carry on star patsy rowlands dies actress patsy rowlands  known to millions for her roles in the carry on films  has died at the age of 71.  rowlands starred in nine of the popular carry on films  alongside fellow regulars sid james  kenneth williams and barbara windsor. she also carved out a successful television career  appearing for many years in itv s well-loved comedy bless this house. rowlands died in hove on saturday morning  her agent said.  born in january 1934  rowlands won a scholarship to the guildhall school of speech and drama scholarship when she was just 15.  after spending several years at the players theatre in london  she made her film debut in 1963 in tom jones  directed by tony richardson. she made her first carry on film in 1969 where she appeared in carry on again doctor. rowlands played the hard-done-by wife or the put-upon employee as a regular carry on star. she also appeared in carry on at your convenience  carry on matron and carry on loving  as well as others.  in recent years she appeared in bbc mini-series the cazalets and played mrs potts in the london stage version of beauty and the beast. agent simon beresford said:  she was just an absolutely favourite client she never complained about anything  particularly when she was ill  she was an old trouper.  she was of the old school - she had skills from musical theatre and high drama  that is why she worked with the great and the good of directors.  she didn t mind always being recognised for the carry on films because she thoroughly enjoyed making them. she was a really lovely person and she will be much missed.  her last appearance on stage was as mrs pearce in the award-winning production of my fair lady at the national theatre. previously married  she leaves one son  alan. her funeral will be a private  family occasion  with a memorial service at a later date.


sydney to host north v south game sydney will host a northern versus southern hemisphere charity match in june or july  the australian rugby union (aru) said on wednesday.  the match will include players from the lions tour of new zealand.  the australian rugby union has thrown its support behind a proposed north-south match to raise funds for the tsunami appeals   the aru said. the date is yet to be decided but the most likely venue is sydney s olympic stadium. aru chief executive gary flowers said the world cricket charity match in melbourne earlier this month had inspired the aru.  we still need to discuss the options with the irb (international rugby board)  the lions and our sanzar (south africa  new zealand and australia rugby) partners  but june or july is seen as a better option than march to ensure we have the cream of southern hemisphere rugby available   he said. wallabies captain george gregan said the charity match was a  great initiative . tri-nations rivals australia  new zealand and south africa would feature prominently in a southern team against a northern side comprised of six nations teams france  ireland  england  wales  italy and scotland. coach clive woodward s lions squad will tour new zealand in june and july  including tests on 25 june  2 and 9 july.  almost 80 000 fans packed into melbourne cricket ground on 10 january for a charity match that raised £5.9m for victims of the asian tsunami.


uk coal plunges into deeper loss shares in uk coal have fallen after the mining group reported losses had deepened to £51.6m in 2004 from £1.2m.  the uk s biggest coal producer blamed geological problems  industrial action and  operating flaws  at its deep mines for its worsening fortunes. the south yorkshire company  led by new chief executive gerry spindler  said it hoped to return to profit in 2006. in early trade on thursday  its shares were down 10% at 119 pence. uk coal said it was making  significant progress  in shaking up the business. it had introduced new wage structures  a new daily maintenance regime for machinery at its mines and methods to continue mining in adverse conditions. the company said these actions should  significantly uplift earnings . it expected 2005 to be a  transitional year  and to return to profitability in 2006.  the recent rise in coal prices has failed to benefit the company as most of its output had already been sold  it said. total production costs were £1.30 per gigajoule  uk coal said  but the average selling price was just £1.18 per gigajoule.  we have a long journey ahead to fix these issues. we continue to make progress and great strides have already been made   said mr spindler. uk coal operates 15 deep and surface mines across nottinghamshire  derbyshire  leicestershire  yorkshire  the west midlands  northumberland and durham.


blair joins school sailing trip the prime minister has donned a life jacket and joined school children in a sailing dinghy as he sought to sell his party s education policies.  tony blair sailed across the lake in bromsgrove  worcestershire  while on a visit with education secretary ruth kelly to back school outings. mr blair later stressed labour s election pledge to focus on education  when he met parents in the area. the conservatives and lib dems both say his pledges are  worthless . all the parties are stepping up campaigning ahead of a general election widely expected to be held on 5 may. mr blair  looking a little windswept  joined two girls from st egwin s middle school in evesham and an instructor for a trip in the wayfarer dinghy  closely followed by a boat full of photographers.  afterwards he said outdoor activities were beneficial for children but accepted that lots of teachers now worried about taking part for fear of being sued if something went wrong.  what we re doing is introducing some simple guidelines so if teachers follow those they are not going to be at risk of legal action   mr blair said.  when you are doing these types of activities you ve got to exercise some common sense there obviously.  you can t have a situation where parents or teachers end up being worried that they re going to be subject to all sorts of legal action if they take children sailing or doing outdoor activity that is actually good for the kids and good for their health and their character.   the pledge on education -  your child achieving more  - was one of six election pledges unveiled by mr blair last week. if it wins a third term in the general election expected this year  labour is committed to giving parents more choice between schools; allowing all secondary schools to take on specialist status; opening 200 city academies and creating 100 000 more sixth-form places. it aims to improve discipline in schools by adopting a  zero tolerance  approach to disruption of classes and introducing fixed penalty notices for truants. labour also plans to give head teachers at groups of local schools control over funding for units to handle disruptive pupils.  parents and teachers who met mr blair on tuesday were invited to the informal discussion after writing to their mps to raise concerns about education. it is the latest in a series of events designed to show the prime minister is speaking directly to voters in the run-up to the election - and that he has not lost touch. for the conservatives  shadow education secretary tim collins said:  mr blair¿s government is all talk. he must be judged on what he has done in two terms  not what he mendaciously claims he would do in a third. that judgment will be damning.  the liberal democrats are promising to cut class sizes for the youngest children and ensure all children are taught by a qualified teacher in each subject.


bath faced with tindall ultimatum mike tindall s agent has warned bath they have until next week to improve their contract offer to the england man or risk losing him to a rival club.  dipo alli says he has received an offer for tindall which dwarfs bath s deal and that two other clubs want to talk.  mike does not want to go into the six nations worrying about where he will be playing his club rugby next season   alli told the guardian newspaper.  it is up to (bath owner) andrew brownsword. he has to make it happen.  tindall is out of contract at the end of the season but it is understood that brownsword is unwilling to break the club s salary structure to accommodate the 26-year-old s demands. but alli insists the player is worth more than bath have put on the table.  mike has been at bath for eight years and wants to remain with the club and his demands are anything but excessive   the agent added.  but brownsword has to recognise mike s value and we want to resolve things by the end of next week.


banker loses sexism claim a former executive at the london offices of merrill lynch has lost her £7.5m ($14.6m) sex discrimination case against the us investment bank.  an employment tribunal dismissed stephanie villalba s allegations of sexual discrimination and unequal pay. but the 42-year-old won her claim of unfair dismissal  resulting from her sacking in august 2003. her partial victory is likely to cap her compensation to about £55 000  a tiny fraction of what she asked for. the extent of damages will be assessed in the new year. the action - the biggest claim heard by an employment tribunal in the uk - had been viewed as something of a test case.  the tribunal decided that ms villalba had been unfairly dismissed because  having been removed from a senior post  she was entitled to wait to see if a suitable alternative position could be found in the organisation. ms villalba  the former head of merrill s private client business in europe  has made no decision on whether to appeal.  a spokesman for her lawyers described the decision as  very disappointing   but pointed to some criticism of merrill s procedures within the lengthy judgement. the tribunal upheld ms villalba s claim of victimisation on certain specific issues  including bullying e-mails in connection with a contract  but said it found no evidence of  laddish culture  at the bank.  we said from the start that this case was about performance not gender   merrill said in a statement.  ms villalba was removed by the very same person who had promoted her into the position and who then replaced her with another woman.  merrill lynch is dedicated to creating a true meritocracy where every employee has the opportunity to advance based on their skills and hard work.   based in london s financial district  ms villalba worked for merrill s global private client business in europe  investing funds for some of merrill s most important customers. but in 2003 her employers told her she had no future after 17 years with the company  and she was made redundant. merrill lynch denied ms villalba s claims and said she was removed from her post because of the extensive losses the firm was suffering on the continent. the firm had told the tribunal that ms villalba s division had been losing about $1m a week. merrill said ms villalba lacked the leadership skills to turn around the unit.


