yukos unit fetches $9bn at auction a little-known russian company has bought the main production unit of oil giant yukos at auction in moscow.  baikal finance group outbid favourite gazprom  the state-controlled gas monopoly  to buy yuganskneftegas. baikal paid 260.75bn roubles ($9.37bn: £4.8bn) for yugansk - nowhere near the $27bn russia says yukos owes in taxes. yukos reacted immediately by repeating its view that the auction was illegal in international and russian law  and said baikal had bought itself trouble.   the company considers that the victor of today s auction has bought itself a serious $9bn headache   said yukos spokesman alexander shadrin. he said the company would continue to make  every lawful move  to protect tens of thousands of shareholders in yukos from  this forcible and illegitimate removal of their property . meanwhile  tim osborne  head of yukos main shareholders  group menatep  said that yukos may have to declare itself bankrupt  and that legal action would be taken  outside russia  against the auction winners. reports from russia say baikal has paid a deposit of nearly $1.7bn from a sberbank (savings bank) account to the russian federal property fund  for yugansk.  the sale came despite a restraining order issued by a us court dealing with the firm s bankruptcy application for chapter 11 protection. yukos has always insisted the auction was state-sponsored theft but russian authorities argued they were imposing the law  trying to recover billions in unpaid taxes. there were originally four registered bidders  and with its close ties to the kremlin  state-backed gas monopoly gazprom had been seen as favourite. but just two companies turned up for the auction  gazprom and the unknown baikal finance group  named after a large freshwater lake in siberia. and  according to tass news agency  gazprom did not make a single bid  leaving the way open for baikal  which paid above the auction start price of 246.75bn roubles.  mystery firm baikal finance group is officially registered in the central russian region of tver  but many analysts believe it may be linked to gazprom. kaha kiknavelidze  analyst at troika dialog  said:  i think a decision that yugansk should end up with gazprom was taken a long time ago. so the main question was how to structure this transaction.   i would not exclude that the structure of the deal has slightly changed and gazprom now has a partner.  i would also not exclude that baikal will decline to pay in 14 days  that are given by law  and gazprom is then recognised as the winner. this would give gazprom an extra 14 days to accumulate the needed funds.  another surprise was that the winner paid a significant premium above the starting price.  however  gazprom has announced it is not linked to baikal in any way. and paul collison  chief analyst at brunswick ubs  said:  i see no plausible explanation for the theory that baikal was representing competing interests.  yugansk will most likely end up with gazprom but could still end up with the government. there is still potential for surprises.  yugansk is at the heart of yukos - pumping close to a million barrels of oil a day. the unit was seized by the government which claims the oil giant owes more than $27bn in taxes and fines. yukos says those tax demands are exorbitant  and had sought refuge in us courts.  the us bankruptcy court s initial order on thursday - to temporarily block the sale - in response to yukos filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection  was upheld in a second ruling on saturday. the protection  if recognised by the russian authorities  would have allowed yukos  current management to retain control of the business and block the sale of any company assets. yukos has said the sale amounts to expropriation - punishment for the political ambitions of its founder  mikhail khodorkovsky. mr khodorkovsky is now in jail  on separate fraud charges. but president vladimir putin has described the affair as a crackdown on corruption - and the bbc s sarah rainsford in moscow says most russians believe the destruction of yukos is now inevitable. hours before the auction lawyers for menatep  a group through which mr khodorkovsky and his associates control yukos  said they would take legal action in other countries. menatep lawyers  who were excluded from observing the auction  said they would retaliate by seeking injunctions in foreign courts to impound russian oil and gas exports.


o sullivan commits to dublin race sonia o sullivan will seek to regain her title at the bupa great ireland run on 9 april in dublin.  the 35-year-old was beaten into fourth at last year s event  having won it a year earlier.  i understand she s had a solid winter s training down in australia after recovering from a minor injury   said race director matthew turnbull. mark carroll  irish record holder at 3km  5km and 10km  will make his debut in the mass participation 10km race. carroll has stepped up his form in recent weeks and in late january scored an impressive 3 000m victory over leading american alan webb in boston. carroll will be facing stiff competition from australian craig mottram  winner in dublin for the last two years.


apple sues  tiger  file sharers apple has taken more legal action to stop online leaks of its new products.  the computer giant has sued three men for releasing preview versions of its latest mac osx software onto file-sharing sites prior to its release. it said two versions of the operating system  codenamed tiger  were put onto the net in october and december. it is the second time in two weeks apple has taken legal action to protect its future products. tiger is due to be shipped in early 2005. last week  it filed a lawsuit against  unnamed individuals  who leaked details about new products onto the web.  the latest action was against members of the apple developer connection  a group of programmers which gets to see test versions of upcoming software so they can develop or change their own programs to work with them.  members of apple developer connection receive advance copies of apple software under strict confidentiality agreements  which we take very seriously to protect our intellectual property   apple said in a statement.  it added that its future financial results were very much dependent on developing and improving its operating systems and other software. it is thought the men used sites which employ bittorrent technology. with bittorrent technology  sites do not host actual files being shared  instead they host a link that points people to others that have the particular file. last week  the motion picture association of america launched a legal campaign targeting websites that operate using the bittorrent system in an effort to clamp down on movie piracy. apple is no stranger to taking legal action against those who leak product information. in december 2002  it sued a former contractor who allegedly put drawings  images and engineering details of its powermac g4 computer online. the latest action was filed on monday in the us district court in california. it comes just weeks before the macworld conference in san francisco  used to showcase new products.


parmalat to return to stockmarket parmalat  the italian dairy company which went bust after an accounting scandal  hopes to be back on the italian stock exchange in july.  the firm gained protection from creditors in 2003 after revealing debts of 14bn euros ($18.34bn; £9.6bn). this was eight times higher than it had previously stated. in a statement issued on wednesday night  parmalat finanziaria detailed administrators  latest plans for re-listing the shares of the group.  as part of the re-listing on the italian stock exchange  creditors  debts are expected to be converted into shares through two new share issues amounting to more than 2bn euros. the company s creditors will be asked to vote on the plan later this year. the plan is likely to give creditors of parmalat finanziaria shares worth about 5.7% of the debts they are owed. this is lower than the 11.3% creditors previously hoped to receive. creditors of parmalat  the main operating company  are likely to see the percentage of debt they receive fall from 7.3% to 6.9%.  several former top parmalat executives are under investigation for the fraud scandal. lawmakers said on wednesday night enrico bondi  the turnaround specialist appointed by the italian government as parmalat s chief executive  spoke positively about the company during a closed-door hearing of the chamber of deputies industry commission.  bondi supplied us with elements of positive results on the industrial positions and on the history of debt which will find a point of solution through the parmalat group s quotation on the market in july   italian news agency apcom quoted several lawmakers as saying in a statement.


irish finish with home game republic of ireland manager brian kerr has been granted his wish for a home game as the final world cup qualifier.  ireland will close their bid to reach the 2006 finals by playing switzerland in dublin on 12 october 2005. the republic met the swiss in their final euro 2004 qualifier  losing 2-0 away and missing out on a place in the finals in portugal. the group four fixtures were hammered out at a meeting in dublin on tuesday. the irish open their campaign on 4 september at home to cyprus and wrap up the 10-match series on 12 october 2005  with the visit of switzerland. manager brian kerr and fai officials met representatives from switzerland  france  cyprus  israel and the faroe islands to arrange the fixture schedule. kerr had hoped to finish with a clash against france  but got the reigning european champions as their penultimate home match on 7 september 2005. the manager got his wish to avoid a repeat of finishing their bid to qualify with too many away matches.  republic of ireland v cyprus; france v israel; switzerland v faroe islands.  switzerland v republic of ireland; israel v cyprus; faroe islands v france.  france v republic of ireland; israel v switzerland; cyprus v faroe islands.  republic of ireland v faroe islands; cyprus v france.  cyprus v israel.  france v switzerland; israel v republic of ireland.  switzerland v cyprus; israel v france.  republic of ireland v israel; faroe islands v switzerland.  faroe islands v republic of ireland. august 17 - faroe islands v cyprus.  france v faroe islands; switzerland v israel.  republic of ireland v france; cyprus v switzerland; faroe islands v israel.  switzerland v france; israel v faroe islands; cyprus v republic of ireland.  france v cyprus; republic of ireland v switzerland.


worldcom boss  left books alone  former worldcom boss bernie ebbers  who is accused of overseeing an $11bn (£5.8bn) fraud  never made accounting decisions  a witness has told jurors.  david myers made the comments under questioning by defence lawyers who have been arguing that mr ebbers was not responsible for worldcom s problems. the phone company collapsed in 2002 and prosecutors claim that losses were hidden to protect the firm s shares. mr myers has already pleaded guilty to fraud and is assisting prosecutors.  on monday  defence lawyer reid weingarten tried to distance his client from the allegations. during cross examination  he asked mr myers if he ever knew mr ebbers  make an accounting decision  .  not that i am aware of   mr myers replied.  did you ever know mr ebbers to make an accounting entry into worldcom books   mr weingarten pressed.  no   replied the witness. mr myers has admitted that he ordered false accounting entries at the request of former worldcom chief financial officer scott sullivan. defence lawyers have been trying to paint mr sullivan  who has admitted fraud and will testify later in the trial  as the mastermind behind worldcom s accounting house of cards.  mr ebbers  team  meanwhile  are looking to portray him as an affable boss  who by his own admission is more pe graduate than economist. whatever his abilities  mr ebbers transformed worldcom from a relative unknown into a $160bn telecoms giant and investor darling of the late 1990s. worldcom s problems mounted  however  as competition increased and the telecoms boom petered out. when the firm finally collapsed  shareholders lost about $180bn and 20 000 workers lost their jobs. mr ebbers  trial is expected to last two months and if found guilty the former ceo faces a substantial jail sentence. he has firmly declared his innocence.


