Deals are being sought to allow the UK to deport terror suspects to their home countries without risk of them being tortured or sentenced to death. Home Secretary Charles Clarke told the Times he hoped agreement with several countries could be reached. The move follows a Law Lords judgement that the detention of 12 men at Belmarsh prison, London, and Woodhill, Milton Keynes, was unlawful. The 12 affected by the ruling are from Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan. The government was told that using anti terror legislation brought in after 11 September to hold the men indefinitely without charge broke human rights laws. Mr Clarke told The Times: "I think we should be prosecuting much more energetically our ability to deport the individuals concerned to the countries from which they come." He said it was a route that was being pursued in collaboration with Foreign Secretary Jack Straw "in a very positive way". Mr Clarke said that he was seeking "memorandums of understanding" between overseas governments and Britain to ensure suspects would not be subjected to the death penalty on their return. However, he added: "I do not think the solution to the Law Lords' judgement for this government is in deportations, but they will help. "There are other strands that we have to do." But the Liberal Democrat's shadow home secretary, Mark Oaten, accused Mr Clarke of avoiding the main issue with the Belmarsh detainees. "The critical issue that the home secretary is dodging at this stage is to deal with the very principle, to deal with how we tackle this problem in the future," he told BBC News. "And I do want him to grasp those issues and that means looking at how we can actually secure convictions in this country allowing, for example, intercept communications, telephone tapping to be included," Mr Oaten said. "Deportation may tackle this initial problem but I want to see a wider debate urgently about how we can actually get trials and convictions in this country." "Unless we get that, the Liberal Democrats will vote against this measure when it comes for renewal in March." The BBC's home affairs correspondent, Daniel Sandford, said it appeared Mr Clarke was putting more emphasis on the possibility of deportation than his predecessor, David Blunkett. But he said reaching an understanding with some of the detainees' home countries could be difficult. "Some of these people are accused of very, very serious crimes in their home countries so it's not an easy agreement to get and I think for some of these suspects it won't be the solution." Daniel Sandford said ministers may try to put forward other solutions such as allowing more secret evidence to be put into normal criminal trials or developing a more secret trials process in the next few weeks. "The government may try and deport some of them and then those that are left see if they can work out some way of putting them on trial," he said.


Boeing is to supply Japan Airlines with up to 50 of its forthcoming 7E7 planes in a deal that could be worth as much as 6bn ( 3.1bn) for the US giant. Japan Airlines has made a firm order for 30 of the aircraft, at 120m each, with the option to buy 20 more. Asia's biggest airline joins Japanese rival All Nippon as one of the first carriers to order the mid size 7E7, which Boeing says is super economical. Airbus this week announced the first pre sale of its 7E7 rival the A350. Boeing's great European competitor is to sell 10 of its forthcoming A350 to Spanish carrier Air Europe, which has the option to buy two more in a deal that could be worth more than 1.8bn. Both the 7E7 and the A350 are being designed to be as fuel efficient as possible in the 200 to 300 seat sector, and each will be available in both short and long range versions. Japan Airlines said it had looked at both aircraft before choosing the 7E7, also known as the Dreamliner. "We chose the 7E7 after carefully considering both it and Airbus' aircraft," said a Japan Airlines spokesman. "The 7E7 fits better for what we needed and it could be delivered when we hoped to get it." Boeing continues to enjoy a dominance over Airbus in Japan, and Japanese companies are taking key roles in building the 7E7. The first 7E7s will be delivered to Japan Airlines in April 2008. Boeing has set itself a target of getting 200 firm commitments for the 7E7 by the end of this year, and has orders for 56 so far. Airbus hopes to have 50 orders in place for the A350 by mid 2005.


The trial of Emilio Botin, the chairman of Spain's most powerful bank, Santander Central Hispano, has started in Madrid. Mr Botin is accused of misusing the bank's funds after he approved the payment of 160m euros ( 208m; 111m) in bonus and pension payouts to two former executives. However, the trial was suspended when Mr Botin's lawyer introduced a new set of documents on the day testimony was set to begin. A three judge panel gave prosecution lawyers until Monday to study the documents, when the trial will be reconvened. The high profile case began after two Santander shareholders filed a criminal complaint about the payments to Jose Maria Amusategui and Angel Corcostegui, who stepped down in 2001. Both executives helped Mr Botin orchestrate Spain's biggest bank merger, between Santander and Banco Central Hispano, in 1999. As he arrived at Spain's High Court earlier on Wednesday, Mr Botin greeted the waiting media, saying: "I have full faith in justice." Santander's board of governors strongly reject the charges against their chairman, saying the payouts were legal and made with their unanimous support. But if convicted, Mr Botin could face a prison term of up to six years. Mr Corcostegui, a former CEO at Santander, also asked the court for new evidence to be admitted. In spite of the allegations against him, Mr Botin continues to lead Santander, and was instrumental in the 8.5bn takeover last November of the British bank Abbey National. Since taking over the chairmanship in 1986, he has turned Santander into one of the top ten biggest banks in the world.