hewitt survives nalbandian epic home favourite lleyton hewitt came through a dramatic five-set battle with argentine david nalbandian to reach the australian open semi-finals.  hewitt looked to be cruising to victory after racing into a two-set lead. but nalbandian broke his serve three times in both of the next two sets to set up a nailbiting decider. hewitt eventually grabbed the vital break in the 17th game and served out to win 6-3 6-2 1-6 3-6 10-8 and set up a meeting with andy roddick. the winner of that match will face either roger federer or marat safin in the final. ninth seed nalbandian had never come back from two sets down to win a match  and there was no indication he would do so as hewitt dominated the first two sets.  the argentine had stoked up the temperature ahead of the match by saying hewitt s exuberant on-court celebrations were  not very good for the sport . and he had words with hewitt during one change of ends in the second set when the australian appeared to brush shoulders with him as they went to their chairs. the balance of power changed completely in the third set as hewitt allowed his level to dip  and he double-faulted twice as nalbandian broke on the way to taking the fourth set. but the tiring third seed showed incredible reserves of strength to force the break despite being outplayed for much of the final set and three times coming within two points of defeat. he then produced a love service game to finish off the match in four hours and five minutes.  i just kept hanging in there. it was always tough serving second in the fifth set   said hewitt  who had never reached the last four at his home grand slam.  i told myself to give everything and in the end it paid off once again.  it s a long way from holding that trophy up there but i m hanging in there.  only four guys left that can win and we re the top four in the world. it s set up for a pretty good showdown in the semis and finals.


saab to build cadillacs in sweden general motors  the world s largest car maker  has confirmed that it will build a new medium-sized cadillac bls at its loss-making saab factory in sweden.  the car  unveiled at the geneva motor show  is intended to compete in the medium-sized luxury car market. it will not be sold in the us  said gm europe president carl-peter forster. as part of its efforts to make the us marque appeal to european drivers  the car will be the first cadillac with a diesel engine.  gm s announcement should go some way to allay fears of the saab factory s closure. the factory in trollhaettan has been at the centre of rumours about gm s planned severe cutbacks in its troubled european operations. but the group s new commitment to the swedish factory may not be welcomed by the group s opel workers in ruesselsheim  germany. they may now have to face a larger proportion of gm s cuts.  neither will the announcement be seen as unalloyed good news in sweden  since it reflects saab s failure to make significant inroads into the lucrative european luxury car market. for years  saab has consistently said it is competing head-on with bmw  mercedes and jaguar. the segment s leaders do not agree.  gm s plans to build the american marque in sweden is part of its efforts to push it as an alternative luxury brand for european drivers. in the us  it has long been established as an upmarket brand - even the presidential limousine carries the badge. yet it could prove tough for cadillac to steal market share from the majors in europe. other luxury car makers  most notably the toyota subsidiary lexus  have enjoyed tremendous success in the us without managing to make significant inroads in europe. there  german marques mercedes benz and bmw have retained their stranglehold on the luxury market.  bringing cadillac production to sweden should help introduce desperately-needed scale to the saab factory  which currently produces fewer than 130 000 cars per year. that is about half of what major car makers consider sufficient numbers for profitable operations  and saab is losing money fast - albeit with losses halved in 2004 to $200m (£104m; 151m euros) from $500m the previous year. beyond the 12 000 job cuts announced last year at its european operations  gm is reducing expenditure by building saabs  opels - badged as vauxhalls in the uk - and now cadillacs on the same framework  and by allowing the different brands to share parts. another way to further reduce saab s losses could be to shift some of the production of saabs to the us  a market where drivers have adopted it as an upmarket european car. doing so would remove the exposure to the weak us dollar  which is making saabs more expensive to us consumers. but not everyone in the industry agree that it would be the best way forward.  we know that in five years the us dollar will be stronger than it is today   the chief executive of a leading european car maker told bbc news. the current trend towards us production was  stupid   he said.  in a separate announcement  gm unveiled a new scheme to allow european consumers the chance to test drive its opel and vauxhall models. it is to deploy a fleet of 35 000 test cars across 40 countries  inviting potential buyers to try out a vehicle for 24-hours. it follows a similar initiative by gm in the us. gm said it wanted to change  customers  perceptions  about opel and vauxhall cars  showing them that the quality had improved in recent years.


blair pledges unity to labour mps tony blair has sought to reassure labour backbenchers that nothing will stand in the way of the party s bid for a third term in power.  mr blair was speaking to mps amid fresh rumours of a rift with gordon brown. a new book says the prime minister went back on a pledge to mr brown to stand down before the next general election. the chancellor has said he is focused on winning the poll and is due to join election supremo alan milburn for a labour poster launch this week. mr blair told the parliamentary labour party (plp) on monday:  i know from everyone here  in cabinet and government  nothing is going to get in the way of a unified labour party with a unified position and winning the third term people desperately need.  the prime minister and his chancellor arrived within seconds of each other and seemingly in good spirits at the start of the meeting which lasted around an hour. a new book  brown s britain by sunday telegraph journalist robert peston  says mr blair went back on a pledge to make way for mr brown after cabinet allies intervened in june 2004.  it has caused a new wave of concern among labour mps gearing up to defend their seats in an election  widely expected to be held in may  and several members are understood to have lined up to express their discontent at the plp meeting. health secretary john reid earlier warned that labour members would not easily forgive anybody fuelling damaging speculation. he told bbc news:  those who co-operate or inspire these books  in my view  have to know that  whatever the short-term political or personal advantage that they think they might secure  they always do it by damaging the record  the unity and the re-election chances of the labour party and the government.  mr blair on sunday dismissed claims of broken promises  saying:  i ve dealt with this six months ago. i said then you don t do deals over jobs like this - you don t.   in a separate bbc interview  mr brown said he and the prime minister would not be distracted by  gossip .  it s very important that we all do what we can in a unified way to ensure the election of a labour government   he said.  on monday  mr blair s spokesman said:  the prime minister is determined that he will get on with the business of government because he believes that what people want.  mr brown says he discussed the election campaign with mr blair on saturday and promised to play his part.  mr peston said the pair had  mutual animosity and contempt . mr blair had decided in november 2003 he would quit because he felt he had lost voters  trust because of the iraq war.  he had then changed his mind in june 2004  following intervention from cabinet allies and suspicion that the chancellor was manoeuvring against him. mr brown allegedly said he could no longer believe anything mr blair told him. conservative co-chairman liam fox likened the two men to  self-obsessed schoolboys . liberal democrat parliamentary chairman matthew taylor said their personal ambition was  getting in the way of good government . ex-labour leader neil kinnock said mr blair and mr brown could only deal with the media frenzy by continuing to say they would not allow a row to damage labour or british interests. he told bbc radio five live that mr brown would never encourage any kind of insurrection or coup.


minimum rate for foster parents foster carers are to be guaranteed a minimum allowance to help cover their costs  the government has announced.  payment levels vary from area to area  with some carers getting just £50 a week for clothes  food and other costs. minister for children  young people and families margaret hodge said new plans will ensure fosterers  allowances would be as fair as possible. however local authorities  which set and pay the allowances  are concerned about how the extra cash will be found. about 50 000 children live with foster families in the uk and carers have said they need more money to make ends meet.  ms hodge said:  foster carers must not be out of pocket when meeting the costs of caring for a looked after child - a crucial role in society.  we need to make sure that arrangements for paying foster carers are as fair and transparent as possible.  our proposal for a national minimum rate shows we are serious about creating a better deal for foster carers and about encouraging more people to come forward and consider fostering as a worthwhile and rewarding opportunity.  the government is seeking to amend the children bill  which passes through the commons next week  to establish a national minimum payment.  fostering network executive director robert tapsfield criticised the existing system.  there is just no logic to a system which values children differently depending on where they live.  and with a shortage of over 8 000 foster carers in england  it s not a sustainable situation to expect carers to fund foster care from their own pockets.  the charity recommends a weekly payment of £108.49 for looking after a baby. in a survey  it discovered that rates paid by neighbouring authorities could vary by as much as £100 per week.  the association of directors of social services (adss) said it agreed in principle with the government s plans. tony hunter  the organisation s president  said:  there are many devils and lots of details hidden within the government s proposals.  but adss fully supports proper remuneration for valued foster carers and looks forward to working with ministers  local government and the fostering organisations themselves in order to make sure a sensible and practicable policy emerges.


kenyon denies robben barca return chelsea chief executive peter kenyon has played down reports that arjen robben will return for the champions league match against barcelona.   he s been responding well to treatment and started running on friday  but we ll have to wait and see   he told bbc five live s sportsweek.  we re looking to getting him back as soon as possible  but he ll be back when it s right for him and for us.  there s no plans at the moment around the barcelona game.  his comments contradict those of chiropractor jean pierre meersseman who treated the dutchman after he fractured his foot at the start of february. robben had been expected to be out for six weeks  but meersseman hinted that the winger could be fit for the vital stamford bridge game on 8 march.  i hope he can be back and i will try to help him make that happen   meersseman told the mail on sunday.  i put everything right with arjen s foot the last time i saw him 12 days ago. it was an obvious correction and easy to perform.  i know he was pleased with what i did and now that he is running again. i am due to see him one more time again in the next few days.  meersseman is the medical co-ordinator at italian side ac milan.


