scheduled to attend  among them will smith  kevin spacey and keanu reeves. but mr kosslick says more would be coming had the academy awards not been brought forward to 27 february.  i m not worried that we won t be able to fill the red carpet with stars   he said  though he admitted the festival may be moved to january next year to avoid a similar clash. the 10-day berlinale runs until 20 february.


holmes back on form in birmingham double olympic champion kelly holmes was back to her best as she comfortably won the 1 000m at the norwich union birmingham indoor grand prix.  the 34-year-old  running only her second competitive race of the season  shook off the rust to win in two minutes  35.39 seconds. but she is still undecided about competing in the european championships in madrid from 4-6 march.  i ll probably be entered and make my mind up at the last minute   she said.  my training hasn t gone as well as expected but i ve got two weeks to decide.  i need to take my time and make sure i feel good about what i m doing.  i felt very good here but with the crowd behind you  you feel like you can do anything.  american  was the eventual winner of the men s 60m race which almost ended in farce. three athletes were disqualified for false starting  including britain s mark lewis-francis  who was the first man guilty of coming out of his blocks too quickly. world 100m champion kim collins clinched second spot ahead of world 60m record holder and scott s training partner maurice greene. jason gardener s unbeaten run came to an end as he came fifth and he will need to improve if he is to defend his european title in madrid.  you can t win them all   said gardener afterwards.  and i was very disappointed as i know i m capable of doing better.  russian  was back on record-breaking form in the pole vault at the national indoor arena.  the olympic champion set a new world mark of 4.88m to break her own record - which she set just six days ago - and beat russian rival svetlana feofanova. it was isinbayeva s 11th world record - indoors or out - since july 2003.  i m so happy and i will do my best to break the 5m barrier soon   the 22-year-old told bbc sport. jamaica s  stormed to a personal best of 7.13 seconds to claim the women s 60m sprint. belgian kim gevaert  who will be one of the favourites for next month s european title  took second while american muna lee was third. there was disappointment for british pair jeanette kwakye and joice maduaka who finished seventh and eighth respectively.  jamaican  stretched her unbeaten record to 25 races as she effortlessly claimed the 200m. the olympic champion set a new indoor personal best of 22.38 seconds - the fastest time in the world this season.  fought off fellow briton tim abeyie to take the men s 200m in a personal best of 20.88.  continued her outstanding start to the season  beating a strong international field  which included two-time olympic 100m hurdles bronze medallist melissa morrison  to claim the women s 60m hurdles. the 25-year-old briton clocked 7.98 seconds while pre-european championships favourite russian irina shevchenko finished down in sixth. ethiopia s  failed in her bid to smash compatriot berhane adere s world 3 000m record but still won the event in emphatic style. the olympic 5 000m champion was inside record pace but dropped off over the final third  finishing in eight minutes  33.05 seconds - the fourth fastest time ever recorded for the event. britain s jo pavey bravely decided to go with defar as she strode away from the field and took second in a season s best 8:41.43. kenyan  also missed out on the indoor 1500m world record  which hicham el guerrouj has held for the last eight years.  lagat settled for silver behind el guerrouj in athens and was almost four seconds short of the moroccan s world best  clocking 3:35.27 in birmingham. and  was still struggling to find his form after the death of his fiancee this year. the olympic 10 000m champion had comfortably led the men s two mile race after his younger brother tariku had set the pace. but fellow ethiopian  appeared ominously on bekele s shoulder with two laps to go before surging past him at the bell to win in 8:14.28. jamaican  made the most of a blistering start to take the men s 400m title in 45.91 seconds. world indoor champion  alleyne francique  faded badly and finished in fourth while american duo jerry harris and james davis took second and third respectively. swede  showed her class in the long jump as she stole top spot from jade johnson with the very last jump of the competition. the olympic heptathlon gold medallist reached 6.66m to better johnson s mark of 6.52m - her second personal best inside a week.  i was quite surprised because i didn t think i d end up with second place   said johnson  who wore london s 2012 olympic bid slogan   back the bid   on her shorts.  but i m pleased and hopefully i ll get a bit better for the europeans. i really want to win a medal.   won the men s event with a season s best of 7.95m  taking the scalp of world indoor champion savante stringfellow of the usa.


brookside actress keaveney dies actress anna keaveney  who appeared in brookside  my family and a touch of frost  has died of lung cancer aged 55.  keaveney  who played brookside s marie jackson when the channel 4 soap began in 1982  died on saturday. born in runcorn  cheshire  she also starred in numerous films including 1989 s shirley valentine. she played nellie in mike leigh s latest film vera drake  which won the golden lion prize for best film at this year s venice film festival.  and most recently she appeared alongside richard wilson in itv s king of fridges and with martin clunes in doc martin. other tv appearances included the part of matron in itv drama footballers  wives and a cameo role as tom farrell s mother sheila in bbc comedy gimme gimme gimme. keaveney s career also included stage performances in neaptide for the national theatre  private lives and the rise and fall of little voice. the actress died in hospital. her agent barry brown said:  anna was due to have had another operation on friday but unfortunately she was too weak.


