kuznetsova  failed a drugs test  us open champion svetlana kuznetsova has tested positive for a banned drug  according to belgian authorities.  belgian sports minister claude eerdekens said that the russian world number five tested positive for the stimulant ephedrine on 19 december. kuznetsova was playing in an exhibition event in charleroi at the time. eerdekens said:  there is a problem. ephedrine was discovered. she remains innocent until proved guilty. she can ask for it to be tested again.  the situation remains unclear as the tournament was not commissioned by the world anti-doping agency (wada)  the international tennis federation (itf) or the women s tennis accosiation (wta). the test was carried out by regional belgian authorities and kuznetsova has not yet been able to have a b sample tested.  speaking at the australian open on monday  before eerdekens identified her  kuznetsova said:  i m not worried. i m not using anything to push myself.  i have not been notified of any positive test  and i think it is unfair that it s come out the way it did.  eerdekens said that confirmation of the findings was sent last friday to the player s address in spain  as well as to the belgian prosecutors  office and the belgian and russian tennis federations. he conceded kuznetsova might have taken a medicine which contained the banned substance.  we have simply stated a fact   he said.  it is for the federation concerned to impose the disciplinary measures after a procedure that respects the defence.   either the ephedrine was taken to improve her performance or it is because she took some medicine legitimately to cure an infection.  however  kuznetsova s naming was condemned by russian tennis chief shamil tarpishchev.  first of all  this belgian sports minister has broken every ethical rule in the book by naming a player without any proof of wrongdoing  without any basic evidence   tarpishchev said.  we all know the basic principle in doping cases. if there is a positive sample  then they should notify the international tennis federation (itf) as well as the national federation within three days   he said.  this is not the case here. as of today we have not received any statement from the doping officials  nor did the itf.  today i called the itf headquarters and they told me they know nothing about it.  if wada (the world anti-doping agency) was behind the testing  then we would also have known something by now.  otherwise  all these looks to me as pure fiction and fabrication of the facts.


labour battle plan  hides blair  the tories have accused tony blair of being  terrified  of scrutiny after labour unveiled details of how it will fight the next general election.  in a break with tradition  the party will ditch the leader s battle bus and daily press briefings in westminster. instead mr blair will travel to key cities and marginal seats to deliver the party s message. labour election chief alan milburn denied the party was trying to  hide  the prime minister.  he promised  the most positive and upbeat election campaign labour has ever run . but tory co-chairman liam fox said labour s plans showed mr blair was  terrified of facing proper scrutiny .   at a time when the british people are looking for more accountability and openness  this government turns its back on them; abandoning plans to tour the country and scared to face journalists in a press conference - it does rather beg the question   what have they got to hide    the general election is widely expected next may and all the parties are stepping up their campaign preparations. mr milburn said the economy would take centre stage in labour s campaign in what would be a  watershed  election and the  last stand of the thatcherites . mr milburn said labour s slogan would be  britain is working - don t let the tories wreck it.   the tone of the campaign  said mr milburn  would be more conversational than rhetorical; more spontaneous less scripted; less national more local and less based on issues and more concentrated on people. the approach is particularly designed to appeal to women voters  he said. mr milburn brushed aside questions over why the chancellor was not present at the cabinet meeting to discuss election strategy particularly since such importance was being given to the economy.  i m not privy to everybody s diary   he said. mr brown has headed labour s preparations for previous polls but mr milburn is taking that role this time. in a break with the past  labour will not hold a daily news conference in london. it will not be a  battle bus  style campaign either  he said.  in previous elections  each party leader has had their own battle bus transporting national newspaper  television and radio reporters to staged campaign events around the country. mr milburn said labour s media effort this time would focus more on local newspapers and broadcasters  with every local radio station given the chance to interview the prime minister. mr milburn said there would also be a greater effort to set up face-to-face meetings between ministers and the electorate. former downing street media chief alastair campbell is also returning to advise labour on media strategy and campaigning.  mr milburn said no decision had been taken yet over whether david blunkett would have a prominent role in the election. liberal democrat chief executive lord rennard suggested labour was avoiding news conferences in london because it wanted less scrutiny of its record and proposals.  tony blair seems to have disappeared from labour leaflets and broadcasts   he said.  in contrast charles kennedy will feature prominently in the liberal democrat campaign right across the country.


singer s film to show at festival a documentary which takes a candid look at the life of chart-topping singer george michael will be shown at this year s berlin film festival.  a different story will screen in the panorama section of the festival  which runs from 10-20 february. it features the singer talking about both his career and his personal life  from his days in wham! through to more recent events. michael will attend the festival to introduce the screening on 16 february. director southan morris and executive producer andy stephens will also attend the festival.  the 93 minute film will see michael discussing his early days in wham! along with his later career  including his legal battles with record label sony and his stance against the iraq war and american politics. it will also touch upon his turbulent personal life  including his arrest in a beverly hills park toilet in 1998 for  lewd behaviour   and the death of his boyfriend anselmo feleppa from aids. the film  which includes previously unseen footage of the singer also features contributions from michael s former wham! partner andrew ridgeley  as well as ex-wham! backing singers pepsi and shirlie. other contributors include sting  mariah carey  elton john  noel gallagher  geri halliwell and simon cowell. this year s festival will open with man to man  a historical epic starring joseph fiennes and kristin scott-thomas. it will be one of 21 films competing for the festival s top prize  the golden bear. other films in competition will include the life aquatic  a quirky comedy starring bill murray  and the biopic kinsey  which features liam neeson. the full programme will be announced on 1 february.


ds aims to touch gamers the mobile gaming industry is set to explode in 2005 with a number of high-profile devices offering a range of gaming and other features such as movie and music playback. market leader nintendo  however  is releasing a handheld console that it says will revolutionise the way games are played.  the first striking thing about the ds is how retro it looks. far from looking like a mould-breaking handheld  it looks more like nintendo dug out a mould from a 1980s handheld prototype. the lightweight clam shell device opens up to reveal two screens  and when switched on it instantly reveals its pedigree. both screens are crisp and clear while the bottom of the two is touch sensitive. nintendo has given developers free rein to utilise the dual screens and ability to control the action by simply touching the screen.  the japanese gaming giant hopes the ds will maintain the firm s pre-eminence in an increasingly-competitive mobile gaming market.  nintendo first launched its gameboy console in 1989 and has dominated the market ever since. but its lead can no longer be taken for granted. sony will enter the market later this year with its playstation portable  while start-up companies gizmondo and tapwave zodiac are also offering hybrid devices.  we believe the ds will appeal to all ages  both genders and gamers of any skill   said david yarnton  nintendo europe s general manager said at the recent press launch for the handheld. with its two screens  wireless connectivity and backwards compatibility with the gameboy advance  the ds certainly has a number of unique selling points. it went on sale in the us in mid-november priced $150 and nintendo says sales have exceeded expectations  without giving detailed figures. japan and europe will have to wait until the first quarter of 2005 to get the device. with more than two million pre-orders for the device in japan  nintendo is confident it will keep its number one spot. but will the device prove to be as revolutionary as claimed  the game ships with a demo of metroid hunters - a 3d action title which can be played alone or with a group of friends using the machine s wireless capabilities. it certainly looks impressive on the small machine and plays smoothly even with a group of people.  the game can be controlled by using the supplied stylus to aim. the top screen is used to navigate the action while the bottom screen offers a top-down map and the ability to switch weapons. it is certainly a unique control method and while it makes aiming more controlled it can be a little disorientating. super mario 64 ds is a faithful re-creation of the nintendo 64 classic with a host of new mini-games and new levels. the game looks stunning on the portable machine and the sound too is impressive for such a small machine. one thing is for certain. hardened gamers will have to learn to adapt to a new way of playing while it could prove to be an accessible way in to gaming for novices  ultimately the success or failure of the device lies in the hands of developers. if they manage to create titles which use the nintendo ds s key features then a whole new market of gamers could open up. the fear is that the touch screen and voice recognition are treated as little more than gimmicks.


parties warned over  grey vote  political parties cannot afford to take older uk voters for granted in the coming election  says age concern.  a survey for the charity suggests 69% of over-55s say they always vote in a general election compared with just 17% of 18 to 24 year olds. charity boss gordon lishman said if a  decisive blow  was struck at the election it would be by older voters who could be relied on to turn out. a total of 3 028 adults aged 18 or over were interviewed for the study. mr lishman urged the next government to boost state pension.  he also called for measures to combat ageism and build effective public services to  support us all in an ageing society .  older people want to see manifesto commitments that will make a difference to their lives   mr lishman said.  political parties must wake up to the fact that unless they address the demands and concerns of older people they will not keep or attract their vote.  in the survey carried out by icm research  14% of people aged between 18 and 34 said they never voted in general elections. among the over-65s  70% said they would be certain to vote in an immediate election  compared with 39% of people under 55. age concern says the over-55s are  united around  key areas of policy they want the government to focus on. for 57%  pensions and the nhs were key issues  while the economy was important for a third  and tax was a crucial area for 25%.  the report was welcomed by conservative shadow pensions secretary david willetts.  the pensioners  voice must certainly be heard in the next election as they have never fitted into blair s cool britannia   he said.  labour s continued refusal to admit the true extent of the pensions crisis will be one of the monumental failures of this government.  he pointed to tory plans to increase the basic state pension to reduce means testing  strengthen company pensions and encourage savings. a liberal democrat spokesman said the party took the issues raised in the report very seriously. he highlighted the party s promises to raise the basic state pension  provide free long-term care for the elderly and replace council tax  seen as a particular problem for pensioners on fixed incomes. labour has said it wants to use savings reforms to incapacity benefit to improve the basic state pension and has set up a review of the council tax system.