franz man seeks government help franz ferdinand frontman alex kapranos has called for more government help for musicians  while taking part in an edinburgh lectures discussion.   for any cultural output to thrive there needs to be some kind of state input to that as well   he said. but kapranos warned against musicians being too closely linked with mps  at the university of edinburgh event.  i think the role of musicians is to question politicians rather than to go to bed with them   he said.  kapranos joined the prestigious lecture series to discuss scotland s role in making 21st century music.  there are elements of our musical output which require sustenance because they aren t self-sufficient   he said.  but so-called commercial music would benefit from investment as well.  he warned musicians against being allied to a particular party  however.  i don t know if having tea with politicians is always a good idea.   kapranos and his glasgow four-piece band have been nominated for five prizes at next week s brit awards  including best group and best album. their self-titled debut album won last year s mercury music prize and spawned three top 20 singles. he told the 300-strong audience at the university s reid hall that musicians should listen to a wide range of music and should not be restricted by stereotypes.  we say  i like this . because i listen to nirvana and korn i am a troubled individual  i m riddled with angst because i listen to chopin and debussy  i listen to kylie minogue and scissor sisters because i m upbeat and i like to party  i listen to wagner because i like the smell of napalm in the morning.  kapranos said there was a general  hostility  towards classical music  adding:  there is very little done to break that hostility other than classic fm.   he concluded:  we define ourselves as a nation by the way we encourage our creativity.  fellow speaker and classical composer james macmillan agreed:  we need to rediscover our ability to listen.  previous speakers at the edinburgh lectures series have included former soviet leader mikhail gorbachev and author professor stephen hawking. kapranos described his appearance on wednesday as  more daunting by a long way  than their upcoming brits performance.  i don t really care about the brits   he said.  it s going to be great to go down but i have actually had to exercise part of my brain tonight.   i think the government should do more to help up-and-coming artists be discovered by scrapping the entertainment licences for live venues. also they should do more to help independent record labels have a louder voice within an industry dominated by commercialised major labels.  rather than expecting the government - i.e. the taxpayer - to fork out  why don t some of the megastars put something back in  some of britain s wealthiest people are musicians who have raked it in from albums  concerts etc. there are far more important demands on government funds.  if they can fund football  why not fund music   areas of the arts are funded by government and lottery grants  so why not music  we already have the opera receiving huge grants and it would clearly be beneficial for diversity in music to have the same opportunities in other areas of the music. the only problem would be how to judge what merits state cash.  the government has enough problems funding schools and health services. if alex kapranos genuinely thinks a multi-billion pound industry should also have government funding then his own education was seriously lacking and more money should be put into that.  as a scot living in england  i appreciate the value of scottish music and culture being a success  so i can see no problem with it! franz ferdinand  travis and snow patrol are just recent examples of the success scottish music can have in the world  so we should do what we scots are good at and support our own goods!  i think the issue is more fundamental: should the government be spending money on subsidising a multi-million pound industry when health and education are in such a sorry state  the answer is most definitely no. those people who are lucky enough to pursue their passion to get their pay cheque shouldn t be looking for government subsidies. i know that if i was lucky enough to be able to pursue my dream of show jumping i would want to finance myself until i was in a position to pursue corporate sponsorship.  yes the government should fund music - it brings joy to the masses.  there are already thousands of state-funded musicians out there sitting around  twiddling their thumbs on the  new deal . getting the government even more involved would only waste money that could be put to better use.  as long as the government was funding real talent it would be a great move. i would hate to see more pop idol-type funding of music though  as it would only serve to reinforce the stereotypes that alex talked about.  only if the proposals make financial sense. franz ferdinand must be paying serious amounts of tax on their record sales - if they d had a government grant to get started they d have more than paid it back by now  so the treasury would be making far more than it paid out. however  the government has better things to spend its money on than to give charity to everyone who decides they re a musician. the government shouldn t  fund  music - it should  invest  in music and those investments should be treated like any other investment.  i think the government needs to provide facilities and for young groups and bands to form and practise. the equipment is not cheap and can be well beyond the means of many people. however  i do feel this should be the extent of their role  to provide the conditions for the talent to flourish and let it go from there.  i do agree that the government should help to fund music but there is also a responsibility held by record companies! they generally always opt for the tried and tested and tend not to want to break any moulds or risk losing any money which ultimately  the directors are in the business for! if labels were more willing to put money forward towards smaller breakthrough acts then the government wouldn t have to fork out a great deal.  yeah  why not  music should be government funded  particularly the work of modern composers and veteran bands/artists and stuff. pop music pretty much rules the earth  so more attention should go to the other fraternities  i agree with funding the arts to make it more accessible to the public but i am not convinced that pop music requires financial support from the taxpayer. there is a great deal of money generated through pop music - perhaps a tax on pop could be ploughed into the public performance of other forms of music for everyone to enjoy. perhaps we could financially penalise really bad pop idol-style music - that is  the music industry sector without any artistic merit or originality whatsoever and that which is specifically designed to line the pockets of music producers. call it a tax on music  pollution   if you like.  though i really like franz ferdinand  i have to disagree with mr kapranos. once government gets their hand into the private sector  it will destroy the creative and possibly controversial avenues the artist pursues. many years ago  this was the case with the us nea  when the government started to question what was considered art for the money they were allotting. the solution mr kapranos should pursue would be privately-funded organizations  like save the music in the us.


levy takes whitbread novel prize orange prize winner andrea levy has seen her book small island win the whitbread novel of the year award.  she is now favourite to win the overall prize after beating booker winner alan hollinghurst s the line of beauty. geraldine mccaughrean has picked up the children s fiction award for the third time for not the end of the world. all the category winners go through to compete for the whitbread book of the year title  which carries with it a £25 000 prize. a panel of judges including sir trevor mcdonald  actor hugh grant and writer joanne harris will meet up on 25 january to decide the overall winner  with the announcement being made later that evening.  bookmaker william hill has placed london-based levy s novel as the 6/4 favourite to win.  small island  levy s fourth novel  is set in post-war england and centres on a landlady and her lodgers. one is a jamaican who joined british troops to fight hitler but finds life difficult out of uniform when he settles in london. the judges  who included authors jenny colgan and amanda craig  were full of praise for her writing.  what could have been a didactic or preachy prospect turns out to hilarious  moving humane and eye-popping. it s hard to think of anybody not enjoying it   wrote the judges. the first novel section was won by susan fletcher for eve green  beating the favourite jonathan strange and mr norrell by susanna clarke. fletcher has recently graduated from graduated from the university of east anglia creative writing course. waterstone s fiction writer buyer suzie doore said:  it is great to see susan fletcher win in the first novel category. as a relatively unknown author this award will give her exposure to a wider and mass audience that she may not have reached and is a perfect example of the influence of the whitbread.  fresh out of university she is certainly one to watch.   in the biography category it was john guy s the life of mary queen of scots that was picked as winner. the judges called it  an impressive and readable piece of scholarship  which cannot fail but leave the reader moved and intrigued by this most tragic and likeable of queens . guy has published many histories  including tudor england. he is a fellow at clare college  cambridge and became a honorary research professor of the university of st andrews in 2003. michael symmons roberts  fourth collection of poems scooped the poetry award. his works mixes mysticism  erotica and philosophy through life  death and resurrection. as well as writing poetry  symmons roberts also makes documentary films. children s winner mccaughrean  who went into magazine publishing after studying teaching  previously won the whitbread prize in 1987 with a little lower than angels and in 1994 with gold dust. she has previously been the winner of the blue peter book of the year.


mobiles rack up 20 years of use mobile phones in the uk are celebrating their 20th anniversary this weekend.  britain s first mobile phone call was made across the vodafone network on 1 january 1985 by veteran comedian ernie wise. in the 20 years since that day  mobile phones have become an integral part of modern life and now almost 90% of britons own a handset. mobiles have become so popular that many people use their handset as their only phone and rarely use a landline.  the first ever call over a portable phone was made in 1973 in new york but it took 10 years for the first commercial mobile service to be launched. the uk was not far behind the rest of the world in setting up networks in 1985 that let people make calls while they walked. the first call was made from st katherine s dock to vodafone s head office in newbury which at the time was over a curry house. for the first nine days of 1985 vodafone was the only firm with a mobile network in the uk. then on 10 january cellnet (now o2) launched its service. mike caudwell  spokesman for vodafone  said that when phones were launched they were the size of a briefcase  cost about £2 000 and had a battery life of little more than 20 minutes.   despite that they were hugely popular in the mid-80s   he said.  they became a yuppy must-have and a status symbol among young wealthy business folk.  this was also despite the fact that the phones used analogue radio signals to communicate which made them very easy to eavesdrop on. he said it took vodafone almost nine years to rack up its first million customers but only 18 months to get the second million.  it s very easy to forget that in 1983 when we put the bid document in we were forecasting that the total market would be two million people   he said.  cellnet was forecasting half that.  now vodafone has 14m customers in the uk alone. cellnet and vodafone were the only mobile phone operators in the uk until 1993 when one2one (now t-mobile) was launched. orange had its uk launch in 1994. both newcomers operated digital mobile networks and now all operators use this technology. the analogue spectrum for the old phones has been retired. called global system for mobiles (gsm) this is now the most widely used phone technology on the planet and is used to help more than 1.2 billion people make calls. mr caudwell said the advent of digital technology also helped to introduce all those things  such as text messaging and roaming that have made mobiles so popular.


