saint-andre anger at absent stars sale sharks director of rugby philippe saint-andre has re-opened rugby s club-versus-country debate.  sale host bath in the powergen cup on friday  but the frenchman has endured a  difficult week  with six players away on england s six nations training camp.  it s an important game but we ve just the one full session. it s the same for everyone but we need to manage it.  if five players or more are picked for your country they should move the date of the game   he told bbc sport. unless the authorities agree to make changes  saint-andre believes england s national team will suffer as clubs opt to sign foreigners and retired internationals.  that s not good for the politics of the english team or for english rugby   he argues. it is an issue he has taken up before  most notably during the autumn internationals when sale lost all three zurich premiership matches they played.  now he fears it could derail the club s hopes of cup silverware after eight players  including captain jason robinson and fly-half charlie hodgson  were away with their countries.  we re in the quarter-finals  it s always better to play at home than away and it s a great opportunity   he added.  but we have to be careful. bath have just been knocked out of europe and will make it a tough game. it also comes at the end of a very  very difficult week.  sebastien bruno s been with france  jason white with scotland and there are six with england  that s eight players plus injuries - 13 players out of a squad of 31.  we ll have just one session together and will have to do our best to make that a good one on thursday afternoon.   gloucester have also been caught in a club-versus-country conflict after england sought a second medical opinion on james simpson-daniel s fitness. the winger is carrying a shoulder injury and the national team management believe he requires time on the sidelines. as a result he misses the cherry and white s quarter-final at home to bristol.  under the elite player squad agreement  england wanted a second opinion  which they can do   director of rugby nigel melville told the gloucester citizen.   they obviously want him for international rugby and we want him for club rugby in what is a very important game for us. there is a conflict of interests.  the surgeon who carried out his operation said he was fine for us but england say he is still vulnerable to be damaged again and want him on a full rehab programme.  simpson-daniel added:  i ve said to nigel i want to be back playing and that means if everything goes well this week  i can target the worcester game (on 29 january) for a return.


wolves appoint hoddle as manager glenn hoddle has been unveiled as the new wolves manager.  the ex-england coach has been given a six-month contract to succeed dave jones  who was sacked after the club s poor start to the season. wolves chairman rick hayward said:  we re delighted glenn is here. he has a six-month contract so we can test each other out and see if it works.  hoddle  who will work alongside stuart gray  has been out of the game since he was sacked by spurs in 2003. gray  who has been caretaker manager  was assistant boss when hoddle was manager at southampton.  i m delighted to be here   said hoddle.   i saw the massive potential that wolves have got and their desire and amibition to get back into the premiership parallels my ambitions.  stuart gray has done a fantastic job as caretaker manager. we ve worked together at southampton and i m delighted to be back with him.  wolves chief executive jez moxey defended the decision to give hoddle a short-term contract.  we hope it will work out for both parties and we extend it for the long term   he said.  most managers want a four-year contract and then expect it to be paid off if it doesn t work out.  for somebody of glenn s calibre to come in on a short-term contract and put his reputation on the line  it demonstrates his commitment and self-belief and the potential he thinks is here.  hayward revealed that hoddle was one of the first to be approached after jones  departure.  he was not available at the time because he was looking at various other things   he explained.  five weeks later we re back on track and this a tremendous opportunity for wolves.   hoddle began his managerial career as player-boss with swindon before moving on to chelsea and then taking up the england job. his spell in charge of the national side came to an end after the 1998 world cup when he made controversial remarks about the disabled in a newspaper interview. the 47-year-old later returned to management with southampton  where he again succeeded jones - as he has now done at wolves. he engineered an upturn in saints  fortunes before being lured to white hart lane by tottenham - the club where he made his name as a player. that relationship turned sour at the start of the last campaign and he left the london club early last season. since then he has applied unsuccessfully for the post of france manager and had also been linked with a return to southampton. wolves are currently 17th in the championship and have a home game against millwall on tuesday.


anglers  could face prosecution  anglers and fishermen could find themselves prosecuted under plans to crack down on animal cruelty  a committee of mps has warned.  sloppy wording of the draft animal welfare bill could leave anglers facing court even though it was not intended  the environment select committee said. the mps said they were  concerned  the government had not consulted directly on its plans to improve animal welfare. they raised complex and emotive issues which needed to be resolved  mps said.  they called for a  cast-iron guarantee  that the government consults on any plans to regulate animal industries like pet fairs and game bird rearing. the draft bill seeks to modernise and improve animal welfare legislation  and intends to protect  kept animals  and  companion  animals by setting up a  duty of care . in addition to maintaining existing cruelty offences  it creates an offence of neglect by keepers who fail to protect the animals for whom they are responsible. the bill would allow animal welfare officers to intervene to prevent harm to an animal as well as outlawing  mutilation  of animals - unless it can be demonstrated to be in the animal s best interest.  the environment select committee made 101 recommendations after hearing evidence from 51 organisations and individuals. one was a call to amend the bill so that prosecutions against those engaged in fishing were not inadvertently encouraged - even if they were to later fail.  we accept that neither commercial fishing nor recreational angling should fall within the remit of the of the draft bill and we therefore support the government s intention to exempt fishing as an activity.   but the committee said an amendment was needed to ensure cases were not brought.  however  in exempting fishing  the government should be careful to ensure that those persons who catch fish are not given  carte blanche  to inflict unnecessary suffering in the course of pursuing this activity   the committee added. the committee also said some legal protections for animals were downgraded by the bill  such as the law on abandonment of animals which  would be significantly weakened . mps urged the government to redraft clauses relating to the prosecution of cruelty offences. this was because as it stood the draft bill would allow certain acts that should be prosecuted - such as unnecessary suffering caused to an animal through neglect  or unnecessary mental suffering - to go unpunished.  committee chairman michael jack said:  any change in the law as it affects animals always arouses powerful emotions and great public interest.  this draft bill is no exception. my committee welcomes the development of an approach to animal welfare which doesn t just wait for a problem to occur but enables action to be taken to protect animals before irreversible suffering takes place.  but mr jack said the bill  very much had the feel of a  work in progress   and urged the government to guarantee that  an obligation to consult will be enshrined in law  before it extended legislative plans to areas such as pet fairs  circuses and game bird farms.  the government must work hard to take the rough edges of its initial proposals before the bill is introduced to parliament   he added.


custody death rate  shocks  mps deaths in custody have reached  shocking  levels  a committee of mps and peers has warned.  the joint committee on human rights found those committing suicide were mainly the most vulnerable  with mental health  drugs or alcohol problems. members urged the government to set up a task force to tackle deaths in prisons  police cells  detention centres and special hospitals. there was one prison suicide every four days between 1999 and 2003  mps said. the report  which followed a year-long inquiry by the committee  found the high death rate  amounts to a serious failure to protect the right to life of a highly vulnerable group .  many of those who ended up taking their own lives had  presented themselves  to the authorities with these problems before they even offended  the report said. it questioned whether prison was the most appropriate place for them to be kept and whether earlier intervention would have meant custody could have been avoided.  increased resources and a reduction in the use of imprisonment was needed to address the issue in the longer term  the report said. committee chairman labour mp jean corston said:  each and every death in custody is a death too many  regardless of the circumstances.   yet throughout our inquiry we have seen time and time again that extremely vulnerable people are entering custody with a history of mental illness  drug and alcohol problems and potential for taking their own lives.   these highly vulnerable people are being held within a structure glaringly ill-suited to meet even their basic needs.  crime levels are falling but we are holding more people in custody than ever before. the misplaced over-reliance on the prison system for some of the most vulnerable people in the country is at the heart of the problems that we encountered.  until we change our whole approach to imprisoning vulnerable people we cannot begin to meet our positive obligations under article 2 of the european convention on human rights and meet our duty of care to them.   the committee also highlighted  deeply worrying  cases of children and young people taking their own lives. between 1990 and 2004  25 children have taken their own lives in prison and two have died in secure training centres. it picked out the case of joseph scholes  who hanged himself from the bars of his cell in stoke heath young offender institution in march 2002  and urged the home secretary to hold a public inquiry. it revealed that two weeks before his court appearance for a series of robberies  the 16-year-old was depressed  exhibiting suicidal tendencies and slashed his face with a knife about 30 times. even though the trial judge had been alerted to his experience of sexual abuse and mental illness  he was sentenced to a two-year detention and training order. nine days into his sentence  joseph hung himself from the bars of his cell window with a sheet.