china suspends 26 power projects china has ordered a halt to construction work on 26 big power stations  including two at the three gorges dam  on environmental grounds.  the move is a surprising one because china is struggling to increase energy supplies for its booming economy. last year 24 provinces suffered black outs. the state environmental protection agency said the 26 projects had failed to do proper environmental assessments. topping the list was a controversial dam on the scenic upper yangtze river.  construction of these projects has started without approval of the assessment of their environmental impact... they are typical illegal projects of construction first  approval next   said sepa vice-director pan yue  in a statement on the agency s website.  some of the projects may be allowed to start work again with the proper permits  but others would be cancelled  he said. altogether  the agency ordered 30 projects halted. other projects included a petrochemicals plant and a port in fujian. the bulk of the list was made up of new power plants  with some extensions to existing ones. the stoppages would appear to be another step in the central government s battle to control projects licensed by local officials. however  previous crackdowns have tended to focus on projects for which the government argued there was overcapacity  such as steel and cement. the government has encouraged construction of new electricity generating capacity to solve chronic energy shortages which forced many factories onto part-time working last year. in 2004  china increased its generating capacity by 12.6%  or 440 700 megawatts (mw). the biggest single project to be halted was the xiluodi dam project  designed to produce 12 600 mw of electricity. it is being built on the jinshajiang - or  river of golden sand  as the upper reaches of the yangtze are known. second and third on the agency s list were two power stations being built at the $22bn three gorges dam project on the central yangtze - an underground 4 200 mw power plant and a 100 mw plant.  the three gorges dam has proved controversial in china - where more than half a million people have been relocated to make way for it - and abroad. it has drawn criticism from environmental groups and overseas human rights activists. the damming of the upper yangtze has also begun to attract criticism from environmentalists in china. in april 2004  central government officials ordered a halt to work on the nearby nu river  which is part of a united nations world heritage site  the three parallel rivers site which covers the yangtze  mekong and nu (also known as the salween)  according to the uk-published china review. that move reportedly followed a protest from the thai government about the downstream impact of the dams  and a critical documentary made by chinese journalists. china s energy shortage influenced global prices for oil  coal and shipping last year.


profits jump at china s top bank industrial and commercial bank (icbc)  china s biggest lender  has seen an 18% jump in profits during 2004.  the increase in earnings has allowed the firm to write off bad loans and pave the way for a state bailout and eventual stock-market listing. china is trying to clean up its banking system  which is weighed down by billions of dollars of unpaid loans. it has already pumped $45bn (£24bn) into two of its largest banks  and has identified icbc as a recipient of aid. icbc s profits were 74.7bn yuan ($9bn; £4.8bn) in 2004  the bank said in a statement. the percentage of non-performing loans dropped to 19.1%  down about 2 percentage points. icbc was founded in 1984 and had total assets of 5.3 trillion yuan at the end of 2003. china committed to gradually opening up its banking sector when it joined the world trade organisation in 2002.


wmc profits up amid bid criticism australian mining firm wmc resources has seen a fivefold rise in profits while continuing to be the target of a hostile takeover bid.  wmc said it made net profits of 1.33bn australian dollars ($1bn; £550m) in 2004  up from a$246bn the year before. it is currently arguing against an offer from swiss xstrata  which the firm raised to a$8.4bn last week after wmc said it was an undervaluation. now reports say that the australian government is against the deal.  trade minister mark vaile has said that the bid may be  against the national interest . mr vaile  who was quoted in the australian financial review  compared xstrata s attempt to take over wmc to a similar bid by oil giant shell for australia s woodside petroleum in 2001. the bid was thrown out by treasurer peter costello on national interest grounds. wmc s interests in uranium deposits were a contributing factor  mr vaile said. wmc itself  however  has no objection in principle to being bought out  having spun off its aluminium operations in 2002 to make itself a more tempting target - as long as the price is right. its stellar performance in 2004 has been built on sky-high prices for metals. copper and nickel in particular have been in high demand thanks to china s booming economy  which expanded more than 9% in each of the past two years. nickel prices rose 43% during the year  with copper up 36%.


2004: an irish athletics year 2004 won t be remembered as one of irish athletics  great years.  the year began with that optimism which invariably and unaccountably  seems to herald an upcoming olympiad. but come late august  a few hot days in the magnificent stadium in athens told us of the true strength of irish athletics - or to be more accurate  the lack of it. sonia o sullivan s olympic farewell apart  there was little to stir the emotions of irish athletics watchers. but after the disastrous build-up to the games  we shouldn t have been surprised. at the start of the year  an o sullivan had been earmarked as ireland s best medal prospect but as it turned out  walker gillian never even made it to the start line because of injury. less than a week before the olympics  the sport was rocked by news that 10 000m hope cathal lombard had tested for the banned substance epo. lombard s shattering of mark carroll s national 10 000m record in april had already set tongues wagging but even the most cynical of observers  were surprised when he was rumbled after an irish sports council sting operation. the corkman quickly held his hands up in admission and was promptly handed a two-year ban from the sport.  back at pre-olympic ranch in greece  it must have seemed that things couldn t have got any worse but they very nearly did with walker jamie costin lucky to escape with his life after being involved in a car crash near athens. once the track and field action began in athens  a familiar pattern of underachievement emerged although alistair cragg s performance in being the only athlete from a european nation to qualify for the 5 000m final did offer hope for the future. our beloved sonia scraped into the women s 5k final as a fastest loser and for a couple of days  the country attempted to delude itself into believing that she might be in the medal shake-up. as it happened  she went out the back door early in the final although there was nothing undignified about the way that she insisted on finishing the race over a minute behind winner meseret defar. it later transpired that sonia had been suffering from a stomach bug in the 48 hours before the final although typically  the cobhwoman played down the effects of the illness. amazingly  she was back in action a couple of weeks later when beating a world-class field at the flora lite 5k road race in london and while her major championship days may be over  it s unlikely that we have seen the last of her in competition. at least sonia managed to make it to athens. at the start of the year  several northern ireland athletes had genuine hopes of qualifying for the games but come august  an out-of-form and injured paul brizzel was the lone standard bearer for the province. the ballymena man gave it a lash but his achilles problem  and a bad lane draw  meant a time of 21.00 and an early exit.  james mcilroy  gareth turnbull  zoe brown and paul mckee all had to be content with watching the athens action on their television screens. 800m hope mcilroy never got near his best during the summer and a fourth place in the british trials effectively ended his hopes of making the plane. the injury-plagued turnbull gamely travelled round europe in search of the 1500m qualifying mark but 3:39 was the best he could achieve  after missing several months training during the previous winter. a lingering hamstring probem and a virus wrecked mckee s athens ambitions and both he and turnbull deserve a slice of better fortune in 2005. pole vaulter brown had hoped for a vote of confidence from the british selectors after she had achieved the athens b standard but the call never came. as the summer ended  stalwarts catherina mckiernan and dermot donnelly hung up their competitive spikes. mckiernan had to candidly acknowledge that time had crept up on her after several injury-ravaged years. donnelly and his annadale striders team-mates later suffered tragedy when their friend and clubman andy campbell was found dead at his home on 18 december. a large turnout of athletics-loving folk turned out in west belfast to offer their respects to the campbell family and andy s many friends. as only death can  it put the year s athletics happenings in a sharp perspective.


britons fed up with net service a survey conducted by pc pro magazine has revealed that many britons are unhappy with their internet service.  they are fed up with slow speeds  high prices and the level of customer service they receive. 17% of readers have switched suppliers and a further 16% are considering changing in the near future. it is particularly bad news for bt  the uk s biggest internet supplier  with almost three times as many people trying to leave as joining.  a third of the 2 000 broadband users interviewed were fed up with their current providers but this could be just the tip of the iceberg thinks tim danton  editor of pc pro magazine.  we expect these figures to leap in 2005. every month the prices drop  and more and more people are trying to switch   he said. the survey found that bt and tiscali have been actively dissuading customers from leaving by offering them a lower price when they phone up to cancel their subscription. some readers were offered a price drop just 25p more expensive than that offered by an alternative operator  making it hardly worth while swapping.  other found themselves tied into 12-month contracts. broadband has become hugely competitive and providers are desperate to hold on to customers. 12% of those surveyed found themselves unable to swap at all.  we discovered a huge variety of problems  but one of the biggest issues is the current supplier withholding the information that people need to give to their new supplier   said tim danton  editor of pc pro.  this breaks the code of practice  but because that code is voluntary there s nothing we or ofcom can do to help   he said. there is a vast choice of internet service providers in the uk now and an often bewildering array of broadband packages. with prices set to drop even further in coming months mr danton advises everyone to shop around carefully.  if you just stick with your current connection then there s every chance you re being ripped off   he warned.


