umbro profits lifted by euro 2004 uk sportswear firm umbro has posted a 222% rise in annual profit after sales of replica england football kits were boosted by the euro 2004 tournament.  pre-tax profit for 2004 was £15.4m ($29.4m). umbro  which recently lost sponsorship deals with chelsea and celtic  said on thursday it had signed a new four-year agreement with scottish club rangers. it hopes 2005 sales will benefit from the launch of a new england replica shirt ahead of the 2006 world cup. in january  umbro announced its sponsorship agreement with chelsea  which gave umbro the lucrative right to make replica shirts  would end in 2006  five years earlier than expected. the firm  which is to receive a payment from chelsea of £24.5m  said it is  appraising a number of additional investment opportunities as a result of this compensation  . chief executive peter mcguigan said the firm plans to grow sales both in the uk and internationally.  the firm  reporting its first annual results since listing on the london stock exchange in june  said the uk market had seen sales growth of 8% last year. it said the launch of its evolution x fashion range had boosted sales. umbro supplies more than 150 teams across the world including the national sides of ireland  sweden and norway. shares in umbro were up 1.76% at 115.5 pence in morning trade.


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


shares rise on new man utd offer shares in manchester united closed up 4.75% on monday following a new offer from us tycoon malcolm glazer.  the board of the football club is expected to meet early this week to discuss the latest proposal  which values the club at £800m ($1.5bn). manchester united revealed on sunday that it had received a detailed proposal from mr glazer  which looks set to receive more serious scrutiny. the club has previously rejected mr glazer s approaches out of hand. but a senior source at the club told the bbc:  this time it s different.  supporters  group shareholders united  however  urged the club to reject the new deal.  a spokesman for the shareholders united said:  i can t see any difference (compared to mr glazer s previous proposals) other than £200m less debt.  he isn t bringing any money into the club; he ll use our money to buy it.   mr glazer s latest move is being led by mr glazer s two sons  avi and joel  according to the financial times. a proposal was received by david gill  united s chief executive  at the end of last week  pitched at about 300p a share. david cummings  head of uk equities for standard life investments  said he believed a  well funded  300p a share bid would be enough for mr glazer to take control of the club.   i do not think there is anything that manchester united fans can do about it   he told the bbc.  they can complain about it but it is curtains for them. they may not want him but they are going to get him.  the us tycoon  who has been wooing the club for the last 12 months  has approached the united board with  detailed proposals   it has confirmed.  mr glazer  who owns the tampa bay buccaneers team  hopes this will lead to a formal bid being accepted. he is believed to have increased the amount of equity in the new proposal  though it is not clear by how much. for his proposal to succeed  he needs the support of united s largest shareholders  the irish horseracing tycoons jp mcmanus and john magnier. they own 29% of united through their cubic expression investment vehicle. mr glazer and his family hold a stake of 28.1%. but it is not yet known whether mr mcmanus and mr magnier would support a glazer bid. nm rothschild  the investment bank  is advising mr glazer  according to the financial times. his previous adviser  jpmorgan  quit last year when mr glazer went ahead and voted against the appointment of three united directors to the board  against its advice. but the ft said it thought jp morgan may still have had some role in financing mr glazer s latest financial proposal.


israel looks to us for bank chief israel has asked a us banker and former international monetary fund director to run its central bank.  stanley fischer  vice chairman of banking giant citigroup  has agreed to take the bank of israel job subject to approval from parliament and cabinet. his nomination by prime minister ariel sharon came as a surprise  and led to gains on the tel aviv stock market. mr fischer  who speaks fluent hebrew  will have to become an israeli citizen to take the job. the us says he will not have to give up us citizenship to do so.  previous incumbent david klein  who often argued with the finance ministry  steps down on 16 january. mr fischer will face a delicate balancing act - both in political and economic terms - between mr sharon and finance minister binyamin netanyahu  who also backed his nomination. but his appointment has also raised hopes that it could bring in fresh investment - and perhaps even an improvement in the country s credit rating mr fischer first went to israel for six months in 1973  and almost emigrated there before deciding finally to return to the us. while teaching at the massachussetts institute of technology he spent a month seconded to the bank of israel in 1979  beginning a long-time involvement in studying israel s economy. in 1983 mr fischer became adviser on israel s economy to then-us secretary of state george shultz. at the world bank in 1985  he participated in drawing up an economic stabilisation package for israel.


harinordoquy suffers france axe number eight imanol harinordoquy has been dropped from france s squad for the six nations match with ireland in dublin on 12 march.  harinordoquy was a second-half replacement in last saturday s 24-18 defeat to wales. bourgoin lock pascal pape  who has recovered from a sprained ankle  returns to the 22-man squad. wing cedric heymans and ludovic valbon come in for aurelien rougerie and jean-philippe grandclaude.  rougerie hurt his chest against wales while grandclaude was a second-half replacement against both england and wales. valbon  capped in last june s tests against the united states and canada  was a second half replacement in the win over scotland.  france coach bernard laporte said harinordoquy had been axed after a poor display last weekend.  imanol has been dropped from the squad because the least i can say is that he didn t make a thundering comeback against wales   said laporte.  we know the ireland game will be fast and rough and we also want to be able to replace both locks during the game if needed  and gregory lamboley can also come on at number seven or eight.  the grand slam is gone but we ll go to ireland to win.  it will be a very exciting game because ireland have three wins under their belt  have just defeated england and have their eyes set on a grand slam.  france  who lost to wales last week  must defeat the irish to keep alive their hopes of retaining the six nations trophy. ireland are unbeaten in this year s tournament and have their sights set on a first grand slam since 1948.  dimitri yachvili (biarritz)  pierre mignoni (clermont)  yann delaigue (castres)  frederic michalak (stade toulousain)  damien traille (biarritz)  yannick jauzion (stade toulousain)  ludovic valbon (biarritz)  christophe dominici (stade francais)  cedric heymans (stade toulousain)  julien laharrague (brive)  sylvain marconnet (stade francais)  nicolas mas (perpignan)  olivier milloud (bourgoin)  sebastien bruno (sale/eng)  william servat (stade toulousain)  fabien pelous (stade toulousain  capt)  jerome thion (biarritz)  pascal papé (bourgoin)  gregory lamboley (stade toulousain)  serge betsen (biarritz)  julien bonnaire (bourgoin)  yannick nyanga (béziers)