The UK has 529 quangos financed with billions of pounds of taxpayers' cash many of which are useless or duplicate each other's efforts, a report claims. Essential Guide to British Quangos 2005 author Dan Lewis said at least 111 of the appointed bodies had been set up since Labour won power in 1997. He urged a limit on the number of quangos that could be set up by any individual government department. Tories and Lib Dems welcomed the report and called for a "slimming down". Conservative deregulation spokesman John Redwood said: "The research endorses our policy of destroying unwanted and unnecessary quangos, and slimming down the rest. "A Conservative government will axe 162 quangos, as part of its drive for more efficient and more accountable government." Lib Dem spokesman Ed Davey meanwhile said instead of the "bonfire of quangos" New Labour had promised, there had been an "explosion" of them. "For over two decades, under both Tory and Labour governments, these unaccountable agencies have mushroomed. "Liberal Democrats would abolish many, merge others, and make any that remain properly accountable." Labour representatives were unavailable for comment. The quango guide follows last year's government commissioned Gershon Report which recommended significant cuts in bureaucracy across the public sector. Mr Lewis wants a public inquiry into regional development agencies which cost 1.8bn a year cash he says which "appears to be almost entirely wasted". As well as a departmental limit on quangos he also wants a statutory five year limit on any such body with executive powers. He also listed what he dubbed the nine "most useless quangos". They were the British Potato Council, the Milk Development Council, the Energy Savings Trust, Agricultural Wages Committees, the Wine Standards Board, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, the Football Licensing Authority, Investors in People UK and the Economic and Social Research Council. Mr Lewis branded the existence of the 60 employee Potato Council, set up in 1997 to research and promote overseas potato markets, "surprising". He said the 80m spent annually on the Energy Savings Trust, which promotes renewable energy, would be better spent on eight million boiler jackets for British homes. And he argued it was "absurd" to charge farmers for Agricultural Wages Committees, which set working and wage standards in the industry, when many were prepared to take advantage of immigrant labour prepared to work for 1 an hour. "If a football team can afford to pay 27m for Wayne Rooney, why should the taxpayer not all of whom like football be forced to fund the Football Licensing Authority to the tune of over 1.1m a year?" Mr Lewis asked. The report is published by the Efficiency in Government Unit a joint effort by right of centre think tanks the Economic Research Council and the Centre for Policy Studies. It says before a new public body is set up, an assessment should be made whether its proposed role is already carried out by an existing charity or other private organisation.


