asia quake increases poverty risk nearly two million people across asia could be thrown into poverty because of the indian ocean tsunami  the asian development bank (adb) has said.  in its first overview of the disaster  the adb said the impact on economic growth would be slight because major cities and factories escaped damage. but the blow to many low-income people could be  enormous . the paris club of rich creditor nations on wednesday offered to freeze debts owed by tsunami-hit countries.  the move was aimed at helping south asian governments find budgets to rebuild devastated coastal areas  though so far only sri lanka  indonesia and the seychelles have indicated that they will take it up.  other countries believe their economies are strong enough to cope or wish to avoid being viewed as credit risks.  poverty is potentially the most important impact of this natural disaster   said adb chief economist ifzal ali. donor nations have promised to give $717m (£379m) in disaster relief over the next six months  according to the united nations.  mr ali added his voice to those warning that aid pledges must be promptly delivered  saying the number of people at risk of poverty hinged on  concerns over sanitation and health conditions  and other basic needs  being  properly and quickly addressed .  there are 1.9 billion people in asia living on less than $2 a day. the adb fears that 1 million indonesians could join them  while in india just over half a million people - 645 000 - are at risk of falling into poverty. a quarter of a million sri lankans and 23 500 people in the maldives are also facing poverty. in the maldives  where 43% of the population already lives on less than $2 a day  this could rise to half. sri lanka and the maldives are the two countries the adb fears are most at risk of suffering lasting economic damage from the tsunami. sri lanka s government has estimated reconstruction costs at nearly $3bn. a government task force held meetings to discuss an emergency rebuilding plan with the adb  world bank and japanese aid agencies on wednesday  and promised to publish the plan within 10 days.  indonesia  malaysia  thailand and india have enjoyed strong economic growth in recent years  which should cushion them against reconstruction costs. although indonesia s northern province of aceh suffered the worst death toll  the region s oil and natural gas production facilities  have survived intact   the report said. however  it remains too soon to asses the damage to poor people s livelihoods in aceh because it would depend on how much farm land had been flooded by seawater.  this is a profoundly tragic event for the region and for the millions who are suffering. but the economies of the affected countries except sri lanka and the maldives should emerge with minimal damage   the adb report said. some businesses may even gain from the reconstruction efforts  thereby creating jobs. at a meeting in thailand  abd president thadao chino said he was confident of the country s  own capabilities to restore normalcy to the affected areas and meet the rehabilitation requirements . thailand has said it does not wish to opt for a debt repayment freeze  while india has also rejected international aid  saying it can cope on its own resources. debt repayment holidays carry the risk of credit ratings downgrades  making it more expensive to borrow money in future. indonesia  however  is pressing for greater help with its debts than the current freeze would bring. it is one of the world s most indebted countries.


blog  picked as word of the year the term  blog  has been chosen as the top word of 2004 by a us dictionary publisher.  merriam-webster said  blog  headed the list of most looked-up terms on its site during the last twelve months. during 2004 blogs  or web logs  have become hugely popular and some have started to influence mainstream media. other words on the merriam-webster list were associated with major news events such as the us presidential election or natural disasters that hit the us.  merriam-webster defines a blog as:  a web site that contains an online personal journal with reflections  comments and often hyperlinks . its list of most looked-up words is drawn up every year and it discounts terms such as swear words  that everyone likes to look up  or those that always cause problems  such as  affect  and  effect .  merriam-webster said  blog  was the word that people have asked to be defined or explained most often over the last 12 months. the word will now appear in the 2005 version of merriam-webster s printed dictionary. however  the word is already included in some printed versions of the oxford english dictionary. a spokesman for the oxford university press said that the word was now being put into other dictionaries for children and learners  reflecting its mainstream use.  i think it was the word of last year rather than this year   he said.  now we re getting words that derive from it such as  blogosphere  and so on   he said.  but   he added   it s a pretty recent thing and in the way that this happens these days it s got established very quickly.   blogs come in many different forms. many act as news sites for particular groups or subjects  some are written from a particular political slant and others are simply lists of interesting sites. other terms in the top 10 were related to natural disasters that have struck the us  such as  hurricane  or were to do with the us election. words such as  incumbent    electoral  and  partisan  reflected the scale of interest in the vote. blogs also proved very useful to both sides in the us election battle because many pundits who maintain their own journals were able to air opinions that would never appear in more mainstream media. speculation that president bush was getting help during debates via a listening device was first aired on web logs. online journals also raised doubts about documents used by us television news organisation cbs in a story about president bush s war record. the immediacy of many blogs also helped some wield influence over topics that made it in to national press.  this is despite the fact that the number of people reading even the most influential blogs is tiny. statistics by web influence ranking firm hitwise reveal that the most popular political blog racks up only 0.0051% of all net visits per day. one of the reasons that blogs and regularly updated online journals have become popular is because the software used to put them together make it very easy for people to air their views online. according to blog analysis firm technorati the number of blogs in existence  the blogosphere  has doubled every five and a half months for the last 18 months. technorati now estimates that the number of blogs in existence has exceeded 4.8 million. some speculate that less than a quarter of this number are regularly maintained. according to us research firm pew internet & american life a blog is created every 5.8 seconds. another trend this year has been the increasing numbers of weblogs that detail the daily lives of many ordinary workers in jobs that few people know much about. in many repressive regimes and developing nations  blogs have been embraced by millions of people keen to give their plight a voice.