tutu s guantanamo release call archbishop desmond tutu has called for the release of the remaining inmates at guantanamo bay and terror suspects detained without trial in the uk.  his comments follow news that all four britons held by the us in the cuban camp will be freed within weeks. the south african archbishop said detentions without trial were  unacceptable  and  distressing . twelve foreign nationals are being held indefinitely without trial in the uk under anti-terror laws. referring to the detentions in cuba  archbishop tutu told bbc news:  it is utterly unacceptable.  the rule of law is in order to ensure that those who have power don t use their power arbitrarily and every person retains their human rights until you have proven conclusively that so-and-so is in fact guilty.   moazzam begg  from birmingham  and martin mubanga  richard belmar and feroz abbasi  from london  have been held by the us at guantanamo bay for almost three years. on tuesday foreign secretary jack straw told the commons that the us had agreed to release the four after  intensive and complex discussions  over security. the britons were detained as part of the us-led  war on terror . the archbishop added:  whilst we are saying thank you that these have been released  what is happening to those left behind   we in south africa used to have a dispensation that detained people without trial and the world quite rightly condemned that as unacceptable.   now if it was unacceptable then how come it can be acceptable to britain and the united states. it is so  so deeply distressing.  following mr straw s announcement  lawyer louise christian  who represents mr abbasi and mr mubanga  said the government should have acted sooner. foreign nationals detained in the uk are being held at belmarsh and woodhill prisons. in december the house of lords  the uk s highest court  ruled that the anti-terror measures broke human rights laws. but the men are still behind bars.  archbishop tutu criticised the measures  saying:  i am opposed to any arbitrary detention that is happening  even in britain.  shami chakrabarti  director of civil rights group liberty  has called on the government to  practise what it preaches  and either free or charge the detained men. but the home office defended the measures. a spokesman said:  these individuals cannot currently be prosecuted because some evidence  such as that provided by third parties  cannot safely be disclosed in criminal proceedings without putting others at risk.  it is also currently the case that intelligence gained from covert intercepts cannot be used in a court of law.


trial begins of spain s top banker the trial of emilio botin  the chairman of spain s most powerful bank  santander central hispano  has started in madrid.  mr botin is accused of misusing the bank s funds after he approved the payment of 160m euros ($208m; £111m) in bonus and pension payouts to two former executives. however  the trial was suspended when mr botin s lawyer introduced a new set of documents on the day testimony was set to begin. a three-judge panel gave prosecution lawyers until monday to study the documents  when the trial will be reconvened.  the high-profile case began after two santander shareholders filed a criminal complaint about the payments to jose maria amusategui and angel corcostegui  who stepped down in 2001. both executives helped mr botin orchestrate spain s biggest bank merger  between santander and banco central hispano  in 1999. as he arrived at spain s high court earlier on wednesday  mr botin greeted the waiting media  saying:  i have full faith in justice.  santander s board of governors strongly reject the charges against their chairman  saying the payouts were legal and made with their unanimous support. but if convicted  mr botin could face a prison term of up to six years. mr corcostegui  a former ceo at santander  also asked the court for new evidence to be admitted. in spite of the allegations against him  mr botin continues to lead santander  and was instrumental in the £8.5bn takeover last november of the british bank abbey national. since taking over the chairmanship in 1986  he has turned santander into one of the top ten biggest banks in the world.


honour for uk games maker leading british computer games maker peter molyneux has been made an obe in the new year honours list.  the head of surrey s lionhead studios was granted the honour for services to the computer games industry. mr molyneux has been behind many of the ground-breaking games of the last 15 years such as populous  theme park  dungeon keeper and black and white. he is widely credited with helping to create and popularise the so-called god-game genre.  speaking to the bbc news website mr molyneux said receiving the honour was something of a surprise. it s come completely out of the blue   he said   i never would have guessed that i d have that kind of honour.  he said he was surprised as much because  not too long ago  many people thought computer gaming was a fad.   it was thought to be like skateboarding   he said   a craze that everyone thought would go away.  now  he said  the gaming world rivals the movie industry for sales and cultural influence.  britain plays a big part in it   he said.  it s one of the founding nations that made the industry what it is.  mr molyneux has been a pivotal figure in the computer games industry for almost 20 years. his career started at bullfrog studios which in 1987 produced populous one of the first god-games. the title gave players control over the lives a small population of computerised people. mr molyneux said that his involvement with the games industry started almost by accident as back in the early days game making was more a hobby than a career.  i thought everyone would treat populous as weird   he said   but it became a huge international success.  he left bullfrog in 1997 to set up lionhead studios which was behind the ambitous and widely acclaimed game black & white. one of the next titles to come from lionhead puts players in charge of a movie studio and tasks them with producing and directing a hit film. the veteran game maker says he has one problem still to solve.  being an absolute geek i ve got no idea what i m going to wear when i go and pick it up   he said.


kennedy predicts bigger turnout voters   pent up passion  could confound predictions of a low turnout in the coming general election  charles kennedy has said.  the liberal democrat leader predicted concerns over iraq and other international and domestic issue would express themselves during the campaign. his comments come as an inquiry looks at how best to boost voter turnouts. ex-foreign secretary robin cook said people were not apathetic but fed up of  pager politics  and not being heard. he  like mr kennedy  pointed to the hundreds of thousands of people who demonstrated against plans for the iraq war.  mr cook  who is giving evidence to the power inquiry into voter turnout rates  told bbc radio 4 s today programme it was not fair to blame the public who were  more interested in politics than ever before .  they are turned off by the way we do politics in britain. there s a message there for politicians.  he urged politicians to avoid negative campaigning and to  speak more from the heart .  we should be not so afraid to say what we stand for.  he also criticised the cult of personality politics:  there s far too much interest in celebrities.  politics are in danger of becoming another branch of the celebrity industry.  the government has tried a number of things in an attempt to boost voter turnout  which fell to 59% in the last general election in 2001. this has included bringing in directly elected mayors to head local authorities and trialling postal voting.