housewives lift channel 4 ratings the debut of us television hit desperate housewives has helped lift channel 4 s january audience share by 12% compared to last year.  other successes such as celebrity big brother and the simpsons have enabled the broadcaster to surpass bbc two for the first month since last july. bbc two s share of the audience fell from 11.2% to 9.6% last month in comparison with january 2004. celebrity big brother attracted fewer viewers than its 2002 series.  comedy drama desperate housewives managed to pull in five million viewers at one point during its run to date  attracting a quarter of the television audience. the two main television channels  bbc1 and itv1  have both seen their monthly audience share decline in a year on year comparison for january  while five s proportion remained the same at a slender 6.3%. digital multi-channel tv is continuing to be the strongest area of growth  with the bbc reporting freeview box ownership of five million  including one million sales in the last portion of 2004. its share of the audience soared by 20% in january 2005 compared with last year  and currently stands at an average of 28.6%.


johnny and denise lose passport johnny vaughan and denise van outen s saturday night entertainment show passport to paradise will not return to screens  the bbc has said.  the ex-big breakfast presenters were recruited to host the bbc one family variety show last july.  there are currently no plans for another series   a spokeswoman said. she added the pair  brought a real warmth to saturday night  but in the end we felt we had done enough with the format of the show .  passport to paradise involved a combination of games and outside broadcasts with a high level of audience participation. the first instalment attracted more than 4.1 million viewers - but that had dropped to fewer than 2.7 million by the time it ended. the bbc spokeswoman said graham norton s strictly dance fever would be a priority for 2005.  that s very much on the cards for next year  and we re concentrating at the moment on strictly come dancing  which is doing phenomenally well   she said.


car giant hit by mercedes slump a slump in profitability at luxury car maker mercedes has prompted a big drop in profits at parent daimlerchrysler.  the german-us carmaker saw fourth quarter operating profits fall to 785m euros ($1bn) from 2.4bn euros in 2003. mercedes-benz s woes - its profits slid to just 20m euros - obscured a strong performance from the chrysler group whose returns met market expectations. mercedes faces fierce competition in the luxury car sector from bmw and but hopes to revive its fortunes by 2006.  mercedes  profits over the period compared unfavourably with 2003 s 784m euro figure and were well below analyst expectations of 374m euros. for the year as a whole  its operating profits fell 46% to 1.6bn euros. sales of mercedes  brands fell 2% as demand cooled  while revenues were affected by the weakness of the us dollar.  the carmaker blamed the fall in profits on high launch costs for new models and losses from its mercedes smart mini-car range. mercedes is hoping to increase productivity by 3bn euros  having negotiated 500m euros in annual savings with german workers last year. the firm said it was determined to retain mercedes  position as the world s most successful luxury brand. however  daimlerchrysler s shares fell 1.5% on the news.  while all these divisions are doing well the big worries continue to surround mercedes-benz   michael rabb  an analyst with bank sal oppenheim  told reuters.  in contrast  chrysler enjoyed a 5% annual increase in unit sales while revenues - calculated in us dollars - rose 10%. the us division - whose marques include dodge and jeep - transformed a full year operating loss of 506m euros in 2003 into a 1.4bn euros profit last year.  overall  daimlerchrysler saw worldwide vehicle sales rise 8% to 4.7 million in 2004 while total revenues added 4% to 142bn euros. chrysler s strong performance helped the world s fifth largest carmaker boost net income by 400m euros to 2.5bn euros.   the year 2004 shows that our strategy works well - even in such a challenging competitive environment   said jurgen schrempp  daimlerchrysler s chairman. daimlerchrysler took a 475m euro hit in costs stemming from a defects scandal at its joint venture  japanese subsidiary fuso. daimlerchrysler last week agreed a compensation package with partner mitsubishi motors which will see it buy out its stake in fuso. looking forward  daimerchrysler s profits are expected to be slightly higher in 2005. however  it is expecting  significant improvements  in profitability in 2006 as a result of a major investment in the mercedes product range.


anelka apologises for criticism manchester city striker nicolas anelka has issued an apology for criticising the ambitions of the club.  anelka was quoted in a french newspaper as saying he would like to play in the champions league for a bigger club. but chairman john wardle said:  i ve spoken to nicolas and he s apologised for anything that might have been mistakenly taken from the french press.  we are a big club. nicolas told me that he agrees with me that we are a big club.  wardle was speaking at the club s annual general meeting  where he also confirmed the club had not received any bids for the former arsenal and real madrid striker. the club still owe french club psg £5m from the purchase of anelka in may 2002. he has been linked with a move to barcelona and liverpool  and reds skipper steven gerrard also revealed he is an admirer from his time on loan at anfield. but wardle added:  there s been no bids for nicolas anelka. no-one has come to me and said i would like to buy nicolas anelka.   if a bid comes in for nicolas anelka i will speak to the board and then speak to kevin keegan.  if there was a bid and it was a bid of substance and worth taking then between us we d decide.  we still owe some money on nicolas which we have clear out  so it would have to be above that.  wardle did stress that the club was not inviting any offers for england winger shaun wright-phillips. he added:  i ve no intention of selling shaun wright-phillips.  if someone comes with a silly bid i ll have to discuss it.  but we re not putting him on the shelf to sell. he is the heart and soul of this club and has his heart and sole in this club  and he would be very upset if i put him in the shop window.  he was an academy kid here  he s just signed a new four-year deal  i don t think he d do that unless he wanted to play for manchester city football club.  city recently announced debts of £62m  but wardle confirmed they would try and find funds to bring in players in the january transfer window. he said:  like kevin i d like to see some players come in. we ve got to see what we can do - whether it s a on a bosman or not.  we will try to be creative to generate some funds. but maybe we have to start looking at clubs like everton and bolton to see how they have been dealing in the transfer market and do a similar type of thing.


dance music not dead says fatboy dj norman cook - aka fatboy slim - has said that dance music is not dead  but has admitted it is currently going through a  fallow patch .  the commercial failure of the latest albums by britain s two biggest dance acts - fatboy slim s palookaville and the prodigy s always outnumbered never outgunned - has been coupled with the closure of many  superclubs   and the folding of three dance music magazines. last month the brit awards announced they would no longer be awarding a best dance act prize  with the brits committee announcing that  dance music is no longer where it s happening in music.  these developments lead some to suggest that dance was finished as a popular music genre. cook acknowledged that much change in the dance world in the four years since his last album  halfway between the gutter and the stars  but he stressed this did not mean the dance scene was permanently over.  every week when i was making the album  i was reading articles about the demise of dance music - and obviously that affects you somewhat   he told bbc world service s the ticket programme.  i personally don t believe it s either dead or going to die  but it s going through a bit of a fallow patch.  so i think  consciously or subconsciously  reading every week that dance music was dead i would think  right  scrub that track then .   although his album sales in the uk are down - palookaville stayed in the uk top 75 for just three weeks - cook has achieved recent global success with his beach parties. and event on brighton sea front in 2002 attracted 250 000  people  while a later one in rio achieved a crowd of 360 000. the dvd of the rio set was the biggest seller of that year.   with a crowd that big  if the weather s nice  the atmosphere before i even go is so good that about halfway through the first record i think  i ve got them    cook said.  i m always really really nervous before the big ones - they had to give me valium before rio  because two hours before i was literally just pacing the floor.  for some reason  especially now i ve got a reputation for it  the atmosphere and the joie de vivre that s already going on means all i have to do is play  up  records.  he promised more such parties in more locations around the world - despite problems after the brighton event  which ended in chaos with many revellers finding themselves stranded as transport ground to a halt. one man also died of a heart attack  and a woman fell to her death during the free party.  we re having to widen our horizons from just beaches  because there s landlocked countries that want to get involved   cook said.  we re doing rio at the carnival  at the maracana  and sao paolo - our new gig is famous football stadiums.   the dj admitted  however  that his massive worldwide success had a downside  with intense media interest in his personal life. in particular  he said he had struggled to cope with tabloid intrusion during the temporary break-up of his marriage to radio one presenter zoe ball  after she was linked with dj dan peppe.   the tabloid thing has been difficult at times   cook said.  especially the me-and-zoe-gate - it s quite scary.  he said that he had been  determined  that what had happened with ball did not affect the album.  at first i was doing deliberately jolly tunes so that people wouldn t think i was depressed   he explained.  then i thought   that s not right .  and he highlighted a bizarre coincidence - that one song written before they split had turned out to have a great deal more meaning than intended.  i said to zoe   i did this track called my masochistic baby went and left me  do you mind if it s on the album    he recalled.  she said   yeah  it s hilarious  because your masochistic baby did leave you .  cook also added that he had some ways of coping with the intense paparazzi pressure  which accumulates at the end of the private road he lives on - where paul mccartney is a neighbour.  it s almost like prisoners rattling the bars with their mugs   cook explained.  if there s a pap at the end of the road  everyone knocks on each other s doors - paul comes round  and we warn him  because we don t know who they re after.