us duo in first spam conviction a brother and sister in the us have been convicted of sending hundreds of thousands of unsolicited e-mail messages to aol subscribers.  it is the first criminal prosecution of internet spam distributors. jurors in virginia recommended that the man  jeremy jaynes  serve nine years in prison and that his sister  jessica degroot  be fined $7 500. they were convicted under a state law that bars the sending of bulk e-mails using fake addresses.  they will be formally sentenced next year. a third defendant  richard rutkowski  was acquitted. prosecutors said jaynes was  a snake oil salesman in a new format   using the internet to peddle useless wares  news agency associated press reported. a  fed-ex refund processor  was supposed to allow people to earn $75 an hour working from home. another item on sale was an  internet history eraser . his sister helped him process credit card payments. jaynes amassed a fortune of $24m from his sales  prosecutors said.  he s been successful ripping people off all these years   ap quoted prosecutor russell mcguire as saying. jaynes was also found guilty of breaking a state law which prohibits the sending of more than 100 000 e-mails in 30 days  virginia state attorney general jerry kilgore reportedly said. prosecutors had asked for 15 years in jail for jaynes  and a jail term for his sister. but jaynes  lawyer david oblon called the nine-year recommended term  outrageous  and said his client believed he was innocent. he pointed out that all three of the accused lived in north carolina and were unaware of the virginia state law. spam messages are estimated to account for at least 60% of all e-mails sent.


us ahold suppliers face charges us prosecutors have charged nine food suppliers with helping dutch retailer ahold inflate earnings by more than $800m (£428m).  the charges have been brought against individuals as well as companies  alleging they created false accounts. ahold hit the headlines in february 2003 after it emerged that there were accounting irregularities at its us subsidiary foodservice. three former ahold top executives last year agreed to settle fraud charges.  ahold has admitted that it fraudulently inflated promotional allowances at foodservice  improperly consolidated joint ventures and also committed other accounting errors and irregularities.  the nine now charged  who worked as suppliers to ahold  are accused of signing false documents relating to the amount of money they paid the retailer for promoting their products in its stores. food companies pay supermarkets and retailers for prime shelf space. the suppliers in question are said to have inflated the amount of money they paid  providing auditors with signed letters that allowed ahold to inflate its earnings. us attorney david kelley said he expects the nine vendors will plead guilty to the charges. he added that there may be more court actions in the future.  i don t want to leave you with the impression that these were the only ones involved   he said. among those facing charges are john nettle  a former employee of general mills; mark bailin of rymer international seafood; tim daly of michael foods and kenneth bowman  who worked as an independent contractor for total foods.  others include michael hannigan of sugar foods; peter marion of maritime seafood processors and first choice foods; gordon redgate of commodity manager and private label distribution; bruce robinson of basic american foods and michael rogers  formerly of tyson foods. pasquale d amuro of the fbi called the nine vendors the key ingredients in  the process of cooking the books  at ahold. at the time of the scandal  ahold was seen by many as europe s enron. ahold shares tumbled on the news and many market observers predicted that the fall out could damage investor confidence across europe. it was less severe than many had envisaged  however  and since then ahold has worked hard at rebuilding its reputation and investor confidence. ahold is the world s fourth-largest supermarket chain. its other us businesses include stop & shop  and giant food.