gadget market  to grow in 2005  the explosion in consumer technology is to continue into 2005  delegates at the world s largest gadget show  in las vegas  have been told.  the number of gadgets in the shops is predicted to grow by 11%  while devices which talk to each other will become increasingly important.  everything is going digital   kirsten pfeifer from the consumer electronics association  told the bbc news website. the consumer electronics show (ces) featured the pick of 2005 s products.  consumers are controlling what they want and technologies like hdtvs [high-definition tvs]  digital radio  and digital cameras will remain strong in 2005.  all the products on show really showed the breadth and depth of the industry.  despite showing diversity  some delegates attending complained that the showcase lacked as much  wow factor  as in previous years.  the portable technologies on show also reflected one of the buzzwords of ces  which was the  time and place shifting  of multimedia content - being able to watch and listen to video and music anywhere  at any time. at the start of last year s ces  the cea predicted there would be an average growth of 4% in 2004. that figure was surpassed with the rise in popularity of portable digital music players  personal video recorders and digital cameras. it was clear also that gadgets are becoming a lot more about lifestyle choice  with fashion and personalisation becoming increasingly key to the way gadgets are designed. part of this has been the rise in spending power of the  generation x-ers  who have grown up with technology and who now have the spending power and desire for more devices that suit them. more than 57% of the consumer electronics market is made up of female buyers  according to cea research. hybrid devices  which combine a number of multimedia functions  were also in evidence on the show floor.  a lot of this is driven by just the ability to do it   said stephen baker  a consumer electronics analyst with retail research firm npd group.  some of these functions cost next to nothing to add.   as well as the show floor showcasing everything from tiny wearable mp3 players to giant high-definition tvs  several keynote speeches were made by industry leaders  such as microsoft chief bill gates. despite several embarrassing technical glitches during mr gate s pre-show speech  he announced several new partnerships - mainly for the us market. he unveiled new ways of letting people take tv shows recorded on personal video recorders and watch them back on portable devices. he disappointed some  however  by failing to announce any details of the next generation of the xbox games console. another disappointment was the lack of exposure sony s new portable games device  the psp  had at the show. sony said the much-anticipated gadget would most likely start shipping in march for the us and europe. it went on sale in japan before christmas. there were only two psps embedded in glass cabinets at the show though and no representatives to discuss further details. a sony representative told the bbc news website this was because sony did not consider it to be part of their  consumer technology  offering.  elsewhere at the show  there was a plethora of colour and plasma screens  including samsung s 102-inch (2.6 metre) plasma - the largest in the world. industry experts were also excited about high-definition technologies coming to the fore in 2005  with new formats for dvds coming out which will hold six times as much data as conventional dvds. with so many devices on the move there were a lot of products on show offering external storage  like seagate s 5gb pocket sized external hard drive  which won an innovation for engineering and design prize. more than 120 000 trade professionals attended ces in las vegas  which officially ran from 6 to 9 january.


defection timed to hit tax pledge with impeccable and precisely-calculated timing  tory defector robert jackson and his new labour bosses have attempted to overshadow michael howard s latest announcement on taxation and spending.  with just about everyone in westminster now working towards a may general election  mr howard is eager to map out some clear and distinctive policies aimed at finally shifting the tories  resolutely depressing poll showings. the big idea is his £35bn savings on waste and bureaucracy which mr howard has pledged to plough back into public services and tax cuts. and it was virtually certain his pledge on tax cuts was meant to be the core message from his interview on the bbc one s breakfast with frost programme. he and his shadow chancellor oliver letwin have been edging towards an announcement on this front for some months now  but without any concrete pledges. but mr howard announced that  of the £35bn he has earmarked from savings  £12bn will be used to plug labour s claimed financial black hole with any left over going to tax cuts in mr letwin s first budget. he would not be precise  but there are already suggestions he is set to announce lifting the threshold on income tax and reforming or abolishing inheritance tax. but he did  for the first time  say there would be such tax cuts.   at this election  people will have a clear choice between mr blair who will waste more and tax more and the conservative party which will give value for money and tax less . it is the tories  attempt to open that famed  clear blue water  between them and the labour party and return to a traditional tory agenda that will both reassure the middle england voters who have abandoned him and appeal to core conservative voters. so it is a pretty safe bet to assume that  when robert jackson finally decided to jump ship and swim over to the labour benches  his new masters decided to time the announcement for the greatest possible impact. mr howard  however  was dismissive.  these things happen from time to time. there are disagreements between robert jackson and me.   the election is not going to be decided on what robert jackson did   he added. and that is certainly true. the election will be decided on  the economy stupid . other issues like the iraq war and the  trust  thing will also play a major part. but it is the economy that will probably be the greatest influence over the way people finally vote. and many on the tory benches have been crying out for mr howard to get back onto the old tory tax cuts agenda. mr howard knows that risks accusations that  as a result  he would slash public services  so he has attempted to shoot that fox first. with polls suggesting voters would rather any government cash surpluses were spent on schools and hospitals before tax cuts  he has suggested that is exactly what he will do. whether this will finally be enough to shift those polls remains to be seen.


mirza shocks kuznetsova sania mirza continued her remarkable rise with victory over us open champion svetlana kuznetsova at the dubai championships on tuesday.  the 18-year-old indian  who is already a huge star in her home country  won 6-4 6-2 in front of a delirious crowd. it was mirza s sixth straight victory following her first wta tournament win in hyderabad last month. earlier  daniela hantuchova built on her improving form with a 7-6 6-2 win over sixth seed alicia molik. mirza needed attention to an ankle injury after the second game against kuznetsova.  she quickly slipped 4-0 down but staged a dramatic comeback that thrilled the large indian contingent in the crowd.  i really didn t expect that after my ankle turn   said mirza.  i played a great match and i think (the crowd) did it again. i knew that i had to play an all-round game and that s what happened.  i did everything well but i wasn t missing the ball - i don t know how that happened.  mirza plays silvia farina elia or jelena jankovic next. hantuchova has risen from 31 in the world at the turn of the year to number 22  having reached the quarter-finals and semi-finals at her last two events.  it was such a tough first-round match and i am glad to come through   said hantuchova.  she was serving so well. i just decided to hang in there and keep fighting.  the slovakian will meet elena likhovtseva in the second round after the russian struggled past tunisian wild card selima sfar 2-6 6-2 7-6. likhovtseva needed nine match points before seeing off sfar  who got a point penalty for swearing in the third set. seventh seed nathalie dechy and elena bovina were among other first-round winners on tuesday.