top stars join us tsunami tv show brad pitt  robert de niro and hugh grant have been added to the line-up for a two-hour us tv special to raise money for victims of the asian tsunami.  andy garcia  lucy liu  natalie portman and jay leno are also among the new names for saturday s tsunami aid. they will join a-list singers madonna  sir elton john  nelly and usher plus actors kevin spacey  halle berry and george clooney on the nbc broadcast. viewers will be urged to phone in to make donations throughout the night. norah jones  diana ross  stevie wonder  maroon 5  mary j blige and eric clapton will give musical performances on the show described as  a concert of hope .  catherine zeta jones  michael douglas  bruce willis  uma thurman  matt damon  drew barrymore and tim robbins are among the other movie superstars due to put in an appearance. george clooney recently reacted angrily to a tv host s suggestion that not all funds raised would go towards tsunami relief. fox tv s bill o reilly said he would be  watching to see if the money gets to the tsunami victims  and warned the celebrities taking part  had better be involved all the way down the line . but clooney accused o reilly of creating a fuss for his own personal gain  saying viewers may now be  afraid that their money will do no good .  he urged o reilly to co-present the tv special  adding in a letter:  we re not playing games here  we re trying to save lives. it s as simple as this - you re either with this joint effort or against it.  organisers say all funds will go to the american red cross. the commercial-free benefit show will also be aired by a string of cable broadcasters and clear channel s radio stations across the us. in addition  performances will be available to buy on the internet as downloads from sony s connect music store. a similar tv benefit carried by all four primary us tv networks after the 11 september terror attacks raised more than $150m (£80m).    - the bangkok international film festival got under way on thursday in the thai capital in the shadow of the country s 5 300 deaths from the tsunami. the red carpet gala opening night was ditched in favour of a more subdued first night. six different films were shown at six cinemas  with all money from ticket sales going to charity.


europe backs digital tv lifestyle how people receive their digital entertainment in the future could change  following the launch of an ambitious european project.  in nice last week  the european commission announced its networked & electronic media (nem) initiative. its broad scope stretches from the way media is created  through each of the stages of its distribution  to its playback. the commission wants people to be able to locate the content they desire and have it delivered seamlessly  when on the move  at home or at work  no matter who supplies the devices  network  content  or content protection scheme. more than 120 experts were in nice to share the vision of interconnected future and hear pledges of support from companies such as nokia  intel  philips  alcatel  france telecom  thomson and telefonica. it might initially appear to be surprising that companies in direct competition are keen to work together. but again and again  speakers stated they could not see incompatible  stand-alone solutions working. a long-term strategy for the evolution and convergence of technologies and services would be required.  the european commission is being pragmatic in its approach. they have identified that many groups have defined the forms of digital media in the areas that nem encompasses. the nem approach is to take a serious look at what is available and what is in the pipeline  pick out the best  bring them together and identify where the gaps are. where it finds holes  it will develop standards to fill them. what is significant is that such a large and powerful organisation has stated its desire for digital formats to be open to all and work on any gadget. this is bound to please  if not surprise  many individuals and user organisations who feel that the wishes of the holder of rights to content are normally considered over and above those of the consumer. many feel that the most difficult and challenging area for the commission will be to identify a solution for different digital rights management (drm) schemes. currently drm solutions are incompatible  locking certain types of purchased content  making them unplayable on all platforms. with the potential of having a percentage of every media transaction that takes place globally  the prize for being the supplier of the world s dominant drm scheme is huge. although entertainment is an obvious first step  it will encompass the remote provisions of healthcare  energy efficiency and control of the smart home. the 10-year plan brings together the work of many currently running research projects that the ec has been funding for a number of years.  simon perry is the editor of the digital lifestyles website  which covers the impact of technology on media


bt offers equal access to rivals bt has moved to pre-empt a possible break-up of its business by offering to cut wholesale broadband prices and open its network to rivals.  the move comes after telecom regulator ofcom said in november that the firm must offer competitors  real equality of access to its phone lines . at the time  ofcom offered bt the choice of change or splitting into two. ofcom is carrying out a strategic review aimed at promoting greater competition in the uk telecom sector. bt s competitors have frequently accused it of misusing its status as the former telecoms monopoly and controller of access to many customers to favour its own retail arm.  this latest submission was delivered to the watchdog ahead of a deadline for the second phase of its review.   central to the proposals are plans by bt to offer operators lower wholesale prices  faster broadband services and transparent  highly-regulated access to bt s local network   the former monopoly said in a statement.  the united kingdom has the opportunity to create the most exciting and innovative telecoms market in the world   bt chief executive ben verwaayen said.  bt has a critical role to play  and today we are making a set of far-reaching proposals towards that framework   he said. bt wants lighter regulation in exchange for the changes  as well as the removal of the break-up threat.  the group is to set up a new access services division - with a separate board which would include independent members - to ensure equal access for rivals to the  local loop   the copper wires that run between telephone exchanges and households. the company also unveiled plans to cut the wholesale prices of its most popular broadband product by about 8% from april in areas of high customer demand.  it added that it plans to invest £10bn in the next five years to create a  21st century network . to meet the growing demand for greater bandwidth  bt said it would begin trials in april with a view to launching higher-speed services nationally from the autumn.  telecom analysts ovum welcomed the move  saying bt had  given a lot of ground .   the big question now is whether the industry  and particularly ofcom feels bt s proposals go far enough ...now the real negotiation begins   director of telecoms research tony lavender said. internet service provider (isp) plus.net also backed the proposals saying  we will be entirely happy if ofcom accepts them .  bt has been challenged to play fair and its plans will introduce a level playing field. the scenario now is how well people execute their business plans as a service provider   chief executive lee strafford said. chris panayis  managing director of isp freedom2surf said that it would make the situation clearer for business.  i think it s the first productive thing we ve had from bt   he said.  aol backed the price cuts but said regulation was still needed to ensure a level playing field.  this is a reminder to ofcom that as long as bt can change the dynamics of the whole broadband market at will  the process of opening up the uk s local telephone network to infrastructure investment and competition remains fragile   a spokesman said.  ofcom needs to return to regulation of the wholesale broadband service [ipstream] and provide more robust rules for local loop unbundling if consumers are to see the benefits of increased competition and infrastructure investment.  more than 100 telecom firms  consumer groups and other interested parties are expected to make submissions to the regulator during this consultation phase. ofcom is expected to spend the next few weeks examining the proposals before making an announcement within the next few months.


leaders meet over turkish eu bid tony blair has met italian prime minister silvio berlusconi and german chancellor gerhard schroeder to talk about turkey entering the eu.  the downing street talks covered a range of other topics ahead of an eu summit in brussels later in the week. mr blair is an enthusiastic proponent of talks to bring turkey within the recently-expanded eu. italy and germany also favour an early start to talks  but there is scepticism in france and elsewhere. some are worried that turkey s large and rapidly growing population and low average income might make integration into the eu difficult.  some are concerned that a change of government could lead to turkey reneging on key human rights reforms it has recently enacted. and many in france would prefer turkey to admit that world war i-era killing of armenians constituted genocide. there are also issues in france and the netherlands over the possible problems of integrating the first major muslim nation into the eu. but mr blair and the labour government have been the staunchest backers of turkish accession  provided it sticks with human rights and economic reform. mr blair s official spokesman said:  the prime minister has regular meetings with both of them and particularly in advance of european councils.  the key issue at this week s council will be that of turkey  but they will also discuss a range of other matters.


famed music director viotti dies conductor marcello viotti  director of venice s famous la fenice theatre  has died in germany at 50.  viotti  director of la fenice since 2002  conducted at renowned opera houses worldwide including milan s la scala and the vienna state opera. his time at la fenice coincided with its reopening in 2003 after it was destroyed by fire in 1996. he fell into a coma after suffering a stroke during rehearsals for jules massenet s manon last week.  he conducted some of the best orchestras in the world including the berlin philharmonic and the english chamber orchestra. viotti was born in switzerland and studied the piano  cello and singing at the lausanne conservatory. his career breakthrough came in 1982 when he won first prize at the gino marinuzzi conducting competition in italy. viotti established himself as chief conductor of the turin opera and went on to become chief conductor of munich s radio orchestra. at la fenice viotti was widely acclaimed for his production of the french composer massenet s thais and some of his other productions included giuseppe verdi s la traviata and richard strauss s ariadne auf naxos.  the last opera he directed at la fenice was massenet s le roi de lahore. viotti s debut at the new york s metropolitan opera came in 2000 with giacomo puccini s madame butterfly  followed by la boheme  la traviata and fromental halevy s la juive. giampaolo vianello  superintendent of the fenice theatre foundation  said:  i am filled with extreme sadness because  other than a great artist  he is missed as a friend - a main character in the latest joyous times  during the rebirth of our theatre.  viotti s last public performance was on 5 february when he conducted vincenzo bellini s norma at the vienna state opera.


oil rebounds from weather effect oil prices recovered in asian trade on tuesday  after falling in new york on milder winter weather across the us.  with winter temperatures staying relatively high in the northern us  a barrel of light crude ended monday down $1.33 to $42.12. however crude prices have rebounded in asia  rising to $42.30 a barrel for february delivery. in london  trading of brent crude was suspended for a public holiday  but the price fell to $39.20 in the far east.  with milder temperatures expected to continue in the northern parts of the us over the next few days at least  analysts have said the price of oil may fall further - even if the decline was only temporary.  weather has been the achilles  heel of this market   said abn amro analyst john brady.  but it is winter in the northeast. eventually we ll get another cold blast.  despite a fall of more than $12 a barrel from the record highs reached in late october  the price of crude oil remains almost 30% higher than year-ago levels. prices rose last week after militant attacks in riyadh  the capital of saudi arabia  briefly renewed fears that the supply chain might be broken in the world s leading crude exporter.  the market was panicked but fears essentially evaporated... since there was no follow-up   said deborah white  senior economist for energy at sg securities in paris.