brussels raps mobile call charges the european commission has written to the mobile phone operators vodafone and t-mobile to challenge  the high rates  they charge for international roaming.  in letters sent to the two companies  the commission alleged the firms were abusing their dominant market position in the german mobile phone market. it is the second time vodafone has come under the commission s scrutiny. the uk operator is already appealing against allegations that its uk roaming rates are  unfair and excessive . vodafone s response to the commission s letter was defiant.  we believe the roaming market is competitive and we expect to resist the charges   said a vodafone spokesman.  however we will need time to examine the statement of objections in detail before we formally respond.   the commission s investigation into vodafone and deutsche telekom s t-mobile centres on the tariffs the two companies charge foreign mobile operators to access their networks when subscribers of those foreign operators use their mobile phones in germany.  the commission believes these wholesale prices are too high and that the excess is passed on to consumers.  the commission aims to ensure that european consumers are not overcharged when they use their mobile phones on their travels around the european union   the commission said in a statement. vodafone and o2  britain s other big mobile phone operator  were sent similar statements of objections by the commission in july last year. vodafone sent the commission a response to those allegations in december last year and is now waiting for a reply. the vodafone spokesman said a similar process would be set in motion with these latest statement of objections about its operations in germany.  the companies will have three months to respond to the commission s allegations and the process  may go on for some time yet   the spokesman said. the commission could charge the companies up to 10% of their annual turnover  though in practice that sort of figure is rarely demanded. the commission s latest move comes just a few months after national telecoms regulators across europe launched a joint investigation which could lead to people being charged less for using their mobile phone when travelling abroad. the investigation involves regulators assessing whether there is effective competition in the roaming market.


real in talks over gravesen move real madrid are closing in on a £2m deal for everton s thomas gravesen after the dane s agent travelled to spain to hold talks about a move.  john sivabaek told bbc sport:  i m here to listen to what real have to say. nothing has been agreed  but this is a big opportunity for any player.  the 28-year-old s contract expires in the summer  but real want a quick deal. sivabaek added:  i will be meeting real on wednesday. there is serious interest  but it is everton s hands.  everton must decide whether to cash in now on the denmark midfield man  or risk losing him for nothing in the summer. manager david moyes has defiantly claimed that he expects gravesen to still be at everton when the transfer window closes at the end of january.  moyes said:  i speak to tommy regularly and we know where we are at.  there s been no contact. we don t want to lose him.  real madrid general manager arrigo sacchi is the driving force behind the move  convincing vice-president emilio butragueno and new coach wanderley luxemburgo that gravesen is the right man for the bernabeu. everton must weigh up whether it is worth taking the money on offer for real and risk their own ambitions for european football. gravesen has been outstanding as everton have established themselves in the premiership s top four this season.


robben and cole earn chelsea win cheslea salvaged a win against a battling portsmouth side just as it looked like the premiership leaders would have to settle for a point.  arjen robben curled in a late deflected left-footed shot from the right side of pompey s box to break the home side s brave resistance. chelsea had been continually frustrated but joe cole added a second with a 20-yard shot in injury-time. nigel quashie had pompey s best chance when his effort was tipped over. the fratton park crowd were in good voice as usual and  even though portsmouth more than held their own  chelsea still managed to carve out two early chances. striker didier drogba snapped in an angled shot to force home keeper shaka hislop into a smart save while an unmarked frank lampard had a strike blocked by arjan de zeeuw. but pompey chased  harried and unsettled a chelsea side as the south-coast side started to gain the upper hand and almost took the lead through quashie.  the midfielder struck a swerving long range shot which keeper petr cech tipped over at full stretch. pompey stretched arsenal to the limit recently and were providing a similarly tough obstacle to overcome for a chelsea team struggling to exert any pressure. velimir zajec s players stood firm as the visitors came out in lively fashion after the break but  just as they took a stranglehold of the match  the visitors launched a counter-attack. drogba spun to get a sight of goal and struck a fierce shot which rocked keeper hislop back as he blocked before arjan de zeeuw cleared the danger.  the home side were also left breathing a sigh of relief when a glen johnson header fell to gudjohnsen who had his back to goal in a crowded pompey goalmouth. the icelandic forward tried to acrobatically direct the ball into goal but put his effort over. but  just like against arsenal  portsmouth let in a late goal when robben s shot took a deflection off matthew taylor on its way past a wrong-footed hislop. and cole put a bit of gloss on a hard-fought win when he put a low shot into the bottom of the pompey net.  hislop  griffin  primus  de zeeuw  taylor  stone (cisse 76)  quashie (berkovic 83)  faye  o neil  kamara (fuller 65)  yakubu.  subs not used: berger  ashdown.  kamara.  cech  paulo ferreira  gallas  terry  johnson  duff  makelele  smertin (cole 73)  lampard  robben (geremi 81)  drogba (gudjohnsen 58).  subs not used: cudicini  bridge.  paulo ferreira  robben  lampard.  robben 79  cole 90.  20 210  a wiley (staffordshire).


web photo storage market hots up an increasing number of firms are offering web storage for people with digital photo collections.  digital cameras were the hot gadget of christmas 2004 and worldwide sales of the cameras totalled $24bn last year. many people s hard drives are bulging with photos and services which allow them to store and share their pictures online are becoming popular. search firms such as google are also offering more complex tools for managing personal photo libraries. photo giants such as kodak offer website storage which manages photo collections  lets users edit pictures online and provides print-ordering services. some services  such as kodak s ofoto and snapfish  offer unlimited storage space but they do require users to buy some prints online. other sites  such as pixagogo  charge a monthly fee. marcus hawkins  editor of digital camera magazine  said:  as file sizes of pictures increase  storage becomes a problem.  people are using their hard drives  backing up on cd and dvd and now they are using online storage solutions.   they are a place to store pictures  to share their pictures with families and friends and they can print out their photos.   while many of the services are aimed at the amateur and casual digital photographer  other websites are geared up for enthusiasts who want to share tips and information. photosig is an online community of photographers who can critique each other s work. on tuesday  google released free software for organising and finding digital photos stored on a computer s hard drive. the tool  called picasa  automatically detects photos as they are added to a pc - whether sent via e-mail or transferred from a digital camera.  the software includes tools for restoring colour and removing red eye  as well as sharpening images. photos can then be uploaded to sites such as ofoto. many people use the sites to edit and improve their favourite photographs before ordering prints. mr hawkins added:  the growth area is that you can order your prints online. friends and family can also access pictures you want them to see and they can print them out too.  rather than just a place to dump your pictures  it s about sharing them.   the vast majority of pictures remain on a pc s hard drive  which is why search tools  such as those offered by google  become increasingly important. but some historians and archivists are concerned that the need for perfect pictures will mean that those poor quality prints which offered a tantilising glimpse of the past may disappear forever.  it s one thing taking pictures  it s another finding them   said mr hawkins.  but this is the same problem that has always existed - how many of us have photos in wallets tucked away somewhere


oil companies get russian setback international oil and mining companies have reacted cautiously to russia s decision to bar foreign firms from natural resource tenders in 2005.  us oil giant exxon said it did not plan to take part in a new tender on a project for which it had previously signed a preliminary agreement. miner highland gold said it regretted any limit on privatisation while bp  a big investor  declined to comment. only firms at least 51% russian-owned will be permitted to bid.  the federal natural resources agency said  the government is interested in letting russian companies develop strategic resources . the foreign ownership issue will be dealt with according to russia s competition law  natural resources minister yuri trutnev was quoted as saying by the interfax news agency. no further details were given  with mr trutnev suggesting that russia may decide on a case-by-case basis. observers said that the move may represent a shift in policy  as the administration of vladimir putin puts the protection of national interests above free market dynamics. russia recently wrested back control of a large chunk of its oil industry from stock-market listed company yukos  a move that prompted calls of outrage from many investors.  analysts warned that it was still too early to draw too many conclusions from this new set of proposals.  companies echoed this sentiment  saying that they would require more information before ringing the alarm bells.  it s not good. but it is very understandable   said al breach  an economist at ubs brunswick.  but if the investment climate is stable - that s much more important.  foreigners of course would like to have free entry but... this is not the end of the world.  a number of other nations  including mexico  saudi arabia and kuwait  protect their national resources from foreign firms. what has surprised observers is that since the collapse of communism russia has been courting foreign investment.  bp spent $7.5bn to create russian-registered oil company tnk-bp  and has a partnership to develop the sakhalin 5 petroleum field with state-owned rosneft. exxon  the world s largest oil company  has signed preliminary agreements to develop the sakhalin 3 field. company spokesman glenn waller said exxon still considered the deal valid  despite russia inviting new offers for the land block. according to mr waller  exxon  were not planning to bid at a new tender anyway .  we regret the ministry has taken such a decision   said ivan kulakov  deputy chairman of highland gold - a mining firm that has the motto  bringing russia s gold to market .  it would be a shame if that has a negative impact on the investment climate.  other firms that have been linked with investment in russia include france s total  the us-based chevrontexaco  and miner barrick gold.


mourinho receives robson warning sir bobby robson has offered chelsea boss jose mourinho some advice on coping under pressure.  the pair worked together at barcelona and porto and robson had a word of warning for his protege.  it has all gone for him just lately and that is marvellous  but sometimes you have to have a bit of humility and learn how to lose   said robson.  it is when it goes against you and you get a bit of bad luck that you learn  and he ll get it straight.  robson was speaking after being formally granted the freedom of the city of newcastle.  jose is doing very well at the moment   robson added of the man who worked for him for six years.  he has got one pot - possibly two to follow - a big game against barcelona to come and i cannot see them losing their lead in the premiership.  they are in a good position and i would expect them to go on and win it  which is a wonderful achievement.   what has occurred over the last couple of weeks will stand him in very good stead for the future. if he is intelligent  he will take it on board - and he is very intelligent.  he will have learned more in the last fortnight than the last eight months. before that  it was all about winning.  robson also admitted he would relish the chance to get back into management and test his skills against mourinho.  i am not in a hurry to take the wrong job  but i am ready to take the right job and i feel there is another job in me   he added.  i know the area i am capable of working in and of course i would like a job in the premiership if one was available.  it would not worry me if i had to pit my wits against jose.  but it is not just a case of him and me against one another. it would be his team against my team - but i would not be afraid of that.