verdict delay for greek sprinters greek athletics  governing body has postponed by two weeks the judgement on sprinters costas kenteris and katerina thanou for missing doping tests.  the pair are facing lengthy bans for the missed tests  including one on the eve of last year s athens olympics. they were set to learn their fate by the end of february  but late evidence from them has pushed the date back.  a decision is now expected by around mid-march   said one of their lawyers  michalis dimitrakopoulos. kenteris  31  who won the men s 200m title at the 2000 sydney games and thanou  30  who won the women s 100m silver medal in sydney  face a maximum two-year ban if found guilty. the athletes  who spectacularly withdrew from the athens olympics  have been suspended by the international association of athletics federations (iaaf) for missing the three tests. the iaaf said the sprinters had failed to provide samples for tests in tel aviv  chicago and athens and ordered greek athletic s governing body  segas  to hold a disciplinary inquiry. the athletes also face a criminal hearing in greece over the missed drugs tests and have been charged with faking a motorcycle accident on the day of the athens test  which led to them spending four days in hospital. following the final hearing in late january  the athletes sounded confident they would be acquitted.  i am confident and optimistic   thanou had said at the time.  we presented new evidence to the committee that they were not aware of.  it was not clear what this new evidence was.


celtic make late bid for bellamy newcastle striker craig bellamy is discussing a possible short-term loan move to celtic  bbc sport understands.  the welsh striker has rejected a move to birmingham after falling out with magpies manager graeme souness. the toon boss vowed bellamy would not play again after a bitter row over his exclusion for the game against arsenal. celtic are in no position to match birmingham s £6m offer but a stay until the end of the season could suit bellamy while he considers his future. according to bellamy s agent  the player dismissed a permanent move to birmingham. and it is unlikely that newcastle would allow the player to go on loan to another premiership club.  bellamy was fined two weeks  wages after a live tv interview in which he accused souness of lying  following a very public dispute about what position bellamy should play in the side. souness said:  he can t play for me ever again. he has been a disruptive influence from the minute i walked into this football club.  he can t go on television and accuse me of telling lies.  chairman freddy shepherd described bellamy s behaviour as  totally unacceptable and totally unprofessional .


labour accused of  eu propaganda  a  taxpayer subsidised propaganda exercise  on the eu is being used to lull the british public into a false sense of security  say the tories.  shadow foreign secretary michael ancram told mps a new white paper was part of trying to soften up opinion ahead of the referendum on the eu constitution. his claims were denied by foreign secretary jack straw  who accused the tories of  running scared  of debate. eu cooperation would help get better uk immigration controls  he argued.  mr straw used thursday s commons debate to launch the new white paper on the prospects for the eu in 2005. security  stability and prosperity would be the key themes when the uk took over the chairmanship of the eu in july  said mr straw. africa and climate change would also feature highly. he said the uk was trying to ensure future eu budgets were limited to 1% of europe s economic output and were spent  where it adds most value . mr straw promised to continue to ensure the uk s budget rebate  secured in 1984 by margaret thatcher  was  fully justified .  we  like all other countries  have a veto on any changes proposed in this area   he said.  mr ancram condemned the document  which the foreign office says has cost about £2 500 to design  print and deliver.  isn t the reason that the government is now involved in a taxpayer subsidised propaganda exercise to try to sell the new eu to the country in advance of the forthcoming referendum and general election    he asked. the tory spokesman also criticised the government for claiming the eu constitution would make europe easier to understand.  the government  last week  had to publish a commentary of 500 pages to try and explain this  easy and simple  constitution to the british people   he said.  who are they trying to kid   the proposed question for the constitution referendum is:  should the united kingdom approve the treaty establishing a constitution for the european union   the electoral commission on thursday said it was satisfied the question was easy to understand. the government has suggested the referendum on the constitution could take place in spring 2006  with the tories set to campaign for a  no  vote.  mr ancram said ministers were prolonging uncertainty by putting the vote off until the latest date possible. the foreign secretary hit back by saying tory attitudes to europe had helped keep the party out of power for more than a decade. mr straw argued cooperation with european partners could bring a  level playing field  on immigration and asylum controls.  you are setting your face against all of these things   he added. for the liberal democrats  sir menzies campbell said the uk should not ignore the need to reform the eu common agricultural policy. change was particularly important for developing countries wanting access to markets  he argued. sir menzies was among those worried about plans  backed by the uk  to lift the arms embargo imposed on china after the tiananmen square massacre. mr straw said no decisions had been taken - chinese human rights had improved but not by enough.