poppins musical gets flying start the stage adaptation of children s film mary poppins has had its opening night in london s west end.  sir cameron mackintosh s lavish production  which has cost £9m to bring to the stage  was given a 10-minute standing ovation. lead actress laura michelle kelly soared over the heads of the audience holding the nanny s trademark umbrella. technical hitches had prevented mary poppins  flight into the auditorium during preview performances. a number of celebrities turned out for the musical s premiere  including actress barbara windsor  comic graham norton and sir richard attenborough.  the show s director richard eyre issued a warning earlier in the week that the show was unsuitable for children under seven  while under-threes are barred. mary poppins was originally created by author pamela travers  who is said to have cried when she saw disney s 1964 film starring julie andrews. travers had intended the story to be a lot darker than the perennial family favourite. theatre impresario sir cameron mackintosh has said he hopes the musical is a blend of the sweet-natured film and the original book.


elton plays paris charity concert sir elton john has performed at a special concert in paris to raise money for the victims of the asian tsunami.  the british singer played to a 2 700-strong audience on sunday at the french capital s bastille opera house. the concert was also part of an attempt to bring a broader range of events to the famous venue. money raised will go to the fondation pour l enfance (foundation for childhood) which aims to rebuild a children s shelter in sri lanka. sir elton played hits from his vast back catalogue to a sell-out crowd which included former french president valery giscard d estaing and his wife anne-aymone. the veteran pop star played piano accompaniment throughout the concert which lasted for three hours without an interval.  he told the crowd:  throughout the years  i ve done a lot of drugs and alcohol. it s true that i was a nightmare  impossible. for the last 14 years i ve been normal. now my drug is called david  - a reference to david furnish  his partner. the crowd  who greeted each song with a standing ovation  also included french singer charles aznavour and british ambassador sir john holmes. sir elton has also teamed up with phil collins to record a version of eric clapton s 1991 hit tears in heaven to raise money for the relief fund. a release date has yet to be set for the recording  which was organised by sharon osbourne.


rock group korn s guitarist quits the guitarist with us rock band korn has quit the music business  saying he made the decision after experiencing a religious awakening.  brian  head  welch told a radio station in california that his bandmates respected his decision to leave. a replacement guitarist has yet to be named by korn  who are currently at work on their eighth studio album. welch added that he would appear at a church in bakersfield to explain how he  got to this place in life . the remaining members of korn  who are known for their hardcore brand of rock  said they hoped welch  finds the happiness he is looking for .  the 34-year-old made reference to the band s aggressive brand of music and its young fans in his parting statement.  anger is a good thing  and if kids want to listen to korn  good  but there s happiness after the anger   he told his local radio station in bakersfield.  i m going to show it through my actions  how much i love my fans   added welch. korn have enjoyed a moderate degree of chart success in the uk  with 10 singles breaking into the top 40. their best performance to date in the uk has been 2002 s here to stay  which reached number 12  while their album untouchables  released in the same year  made it to number four.


dawson joins england injury list scrum-half matt dawson is an injury doubt for england s six nations opener against wales next weekend.  the world cup winner missed wasps  12-9 loss to bath on saturday after injuring his right calf. wasps coach warren gatland said:  he s got a fitness test in the week but he s got a good chance of playing.  gloucester s andy hazell and leicester star lewis moody also received knocks during their respective league matches  but should be fit for wales next week. if dawson is not fit to face wales  robinson will have to choose from gloucester s andy gomarsall or leicester youngster harry ellis.  jamie noon is another player on the sidelines after he limped off in the first half against saracens on friday with a dead leg. the centre  who is in line for a first six nations start against wales  will have to wait 48 hours before knowing the state of his injury.


yukos drops banks from court bid russian oil company yukos has dropped the threat of legal action against five banks it had accused of involvement in the sale of its key yugansk unit.  state-owned rosneft bought the unit for $9.3bn (£5bn) after yukos was forced to sell assets to meet a $27.5bn tax bill. yukos says the sale was illegal and is pursuing damages in a us court. its lawyers now accept abn amro  bnp paribas  calyon  jp morgan chase bank  and dresdner kleinwort wasserstein were not involved in the sale financing. however  yukos still has an outstanding complaint against deutsche bank  which it alleges to be the leader of a consortium that was behind a bid for yugansk by state gas monopoly gazprom. the company has also accused gazprom  the russian federation and two other russian firms.  gazprom had been expected to win the december auction  but ended up not bidding. yugansk was sold to a little-known shell company  which in turn was bought by rosneft. yukos claims its downfall was punishment for the political ambitions of its founder mikhail khodorkovsky. the firm  whose finance chief is now based in the us  filed for bankruptcy in houston  texas  and sought a court injunction against the sale. but deutsche bank has suggested yukos artificially manufactured a legal case to stop the sale of its main asset. a hearing scheduled for february 16 and 17 will rule on whether the us court has jurisdiction in the case.


stars gear up for bafta ceremony film stars from across the globe are preparing to walk the red carpet at this year s bafta award ceremony.  the 2005 orange british academy film awards are being held at the odeon in london s leicester square. a host of hollywood stars  including cate blanchett  leonardo dicaprio  keanu reeves and richard gere  are expected to attend saturday s ceremony. hosted by stephen fry  the glittering ceremony will be broadcast on bbc one at 2010 gmt.  other actors expected to add to the glamour of the biggest night in uk film are gael garcia bernal  imelda staunton  diane kruger  christian slater  anjelica huston  helen mirren and former james bond star pierce brosnan. hollywood blockbuster the aviator  starring dicaprio  leads the field with 14 nominations  including best film.  it is up against eternal sunshine of the spotless mind  finding neverland  the motorcycle diaries and british film vera drake  which has 11 nominations. british hope imelda staunton is one of the favourites to land the best actress award for her gritty role as a backstreet abortionist in the small-budget film. other nominees in the best actress category include charlize theron for monster  ziyi zhang for house of flying daggers and uk star kate winslet  who has two nods for her roles in eternal sunshine of the spotless mind and finding neverland.  dicaprio faces competition from bernal  jamie foxx  jim carrey and johnny depp in the best actor category. and british actor clive owen is hoping to repeat his golden globe success with a best supporting actor award for his role in closer. his co-star natalie portman is up against blanchett  heather craney  julie cristie and meryl streep in the best supporting actress category. mike leigh is up for the best director award for vera drake  alongside martin scorsese for the aviator  michael mann for collateral  michel gondry for eternal sunshine of the spotless mind and marc forster for finding neverland.


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


blair to face trust issue head on tony blair says he will be facing the issue of trust and his own integrity head on during the election campaign.  during a question and answer session with first-time voters on five news  mr blair said he had no option but to  confront it  by talking to people. he also dismissed claims government plans to get 50% of young people into university would devalue degrees. he was not  forcing  anyone to go to university  but places should be there for those who wanted them  he said. in answer to a question from 22-year-old liverpool student david dunne about concerns over the prime minister s personal integrity  mr blair said talking was the only answer.  you ve just got to confront it and say to people let s have a discussion on the things that worry you  the things that make you say  i can t trust you  or  i am against you on this.   the  worst thing in politics  was that the electorate only got  little snatches of policy  from things like prime minister s questions and the news headlines. this was why he wanted to  get out of the 30 seconds on the news   he added.  by talking through policies at least people understood the reason for them  even if they did not agree with them  he said. mr blair also faced questions about british policy on iran and its alleged nuclear weapons programme. he insisted there was no plan for an invasion of the country saying:  sometimes people say because of what has happened in iraq this is the next place.  instead there was a real chance of a  peaceful resolution  to the problem  he said.


spurs to sign iceland u21 star tottenham are primed to snap up iceland under-21 international emil hallfredsson after he impressed on trial at white hart lane.  the 20-year-old midfielder  who plays for fh hafnarfjordur  also starred in the uefa cup match against scottish side dunfermline earlier this season. spurs have agreed a fee for the player  who has yet to agree personal terms.  he had offers from two other clubs but he decided to come to tottenham   said spurs sporting director frank arnesen.  he is a left-sided player  a position we have been looking at and he showed so much talent in his time here that we decided to take him.  it s down the road of bringing in talent  good prospects and giving them a place at tottenham where they can improve.