dallaglio his own man to the end controversy and lawrence dallaglio have never been very far away from each other throughout a glittering international career.  even the end of his nine-year career came out of the blue  just four days before the start of the season. but then dallaglio has always been his own man. ever since emerging onto the international scene dallaglio has polarised opinions. to supporters of england  dallaglio could do no wrong. an integral part of a sustained period of success for england  dallaglio s crowning glory was his part in the side that won the rugby world cup in 2003.  rival fans  meanwhile  have tended to take an alternative view  seeing dallaglio as the epitome of the less agreeable characteristics of english rugby. never afraid to speak his mind  be it to the referee or the opposition on the pitch  or his coach or the media off it  dallaglio has sometimes rubbed people up the wrong way. dallaglio arrived as part of the unheralded england side which became the shock winners of the first rugby sevens world cup in 1993. it took him another two years to graduate to the full england xv  but once there he proved to the manor born. displaying maturity and physical power beyond his years  dallaglio rapidly established himself as an automatic choice able to play any one of the three back-row positions at international standard.  within two years of his debut  dallaglio was offered the england captain s band  and his career continued to go from strength to strength as he made the 1997 lions tour to south africa. although overlooked for the captaincy in favour of england team-mate martin johnson  he played a massive role in the 2-1 series victory. but after building up a seemingly unstoppable momentum  dallaglio s career hit the buffers at speed in 1999.  first came the last-minute defeat to wales in which dallaglio s decision not to kick for goal in the dying minutes was blamed for costing england a grand slam. worse was to follow though as an infamous newspaper sting cost him his treasured england captaincy. with sensational allegations of drug use - of which he was subsequently cleared - splashed across the front pages  a devastated dallaglio stepped down as england skipper. but he bounced back  getting his head down at club level before returning to the england fold  albeit now as a lieutenant to new captain johnson. as a member of a new-look england side on the long road to world cup glory - a journey not without mishaps as a succession of grand slams opportunities were spurned - dallaglio emerged as a key performer once again.  yet another setback arrived in 2001 as a serious knee injury cut short dallaglio s involvement on the lions tour to australia.  rumours began to circulate that his career was over but  in typical dallaglio style  he embarked on a punishing schedule of rehabilitation to return an even more fearsome physical specimen. one effect of the injury was to rob dallaglio of much of his pace  but ever the pragmatist  he reinvented himself as a close quarters number eight of the highest calibre.  the only player to play every minute of england s world cup triumph in australia  dallaglio could hardly have done more to secure england s historic win  and for that he will always be held in the highest esteem by england supporters. following johnson s retirement  dallaglio s career came full circle as woodward restored him as england captain. while england did not hit the heights in dallaglio s second spell as captain  losing five of their eight post-world cup tests  dallaglio led by example  leaving him as one of the few members of a squad lacking many world cup stars to live up to expectations. dallaglio walks away from the international game safe in the knowledge that he will go down as one of england s most accomplished players  if not one of the great captains despite his evident pride in leading his country.  the problem now for england is how to replace the almost irreplaceable. the likes of matt dawson  jonny wilkinson  phil vickery and hill have all been mentioned as contenders for dallaglio s role as captain. but it is as a player that england will really struggle to replace the 32-year-old. although players like joe worsley and chris jones are more than capable of stepping up  the fact that there is no stand-out candidate speaks volumes about dallaglio s massive influence on english rugby.


vodafone appoints new japan boss vodafone has drafted in its uk chief executive william morrow to take charge of its troubled japanese operation.  mr morrow will succeed shiro tsuda as president of vodafone kk  japan s number three mobile operator  in april. mr tsuda  who will become chairman  was appointed president only two months ago but the business has struggled since then  losing customers in january. vodafone had pinned its hopes on the launch of its 3g phones in november but demand for them has been slow.  while it has more than 15 million customers in japan  vodafone has found it difficult to satisfy japan s technologically demanding mobile users. it suffered a net loss of more than 58 000 customers in january  its second monthly reverse in the last year.  vodafone is going to need to put a lot of money into japan if it wants to rebuild the business   tetsuro tsusaka  a telecoms analyst with deutsche bank  told reuters.  i do not know if it will be worth it for them to spend that kind of money just for japan.


absa and barclays talks continue south africa biggest retail bank absa has said it is still in talks with uk bank barclays over the sale of majority stake in the group.  in november  absa said it was close to striking a deal with barclays. but the group said barclays is still waiting for the approval of south africa s banking and competition authorities to make a formal offer. absa also announced that it expects to see earnings grow by 20-25% in its current financial year.   discussions with barclays are continuing  but shareholders are advised that no agreement has been reached as to any offer being made by barclays to acquire a majority stake in absa   absa said in a statement. if barclays buys a stake in absa it will be one of the largest foreign investments in south africa in recent years. absa currently has a market value of about $8.5bn (£4.4bn). analysts said absa s earnings forecast was better than expected. however  the company warned that headline earnings growth would be trimmed by about four percentage points because of share options for a black economic empowerment transaction and a staff share incentive scheme. the south african group will release its results for the year to 31 march on 30 may.


dollar drops on reserves concerns the us dollar has dropped against major currencies on concerns that central banks may cut the amount of dollars they hold in their foreign reserves.  comments by south korea s central bank at the end of last week have sparked the recent round of dollar declines. south korea  which has about $200bn in foreign reserves  said it plans instead to boost holdings of currencies such as the australian and canadian dollar. analysts reckon that other nations may follow suit and now ditch the dollar. at 1300 gmt  the euro was up 0.9% on the day at 1.3187 euros per us dollar. the british pound had added 0.5% to break through the $1.90 level  while the dollar had fallen by 1.3% against the japanese yen to trade at 104.16 yen.  at the start of the year  the us currency  which had lost 7% against the euro in the final three months of 2004 and had fallen to record lows  staged something of a recovery.  analysts  however  pointed to the dollar s inability recently to extend that rally despite positive economic and corporate data  and highlighted the fact that many of the us s economic problems had not disappeared. the focus once again has been on the country s massive trade and budget deficits  with predictions of more dollar weakness to come.  the comments from korea came at a time when sentiment towards the dollar was already softening   said ian gunner  a trader at mellon financial. on tuesday  traders in asia said that both south korea and taiwan had withdrawn their bids to buy dollars at the start of the session. mansoor mohi-uddin  chief currency strategist at ubs  said that there was a sentiment in the market that  central banks from asia and the middle east are buying euros . a report last month already showed that the dollar was losing its allure as a currency that offered rock-steady returns and stability. compiled by central banking publications and sponsored by the uk s royal bank of scotland  the survey found 39 nations out of 65 questioned were increasing their euro holdings  with 29 cutting back on the us dollar.


federer joins all-time greats the last year has seen one player dominate men s tennis  and one country dominate the women s game.  roger federer became the first man since mats wilander in 1988 to win three grand slams in one season. and after anastasia myskina became the first russian woman to win a grand slam at the french open  two more followed at wimbledon and the us open. meanwhile  briton tim henman enjoyed his best year  while greg rusedski fought back superbly from adversity. federer began the year as world number one and holder of the wimbledon and masters cup titles  and set about conquering new ground. the swiss sounded warning of the dominance to come at the australian open.  he ripped through the draw before beating marat safin in the final. andy roddick was the only player to put up any real resistance at wimbledon  and federer s performance against lleyton hewitt in the us open final was breathtaking. federer again got the better of hewitt in the season-ending masters cup. his victory in houston proved to be his 13th successive win in a final  an open era record. the only major let-down was a third-round loss to gustavo kuerten at the french open  and roland garros will be his main target in 2005.  there was also a surprise loss to the unheralded tomas berdych at the olympic games  which saw chile dominate as nicoals massu took the singles and then paired up with fernando gonzaelz to win doubles gold. another major trophy that looks beyond federer is the davis cup  which was won by spain in a 3-2 home success over the usa in seville. roddick struggled on the clay  losing to rafael nadal on the opening day before going down to carlos moya in the all-important fourth rubber.  henman broke new ground by reaching the semis on clay at the french open - a stunning effort - and also at the us open. a quarter-final defeat to mario ancic at wimbledon was disappointing for the limp manner of the briton s defeat  but he remains optimistic of going further next year.  british number two rusedski endured a rollercoaster year  returning to the circuit after being cleared of a doping offence in march. with his ranking down at 168  many feared the 31-year-old s career was over  but he battled back in the second half of the season to re-enter the top 50. the russian women finally delivered on their long-recognised promise in 2004  with myskina  maria sharapova and svetlana kuznetsova winning grand slams  before taking the season-ending fed cup. but while the young russians were on the way up  it was a different story for the belgians and the williams sisters. only veteran lindsay davenport held the new wave at bay  a stunning run of form after wimbledon taking her to number one ahead of amelie mauresmo  whose grand slam drought goes on. the year started in regulation fashion as justine henin-hardenne beat compatriot kim clijsters at the australian open.  a virus ruined the rest of henin-hardenne s year  although she was fit enough to win olympic gold  but clijsters had an even more miserable 2004. she suffered a serious wrist injury and then announced the end of her relationship with lleyton hewitt  and will be happy to see the year end. in their absence  myskina thrashed elena dementieva in a historic  but woeful  all-russian final at the french open. wimbledon was a more refreshing affair as sharapova captivated sw19  showing nerves of steel as she battled past davenport and serena williams to take the title.  davenport was a strong favourite for the us open but  hampered by injury  lost to the powerful and unflappable kuznetsova in the semis. kuznetsova went on to give dementieva another grand slam final thrashing  with the latter s wayward serve becoming one of the talking points of the year. with the russians still improving  the likes of henin-hardenne  clijsters  davenport  mauresmo  venus and serena will need to be fully fit and motivated in 2005. and it may take their compatriot safin to challenge federer on the men s side.