ecb holds rates amid growth fears the european central bank has left its key interest rate unchanged at 2% for the 19th month in succession.  borrowing costs have remained on hold amid concerns about the strength of economic growth in the 12 nations sharing the euro  analysts said. despite signs of pick-up  labour markets and consumer demand remain sluggish  while firms are eyeing cost cutting measures such as redundancies. high oil prices  meanwhile  have put upward pressure on the inflation rate.  surveys of economists have shown that the majority expect borrowing costs to stay at 2% in coming months  with an increase of a quarter of a percentage point predicted some time in the second half of the year. if anything  there may be greater calls for an interest rate cut  especially with the euro continuing to strengthen against the dollar.  the euro land economy is still struggling with this recovery   said economist dirk schumacher. the ecb  may sound rather hawkish but once the data allows them to cut again  they will.  data coming out of germany on thursday underlined the problems facing european policy makers. while germany s economy expanded by 1.7% in 2004  growth was driven by export sales and lost some of its momentum in the last three months of the year.  the strength of the euro is threatening to dampen that foreign demand in 2005  and domestic consumption currently is not strong enough to take up the slack. inflation in the eurozone  however  is estimated at about 2.3% in december  above ecb guidelines of 2%. ecb president jean-claude trichet has remained upbeat about prospects for the region  and inflation is expected to drop below 2% later in 2005. the ecb has forecast economic growth in the eurozone of 1.9% in 2005.


murray to make cup history andrew murray will become britain s youngest-ever davis cup player after it was confirmed he will play in the doubles against israel on saturday.  the 17-year-old will play alongside fellow debutant david sherwood against israel s jonathan erlich and andy ram. murray will eclipse the record set by roger becker back in 1952. greg rusedski takes tim henman s place as first choice in the singles  while alex bogdanovic will play in the second singles clash. rusedski will take on former world number 30 harel levy and bogdanovic - who has previously played in two singles rubbers against australia - will face noam okun.  murray is the brightest young hope in british tennis  after winning the us open junior title last year and the bbc young sports personality of the year. british number one tim henman  who announced his davis cup retirement earlier this year  believes britain can win the tie in tel aviv.  it s going to be as really tough match. israel have some really good players - and their doubles pair of andy ram and jonathan erlich are among the top eight in the world - but i fancy our chances   he said. but henman urged bogdanovic  who has had run-ins with british tennis officials in the past  to seize his chance.  alex is a quality player - he s young but he s got to keep pushing forward.  he s got to be stronger  he s got a lot of ability but he s got to be more disciplined mentally and physically and if he does that he s got a good chance.


church urges nelly show boycott church ministers are trying to prevent rapper nelly performing in arkansas  saying they do not want his  vile and filthy lyrics  in their town.  more than 20 jonesboro ministers urged music fans to boycott nelly s 12 march concert at arkansas state university in a bid to have it cancelled.  jonesboro is a wonderful city because of what does not come here   said the reverend adrian rodgers. but a venue spokesman said more than 5 500 tickets had been sold so far.  mr rodgers  of the fullness of joy church  said he was concerned about the rapper s lyrics that include references to drugs  sex and violence  and songs that the minister said were demeaning to women. ministers were worried that bringing such acts to jonesboro would lead to problems.  tear the tickets up   mr rodgers said.  do not go and do not allow your children to go.   tim dean  director of the arkansas state university venue  said ticket sales had been brisk.  it would appear that with ticket sales over 5 000  many others have expressed their right to find nelly s music entertaining and worth spending their time and money on   he said. nelly has sold more than 30 million singles and albums worldwide  and in september 2004 simultaneously occupied the number one and two positions in the us albums chart. he has had 12 uk hit singles  including hot in herre  dilemma and recent number one over and over.


winn-dixie files for bankruptcy us supermarket group winn-dixie has filed for bankruptcy protection after succumbing to stiff competition in a market dominated by wal-mart.  winn-dixie  once among the most profitable of us grocers  said chapter 11 protection would enable it to successfully restructure. it said its 920 stores would remain open  but analysts said it would most likely off-load a number of sites. the jacksonville  florida-based firm has total debts of $1.87bn (£980m). in its bankruptcy petition it listed its biggest creditor as us foods giant kraft foods  which it owes $15.1m.  analysts say winn-dixie had not kept up with consumers  demands and had also been burdened by a number of stores in need of upgrading. a 10-month restructuring plan was deemed a failure  and following a larger-than-expected quarterly loss earlier this month  winn-dixie s slide into bankruptcy was widely expected. the company s new chief executive peter lynch said winn-dixie would use the chapter 11 breathing space to take the necessary action to turn itself around.  this includes achieving significant cost reductions  improving the merchandising and customer service in all locations and generating a sense of excitement in the stores   he said. yet evan mann  a senior bond analyst at gimme credit  said mr lynch s job would not be easy  as the bankruptcy would inevitably put off some customers.  the real big issue is what s going to happen over the next one or two quarters now that they are in bankruptcy and all their customers see this in their local newspapers   he said.


tv show unites angolan families angolan families who are attempting to track each other down  after being separated by nearly 30 years of war  are succeeding thanks to a hugely popular tv show.  meeting point has become one of tv angola s most watched programmes  and has reunited hundreds of families. it runs daily  not only on the television but also on the radio. every friday  hundreds of people gather in luanda s independence square to record a message in front of the tv cameras  in the hope that a lost relative will see it. many relatives have been reunited on air.  at the beginning there was an absolute explosion - huge  huge crowds   sergio gera  the programme s chief co-ordinator  told bbc world service s assignment programme.  now things are a little calmer  there are slightly less people - but  after two and a half years of broadcasting  there are still a lot of people going.   the media in the southern african country  twice the size of france  has been gripped by the quest of so many people to find their relatives. hundreds of thousands of people died in angola s 30-year civil war  which finally ended in 2002  and tens of thousands of people are still missing. many have not heard anything for 10 or more years - in all  90% of angolan families have lost someone.  the idea of recording in independence square was modelled on a square in the argentine capital buenos aries  where mothers go to talk about the dead and the missing  and to exchange news. one woman  victoria lapete  found her sister - the only remaining member of her family - in independence square live on meeting point. she had not seen her sibling for 28 years.  when we saw each other  we threw ourselves into each other s arms   she told assignment.  we started to cry. i felt very  very happy  because i d spent so long without any family. suddenly i had a sister again.  however  angola is one of the poorest countries in africa  and the number of people with access to either a television or radio is comparatively few. this means that elsewhere in the country  the task of reuniting families lies primarily with the international committee of the red cross (icrc). in the city of wambo  the icrc runs the gazetta - a 200-page  tabloid-size book which contains 13 000 names of missing or displaced.  their task is made much harder by the huge number of landmines dotted around the country.  it s very difficult - there are many displaced   stated joaquim sahundi  head of tracing in wambo.   as they try to go back [home]  others are trying to relocate their relatives. many people are getting injured because of that - in the villages  in the bush  there has been no clearance of mines.  when people are crossing these areas  they step on mines.  the icrc also uses the media where it can  running four daily broadcasts of their lists of the missing on radio angola. meanwhile  there remain massive challenges to angolan families even once they are reunited.  the programme of family reunification is extremely important  but for these families to remain reunified  there has to be social integration  job access  education  healthcare   said rafael marques of the pro-democracy george soros foundation for southern africa.  essentially the government is waiting for the international community to pay for the reconstruction - that s why it has been persistently calling for a donor s conference. that is just a way of detaching itself from its political responsibilities.


wal-mart is sued over rude lyrics the parents of a 13-year-old girl are suing us supermarket giant wal-mart over a cd by rock group evanescence that contains swear words.  the lawsuit  filed in washington county  alleges wal-mart deceived customers by not putting warning labels on the cover. trevin skeens alleges wal-mart knew of the offending word because it had censored it on its music sales website. wal-mart said it was investigating the claims but had no plans to pull the cd. wal-mart has a policy of not stocking cds which carry parental advisory labels. mr skeens said he bought the anywhere but home cd for his daughter and was shocked to hear the swearing when it was played in their car.   i don t want any other families to get this  expecting it to be clean. it needs to be removed from the shelves to prevent other children from hearing it   said mr skeens of brownsville. the lawsuit seeks to force wal-mart to censor the music or remove it from its stores in maryland. it also seeks damages of up to $74 500 (£38 660) for every customer who bought the cd at maryland wal-marts  and also naming record label wind-up records and distributor bmg entertainment in the legal action.  while wal-mart sets high standards  it would not be possible to eliminate every image  word or topic that an individual might find objectionable   wal-mart spokesman guy whitcomb told the herald-mail of hagerstown.