hatfield executives go on trial engineering firm balfour beatty and five railway managers are to go on trial for manslaughter over the hatfield rail crash in 2000.  four people died when a section of rail broke and a high speed train derailed. balfour beatty s railway maintenance arm was in charge of the upkeep of the line at hatfield  hertfordshire. balfour beatty managers anthony walker and nicholas jeffries  and railtrack managers alistair cook  sean fugill and keith lea all face individual charges. all five men  along with four others  are also accused of breaches of health and safety laws. balfour beatty rail maintenance faces a corporate manslaughter charge. it is expected the trial could last as long as a year. the accident  on 17 october 2000  happened when the london to leeds express came off the tracks at 115 mph  when it was derailed by a cracked section of rail. the accident on the east coast main line sparked major disruption. the overall responsibility for the line was railtrack s - the company that has now become network rail. those who died in the accident were steve arthur  46  from pease pottage  west sussex; peter monkhouse  50  of headingley  leeds; leslie gray  43  of tuxford  nottingham; and robert james alcorn  37  of auckland  new zealand.


gronkjaer agrees switch to madrid jesper gronkjaer has agreed a move to atletico madrid from birmingham city.  the 27-year-old winger spent just five months at st andrews following a £2.2m move from chelsea in july after playing for denmark at euro 2004. he is set to move during the january transfer window in a deal rumoured to be about £1.4m  subject to a medical.  we will meet with the player s representative to finalise the contract and decide when he will sign   said atletico sporting director toni munoz. gronkjaer has been targeted by blues fans and was sarcastically applauded when taken off against everton last month. boss steve bruce had said that he would be happy to let the danish international go if the price was right. he added:  i m not going to say the decision to let him go is down to the fans  reaction towards him.   he has had a tough time since the summer with the loss of his mother and finding it difficult to adjust to a new club and a different area.  he has been terrific and not missed a day s training and is someone if your daughter brought them home you would be delighted.  it just hasn t quite worked out here for him. but we d like to get back most of what we spent.


moving mobile improves golf swing a mobile phone that recognises and responds to movements has been launched in japan.  the motion-sensitive phone - officially titled the v603sh - was developed by sharp and launched by vodafone s japanese division. devised mainly for mobile gaming  users can also access other phone functions using a pre-set pattern of arm movements. the phone will allow golf fans to improve their swing via a golfing game.  those who prefer shoot- em-ups will be able to use the phone like a gun to shoot the zombies in the mobile version of sega s house of the dead. the phone comes with a tiny motion-control sensor  a computer chip that responds to movement.  other features include a display screen that allows users to watch tv and can rotate 180 degrees. it also doubles up as an electronic musical instrument. users have to select a sound from a menu that includes clapping  tambourine and maracas and shake their phone to create a beat. it is being recommended for the karaoke market. the phone will initially be available in japan only and is due to go on sale in mid-february. the new gadget could make for interesting people-watching among japanese commuters  who are able to access their mobiles on the subway. fishing afficiandos in south korea are already using a phone that allows them to simulate the movement of a rod. the ph-s6500 phone  dubbed a sports-leisure gadget  was developed by korean phone giant pantech and can also be used by runners to measure calorie consumption and distance run.


wilkinson fit to face edinburgh england captain jonny wilkinson will make his long-awaited return from injury against edinburgh on saturday.  wilkinson  who has not played since injuring his bicep on 17 october  took part in full-contact training with newcastle falcons on wednesday. and the 25-year-old fly-half will start saturday s heineken cup match at murrayfield on the bench. but newcastle director of rugby rob andrew said:  he s fine and we hope to get him into the game at some stage.  the 25-year-old missed england s autumn internationals after aggravating the haematoma in his upper right arm against saracens. he was subsequently replaced as england captain by full-back jason robinson. sale s charlie hodgson took over the number 10 shirt in the internationals against canada  south africa and australia. wilkinson s year has been disrupted by injury as his muscle problem followed eight months on the sidelines with a shoulder injury sustained in the world cup final.


thanou bullish over drugs hearing katerina thanou is confident she and fellow sprinter kostas kenteris will not be punished for missing drugs tests before the athens olympics.  the greek pair appeared at a hearing on saturday which will determine whether their provisional bans from athletics  ruling body the iaaf should stand.  after five months we finally had the chance to give explanations. i am confident and optimistic   said thanou.  we presented new evidence to the committee that they were not aware of.   the athletes  lawyer grigoris ioanidis said he believed the independent disciplinary committee set up by the greek athletics federation (segas) would find them innocent.  we are almost certain that the charges will be dropped   said ioanidis.   we believe that we have presented [a case] that the charges are unreasonable.  thanou  the 2000 olympic women s 100m silver medallist  and sydney 200m champion kenteris were suspended by the iaaf for missing three drugs tests. the third was supposed to take place on the eve of the athens games last august  but the pair could not be found in the athletes  village. they were later taken to hospital after claiming to have been involved in a motorcycle accident. thanou s coach christos tzekos was also suspended by the iaaf.  we were asked [by the disciplinary committee] all kinds of questions about the night of 12 august   said tzekos.  we did not leave any gaps. as far as i am concerned there is no such issue [of refusing to be tested]  and i am very optimistic.  tzekos  thanou and kenteris  who have all denied the charges  can expect a decision within a month.  deliberations will start after some additional documents are brought in by thursday   said committee chairman kostas panagopoulos.  i estimate that the final ruling will be issued by the end of february.