ask jeeves joins web log market ask jeeves has bought the bloglines website to improve the way it handles content from web journals or blogs.  the bloglines site has become hugely popular as it gives users one place in which to read  search and share all the blogs they are interested in. ask jeeves said it was not planning to change bloglines but would use the 300 million articles it has archived to round out its index of the web. how much ask jeeves paid for bloglines was not revealed.  bloglines has become popular because it lets users build a list of the blogs they want to follow without having to visit each journal site individually. to do this it makes use of a technology known as really simple syndication (rss) that many blogs have adopted to let other sites know when new entries are made on their journals. the acquisition follows similar moves by other search sites. google acquired pyra labs  makers of the blogger software  in 2003. in 2004 msn introduced its own blog system and yahoo has tweaked its technology to do a better job of handling blog entries. jim lanzone  vice president of search properties at ask jeeves in the us  said it did not acquire bloglines just to get a foothold in the blog publishing world. he said ask jeeves was much more interested in helping people find information they were looking for rather than helping them write it.   the universe of readers is vastly larger than the universe of writers   he said. mr lanzone said the acquisition would sit well with ask s my jeeves service which lets people customise their own web experience and build up a personal collection of useful links.  search engines are about discovering information for the first time and rss is the ideal way to keep track of and monitor those sites   he said. it would also help drive information and entries from blogs to the portals that ask jeeves operates. there would be no instant sweeping changes to bloglines  said mr lanzone.  our intent is to take our time to figure out the right business model not to try to monetise it right away   he said. though mr lanzone added that ask jeeves would be helping organise the database of 300m blog entries bloglines holds with its own net indexing technology.  being able to search the blogosphere as one corpus of information will be very useful in its own right   said mr lanzone. rumours about the acquisition were broken by the napsterization weblog which said it got the hint from ask jeeves insiders.


connors boost for british tennis former world number one jimmy connors is planning a long-term relationship with the lawn tennis association to help unearth the next tim henman.  the american spent three days at the lta s annual elite performance winter camp in la manga earlier this week.  britain has the right attitude   said connors.  the more involved i can be with the lta  the better.  a short-term arrangement is just confusing. the kids will ask:  what am i doing there    lta chief executive  john crowther  added:  the relationship that jimmy s already started to develop with the coaches and the players has said to us that we d like some more of it.  we want to use jimmy for a number of weeks a year and we hope this is the beginning of a good long-term relationship.   the camp played host to more than 30 leading senior and junior players  including greg rusedski  arvind parmar and anne keothavong.  la manga is an amazing site to take a bunch of kids who want to be the best   said connors  speaking at queen s club in london.  what impressed me most was not only the coaches but the way the kids went about their workouts and the feeling they put into every practice they had.  it was interesting to me to see kids of 15  16  17  with that desire and passion  and that can only be brought about by the coaches surrounding them.  instilling the importance of work and practice is something you can t buy.  they know what s been given to them and all they have to do is give back the effort  and every minute of practice they were doing that.   speaking from la manga  lta performance director david felgate told bbc sport:  jimmy was fantastic with the players and the coaches  and very humble considering what he s achieved.  he worked through the coaches and hopefully it will grow and he ll get to have more of an individual relationship with some of the players and get to know them.  he made it clear from the word go he didn t want it to be short-term. this is a 52-week-a-year job for me  it s my life and my passion and it s the same with the coaches.  he respects that but he wants to be involved and have real input. and why would he stake his reputation on something that s not going to be successful   connors has also agreed to commentate for the bbc at next year s wimbledon championships. he will work during the second week of the tournament.


us woman sues over cartridges a us woman is suing hewlett packard (hp)  saying its printer ink cartridges are secretly programmed to expire on a certain date.  the unnamed woman from georgia says that a chip inside the cartridge tells the printer that it needs re-filling even when it does not. the lawsuit seeks to represent anyone in the us who has purchased an hp inkjet printer since february 2001. hp  the world s biggest printer firm  declined to comment on the lawsuit. hp ink cartridges use a chip technology to sense when they are low on ink and advise the user to make a change.  but the suit claims the chips also shut down the cartridges at a predetermined date regardless of whether they are empty.  the smart chip is dually engineered to prematurely register ink depletion and to render a cartridge unusable through the use of a built-in expiration date that is not revealed to the consumer   the suit said. the lawsuit is asking for restitution  damages and other compensation. the cost of printer cartridges has been a contentious issue in europe for the last 18 months. the price of inkjet printers has come down to as little as £34 but it could cost up to £1 700 in running costs over an 18-month period due to cartridge  a study by computeractive magazine revealed last year. the inkjet printer market has been the subject of an investigation by the uk s office of fair trading (oft)  which concluded in a 2002 report that retailers and manufacturers needed to make pricing more transparent for consumers.


lib dems unveil women s manifesto the liberal democrats are attempting to woo female voters with the launch of their manifesto for women.  charles kennedy is pledging a maternity income guarantee and a pension system based on years of residence rather than national insurance payments. he also thinks women will back plans to end university tuition fees and for free long-term care for the elderly. both labour and the conservatives have said they also plan to boost pensions and to improve childcare support. mr kennedy says he wants to deal with policy areas that disadvantage women.  two million pensioners in britain currently live below the government s own poverty line - two-thirds of whom are women   he said.  he says that pensions based on the number of years worked ignore the contribution women make caring for children. the lib dem s citizen s pension  based on length of residency not on national insurance contributions  would address that imbalance  mr kennedy argues. under the package  new mothers would be offered minimum guaranteed maternity pay of £170 a week for the first six months after the birth of their first child. mr kennedy also believes the party s plans to use the money saved from not introducing  illiberal  id cards to boost police numbers by 10 000 would appeal to women too. the policies are not new announcements  but the way they are structured as a package to appeal to women is.  mr kennedy also points to the fact that 40% of the party s candidates set to stand in winnable or target seats are women. party strategists claim that where women candidates replace men turnout rises by 4%. mr kennedy began the pitch for female support with an interview on bbc radio 4 s women s hour on monday. during the interview mr kennedy revealed that he planned to structure the party s general election campaign around the birth of his first child  which is expected in april. the baby and his wife sarah would be  priority number one  even if it arrived in the middle of the election campaign  he said.  party strategists believe winning over a significant proportion of women voters is key to electoral success. a party spokesman said it was courting female votes because they tended to vote more than men and are believed to be more considered and open-minded in deciding who they vote for. labour s deputy minister for women jacqui smith accused the lib dems of offering  false promises  to women and said their sums did not add up. she said:  these proposals would increase the costs to the public purse drastically year on year  and hard working families will pay dearly  through either increased taxes or reduced spending on public services . the labour party has committed itself to  universal  affordable and flexible  childcare for parents of all 3 to 14 year-olds  including childcare centred on schools to be available from 8am to 6pm. in september  trade and industry secretary patricia hewitt said she would like to see longer paid maternity leave  higher paternity pay and the extension of flexible working rights to carers  if labour won a third term. the conservatives are yet to unveil their manifesto plans for childcare but said in november they would increase maternity pay and pay the child tax credit in cash to parents to spend as they like  on a nanny  au pair or even a family member  such as a grandparent  acting as a carer. they were also consulting on making childcare costs tax deductible.


gm issues 2005 profits warning general motors has warned that it expects earnings this year be lower than in 2004.  the world s biggest car maker is grappling with losses in its european business  and weak us sales. gm said higher healthcare costs in north america  and lower profits at its financial services subsidiary would hurt its performance in 2005. gm said it expects to meet its 2004 earnings targets  despite a tough competitive environment .  gm  whose brands include buick  cadillac and chevrolet in the us and opel  saab and vauxhall in europe  is due to reveal 2004 earnings on 19 january.  it said it would deliver a shareholder payout of $6.0-$6.5 per share this year  as promised  but that next year s earnings per share would be lower  at between $4.0-$5.0.  we re following a roadmap that we believe will deliver strong results   said gm chief executive rick waggoner. gm said it was expecting  reduced financial losses  in europe in 2005. it is in the midst of cutting 12 000 jobs - one fifth of the european total - in a bid to cut costs. the biggest job losses are in germany. its vehicle businesses have gained market share in three out of four regions in 2004  achieving record profitability in asia pacific and returning to profit in latin america  the middle east and africa. the car maker has diversified into financial services  and is extending the reach of general motors acceptance corp (gmac)  which has said it may enter the home loans market. gmac has been a strong contributor to profits in 2004 but gm said it will do less well this year  delivering net income of $2.5bn.  attaining earnings of $10 a share remains gm s goal   the company said  adding it believes it can achieve this in 2007.