cyber crime booms in 2004 the last 12 months have seen a dramatic growth in almost every security threat that plague windows pcs.  the count of known viruses broke the 100 000 barrier and the number of new viruses grew by more than 50%. similarly phishing attempts  in which conmen try to trick people into handing over confidential data  are recording growth rates of more than 30% and attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated. also on the increase are the number of networks of remotely controlled computers  called bot nets  used by malicious hackers and conmen to carry out many different cyber crimes.  one of the biggest changes of 2004 was the waning influence of the boy hackers keen to make a name by writing a fast-spreading virus  said kevin hogan  senior manager in symantec s security response group. although teenage virus writers will still play around with malicious code  said mr hogan  2004 saw a significant rise in criminal use of malicious programs. the financial incentives were driving criminal use of technology  he said. his comment was echoed by graham cluley  senior technology consultant from anti-virus firm sophos. mr cluley said:  when the commercial world gets involved  things really get nasty. virus writers and hackers will be looking to make a tidy sum.   in particular  phishing attacks  which typically use fake versions of bank websites to grab login details of customers  boomed during 2004. web portal lycos europe reported a 500% increase in the number of phishing e-mail messages it was catching. the anti-phishing working group reported that the number of phishing attacks against new targets was growing at a rate of 30% or more per month. those who fall victim to these attacks can find that their bank account has been cleaned out or that their good name has been ruined by someone stealing their identity. this change in the ranks of virus writers could mean the end of the mass-mailing virus which attempts to spread by tricking people into opening infected attachments on e-mail messages.  they are not an efficient way of spreading viruses   said mr hogan.  they are very noisy and they are not technically challenging.  the opening months of 2004 did see the appearance of the netsky  bagle and mydoom mass mailers  but since then more surreptitious viruses  or worms  have dominated.  mr hogan said worm writers were more interested in recruiting pcs to take part in  bot nets  that can be used to send out spam or to mount attacks on websites.  in september symantec released statistics which showed that the numbers of active  bot computers  rose from 2 000 to 30 000 per day. thanks to these  bot nets   spam continued to be a problem in 2004. anti-spam firms report that  in many cases  legitimate e-mail has shrunk to less than 30% of messages. part of the reason that these  bot nets  have become so prevalent  he said  was due to a big change in the way that many viruses were created. in the past many viruses  such as netsky  have been the work of an individual or group. by contrast  said mr hogan  the code for viruses such as gaobot  spybot and randex were commonly held and many groups work on them to produce new variants at the same time. the result is that now there are more than 3 000 variations of the spybot worm.  that s unprecedented   said mr hogan.  what makes it difficult is that they are all co-existing with each other and do not exist in an easy to understand chronology.   the emergence of the first proper virus for mobile phones was also seen in 2004.  in the past  threats to smart phones have been largely theoretical because the viruses created to cripple phones existed only in the laboratory rather than the wild. in june  the cabir virus was discovered that can hop from phone to phone using bluetooth short-range radio technology. also released this year was the mosquito game for symbian phones which surreptitiously sends messages to premium rate numbers  and in november the skulls trojan came to light which can cripple phones. on the positive side  finnish security firm f-secure said that 2004 was the best-ever year for the capture  arrest and sentencing of virus writers and criminally-minded hackers. in total  eight virus writers were arrested and some members of the so-called 29a virus writing group were sentenced. one high-profile arrest was that of german teenager sven jaschen who confessed to be behind the netsky and sasser virus families. also shut down were the carderplanet and shadowcrew websites that were used to trade stolen credit card numbers.


germany calls for eu reform german chancellor gerhard schroeder has called for radical reform of the eu s stability pact to grant countries more flexibility over their budget deficits.  mr schroeder said existing fiscal rules should be loosened to allow countries to run deficits above the current 3% limit if they met certain criteria. writing in the financial times  mr schroeder also said heads of government should have a greater say in reforms. changes to the pact are due to be agreed at an economic summit in march.  the current eu rules limit the size of a eurozone country s deficit to 3% of gdp. countries which exceed the threshold are liable to heavy fines by the european commission  although several countries  including germany  have breached the rules consistently since 2002 without facing punishment. the european commission acknowledged last month that it would not impose sanctions on countries who break the rules.  mr schroeder - a staunch supporter of the pact when it was set up in the 1990s - said exemptions were now needed to take into account the cost of domestic reform programmes and changing economic conditions.  the stability pact will work better if intervention by european institutions in the budgetary sovereignty of national parliaments is only permitted under very limited conditions   he wrote.  only if their competences are respected will the member states be willing to align their policies more consistently with the economic goals of the eu.   deficits should be allowed to rise above 3%  mr schroeder argued  if countries meet several  mandatory criteria . these include governments which are adopting costly structural reforms  countries which are suffering economic stagnation and nations which are shouldering  special economic burdens . the proposed changes would make it harder for the european commission to launch infringement action against any state which breaches the pact s rules. mr schroeder s intervention comes ahead of a meeting of the 12 eurozone finance ministers on monday to discuss the pact. the issue will also be discussed at tuesday s ecofin meeting of the finance ministers of all 25 eu members. mr schroeder also called for heads of government to play a larger role in shaping reforms to the pact. a number of eu finance ministers are believed to favour only limited changes to the eurozone s rules.


worldcom bosses  $54m payout ten former directors at worldcom have agreed to pay $54m (£28.85m)  including $18m from their own pockets  to settle a class action lawsuit  reports say.  james wareham  a lawyer representing one of the directors  told reuters the 10 had agreed to pay those who lost billions when the firm collapsed. the remaining $36m will be paid by the directors  insurers. but  a spokesman for the prosecutor  new york state comptroller alan hevesi  said no formal agreement had been made.  corporate governance experts said that if the directors do dip into their own pockets for the settlement  it will set a new standard for the accountability of bosses  when the firms they oversee face problems.   directors very rarely pay   said charles elson  chairman of the center for corporate governance at the university of delaware. he added that the settlement  sends a pretty strong shockwave through the director world . a formal agreement on the payout is expected to be signed on thursday in a us district court in manhattan. earlier  the new york times had reported that the personal payments were required as part of any deal at the start of negotiations. the ten former outside directors are james allen  judith areen  carl aycock  max bobbitt  clifford alexander  stiles kellett  gordon macklin  john porter  lawrence tucker and the estate of john sidgmore  who died last year. it has not yet been determined how much each director will have to pay.  none of the 10 former directors was a direct participant in the accounting machinations of the worldcom fraud   said the wall street journal (wsj).  two other outside former directors  bert roberts and francesco galesi  remain defendants in the lawsuit  said the newspaper. according to the wsj  which cites people familiar to the case  the settling directors are expected to deny wrongdoing and state they are settling the case to eliminate the uncertainties and expense of further litigations. the second-largest us long-distance telecoms operator filed for bankruptcy in 2002 when an $11bn accounting scandal was unearthed. the company emerged from chapter 11 protection last year and changed its name to mci inc. former worldcom chief executive bernard ebbers is to face trial this month on criminal charges that he oversaw the fraud.


broadband soars in 2004 if broadband were a jumbo jet  then 2003 would have seen it taxiing down the runway  firing up its engines and preparing for take-off. but this year has seen it soar.  in the spring it literally took to the skies as lufthansa and british airways trialled it on flights. this perhaps said more about how indispensable people were beginning to perceive the technology  rather than how useful sky-high broadband would actually be. it was flying high and by the autumn  five million britons had signed up for high-speed net access at home.  such enthusiasm is unlikely to dampen any time soon and experts predict that by the end of next year the numbers will have risen to more than eight million  or more than 30% of homes. the two key factors in whetting people s appetite were falling prices and a huge marketing push. when operators such as bt and telewest offered standard 512k broadband for less than £20 at the beginning of the year  it was as if an invisible barrier had been breached - broadband had truly gone mass market. a feeding frenzy followed as firms vied for eyeballs in a price war reminiscent of that following the mass market take-up of dial-up. broadband for less than £10 was even touted by some firms  although such a low price raised eyebrows among more established companies questioning how they are able to sustain such business models.  for those who became broadbanders in 2004 there was no turning back and the days of waiting for the modem to kick in began to seem as outdated an idea as a jungle without celebrities. the rest of the world was also falling in love with the benefits of fast internet access  to the tune of 100 million connections worldwide by april  prompting research firm point topic to declare it one of the fastest growing technologies ever. by september  the number of broadband connections in the uk finally overtook dial-up and in december bt announced that it was making a new broadband connection every 10 seconds.  broadband was being mentioned on the 10 o clock news and in the tabloids; the sun even carried a cartoon joke about it. but two of the most significant pieces of news for broadband were items that did not make the headlines. in may  bt quietly announced that it was shaving 70% off the cost of allowing other operators access to its telephone exchanges  so-called local loop unbundling. the vital local loop is the crucial link between telephone exchanges and homes. at the moment bt has a stranglehold on more than 80% of these lines making it the key voice in deciding what adsl products get into homes. with cheaper local loop unbundling  rivals to bt can offer faster services that will leave the broadband of today looking positively tortoise-like. it will mean the uk will finally catch up with countries such as france and the netherlands  where homes are routinely enjoying speeds of up to 15mb (megabits per second). and the major price fall means that  rather than just talk about it  companies are actually starting to get their own equipment into bt s exchanges. it may not seem that exciting but it is a remarkable transition given that just a few years ago the arguments over local loop unbundling bore more than a passing resemblance to the northern ireland peace talks - fraught  bitter and with no end in sight.  another big piece of news for broadband users in 2004 was the extension of bt s reach  meaning more than 95% of the population could get broadband  regardless of how far away from the exchange they lived.  there was a slight caveat for those wanting to upgrade to 1mbps broadband  they still have to live within six kilometres of a broadband-enabled exchange. for thousands frustrated by their inability to get the technology  the news meant they could finally join in. broadband is not just about fast access over the telephone and cable operators ntl and telewest also had a bumper year. the biggest news for them was increased speeds  introducing 2mb and 3mb services for users and offering a free upgrade to those on 512k. the cable operators are limited in their reach and it is perhaps testament to how big a deal local loop unbundling could become that even they are considering extending their range via this route. broadband can seem confusing for consumers  with the huge amount of operators offering so many different products  some with capped bandwidth and different length contracts and set-up fees. it is unlikely to get any less easy to understand in 2005 but remains a plane worth catching. as it gets faster and offers extras such as cheap telephone calls online  the only real thing to remember for the coming year is to enjoy the ride.