barclays profits hit record level barclays  the uk s third-biggest bank  has seen annual pre-tax profits climb to record levels boosted by a sharp rise in business at its investment arm.  profits for the year to 31 december rose 20% to £4.6bn ($8.6bn). barclays  chief john varley said the bank had  caught the winds  of a very strong world economy. earnings at barclays capital investment bank rose 25% to £1.04bn  but investment in branch operations held back growth in its uk retail business.  the group is the first of britain s five big banks to report 2004 results. according to analysts  forecasts  hsbc  the biggest uk bank by stock market valuation  will report profits of £9.4bn later this month.  barclays results were in line with market expectations. its global investors wing made £347m  an 82% jump on 2003 figures. profits at barclaycard rose by 5% to £801m but were said to have been affected by a series of interest rate rises and investment to grow its customer base. the bank also blamed margins pressure on its mortgage business and spending on its branches over the past year for a 1% fall in profits in its uk retail division to £1.13bn.   the outlook for 2005 is good as a result of balance sheet growth and investments made in 2004   mr varley said. barclays cautioned that growth this year may be slower than in 2004 on the back of softer us and chinese economies and the impact of interest rate rises on household spending in the uk. it added its bid to acquire a controlling stake in south africa s leading retail bank absa  was being considered by regulatory authorities. speaking on bbc radio 4  mr varley declined to be drawn on reports that barclays had held merger talks with us bank wells fargo. a tie-up between barclays and california-based wells fargo would create the world s fourth biggest bank  valued at $180bn. at 1405 gmt  shares in barclays were trading down 0.67% at 590 pence.  the headline numbers are in line  but the story is costs   said analyst alex potter at lehman brothers.  they are a bit more aggressive than we had expected. the cost overshoot is not in barclays capital but in the uk bank.


mps tout lords replacement plan a group of mps has tried to raise the pressure on tony blair over reform to the house of lords by publishing a detailed blueprint for change.  the cross-party group has unveiled a draft bill proposing a smaller second chamber in which 70% of members would be elected. mps and peers have failed to agree on reform since 1999 when 600 hereditaries lost their seats. the group says it can win support for removing the last 92 hereditaries. the government postponed plans to remove the remaining hereditary peers because they said they were unlikely to succeed after opposition in the lords. tony blair has argued. there needs to be consensus on reforms. there have been suggestions there will be proposals for changing at least the powers of the lords in labour s manifesto.  but the all-party group  including tories ken clarke and sir george young  labour s robin cook and tony wright and liberal democrat paul tyler  is confident its plan would win support from a  large majority . and they list former conservative leader william hague and former labour leader neil kinnock as supporters of the plans. the group says the british public and a clear majority of mps support replacing the lords with a largely-elected second chamber. their plan would see the house of lords being renamed the second chamber of parliament  and its members would be known as mscps.  there would be 385 mscps  including 270 elected members  87 appointed members and 16 bishops. they would serve for between 12 and 14 years. mr cook said holding elections for mscps on the same day as those for mps might help motivate the electorate and increase voter turnout. he added:  over the last year i have seen many statements from senior figures of this government insisting the public must have the right of choice.  what could be more important than a choice of the people who sit in our parliament    the group believes pressure is growing for change and the government s current position is unsustainable. it wants all three main parties to include a commitment to a  largely democratic  second chamber in their manifestos. mr clarke said the issue  went to the heart of reforming the health of the british political system . and mr tyler said the prime minister s view that there was no agreement on the shape of the future of the lords was flawed.  the problem  i think  in the prime minister s mind is there doesn t appear to be a consensus that includes him   he said.  we are providing a consensus . the elect the lords campaign said the draft bill was an important contribution to the debate.  we believe this draft bill is detailed enough to form the basis of closer parliamentary scrutiny   said co-ordinator peter facey.  in lieu of any other such clear proposals  the government must permit that to happen.


soaring oil  hits world economy  the soaring cost of oil has hit global economic growth  although world s major economies should weather the storm of price rises  according to the oecd.  in its latest bi-annual report  the oecd cut its growth predictions for the world s main industrialised regions. us growth would reach 4.4% in 2004  but fall to 3.3% next year from a previous estimate of 3.7%  the oecd said. however  the paris-based economics think tank said it believed the global economy could still regain momentum.  forecasts for japanese growth were also scaled back to 4.0% from 4.4% this year and 2.1% from 2.8% in 2005. but the outlook was worst for the 12-member eurozone bloc  with already sluggish growth forecasts slipping to 1.8% from 2.0% this year and 1.9% from 2.4% in 2005  the oecd said. overall  the report forecast total growth of 3.6% in 2004 for the 30 member countries of the oecd  slipping to 2.9% next year before recovering to 3.1% in 2006.  there are nonetheless good reasons to believe that despite recent oil price turbulence the world economy will regain momentum in a not-too-distant future   said jean-philippe cotis  the oecd s chief economist. the price of crude is about 50% higher than it was at the start of 2004  but down on the record high of $55.67 set in late october.  a dip in oil prices and improving jobs prospects would improve consumer confidence and spending  the oecd said.  the oil shock is not enormous by historical standards - we have seen worse in the seventies. if the oil price does not rise any further  then we think the shock can be absorbed within the next few quarters   vincent koen  a senior economist with the oecd  told the bbc s world business report.  the recovery that was underway  and has been interrupted a bit by the oil shock this year  would then regain momentum in the course of 2005.  china s booming economy and a  spectacular comeback  in japan - albeit one that has faltered in recent months - would help world economic recovery  the oecd said.  supported by strong balance sheets and high profits  the recovery of business investment should continue in north america and start in earnest in europe   it added. however  the report warned:  it remains to be seen whether continental europe will play a strong supportive role through a marked upswing of final domestic demand.  the oecd highlighted current depressed household expenditure in germany and the eurozone s over-reliance on export-led growth.