bush website blocked outside us surfers outside the us have been unable to visit the official re-election site of president george w bush.  the blocking of browsers sited outside the us began in the early hours of monday morning. since then people outside the us trying to browse the site get a message saying they are not authorised to view it. the blocking does not appear to be due to an attack by vandals or malicious hackers  but as a result of a policy decision by the bush camp.  the international exclusion zone around georgewbush.com was spotted by net monitoring firm netcraft which keeps an eye on traffic patterns across many different sites. netcraft said that since the early hours of 25 october attempts to view the site through its monitoring stations in london  amsterdam and sydney failed.  by contrast netcraft s four monitoring stations in the us managed to view the site with no problems. the site can still be seen using anonymous proxy services that are based in the us. some web users in canada also report that they can browse the site. the pattern of traffic to the website suggests that the blocking was not due to an attack by vandals or politically motivated hackers. geographic blocking works because the numerical addresses that the net uses to organise itself are handed out on a regional basis. on 21 october  the george w bush website began using the services of a company called akamai to ensure that the pages  videos and other content on its site reaches visitors. mike prettejohn  president of netcraft  speculated that the blocking decision might have been taken to cut costs  and traffic  in the run-up to the election on 2 november. he said the site may see no reason to distribute content to people who will not be voting next week. managing traffic could also be a good way to ensure that the site stays working in the closing days of the election campaign. however  simply blocking non-us visitors also means that americans overseas are barred too. akamai declined to comment  saying it could not talk about customer websites.


glaxo aims high after profit fall glaxosmithkline saw its profits fall 9% last year to £6.2bn ($11.5bn)  but europe s biggest drugmaker says a recovery during 2005 is on the way.  cheap copies of its drugs  particularly anti-depressants paxil and wellbutrin  and a weak dollar had hit profits  but global sales were up 1% in 2004. the firm is confident its new drug pipeline will deliver profits despite the failure of an obesity drug. chief executive jean-pierre garnier said it had been a  difficult year .  in early afternoon trade in london the company share price was down 1% at 1218 pence. mr garnier said the company had absorbed over £1.5bn of lost sales to generics but still managing to grow the business.  the continuing success of our key products means we can now look forward to a good performance in 2005   he said.  2005 will also be an important year in terms of research and development pipeline progress.  however  the firm discontinued development of an experimental treatment for obesity  known as  771  after disappointing clinical trial results. glaxo is relying on new treatments for conditions such as cancer  diabetes  depression  hiv/aids and allergies to lift the pace of sales growth after several disappointing years.


commodore finds new lease of life the once-famous commodore computer brand could be resurrected after being bought by a us-based digital music distributor.  new owner yeahronimo media ventures has not ruled out the possibility of a new breed of commodore computers. it also plans to develop a  worldwide entertainment concept  with the brand  although details are not yet known. the groundbreaking commodore 64 computer elicits fond memories for those who owned one back in the 1980s.  in the chronology of home computing  commodore was one of the pioneers.  the commodore 64  launched in 1982  was one of the first affordable home pcs. it was followed a few years later by the amiga. the commodore 64 sold more than any other single computer system  even to this day. the brand languished somewhat in the 1990s. commodore international filed for bankruptcy in 1994 and was sold to dutch firm tulip computers. in the late 1980s the firm was a great rival to atari  which produced its own range of home computers and is now a brand of video games  formerly known as infogrames.  tulip computers sold several products under the commodore name  including portable usb storage devices and digital music players. it had planned to relaunch the brand  following an upsurge of nostalgia for 1980s-era games. commodore 64 enthusiasts have written emulators for windows pc  apple mac and even pdas so that the original commodore games can be still run. the sale of commodore is expected to be complete in three weeks in a deal worth over £17m.


iranian misses israel match iranian striker vahid hashemian will not travel to israel for bayern munich s champions league match against maccabi tel aviv on wednesday.  the german club said the player had pulled out because of a back injury. iran refuses to recognise israel s right to exist and does not allow its citizens to travel to the country. a bayern spokesman said on monday that the decision not to take hashemian to israel had been motivated only by his physical condition.  he s got back pain and he couldn t train   the spokesman said.  it would have made no sense for him to go.  iran gave judo world champion arash miresmaeili a $125 000 reward when he refused to fight an israeli at the athens olympics. the international judo federation considered taking action against miresmaeili but concluded he had been overweight for the fight and could not have taken part.