Ireland consigned England to their third straight Six Nations defeat with a stirring victory at Lansdowne Road. A second half try from captain Brian O'Driscoll and 14 points from Ronan O'Gara kept Ireland on track for their first Grand Slam since 1948. England scored first through Martin Corry but had "tries" from Mark Cueto and Josh Lewsey disallowed. Andy Robinson's men have now lost nine of their last 14 matches since the 2003 World Cup final. The defeat also heralded England's worst run in the championship since 1987. Ireland last won the title, then the Five Nations, in 1985, but 20 years on they share top spot in the table on maximum points with Wales. And Eddie O'Sullivan's side banished the ghosts of 2003 when England were rampant 42 6 victors in claiming the Grand Slam at Lansdowne Road. In front of a supercharged home crowd on a dry but blustery day in Dublin, Ireland tore into the white shirted visitors from the kick off and made their intentions clear when O'Gara landed a fourth minute drop goal. England took their time to settle but their first real venture into Ireland's half produced a simple score for Corry. The number eight picked up the ball from the back of a ruck and found an absence of green jerseys between himself and the Irish line, racing 25 yards to touch down. England fly half Charlie Hodgson nailed the conversion from out on the left, but almost immediately O'Gara, winning his 50th cap, answered with two penalties in quick succession. England were awarded a penalty of their own on the halfway line after 20 minutes, and Hodgson, the villain at Twickenham, coolly bisected the posts. The first quarter was marked by periods of tactical kicking, but it was Ireland who were showing more willingness to spread the ball wide to their eager and inventive backs. A series of probes led by the talismanic O'Driscoll, back from hamstring injury, resulted in a penalty but Ireland chose to kick for touch. From the line out, the ball was recycled back to O'Gara, who stroked his second drop goal, this time off the right upright. As the interval approached, wing Josh Lewsey was the catalyst for England's most promising attack. The Wasps star raced up his touchline and Hodgson's cross kick put in Mark Cueto for an apparent score, but the Sale wing was ruled to have started in front of the kicker. England began the second half well and had Ireland pinned in their own half. But another English indiscretion on a rare Irish break out awarded O'Gara a kick at goal, which he missed. England's pressure continued, and a wave of attacks saw centre Jamie Noon dragged down yards from the line before Hodgson landed a drop goal. The lead was shortlived, however. Ireland raced upfield, deft handling from the backs, including a clever dummy from Geordan Murphy on Hodgson, ending with O'Driscoll going over in the right corner and touching down close to the posts. O'Gara missed a penalty which would have put Ireland nine points clear, and the home crowd breathed a sigh of relief when Hodgson's cross kick was fumbled by lock Ben Kay near the line. Anticipation of a home win sent the noise level sky high, but O'Gara missed another chance to seal the game with a wayward drop goal attempt. Inside the last 10 minutes, England poured forward, spurred on by scrum half Matt Dawson, who replaced Leicester's Harry Ellis. But despite one near miss with the pack over the line not checked on the TV replay by referee Jonathan Kaplan England were unable to pull off a face saving win. Ireland next face France at Lansdowne Road in two weeks' time before the potential title decider against Wales in Cardiff. England are still to meet Italy at Twickenham, in what is now a wooden spoon decider, and Scotland. G Murphy; G Dempsey, B O'Driscoll, S Horgan, D Hickie; R O'Gara, P Stringer; R Corrigan, S Byrne, J Hayes; M O'Kelly, P O'Connell; S Easterby, J O'Connor, A Foley. F Sheahan, M Horan, D O'Callaghan, E Miller, G Easterby, D Humphreys, K Maggs. J Robinson (capt); M Cueto, J Noon, O Barkley, J Lewsey; C Hodgson, H Ellis; G Rowntree, S Thompson, M Stevens; D Grewcock, B Kay; J Worsley, L Moody, M Corry. A Titterrell, D Bell, S Borthwick, A Hazell, M Dawson, A Goode, O Smith.


Tony Blair has sought to reassure Labour backbenchers that nothing will stand in the way of the party's bid for a third term in power. Mr Blair was speaking to MPs amid fresh rumours of a rift with Gordon Brown. A new book says the prime minister went back on a pledge to Mr Brown to stand down before the next general election. The chancellor has said he is focused on winning the poll and is due to join election supremo Alan Milburn for a Labour poster launch this week. Mr Blair told the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) on Monday: "I know from everyone here, in Cabinet and government, nothing is going to get in the way of a unified Labour Party with a unified position and winning the third term people desperately need." The prime minister and his chancellor arrived within seconds of each other and seemingly in good spirits at the start of the meeting which lasted around an hour. A new book, Brown's Britain by Sunday Telegraph journalist Robert Peston, says Mr Blair went back on a pledge to make way for Mr Brown after Cabinet allies intervened in June 2004. It has caused a new wave of concern among Labour MPs gearing up to defend their seats in an election, widely expected to be held in May, and several members are understood to have lined up to express their discontent at the PLP meeting. Health Secretary John Reid earlier warned that Labour members would not easily forgive anybody fuelling damaging speculation. He told BBC News: "Those who co operate or inspire these books, in my view, have to know that, whatever the short term political or personal advantage that they think they might secure, they always do it by damaging the record, the unity and the re election chances of the Labour Party and the government." Mr Blair on Sunday dismissed claims of broken promises, saying: "I've dealt with this six months ago. I said then you don't do deals over jobs like this you don't." In a separate BBC interview, Mr Brown said he and the prime minister would not be distracted by "gossip". "It's very important that we all do what we can in a unified way to ensure the election of a Labour government," he said. On Monday, Mr Blair's spokesman said: "The prime minister is determined that he will get on with the business of government because he believes that what people want." Mr Brown says he discussed the election campaign with Mr Blair on Saturday and promised to play his part. Mr Peston said the pair had "mutual animosity and contempt". Mr Blair had decided in November 2003 he would quit because he felt he had lost voters' trust because of the Iraq war. He had then changed his mind in June 2004, following intervention from Cabinet allies and suspicion that the chancellor was manoeuvring against him. Mr Brown allegedly said he could no longer believe anything Mr Blair told him. Conservative co chairman Liam Fox likened the two men to "self obsessed schoolboys". Liberal Democrat parliamentary chairman Matthew Taylor said their personal ambition was "getting in the way of good government". Ex Labour leader Neil Kinnock said Mr Blair and Mr Brown could only deal with the media frenzy by continuing to say they would not allow a row to damage Labour or British interests. He told BBC Radio Five Live that Mr Brown would never encourage any kind of insurrection or coup.