ec calls truce in deficit battle the european commission (ec) has called a truce in its battle with france and germany over breaching deficit limits.  the move came after france and germany vowed to run their budget deficits below the eu cap in 2005 - for the first time in four years. but  the ec did warn the two were under close scrutiny and it would act if their fiscal situations deteriorated. under eu rules  member countries must keep their deficits below 3%. france and germany will breach that this year. it will be the third year in a row that the two countries have broken the european union s stability and growth pact rules.  the eurozone s two biggest economies left the pact in tatters in november 2003 when they persuaded fellow eu members to put the threat of penalties for deficit breaches on hold.  the commission then took the pair to the european court of human justice - which ruled eu countries could not put the pact  in abeyance   and confirmed the ec s right to launch  excessive debt procedures . after announcing its decision to erase france and germany from its list of deficit rule breakers  the eu said that the time lag created by the ruling meant that 2005 should be the target year for the pair to bring their budget s below 3%.  the commission concludes that the two countries appear to be on track to correct their excessive deficits by 2005   it said in a statement. the eu expects the german deficit to fall to fall to 2.9% of gdp next year from 3.9% this year  while france s is forecast to drop to 3% from an expected 3.7% this year. the forecasts are based on ec predictions of gdp growth of 1.5% in germany next year and 2.2% in france.  berlin welcomed the decision  with finance minister hans eichel saying it showed that the ec recognised germany s fiscal policy was  on the right track even amid very difficult economic conditions . however paris was more subdued  with finance minister herve gaymard telling parliament:  we must continue along this path of saving money.  however  the move still had its critics  with the european people s party (epp) attacking the ec for backing down from punitive action.  the commission is buckling under the pressure from germany and france    epp spokesman alexander radwan said.  the scary fact is that budget sinners  despite having repeatedly exceeded the 3% deficit limit  do not have to fear any sanctions.  despite the commission delivering its decision on the two biggest eurozone economies  it refused to comment on similar action against greece which has also broken the 3% deficit ceiling. monetary affairs commissioner joaquin almunia said that it was a matter for next week.


computer grid to help the world your computer can now help solve the world s most difficult health and social problems.  launched this week  the world community grid will use idle computer time to test solutions to these problems. the donated processor cycles will help the wcg create virtual supercomputers via the net. the idea follows the success of other similar projects that have used the untapped processing power of millions of desktop pcs. one of the most successful collaboration projects was seti@home  run by the search for extra terrestrial life project  which sorted through radio signals looking for signs of alien communication.  anyone can volunteer to donate the spare time of their computers by downloading a special screensaver from the wgc website. once installed  the virtual terminal gets a chunk of the computational task to process  and reports back after completing that task. the first wcg problem being tackled will be the human proteome folding project  which hopes to identify the ways that the proteins in our body fold.  the subjects of study are being selected by an international advisory board of experts specializing in health sciences  and technology. the body will evaluate proposals from leading research  public and not-for-profit organizations  and is expected to oversee up to six projects a year. organisations also represented on the board include the united nations development programme and the world health organisation.   the world community grid will enable researchers around the globe to gather and analyze unprecedented quantities of data to help address important global issues   said elain gallin  program director for medical research at the doris duke charitable foundation.  [it] will inspire us to look beyond the technological limitations that have historically restricted us from addressing some of our most intractable problems   she added. ibm has donated the hardware  software  technical services and expertise to build the basic infrastructure for the grid. the computer company  working with united devices  previously developed the smallpox research grid  which linked together more than two million volunteers from 226 countries to speed the analysis of some 35 million drug molecules in the search for a treatment for smallpox.


japanese banking battle at an end japan s sumitomo mitsui financial has withdrawn its takeover offer for rival bank ufj holdings  enabling the latter to merge with mitsubishi tokyo.  sumitomo bosses told counterparts at ufj of its decision on friday  clearing the way for it to conclude a 3 trillion yen ($29bn) deal with mitsubishi. the deal would create the world s biggest bank with assets of about 189 trillion yen ($1.8 trillion). sumitomo s exit ends the most high profile fight in japanese bank history.  ufj holdings  japan s fourth-largest bank  has been at the centre of a fierce bid battle over the last year. sumitomo  japan s third-largest bank  tabled a higher offer for ufj than its rival  valuing the company at $35bn.  however  ufj s management was known to prefer the offer from mitsubishi tokyo financial group (mtfg)  japan s second-largest bank. concerns were also raised about sumitomo s ability to absorb ufj and the former has now admitted defeat.  we believe the market and most investors accept a ufj-mtfg merger   sumitomo said in a statement.  given the ongoing integration of ufj and mtfg operations  persisting with our proposal may not be in the best interests of our shareholders or ufj s.   mitsubishi s takeover of ufj - which will be japan s largest-ever takeover deal - will still have to be approved by shareholders of the two firms. however  this is expected to be a formality. sumitomo may now turn its attention to deepening its ties with daiwa securities  another japanese financial firm. the two are set to merge their venture capital operations and there has been speculation that this could lead to a full-blown merger. japanese banks are increasingly seeking alliances to boost profits.


takeover rumour lifts exel shares shares in storage and delivery firm exel closed up 9% at a two-and-a-half year high on tuesday on speculation it is to receive an imminent takeover bid.  the talk in the city is that us giant united parcel services (ups) is the most likely bidder for the firm. yet other names mentioned in connection to buying exel are dhl-owner deutsche post and finance firm ge capital. with its shares closing tuesday at 873p  bracknell-based exel is currently valued at £2.6bn ($6.3bn).  exel employs 109 000 people in more than 120 countries and has itself been active in the consolidation of the logistics sector  paying £328m to buy fellow uk firm tibbett & britten last august. its customers include boots  burberry  mothercare and consumer products giant procter & gamble. andrew beh  of brokers ing  said ups and deutsche post were the most likely bidders and an offer of 950p a share would be fair if a bidding battle did not break out.  it s a great strategic fit for both companies   he said.  both are interested in expanding in logistics and you can make a decent case for cost synergies which could justify the premium and that s before you make any argument about revenue synergies.


cairn shares up on new oil find shares in cairn energy have jumped 6% after the firm said an indian oilfield was larger than previously thought.  cairn said drilling to the north-west of its development site in rajasthan had produced  very strong results . the company also said it now believed the development area would be able to produce oil for more than 25 years. cairn s share price rose 300% last year after a number of oil finds  but its shares were hit in december following a disappointing drilling update. december s share fall means that cairn is still in danger of being relegated from the ftse 100 when the index is reshuffled next month. cairn s shares closed up 64 pence  or 6%  at 1130p on thursday.  before christmas  cairn revealed that drilling to the north of the field in rajasthan had been disappointing  which caused its shares to lose 18% in one day.  however  on thursday  the group said its belief that the path of oil in the area actually moved further to the west had proved correct.  this area does need more appraisal drilling but it looks very strong   dr mike watts head of exploration said. chief executive bill gammell added:  the more we progress in rajasthan the better we feel about it.  cairn made the discovery after having been granted an extension to their drilling licence in january by indian authorities. the firm has applied for a 30-month extension to scout for oil outside its main development area  which includes the mangala and aishwariya fields where cairn has previously announced major discoveries. it also said production at its other fields across the globe was likely to surpass levels seen in 2004.


soderling wins tense milan final fifth seed robin soderling took the milan indoors title with a dramatic win over radek stepanek in sunday s final.  the 20-year-old swede edged the final set tie-break for a 6-3 6-7 (2-7) 7-6 (7-5) victory and his second tour title after winning in lyon last year.  i m delighted to have won against such a good opponent in a tournament of this importance   said soderling.  i was really on form  my service was good and i really liked playing on the synthetic surface.  soderling  the world number 37  shrugged off a nervous start to take the opening set on his first set point. a change in approach from fourth seed stepanek in the second set paid dividends as he took it on a tie-break  but soderling s superior power proved too much in the third.


smith loses us box office crown new comedy diary of a mad black woman has ended will smith s reign at the top of the north american box office.  based on a play by tyler perry  who also stars as a gun-toting grandmother  the film took $22.7m (£11.8m) in its first three days of release. after topping the chart for two consecutive weeks  smith s romantic comedy hitch dropped to second place with takings of $21m (£10.9m). keanu reeves  supernatural thriller constantine dropped a place to three. based on the hellblazer comics  the film took $11.8m (£6.1m) on its second week of release. two new entries came next in the chart  with wes craven s horror movie cursed  about a werewolf loose in los angeles  in fourth position with $9.5m (£4.9m).  action comedy man of the house  starring tommy lee jones as a texas ranger assigned to protect a cheerleader squad  came in at fifth with $9m (£4.6m). clint eastwood s boxing drama million dollar baby - recipient of four academy awards  including best picture - continued to perform well in sixth place with takings of $7.2m (£3.74m). martin scorsese s hollywood biopic the aviator - which won five oscars  all in minor categories - held on in ninth place. the low-budget feature diary of a mad black woman stars kimberly elise as a woman thrown out on the streets by her philandering husband. with the help of her grandmother madea (one of three roles played by perry)  she plots revenge. perry  34  is one of america s best-known black playwrights but is a newcomer to film. once made homeless after investing his own money in unsuccessful productions of his work  he now lives in the mansion in which diary of a mad black woman was filmed.