pountney handed ban and fine northampton coach budge pountney has been fined £2 000 and banned from match-day coaching for six weeks for calling a referee  a disgrace .  pountney was found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute at a rugby football union disciplinary hearing in london on thursday night. pountney criticised referee steve lander s performance in northampton s defeat by saracens on 5 february. the last two weeks of the six-week ban are suspended. pountney pleaded guilty to the offence before a panel consisting of chairman robert horner  nigel gillingham and jeff probyn. the ban means former scotland international pountney cannot enter the playing enclosure  technical areas or go near the touchline  tunnel or players and officials  areas on the day of a game.


millions  to lose textile jobs  millions of the world s poorest textile trade workers will lose their jobs under new trade rules to be introduced in the new year  a charity has warned.  the world trade organisation (wto) is to end its multi-fibre agreement (mfa) on midnight of 31 december. christian aid condemned the move  saying it would see almost a million jobs in bangladesh alone being axed. however  supporters of the change claim it will mean increased efficiency and lower costs for western consumers.  it will also see more jobs created in india and china  advocates argue. the wto said that many developing countries support the end of quotas and stressed that funding was available to countries such as bangladesh to help them make the transition to a fully liberalised market.  there will be a period of adjustment required   said wto spokesman keith rockwell.  some countries will do better than others but there is no one who is suggesting that no developing country will do well out of this.  some countries where it may appear that orders will dry up have seen orders surging and there are many companies who will continue with existing trading relationships.   christian aid has called on british firms not to simply  cut and run  but look after their workers  in a new report called rags to riches to rags.  it added that with few employment alternatives available many sacked garment workers could end up in far worse jobs - with some of the mainly female workers forced into the sex trade. the wto itself has warned that as many as 27 million jobs could be lost as a result of liberalisation in the textile industry. some of the world s fastest developing countries which rely on textile exports to build growth - for example in bangladesh textiles account for almost 85% of the country s exports and the industry employs around 1.5 million people. the mfa pact has helped developing countries get a bigger share of the world market.  the losers in this new trade landscape will be some of the most vulnerable workers in countries such as bangladesh  cambodia  sri lanka and nepal   andrew pendleton  christian aid s head of trade policy  said.  they will be hard-pressed to cope when garment industries there lose their protection.  we are deeply concerned that the new year will spell misery for huge numbers of garment workers.  the wto said there was no consenus among its members to retain the quotas and emphasised that funding was available to countries such as bangladesh to help them adjust to the liberalised market.  it added that the impact of the changes for workers most affected by the shake-up had not been considered  adding such seismic changes to policy should  put the interests of poor people first - rather than simply aiming to liberalise markets at any cost . while the current mfa was not perfect  its did allow third world countries like bangladesh to get onto the first rung of industrial development  christian aid said.  international trade must not be governed by a  race to the bottom  that pitches one set of poor people against another   mr pendleton added.


versace art portfolio up for sale the art collection of murdered fashion designer gianni versace could fetch up to £9m ($17m) when it is auctioned in new york and london later this year.  among the pictures for sale are works by roy lichtenstein  andy warhol and henri matisse. the collection was housed at versace s six-storey new york townhouse. the 51-year-old designer was shot outside his florida home in 1997 by suspected serial killer andrew cunanan  who later killed himself. the auction  at sotheby s  will feature 45 contemporary  impressionist and 19th century paintings. one of the highlights of the sale is roy lichtenstein s blue nude which has been given an estimate of £1.8m ($3.4m).  tobias meyer  sotheby s worldwide head of contemporary art  said:  this collection reflects mr versace s wide-ranging taste and impeccable eye  and many of the works were commissioned directly from the artists.  outstanding later examples from champions of the pop movement  such as roy lichtenstein  are juxtaposed with masterpieces from the most visible artists of the 1980 s  including jean-michel basquiat and the collaborative genius of basquiat and warhol  as well as francesco clemente.  much of the collection will be offered for sale at three auctions in new york in june  with smaller contemporary paintings going under the hammer in london on 22 and 23 june. a sale of versace s furniture and artworks sold in 2001fetched £5.5m ($10.3m).


greek duo cleared in doping case sprinters kostas kenteris and katerina thanou have been cleared of doping offences by an independent tribunal.  the duo had been provisionally suspended by the iaaf for allegedly missing three drugs tests  including one on the eve of the athens olympics. but the greek athletics federation tribunal has overturned the bans - a decision which the iaaf can now contest at the court of arbitration for sport. the pair s former coach  christos tzekos  has been banned for four years. kenteris  31  and thanou  30  had been charged with avoiding drug tests in tel aviv  chicago and athens and failing to notify anti-doping officials of their whereabouts before the olympics. they withdrew from the olympics after missing a drugs test at the olympic village on 12 august.  the pair then spent four days in a hospital  claiming they had been injured in a motorcycle crash. it was the international olympic committee s demand that the iaaf investigate the affair that led to the hearing of the greek tribunal. the head of that tribunal  kostas panagopoulos  said it had not been proven that the athletes refused to take the test in athens.  the charge cannot be substantiated   he said.  in no way was he (kenteris) informed to appear for a doping test. the same goes for thanou.  kenteris s lawyer  gregory ioannidis  said:  the decision means mr kenteris has been exonerated of highly damaging and unfounded charges which have been extremely harmful for his career.   he has consistently maintained his innocence and this was substantiated by further evidence we were able to submit to the tribunal following its deliberations in january.  this evidence shows mr kenteris was never asked to submit to a test by the international olympic committee so he could not possibly have been guilty of deliberately avoiding one. it shows he has no case to answer.  mr kenteris should now be given the opportunity he deserves to rebuild his career in the full knowledge that there is no stain on his character.  he has suffered greatly throughout this ordeal that has exposed both himself and his family to enormous pressures.  but the iaaf said it was  very surprised  by the verdict. spokesman nick davies said:  we note the decision of the greek authorities with interest.  our doping review board will now consider the english version of the decision.


poll idols  face first hurdles vote for me - itv1 s pop idol style talent contest for would-be politicians - finally hits our screens this week.  over the next four days  hundreds of potential candidates will be whittled down by a panel of experts and public vote. the winner will then be encouraged to stand as an independent at the next general election  which is expected in the spring. but opinion is divided on whether any of the potential candidates unearthed so far have got what it takes to make it in politics.  any of them would make competent mps   former independent mp martin bell insisted on bbc radio 4 s today programme.  mr bell  who will be offering his advice to the contestants on wednesday  argues that westminster has its share of  odd balls  and the show will engage ordinary voters.  if it gets more people voting and more people interested in politics there is no harm in that   he said. but sir bernard ingham  margaret thatcher s former press secretary  took a less charitable view  accusing the programme of  corrupting politics .  he said the producers would not achieve their aim of re-engaging voters  with that bunch of nutters . to give sir bernard his dues  monday evening s opening episode did attract more than a smattering of eccentrics and self-publicists. among those chancing their arm were a druid priest and a former porn star  who insisted on removing her top to make her point about the legalisation of brothels. among the more eccentric policy proposals was a public holiday on bruce forsyth s birthday and bill oddie for prime minister. the show follows the time-honoured pop idol format  with queues of nervous hopefuls and a panel of three experts judging their performance.  the contestants were given 60 seconds to present their manifestos. then the final 25 were tested on their lobbying ability. they were then cross-examined by the panel  which was chaired by ex-itn political editor john sergeant  with television host lorraine kelly taking the nicki chapman role. but the real star of the show is kelvin mackenzie  in the simon cowell  mr nasty seat.  the former sun editor dispensed a stream of well-crafted insults and one-liners. his advice for one young contestant was to  get a haircut and a brain transplant . wheelchair user kevin donnellon was asked:  why on earth do you want our elected representatives to be disabled    don t you care about the inuit    implored guitar-toting environmental campaigner barry lim.  i don t care about them. i care about myself and when the sun s shining i think - fantastic   replied mr mackenzie.  mr lim later reduced the panel to fits of giggles as he outlined his plan to make people do community service instead of paying taxes.  when the prime minister turns to the chancellor and says how much have we got in the coffers mr brown  he says well  prime minister  bad news  all the houses in britain have been painted but actually nobody has paid any tax   observed mr mackenzie.  that was an total disaster. i just couldn t seem to think of things to say   a crestfallen mr lim confided in the show s presenter  jonathan maitland. irfan hanif  a 25-year-old doctor from bolton  made a good impression  even if he was a little thrown by mr mackenzie s suggestion that instead of being treated by the nhs  young drunks should  given a good beating  and left to die. dominic carman - son of late libel lawyer george carman - was voted through to the final 25  on a platform of cutting defence spending to boost education. opinion was more divided over rodney hylton-potts  a 59-year-old convicted fraudster. mr mackenzie thought the smooth-talking former solicitor - with a hardline on crime and immigration - deserved a chance to progress.  he could join the rest of the crooks in the houses of parliament.  but ms kelly said she  would not trust him as far as she could throw him . the series continues throughout the week  with the public given the chance to evict one prospective mp every night. itv will not fund the election campaign for the eventual winner  but the publicity could give the winner a flying start over other candidates.