Ulster clung on for a morale boosting Celtic League win over bottom club Borders at Netherdale on Friday night. A late try by Borders substitute Jonny Weston had set up a dramatic finish, but the Scottish side could not complete the fightback. Ulster had led 20 6 with tries from Paul Steinmetz and Bryn Cunningham. But the Irish province failed to add to the tally in the second half and ended up relieved to get the win to lift them to eighth place in the table. Borders had edged ahead with a sixth minute penalty by Charlie Hore only to hand the visitors the initiative via a gift try. Calum MacRae surrendered possession before centre Steinmetz sent a chip into the danger zone. Substitute Joe Pattison who had come on for the injured Gareth Morton wrongly thought the ball was trickling out of play and eased up on the chase. The speedy Steinmetz had other ideas and he raced up to get the vital touch in the nick of time, giving Adam Larkin an easy conversion. Ally Warnock clawed back three points for Borders, but they were soon hit by another double blow. First, Mark Blair was yellow carded for killing the ball on the ground and then full back Cunningham bagged the second touchdown in the wake of fine work by skipper Andy Ward. Larkin again added the extras. Even worse was to come for Borders when Larkin kicked two more penalties just before the break, the second of which also led to Kelly Brown being sin binned. The hosts gave themselves a glimmer of hope immediately after the restart, however, when Warnock struck a penalty at the other end. And he repeated the feat to set up the tense finale. Ulster coach mark McCall said he was delighted to get the victory. "Borders are a tougher proposition this year in spite of the fact that they have not had a victory in some time," said McCall. "In the first 20 minutes we were edgy but in the second 20 minutes we played some of our best rugby this season and scored two good tries." Morton, Moffat, MacRae, Hore, Berthinussen, Warnock, Moore, Thomson, Ford, Douglas, Blair, Stewart, Gray, Brown, McEntee. Kay, Parr, McGee, Rennick, Weston, Millar, Pattison. Cunningham, Maxwell, Bell, Steinmetz, Howe, Larkin, Campbell, S. Best, Shields, Moore, Frost, McCullough, Ward, Feather, N. Best. Brady, McCormick, Longwell, Browne, Doak, S. Young, Bowe. Phil Fear (WRU)


This won't go down as one of the greatest marathons of Paula's career. But as a test of character, it was the toughest race she's ever taken part in. A win in the New York marathon doesn't make up for the disappointment of Athens in any shape or form, but it will offer hope and reassurance for next year. If Paula's last experience of the year had been Athens, it would have been very difficult to look forward with any optimism. She can now draw a line under this year and make plans about her future. Even if she'd lost this race, there would have been a lot of positives to take out of it. She knows she can dig deep if she needs to. It was a strong field, with a number of the girls going into the race with expectations of winning. And although two hours 23 minutes wasn't one of Paula's best times, it wasn't far off the record on a difficult course. I was speaking to Paula in the lead up to this race and she said that in many ways she was facing a no win situation. She thought that if she won, people would say "why couldn't she do that in Athens?" And if she lost, people would say her career was over. And a lot of people were wondering what would happen if Paula was forced to drop out of this race, as she did in the marathon and 10,000m in Athens. But that was never on the cards. She might have been beaten, but she would have kept running. The reasons she was forced to pull out in Athens the niggling injuries, her lack of energy and the oppressive conditions weren't at play here. The only question was what position she could finish in. Most important of all, despite all the hype in the media ahead of this race, there were never doubts in Paula's mind. If she wasn't confident, she wouldn't have run. After all, if you're the best in the world at an event, you'll always have expectations of winning. Now Paula will take part in the Run London 10km race in London at the end of the year, have a well earned rest over Christmas and go into next year with a lot of optimism.