news corp makes $5.4bn fox offer news corporation is seeking to buy out minority investors in fox entertainment group  its broadcasting subsidiary  for about $5.4bn (£3.7bn).  the media giant  run by rupert murdoch  owns 82% of the shares in the company  home to the fox television network and the 20th century fox film studio. the move follows news corp s decision to register its business in the us. 20th century fox s recent film releases include i heart huckabees and i  robot  while fox puts out hit tv series 24.  under the terms of the offer  minority fox shareholders will receive 1.90 news corp shares in return for each fox share they hold. analysts said the decision to list news corp in the us - which will result in the firm s shares trading in new york rather than sydney- nullified the need to retain a separate stock market listing for fox entertainment shares. news corp investors voted in october to approve the transfer of the company s corporate domicile from australia to the us state of delaware. the move is designed to help news corp attract more investment from the largest us financial institutions  and make it easier to raise capital. fox entertainment group generated revenues of $12bn last year. news corp shares fell 25 cents to $17.65 after the share offer was announced while fox shares were up 19 cents at $31.22.


brown  proud of economy record  gordon brown has delivered a rousing speech to labour s spring conference setting out the government s agenda for the next general election.  the chancellor said he was proud of his party s record on the economy  and would strive for continuing stability if elected. the gateshead conference was told he would help young people who were struggling to buy their own homes. and the chancellor vowed to continue the fight against child poverty. later  prime minister tony blair will answer questions sent by the public via text and e-mail.  analysing mr brown s position before the speech  bbc correspondent james hardy said mr brown would draw  sharp dividing lines  with the conservatives for the forthcoming election campaign. he would contrast labour s plan to invest £60bn in services with a tory plan to cut spending by £35bn.  mr brown will lay out his credentials as a reforming chancellor determined to take on and beat the asian tiger economies which increasingly dominate world trade   our correspondent said.  on friday night  mr brown confirmed he would not make any tax commitments until the labour manifesto had been published after the budget  expected in march. but commentators will listen to his speech closely for hints on whether  as the conservatives claim  he plans to raise tax after the election. the tories accuse labour of raising taxes 66 times since coming to power in 1997.  following the chancellor s keynote speech  the prime minister will face interactive questioning from ordinary voters on saturday. mr blair is thought to be deliberately putting himself on the line in a bid to engage the electorate ahead of an expected may election. capital radio dj margherita taylor will select questions to put to him from thousands e-mailed and sent by text. the prime minister s enthusiasm for the job remains undimmed  alan milburn  labour s election strategist told radio 4 s today programme on saturday. mr blair has  the same passion and the same commitments for the job  as when labour came to power in 1997  he said.  and he confirmed mr blair s insistence that no poll date had yet been set. he said:  i m the general election co-ordinator and i don t know  and tony has not made up his mind.  on friday  the prime minister completed a whistle-stop tour of england  during which he unveiled his party s six pre-election pledges. starting in london  he visited marginal constituencies pledging to build on what he said were labour s achievements on the economy  crime  education and public services. the conservatives and lib dems said the pledges - set to underpin labour s election campaign - were  worthless .


eu software patent law delayed controversial new eu rules for the patenting of computer-based inventions have been put on hold due to a last minute intervention from poland.  poland - a large and therefore crucial eu member - has requested more time to consider the issue  especially as it relates to the patenting of software. critics say the law would favour large companies over small  innovative ones. they say it could have massive ramifications for developments such as open source software.  polish ministers want to see the phrasing of the text of the directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions changed so that it excludes the patenting of software. the planned law has ignited angry debate about whether the eu should allow the patenting of computer programs and internet business methods as currently happens in the us. so  for instance  us-based amazon.com holds a patent on  one-click shopping . critics claim the law  which the eu says is needed to harmonise with the us  is little more than a law on ideas.  patent rights  it is claimed  protect inventors but in this case it is exclusively the interests of the big companies that are protected   eva lichtenberg  a austrian green member of the european parliament said in a statement.  smaller  innovative firms cannot afford the patenting and legal costs that the directive would inflict on them   she added. the european parliament has already clashed with the european union on the issue and there have been accusations that the process to decide the issue has been undemocratic. the directive has been subject to several previous delays.


orange colour clash set for court a row over the colour orange could hit the courts after mobile phone giant orange launched action against a new mobile venture from easyjet s founder.  orange said it was starting proceedings against the easymobile service for trademark infringement. easymobile uses easygroup s orange branding. founder stelios haji-ioannou has pledged to contest the action. the move comes after the two sides failed to come to an agreement after six months of talks. orange claims the new low-cost mobile service has infringed its rights regarding the use of the colour orange and could confuse customers - known as  passing off .   our brand  and the rights associated with it are extremely important to us   orange said in a statement.  in the absence of any firm commitment from easy  we have been left with no choice but to start an action for trademark infringement and passing off.  however  mr haji-ioannou  who plans to launch easymobile next month  vowed to fight back  saying:  we have nothing to be afraid of in this court case.  it is our right to use our own corporate colour for which we have become famous during the last 10 years.  the easyjet founder also said he planned to add a disclaimer to the easygroup website to ensure customers are aware the easymobile brand has no connection to orange. the new service is the latest venture from easygroup  which includes a chain of internet cafes  budget car rentals and an intercity bus service. easymobile will allow customers to go online to order sim cards and airtime - which will be rented from t-mobile - for their existing handsets.


us show sued for rat-eating stunt a us tv network is being sued for $2.5m (£1.3m) by a viewer who says he was disgusted by watching contestants eat dead rats in a stunt show.  austin aitken is taking action against nbc over its programme fear factor. he said watching the show caused his blood pressure to rise so high that he became dizzy and light-headed. the legal assistant said nbc was  sending the wrong message to viewers that cash can make or have people do just about anything beyond reasoning . the hand-written  four-page lawsuit said:  to have the individuals on the show eat and drink dead rats was crazy and from a viewer s point of view made me throw-up as well as another in the house at the same time.  mr aitken  who lives in cleveland  said that after becoming light-headed  he ran towards the bedroom and knocked his head in a doorway. a spokesman for nbc said it had no comment on the lawsuit  but confirmed the stunt show did feature a rat-eating scene in new york s times square on 8 november. past shows have featured viewers eating spiders and live worms. the programme has been screened in the uk on sky one.