jugnot  tops french actor league  actor gerard jugnot - star of the oscar-nominated film the chorus - has beaten gerard depardieu to become france s best-paid actor of 2004.  jugnot made 5.45m euros (£3.77m) last year  according to a table drawn up by france s le figaro newspaper. in the chorus (les choristes)  jugnot plays an inspiring music teacher at a school for troubled boys in 1949. despite starring in five films in 2004  depardieu made 3.35m euros (£2.31m) putting him third place in the chart.  his name [depardieu] is no longer sufficient to guarantee the success of a film   said le figaro newspaper. the chorus  which jugnot also co-produced  has drawn an audience of nearly nine million people since its release last year.  godzilla star jean reno was france s second best-paid actor in 2004  earning 3.55m euros (£2.45m) . his roles include a recent uncredited cameo in the oscar-nominated hotel rwanda. the highest-ranking woman on le figaro s list was audrey tautou in 10th place  earning 885 000 euros (£611 000). she starred in jean-pierre jeunet s a very long engagement (un long dimanche de fiancailles) and is also lined up to co-star with tom hanks in ron howard s the da vinci code. the chorus is nominated for best foreign film at sunday s oscar ceremony. on saturday  it will compete for the title of best film against fellow nominee a very long engagement in france s cesar film awards.


tories attack eu asylum moves david blunkett has been accused of using the  politics of confusion  to disguise new eu immigration measures.  tory spokesman david davis told mps the uk was losing its power of veto over who was allowed to come to britain. the eu has opted to adopt qualified majority voting in this area - previously measures needed unanimous agreement from all member states. mr blunkett told mps the uk would still be able to reject proposals on immigration it did not agree with.  he argued closer co-operation with europe over asylum and immigration was crucial to controlling the flow of people into the uk.  if we don t like what other eu countries do on immigration and nationality we have the right to opt-in or out to suit the british people   he said. the home secretary was responding to an emergency question from his tory opposite number mr davis.  the government is employing the politics of confusion - i think  deliberately   argued mr davis.  by confusing the country it hopes no one will notice the disappearance of the asylum and immigration veto.  on monday tony blair insisted closer co-operation did not mean losing control of british borders. he said an enlarged 25-member eu needs a streamlined decision making process. mr davis said once britain had opted into policies then it could not opt out - leaving the uk open to unfavourable interpretations of what those policies actually meant.  he accused the government of being  pathetic  when it came to its efforts over immigration and asylum and of  surrendering  on the issue. and he asked why the government was agreeing to the measure on asylum and immigration now when the whole issue was part of the eu constitution  which voters in the uk had been promised a referendum over. mr blair told his monthly news conference britain had the  best of both worlds  and would keep the veto.  there is no question of britain giving up our veto on our border controls   he said.  with the treaty of amsterdam seven years ago  we secured the absolute right to opt in to any of the asylum and immigration provisions that we wanted to in europe.  mr blunkett met his eu counterparts in luxembourg on monday to consider proposals aimed at streamlining decision making on the issue.  the 25 member-states are expected to scrap the requirement for unanimous agreement on immigration policy  in favour of the qualified majority voting (qmv) system. under this scheme larger states such as britain are expected to have more power than the smaller eu states. britain is expected to retain an  opt-in  right which will allow it to ignore any measures it disagrees with. liberal democrat spokesman mark oaten called the change pragmatic and argued it gave a better chance of producing a european asylum solution.  if we don t work together it means some countries can ignore their responsibilities at the expense of their neighbours   said mr oaten.  the liberal democrats have long argued that britain should be a safe haven for asylum seekers but it s right that we don t do this in isolation.


finnan says irish can win group steve finnan believes the republic of ireland can qualify directly for the world cup finals.  after saturday s superb display in the draw in paris  ireland face minnows the faroe islands in dublin on wednesday. the versatile finnan  who starred against the french  is confident the group is ireland s for the taking.  there is a chance for us now to go on  win our home games and why not win the group  even though it s a tough one   said the liverpool player. switzerland  ireland  france and israel are all now tied on five points from three matches - although the republic look to have a slight edge after claiming away draws in basel and paris.  in basel we did not play great football  but when you to go to these places the other teams are going to have the majority of the game.  in paris  we looked good throughout the team and a point was the least we deserved because we had a number of chances.   looking back  we had an opportunity to get the three points  but we are happy with a point and that will give us confidence going into wednesday s game.  on paper  we have got the toughest matches out of the way and we have set standards for ourselves.  automatic qualification is there. it would certainly be good to avoid a play-off  but on the back of a couple of good results i don t see why we can t win the group.  manager brian kerr was keen to mention the contribution of stephen carr and finnan on ireland s right flank at the stade de france. finnan s normal position is right-back but he looked assured in a more advanced position against the french.  as i play on the right for my club and being a natural right-back  it was something he (kerr) looked at because france play strongly down the left-hand side.  so i was happy to play and stephen carr and i enjoyed the game  particularly as the defence and midfield held together well and nullified their attacks.


lib dems   bold  election policy charles kennedy has told voters his liberal democrats will offer them an  honest choice  at the next general election.  with the other two big parties battling over which will impose the lowest taxes  mr kennedy is going into the looming election pledged to increase taxation. it is a bold policy and certainly ensures there is that choice between the lib dems and the other two. with his party s previous pledge to increase taxes by one penny in the pound to spend on public services already adopted by the government  he has switched tack. now he is promising to levy a  modest  increase of the same amount on earnings over £100 000 a year to allow him to finance a series of pledges. they are to scrap student fees  finance free long term care for the elderly and replace the council tax with a local income tax. that last policy will also see about 3% of the most well off paying more while others  pensioners in particular  will pay less.  labour and the tories have attacked his policies as both unworkable and not properly costed.  inevitably they insist there is no need to raise taxes to fund improvements in services. the tories claim they can improve services and cut taxes through £35bn efficiency savings  while labour has offered £22bn savings but has yet to map out precise tax proposals  although there is little chance they will propose increases. in many ways the argument between the lib dems and the others over taxation and spending echo the sort of arguments that raged between labour and the tories in the 1980s and early 1990s. but  unlike the old tory-labour debate  he believes voters are ready to see  modest  tax increases on the well off in order to fund improvements in services. that is a view partly endorsed by recent polls suggesting people would rather have cash spent on public services than tax cuts.  similarly there is a different tone to the lib dem approach to asylum and immigration  with mr kennedy stressing politicians should not  foment an artificial debate  about immigration and attacking michael howard s proposals for quotas. once again  with the two other big parties singing similar songs on immigration  mr kennedy is stressing the different  more liberal approach of his party. mr kennedy was also in buoyant mood over his party s election chances  declaring the tories were not going to be  significant players  in the poll. he repeated his pledge not to do post-election deals with either party after the election. mr kennedy went on to suggest the re-election of a labour government with a small majority would amount to a  massive vote of no confidence   in tony blair s government. that suggests the lib dem leader believes he may well find himself in a powerful  even pivotal position in a vastly different house of commons after the next election. it is a dream the third party has dreamed many times before.


us charity anthem is re-released we are the world  the american charity anthem inspired by the success of band aid  has been re-issued to raise money for aids research and tsunami victims.  more than 40 stars sang as group usa for africa  including lionel richie  diana ross  ray charles  bob dylan  michael jackson and bruce springsteen. it topped the charts in the us and uk  raising millions of dollars for african famine relief. the re-release also marks the 20th anniversary of the original recording. it has been re-issued as part of a two-disc dvd set  which will also feature footage from the recording session of the track in january 1985. the single was originally released in the us on 7 march 1985 and sold 800 000 copies in its first week. it went on to win grammys for song of the year and record of the year.


moyes u-turn on beattie dismissal everton manager david moyes will discipline striker james beattie after all for his headbutt on chelsea defender william gallas.  the scot initially defended beattie  whose dismissal put everton on the back foot in a game they ultimately lost 1-0  saying gallas overreacted. but he has had a rethink after looking over the video evidence again. he said:  i believe that i should set the record straight by conceding that the dismissal was right and correct.  moyes added:  my comments on saturday came immediately after the final whistle and at a point when i had only had the opportunity to see one  very quick re-run of the incident.   the club website also reported that beattie  who seemed unrepentant after saturday s match  insisting gallas  would have stayed down a lot longer  if he had headbutted him  has now apologised. moyes continued:  although the incident was totally out of character - james has never even been suspended before in his career - his actions were unacceptable and had a detrimental effect on his team-mates.  james did issue a formal apology to myself  his team-mates and to the everton supporters immediately after the game and that was the right thing to have done. he will now be subjected to the normal club discipline.  he is a competitive player but a fair player and i know how upset he is by what has happened. however  i must say that i do still believe the chelsea player in question did go down too easily.  speaking immediately after the game  moyes said:  i don t think it was a sending-off  i have been a centre-half in my time and i would have been ashamed to have gone down as easily as that.   not in a million years would john terry have gone down in the same way. i have never heard of anybody butting somebody from behind while you are running after them.  what has happened to big  strong centre-halves  i thought it was a push initially and i still don t think it was a sending-off.  an angry beattie initially said:  he (gallas) would have stayed down a lot longer if i had headbutted him.  i can tell you it wasn t an intentional headbutt. we were chasing a ball into the corner and william gallas was looking over his shoulder and blocking me off.  he was stopping as we were running and i said to myself  if you re going to stay in my way i ll go straight over you . our heads barely touched and it wasn t an intentional headbutt.