savvy searchers fail to spot ads internet search engine users are an odd mix of naive and sophisticated  suggests a report into search habits.  the report by the us pew research center reveals that 87% of searchers usually find what they were looking for when using a search engine. it also shows that few can spot the difference between paid-for results and organic ones. the report reveals that 84% of net users say they regularly use google  ask jeeves  msn and yahoo when online.  almost 50% of those questioned said they would trust search engines much less  if they knew information about who paid for results was being hidden. according to figures gathered by the pew researchers the average users spends about 43 minutes per month carrying out 34 separate searches and looks at 1.9 webpages for each hunt. a significant chunk of net users  36%  carry out a search at least weekly and 29% of those asked only look every few weeks. for 44% of those questioned  the information they are looking for is critical to what they are doing and is information they simply have to find.  search engine users also tend to be very loyal and once they have found a site they feel they can trust tend to stick with it. according to pew research 44% of searchers use just a single search engine  48% use two or three and a small number  7%  consult more than three sites. tony macklin  spokesman for ask jeeves  said the results reflected its own research which showed that people use different search engines because the way the sites gather information means they can provide different results for the same query. despite this liking for search sites half of those questioned said they could get the same information via other routes. a small number  17%  said they wouldn t really miss search engines if they did not exist. the remaining 33% said they could not live without search sites. more than two-thirds of those questioned  68%  said they thought that the results they were presented with were a fair and unbiased selection of the information on a topic that can be found on the net. alongside the growing sophistication of net users is a lack of awareness about paid-for results that many search engines provide alongside lists of websites found by indexing the web. of those asked  62% were unaware that someone has paid for some of the results they see when they carry out a search. only 18% of all searchers say they can tell which results are paid for and which are not. said the pew report:  this finding is ironic  since nearly half of all users say they would stop using search engines if they thought engines were not being clear about how they presented paid results.  commenting mr macklin said sponsored results must be clearly marked and though they might help with some queries user testing showed that people need to be able to spot the difference.


the pirates with no profit motive two men who were part of a huge network of internet software pirates  known as drink or die  have been convicted at the old bailey. bbc news investigates how the network worked and what motivated those involved.  they called themselves drink or die (dod). they were a network of computer buffs who derived pleasure from cracking codes protecting copyrighted software such as windows 95. they would then share it with each other. there is no suggestion any of them profited financially. but the authorities in both britain and the united states considered it software piracy and took a dim view of networks such as dod  one of a number of so-called warez organisations operating on the internet. in october 2000 the us customs service began an investigation into dod and other networks  such as razor 1911  risciso  myth and popz.  fourteen months later us customs co-ordinated a series of raids across the globe as part of operation buccaneer. seventy search warrants were executed in the us  britain  australia  norway  sweden and finland. at least 60 people were arrested worldwide - 45 of them in the us. among the leaders of the network were americans john sankus - known by his internet nickname eriflleh (hellfire spelt backwards) - richard berry  kent kartadinata and christopher tresco  who used a server based at the prestigious massachusetts institute of technology (mit).  the longest jail sentence - 46 months - was handed down to sankus  a 28-year-old from philadelphia. us attorney paul mcnulty said at the time:  john sankus and his techno-gang operated in the faceless world of the internet and thought they would never be caught.  they were wrong. these sentences  and those to follow  should send a message to others entertaining similar beliefs of invincibility.  but one man still in legal limbo is british-born australian hew raymond griffiths  who is still fighting against extradition to the us.  us customs claimed mr griffiths was one of dod s leaders but his lawyer  antony townsden  told the bbc news website it was a laughable suggestion and added:  he was living on welfare and had such an old computer that he couldn t even download software.  the allegation that he was the group s co-leader is illusory. he had the least technical skills of anyone  he couldn t crack any codes and he has only been called a leader because he was a loudmouth who wrote a lot on their messageboard.  mr townsden said if he had committed any crimes he should be prosecuted in australia  not the us. he claimed the australian government s decision to accept the extradition request was typical of their current  acquiescent  attitude to the us.  mr griffiths is expecting to hear this week the outcome of his appeal against the decision to extradite him. those involved would give themselves internet aliases which would act in the same way as tags used by graffiti artists. they could then brag about their code-cracking abilities without giving away their real identities. alex bell  whose trial at the old bailey ended on friday  was known as mr 2940 - after a computer device - while his co-defendant steven dowd s nickname  curiously  was tim.  a spokesman for us immigration  customs and enforcement  dean boyd  said dod did not appear to be motivated by money. their motivation was the kudos which surrounded being able to crack sophisticated software. he told the bbc news website:  primarily they were just interested in how fast they could crack the code. it was all about underground notoriety.  but mr boyd pointed out that once the software had been distributed on the internet it fell into the hands of organised criminals who were able to mass produce pirated software at zero cost.   it cost us industries a lot of money  billions of dollars   he said. mr boyd said:  it was truly global in scope. we raided a number of universities  including duke (in north carolina) and mit  and found that several of the people involved were employed by major computer corporations.  they would go home from work in the evenings and get involved in this warez culture.  warez groups  which began to surface in the early 1990s  operate according to a strict code of honour.  for example if one group cracked the software first its rivals would respect that achievement and not seek to claim it themselves. mr boyd said the destruction of dod was a great coup but he added:  i m not going to sit here and say we have sorted the problem. there are still hackers and people who do this for fun.  internet piracy of computer software remains a gigantic problem.  a spokesman for the business software alliance said:  dod members claim they did not profit at all. but they did profit by getting access to very expensive servers.  he said dod and other warez groups were fostering a  culture of piracy  on the internet. he said 29% of computer software in britain was believed to have been pirated and this cost £1bn in revenue for software companies  their suppliers and distributors.  it may seem like a victimless crime but it touches more people than you might care to believe.