blog reading explodes in america americans are becoming avid blog readers  with 32 million getting hooked in 2004  according to new research.  the survey  conducted by the pew internet and american life project  showed that blog readership has shot up by 58% in the last year. some of this growth is attributable to political blogs written and read during the us presidential campaign. despite the explosive growth  more than 60% of online americans have still never heard of blogs  the survey found. blogs  or web logs  are online spaces in which people can publish their thoughts  opinions or spread news events in their own words. companies such as google and microsoft provide users with the tools to publish their own blogs.  the rise of blogs has spawned a new desire for immediate news and information  with six million americans now using rss aggregators. rss aggregators are downloaded to pcs and are programmed to subscribe to feeds from blogs  news sites and other websites. the aggregators automatically compile the latest information published online from the blogs or news sites. reading blogs remains far more popular than writing them  the survey found. only 7% of the 120 million us adults who use the internet had created a blog or web-based diary. getting involved is becoming more popular though  with 12% saying they had posted material or comments on other people s blogs.  just under one in 10 of the us s internet users read political blogs such as the daily kos or instapundit during the us presidential campaign. kerry voters were slightly more likely to read them than bush voters. blog creators were likely to be young  well-educated  net-savvy males with good incomes and college educations  the survey found. this was also true of the average blog reader  although the survey found there was a greater than average growth in blog readership among women and those in minorities. the survey was conducted during november and involved telephone surveys of 1 324 internet users.


women in film  are earning less  women in the uk film industry earn less than their male counterparts despite being better qualified  according to a study released on wednesday.  only 16% of women earn more than £50 000  compared with 30% of men. women make up a third of the workforce. the research was carried out jointly by the uk film council and industry training body skillset. it also found that women in the industry were less likely than men to be married or have dependant children.  the study  which claims to be the most in-depth so far conducted  found 60% of women in the film industry hold degrees  compared with 39% of men. whilst 17% of men in the industry had no qualifications  this was true for only five per cent of women. in the lower salary bracket  35% of women earn less than £20 000 a year  compared to only 18% of men. the research found very few women worked in the camera  sound  electrical and construction departments  but they made up a majority of those working in make-up and hairdressing.  uk film council chief executive john woodward said:  whilst the uk has benefited hugely from its highly-qualified film production workforce there are still many barriers facing people who want to get in and stay in the industry.   developing the film production workforce must be underpinned with a commitment to diversity as well as training.  the workforce is largely focused around london  with 78% in the industry based in the capital and the south east of england. the industry depends heavily on word of mouth  with 81% being recruited in that way. in total  only five percent of the workforce is made up of ethnic minorities  although in london the figure rises to 24%. the necessity of completing unpaid work experience to get into the workforce has also shot up  from 5% before the 1980s  to 45% after 2000.


indie film nominations announced mike leigh s award-winning abortion drama vera drake has scooped seven nominations at this year s british independent film awards.  but the venice winner faces stiff competition from shane meadows  critically acclaimed dead man s shoes  which received eight nominations. also in the running for a clutch of awards are my summer of love and the stalker drama enduring love. the winners will be announced at a ceremony in london on 30 november. the winners of the awards will be chosen by a jury chaired by cold mountain director anthony minghella and including actresses cate blanchett and helena bonham-carter.  the awards  which recognise independent film-making in britain  were established seven years ago.  this year s nominees reflect the growing strength and diversity of british independent filmmaking   said bifa founder and director elliot grove. commenting on the diversity of the nominated films  he added:  our selection committee had a harder time than ever narrowing down the field.   joining vera drake and dead man s shoes in the running for best film are my summer of love  climbing documentary touching the void and zombie comedy shaun of the dead. geoffrey rush wins a best actor nomination for his role as peter sellers in the recent biopic the life & death of peter sellers.  the australian star faces competition from daniel craig (enduring love)  phil davis (vera drake)  ian hart (blind fight) and dead man s shoes  star paddy considine. considine is also nominated for a best supporting actor award for my summer of love. a rare us nominee  scarlett johansson  is among this year s best actress contenders for her role in girl with a pearl earring.  fellow nominees include imelda staunton (vera drake)  natalie press (my summer of love)  anne reid (the mother) and eva birthistle (ae fond kiss... ). shane meadows and kevin mcdonald  both former winners of the douglas hickox award (for best directorial debut) won best director nominations. seasoned film-makers roger michell  mike leigh and pavel pavlikowsky challenge them to the award. harry potter author jk rowling will receive a special award for her contribution to the industry.


no re-draft  for eu patent law a proposed european law on software patents will not be re-drafted by the european commission (ec) despite requests by meps.  the law is proving controversial and has been in limbo for a year. some major tech firms say it is needed to protect inventions  while others fear it will hurt smaller tech firms the ec says the council of ministers will adopt a draft version that was agreed upon last may but said it would review  all aspects of the directive . the directive is intended to offer patent protection to inventions that use software to achieve their effect  in other words   computer implemented invention .  in a letter  ec president josé manuel barroso told the president of the european parliament  josep borrell  that the commission  did not intend to refer a new proposal to the parliament and the council (of ministers)  as it had supported the agreement reached by ministers in may 2004.  if the european council agrees on the draft directive it will then return for a second reading at the european parliament. but that will not guarantee that the directive will become law - instead it will probably mean further delays and controversy over the directive. most eu legislation now needs the approval of both parliament and the council of ministers before it becomes law. french green mep alain lipietz warned two weeks ago that if the commission ignored the parliament s request it would be an  insult  to the assembly. he said that the parliament would then reject the council s version of the legislation as part of the final or conciliation stage of the decision procedure. in the us  the patenting of computer programs and internet business methods is permitted.  this means that the us-based amazon.com holds a patent for its  one-click shopping  service  for example. critics are concerned that the directive could lead to a similar model happening in europe. this  they fear  could hurt small software developers because they do not have the legal and financial might of larger companies if they had to fight patent legal action in court. supporters say current laws are inefficient and it would serve to even up a playing field without bringing eu laws in line with the us.