Deutsche Boerse, the German stock exchange that is trying to buy its London rival, has said it will boost its 2004 dividend payment by 27%. Analysts said that the move is aimed at winning over investors opposed to its bid for the London Stock Exchange. Critics of the takeover have complained that the money could be better used by returning cash to shareholders. Deutsche Boerse also said profit in the three months to 31 December was 120.7m euros ( 158.8m; 83.3m). Sales climbed to 364.4m euros, lifting revenue for the year to a record 1.45bn euros. Frankfurt based Deutsche Boerse has offered 1.3bn ( 2.48bn; 1.88bn euros) for the London Stock Exchange. Rival pan European bourse Euronext is working also on a bid. Late on Monday, Deutsche Boerse said it would lift its 2004 dividend payment to 70 euro cents ( 0.48; 0.98) from 55 euro cents a year earlier. "There is a whiff of a sweetener in there," Anais Faraj, an analyst at Nomura told the BBC's World Business Report. "Most of the disgruntled shareholders of Deutsche Boerse are complaining that the money that is being used for the bid could be better placed in their hands, paid out in dividends," Mr Faraj continued. Deutsche Boerse is "trying to buy them off in a sense", he said.


The US government is to investigate two airlines US Airways and Delta Air Lines' Comair subsidiary after travel chaos over the Christmas weekend. Staff calling in sick at US Airways and computer failures at Comair left 30,000 passengers stranded and 10,000 pieces of baggage undelivered. US Airways is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in two years, and battling to cut costs. It is currently trying to negotiate pay cuts with flight and baggage staff. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said he was "deeply concerned" at the disruption to passengers, and ordered a thorough investigation. Comair's computer breakdown plunged its flight crew scheduling system into disarray. Altogether, some 1,100 flights were cancelled over the holiday long weekend. Mr Mineta said it was important to understand "what happened, why it happened and whether the carriers properly planned for the holiday travel period and responded appropriately to consumer needs in the aftermath". Adding to the atmosphere of chaos were mountains of luggage left to pile up when a third of US Airways' baggage handling staff called in sick. There was also a shortage of US Airways flight attendants, with nearly a fifth saying they were too sick to work, leading to many flight cancellations. However, union officials denied there had been a deliberate "sickout". They said that many people have flu at this time of year and that the airline is chronically understaffed. US Airways ended up cancelling over 100 flights on Christmas Day, stranding passengers in as many as 119 airports. Ground crews at US Airways, the seventh largest US airline, which is now in Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, face a court imposed pay cut next month. The airline needs to negotiate other paycuts if it is to find a route out of bankruptcy. It is looking for paycuts totalling 800m. "US Airways has a full scale employee mutiny on its hands," commented Michael Boyd, an industry consultant. Disruptions to flight schedules could discourage customers from flying with US Airways, reducing revenues. US Airways had to cancel approximately 65 flights on Thursday, 180 on Friday, 140 on Saturday, 43 on Sunday and 15 on Monday, said industry officials. The airline said it was "embarrassed by the situation" and "deeply regrets any inconvenience caused to customers," The probe will focus on the industry's compliance with a 1999 agreement aimed at improving the quality of passenger service that has so far allowed airlines to avoid congressionally mandated standards. Analysts said the Christmas chaos cast doubt on US Airway's ability to emerge from bankruptcy and was likely to worsen the finances of troubled Delta, parent of Comair. Comair "deeply regrets the inconvenience to all of our customers caused by the severe winter storm in the Ohio River Valley during the busy holiday season, exacerbated by problems with the airline's crew scheduling system, causing additional flight delays and cancellations," the Delta subsidiary said in a statement.