eu aiming to fuel development aid european union finance ministers meet on thursday to discuss proposals  including a tax on jet fuel  to boost development aid for poorer nations.  the policy makers are to ask for a report into how more development money can be raised  the eu said. the world s richest countries have said they want to increase the amount of aid they give to 0.7% of their annual gross national income by 2015. airlines have reacted strongly against the proposed fuel levy.  profits have been under pressure in the airline industry  with low-cost firms driving down prices and demand dipping after the 11 september terrorist attacks and the outbreak of the killer sars virus.  things have picked up  but some european and us companies are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. at present  the fuel used by airlines enjoys either a very low tax rate or is untaxed in eu member states.  of course we applaud humanitarian initiatives  but why target the airlines   said ulrich schulte-strathaus  secretary general of the association of european airlines.  our industry is in the midst of a fundamental crisis...only to be once again confronted with a measure designed to increase our costs   he continued.  the eu sought to allay the airlines  fears  stressing that thursday s meeting was only a first step and that other proposals were also under consideration. it added that any plan to levy taxes on jet fuel  should not hinder the competitiveness of the airlines and that they themselves will not be solely funding development . any tax would only be implemented after full consultation with the airlines  the eu said. there is thought to be widespread support for the plan - tabled by france and germany following the recent g7 meeting of the world s richest nations - from eu ministers. the issue of poverty in africa and south asia has forced itself to the top of the politicial agenda  with politicians and campaigners calling for more to be done. at their meeting in london  g7 finance ministers backed plans to write off up to 100% of the debts of some of the world s poorest countries.


candela completes bolton switch bolton boss sam allardyce has signed roma defender vincent candela on a five-month deal.  the 31-year-old former france international gave his last press conference as a roma player on monday  anouncing his move to bolton.  i have signed a five-month contract with bolton   said candela  who will travel to england on tuesday.  in june i will decide whether to continue to play for bolton or retire from professional football.  allardyce hopes candela s arrival will relieve bolton s injury crisis after defender nicky hunt limped out injured during oldham s 1-0 win against oldham in the fa cup on sunday.  in light of what has happened to nicky hunt  with his injury  it might be a blessing in disguise that we can bring in a highly-experienced full-back to help with our injuries at the back   allardyce said.  he has an outstanding pedigree in the game and has won honours at the highest level including the world cup in 1998.  he has not played regular football this year but is eager to impress in the premiership.  he can play in any position at the back and despite him being predominately right-footed he has played the majority of his career at left-back.  candela  who was a member of the roma side that won the title in 2001  has made only seven league appearances this season for luigi del neri s side.


sun offers processing by the hour sun microsystems has launched a pay-as-you-go service which will allow customers requiring huge computing power to rent it by the hour.  sun grid costs users $1 (53p) for an hour s worth of processing and storage power on systems maintained by sun. so-called grid computing is the latest buzz phrase in a company which believes that computing capacity is as important a commodity as hardware and software. sun likened grid computing to the development of electricity.  the system could mature in the same way utilities such as electricity and water have developed  said sun s chief operating officer jonathan schwartz.  why build your own grid when you can use ours for a buck an hour   he asked in a webcast launching sun s quarterly network computing event in california. the company will have to persuade data centre managers to adopt a new model but it said it already had interest from customers in the oil  gas and financial services industries.  some of them want to book computing capacity of more than 5 000 processors each  sun said. mr schwartz ran a demonstration of the service  showing how data could be processed in a protein folding experiment. hundreds of servers were used simultaneously  working on the problem for a few seconds each.  although it only took a few seconds  the experiment cost $12 (£6.30) because it had used up 12 hours  worth of computing power. the sun grid relies on solaris  the operating system owned by sun. initially it will house the grid in existing premises and will use idle servers to test software before shipping it to customers. it has not said how much the system will cost to develop but it already has a rival in ibm  which argues that its capacity on-demand service is cheaper than that offered by sun.


bangkok film festival battles on organisers of the third bangkok international film festival have been determined to carry on with this year s event despite the ravages of the asian tsunami disaster.  the festivities have been scaled down  red carpets have been mothballed and profits from ticket sales are being donated to the tsunami relief fund. apart from this  however  the festival has continued as originally planned.  when the disaster happened  we naturally asked ourselves if we should cancel   said the festival s executive director  craig prater.  the decision was made that we would continue  but that the focus would change.   our premieres became fundraisers  the opening night was visibly toned down and 10% of every ticket sold goes to the disaster fund   he continued.  but we feel like we ve turned a page. we ve acknowledged our position  and now it s business as usual.   mr prater s sentiments were echoed by christine rush  director of the festival s sister event  the bangkok film market.  we have been careful to be respectful of the thai nation s recovery from this terrible disaster   she said.   however  the nation s recovery very much depends upon it continuing its economic life.  we are encouraging attendees to keep the victims in mind and aggressively support the aid organisations helping out   she added. given the conspicuously low audience figures  that support may be more symbolic than significant. however  poor ticket sales have less to do with any fallout from the disaster and more to do with administrative and promotional difficulties.  the eclectic programme contains a wide range of titles  including such oscar hopefuls as ray charles biopic ray and mike leigh s abortion drama vera drake. that said  the absence of thai subtitles on most film prints might have proved offputting to local cinemagoers.  on a more positive note  the celebrity guests attending the event have generated huge media interest in this busy capital city. problems securing air transport  the clash with last sunday s golden globes ceremony in los angeles and other factors have forced some big names to cancel.  but the festival has still attracted such hollywood directors as oliver stone and joel schumacher  alongside such screen stars as michael douglas  jeremy irons and jean-claude van damme. irons  whose film being julia is in competition for the festival s golden kinnaree awards  said he had wondered whether he should attend after december s catastrophe.  i questioned whether i should come when such a tragedy had happened   the british actor said.  i thought it might be in rather bad taste. but then i spoke to the organisers and i was encouraged to let life go on.  now i ve come here i m very glad. what impresses me about thai culture is they get over these things far quicker than we do in the west   he continued.  basically i was invited here by thailand. if they still want you to come  you should.   now in its third year  bangkok is a relatively recent addition to the hectic film festival calendar. and while it has yet to attain the stature of more established events held in hong kong  tokyo and pusan in south korea  mr prater predicts it will soon become their equal.  it s grown awfully fast in three years - maybe too fast   he concedes.  we ve had some bumps in the road  but that s only because the festival is still a baby.  i have no doubt in my mind that in five years  this will be the top asian film festival in the world.  the golden kinnarees will be awarded on friday. the festival itself runs until 24 january.


liverpool pledge to keep gerrard liverpool chief executive rick parry insists the club will never sell steven gerrard amid reports chelsea will renew their bid to lure him from anfield.  gerrard reiterated his desire to win trophies with the reds after his superb champions league winner on wednesday. and parry has moved to scotch claims that chelsea could launch a £35m bid.  there is no chance of stevie going in january   said parry.  that just won t happen. our intention is that we will never let him go.  gerrard scored a spectacular late goal to give liverpool a 3-1 win over olympiakos and book their place in the knockout stages.  of course he is ambitious but so are we   parry added.  we firmly believe that if we can satisfy his ambition he will remain a liverpool player.  we have an open and straightforward relationship. we both know where we stand and that played a big part in his decision to stay last summer. if he was not so committed to liverpool he would have gone by now.  gerrard had said before wednesday s game he would consider leaving if the club was knocked out of europe  with real madrid also believed to be monitoring his situation.   the main point i have made is i want to be in a liverpool side which challenges for the champions league and the title all the time   he said afterwards.  i want to be winning things with liverpool  not somewhere else.  i am a fan as well and i think what i have said the supporters will agree with.  we have to build on wins like that  not just settle for a great win and then not progress any further.  my goal was one of the most important i have ever scored and i hope it turns out to be one of the most important for the club for a long time.  i know i put a lot of pressure on myself because of what i said  and i felt i needed a big performance  but i am not going to go around telling lies about how i feel.   reds manager rafael benitez believes gerrard can win everything he wants to without moving clubs.  steven can win all he wants with us and we need him. he has seen that we have a good team and we can do more things in the future   said benitez.  but if we want to win more games  important games  we need steven in the team.  we need his strength  the strong mentality he has and his quality. i think he likes and wants the responsibility of leading this team.


wenger handed summer war chest arsenal boss arsene wenger has been guaranteed transfer funds to boost his squad the summer.  the club s managing director  keith edelman  stressed that the development of their new £350m stadium had no affect on wenger s spending power.  the money is there. don t worry we ve got it   edelman told bbc sport.  hopefully  we ll spend it this summer and in the coming years. arsene attends all our board meetings and he knows our finances are very strong.   edelman added that it was pointless having a brand new stadium if the team did not match the surroundings.  its great to have nice  new surroundings  but if the team aren t performing on the pitch  then there isn t great respect in having a fabulous stadium   he said.  it s important that we had sufficient funds for our team in place  before we began on the stadium.


how to smash a home computer an executive who froze his broken hard disk thinking it would be fixed has topped a list of the weirdest computer mishaps.  although computer malfunctions remain the most common cause of file loss  data recovery experts say human behaviour still is to blame in many cases. they say that no matter how effective technology is at rescuing files  users should take more time to back-up and protect important files. the list of the top 10 global data disasters was compiled by recovery company ontrack.  careless - and preventable - mistakes that result in data loss range from reckless file maintenance practices to episodes of pure rage towards a computer. this last category includes the case of a man who became so mad with his malfunctioning laptop that he threw it in the lavatory and flushed a couple of times.  data can disappear as a result of natural disaster  system fault or computer virus  but human error  including  computer rage   seems to be a growing problem   said adrian palmer  managing director of ontrack data recovery.   nevertheless  victims soon calm down when they realise the damage they ve done and come to us with pleas for help to retrieve their valuable information.  a far more common situation is when a computer virus strikes and leads to precious files being corrupted or deleted entirely. mr palmer recalled the case of a couple who had hundreds of pictures of their baby s first three months on their computer  but managed to reformat the hard drive and erase all the precious memories.  data can be recovered from computers  servers and even memory cards used in digital devices in most cases   said mr palmer.  however  individuals and companies can avoid the hassle and stress this can cause by backing up data on a regular basis.