search sites get closer to users search sites want to get to know you better.  not content with providing access to the millions of websites  many now offer ways that do a better job of remembering  cataloguing and managing all the information you come across. some of the latest to update their search systems are ask jeeves and blinkx  which have both released a series of utilities that try to help people get more from the web.  the future is all about developing your own personal web   said tony macklin  spokesman for ask jeeves.  mr macklin said that too often when people use a search engine it was like the first time they ever used it  because there was no memory of what they had searched for before.  each time you go back in you have to start all over again   he said. the series of updates to its service  collected under the my ask jeeves banner  would help people remember where they had been before.  ask jeeves has added the ability to  save  websites of interest so the next time a users visits the site they can search through the sites they have previously found. sites saved in this way can be arranged in folders and have notes attached to them to explain why they were saved. mr macklin said many people wanted to save sites they had seen but did not want to add them to their bookmarks or favourites not least because such lists cannot be easily searched. on average  said mr macklin  users conduct between five and 10 searches per day and the tools in my ask jeeves should stop them having to do searches twice and get to what they want much more easily. under my ask jeeves users can search the web or through the results they have already noted as interesting.  it s about finding again what you found before   he said. the my ask jeeves service lets people store up to a 1000 web links or 5000 if they sign up to the free service. by way of comparison google s desktop search tool catalogues search histories informally and lets people look through the sites they have visited.  at the same time  search start-up blinkx has released a second version of its eponymous software. blinkx is desktop search software that watches what someone is working on  be it a document or e-mail  and suggests websites  video clips  blogs or documents on a pc that are relevant to it.  since blinkx launched it has faced increased competition from firms such as google  copernic  enfish  x1 and apple all of whom now have programs that let people search their pc as well as the web.  the competition has validated the problem we tackle   said suranga chandratillake  co-founder of blinkx. in the latest release of blinkx  the company has added what it calls smart folders. once created the folders act as persistent queries that automatically sweep the web for pages related to their subject and catalogues relevant information  documents or incoming e-mails  on hard drives too. what users do with blinkx and other desktop search engines shows that people tend to be very promiscuous in their use of search engines.  blinkx users do not stop using other web search systems   he said.  they might use google to look up a company  or yahoo for travel because they know they are good at that   he said.  the classic thing we have seen recently  is people using blinkx to look at the things they have searched on   he said. the variety of ways to search data was only helping users  said mr chandratillake and that it was likely that in the future people would use different ones for different tasks.


double eviction from big brother model caprice and holby city actor jeremy edwards have both left the celebrity big brother house in a surprise double eviction on friday.  caprice  who left in the scheduled fourth eviction having gained just 5% of the public vote  afterwards said:  i am so happy  i am so glad i m out.  edwards then left in a surprise eviction  with 12% of the vote. nineteen-year-old blazin  squad singer kenzie is currently favourite to win the £50 000 charity prize. caprice had been the pre-show favourite to be voted out of the house  with bookmakers ladbrokes offering odds of 1/5 on her departure. ladbrokes spokesman warren lush had said she was  the hottest eviction favourite so far this series .  odds on kenzie s victory have been slashed from 4/6 to 1/2  although bookmakers have said they are not ruling out a late rally from former happy mondays star bez. the other remaining housemate is actress brigitte nielsen. dj lisa i anson became the third housemate to be voted out on wednesday when she became the victim of a surprise eviction during a game of hide-and-seek on the channel 4 show. i anson said she was  glad to be out  and predicted that kenzie would emerge as the winner. the winner is due to be announced on sunday night.


o sullivan keeps his powder dry when you are gunning for glory and ultimate success keeping the gunpowder dry is essential.  ireland coach eddie o sullivan appears to have done that quite successfully in the run-up to this season s six nations championship. he decreed after the 2003 world cup that players should have a decent conditioning period during the year. that became a reality at the end of last summer with a 10-week period at the start of the this season. it may have annoyed his scottish  and in particularly welsh  cousins who huffed and puffed at the disrespect apparently shown to the celtic league. we will say nothing of mike ruddock   poaching   eight of the dragons side that faced leinster on sunday. but  like o sullivan  he was well within his rights  particularly when you are talking about the national side and pride that goes along with it. the irfu has thrown their weight behind o sullivan  who must be glad that in the main  there is centrally-controlled contracts. bar keith gleeson who is just returning from a broken leg  everyone of o sullivan s squad is fit  fresh and standing at the oche ready to launch this season s campaign.  but i doubt whether o sullivan is going to gloat about the handling of his players. he is not that sort of person. however  he may look at the overworked and injury-hit england  wales and france squads whose players have been overworked  and then pat himself on the back for his foresight. but there is still the question of turning up and transferring that freshness into positive results when the referee signals the start of the game. already ireland are being earmarked as hot favourites in many quarters to go the whole hog this season. a first grand slam since karl mullen s led the team to a clean sweep in 1948. with england and france visiting lansdowne road for the last time before the old darling is pulled down  everything looks perfectly placed. but in the days of yore that frightened the life out of any irishman.  under the burden of great expectations  ireland have crumpled. take the triple crown-winning side of 1985 under mick doyle. they were expected to up the ante further for a grand slam  only the second in ireland s history. what happened in 1986  whitewashed. you see  ireland  in any sport  love to be downsized. then they can go out and prove a point to the contrary. it is the nature of the beast. but o sullivan s side are very capable of proving a salient point this season. after their first triple crown for 19 years  they can live up to their success and take a further step up the ladder. o sullivan has kept faith and displayed loyalty to his players  and they have repaid him in spades ... and there is more to come. he has some old dogs in his squad  but he will come to this season s championship with a different box of tricks  and a new verve to succeed. ireland can indeed succeed  but just whisper it.


lib dems highlight problem debt people vulnerable to problem debts should be afforded greater protection from banks aggressively promoting financial products  the lib dems say.  vincent cable says one in eight households already struggle with debt and that will worsen if there is a hike in interest rates or unemployment. the lib dems  treasury spokesman is unveiling a policy aimed at the issue. he wants to see  proper health checks  when loans are marketed so people know to take out payment protection.   were economic conditions to deteriorate at all  large numbers of people could be affected because they have borrowed to the limit   mr cable told bbc news.  banks are very aggressively promoting debt in many cases there is a bigger problem ahead.  mr cable said the government s consumer credit bill would target some of the  extreme problems  such as loan sharking  but ministers had been  a bit complacent  about the wider issue of debt levels. he said much of the payment protection currently available was  extremely expensive  and there were  lots of exclusions .  mr cable added that the office of fair trading should investigate the market. lib dem leader charles kennedy meanwhile is in the middle of a tour of the uk aimed at persuading voters his is the  real opposition . mr kennedy is visiting a mixture of rural seats  where his party is hoping to make gains from the conservatives  and urban areas traditionally associated with labour. labour say a lib dem vote could  let the tories in   while the tories say the lib dems would mean  higher taxes  soft crime laws  more power to europe . mr kennedy s tour comes as he  labour leader tony blair and conservative leader michael howard all step up campaigning ahead of the next general election  widely expected to be held on 5 may.  the liberal democrats say in the northern cities  the race is between them and labour  while in southern seats - particularly the south west - it is between them and the tories. speaking to the bbc s westminster hour on sunday  mr kennedy said the upcoming general election - widely tipped for 5 may - would be much more unpredictable than any others in  recent experience . and he brushed off labour suggestions a vote for his party would mean letting the tories in  by the back door .  if you look at the four previous parliamentary by-elections  the liberal democrats have demonstrated that  not only can we leapfrog the conservatives where we start in a third place position  but we can go on to defeat the government.  that s going to be the story  i think  of this coming general election.


a decade of good website design the web looks very different today than it did 10 years ago.  back in 1994  yahoo had only just launched  most websites were text-based and amazon  google and ebay had yet to appear. but  says usability guru dr jakob nielsen  some things have stayed constant in that decade  namely the principles of what makes a site easy to use. dr nielsen has looked back at a decade of work on usability and considered whether the 34 core guidelines drawn up back then are relevant to the web of today.  roughly 80% of the things we found 10 years ago are still an issue today   he said.  some have gone away because users have changed and 10% have changed because technology has changed.   some design crimes  such as splash screens that get between a user and the site they are trying to visit  and web designers indulging their artistic urges have almost disappeared  said dr nielsen.   but there s great stability on usability concerns   he told the bbc news website. dr nielsen said the basic principles of usability  centring around ease of use and clear thinking about a site s total design  were as important as ever.  it s necessary to be aware of these things as issues because they remain as such   he said. they are still important because the net has not changed as much as people thought it would.  a lot of people thought that design and usability was only a temporary problem because broadband was taking off   he said.  but there are a very small number of cases where usability issues go away because you have broadband.   dr nielsen said the success of sites such as google  amazon  ebay and yahoo showed that close attention to design and user needs was important.  those four sites are extremely profitable and extremely successful   said dr nielsen  adding that they have largely defined commercial success on the net.   all are based on user empowerment and make it easy for people to do things on the internet   he said.  they are making simple but powerful tools available to the user.  none of them have a fancy or glamorous look   he added  declaring himself surprised that these sites have not been more widely copied. in the future  dr nielsen believes that search engines will play an even bigger part in helping people get to grips with the huge amount of information online.  they are becoming like the operating system to the internet   he said. but  he said  the fact that they are useful now does not meant that they could not do better. currently  he said  search sites did not do a very good job of describing the information that they return in response to queries. often people had to look at a website just to judge whether it was useful or not. tools that watch the behaviour of people on websites to see what they actually find useful could also help refine results. research by dr nielsen shows that people are getting more sophisticated in their use of search engines. the latest statistics on how many words people use on search engines shows that  on average  they use 2.2 terms. in 1994 only 1.3 words were used.  i think it s amazing that we have seen a doubling in a 10-year period of those search terms   said dr nielsen.  you can hear more from jakob nielsen and web design on the bbc world service programme  go digital