hoffman hits out over modern film hollywood legend dustin hoffman has hit out at the quality of current films and theatre productions.  the star of rain man and tootsie said the film culture was  in the craphouse  at a press conference on tuesday. the 67-year-old also said he stopped working a few years ago because he lost his  spark  for acting. hoffman is in the uk to publicise his new comedy  meet the fockers  which also stars robert de niro  barbra streisand and ben stiller.  he said:  you go to the cinema and you realise you re watching the third act. there is no first or second act.  there is this massive film-making where you spend this incredible amount of money and play right to the demographic.  you can tell how much money the film is going to make by how it does on the first weekend.  the whole culture is in the craphouse. it s not just true in the movies  it s also true in the theatre.  broadway  and now london is the same  special effects are in great demand. it s not a good time culturally.   hoffman also said he stopped working a few years ago and moved into directing and writing. he said:  i just lost that spark i always had.  a couple of years ago i didn t like the parts i was getting.  studios weren t interested in the kind of films that people of my generation wanted to see.  i thought i would stop and just try writing and directing. i wasn t aware of the depression that set in.  recently  hoffmann has returned to film  with roles in i heart huckabees  finding neverland and now meet the fockers  which is the sequel to meet the parents. meet the fockers opens in the uk on friday.


bates seals takeover ken bates has completed his takeover of leeds united.  the 73-year-old former chelsea chairman sealed the deal at 0227 gmt on friday  and has bought a 50% stake in the club. he said:  i m delighted to be stepping up to the mantel at such a fantastic club. i recognise leeds as a great club that has fallen on hard times.  we have a lot of hard work ahead to get the club back where it belongs in the premiership  and with the help of our fans we will do everything we can.  bates bought his stake under the guise of a geneva-based company known as the forward sports fund. he revealed that part of his plan is to buy back leeds  elland road stadium and thorp arch training ground in due course.   it s going to be a tough jon and the first task is to stabilise the cash flow and sort out the remaining creditors   bates added.  but there is light at the end of a very long tunnel. for the past year it has been a matter of firefighting - now we can start running the club again.  outgoing leeds chairman gerald krasner said:  this deal ensures the medium to long term survival of the club and i believe mr bates  proposals are totally for the benefit of the club.  we are content that under mr bates  leeds united will continue to consolidate and move forward.  when we took over leeds united in march 2004  the club had a debt of £103m  since that date  my board has succeeded in reducing the debt to under £25m.  we worked tirelessly to solve all of the problems at leeds united.  eighty percent of the problems have already been overcome and we came to this agreement with mr bates to secure its ongoing success.  krasner revealed that his consortium has been asked to remain in the background at the club for an undisclosed period to help ensure a smooth hand-over. he will stay on in an unpaid capacity while peter lorimer will continue in his role as director and point of contact for the fans and peter mccormick will serve as a consultant to the incoming board. the other outgoing directors have agreed to leave their loans of £4.5m in the company for the next four years. on leeds  new-look board it is understood that lorimer will be joined by former chelsea finance director yvonne todd and bates  lawyer mark taylor.  krasner refused to give any details of the finances involved in the takeover. he told bbc five live:  i am not going into the figures. if ken wants to give them up that is up to him. i can not tell you what the money will be used for.  this dea l is not about money for the current board. in the last four months i never saw any cheques until this week from one person. i am not stretching figures  we don t discuss internal arrangements.  bates stepped down as chelsea chairman in march last year following roman abramovich s £140m takeover at stamford bridge. in may  he made a proposal to invest £10m in sheffield wednesday  but this was rejected by the club. sebastien sainsbury had been close to a takeover of leeds but withdrew his £25m offer last week.  his efforts failed after he revealed it would take £40m to stage a takeover  and that the club will also lose £10m over the next six months. the club was on the brink of administration - and the deduction of 10 points by the football league - before bates  arrival but his investment has spared them that prospect.


soros group warns of kazakh close the open society institute (osi)  financed by billionaire george soros  has accused kazakhstan officials of trying to close down its local office.  a demand for unpaid taxes and fines of $600 000 (£425 000) is politically motivated  the osi claimed  adding that it paid the money in october. the organisation has found itself in trouble after being accused of helping to topple georgia s former president. it denies having any role  but offices have had to close across the region.  the osi shut its office in moscow last year and has withdrawn from uzbekistan and belarus. in the ukraine earlier this year  mr soros - who took on the bank of england in the 1990s - and won  was pelted by protestors.  this legal prosecution can be considered an attempt by the government to force soros foundation-kazakhstan to cease its activities in kazakhstan and shut its doors for kazakh citizens and organisations   the osi said.  the osi aims to promote democratic and open  market-based societies. since the break up of the soviet union in 1991  kazakhstan has been dominated by its president nursultan abish-uly nazarbayev. he has powers for life  while insulting the president and officials has been made a criminal offence. the government controls the printing presses and most radio and tv transmission facilities. it operates the country s national radio and tv networks. recent elections were criticised as flawed and the opposition claimed there was widespread vote rigging. supporters  however  say he brings much needed stability to a region where islamic militancy is on the rise. they also credit him with promoting inter-ethnic accord and pushing through harsh reforms.