wales stars need a rest - ruddock wales coach mike ruddock has defended his decision not to release any of the international stars for this weekend s regional celtic league fixtures.  ruddock says the players will benefit from the rest  and their absence will give youngsters a chance to impress.  we ve got the wru charter in place now which outlines exactly what happens   ruddock told bbc wales sport.  once we re in the six nations  the players will only be released in his and the wru s best interests.  the ospreys and scarlets say they are happy to support the wales cause  but the dragons have expressed disappointment at not being able to use their national squad players in friday s game with ulster. ceri sweeney  gareth cooper  ian gough and kevin morgan have been used sparingly by ruddock in the opening two six nations wins and captain jason forster believes they would benefit from a game with the dragons.   i m sure the guys would want to come back to get some game time   forster told bbc wales sport.  it would also be a timely reminder to mike [ruddock] as to what they can do.  and the supporters want to see the star players - no disrespect to the other guys - performing on the pitch.  ruddock  though  is keen to protect his players from injury and fatigue.  at this stage  there s nothing more [the players] can do in games to impress me further.  we ve got to look at it at another angle and see the opportunities that are provided for the younger players in the region.  for example  the dragons might use james ireland this weekend. i ve been looking at the lad - he s a great prospect for the future.  french and english clubs have requested to have all their international players available which means stephen jones  gareth thomas and mefin davies will play this weekend. the majority of ireland and scotland players have also been released for provincial duty.


criminal probe on citigroup deals traders at us banking giant citigroup are facing a criminal investigation in germany over a controversial bond deal.  the deal saw the sale of 11bn euros ($14.4bn; £7.6bn) of government bonds in a few minutes on 2 august  with 4bn euros-worth then bought back later. the move was widely criticised at the time  and now the german regulator has said it has found evidence of possible market manipulation. citigroup said it would continue to co-operate fully with the authorities.  we are disappointed that the bafin has referred to the prosecutor the question of whether action should be brought against individuals involved   citigroup said. if the traders are found guilty  they could face a five-year jail term or a fine  reuters reported bafin as saying. however  under german criminal law  prosecutors cannot pursue citigroup itself.  germany s financial watchdog bafin told bbc news it had now transferred the investigation to the public prosecutor.  i can confirm that bafin has passed through the case to the public prosecutor   a bafin spokeswoman said.  it is now a criminal investigation.   we found clues of possible market manipulation   the spokeswoman said  which included signs of linked bond trading ahead of the main trades on 2 august.  germany s securities trading act says that if bafin finds such clues  it has to put the case in the hands of the prosecutor.  regulatory investigations are still going on in france  the uk and elsewhere. some citigroup operations elsewhere in the world came under regulatory criticism in 2004. its private banking operation in japan was closed down by regulators in tokyo after an  aggressive sales culture  led the bank to flout anti-money laundering rules.


davies favours gloucester future wales hooker mefin davies is likely to stay with english side gloucester despite reported interest from the neath-swansea ospreys.  bbc wales understands the ospreys are interested in the 32-year-old  but that he would prefer to stay where he is. davies  one of the stars of saturday s rbs six nations win over england  is only on a year contract at kingsholm. but the hooker has proved his worth to the zurich premiership side and is likely to get a new deal next season. the summer demise of the celtic warriors region left davies in the cold and forced him to take a semi-professional contract with neath rfc. although he got match time with the ospreys at the request of the wales management  he admitted before his move to gloucester that he was angry with the way he was treated.  the wru didn t give me any help off the field  it was very disappointing   davies said at the time.  it was a hard time throughout the summer  then deciding whether to accept an offer from stade francais which would have ended my wales career.


brazil jobless rate hits new low brazil s unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in three years in december  according to the government.  the brazilian institute for geography and statistics (ibge) said it fell to 9.6% in december from 10.6% in november and 10.9% in december 2003. ibge also said that average monthly salaries grew 1.9% in december 2004 from december 2003. however  average monthly wages fell 1.8% in december to 895.4 reais ($332; £179.3) from november. tuesday s figures represent the first time that the unemployment rate has fallen to a single digit since new measurement rules were introduced in 2001. the unemployment rate has been falling gradually since april 2004 when it reached a peak of 13.1%. the jobless rate average for the whole of 2004 was 11.5%  down from 12.3% in 2003  the ibge said.  this improvement can be attributed to the country s strong economic growth  with the economy registering growth of 5.2% in 2004  the government said. the economy is expected to grow by about 4% this year. president luiz inacio lula da silva promised to reduce unemployment when he was elected two years ago. nevertheless  some analysts say that unemployment could increase in the next months.  the data is favourable  but a lot of jobs are temporary for the (christmas) holiday season  so we may see slightly higher joblessness in january and february   julio hegedus  chief economist with lopes filho & associates consultancy in rio de janeir  told reuters news agency. despite his leftist background  president lula has pursued a surprisingly conservative economic policy  arguing that in order to meet its social promises  the government needs to first reach a sustained economic growth. the unemployment rate is measured in the six main metropolitan areas of brazil (sao paolo  rio de janeiro  belo horizonte  recife  salvador and porto alegre)  where most of the population is concentrated.


douglas set for indian adventure actor michael douglas is to co-produce and star in an adventure film about a diamond robbery set in india.  the new picture is expected to be similar to douglas s action films of the 1980s  romancing the stone and the jewel of the nile. another hollywood star is being lined up to co-star  while the rest of the cast will be indian. aishwarya rai  star of bride and prejudice  is the  preferred choice  of the indian studio involved in the film.  on a visit to india  the 60-year-old actor said he hoped to start shooting racing the monsoon next year. douglas added that it had been inspired by a wall street journal article about india s  angadias   who courier money and diamonds around india.  the actor s own production company  further films  is working in partnership with two indian film-making concerns to bring the picture to the screen. shailendra singh  the founder of india s percept films  said there would be  a lot of india  in the movie - and that an indian train would play a big role.  the train will be a crucial part of the film. the chase and most of the stunts will be on the train   said mr singh. swashbuckling adventure film romancing the stone saw douglas s female co-star kathleen turner win a golden globe award for her performance in 1985.


hard act to follow for outkast us rap duo outkast s trio of trophies at the mtv europe awards crowns a year of huge success for the band.  the latest triumph adds to the three grammys and four american mtv gongs won earlier in this year. andre 3000 and big boi s album speakerboxxx/the love below has been critically acclaimed since its release and sold in large quantities around the world. the double album - which saw the pair produce one disc each - topped the charts in the us at the same time as single hey ya! it took another track from the exponents of southern hip-hop - the way you move - to displace it from the top spot. the georgia pair s year of critical and commercial triumph leaves them with a tough act to follow - what can be next for a musical act that has done it all   g money  a presenter on the bbc s urban music station 1xtra  thinks a hiatus is inevitable after such a sustained period of exposure - giving the band time to think about other interests.  they might be more appearances outside the band  such as producing for other artists  while they have a number of fringe music projects.  andre 3000 would like to go into acting  so we might see him a film  while big boi already has a dog-breeding business   says the dj.   but in a couple of years they will be back with another album which will be a collaboration unlike their double cd.  their greatness has become clear with speakerboxxx/the love below. we haven t seen the last of them   he adds. outkast s musical career spans 10 years and they have enjoyed commercial and critical success in the past  with their debut southernplayalisticadillacmuzik going platinum. but it took until 2001 for the pair to score their first hit in the uk with ms jackson  while their album stakonia saw their fame spread beyond the us.  1xtra s g money says it took the latest album  released in 2003  for him to be  assured of their genius .  they have always been experimental  some of it has worked and some hasn t   he adds. but g money acknowledges that making the next move for a band that has reached a pinnacle can be tough.  what can you do next when you ve done it all   he says. with ten years of success behind them and worldwide fame  it seems that outkast is not a name that is likely to be forgotten in a hurry.