consumer concern over rfid tags consumers are very concerned about the use of radio frequency id (rfid) tags in shops  a survey says.  more than half of 2 000 people surveyed said they had privacy worries about the tags  which can be used to monitor stock on shelves or in warehouses. some consumer groups have expressed concern that the tags could be used to monitor shoppers once they had left shops with their purchases. the survey showed that awareness of tags among consumers in europe was low. the survey of consumers in the uk  france  germany and the netherlands was carried out by consultancy group capgemini. the firm works on behalf of more than 30 firms who are seeking to promote the growth of rfid technology. the tags are a combination of computer chip and antenna which can be read by a scanner - each item contains a unique identification number.  more than half (55%) of the respondents said they were either concerned or very concerned that rfid tags would allow businesses to track consumers via product purchases. fifty nine percent of people said they were worried that rfid tags would allow data to be used more freely by third parties. ard jan vetham  capgemini s principal consultant on rfid  said the survey showed that retailers needed to inform and educate people about rfid before it would become accepted technology.  acceptance of new technologies always has a tipping point at which consumers believe that benefits outweigh concerns.  with the right rfid approach and ongoing communication with consumers  the industry can reach this point.  he said that the survey also showed people would accept rfid if they felt that the technology could mean a reduction in car theft or faster recovery of stolen items. the tags are currently being used at one tesco distribution centre in the uk - the tags allow the rapid inventory of bulk items. they are also in use as a passcard for the m6 toll in the midlands  in the uk. mr vetham said the majority of people surveyed (52%) believed that rfid tags could be read from a distance. he said that was a misconception based on a lack of awareness of the technology. at least once consumer group - consumers against supermarket privacy invasion and numbering (caspian) - has claimed that rfid chips could be used to secretly identify people and the things they are carrying or wearing. all kinds of personal belongings  including clothes  could constantly broadcast messages about their whereabouts and their owners  it warned.


senior fannie mae bosses resign the two most senior executives at us mortgage giant fannie mae have resigned after accounting irregularities were uncovered at the company.  chief executive franklin raines  a former senior official in the clinton administration  and chief financial officer tim howard have left the firm. fannie mae was criticised by financial regulators and could have to restate its earnings by up to $9bn (£4.6bn). it is america s second largest financial institution.  recent investigations have exposed extensive accounting errors at fannie mae  which supplies funds to america s $8 trillion mortgage market. last week  the firm was admonished by the securities and exchange commission which said it had made major errors in its financial reporting.  the financial regulator said fannie mae would have to raise substantial new capital to restore its balance sheet. analysts said the sec s criticism made it impossible for fannie mae s senior executives to remain. mr raines  head of the office of management and budget under president clinton  has taken early retirement while mr howard has also stepped down  the company said on tuesday. kpmg  fannie mae s independent auditor  will also be replaced.  by my early retirement  i have held myself accountable   mr raines said in a statement.  fannie mae was found to have violated accounting rules relating to derivatives - financial instruments used to hedge against fluctuations in interest rates - and some pre-paid loans. as a result  it could be forced to restate $9bn in earnings over the past four years  effectively wiping out a third of the company s profits since 2001. although not making loans directly to buyers  fannie mae is the largest single player in the mortgage market  underwriting half of all us house purchases. the firm operates under charter from the us congress. it has faced stinging criticism from congressional leaders who held hearings into its finances earlier this year and from government regulator  the office of federal housing enterprise oversight (ofheo).  we are encouraged that the board s announcement signals a new culture and a new direction for fannie mae   armando falcon  ofheo director said. the problems afflicting fannie mae are just the latest to hit the us mortgage industry. freddie mac  the country s other largest mortgage firm  was forced to restate its earnings by $4.4bn last year and pay a $125m fine after an investigation of its books.


de niro completes box office coup robert de niro has completed a transatlantic box office double by topping the uk and us film charts with two different films at the same time.  comedy sequel meet the fockers  in which he stars with ben stiller  dustin hoffman and barbra streisand  shot to the top of the uk chart at the weekend. it took £7.2m in three days - eight times more than the number two  closer. assault on precinct 13 was in third. at the same time  us audiences were won over by his new thriller hide and seek. in meet the fockers  he picks up the role of an uptight father and ex-cia agent from 2000 hit comedy  meet the parents.  it is a big leap to his role in hide and seek  a supernatural horror in which he plays a widower whose daughter s imaginary friend turns nasty. in the uk box office chart  meet the fockers pushed closer off the top spot while police action movie assault on precinct 13  starring rapper ja rule  made £750 000 in its first weekend. london underground thriller creep was another new entry at six while quirky comedy sideways  which got five oscar nominations last week  entered in eighth place. the oscar nominations do not seem to have had an impact on fans  choices at cinemas. leading contenders the aviator  million dollar baby and ray all suffered substantial drops in takings compared with the previous weekend.


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.


lib dems demand new inquiry a judge should look into the david blunkett controversy as key questions remain unanswered  the lib dems say.  sir alan budd s inquiry linked the ex-home secretary to the speeding up of a visa claim by his ex-lover s nanny. but he could not say whether mr blunkett had treated the nanny as a special case or had used her as an example of immigration problems. lib dem spokesman mark oaten said the number of officials who had forgotten what happened was worrying. he told bbc news:  i m extremely concerned that 20 individuals appear to have forgotten what happened or more suspiciously are not prepared to say what happened.  that must be bad for government  it must be bad for public confidence in the system.   mr oaten said people would be mystified why sir alan s inquiry failed to uncover why processing of the visa application was speeded up. he said:  there is a strong case for a judge-led judicial review of this because  of course  next time it happens it may not be about a nanny and their visa. it may be about something even more important than that.  so we do need to understand what took place and who was involved.  the tories criticised the lib dem stance  saying mr oaten had initially said he accepted mr blunkett s word unless further evidence emerged. but lib dem officials say mr oaten was speaking when an inquiry was under way and was avoiding rushing to judgement.


further rise in uk jobless total the uk s jobless total rose for the second month in a row in december  official figures show.  the number of people out of work rose 32 000 to 1.41 million in the last three months of 2004  even as 90 000 more people were in employment. average earnings rose by 4.3% in the year to december up from november s 4.2%  the office for national statistics (ons) added. meanwhile  the benefit claimant total fell 11 000 to 813 200 last month. throughout 2004  the number of people in work increased by 296 000 to 28.52 million - the highest figure since records began in 1971.  the apparent discrepancy between rising unemployment and record numbers in work can be explained by an increase in the working population and a fall in those who are economically inactive. while the uk s jobless rate rose to 4.7% from 4.6% in the previous quarter  the rate still remains one of the lowest in the world  compared with 12.1% in germany  10.4% in spain and 9.7% in france. but  despite more people being in work  the manufacturing sector continued to suffer  with 104 000 workers axed during the last quarter of 2004 - pushing employment in the sector to a record low of 3.24 million by the end of last year. the figures prompted some analysts to forecast that the bank of england will almost certainly raise rates this year. marc ostwald  a strategist at monument securities told reuters that while no immediate market impact could be expected   it is enough to underline that they (the boe) will be more hawkish on rates .


kennedy questions trust of blair lib dem leader charles kennedy has said voters now have a  fundamental lack of trust  of tony blair as prime minister.  he said backing his party was not a wasted vote  adding that with the lib dems  what you see is what you get . he made his comments at the start of a day of appearances on channel five in a session on the wright stuff programme. questions from callers  a studio audience and the show s presenter covered lib dem tax plans  anti-terror laws and immigration.  mr kennedy said during his nearly 22 years in parliament he had seen prime ministers and party leaders come and go and knew the pitfalls of british politics.  1983 was when i was first elected as an mp - so tony blair  michael howard and myself were all class of  83 - and over that nearly quarter of a century the world has changed out of recognition   he said.  we don t actually hear the argument any longer:  lib dems  good people  reasonable ideas but only if we thought they could win around here - it s a wasted vote .  you don t hear that because the evidence of people s senses demonstrates that it isn t a wasted vote.  but he said mr blair had lost the trust of the british people.  there is a fundamental lack of trust in tony blair as prime minister and in his government   he said.   what we ve got to do as a party - what i ve got to do as a leader of this party - is to convey to people that what you see is what you get.  mr kennedy also used his tv appearance to defend his party s plans to increase income tax to 50% for those earning more than £100 000  saying it would apply to just 1% of the population. he said the extra revenue would allow his party to get rid of tuition and top-up fees  introduce free personal care for the elderly and replace the council tax with a local income tax. mr blair has already spent a day with five and michael howard is booked for a similar session.