election  could be terror target  terrorists might try to target the uk in the run-up to the election  london s most senior police officer has said.  sir ian blair said terror groups would remember the effect of the madrid bomb on spain s general election last year. other potential targets were the royal wedding and the uk s presidency of the european union and g8  he said. he refused to say if there was specific information about the risk of a pre-poll attack. no 10 was similarly cautious but said the threat was real.  the comments come after tony blair defended his controversial anti-terror proposals  warning that it would be wrong to wait for an attack before acting. sir ian told a meeting of the metropolitan police authority it would be  unwise  to speculate about whether there was specific information about risks of a pre-election attack. but he said:  terrorists have long memories. they understand what happened in madrid and know what the impact of that was on the spanish electorate.   this year we are responsible for the eu presidency  presidency of the g8  a royal wedding and a general election.  there are obvious and enormous targets which we have to deal with.  sir ian said the debate over anti-terror plans was one for politicians  not the police  who would enforce any new powers.  home secretary charles clarke has also warned that a madrid-style pre-election bombing could happen in the uk too. asked about sir ian s comments  the prime minister s official spokesman said:  we believe the threat is real.  the spokesman declined to comment on whether the security services had received specific intelligence relating to a possible attack during the election campaign. he said no 10 did not disclose any security advice they received. earlier  writing in the daily telegraph  the prime minister conceded that plans to detain suspects under house arrest without trial were  difficult issues for any government . the commons has approved the measures despite considerable opposition  with the government s majority more than halved as 32 labour rebels joined tory and lib dem opposition. but mr blair insisted:  there is no greater civil liberty than to live free from terrorist attack.   tory leader michael howard has accused mr blair of steamrolling the house arrest plans and of  using national security for political point scoring . liberal democrat leader charles kennedy says that the plan is a further example of labour s  authoritarian  response to crises. the prevention of terrorism bill proposes  control orders   which as well as house arrest could impose curfews  tagging or bans on telephone and internet use. they would replace current powers to detain foreign terror suspects without trial  which the law lords have ruled against. but critics are concerned that it would be the home secretary and not judges who decided to impose control orders. the plans face further commons scrutiny on monday before passing to the lords.


lifestyle  governs mobile choice  faster  better or funkier hardware alone is not going to help phone firms sell more handsets  research suggests.  instead  phone firms keen to get more out of their customers should not just be pushing the technology for its own sake. consumers are far more interested in how handsets fit in with their lifestyle than they are in screen size  onboard memory or the chip inside  shows an in-depth study by handset maker ericsson.  historically in the industry there has been too much focus on using technology   said dr michael bjorn  senior advisor on mobile media at ericsson s consumer and enterprise lab.  we have to stop saying that these technologies will change their lives   he said.  we should try to speak to consumers in their own language and help them see how it fits in with what they are doing   he told the bbc news website.  for the study  ericsson interviewed 14 000 mobile phone owners on the ways they use their phone.  people s habits remain the same   said dr bjorn.  they just move the activity into the mobile phone as it s a much more convenient way to do it.   one good example of this was diary-writing among younger people  he said. while diaries have always been popular  a mobile phone -- especially one equipped with a camera -- helps them keep it in a different form. youngsters  use of text messages also reflects their desire to chat and keep in contact with friends and again just lets them do it in a slightly changed way. dr bjorn said that although consumers do what they always did but use a phone to do it  the sheer variety of what the new handset technologies make possible does gradually drive new habits and lifestyles. ericsson s research has shown that consumers divide into different  tribes  that use phones in different ways. dr bjorn said groups dubbed  pioneers  and  materialists  were most interested in trying new things and were behind the start of many trends in phone use.  for instance   he said   older people are using sms much more than they did five years ago.  this was because younger users  often the children of ageing mobile owners  encouraged older people to try it so they could keep in touch.  another factor governing the speed of change in mobile phone use was the simple speed with which new devices are bought by pioneers and materialists. only when about 25% of people have handsets with new innovations on them  such as cameras  can consumers stop worrying that if they send a picture message the person at the other end will be able to see it.  once this significant number of users is passed  use of new innovations tends to take off. dr bjorn said that early reports of camera phone usage in japan seemed to imply that the innovation was going to be a flop. however  he said  now 45% of the japanese people ericsson questioned use their camera phone at least once a month. in 2003 the figure was 29%. similarly  across europe the numbers of people taking snaps with cameras is starting to rise. in 2003 only 4% of the people in the uk took a phonecam snap at least once a month. now the figure is 14%. similar rises have been seen in many other european nations. dr bjorn said that people also used their camera phones in very different ways to film and even digital cameras.  usage patterns for digital cameras are almost exactly replacing usage patterns for analogue cameras   he said. digital cameras tend to be used on significant events such as weddings  holidays and birthdays. by contrast  he said  camera phones were being used much more to capture a moment and were being woven into everyday life.


mobile multimedia slow to catch on there is no doubt that mobile phones sporting cameras and colour screens are hugely popular. consumers swapping old phones for slinkier  dinkier versions are thought to be responsible for a 26% increase in the number of phones sold during the third quarter of 2004  according to analysts gartner more than 167 million handsets were sold between july and september 2004  a period that  according to gartner analyst carolina milanesi is  seldom strong . but although consumers have mobiles that can take and send snaps  sounds and video clips few  so far  are taking the chance to do so.  in fact  the numbers of people not taking and sending pictures  audio and video is growing. figures gathered by continental research shows that 36% of british camera phone users have never sent a multimedia message (mms)  up from 7% in 2003. this is despite the fact that  during the same period  the numbers of camera phones in the uk more than doubled to 7.5 million. getting mobile phone users to send multimedia messages is really important for operators keen to squeeze more cash out of their customers and offset the cost of subsidising the handsets people are buying. the problem they face  said shailendra jain  head of mms firm adamind  is educating people in how to send the multimedia messages using their funky handsets.   also   he said   they have to simplify the interface so its not rocket science in terms of someone understanding it.  research bears out the suspicion that people are not sending multimedia messages because they do not know how to. according to continental research  29% of the people it questioned said they were technophobes that tended to shy away from innovation. only 11% regarded themselves as technically savvy enough to send a picture or video message. the fact that multimedia services are not interoperable across networks and phones only adds to people s reluctance to start sending them  said mr jain.  they ask themselves:  if i m streaming video from one handset to another will it work    he said.  there s a lot of user apprehension about that.   there are other deeper technical reasons why multimedia messages are not being pushed as strongly as they might. andrew bud  executive chairman of messaging firm mblox  said mobile phone operators cap the number of messages that can be circulating at any one time for fear of overwhelming the system.  the rate we can send mms into the mobile network is fairly constant   he said. the reason for this is that there are finite capacities for data traffic on the second generation networks that currently have the most users.  no-one wants to take the risk of swamping these relatively narrow channels so the number of mms messages is capped  said mr bud. this has led to operators finding other technologies  particularly one known as wap-push  to get multimedia to their customers. but when networks do find a good way to get multimedia to their customers  the results can be dramatic. israeli technology firm celltick has found a way to broadcast data across phone networks in a way that does not overwhelm existing bandwidth. one of the first firms to use the celltick service is hutch india  the largest mobile firm in the country. the broadcast system gets multimedia to customers via a rolling menu far faster than would be possible with other systems. while not multimedia messaging  such a system gets people used to seeing their phones as a device that can handle all different types of content. as a result 40% of the subscribers to the hutch alive  which uses celltick s broadcast technology  regularly click for more pictures  sounds and images from the operator.  operators really need to start utilising this tool to reach their customers   said yaron toren  spokesman for celltick. until then  multimedia will be a message that is not getting through.