foxx and swank win us awards jamie foxx and hilary swank have won the screen actors guild awards for best male and female film actors  boosting their oscars hopes this month.  foxx s portrayal of late soul-singer ray charles in ray had already earned him a prestigious golden globe award. swank triumphed for playing a gutsy female boxer in million dollar baby. modest wine country comedy sideways knocked out favourites million dollar baby and the aviator by taking the top prize for best cast performance.  the screen actors guild (sag) represents us film and tv actors. its winners often go on to win oscars. in other nominations  cate blanchett triumphed as the best supporting actress for her role as katharine hepburn in the aviator. veteran actor morgan freeman took the best supporting actor award for playing a prize-fighter turned gym manager in million dollar baby.   thank you for ray charles for just living so complex and so interesting  and making us all just come together   said foxx  accepting his award in los angeles on saturday.  he also praised the film director:  thank you for taylor hackford for taking a chance with an african-american film. taylor  you re my director of the year.  swank  too  was full of praise for her director and co-star clint eastwood.  i bow down to you   swank said to the 74-year-old eastwood.  you are a talent beyond compare. if i m half the person you are and half the talent you are when i m 74  i will know that i ve accomplished something great.   both foxx and swank are now considered to be among the favourites to get oscars - the hollywood s ultimate prize. however  swank has to overcome a strong challenge from annette bening  a nominee for the theatre farce being julia. meanwhile  ballots for oscars - the hollywood s top honours - were mailed earlier this week to members of the academy of motion picture arts and sciences. the voting is due to end on 22 february - five days before the ceremony.


parents face video game lessons ways of ensuring that parents know which video games are suitable for children are to be considered by the games industry.  the issue was discussed at a meeting between uk government officials  industry representatives and the british board of film classification. it follows concerns that children may be playing games aimed at adults which include high levels of violence. in 2003  britons spent £1 152m on games  more than ever before. and this christmas  parents are expected to spend millions on video games and consoles.  violent games have been hit by controversy after the game manhunt was blamed by the parents of 14-year-old stefan pakeerah  who was stabbed to death in leicester in february. his mother  giselle  said her son s killer  warren leblanc  17 - who was jailed for life in september - had mimicked behaviour in the game.  police investigating stefan s murder dismissed its influence and said manhunt was not part of its legal case. the issue of warnings on games for adults was raised on sunday by trade and industry secretary patricia hewitt. this was the focus of the talks between government officials  representatives from the games industry and the british board of film classification.  adults can make informed choices about what games to play. children can t and they deserve to be protected   said culture secretary tessa jowell after the meeting.  industry will consider how to make sure parents know what games their children should and shouldn t play.  roger bennett  director general of entertainment and leisure software publishers association  said:  a number of initiatives were discussed at the meeting.  they will be formulated to create specific proposals to promote greater understanding  recognition and awareness of the games rating system  ensuring that young people are not exposed to inappropriate content.   among the possible measures could be a campaign to explain to parents that many games are made for an adult audience  as well as changes to the labelling of the games themselves.  according to industry statistics  a majority of players are over 18  with the average age of a gamer being 29. academics point out that there has not been any definitive research linking bloodthirsty games such as manhunt with violent responses in players. in a report published this week for the video standards council  dr guy cumberbatch said:  the research evidence on media violence causing harm to viewers is wildly exaggerated and does not stand up to scrutiny.  dr cumberbatch  head of the social policy think tank  the communications research group  reviewed the studies on the issue. he concluded that there was an absence of convincing research that media violence caused harm.


west end to honour finest shows the west end is honouring its finest stars and shows at the evening standard theatre awards in london on monday.  the producers  starring nathan lane and lee evans  is up for best musical at the ceremony at the national theatre. it is competing against sweeney todd and a funny thing happened on the way to the forum for the award. the goat or who is sylvia  by edward albee  the pillowman by martin mcdonagh and alan bennett s the history boys are shortlisted in the best play category.  pam ferris  victoria hamilton and kelly reilly are nominated for best actress. ferris - best known for her television roles in programmes such as the darling buds of may - has made the shortlist for her role in notes on falling leaves  at the royal court theatre. meanwhile  richard griffiths  who plays hector in the history boys at the national theatre  will battle it out for the best actor award with douglas hodge (dumb show) and stanley townsend (shining city). the best director shortlist includes luc bondy for cruel and tender  simon mcburney for measure for measure  and rufus norris for festen.  festen is also shortlisted in the best designer category where ian macneil  jean kalman and paul arditti will be up against hildegard bechtler  for iphigenia at aulis  and paul brown  for false servant. the milton shulman award for outstanding newcomer will be presented to dominic cooper (his dark materials and the history boys)  romola garai (calico)  eddie redmayne (the goat  or who is sylvia ) or ben wishaw (hamlet). and playwrights david eldridge  rebecca lenkiewicz and owen mccafferty will fight it out for the charles wintour award and a £30 000 bursary. three 50th anniversary special awards will also be presented to an institution  a playwright and an individual.


speak easy plan for media players music and film fans will be able to control their digital media players just by speaking to them  under plans in development by two us firms.  scansoft and gracenote are developing technology to give people access to their film and music libraries simply by voice control. they want to give people hands-free access to digital music and films in the car  or at home or on the move. huge media libraries on some players can make finding single songs hard.  voice command-and-control unlocks the potential of devices that can store large digital music collections   said ross blanchard  vice president of business development for gracenote.  these applications will radically change the car entertainment experience  allowing drivers to enjoy their entire music collections without ever taking their hands off the steering wheel   he added.  gracenote provides music library information for millions of different albums for jukeboxes such as apple s itunes. the new technology will be designed so that people can play any individual song or movie out of a collection  just by saying its name. users will also be able to request music that fits a mood or an occasion  or a film just by saying the actor s name.  speech is a natural fit for today s consumer devices  particularly in mobile environments   said alan schwartz  vice president of speechworks  a division of scansoft.  pairing our voice technologies with gracenote s vast music database will bring the benefits of speech technologies to a host of consumer devices and enable people to access their media in ways they ve never imagined.  the two firms did not say if they were developing the technology for languages other than english. users will also be able to get more information on a favourite song they have been listening to by asking:  what is this   portable players are becoming popular in cars and a number of auto firms are working with apple to device interfaces to control the firm s ipod music player. but with tens of thousands of songs able to be stored on one player  voice control would make finding that elusive track by elvis presley much easier. the firms gave no indication about whether the ipod  or any other media player  were in mind for the use of the voice control technology. the companies estimate that the technology will be available in the fourth quarter of 2005.