first look at playstation 3 chip some details of the chip inside sony s playstation 3 have been revealed.  sony  ibm and toshiba have released limited data about the so-called cell chip that will be able to carry out trillions of calculations per second. the chip will be made of several different processing cores that work on tasks together. the playstation 3 is expected in 2006 but developers are expecting to get prototypes early next year to tune games that will appear on it at launch.  the three firms have been working on the chip since 2001 but before now few details have been released about how it might function. in a joint statement the three firms gave hints about how the chip will work but fuller details will be released in february next year at the international solid state circuits conference in san francisco.  the three firms claim that the cell chip will be up to 10 times more powerful than existing processors. when put inside powerful computer servers  the cell consortium expects it to be capable of handling 16 trillion floating point operations  or calculations  every second. the chip has also been refined to be able to handle the detailed graphics common in games and the data demands of films and broadband media. ibm said it would start producing the chip in early 2005 at manufacturing plants in the us. the first machines off the line using the cell processor will be computer workstations and servers. a working version of the ps3 is due to be shown off in may 2005 but a full launch of the next generation console is not expected to start until 2006. as well as being inside the playstation 3  the chip will also be used inside high-definition tvs and powerful computers.  in the future  all forms of digital content will be converged and fused onto the broadband network   said ken kutaragi  chief operating officer of sony.  current pc architecture is nearing its limits.


pc ownership to  double by 2010  the number of personal computers worldwide is expected to double by 2010 to 1.3 billion machines  according to a report by analysts forrester research.  the growth will be driven by emerging markets such as china  russia and india  the report predicted. more than a third of all new pcs will be in these markets  with china adding 178 million new pcs by 2010  it said. low-priced computers made by local companies are expected to dominate in such territories  forrester said. the report comes less than a week after ibm  a pioneer of the pc business  sold its pc hardware division to china s number one computer maker lenovo.  the $1.75bn (£900m) deal will make the combined operation the third biggest pc vendor in the world.  today s products from western pc vendors won t dominate in those markets in the long term   simon yates  a senior analyst for forrester  said.  instead local pc makers like lenovo group in china and aquarius in russia that can better tailor the pc form factor  price point and applications to their local markets will ultimately win the market share battle   he said. there are currently 575 million pcs in use globally. the united states  europe and asia-pacific are expected to add 150 million new pcs by 2010  according to the study. the report forecast that there will be 80 million new pc users in india by 2010 and 40 million new users in indonesia.


wenger dejected as arsenal slump arsenal manager arsene wenger claimed their display in the 3-1 defeat against bayern munich was  our worst peformance in the champions league .  kolo toure s late goal gives the gunners hope for the second leg  but wenger said:  the only positive is that we are still in the tie.  the players are really down in the dressing-room. i feel we really turned in a bad performance.  at 3-0 we faced a real struggle  but 3-1 at least gives us a chance.   goalscorer toure was also at fault for two goals  and wenger said:  we need to help toure rebuild his confidence as he is low at the moment.  wenger also tried to stay upbeat himself  adding:  but there is enough time for crying. i could cry - maybe it would be easier - but life goes on.  in this job  you have good and bad nights. this was a bad night - but i still have confidence in the quality of my players  as well as their spirit and desire.  but wenger s bayern counterpart felix magath was in no mood to celebrate either. he said:  i am far from happy despite the win. my players failed to try and score a fourth to kill the tie and then conceded the late goal.   arsenal are fully capable of scoring several goals against us on their own turf.  arsenal keeper jens lehmann  whose personal rivalry with bayern goalkeeper oliver kahn was not helped by the result  said:  do i blame myself for the third goal  as a goalkeeper  i always blame myself.  i just know the goals were very easy against us. in my time here  we have never conceded three easy goals like that - but sometimes it happens.  it would have been impossible to go through at 3-0 - but with the goal we have chances. everything is now possible.


sony psp console hits us in march us gamers will be able to buy sony s playstation portable from 24 march  but there is no news of a europe debut.  the handheld console will go on sale for $250 (£132) and the first million sold will come with spider-man 2 on umd  the disc format for the machine. sony has billed the machine as the walkman of the 21st century and has sold more than 800 000 units in japan. the console (12cm by 7.4cm) will play games  movies and music and also offers support for wireless gaming. sony is entering a market which has been dominated by nintendo for many years.  it launched its ds handheld in japan and the us last year and has sold 2.8 million units. sony has said it wanted to launch the psp in europe at roughly the same time as the us  but gamers will now fear that the launch has been put back. nintendo has said it will release the ds in europe from 11 march.  it has gaming at its core  but it s not a gaming device. it s an entertainment device   said kaz hirai  president of sony computer entertainment america.


munster cup tie switched to spain munster s heineken cup quarter-final tie against biarritz on 3 april has been switched to real sociedad s paseo de anoeta stadium in san sebastian.  real s ground holds 32 000 whereas the parc des sports aguilera in biarritz has a capacity of just 12 667. the irish province will be given at least 8 000 tickets.  the decision to move was a difficult one  but as we considered the fans as one of our primary objectives   said biarritz chairman marcel martin.  we hope we will be rewarded as a huge crowd behaving in the best rugby tradition.  the match will be the first heineken cup fixture to be played in spain  and is expected to attract the biggest-ever attendance for a rugby match in the country. ulster were the last irish team to play at the paseo de anoeta stadium where they faced a euskarians side during a pre-season tour in 1998.


telegraph newspapers axe 90 jobs the daily and sunday telegraph newspapers are axing 90 journalist jobs - 17% of their editorial staff.  the telegraph group says the cuts are needed to fund an £150m investment in new printing facilities. journalists at the firm met on friday afternoon to discuss how to react to the surprise announcement. the cuts come against a background of fierce competition for readers and sluggish advertising revenues amid competition from online advertising. the national union of journalists has called on the management to recall the notice of redundancy by midday on monday or face a strike ballot.  pearson s financial times said last week it was offering voluntary redundancy to about 30 reporters.  the national union of journalists said it stood strongly behind the journalists and did not rule out a strike.  managers have torn up agreed procedures and kicked staff in the teeth by sacking people to pay for printing facilities   said jeremy dear  nuj general secretary. nuj official barry fitzpatrick said the company had ignored the 90-day consultation period required for companies planning more than 10 redundancies.  they have shown a complete disregard for the consultative rights of our members   said mr fitzpatrick  who added that the company now planned to observe the consultation procedures. the two telegraph titles currently employ 521 journalists.  some broadsheet newspapers - especially those which have not moved to a tabloid format - have suffered circulation declines  which are hitting revenues. the telegraph has announced no plans to go tabloid although both the independent and the times have seen circulation rise since shrinking in size.  the guardian is hedging its bets  planning a larger tabloid format like those popular in continental europe. the telegraph group was bought by the barclay twins - frederick and david - last year  having previously been owned by lord conrad black s hollinger international. the brothers are currently mulling the sale of another of their businesses  retailer littlewoods.  telegraph executive murdoch maclennan said the two newspapers would add eight colour pages in the coming months.   journalists are the lifeblood of any newspaper  and maintaining the quality of the daily telegraph and the sunday telegraph for our readers is vital   he said.  however  action to improve our production capability and secure our titles against the competition is also vital.  many newspapers are investing in new printing machinery that enables them to print more colour pages  or in some cases  have colour on every page. they are hoping that by boosting colour it will make their publications more attractive to advertisers and readers alike. in recent months news corp s news international unit  which publishes the sun and the news of the world  the guardian media group  trinity mirror and the daily mail & general trust have all announced substantial investments in new printing plants.


rovers reject third ferguson bid blackburn have rejected a third bid from rangers for scotland captain barry ferguson  bbc sport has learnt.  it is thought blackburn want £6m for the midfielder but chief executive john williams has confirmed the club are still  in dialogue  with rangers. the 26-year-old has already handed in a transfer request at ewood park as he seeks a return to ibrox. but the clubs have been unable to reach agreement over a fee for ferguson  who moved to lancashire in 2003 for £6.5m. on thursday rangers said they would not be increasing their offer of £4m.  blackburn have said all along that they want £6m for the midfielder and williams has rejected proposals from rangers over a player-swap deal. williams said:  we are in dialogue with glasgow rangers but we have no agreement.  the negotiations will have to be concluded by midnight on monday  when the winter transfer window shuts. williams conceded any deal for ferguson was looking  unlikely  before the close of the transfer window but rangers still had a chance to seal the deal.  we have no comment to make other than we have not got an agreement with glasgow rangers   he added.  the way things are looking  i think it is unlikely we are going to.  the ball is in their court but we have not got an offer that is acceptable at this moment.  it is understood that blackburn accepted a £5m offer for ferguson from everton at the weekend. but the player is determined to return to scotland and rejected a move to goodison park. ferguson did not play in the fa cup win over colchester on saturday despite recovering from a groin injury with rovers boss mark hughes claiming it had been an  emotional and difficult time  for the player.