wipro beats forecasts once again wipro  india s third-biggest software firm  has reported a 60% rise in profit  topping market expectations.  net income in the last quarter was 4.3bn rupees ($98m; £52m)  against 2.7bn a year earlier. profit had been forecast to be 4.1bn rupees. wipro offers services such as call centres to foreign clients and has worked for more than half of the companies on the fortune 500 list. wipro said demand was strong  allowing it to increase the prices it charged.   on the face of it  the results don t look very exciting   said apurva shah  an analyst at ask-raymond james.  but the guidance is positive and pricing going up is good news.  third-quarter sales rose 34% to 20.9bn rupees. one problem identified by wipro was the high turnover of its staff. it said that 90% of employees at its business process outsourcing operations had had to be replaced.  we have to get that under control   said vice-chairman vivek paul. wipro is majority owned by india s richest man azim premji.


uk athletics agrees new kit deal uk athletics has agreed a new deal with adidas to supply great britain squads of all ages with their kit for the next four years.  the german-based firm kitted out team gb at the 2004 olympics and has deals with 20 other national olympic bodies. uk athletics chief david moorcroft said:  the athens experience can now be extended to more major championships.  in the year ahead these include the european indoor and world outdoor championships. we are delighted.  moorcroft added:  it is hugely beneficial to the sport that the adidas commitment will also provide for officials and other personnel at our world-class series of live televised events.  this week  uk athletics also agreed a four-year deal with energy drink company  red bull  who will be supplying the product to athletics at major domestic meetings and in high performance centres.


us manufacturing expands us industrial production increased in december  according to the latest survey from the institute for supply management (ism).  its index of national manufacturing activity rose to 58.6 last month from 57.8 in november. a reading above 50 indicates a level of growth. the result for december was slightly better than analysts  expectations and the 19th consecutive expansion. the ism said the growth was driven by a  significant  rise in the new orders.  this completes a strong year for manufacturing based on the ism data   said chairman of the ism s survey committee.  while there is continuing upward pressure on prices  the rate of increase is slowing and definitely trending in the right direction.   the ism s index of national manufacturing activity is compiled from monthly responses of purchasing executives at more than 400 industrial companies  ranging from textiles to chemicals to paper  and has now been above 50 since june 2003. analysts expected december s figure to come in at 58.1. the ism manufacturing index s main sister survey - the employment index - eased to 52.7 in december from 57.6 in november  while its  prices paid  index  measuring the cost to businesses of their inputs  also eased to 72.0 from 74.0. the ism s  new orders  index rose to 67.4 from 61.5.


wales win in rome wales secured their first away win in the rbs six nations for nearly four years with a six-try victory in rome.  tries from jonathan thomas  tom shanklin and martyn williams gave the visitors a 19-5 half-time advantage. luciano orquera did reply with one for italy but second-half efforts from brent cockbain  shane williams and robert sidoli sealed victory. fly-half stephen jones added four conversions as wales maintained their superb start to this year s tournament. starting full of confidence after their victory over england  the visitors scored the opening try after just four minutes. diminutive wing shane williams fielded a kick ahead and danced past the onrushing andrea masi and aaron persico into the italian half. his pass to tom shanklin appeared forward but when the centre was held up short  the ball was switched left and michael owen s long cut-out pass gave the lurking thomas an easy run-in.  stephen jones  who retained the kicking duties despite gavin henson s heroics against england  slotted an excellent conversion from wide out. wales twice threatened further scores but failed to find the crucial pass  and italy hit back out of the blue in the 11th minute.  henson  sporting gold boots rather than the silver variety that did for england  beat two players with ease out on the left touchline. but his attempted chip ahead was charged down by orquera  who snaffled the loose ball and hared away from halfway to score in the right corner. with the welsh line-out stuttering and italy twice turning the visitors  scrum  the home side s forward power brought them back into it. but a clever high kick from henson almost brought a try for hal luscombe when roland de marigny and ludovico nitoglia made a hash of claiming it as the ball bounced into touch.  wales regained control with a second try in the 21st minute  henson lobbing up a high kick to the left corner where shanklin jumped higher than nitoglia to dot down his 15th test try. jones was unable to convert and de marigny then hit the upright with a penalty attempt for italy. henson was also narrowly short with a long-range effort at goal  but wales ended the half with a vital third score to give themselves some breathing space.  henson sent luscombe streaking away and when he off-loaded to martyn williams  the flanker showed his nous to ground the ball against the padding of the post  jones adding the conversion. italy  who lost flanker mauro bergamasco with a head knock before half-time  built up a head of steam on the resumption. de marigny landed a penalty to make it 19-8 and a nitoglia break through the middle threatened a try only for the move to break down with a knock-on. but wales put the outcome beyond doubt with two superb tries in four minutes before the hour. their fourth after 53 minutes was sparked by another mazy run from shane williams  who beat several players with ease  and finished with a powerful angled run from lock cockbain. before italy could recover from that blow  a strong surge from gareth thomas and great off-loads from martyn williams and replacement kevin morgan saw shane williams scamper over.  with jones converting both for a 33-8 lead  wales had the luxury of sending on five more replacements for the final quarter. the icing on the cake came with a sixth try after more superb support work  shane williams and ceri sweeney combining to send sidoli over in the left corner. the only downside for wales was a hamstring injury suffered by luscombe. but after back-to-back wins at the start of the tournament for the first time in 11 years  they will travel to paris in a fortnight looking like genuine contenders.  r de marigny; mirco bergamasco  w pozzebon  a masi  l nitoglia; l orquera  a troncon; a lo cicero  f ongaro  m castrogiovanni  s dellape  m bortolami (capt)  a persico  mauro bergamasco  s parisse.  g intoppa  s perugini  ca del fava  d dal maso  p griffen  m barbini  kp robertson.  g thomas (capt); h luscombe  t shanklin  g henson  s williams; s jones  d peel; g jenkins  m davies  a jones; b cockbain  r sidoli; j thomas  m williams  m owen.  r mcbryde  j yapp  i gough  r sowden-taylor  g cooper  c sweeney  k morgan.  andrew cole (australia).