owen determined to stay in madrid england forward michael owen has told the bbc he is happy in spain and has no plans to quit real madrid to return to the premiership in the near future.  but the 25-year-old  who has spent much of his time coming off the bench in la liga  did not rule out a return to the premiership at some stage.  i m pleased with the start i ve made here   he told bbc radio five live.  england is my country. it s definitely part of me but who knows whether  if or when i ll be playing there again.  owen  who moved to the bernabeu from liverpool last summer  has grabbed 11 goals for real but has been unable to replace raul or ronaldo in the starting line-up. however  he said he was delighted with the way his time in spain was going and dismissed criticism of his decision to join real.  when i first came there was a lot of scepticism back in england  any maybe some out here   he said.  people were saying  fourth-choice striker  what are you going there for  you ll be sat on the bench all the time .   but as much as our press like to build it up as if i ve permanently had my backside on the bench  i ve played as many games as anyone else in the team this year.  for a fourth-choice striker at the start i m more than happy with the way i ve settled in.  recent speculation has linked owen with a move back to england  with newcastle expressing their interest  but the england striker said he is not ready to return home. he added:  i ve got nothing against the premiership  i mean that s where i first performed  that s where i made my name.   i can t keep my eyes off the premiership on television when i m at home.  when asked if it would have to be liverpool if he returned owen said:  i ve not really given it much thought.  i ve got great memories of liverpool. no matter what happens it ll always be a club i have fond memories of and it will always have a place in my heart.  it s very flattering to be linked to top clubs in england - i m glad that no-one is forgetting me!  but i couldn t have wished for a better start in madrid.   - listen to the full interview with garry richardson on bbc radio five live s sportsweek at 0900 gmt on sunday.


mobile tv tipped as one to watch scandinavians and koreans  two of the most adventurous groups of mobile users  are betting on mobile tv.  anders igels  chief executive of nordic operator teliasonera  tipped it as the next big thing in mobile in a speech at the 3gsm world congress  a mobile trade fair  in cannes this week. nokia  the finnish handset maker  is planning a party in singapore this spring to launch its tv to mobile activities in the region. consultancy strategy analytics of boston estimates that mobile broadcast networks will have acquired around 51 million users worldwide by 2009  producing around $6.6bn (£3.5bn) in revenue.  sk telecom of south korea  which is launching a tv to mobile service (via satellite) in may plans to charge a flat fee of $12 a month for its 12 channels of video and 12 channels of audio. it will be able to offer an additional two pay tv channels using conditional access technology. mr shin-bae kim  chief executive of sk telecom  also at 3gsm  said:  we have plans to integrate tv with mobile internet services.   this will enable viewers to access the mobile internet to get more information on adverts they see on tv.  there will be 12 handsets available for the launch of the korean service. lg electronics of south korea was demonstrating one at 3gsm that could display video at 30 frames a second. footage shown on the handset was clear and watchable. a speech on mobile tv by angel gambino of the bbc also drew a large crowd  suggesting that even those mobile operators and equipment vendors which are not particularly active in mobile tv yet are starting to look into it.  but all is not simple and straightforward in the mobile tv arena. there is a battle for supremacy between two competing standards: dvb-h for digital video broadcasting for handsets and dmb for digital multimedia broadcasting. dr chan yeob yeun  vice president and research fellow in charge of mobile tv at lg electronics  said:  dmb offers twice the number of frames a minute as dvb-h and does not drain mobile batteries as quickly.  the japanese  koreans and ericsson of sweden are backing dmb.  samsung of south korea has a dmb phone too that will be one of those offered to users of the tu media satellite mobile tv service to be launched in korea in may. nokia  by contrast  is backing dvb-h  and is involved in mobile tv trials that use its art-deco style media phone  which has a larger than usual screen for tv or visual radio (a way of accompanying a radio programme with related text and pictures). mobile operators o2 and vodafone are among the operators trialling mobile tv. but even if the standards battle is resolved  there is the thorny issue of broadcasting rights. ms gambino says the bbc now negotiates mobile rights when it is negotiating content.  for those not convinced mobile users will want to watch tv on their handsets  digital audio broadcasting may provide a good compromise and better sound quality than conventional radio. developments in this area are continuing. at a dab conference in cannes  several makers of dab chips for mobiles announced smaller  lower- cost chips which consume less power. among the chip companies present were frontier silicon and radioscape. the jury is still out on whether tv and digital radio on mobiles will make much money for anyone. but with many new services going live soon  it won t be long before the industry finds out.