england given tough sevens draw england will have to negotiate their way through a tough draw if they are to win the rugby world cup sevens in hong kong next month.  the second seeds have been drawn against samoa  france  italy  georgia and chinese taipei. the top two sides in each pool qualify but england could face 2001 winners new zealand in the quarter-finals if they stumble against samoa. scotland and ireland are in pool a together with the all blacks. england won the first event of the international rugby board world sevens series in dubai but have slipped to fourth in the table after failing to build on that victory.  however  they beat samoa in the recent los angeles sevens before losing to argentina in the semi-finals.  england have the ability and determination to win this world cup and create sporting history by being the only nation to hold both the 15s and sevens world cups at the same time   said england sevens coach mike friday.  england have a fantastic record in hong kong and have won there the last three years  but the world cup is on a different level.  every pool contains teams who have caused upsets before and we will have to work hard to ensure we progress from our group.  we have not performed consistently to our true potential so far in the irb sevens which has been disappointing - but we can only look forward.  england won the first rugby world cup sevens in 1993 with a side that included the likes of lawrence dallaglio and matt dawson. in 1997 and 2001  england lost in the quarter-finals.  (seeds in brackets)  new zealand (1)  scotland (8)  tonga  ireland  korea  usa.  england (2)  samoa (7)  france  italy  georgia  chinese taipei.  fiji (3)  australia (6)  canada  portugal  japan  hong kong.  argentina (4)  south africa (5)  kenya  tunisia  russia  uruguay.


stars pay tribute to actor davis hollywood stars including spike lee  burt reynolds and oscar nominee alan alda have paid tribute to actor ossie davis at a funeral in new york.  veteran star ossie davis  a well-known civil rights activist  died in miami at the age of 87 on 4 february 2005. friends and family  including actress ruby dee his wife of 56 years  gathered at the riverside church on saturday. also present at the service was former us president bill clinton and singer harry belafonte  who gave the eulogy.  he would have been a very good president of the united states   said mr clinton.  like most of you here  he gave more to me than i gave to him.   the 87-year-old was found dead last weekend in his hotel room in florida  where he was making a film. police said that he appeared to have died of natural causes. davis made his acting debut in 1950 in no way out starring sidney poiter. he frequently collaborated with director spike lee  starring in seven lee films including jungle fever  do the right thing and malcolm x. attallah shabazz  the daughter of activist malcolm x  recalled the famous eulogy delivered by davis at her father s funeral.  harlem has come to bid farewell to one of its finest hopes   she said  quoting the man she knew as uncle ossie.  ditto.   ossie was my hero  and he still is   said aviator star alan alda  a family friend for over forty years.  ossie was a thing of beauty.    i want so badly someday to have his dignity - a little of it anyway   added burt reynolds  davis s co-star in the 90s tv comedy evening shade. before the midday funeral  scores of harlem residents formed a queue outside the church to pay their respects to davis.  it is hard to fathom that we will no longer be able to call on his wisdom  his humour  his loyalty and his moral strength to guide us in the choices that are yet to be made and the battles that are yet to be fought   said belafonte  himself an ardent civil rights activist who had been friends with davis for over 60 years.  but how fortunate we were to have him as long as we did.


apple attacked over sources row civil liberties group the electronic frontier foundation (eff) has joined a legal fight between three us online journalists and apple.  apple wants the reporters to reveal 20 sources used for stories which leaked information about forthcoming products  including the mac mini. the eff  representing the reporters  has asked california s superior court to stop apple pursuing the sources. it argues that the journalists are protected by the american constitution. the eff says the case threatens the basic freedoms of the press.  apple is particularly keen to find the source for information about an unreleased product code-named asteroid and has asked the journalists  e-mail providers to hand over communications relevant to that.  rather than confronting the issue of reporter s privilege head-on  apple is going to the journalist s isps for his e-mails   said eff lawyer kurt opsahl.  this undermines a fundamental first amendment right that protects all reporters.  if the court lets apple get away with this  and exposes the confidences gained by these reporters  potential confidential sources will be deterred from providing information to the media and the public will lose a vital outlet for independent news  analysis and commentary   he said. the case began in december 2004 when apple asked a local californian court to get the journalists to reveal their sources for articles published on websites appleinsider.com and powerpage.org.  apple also sent requested information from the nfox.com  the internet service provider of powerpage s publisher jason o-grady. as well as looking at how far corporations can go in preventing information from being published  the case will also examine whether online journalists have the same privileges and protections as those writing for newspapers and magazines. the eff has gained some powerful allies in its legal battle with apple  including professor tom goldstein  former dean of the journalism school at the university of california and dan gillmor  a well-known silicon valley journalist. apple was not immediately available for comment.


moody joins up with england lewis moody has flown to dublin to join england s camp ahead of their rbs six nations game against ireland on sunday.  despite joining the squad  the leicester flanker only has a  slim  chance of playing because of an infection in his finger. a decision will be taken on saturday as to whether the 26-year-old will be declared fit. if he fails to recover in time for the game  his place at the back of the pack will be taken by andy hazell. chris jones will then start the game on the bench.  the chances of him playing are very slim   said coach andy robinson.  the infection is deeper than was thought.   moody had to be put on a drip in an attempt to force antibiotics through his infected finger. he suffered the cut playing against france at twickenham and it became infected during a 10-minute outing as a replacement for leicester against newcastle last saturday.  the mud got into it   robinson added.  he has had a big course of antibiotics but they haven t done the job we hoped they would.  robinson has already been forced to make one change to the starting line-up with bath prop matt stevens coming in for the injured phil vickery.  the 22-year-old has only made 10 starts for his club but has made 49 appearances from the bench.  it can be frustrating but i ve had a lot more game time this season and i m ready for it   stevens said.  i ve been on tour with these boys and i ve been in the england set-up for two years so i know the calls and the way they play.  stevens will be winning his third cap on sunday after coming on twice as a replacement on the tour to new zealand last year.  robinson has confirmed that fly-half charlie hodgson will be the first-choice kicker despite his three missed penalties and a drop goal against france.  charlie s state of mind is very good   said robinson.  obviously  we are all disappointed we lost the french game and the circumstances in which we did.  but he responded well last week in his goalkicking for sale and he will be our first-choice kicker this week.   robinson also admits his side must improve their line-out work against irish duo malcolm o kelly and paul o connell  one of the most effective partnerships in the game.  in each game we ve missed a number of line-outs   he added.  it cost us the game against wales but it has improved.  it was better against france and will have to go up another notch against ireland. it will be a huge battle.  look at the way they tore us apart last year. if it doesn t function  we will be in for a torrid time.


iraqi voters turn to economic issues beyond the desperate security situation in iraq lies an economy in tatters.  a vicious cycle of unemployment  poor social services and poverty has been made worse by a lack of investment. so there is much hope that an elected government will break the deadlock.  first rule of law  then the economy   says radwan hadi  deputy managing director of aberdeen-based oil and gas consultancy blackwatch petroleum services  which entered iraq in 2003. mr hadi s view about what the new government s priorities should be is shared by many iraqis. the economy has become the second-most dominant issue for many political parties ahead of sunday s election  according to bristol university political scientist anne alexander  who is working on a project that looks at governance and security in post-war iraq.  job creation ranks high both on election manifestos and on the iraqi people s wish list. nobody knows exactly how many iraqis are out of work  but it is clear that the situation is dire.  estimates of iraq s unemployment rate vary  but we estimate it to be between 30-40%   the washington-based independent think-tank the brookings institution says in its iraq index. but some progress has been made  largely thanks to the country s oil revenues which have exceeded $22bn since june 2003.  iraq s infrastructure is on the mend  with notable improvements having been made in areas such as electricity supply  irrigation  telephone networks and the re-opening of hospitals. but serious problems remain and the growing divide between haves and have-nots is angering voters. one iraqi woman told ms alexander about her frustration as she watched tv adverts for private hospitals soon after having failed to track down basic medicines from baghdad s pharmacies. observes mr hadi:  the economy at present marks a big divide; the rich get richer  the poor get poorer.  an indication of this can be seen in the world of finance where  in contrast with the daily plight of ordinary people  19 private banks operate  only one of which is run in accordance with islamic banking principles. hopes are high for the future of finance  so foreign banks have been buying into the sector. national bank of kuwait has bought a majority stake in credit bank of iraq  the jordanian investment bank export & finance bank has bought 49% of national bank of iraq.  foreign firms also hope to cash in on the reconstruction effort. bechtel s efforts to rebuild schools and restore power have attracted controversy as well as boosting its bottom line while halliburton has enjoyed a wealth of military contracts. but the involvement of foreign firms in the health and banking sectors and beyond sits uneasily with many iraqis who are accustomed to the state taking responsibility for functions that are essential to making society work  observes ms alexander.  it is seen as a selling off of iraq s assets and bringing in multinationals at the expense of iraqi businesses and iraqi workers   she says. consequently  the transitional government has been forced to backtrack in recent months over its proposal to allow 100% foreign ownership of iraqi assets  she explains. in the west  it is easy to forget that the otherwise brutal baathist regime used to look after the majority of iraq s citizens rather well in terms of job creation  social security and healthcare. opinion polls suggest that  people still want the state to take a leading role in providing these things   ms alexander says.  yet in some areas of the economy  investment from abroad is still warmly welcomed  insists mr hadi  an iraqi who left the country three decades ago.  i think the private sector will evolve incredibly fast   mr hadi says.  iraq s vast natural resources can support any magnitude of economic growth.   many foreign companies say they are keen to get in on the act  yet few are actually entering the country in any meaningful way. but there are exceptions. mr hadi s blackwatch is just one of many small operators preparing for a much bigger future. blackwatch s baghdad-based affiliate falcon group has dozens of people working for it across the country in kirkuk and baghdad  and its engineers and geo-scientists work with the iraqi oil ministry to hammer out technology transfer issues  mr hadi points out.  these guys are trying to work. the iraqi business people will do business at all times.  life goes on in iraq  the people take responsibility  they want to live normal lives.