q&a: malcolm glazer and man utd the battle for control of manchester united has taken another turn after the club confirmed it had received a fresh takeover approach from us business tycoon malcolm glazer.  no formal offer has been made yet  but manchester united have confirmed they have received a  detailed proposal  from the us entrepreneur which could lead to a bid. reports have put the offer at 300p per share  which would value manchester united at about £800m ($1.5bn). the approach by the 76-year-old owner of the tampa bay buccaneers american football team is reportedly being led by his two sons  avi and joel. a previous approach to the united board by mr glazer in october last year was turned down. however  the bbc has learnt that the club is unlikely to reject the latest plan out of hand.  mr glazer s previous offer involved borrowing large amounts of money to finance any takeover. that would have left the club with debt levels which were deemed  not... in the best interests of the company  by manchester united s board when they rejected his approach last year. however  mr glazer s latest offer is reported to have cut the amount of borrowing needed by £200m.  while united s board may be casting a serious eye over mr glazer s latest proposals  supporters remain fiercely opposed to any deal.  supporters  group shareholders united - which has proved adept in rallying opposition to mr glazer s campaign - said it would fight any move.  manchester united are a debt-free company. we don t want to fall into debt and we don t need to fall into debt   shareholders united s sean bones told the bbc. united s players also appear unhappy at the prospect of a takeover.  a lot of people want the club s interest to be with people who have grown up with the club and got its interests at heart   rio ferdinand told bbc radio five live.  no-one knows what this guy will be bringing to the table.   the key to any successful bid will be attracting the support of united s largest shareholders  the irish horse racing tycoons john magnier and jp mcmanus. through their cubic expression vehicle they own 28.9% of the club. mr glazer owns 28.1%. joe mclean  a football specialist at accountancy firm grant thornton  said the support of mr magnier and mr mcmanus was  utterly crucial .  mr glazer s bid will not proceed without their support and they have previously indicated that they are holding their stake as an investment.  if that s the case  the shares will therefore need a price attachment of about 300 pence  maybe 305.  if that s the case then mr glazer might well secure their support - if he does  this bid could well go ahead.   indeed it is. malcolm glazer was little-known in the uk until he started to build up his stake in manchester united in late 2003. in february 2004 he said he was  considering  whether to bid for the club. no bid emerged  but mr glazer continued to increase his holding in the club. in october 2004  manchester united said they had received a  preliminary approach   which turned out to have come from mr glazer. however  the board rejected the move because of the amount of debt it would involve. at the club s annual general meeting in november  mr glazer took revenge by using his hefty stake in the club to oust three directors from the board. legal adviser maurice watkins  commercial director andy anson and non-executive director philip yea were voted out  against the wishes of chief executive david gill. but the move led to bankers jp morgan and public relations firm brunswick withdrawing from the glazer bid team.


delta cuts fares in survival plan delta air lines is cutting domestic fares by as much as 50% as part of a plan to ensure its financial survival.  other us carriers  including united  have sought bankruptcy protection  amid high fuel costs and competition from discount carriers. delta is restructuring in a bid to fight off insolvency. this latest move to boost business has prompted speculation other firms will be forced to match their fares  hurting revenues in the sector. delta s new simplifares were trialled from august last year on tickets from cincinnati  its second-largest hub.  the airline says no one-way economy fare will now be priced higher than $499 (£264)  and no first-class fare will be priced higher than $599. it is also eliminating a saturday-night stay requirement on discount fares and will give further reductions to customers opting for non-refundable tickets  booking in advance and online. delta  which lost $646m in the three months to september  was forced to cut 6 900 jobs worldwide as part of its aim to slash $5bn from its costs. in october  it reached a crucial agreement with pilots on pay and conditions and it has also issued new shares to staff in return for wage cuts. airline shares closed lower on the announcement  with delta  continental and american airlines all falling by more than 7%.  we believe the whole airline industry will now have to move in this direction; this will likely hurt revenue in the short run but could be beneficial in the long run   said analyst ray neidl at calyon securities.


warning over windows word files writing a microsoft word document can be a dangerous business  according to document security firm workshare.  up to 75% of all business documents contained sensitive information most firms would not want exposed  a survey by the firm revealed. to make matters worse 90% of those companies questioned had no idea that confidential information was leaking. the report warns firms to do a better job of policing documents as corporate compliance becomes more binding.  sensitive information inadvertently leaked in documents includes confidential contractual terms  competitive information that rivals would be keen to see and special deals for key customers  said andrew pearson  european boss of workshare which commissioned the research.  the efficiencies the internet has brought in such as instant access to information have also created security and control issues too   he said. the problem is particularly acute with documents prepared using microsoft word because of the way it maintains hidden records about editing changes. as documents get passed around  worked on and amended by different staff members the sensitive information finds its way into documents. poor control over the editing and amending process can mean that information that should be expunged survives final edits. microsoft  however  does provide an add-on tool for windows pcs that fixes the problem.  the remove hidden data add-in is a tool that you can use to remove personal or hidden data that might not be immediately apparent when you view the document in your microsoft office application   says the instructions on microsoft s website. microsoft recommends that the tool is used before people publish any word document. a tool for apple machines running word is not available. workshare surveyed firms around the world and found that  on average  31% of documents contained legally sensitive information but in many firms up to three-quarters fell in to the high risk category. often  said mr pearson  this sensitive information was invisible because it got deleted and changed as different drafts were prepared.  however  the way that windows works means that earlier versions can be recalled and reconstructed by those keen to see how a document has evolved. few firms have any knowledge of the existence of this so-called metadata about the changes that a document has gone through or that it can be reconstructed. the discovery of this hidden information could prove embarrassing for companies if  for instance  those tendering for contracts found out about the changes to terms of a deal being negotiated. the research revealed that a document s metadata could be substantial as  on average  only 40% of contributors  changes to a document make it to the final draft. problems with documents could mean trouble for firms as regulatory bodies step up scrutiny and compliance laws start to bite  said mr pearson.


bank payout to pinochet victims a us bank has said it will donate more than $8m to victims of former chilean military ruler augusto pinochet s regime under a madrid court settlement.  riggs bank will put money in a special fund to be managed by a madrid-based charity  the salvador allende foundation  which helps abused victims. the bank had been accused of illegally concealing gen pinochet s assets. more than 3 000 people were killed for political reasons under gen pinochet s regime  an official report says. last month in a us court  riggs bank pleaded guilty to failing to report suspicious activity relating to accounts held by gen pinochet and the government of equatorial guinea. on that occasion  it was ordered to pay a fine of $16m. gen pinochet himself has never been put on trial for human rights violations under his 1973-90 rule  despite several high-profile cases against him. he is now facing charges relating to the murder of one chilean and the disappearance of nine others. he is also being investigated for tax evasion  tax fraud and embezzlement of state funds.  the general s opponents rejoiced at the settlement  which was agreed in a court in the spanish capital  madrid. a lawyer for the victims  eduardo contreras  told reuters news agency:  this demonstrates that the horrors of the pinochet dictatorship are not a mystery to anyone and that the whole world knows his victims deserve reparations.  riggs spokesman mark hendrix said the settlement  details of which will be announced next week  was an opportunity to move on.  this enables the institution to put the matter behind us   he told reuters. the settlement follows a legal complaint filed against the bank by spanish judge baltasar garzon alleging that it had illegally concealed assets. the bank agreed to create a fund for the victims  but the charges were dropped.


sociedad set to rescue mladenovic rangers are set to loan out-of-favour midfielder dragan mladenovic to real sociedad  despite the closure of the january transfer window.  sociedad have been given special permission by the spanish fa to sign a player due to an injury crisis. mladenovic will effectively replace former rangers midfielder mikel arteta  who has been loaned to everton. sociedad say they will pay rangers £150 000  with an option to buy the serbia & montenegro international. mladenovic s loan move is subject to him passing a medical. the 28-year-old  who joined rangers from red star belgrade for £1.2m in the close season  is expected in san sebastian later this week following his national side s game against bulgaria. sociedad are in 15th place in the 20-strong primera liga  just two points above the relegation zone. special permission from the spanish fa came after an injury to central defender igor jauregi. the versatile mladenovic can also play in the back four. his agent said last month that rangers had told him to find the player a new club. mladenovic s time at ibrox has been plagued with injury and he has made just six starts in six months with the glasgow club.


indy buys into india paper irish publishing group independent news & media is buying up a 26% stake in indian newspaper company jagran in a deal worth 25m euros ($34.1m).  jagran publishes india s top-selling daily newspaper  the hindi-language dainik jagran  which has been in circulation for 62 years. news of the deal came as the group announced that its results would meet market forecasts. the company reported strong revenue growth across all its major markets.  group advertising revenues were up over 10% year-on-year  the group said  with overall circulation revenues are expected to increase almost 10% year-on-year. this was helped by the positive impact of  compact  newspaper editions in ireland and the uk  it said.  2004 has proven to be an important year for independent news & media   said chief executive sir anthony o reilly.  our simple aim at independent is to be the low cost producer in every region in which we operate. i am confident that we will show a meaningful increase in earnings for 2005.   meanwhile  the group made no comment about the future of the independent newspaper despite recent speculation that sir anthony had held talks with potential buyers over a stake in the daily publication. he has consistently denied suggestions that the independent and the independent on sunday are up for sale. buy it is understood that the recent success of the smaller edition of the independent  which has pushed circulation up by 20% to 260 000  has prompted interest from industry rivals  with daily mail & general trust tipped as the most likely suitor. the loss-making newspaper is not expected to reach break-even until 2006.


teens  know little  of politics teenagers questioned for a survey have shown little interest in politics - and have little knowledge.  only a quarter of 14-16 year olds knew that labour was the government  the tories were the official opposition and the lib dems were the third party. almost all could identify tony blair  but only one in six knew who michael howard was  and just one in 10 recognised charles kennedy. the icm survey interviewed 110 pupils for education watchdog ofsted. nearly half those pupils polled said it was not important for them to know more about what the political parties stand for. and 4% of those questioned thought the conservatives were in power - while 2% of them believed the lib dems were. the survey also looked at issues of nationality. it found the union flag and fish and chips topped the list of symbols and foods associated with being british. many of the pupils also looked on themselves as english  scottish or welsh  rather than british; while the notion of being european hardly occurred to anyone.