stormy year for property insurers a string of storms  typhoons and earthquakes has made 2004 the most expensive year on record for property insurers  according to swiss re.  the world s second biggest insurer said disasters around the globe have seen property claims reach $42bn (£21.5bn).  2004 reinforces the trend towards higher losses   said swiss re. tightly packed populations in the areas involved in natural and man-made disasters were to partly to blame for the rise in claims  it said. some 95% of insurance claims were for natural catastrophes  with the rest attributed to made-made events.  the largest claims came from the us  which was struck by four hurricanes  and japan  which suffered the highest concentration of typhoons for decades plus a major earthquake.  europe suffered fewer natural disasters  but 191 people were killed and more than 2 000 injured in march after the terrorist attack on train stations in madrid. the damages claimed in 2004 eclipsed previous years  including 2001 when the 11 september attacks pushed claims up to $37bn. swiss re said it had registered about 300 natural and man-made disasters around the world in 2004. twenty-one thousand people lost their lives in the catastrophes with a cost to the global economy of around $105bn (£54bn).


what the election should really be about  a general election is the best chance most pressure groups get to make a real impact on government policy. here is how six leading lobbies plan to make sure their cause is being debated ahead of an expected spring poll.  we ve called for the state pension to be increased from £79.60 to the pensioner credit guarantee level of £105.45. that s what we re calling for. many pensioners are disadvantaged by the current system. if we ve got one in five pensioners below the poverty line  we ve got to make it more generous or have these people living in poverty.  we ve drawn up a pensioners  manifesto. this will be sent to each of the candidates in the 659 constituencies. they will be asked which of the top five issues  including the pension issue  they would support. once we ve got their responses we will publish the results within the constituencies and nationally as well. it s our way of putting the politicians on notice. we are trying to get across the fact that there are 11m voters over 60 in the country  they are more likely to vote than other sections of society and thirdly they are true swing voters. before 1997 most pensioners voted conservative. in 1997 and 2001 they voted labour. but there is no guarantee they will vote for a labour government this time around. they cannot take that vote for granted.  pensions generally will certainly be a big election issue even though the government has postponed the publication of adair turner s full report into the issue. he said the uk had one of the least generous pensions systems in the developed world.  that the government takes seriously the impact of aviation on the environment.  we haven t worked out specific plans but i imagine we will lobby political parties and incumbent mps. various local groups will do that in their particular areas and we will provide a national briefing. we don t have any large demonstrations planned but they can t be ruled out.  it is hard to say whether we will be successful. we have got the issue in the public consciousness to an extent  but it is difficult to say whether an election will raise its importance in the public mind or whether it will be pushed out by big issues like iraq.  repealing the hunting bill.  we are challenging the use of the parliament act 1949 in a high court action. we are hoping to hear in the new year. whichever way the court rules the other side will appeal so we expect it to fall plumb in electioneering time. when the ban comes into force on 18 february we will be going to the european court because no compensation is being paid. so there s a lot of legal territory to go. we are trying to engage with the ministers by demonstrating and talking. whatever intelligence we get we will try to turn up and speak to whoever it is. (rural affairs minister) alun michael has avoided us and cancelled engagements so that makes it difficult. it is not intimidatory - on the whole it is groups of angry housewives. of course there is an element of shouting because people are angry but there is no violence because that does not achieve anything.  it will fall plumb in the run up to the most important general election tony blair will ever face. it s exactly what the prime minister did not want. he wanted the issue off the table until after the election.  people using live animals as targets for sport both here and abroad. the reason for including abroad is because of trophy hunting. it is another sort of form of shooting for sport. the principle is the same whether it s a tiger or a pheasant.  we will widely publicise what s happening in relation to trophy hunting. we will publicise the darker aspects of the target animal industry the uk. we will seek to get pledges from individual mps and would-be mps saying that they are against the use of animals as targets for sports. we would like the support of political parties but i think a general election is very much to do with pledges mps make to their electors. with hunting we had many mps who were happy to say they were against it.  i think what we will get is a very real climbing up the agenda. whether or not we will get a ban i am not sure. but it will mobilise public opinion. everything we do will reduce animal suffering and in time that will lead to a ban.  the issue that we think is the most important for this election is choice. the language of consumerism is very commonplace in government and across the political spectrum. choice as an ideology is beginning to be the privatisation of this decade. it s become an issue in itself but what s really missing from the debate is the consumer s choice in that. choice is not choice at all if all you have to choose from is two failing schools. we have seen so many pensions mis-selling scandals and in the pensions industry there s a maximum of choice but a minimum quality in that. we want choice on the consumer s terms - that means clear and accessible information to operate that choice.  firstly  we have our website. it features our campaigns and changes every day. secondly through our 700 000 members who communicate with us. thirdly through the media and also what we will be doing is holding a pre-election conference. we will invite the opinion formers  mps  journalists and others. the idea is that we open up communications between members of the public and the politicians.  i think we will be successful. it s very much the language being used by the main political parties. politicians on all sides are very sensitive to this issue they want to be seen to be responding to this issue.  fuel duty is a large part of operational costs for road haulage workers. we have been hearing about this proposed increase of 1.92p per litre that gordon brown has been postponing and postponing. tuppence does not sound like a great deal but every year if you operate one vehicle that s an increase of about £750. if you re running 10 vehicles it s obviously 10 times that.  if fuel duty does rise we will be absolutely horrified. there will be a huge effect throughout the industry and i would not be surprised if you see widespread demonstrations. what it will mean is there will be a number of firms going out of business.  we will continue to do what we have always done we keep the issue in the trade press. regrettably it s one of those stories that it is getting harder to get into the national press. whatever we do  the public don t like lorries - they see us as a complaining minority. but they don t realise that when you see a car on the road it is probably going to work  when you see a lorry it s already at work.