johnson too strong for gb runners britain s kathy butler and hayley yelling were no match for benita johnson in the 51st cross international zornotza in amorebieta  spain.  butler and yelling finished fourth and fifth as australian world champion johnson romped to a five-second victory in the 6km race ahead of edith masai. masai s fellow kenyan alice timbilil finished third. johnson said:  i ran comfortably for the first 3km and then i tried to leave the others but it wasn t an easy task.  butler clocked a time of 22 minutes 45 seconds - 22secs behind the winner but four ahead of yelling  who last month succeeded paula radcliffe as european champion. johnson  will be one of the star attractions at the great edinburghinternational cross country on 15 january.


more reforms ahead says milburn labour will continue to pursue controversial reforms if it wins a third term in power  the party s election chief alan milburn has said.  he pledged labour would encourage more people to achieve their aspirations.  what we want is for more people to earn and own   mr milburn told bbc radio 4 s today show. tory shadow chancellor oliver letwin called labour  a brilliant machine for talking about things  but said it did not deliver policies the country needs. meanwhile  the liberal democrats  president simon hughes said:  new labour has lost people s confidence in a way old labour never did.  mr milburn told today that labour wanted policies which encouraged increased social mobility in britain.  pressed on incapacity benefits  he said the tax and welfare system must  provide the right incentives to people .  no-one is talking about driving people into work but what we do know is there are one million people on incapacity benefit who want the opportunity to work  providing the right level of support is there for them . however  backbench labour mp karen buck warned against proposed changes in such benefits. she told the today programme:  if the policy is seen as being about how do you make the feckless poor go back to work then it is not going to work  on the one hand. and it is not going to improve our electoral chances on the other.  mr milburn also sought to draw a line under the controversy about reports of a feud between gordon brown and prime minister tony blair.  he stressed that mr brown would play the same role that he did in the last election. mr milburn gave more details of planned reforms in a speech to labour s fabian society  in which he also praised mr brown as one of the leaders of the party s reform process. in the speech  he backed choice in schools and hospitals  wider home ownership and changes to the welfare system. mr milburn insisted that government reform must continue.  our task is to rebuild the new labour coalition around  one nation politics  that recognise  while life is hard for many  all should have the chance to succeed   he said.  there is a glass ceiling on opportunity in this country. in our first two terms we have raised it. in our third term we have to break it.  voters turned on the party when it failed to reform industrial relations in the 1960s  he also told his audience.  oliver letwin said the government had failed to deliver in any of the key public services  such as cleaner hospitals  discipline in schools and putting more police on the streets. he said ministers had not delivered cleaner hospitals  with 5 000 people dying from infections last year. new labour had failed on school discipline because it had not implemented serious reforms so that teachers could run schools  and which would give parents choice  he went on. for the lib dems  simon hughes said many pensioners are means tested for the money they needed and students who were told there wouldn t be tuition fees and more debt  have been given exactly the opposite . he added:  under new labour  all households are still paying unfair council tax rather than a fairer alternative.


brizzel to run aaa s in sheffield ballymena sprinter paul brizzel will be among eight of ireland s european indoor hopefuls competing in this weekend s aaa s championships.  us-based alistair cragg and mark carroll are the only irish athletes selected so far for the europeans who will not run in sheffield. brizzel will defend his 200m title in the british trials. in-form james mcilroy will hope to confirm his place in the british team for madrid by winning the 800m title. mcilroy has been in tremendous form on the european circuit in recent weeks. he is one of the fastest 800m runners in the world this winter and already seems assured of a place in madrid. corkman mark carroll confirmed in midweek that he would join cragg in the european championships. carroll is ranked number three in the world 3000m ranking at the moment with cragg occupying top spot. meanwhile  nine-times champion dermot donnelly will not be coming out of retirement to compete in the northern ireland cross country championships in coleraine on saturday. an injury crisis in the annadale striders squad led to donnelly being entered by coach john mclaughlin but the athlete told bbc sport on friday evening that he would not be running. willowfield s paul rowan will go in as individual favourite but annadale could have a tough job holding on to their team title as andrew dunwoody and noel pollock are unlikely to run.


lit idol begins search for author the second pop idol-style search for literary talent has begun with the help of the brother of simon cowell.  writer tony cowell is among the judges who will hear aspiring writers read their work aloud. the winner gets a deal with literary agency curtis brown.  i m not going to be the mr nasty of books   said cowell  54  in reference to his brother s caustic remarks on tv shows pop idol and the x-factor. the 2004 winner  paul cavanagh  went on to sign a deal with harper collins.  this year  the competition is specifically looking for a crime writer. writers must submit up to 10 000 words from the opening chapters of their novels and a synopsis. professional readers will choose a shortlist of five following the competition closing date on 14 january.  the final five will then have to read their work in front of judging panel. a public vote will also take place  which will account for 25% of the final decision. the winner will be announced at the london book fair on 14 march next year and could be screened on tv.  it s very  very hard to find an agent and extremely difficult  without an agent  to get a publisher to look at your work   said cowell.  people do fall by the wayside and the more avenues we can provide for aspiring authors  the better   he added. paul cavanagh  a former university professor and health care consultant from ontario in canada  was one of 1 466 aspiring novelists to enter the first contest. he lifted the inaugural lit idol prize after reading aloud an excerpt of his work northwest passage. three film studios are said to be interested in buying film rights for the book  even though it is not finished yet.


hollywood to sue net film pirates the us movie industry has launched legal action to sue people who facilitate illegal film downloading.  the motion picture association of america wants to stop people using the program bittorrent to swap movies. the industry is targeting people who run websites which provide information and internet links to movies which have been copied or filmed in cinemas. more than 100 server operators have been targeted in the actions launched in the us and uk  the mpaa added. the suits were filed against users of the file-sharing programs bittorrent  edonkey and directconnect in the united states  united kingdom  france  finland and the netherlands  the mpaa said.  bittorrent users can download movies by following a link to files which are found on websites called trackers. unlike most peer-to-peer programs bittorrent works by sharing a file  which could be anything from a legitimate digital photo to a copied movie  among multiple users at the same time. the movie industry hopes that suing the people who run the trackers will cut bittorrent users off from illegal movies at source. last month major film studios started legal action against 200 individuals who were swapping films online. the growth in broadband has made it quicker for people to download movies and the industry fears that if it does not take action now  it could suffer the same downturn as the music industry.


a-listers flock to gervais sitcom hollywood actors samuel l jackson and ben stiller have signed up for ricky gervais  new sitcom  the comedian has told bbc news.  he said they had both seen the scripts and had agreed to appear in an episode each of the sitcom extras. they join british stars jude law and kate winslet who have been booked for guest roles. the comic and actor said he had drawn up an a-list of stars he wanted and all had agreed to be in it.  we wanted actors who had iconic status but that we could also deconstruct   gervais told bbc news.   it s not about the zeitgeist. we wanted people who would still be around in 20 years  not just the winner of big brother to take part.  gervais admitted he was cautious about revealing who would be taking part until they had all signed on the dotted line. but he has met with stiller and jackson and they enjoyed the scripts enough to commit to it.   i didn t want to start revealing names until it was all sorted because people just mention people who haven t even been asked.  i have been linked with ridiculous stories recently such as i m going to be in a remake of 10 taking dudley moore s part. i haven t been approached and i wouldn t take it anyway.   he said stiller and jackson would be playing  twisted  versions of themselves in extras and that the jokes about them  would sail pretty close to the bone . gervais and his writing partner stephen merchant are currently refining the scripts for the six-part series  in which gervais plays a struggling actor who bitches about the stars. meanwhile  gervais is gearing up to promote his cartoon book flanimals which is released in the us in march  around the same time as nbc begin showing the us version of the office. the film rights to flanimals have already been snapped up but gervais is keen for the project to be taken slowly.  a film will happen over the next three years but i don t want it to be a $50m movie straight away because it is not well enough known and it wouldn t be another spider-man or batman. i would like to do something small on tv with it first.