little britain vies for tv trophy bbc hits little britain and strictly come dancing are among numerous british shows nominated for the prestigious golden rose television awards.  homegrown reality programmes dominated that category  including channel 4 s supernanny and itv1 s hell s kitchen. eastenders and coronation street were overlooked in the soap category  but doctors and family affairs gained nods. the festival  which honours the best tv from around the globe  will take place in lucerne  switzerland from 3-8 may.  little britain  which is now in its second series  faces competition from bbc two s the catherine tate show and sacha baron cohen s creations borat and bruno. in the separate sitcom category  dark comedy nighty night - which began life on bbc three - will do battle with mainstream bbc one show my family.  bbc one s strictly come dancing  which saw celebrities compete against each other to become champions of the dancefloor  is among five british nominations in the varirty category. lenny henry  who won a golden rose for his in pieces series in 2001  picks up another nomination for his recent bbc show. british television music shows have picked up six nominations  with bbc three s flashmob - the opera up against the uk music hall of fame series  which was screened on channel 4. british television has performed very well in the arts and specials category  gaining a total of 11 nominations. the bbc leads the way with its programmes on the sound of music  agatha christie and rolf on art - the big event - which saw harris lead an effort to produce a life-size painting in london s trafalgar square.  british shows - which picked up a total of 48 nominations - will have to overcome competition from a host of other countries  including the us  canada  japan and across europe. uk nominee tv diaries  which is shown around the world  is owned by a british company but has yet to be screened in this country. previous uk winners have included ant & dec s saturday night takeaway  pop idol  channel 4 show faking it and comedy duo french and saunders  who became the first winners to receive and honorary golden rose. individual performers will also be rewarded  with prizes for best comics  best sitcom actor and actress and best gameshow host. last year actor shane richie won an award for his portrayal of alfie moon in eastenders.


immigration to be election issue immigration and asylum have normally been issues politicians from the big parties have tiptoed around at election time.  but no longer. both labour and the tories have signalled their intention of making them central to their election campaigns. they have been struck by the level of concern amongst voters about the issues  with internal surveys showing they have the potential to swing large numbers of votes. that was also true at the last general election and the issue did briefly become a campaigning issue. but it sparked the probably predictable furore with claims politicians were either stoking up xenophobia or  alternatively  running scared of addressing the problem. but this time around it looks set to be one of the core battlegrounds with both the big parties competing to set out tough policies.  the tories are already committed to imposing annual limits on immigration  with a quota for asylum seekers and with applications processed outside the uk. labour has already branded the proposal unworkable but party strategists have seen the tories seizing a poll advantage over the issue.  now home secretary charles clarke has come up with alternative proposals for a points system to ensure only immigrants who can benefit the economy will be granted entry  and to kick out more failed asylum seekers. that has been attacked by the tories as too little  too late and for failing to tackle the key issue of the numbers entering the uk. the liberal democrats have not been drawn too deeply into the argument but have called for a europe-wide policy on immigration.  but  while all the parties appear to agree the time has come to properly debate and address the issue  there are already signs they will run into precisely the same problems as before. former union leader sir bill morris has already accused both the big parties of engaging in a  bidding war about who can be nastiest to asylum seekers .   my concern is that  whilst the labour party and the conservative party will take a constructive approach to the debate  right-wing political parties  picking up on statements like `burden to britain  will exploit this and create a lot of fear and uncertainty . it is precisely that concern - and the possible suggestion the issue is playing to the far right s racist agenda - that will provoke strong reactions from many concerned with this issue. the challenge for the big parties is to ensure they can engage in the debate during the cut and thrust of a general election while also avoiding that trap.


low-budget film wins cesar a film that follows a group of alienated youth in a paris suburb as they prepare to perform an 18th century play has won france s top cinema award.  l esquive earned a cesar prize for its director  tunisian-born abdellatif kechiche  and its young star  the 18-year-old actress sara forestier. it saw off competition from big-budget french epic  a very long engagement  and the box-office hit  the chorus. us film lost in translation won the award for best foreign feature. the wistful romantic comedy directed by sofia coppola has already won several awards  including an oscar for best screenplay in 2004. its late release in france made it a contender for this year s cesars.  the low-budget l esquive depicts the travails of a group of youth getting ready to perform a school play by the 18th-century dramatist  marivaux. the actors are mostly amateurs and the action is set in the impoverished suburbs of paris  home to thousands of immigrants from north africa and their children. kechiche said he made the film because he  wanted to show people we don t normally see at the cinema . a very long engagement  a world war i drama featuring audrey tautou  won five cesar awards. the chorus  a film about a schoolteacher who introduces an unruly classroom to the pleasures of classical singing  won two awards - for best music and best sound. us actor will smith  who won an honorary award at the ceremony  thanked his family and his  hero   nelson mandela  in his speech.


celebrities get their skates on former england footballer paul gascoigne will join eastenders  actress scarlett johnson on bbc one s strictly ice dancing.  the one-off christmas special will also star television presenter carol smillie and jessica taylor from liberty-x. each celebrity will be paired with a professional skater to impress a panel of judges and win the audience vote. the bbc is yet to confirm the final two stars who will battle it out to become ice king or queen.  veteran presenter bruce forsyth and tess daly will host the programme  which follows hot on the heels of the current saturday night series strictly come dancing. the celebrities will have to practise a stipulated ice dance and perform it at an ice rink with their partner. the judges will have 50% of the vote to decide who wins the contest  with the ice rink audience making up the rest of the vote. the show forms part of the bbc s festive schedule. ice skating duo jayne torvill and christopher dean are to front a similar celebrity ice dance show for itv  titled stars on thin ice. the contestants on stars on thin ice will each be paired up with a professional skater and will learn a new routine every week. at the end of the series  one celebrity will be crowned the winner.


sir paul rocks super bowl crowds sir paul mccartney wowed fans with a live mini-concert at american football s super bowl - and avoided any janet jackson-style controversies.  the 62-year-old sang hey jude and other beatles songs in a 12-minute set at half-time during the game in florida. last year  jackson exposed a breast during a dance routine  causing outrage among millions of tv viewers and landing the cbs tv network a fine. sir paul  however  did nothing more racy than remove his jacket as he sang. organisers were widely considered to be playing it safe this year by booking 62-year-old sir paul for his second super bowl show.  three years ago  he was invited to perform at the first super bowl after the september 11 attacks and performed his specially-written song freedom. this time  he started off the show  at the alltel stadium in jacksonville  florida  with the beatles numbers drive my car and get back. he then performed a mellow version of live and let die  the james bond theme he recorded with the band wings. finally  he closed the show with a rousing version of hey jude. the former beatle resisted any temptation to refer to janet jackson s headline-grabbing performance last year  instead keeping banter between songs to a minimum in order to squeeze as much music as he could into his slot. the singer removed his black jacket halfway through the show - but any fans hoping for a second  nipple-gate  were to be disappointed as he kept his red sweatshirt on underneath.  earlier  the black eyed peas and alicia keys had provided the night s other high-profile entertainment by performing in a pre-game show. black eyed peas singer fergie was dressed in a tight orange top and purple hotpants  but nothing in her performance was likely to upset tv watchdogs. after the controversy last year - which saw cbs fined a record $550 000 (£292 000) by federal regulators - super bowl organisers had turned to producer don mischer to oversee this year s half-time show. his previous production credits included olympic opening and closing ceremonies. the super bowl is watched by an audience of 144.4 million in the us  with many of the people watching are said to tune in specifically to see the entertainment put on around the event. michael jackson  aerosmith  diana ross  gloria estefan and phil collins are among the stars who have previously graced the super bowl stage.


j-lo and husband plan debut duet singers jennifer lopez and husband marc anthony  a latin pop star  are to perform a duet at this month s grammy awards in los angeles.  anthony became lopez s third husband in june 2004. he won a grammy in 1998 and is nominated for two more this year. the 13 february ceremony will also include a rendition of the beatles  across the universe by bono  stevie wonder  norah jones and brian wilson. the song will go on sale online to raise money for the tsunami aid effort. the awards show will also feature performances from u2  green day  alicia keys and kanye west - but the lopez and anthony duet is likely to be one of the biggest talking points.  anthony  born in new york to a puerto rican family  is reported to be the biggest-selling salsa artist of all time. he is nominated this year for best latin pop album and best salsa/merengue album. the tsunami tribute song will also feature alicia keys  velvet revolver and tim mcgraw. fans will be able to download it for $0.99 (£0.53) from itunes  or purchase the video from the cbs tv network s site. kanye west  the rapper who leads the awards with 10 nominations  will perform alongside john legend  mavis staples and the blind boys of alabama. there will also be a tribute to ray charles featuring bonnie raitt and billy preston and a celebration of southern rock with tim mcgraw  gretchen wilson  lynyrd skynyrd  dickie betts and elvis bishop. ray charles  who died in june 2004  has seven posthumous nominations. alicia keys and usher share eight nominations each.