peer-to-peer nets  here to stay  peer-to-peer (p2p) networks are here to stay  and are on the verge of being exploited by commercial media firms  says a panel of industry experts.  once several high-profile legal cases against file-sharers are resolved this year  firms will be very keen to try and make money from p2p technology. the expert panel probed the future of p2p at the consumer electronics show in las vegas earlier in january. the first convictions for p2p piracy were handed out in the us in january. william trowbridge and michael chicoine pleaded guilty to charges that they infringed copyright by illegally sharing music  movies and software. since the first successful file-sharing network napster was forced to close down  the entertainment industry has been nervous and critical of p2p technology  blaming it for falling sales and piracy. but that is going to change very soon  according to the panel.  the music and film industries have started some big legal cases against owners of legitimate p2p networks - which are not illegal in themselves - and of individuals accused of distributing pirated content over networks. but they have slowly realised that p2p is a good way to distribute content  said travis kalanick  founder and chairman of p2p network red swoosh  and soon they are all going to want a slice of it. they are just waiting to come up with  business models  that work for them  which includes digital rights management and copy-protection standards.  but  until the legal actions are resolved  experimentation with p2p cannot not happen  said michael weiss  president of streamcast networks. remembering the furore around vcrs when they first came out  mr weiss said:  old media always tries to stop new media.  when they can t stop it  they try to control it. then they figure out how to make money and they always make a lot of money.  once the courts decided that the vcr in itself was not an illegal technology  the film studios turned it into an extremely lucrative business. in august 2004  the san francisco-based us court of appeals ruled in favour of grokster and streamcast  two file-sharing networks. the court said they were essentially in the same position that sony was in the 1980s vcr battle  and said that the networks themselves could not be deemed as illegal.  p2p networks usually do not rely on dedicated servers for the transfer of files. instead it uses direct connections between computers - or clients. there are now many different types of p2p systems than work in different ways. p2p nets can be used to share any kind of file  like photos  free software  licensed music and any other digital content. the bbc has already decided to embrace the technology. it aims to offer most of its own programmes for download this year and it will use p2p technology to distribute them. the files would be locked seven days after a programme aired making rights management easier to control. but the technology is still demonised and misunderstood by many. the global entertainment industry says more than 2.6 billion copyrighted music files are downloaded every month  and about half a million films are downloaded a day. legal music download services  like apple itunes  napster  have rushed into the music marketplace to try and lure file-sharers away from free content. sales of legally-downloaded songs grew tenfold in 2004  with 200 million tracks bought online in the us and europe in 12 months  the ifpi reported this week. but such download services are very different from p2p networks  not least because of the financial aspect.  there are several money-spinning models that could turn p2p into a golden egg for commercial entertainment companies. paid-for-pass-along  in which firms receive money each time a file is shared  along with various drm solutions and advertiser-based options are all being considered.  we see there are going to be different models for commoditising p2p   said marc morgenstern  vice president of anti-piracy firm overpeer.   consumers are hungry for it and we will discover new models together   agreed mr morgenstern. but many net users will continue to ignore the entertainment industry s potential controlling grip on content and p2p technology by continuing to use it for their own creations. unsigned bands  for example  use p2p networks to distribute their music effectively  which also draws the attention of record companies looking for new artists to sign.  increasingly  what you are seeing on p2p is consumer-created content   said derek broes  from microsoft.  they will probably pay an increasing role in helping p2p spread   he said. looking into p2p s future  file sharing is just the beginning for p2p networks  as far as mr broes is concerned.  once some of these issues are resolved  you are going to see aggressive movement to protect content  but also in ways that are unimaginable now   he said.  file-sharing is the tip of the iceberg.


blair buys copies of new band aid prime minister tony blair purchased two copies of the charity single band aid 20 in edinburgh on friday.  staff were surprised when the prime minister walked into hmv at 0900 gmt  accompanied by aides and local police.  when mr blair came in unannounced  we were all pretty gobsmacked   said hmv manager clive smith.  our customer helper approached him... it was only then we realised he wanted to buy copies of the band aid single  rather than the latest eminem album.  predicted chart-topper do they know it s christmas  is expected to sell at least 300 000 copies by the time the new chart is announced on sunday. however  the new version of the 1984 single is not going to be released in the us  despite being sold in many countries around the world. us record shops are stocking an import version of do they know it s christmas  which is said to be selling very well in los angeles and new york. the original track was released in the us  and reached number 13 in the singles chart. british stars who appear on the current recording  such as dido and coldplay s chris martin  are well-known to music fans across the atlantic  along with u2 frontman bono.  record company universal is responsible for the global distribution of the single  which will be available across europe  asia  south america and canada. but music fans in the us are still able to access the song and download it on band aid 20 s official website. in 1985  a group of high-profile american stars known as usa for africa came together to record their own fund-raising single  we are the world. the song was written by lionel richie and michael jackson  with quincy jones as producer. it topped the us charts for three weeks and went on win grammy awards for best record and song.  dionne warwick  diana ross and tina turner were among the line-up of performers. it is predicted that the band aid 20 song will sell 300 000 copies in the uk by the time the new chart is announced on sunday. the record is also tipped to become this year s christmas number one  as the original version did in 1984. proceeds from the sales are going towards relief for the darfur region of sudan and to combat hiv and aids across africa.