outkast win at mtv europe awards us hip-hop duo outkast have capped a year of award glory with three prizes at the mtv europe music awards in rome.  they won best group  best video and best song for hit hey ya! after getting five nominations. r&b singer usher won best male and best album for confessions  while uk rock band muse were named best alternative act and best british artists. outkast will add their awards to the four they won at the us mtv awards in august and three grammys in february. not only was hey ya! one of the biggest global hits of last year  but outkast have been widely acclaimed as one of the most exciting and innovative acts in music. their double cd album speakerboxxx/the love below  which saw andre 3000 and big boi each produce one disc  was hailed as the album of 2003 by many critics.  andre 3000 thanked fans  for supporting outkast throughout the years .  we really appreciate it   he said.  i hope you don t get tired of us  but we only do what we do.  also competing for best group had been the beastie boys  the black eyed peas  d12 and maroon 5. and anastacia  britney spears  maroon 5 and ludacris had been on the shortlist for best song.  outkast did lose out in the contest for best album - which was won by usher  another award favourite. usher  who performed a duet with alicia keys  also beat off competition from justin timberlake  jay-z  nelly and robbie williams to take the best male crown. he had four nominations going into the ceremony  with seven artists nominated in three categories.  eminem s group  d12  were surprise winners in the best hip-hop category  beating the beastie boys  jay-z  kanye west and nelly. eminem told the crowd:  d12 finally won an award  thank you very much.  the rapper opened the show with a performance of his songs like toy soldiers and just lose it  for which he was joined on stage by a crowd of children. the black eyed peas - who had a global hit with where is the love  - picked up the prize for best pop act  beating anastacia  avril lavigne  robbie williams and britney spears. spears was named best female  sending a message of thanks on video saying the award  means so much to me . alicia keys  anastasia  avril lavigne and beyonce knowles had featured alongside her in that contest.  linkin park singer chester bennington described their prize for best rock band as  quite an honour  while muse said their win for best alternative act was  a real surprise for us . muse were also named best uk and ireland act  ahead of franz ferdinand  natasha bedingfield  jamelia and the streets. referring to the fact that winners of 11 of the 12 main awards were from the us  muse singer matt bellamy said:  there needs to be more european bands.  the 11th annual awards were hosted by hip-hop artist xzibit and watched by 6 000 people at the tor di valle arena  plus millions more on tv around the world. the ceremony featured performances from the beastie boys  who entered the stage on bicycles and skateboards  no doubt singer gwen stefani being lowered from a giant clock and nelly doing a duet with pharrell williams. mtv also organised a huge open-air concert featuring anastacia and the cure outside the italian capital s ancient colosseum  with some estimates putting the attendance there at 200 000. last year s big winner at the mtv europe awards  held in edinburgh  scotland  was justin timberlake  who walked away with three trophies.


junk e-mails on relentless rise spam traffic is up by 40%  putting the total amount of e-mail that is junk up to an astonishing 90%.  the figures  from e-mail management firm email systems  will alarm firms attempting to cope with the amount of spam in their in-boxes. while virus traffic has slowed down  denial of service attacks are on the increase according to the firm. virus mail accounts for just over 15% of all e-mail traffic analysis by the firm has found.  it is no longer just multi-nationals that are in danger of so-called denial of service attacks  in which websites are bombarded by requests for information and rendered inaccessible. email systems refers to a small uk-based engineering firm  which received a staggering 12 million e-mails in january. the type of spam currently being sent has subtlety altered in the last few months  according to email systems analysis. half of spam received since christmas has been health-related with gambling and porn also on the increase. scam mails  offering ways to make a quick buck  have declined by 40%.  january is clearly a month when consumers are less motivated to purchase financial products or put money into dubious financial opportunities   said neil hammerton  managing director of email systems.  spammers seem to have adapted their output to reflect this  focussing instead on medically motivated and pornographic offers  presumably intentionally intended to coincide with what is traditionally considered to be the bleakest month in the calendar   he said.


kewell waits as injury drags on liverpool winger harry kewell is struggling to recover from his achilles tendinitis problem and may not recover until march  claims his agent.  kewell  26  had hoped to play against fulham last weekend and to be ready for the champions league tie against bayer leverkusen on 22 february. but bernie mandic said:  he s had scans which don t show anything substantial.  but despite his best efforts at the moment he simply can t shake off the discomfort and get back on the park.   mandic continued in the sydney morning herald:  harry s struggling a bit but the club are doing everything they can to get him right.  harry was desperate to be fit for the fulham game as part of his plan to play himself in for the leverkusen match.  kewell has not played since december 19 and misses out on international duty this week  with australia facing south africa in durban on wednesday.


telewest to challenge sky plus cable firm telewest is to offer a personal video recorder (pvr) in a set -top box to challenge sky plus.  sky plus is the market leader in the field of digital video recorders in the uk  with 474 000 subscribers. pvrs record tv programmes to a hard drive  letting viewers pause  and rewind live television and effectively  time shift  the viewing experience. a number of pvrs incorporating freeview digital terrestrial tv are also on the market but their success is limited. telewest s pvr will offer a 160gb hard drive  which has storage for up to 80 hours of programmes. the box has three tuners  which means viewers can record two channels simultaneously while watching a third channel.  sky plus boxes come in two versions - a 20gb version for £99 and a 160gb version for £399. sky also charges a £10 subscription fee to the service  unless viewers have a subscription to one of its premium packages. telewest has yet to reveal pricing for the new box or if it will be charging a subscription fee for the service.  eric tveter  president and chief operating officer at telewest broadband  said:  we will make our pvr set-top box available later this year  putting a stop to missed soaps  interrupted films and arguments over which programmes to record.  pvrs and recordable dvd players are set to replace video recorders as the standard method of recording and saving favourite tv programmes. last year  high street retailer dixons said it was going to stop selling vhs machines in favour of pvrs and recordable dvd machines. sky has said it aims to have 25% of its subscribers using sky plus by 2010 - it is predicting 10 million total subscribers by that date. it currently has 7.4 million subscribers  while telewest provides digital cable to 1.7 million customers.


satellite mapping aids darfur relief aid workers trying to house  feed and clothe millions of homeless refugees in the sudanese region of darfur are getting a helping hand from advanced mapping technology.  a european consortium of companies and university groups known as respond is working to provide accurate and up to date maps. the aim is to overcome some of the huge logistical challenges in getting supplies to where they are needed. respond is using satellite imagery to produce accurate maps that can be used in the field rapidly.  respond has produced very detailed maps for example for the road networks  for the rivers and for the villages  to more large-scale maps useful for very general planning purposes   said einar bjorgo from unosat  the un satellite mapping organisation that is part of the respond consortium.  the group uses satellites from nasa  the european space agency and the disaster monitoring constellation. the satellite data is transmitted to ground stations. from there  the information makes its way to respond organisations that specialise in interpreting such data.  you have to convert the data into images  then the interpreter has to convert all this into crisis  damage  or situation maps   said stefan voigt  who works in the remote sensing department of one of those organisations  the german aerospace centre.  this kind of detailed analysis usually takes a couple of months but respond gets it done in about 12 hours.  our users are usually not so much familiar with reading satellite imagery  reading satellite maps  so it s our task to transfer the data into information that non-technical people can read and understand easily and very  very efficiently   said mr voigt. respond supplies maps to aid groups via the web  and on compact disc. but the best map is one you can hold in your hands  especially in remote areas where internet connections and laptops are scarce.  a map is a working document   explains herbert hansen of respond s belgian partner keyobs.  you need to use it  you need to write on it  correct  give feedback and so on  so you need paper to write on.  we print maps  we laminate the maps  we encapsulate the maps if needed so you can take a shower with the map  it s completely protected.   humanitarian groups in darfur have been making good use of respond s maps. they have come in especially handy during sudan s rainy season  when normally dry riverbeds  or wadis  became flooded.  these wadis had a very small amount of flooding  generally  in terms of depth  but greatly impeded the transport capabilities and capacities of the humanitarian groups on the ground   says stephen candillon of respond imaging partner sertit. respond s rapid imaging has allowed aid groups to find ways around the wadis  allowing then to mark on their maps which roads were washed out at which times. aid groups say that combination of satellite technology and on-the-ground observation helped keep relief flowing to those who needed it.  clark boyd is technology correspondent for the world  a bbc world service and wgbh-boston co-production


gm in crunch talks on fiat future fiat will meet car giant general motors (gm) on tuesday in an attempt to reach agreement over the future of the italian firm s loss-making auto group.  fiat claims that gm is legally obliged to buy the 90% of the car unit it does not already own; gm says the contract  signed in 2000  is no longer valid. press reports have speculated that fiat may be willing to accept a cash payment in return for dropping its claim. both companies want to cut costs as the car industry adjusts to waning demand.  the meeting between fiat boss sergio marchionne and gm s rick wagoner is due to take place at 1330 gmt in zurich  according to the reuters news agency.  mr marchionne is confident of his firm s legal position  saying in an interview with the financial times that gm s argument  has no legs . the agreement in question dates back to gm s decision to buy 20% of fiat s auto division in 2000. at the time  it gave the italian firm the right  via a  put option   to sell the remaining stake to gm. in recent weeks  fiat has reiterated its claims that this  put  is still valid and legally binding. however  gm argues that a fiat share sale made last year  which cut gm s holding to 10%  together with asset sales made by fiat have terminated the agreement.  selling the fiat s car-making unit may not prove so simple  analysts say  especially as it is a company that is so closely linked to italy s industrial heritage. political and public pressure may well push the two firms to reach a compromise.  we are not expecting fiat to exercise its put of the auto business against an unwilling gm at this point   brokerage merrill lynch said in a note to investors  adding that any legal battle would be protracted and damaging to the business.  as far as we are aware  the agnelli family  which indirectly controls at least 30% of fiat  has not given a firm public indication that it wants to sell the auto business.  fiat may be willing to cancel the  put  in exchange for money.