two nigerian banks set to merge nigerian banks united bank of africa and standard trust bank have agreed plans to merge and create the biggest bank in west africa.  the deal is also in line with a 2004 directive from the nigerian central bank that called for more consolidation in the nation s crowded banking sector. the merger was announced in a statement on standard trust s website on tuesday  but no financial details were revealed. united bank is the third biggest in nigeria in terms of number of branches. standard trust is smaller but more profitable.  the boards of united bank and standard trust  at separate meetings yesterday  approved arrangements to merge both institutions   standard trust said. standard trust is 100% nigerian-owned  but united bank has some foreign investors  including new york-based global depository receipts (32.8%)  and banca nazionale del lavoro and monte del paschi di siena  both from italy  who each have a 2.4% stake.


captains lining up for aid match ireland s brian o driscoll is one of four six nations captains included in the northern hemisphere squad for the irb rugby aid match on 5 march.  france s fabien pelous  gordon bullock of scotland and italy s marco bortolami are also in the northern party. sir clive woodward will coach the northern team against rod macqueen s southern hemisphere team in a tsumani fund-raising match at twickenham.  i m looking forward to working with such outstanding players   he said. it will be a chance for woodward to assess some of his options before unveiling his british and irish lions touring party  who will visit new zealand in the summer.  the game promises to be a great spectacle   he said.  both teams are fielding top-quality sides and i really hope that the rugby public and community get behind this game to raise as much money as possible for such a deserving cause.   l dallaglio (england)  b cohen (england)  a rougerie (france)  d traille (france)  f pelous (france)  r ibanez (france)  p de villiers (france)  b o driscoll (ireland  capt)  p o connell (ireland)  d humphreys (ireland)  c paterson (scotland)  c cusiter (scotland)  g bullock (scotland)  s taylor (scotland)  a lo cicero (italy)  m bortolami (italy)  s parisse (italy)  d peel (wales)  c sweeney (wales)  j thomas (wales)  r williams (wales)  j yapp (wales).  c latham (australia); r caucaunibuca (fiji)  j fourie (s africa) t umaga (new zealand)  s bobo (fiji); a mehrtens (new zealand) g gregan (australia  capt); t kefu (australia)  p waugh (australia)  s burger (s africa); i rawaqa (fiji)  v matfield (s africa); k visagie (s africa)  j smit (s africa)  c hoeft (new zealand). reserves: b reihana (new zealand)  b lima (samoa)  e taukafa (tonga)  o palepoi (samoa)  s sititi (samoa)  m rauluni (fiji)  a n other.


trial date is set for balco case a us judge has set a preliminary trial date for the balco steroid distribution case which has rocked athletics.  us district court judge susan ilston rejected an attempt by the defence team to have the case dismissed at a pre-trial hearing in san francisco. and she set a march date for the case of the four men accused of distributing illegal performance-enhancing drugs to elite athletes to be heard. a firm decision on whether the trial takes place is expected in january. the judge said that she may conduct hearings in january into whether federal agents illegally searched the balco headquarters and wrongfully obtained statements from the company s founder victor conte and its vice-president james valente. the two men - along with personal trainer greg anderson and athletics coach remy korchemny - were all indicted earlier this year but have pleaded their innocence. the outcome of those hearings could result in some or all of the charges being dismissed. conte said that he would be telling his side of the story on an american tv show on friday.   the world deserves to know the truth about performance-enhancing drugs   he said. balco (the bay area laboratory cooperative) is the company at the centre of the scandal. the company has been accused by the united states anti-doping agency (usada) of being the source of the banned steroid thg and modafinil. the usada claims that 10 athletes have received sanctions for testing positive for thg and modafinil. former double world champion kelli white and olympic relay star alvin harrison have both been banned on the basis of materials discovered during the balco investigation. britain s former european 100m champion dwain chambers is currently serving a two-year ban after testing positive for thg in an out-of-competition test in 2003.


iraq and afghanistan in wto talks the world trade organisation (wto) is to hold membership talks with both iraq and afghanistan.  but iran s bid to join the trade body has been refused after the us blocked its application for the 21st time. the countries stand to reap huge benefits from membership of the group  whose purpose is to promote free trade. joining  however  is a lengthy process. china s admission in 2001 took 15 years and talks with russia and saudi arabia have been taking place for 10 years. membership of the geneva-based wto helps guarantee a country s goods receives equal treatment in the markets of other member states - a policy which has seen it become closely associated with globalisation.  iraq s trade minister mohammed mustafa al-jibouri welcomed the move  describing it as significant as november s decision by the paris club of creditor nations to write off 80% of the country s debts. assad omar  afghanistan s envoy to the united nations in geneva  said accession would contribute to  regional prosperity and global security . there are now 27 countries seeking membership of the wto. prospective members need to enter into negotiations with potential trading countries and change domestic laws to bring them in line with wto regulations. before the process gets under way  all 148 wto members must give their backing to applicant countries. the us said it could not approve iran s application because it is currently reviewing relations. but several nations criticised the approach  and european union ambassador to the wto  carlo trojan  said iran s application  must be treated independently of political issues .


lee to create new film superhero comic book veteran stan lee is to team up with producer robert evans to create a movie featuring a new superhero.  foreverman will focus on a character who has to face problems in everyday life as well as using his special powers to save the world. paramount pictures  the studio behind the film  have revealed few details about the project but say it has the potential to spawn a series of films. lee is best known for his work on spider-man and the incredible hulk.  he is collaborating on the script with screenwriter peter briggs  who penned the recent comic book adaptation hellboy.  we believe it to be truly a whole new franchise   said gill champion  president and chief executive of lee s pow! entertainment.  in this world where people are looking for something different  stan s idea was to create a concept not seen before to become an evergreen franchise for paramount.  many of lee s other creations  including x-men and daredevil  have been turned into films in the past five years. however  the spider-man series has been the biggest box office hit  with the 2002 original and its 2004 sequel taking almost $1.6bn (£857m) worldwide. a third spider-man film is scheduled for release in 2007. another marvel comics adaptation  the fantastic four  will be released in cinemas this summer.


sprinter walker quits athletics former european 200m champion dougie walker is to retire from athletics after a series of six operations left him struggling for fitness.  walker had hoped to compete in the new year sprint which is staged at musselburgh racecourse near edinburgh on tuesday and wednesday. the 31-year-old scot was suspended for two years in 1998 after testing positive for nandrolone.  i had intended to race but i m running like a goon   said walker. he told the herald newspaper:  i m not in great shape  after missing about a month of training.  i missed a big chunk of speed work over about three weeks  and then another week working in america.  if i d had a half-decent mark it might have motivated me more  but i won t be racing.  i still enjoy training  but feel it s time to move on  and concentrate on a career.


three djs replace peel radio show the late john peel s bbc radio 1 show is to be succeeded in february by three shows hosted by three djs focusing on diverse  non-commercial music.  huw stephens  ras kwame and rob da bank will each host the mid-week  late-night timeslot  showcasing uk talent. radio 1 said the show would not try to replace peel  but would rise to the  challenge  of  keeping his legacy alive  with unpredictable music. peel died after suffering a heart attack in peru in october. radio 1 said the three djs had been chosen for their  in-depth musical knowledge across a variety of musical genres . rob da bank has been hosting the john peel show since the dj s death. he is also one of the hosts of the blue room  an early morning weekend show that plays a mix of old and new electronic and dance music. huw stephens is currently one half of the radio 1 thursday night show bethan and huw in wales  which explores new music  especially up and coming acts breaking through in wales. and ras kwame is the host of 100% homegrown on radio 1 s digital station 1xtra. his show is dedicated to showcasing the best of uk black music and broadcasts live sessions  often giving new artists their first chance to perform on live national radio.  all of the three djs will continue to host their current shows on radio 1.  it is widely accepted that john peel can never be replaced   said the radio station. it added that one music would support both signed and unsigned talent  and said:  it will seek out those making music for music s sake rather than for commercial success.  above all it will provide support to emerging genres of music and styles that have not yet and may never reach the mainstream.   one music is not new to radio 1 as it already exists as a website  offering advice on aspects of the music industry  such as recording a demo and signing a record contract. radio 1 s controller  andy parfitt  said:  we believe that by having a series of djs hosting a selection of shows under the one music title  we will ensure that his legacy lives on.  stephens said he grew up  listening to john  and that it was a  massive honour  to continue peel s work championing new music. the show will be broadcast from 1 february on tuesdays  wednesdays and thursdays from 2300 gmt - 0100 gmt.


eu china arms ban  to be lifted  the eu embargo on arms exports to china is likely to be lifted in the next six months despite us objections  uk foreign secretary jack straw has said.  the 15-year-old ban was imposed in the aftermath of china s crackdown on protesters in tiananmen square. mr straw told a commons select committee human rights concerns over china remained. but he said it was wrong to put china under the same embargo as countries such as zimbabwe and burma.  in december  the eu pledged to work towards lifting the ban but said it was not ready to do so yet. the eu s move was welcomed at the time by beijing  which described the embargo as a  product of the cold war . german chancellor gerhard schroeder and french president jacques chirac have repeatedly called for the embargo to be lifted. britain has been more cautious on the issue  but on wednesday mr straw said he also wanted it to end.  i have long understood china s argument  that to lump them in with  say  burma and zimbabwe is not appropriate and i don t think it is   he told the joint committee on strategic export controls. he said  it is more likely than not  that the ban would be lifted before britain takes over the presidency of the eu from luxembourg in july. but he said an eu code of conduct would prevent an increase in the number of arms being exported to the country.  if it is lifted we will end up with as effective arms controls in relation to china as we have now.   mr straw said the us government was suspicious of  the motives of some other countries within the eu  in wanting the ban lifted. but he said many of washington s objections were based on a  lack of information and understanding  of how export control guidelines worked in eu countries. and  intense discussions  were taking place with us officials to convince them it was the right thing to do. washington is thought to fear it would lead to a buying spree for arms that could be used by china to threaten its diplomatic rival taiwan. us officials say they are not satisfied the mechanisms in the eu code of conduct are robust enough to prevent abuses. us undersecretary of state john bolton is meeting british officials this week to press the case for keeping the embargo.