calder fears for scottish rugby former scotland international finlay calder fears civil war at the sru could seriously hamper his country s rbs six nations campaign.  four members of the executive board  including the chairman  david mackay  have resigned after a simmering row. and calder said:  this is terrible news for every level of scottish rugby.  david is a successful businessman and i thought that if anybody could transform the negative atmosphere and rising debt level  it was him.  mackay s executive board has been in a power struggle with the general committee  which contains members elected by scotland s club sides.  he has been driven out by people who seem happier waging civil war than addressing the central issue that professional rugby can t be run by amateurs   said calder.   in fact  i don t understand why we are still having this argument 10 years after professionalism arrived.  but i don t believe the rest of the sru will take this lying down.  i think the banks will be dismayed at this decision and  ultimately  it is them who pull the strings.  so i wouldn t be surprised if they reviewed their position. but  in the wider picture  what message does this send out   he thought the work of scotland s coaches  who have been attempting to arrest the decline of the national side  would be made much more difficult.  matt williams and willie anderson must be wondering   what have we walked into here    said calder.  and we can now expect weeks of arguments and acrimony just at a time when we should be looking forward to the six nations championship.  i am very  very disappointed  more than you can imagine. why do so many scots have this knack of turning on each other when the going gets tough


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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 .


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.


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.


bmw drives record sales in asia bmw has forecast sales growth of at least 10% in asia this year after registering record sales there in 2004.  the luxury carmaker saw strong sales of its three marques - bmw  mini and rolls-royce - in asia last year after the launch of three new models. the company  which is vying with mercedes-benz for the title of leading premium carmaker  is confident about its prospects for the region in 2005. it is launching a revamped version of its 3-series saloon class next month.  bmw sold nearly 95 000 cars in asia last year  up 2.6% on 2003.  bmw-brand sales rose 2.3% to 80 600 while sales of mini models rose 3.6% to 14 800. there was also a significant increase in sales of rolls-royces on the continent. bmw sold more than 100 of the iconic models compared with just ten the previous year. the german carmaker is aiming to boost annual sales in asia to 150 000 by 2008.  here in asia  we consider a double-digit increase in retail on the order of 10 to 15% to be realistic on the basis of current features   said helmut panke  bmw s group chief executive.  china remains the main area of concern for bmw after sales there fell 16% last year. however  bmw is hopeful of a much better year in 2005 as its direct investment in china begins to pay dividends. the company only began assembling luxury high-powered sedans in china in 2003. 2004 was generally a good year for bmw  which saw revenues from its core car-making operations rise 11%.