highbury tunnel players in clear the football association has said it will not be bringing charges over the tunnel incident prior to the arsenal and manchester united game.  arsenal s patrick vieira had earlier denied accusations that he threatened gary neville before the 4-2 defeat. vieira also clashed with opposing skipper roy keane and referee graham poll had to separate them.  the referee has confirmed that he is satisfied he dealt with the incident at the time   said an fa statement. it means united s win will pass off without further intervention from the governing body  whose new chief executive brian barwick was in the highbury stands.   i didn t threaten anybody. they are big enough players to handle themselves   said vieira.  i had a talk with roy keane and that s it. gary neville is a big lad  he can handle himself.  they just played better than us and deserved to win.  neville admitted there had been incidents before the game  but insisted it had not distracted his focus.  there were a couple of things that did happen before the game which disappoint you   he said.  especially from players of that calibre  but it s a tough game and we ve been around a long time.  neville admitted that he had not enjoyed the match  which was punctuated by fouls and the sending off of mikael silvestre for head-butting freddie ljungberg .  i thought it was a horrible game in the first half  and it was not much better in the second   he said.  there is no way that should have happened in a football match.   after the match  keane accused vieira of starting the row.  patrick vieira is 6ft 4in and having a go at gary neville. so i said   have a go at me    he said.  if he wants to intimidate our players and thinks that gary neville is an easy target  i m not having it.  manchester united manager sir alex ferguson added:  vieira was well wound up for it.  i ve heard different stories. patrick vieira has apparently threatened some of our players and things like that.


london hope over chepkemei london marathon organisers are hoping that banned athlete susan chepkemei will still take part in this year s race on 17 april.  chepkemei was suspended from all competition until the end of the year by athletics kenya after failing to report to a national training camp.  we are watching it closely   said london race director david bedford.  there is a long way to go before the race and we are hoping the situation will be satisfactorily resolved.  the camp in embu was to prepare for the iaaf world cross country championships later this month. chepkemei however took part and finished third in last sunday s world best 10k race in puerto rico. the 29-year-old has finished second to paula radcliffe in the 2002 and 2003 london races as well as in november s new york city marathon.


brown targets oaps and homebuyers gordon brown has doubled the level at which house buyers pay stamp duty to £120 000 as he put the economy at the heart of labour s election campaign.  the chancellor also unveiled a one-off £200 council tax refund for pensioners and a rise in child tax credit. mr brown put 1p a pint on beer  4p on a bottle of wine and 7p on 20 cigarettes but froze petrol duty until september. the tories called it a  vote now  pay later  budget. the lib dems branded it a  sticking plaster  for the election.  tory leader michael howard predicted the budget would do nothing to help labour s  faltering  election campaign.   this government and this chancellor have run out of solutions to the problems britain faces   mr howard told mps.  their only answer is to tax  to spend and to waste - to get people to vote now and pay later.  he ended his response with an election challenge to labour  saying  bring it on . liberal democrat leader charles kennedy attacked mr brown for failing to mention the environment and for his record on social justice.  how can it be right in britain today that the poorest 20% pay more in tax  as a proportion of their income  than the richest 20%   he asked.  mr kennedy criticised mr brown for failing to mention the  ticking bomb  of council tax revaluation  saying it was  high time  the system was replaced by a  local tax based on the ability to pay . during his 49 minute speech mr brown told mps he had defied the pundits by hitting his growth target of 3.1% for 2004.  he said his budget struck a balance  between tax cuts that are affordable  investments that are essential and stability that is paramount . he rejected across-the-board tax cuts in favour of targeted help for families. the child tax credit will rise in line with earnings  giving families an extra £5 a week. in contrast  the personal income tax allowance will rise only in line with inflation from £4 745 to £4 895 next month. mr brown told mps child benefit would rise to a maximum of £63 a week for the first child and £111 for two children. despite his giveaways  budget documents show mr brown clawed back £265m through a clampdown on tax avoidance and increased revenue from a windfall tax on oil companies. he also scrapped stamp duty relief for commercial property in disadvantaged areas - a measure brought in just over three years ago. bbc political editor andrew marr suggested the sweeteners were not big enough to have a transforming effect on voters. but trust in mr brown s economic stewardship would be a central election issue  he said.  mr brown also unveiled plans for a memorial to the queen mother  funded through a special coin to celebrate the queen s 80th birthday. other measures include equal tax status for same-sex couples and a deal with the council of mortgage lenders to boost low cost home ownership. the level where people start paying inheritance tax will also rise from £263 000 to £275 000 from april. mr brown said he had met his financial  golden rule  with a £6bn surplus and he said public borrowing would continue to fall over the next five years.  the economy had grown for 50 consecutive quarters  he said  and was forecast to continue doing so over the next year  with a forecast of 3% to 3.5% in 2005 and 2.5% to 3% in 2006. the first £2bn of value-for-money savings identified in the gershon review have been achieved  the chancellor said. some 12 500 civil servant posts have been axed  and 7 800 relocated out of the south east of england  he added. snp leader alex salmond said mr brown had failed the  tartan test  as there were no measures to boost the scottish economy. simon thomas  of plaid cymru  called it a budget for middle england. uk independence party leader roger knapman attacked the plans for pensioners saying they needed  more money and the dignity of being allowed to spend it how they want   not  free bus rides . the green party said the budget was a  wasted opportunity  for environmental protection  adding:  brown obviously has an eye on the coming election  and has taken his eye off the needs of the planet.


bt program to beat dialler scams bt is introducing two initiatives to help beat rogue dialler scams  which can cost dial-up net users thousands.  from may  dial-up net users will be able to download free software to stop computers using numbers not on a user s  pre-approved list . inadvertently downloaded by surfers  rogue diallers are programs which hijack modems and dial up a premium rate number when users log on. thousands of uk dial-up users are believed to have been hit by the scam. some people have faced phone bills of up to £2 000. bt s modem protection program will check numbers that are dialled by a computer and will block them if they have not been pre-approved  such as national and net service provider numbers. icstis  the uk s premium rate services watchdog  said it had been looking for companies to take the lead in initiatives.  the initiatives are very welcome   a spokesperson from icstis told the bbc news website.  we are very pleased to see they are putting into place new measures to protect consumers.   the second initiative bt announced is an early warning system which will alert bt customers if there is unusual activity on their phone bills. if a bill rises substantially above its usual daily average  or if a call is made to a suspect number  a text or voice alert will be sent to the user s landline phone. as part of the clamp-down on rogue diallers  companies must now satisfy stringent conditions  including clear terms and conditions  information about how to delete diallers and responsibility for customer refunds. any firm running a dialler without permission can now be closed down by icstis. the watchdog brought in the action last october following a decision to license all companies which wanted to operate legitimate premium rate dialler services.  there are legitimate companies who offer services such as adult content  sports results and music downloads by charging a premium rate rather than by credit card bt said it had ploughed an enormous amount of effort into protecting people from the problem. it has already barred more than 1 000 premium rate numbers and has tried to raise public awareness about the scams.  we now want to ensure there are even stronger safeguards for our customers  who we would urge to make use of these new options to protect themselves   said gavin patterson  group managing director for consumer the arm of bt. both schemes have been undergoing trials in ireland  and will be made available to 20 million bt customers from may.


asia shares defy post-quake gloom indonesian  indian and hong kong stock markets reached record highs.  investors seemed to feel that some of the worst-affected areas were so under-developed that the tragedy would have little impact on asia s listed firms.  obviously with a lot of loss of life  a lot of time is needed to clean up the mess  bury the people and find the missing   said abn amro s eddie wong.  [but] it s not necessarily a really big thing in the economic sense.   india s bombay stock exchange inched slightly above its previous record close on wednesday. expectations of strong corporate earnings in 2005 drove the indonesian stock exchange in jakarta to a record high on wednesday. in hong kong  the hang seng index may be benefiting in part from the potential for its listed property companies to gain from rebuilding contracts in the tsunami-affected regions of south east asia. in sri lanka  some economists have said that as much as 1% of annual growth may be lost. sri lanka s stock market has fallen about 5% since the weekend  but it is still 40% higher than at the start of 2004.  thailand may lose 30bn baht (£398m; $768m) in earnings from tourism over the next three months  according to tourism minister sontaya kunplome.  in the affected provinces  he expects the loss of tourism revenue to be offset by government reconstruction spending. thailand intends to spend a similar sum - around 30bn baht - on the rebuilding work.  it will take until the fourth quarter of next year before tourist visitors in phuket and five other provinces return to their normal level   said naris chaiyasoot  director general at the ministry s fiscal policy office. in the maldives the cost of reconstruction could wipe out economic growth  according to a government spokesman.  our nation is in peril here   said ahmed shaheed  the chief government spokesman. he estimated the economic cost of the disaster at hundreds of millions of dollars. the maldives has gross domestic product of $660m.  it won t be surprising if the cost exceeds our gdp   he said.  in the last few years  we made great progress in our standard of living - the united nations recognised this. now we see this can disappear in a few days  a few minutes.  shaheed noted that investment in a single tourist resort - the economic mainstay - could run to $40m. between 10 and 12 of the 80-odd resorts have been severely damaged  and a similar number have suffered significant damage.  however  many experts  including the world bank  have pointed out that it is still difficult to assess the magnitude of the disaster and its likely economic impact. in part  this is because of its scale  and because delivering aid and recovering the dead remain priorities.  calculators will have to wait   said an imf official in a briefing on wednesday.  the financial and world community will be turning toward reconstruction efforts and at that point people will begin to have a sense of the financial impact.