clijsters could play aussie open kim clijsters has denied reports that she has pulled out of january s australian open because of her persistent wrist injury.  open chief paul mcnamee had said:  kim s wrist obviously isn t going to be rehabilitated.  but her spokesman insisted she had simply delayed submitting her entry.  the doctors are assessing her injury on a weekly basis and if there is no risk she could play. but if there s the least risk she will stay away.  despite being absent from the wta entry list for the tournament  which begins on 17 january  clijsters would be certain to get a wild card if she requested one. clijsters is still ranked 22nd in the world despite only playing a handful of matches last season. the belgian had an operation on her left wrist early in the season but injured it again on her return to the tour. meanwhile  jelena dokic  who used to compete for australia  has opted out of the first grand slam of the season. dokic has not played in the australian open since 2001 when she lost in the first round. but the 21-year-old would have had to rely on a wild card next season because her ranking has tumbled to 127th. four-time champion monica seles  who has not played since last year s french open  is another absentee because of an injured left foot.


mobile audio enters new dimension as mobile phones move closer to being a ubiquitous  all-in-one media player  audio is becoming ever more important. but how good can that sound be from such a small device   the sound of a buzzing bee jumps from left to right before disappearing around the back of my head. the surround sound demo is unremarkable when heard on a multi-speaker home cinema system but startling when emerging from a small mobile phone. british firm sonaptic is one of a number of companies to have developed 3d audio technology that emerges from stereo speakers. firms am3d and srs both offer stereo-widening technology for mobile phones. but sonaptic s managing director david monteith says his firm is the only company to offer positional 3d audio on a mobile.   there are quite a few basic technologies out there  making the sound seem a bit bigger  headphones a bit nicer.   no-one has really tried before to make proper 3d positional audio - where an individual channel can be moved around.  sonaptic has been working with japanese mobile network ntt docomo to set standards for 3d audio on mobile phones. in the last few months handsets from nec  fujitsu and mitsubishi have been released on to the japanese marker which have chips produced by yamaha and rohm with sonaptic s technology.  the technology has been around on pcs and games consoles for some time but what we are doing is making it more efficient so it can go on a small consumer device like a mobile phone   said mr monteith.  the technology works through applying the science of psychoacoustics and grew out of medical research done by the company s research director dr alastair sibbald.  we are basically trying to fool your ears into thinking sound is coming from areas it actually isn t.  your brain uses certain bits of information which we are effectively synthesising on a mobile phone handset.  the structure of the ear works as a 3d encoder for sound - helping the brain understand from where sound is emanating. sonaptic s audio processing algorithms mimic that 3d encoding  giving the impression that sound is coming from the left  right  and behind a listener when in fact it is coming from a single source. mr montieth says:  if the sound is off to one side it will get to one ear before the other - if it is on the right it has to bend around your head to get to your left ear.   the shape of your ear causes differences in sound from one ear to the other. we are synthesising those differences.  sonaptic hopes the technology will have a big impact in the growing market of mobile gaming and music downloading.  handhelds often have limitations - screens will be small by definition.  if you want to get impact from media you are running - either a movie  a game or watching tv - if you want it to be more immersive then our technology can help.  a fishing game is the first title to use the technology  creating a 3d sound field while the gamer plays. driving games and shoot  em ups using the technology are in development. the technology can also be used for music - giving songs a much more expansive and immersive feel. sonaptic offers its technology on a chip or in software and is about to release a new version which significantly improves the efficiency of the audio processing.  it s important we only use 10 or 15% of the processor otherwise you won t be able to play a game on the handset   explained mr montieth. the company is now looking to the us and european markets  where it has been working with network vodafone.  we have focused first on japan because it has a very advanced mobile phone market.  we knew japan would be the first place to have the handsets that could use our technology.  there should be handsets out in the uk in the next six months.


ref stands by scotland decisions the referee from saturday s france v scotland six nations match has defended the officials  handling of the game after criticism by matt williams.  the scotland coach said his side were robbed of victory by poor decisions made by the officials. but nigel williams said:  i m satisfied the game was handled correctly.  meanwhile  matt williams will not be punished by the scottish rugby union for allegedly using bad language in his comments about the officials. he denies having done so. nonetheless  he was furious about several decisions that he felt denied his side a famous victory. but nigel williams told the scottish daily mail:  i spoke to matt williams at the post-match dinner.  he made no mention of the disallowed try or any other refereeing decisions whatsoever.  if matt has issues with the match officials  then he is very welcome to phone me and discuss them.  ultimately there is a match assessor at every international game to give an impartial and objective view of the performance of the officials.  that is the beginning and end of it.


italy aim to rattle england italy coach john kirwan believes his side can upset england as the six nations wooden spoon battle hots up.  the two sides  both without a win  meet on 12 march at twickenham and kirwan says his side will be hoping to make the most of england s current slump.  we have to make sure the england and france games are tough for them.  england have not been having the best of championships. that is a big one for us and them and i am sure my players will rise to the occasion   he said. but kirwan admits that a lot of hard work will be needed with his kickers before the trip to london. roland de marigny and luciano orquera had a miserable time with the boot in the dire defeat to scotland as chris paterson stole the show to give the hosts a much-needed 18-10 victory. kirwan said:  the kicking was the decisive factor in scotland which cost us and it could go down to the kicking again next time.  but i have a lot of confidence in my players and i am positive we can put everything together against england.  england  meanwhile  are licking their wounds and rueing what might have been had two decisions from referee jonathan kaplan not gone against them in the second half in dublin. first mark cueto was judged offside as he chased fly-half charlie hodgson s kick  and then kaplan opted not to call upon video evidence to see if josh lewsey had touched down after being driven over ireland s line.  but centre jamie noon believes the side at least showed better form than their previous two defeats.  we definitely improved against an in-form irish side   he said.  we went to dublin quietly confident that we would be able to compete  and i think we showed that.  we have got to make sure we now take the form and positives into the italy game. we are under no illusions that it is going to be easy  but we definitely need a win.  england have now equalled an 18-year low of four successive championship defeats  including france in paris last season  and have lost four in a row under andy robinson. his predecessor  sir clive woodward  began his seven-year reign with three defeats and two draws.


councils prepare to set tax rises council tax in scotland is set to rise by an average of about 4% in the coming year  bbc scotland has learned.  authorities will decide final figures on thursday when projected increases will be more than twice the rate of inflation  which is currently 1.6%. the finance minister has urged councils to limit increases but they have warned that they will struggle to maintain services unless funding is increased. they say much additional government money is for new initiatives. scottish finance minister  tom mccabe msp  said:  last week in parliament i announced an additional £419m for core expenditure to local government in scotland.  that s a 5.5% increase and sits against an inflation rate of 1.6%  so i think we have quite rightly said to councils this year that we would at the very least ask them to exercise restraint.  mr mccabe is also looking for local authorities to become more efficient and save money in coming years. he told bbc radio scotland s sunday live programme:  here in scotland we have 32 councils who all have their own individual collection systems for council tax  they have their own payroll systems and their own human resource systems.   we think there has to be opportunities there for rationalisation and using the money saved to reinvest in frontline services.  the councils  umbrella organisation cosla  which provided bbc scotland with the indicative figures for next year  warned that councils would face a continuous struggle to maintain services. mr mccabe has promised them about £8.1bn next year.  however  most of the increase is targeted to new initiatives and councils will experience difficulties in maintaining core services   a cosla spokesman said. cosla says that it is willing to work with the executive on finding efficiency savings but that these will not be enough to maintain services. they say the funding plans for the next three years will see councils lose more of the share of public spending. the conservatives accuse the scottish executive of using the council tax to raise funds because it is too afraid to raise income tax.  the tory finance spokesman  brian monteith msp  said:  its a form of disguise... yet again we see that council tax is being used as a way of passing on costs.  scared of actually using its three pence income tax that it could put up  what we ve seen over the years is more and more burdens being put onto local authorities and the council tax payer having to pick up the bill.  there are also warnings that unless funding to councils is increased in the next few years then services may have to be reduced. linda knox  director of the scottish local authority management centre at strathclyde university  said:  with this current settlement the increase is slowing. at the same time  the burdens on councils are greater than they were.  the settlement figures don t include pay increases and the executive is also requiring a substantial figure - in the area of £325m - in efficiency savings across the settlement period.  education will be protected from any cuts but linda knox says this will mean other services will suffer. she said:  in practice  that will mean a 4-5% cut for other services. on the face of it the settlement looks like an increase of about 9.7% but by the time you take into account other factors its probably only about 1% in real terms.


bennett play takes theatre prizes the history boys by alan bennett has been named best new play in the critics  circle theatre awards.  set in a grammar school  the play also earned a best actor prize for star richard griffiths as teacher hector. the producers was named best musical  victoria hamilton was best actress for suddenly last summer and festen s rufus norris was named best director. the history boys also won the best new comedy title at the theatregoers  choice awards.  partly based upon alan bennett s experience as a teacher  the history boys has been at london s national theatre since last may. the critics  circle named rebecca lenkiewicz its most promising playwright for the night season  and eddie redmayne most promising newcomer for the goat or  who is sylvia   paul rhys was its best shakespearean performer for measure for measure at the national theatre and christopher oram won the design award for suddenly last summer. both the critics  circle and whatsonstage.com theatregoers  choice award winners were announced on tuesday. chosen by more than 11 000 theatre fans  the theatregoers  choice awards named us actor christian slater best actor for one flew over the cuckoo s nest. diana rigg was best actress for suddenly last summer  dame judi dench was best supporting actress for the rsc s all s well that ends well and the history boys  samuel barnett was best supporting actor.