creator of first apple mac dies jef raskin  head of the team behind the first macintosh computer  has died.  mr raskin was one of the first employees at apple and made many of the design decisions that made the mac so distinctive when it was first released. he led the team that decided to use a graphical interface and mouse that let people navigate around the computer by pointing and clicking. the 1984 release of the mac reflected mr raskin s belief that good design should make computers easy to use.  mr raskin joined apple in 1978 as employee number 31  initially to lead the company s publications department. however  in 1979 he was put in charge of a small team to design a computer that lived up to his idea of a machine that was cheap  aimed at consumers rather than computer professionals and was very easy to use.  the result was the 1984 macintosh that did away with the then common text-based interface in favour of one based around graphics that resembled a virtual desktop and used folders and documents. users navigated around the machine using a mouse and by pointing  clicking and dragging. although now in common use in almost all computers  these methods were pioneering when first used in the macintosh. the gui was developed by xerox parc  and used in its star machine. but the acceptance of the interface did not truly begin until the concept was developed for use by apple in its pioneering lisa computer.  his role on the macintosh was the initiator of the project  so it wouldn t be here if it weren t for him   said andy hertzfeld  an early macintosh team member. although mr raskin drove the team that created the macintosh he did not stay at apple to see it released. in 1981 he was removed from the project following a dispute with apple s mercurial boss steve jobs. in 1982  mr raskin left apple entirely. the macintosh was reputedly named after mr raskin s favourite apple  though the name was changed slightly following a trademark dispute with another company. after leaving apple  mr raskin founded another company called information appliance and continued to work on better ways to interface with computers. he was also an accomplished musician  played three instruments and conducted san francisco s chamber opera society. mr raskin was diagnosed in december 2004 with pancreatic cancer and died on 26 february at his home in california.


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


imf  cuts  german growth estimate the international monetary fund is to cut its 2005 growth forecast for the german economy from 1.8% to 0.8%  the financial times deutschland reported.  the imf will also reduce its growth estimate for the 12-member eurozone economy from 2.2% to 1.6%  the newspaper reported. the german economy has been faltering  with unemployment levels rising to a seventy-year high of 5.2 million. its sluggish performance continues to hamper the entire eurozone.  the imf s draft world economic outlook - due to be published in april - would point to a marked deterioration in germany s economy  the ft report said.  in september  the imf had said that german growth for the current year would be 1.8%. the imf has also revised eurozone forecasts  the paper said  taking into account high oil prices  the strength of the euro and weak demand in many of the world s leading economies. europe s economic difficulties have been highlighted by the organisation for economic co-operation and development  which argued in a report published on tuesday that the continent could only achieve us living standards by freeing up its labour markets.  the eurozone does not look like it has a self-sustaining recovery   james carrick  an economist with abn amro  told the newspaper.  it is too dependant on the rest of the world.


enron bosses in $168m payout eighteen former enron directors have agreed a $168m (£89m) settlement deal in a shareholder lawsuit over the collapse of the energy firm.  leading plaintiff  the university of california  announced the news  adding that 10 of the former directors will pay $13m from their own pockets. the settlement will be put to the courts for approval next week. enron went bankrupt in 2001 after it emerged it had hidden hundreds of millions of dollars in debt.  before its collapse  the firm was the seventh biggest public us company by revenue. its demise sent shockwaves through financial markets and dented investor confidence in corporate america.   the settlement is very significant in holding these outside directors at least partially personally responsible   william lerach  the lawyer leading the class action suit against enron  said.  hopefully  this will help send a message to corporate boardrooms of the importance of directors performing their legal duties   he added. under the terms of the $168m settlement - $155m of which will be covered by insurance - none of the 18 former directors will admit any wrongdoing. the deal is the fourth major settlement negotiated by lawyers who filed a class action on behalf of enron s shareholders almost three years ago. so far  including the latest deal  just under $500m (£378.8m) has been retrieved for investors.  however  the latest deal does not include former enron chief executives ken lay and jeff skilling. both men are facing criminal charges for their alleged misconduct in the run up to the firm s collapse. neither does it cover andrew fastow  who has pleaded guilty to taking part in an illegal conspiracy while he was chief financial officer at the group. enron s shareholders are still seeking damages from a long list of other big name defendants including the financial institutions jp morgan chase  citigroup  merrill lynch and credit suisse first boston. the university of california said the trial in the case is scheduled to begin in october 2006. it joined the lawsuit in december 2001alleging  massive insider trading  and fraud  claiming it had lost $145m on its investments in the company.