mcconnell in  drunk  remark row scotland s first minister has told a group of high school pupils that it is okay to get drunk  once in a while .  jack mcconnell was speaking to more than 100 secondary pupils from schools in the highlands about the problems of binge drinking and drink promotions. he has been criticised by the snp for encouraging young people to get drunk. but the scottish executive has insisted mr mcconnell was speaking about adults and his comments were  a recognition that people will get drunk . the first minister s comments came in a question and answer session at glenurquhart high school in inverness  attended by pupils from a number of secondary schools. a highland councillor who was at the event has also defended mr mcconnell. margaret davidson  the independent member for the loch ness west  said the first minister was speaking in a very general way and she was sure he was speaking about adults at the time.  when one pupil asked mr mcconnell how the executive proposed to tackle under-age drinking  began his response with the quip:  i m sure there s no under-age drinking in the highlands.  he went on to speak about the evils of binge drinking and railed against irresponsible drinks promotions. he said:  i hope i m not going to be seen as preaching to anybody here but the really serious problem at the moment is binge drinking and the impact it has on people s health and their ability to control what s happening round about them.  mr mcconnell said he regularly saw reports on the effects of binge drinking sprees which ended in assaults or even rapes  and on the health consequences of binge drinking.  the one thing we are going to do something really serious about is binge drinking and irresponsible drinks promotions that can help lead to that   he said.  far too many pub chains in particular are selling far too much booze far too cheaply and encouraging people to drink it far too quickly.  we are go to clamp down on that and make those promotions illegal in the hope that people can enjoy a drink sensibly over the course of an evening.   he added:  by all means get drunk once in a while - but do not get into a situation where people are being encouraged to get completely incapable just to save some money and drink more quickly.  snp holyrood leader nicola sturgeon said:  this is an incredible gaffe by jack mcconnell.  we all know that under-age drinking is an issue in scotland but it is quite staggering that any politician  particularly the first minister  should encourage young people to get drunk.  the first minister should withdraw these remarks immediately.  but an executive spokeswoman insisted mr mcconnell had made the remark with adults  not youngsters  in mind.  he was talking in the context of adults binge drinking and irresponsible drinks promotions - which are for the over-18s   she said.  it was just a recognition that people will get drunk  but that binge drinking and drinks promotions that encourage it are not acceptable.


blair looks to election campaign tony blair s big speech will be looked back on as the performance that kicked off the election campaign.  that poll may still be about 16 weeks away  but there can be little doubt left that the campaign is now in full swing. the prime minister used his speech to a selected audience in the south east to set out his broad brush election manifesto. there was a detailed account of the government s past record  with a major emphasis on the economy and public services. there was an attempt to draw the line under the gossip surrounding his rift with chancellor gordon brown. and there was an insistence on the importance of the party continuing to operate as unremittingly  new  labour - although that may continue to irritate his chancellor.  there was little in terms of concrete proposals or what might form manifesto pledges  although the prime minister talked about a  new labour manifesto that will be aimed at all sections of society . his was more a speech designed to remind people  and some in his own party  precisely what new labour stood for  and to leave them in no doubt there would not be any shrinking away from that approach. and  for some  that means showing that new labour actually does stand for something - that it is  as he said  more than  an electoral device .  to that end he set out a broad programme aimed to appeal to both middle england voters who switched to the party in 1997 and stuck with it  possibly through some gritted teeth  in 2001  and to more traditional lower income old labour supporters. in a key section  he declared:  in our third term we can achieve an unprecedented widening of opportunity and prosperity.  for the first time ever a whole generation growing up with unbroken economic stability. every family - not just the fortunate few - knowing their children will have an inheritance at adulthood.  every pupil in every secondary school guaranteed a place in university or a quality apprenticeship. every adult - including those who missed out at school - able to get the skills then need to advance.  home ownership extended to its highest ever level and to families who have never before been able to afford it.  the highest ever level of employment with everyone in work guaranteed a decent wage and decent conditions .  under what is to be the general election slogan  britain is working   the prime minister time and again insisted the future direction would be unremittingly new labour. that might get under the skin of mr brown  but he also heaped praise on him as the most successful post-war chancellor britain has had. probably the greatest ideological divide between the two men  in so far as there is one  is about the degree of private finance allowed into the public services.  an unremittingly  new  labour manifesto  as the prime minister is happy to make plain  will stress the importance of that - the belief patients and parents  for example  want a choice of good services before they start worrying about who has provided them. the chancellor is said to be far more sceptical about private finance  although there is no suggestion he opposes it in principle. with an election looming the next big speech from gordon brown will be closely examined for any signs of divisions and  in particular  the use of that little three letter word. but for now  all eyes have been focused on the next general election. and for many in westminster  mr blair s performance has only succeeded in hardening the belief that will be on 5 may.


hereford 1-1 doncaster hereford win 3-1 on penalties.  rovers took the lead on 59 minutes as michael mcindoe s corner found adriano rigoglioso  whose stunning volley soared into the top right of the net. danny williams equalised for the hosts after 72 minutes with a crisp finish from just insist the penalty box. mcindoe saw an extra-time penalty saved  giving mills the chance to net the winning penalty.  mawson  travis  mkandawire  james  robinson  daniel williams  stanley  hyde (pitman 105)  purdie (mills 83)  brown  stansfield (green 102). subs not used: smith  scott.  james.  daniel williams 72.  ingham  mulligan  fenton  morley  priet (ryan 79)  mcindoe  ravenhill (price 90)  rigoglioso  tierney (jackson 79)  beardsley  coppinger. subs not used: warrington  maloney.  rigoglioso 59.  1 375  t parkes (w midlands).


supercomputer breaks speed record the us is poised to push japan off the top of the supercomputing chart with ibm s prototype blue gene/l machine.  it is being assembled for the lawrence livermore national laboratory  a us department of energy (doe) lab. doe test results show that blue gene/l has managed speeds of 70.72 teraflops. the current top machine  japan s nec earth simulator  clocks up 35.86. due next week  the top 500 list officially charts the fastest computers in the world. it is announced every six months and is worked out using an officially recognised mathematical speed test called linpack which measures calculations per second. the speeds will most likely make it the fastest computer system on the planet  yet the chip technology powering the machine is the kind which can be found in familiar devices such as games consoles.  the us secretary of energy spencer abraham confirmed that the machine had reached the breakneck speed  according to the linpack benchmark. until the official list is published  however  blue gene/l s position will not be confirmed  and there are expected to be some other new entries. but the test results raise the bar of supercomputing enormously and signal a remarkable achievement. surpassing the 40 trillion calculations per second (teraflop) mark has been considered a landmark for some time.  the ibm blue gene/l is only a prototype and is one 5th the speed of the full version  due to be completed for the livermore labs in 2005. its peak theoretical performance is expected to be 360 teraflops  and will fit into 64 full racks. it will also cut down on the amount of heat generated by the massive power  a big problem for supercomputers. the final machine will help scientists work out the safety  security and reliability requirements for the us s nuclear weapons stockpile  without the need for underground nuclear testing. the earth simulator has held on to the top spot since june 2002. it is dedicated to climate modelling and simulating seismic activity. but in september  ibm said that another blue gene/l machine clocked up 36.01 teraflops  marginally surpassing the earth simulator s performance. this was achieved during internal testing at ibm s production facility in rochester  minnesota  though  so was not an official record. another giant to enter the fray is silicon graphics  columbia supercomputer based at nasa s ames research center in california. it would be used to model flight missions  climate research  and aerospace engineering. the linux-based machine was reported to have reached a top speed of 42.7 teraflops in october.  supercomputers are hugely important for working out very complex problems across science and society. their massive simulation and processing power means they can improve the accuracy of weather forecasts  help design better cars  and improve disease diagnosis. ibm s senior vice president of technology and manufacturing  nick donofrio  believes that by 2006  blue gene will be capable of petaflop computing. this means it would be capable of doing 1 000 trillion operations a second.  when you get a computer as large as a petaflop  you can start to think of simulations that might complement the physical world   mr donofrio recently told the bbc news website.   you can start to be more proactive  more interactive and more innovative.  one area where mr donofrio sees supercomputing - and blue gene machines in particular - as crucial is health. he believes the machines can help scientists understand one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century: protein folding.  health is one of the most important problems  not just mapping the human genome  but also protein structures.  we are a great believer in simulation. it gives you another tool   he said. once the structures of proteins are understood fully  then drugs can be tailor-made to fight diseases more effectively. compared with the current fastest supercomputers  blue gene is designed to consume one 15th the power and be 10 times more compact. since the first supercomputer  the cray-1  was installed at los alamos national laboratory in 1976  computational speed has leaped 500 000 times. the cray-1 was capable of 80 megaflops (80 million operations a second). the blue gene/l machine that will be completed next year will be five million times faster. started in 1993  the top 500 list is decided by a group of computer science academics from around the world. it is presented at the international supercomputer conference in pittsburgh.