Microsoft says it is clamping down on people running pirated versions of its Windows operating system by restricting their access to security features. The Windows Genuine Advantage scheme means people will have to prove their software is genuine from mid 2005. It will still allow those with unauthorised copies to get some crucial security fixes via automatic updates, but their options would be "limited". Microsoft releases regular security updates to its software to protect PCs. Either PCs detect updates automatically or users manually download fixes through Microsoft's site. Those running pirated Windows programs would not have access to other downloads and "add ons" that the software giant offers. People who try to manually download security patches will have to let Microsoft run an automated checking procedure on their computer or give an identification number. Microsoft's regular patches which it releases for newly found security flaws are important because they stop worms, viruses and other threats penetrating PCs. Some security experts are concerned that restricting access to such patches could mean a rise in such attacks and threats, with more PCs left unprotected. But Graham Cluley, senior consultant at security firm Sophos, told the BBC News website that it was a positive decision. "It sounds like their decision to allow critical security patches to remain available to both legitimate and illegitimate users of Windows is good news for everyone who uses the net," he said. Windows Genuine Advantage was first introduced as a pilot scheme in September 2004 for English language versions of Windows. Microsoft's Windows operating system is heavily exploited by virus writers because it is so widespread and they are constantly seeking out new security loopholes to take advantage of. The company is trying to tackle security threats whilst cracking down on pirated software at the same time. Software piracy has cost the company billions, it says. The company announced earlier in January that it was releasing security tools to clean up PCs harbouring viruses and spyware, which 90% of PCs are infected with. The virus fighting program, updated monthly, is a precursor to Microsoft's dedicated anti virus software. Last year it introduced the Windows XP Counterfeit Project, a UK based pilot scheme, which ran from November to December. The scheme meant that anyone with pre installed copies of the operating system in PCs bought before November could replace counterfeit versions of Windows XP with legal ones for free. It is also increasing efforts to squash software piracy in China, Norway and the Czech Republic, where pirated software is a huge problem, by offering discounts on legitimate software to users of pirated copies Windows. "China in particular is a problem, with piracy estimated at 92%," said Mr Cluley.


A former FBI agent and an internet stock picker have been found guilty of using confidential US government information to manipulate stock prices. A New York court ruled that former FBI man Jeffrey Royer, 41, fed damaging information to Anthony Elgindy, 36. Mr Elgindy then drove share prices lower by spreading negative publicity via his newsletter. The Egyptian born analyst would extort money from his targets in return for stopping the attacks, prosecutors said. "Under the guise of protecting investors from fraud, Royer and Elgindy used the FBI's crime fighting tools and resources actually to defraud the public," said US Attorney Roslynn Mauskopf. Mr Royer was convicted of racketeering, securities fraud, obstruction of justice and witness tampering. Mr Elgindy was convicted of racketeering, securities fraud and extortion. The charges carry sentences of up to 20 years. When the guilty verdict was announced by the jury foreman, Mr Elgindy dropped his face into his hands and sobbed, the Associated Press news agency reported. He was led weeping from the court room by US marshals, AP said. Defense lawyers contended that Mr Royer had been feeding information to Mr Elgindy and another trader in an attempt to expose corporate fraud. Mr Elgindy's team claimed that he also was fighting against corporate wrongdoing. "Elgindy's conviction marks the end of his public charade as a crusader against fraud in the market," said Ms Mauskopf. One of the more bizarre aspects of the trial focused on the claims that Mr Elgindy may have had foreknowledge of the 11 September terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. Mr Elgindy had been trying to sell stock prior to the attack and had predicted a slump in the market. No charges were brought in relation to these allegations.


Insurers have sought to calm fears that they face huge losses after an earthquake and giant waves killed at least 38,000 people in southern Asia. Munich Re and Swiss Re, the world's two biggest reinsurers, have said exposure will be less than for other disasters. Rebuilding costs are likely to be cheaper than in developed countries, and many of those affected will not have insurance, analysts said. Swiss Re has said total claims are likely to be less than 10bn ( 5.17bn). Swiss Re believes that the cost would be substantial but that it is unlikely to be in double digit billions, the Financial Times reported. Munich Re, the world's largest reinsurance company, said that its exposure is less than 100m euros ( 70m; 136m). At least 10 countries have been affected, with Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India and Thailand among the worst hit. The region's resorts and Western tourists are expected to be among the main claimants. Lloyds of London told the Financial Times it expected its exposure to be limited to "holiday resorts, personal accident, travel insurance and marine risks". A spokeswoman for Hanover Re, Europe's fifth largest reinsurance firm, estimated tsunami related damage claims would be in the low double digit millions of euros. The company has paid out about 300 million euros ( 281m; 400m) to cover damage caused recently by four major hurricanes in the US. But insurers have not had long to assess the economic impact of the damage and reports of more casualties and destruction are still coming through. "So many things are unclear, it is just too early to tell," said Serge Troeber, deputy head of Swiss Re's natural disasters department. "You need very complicated processes to estimate damages. Unlike the hurricanes, you can't just run a model." He anticipated that his own company's total claims would be less then those from the hurricanes, which the company put at 640m. Allianz, a leading German insurer, said it did not know yet what its exposure would be. However, it said the tidal waves were unlikely to have a "significant" impact on its business. Zurich Financial said they could not yet assess the cost of the disaster. The impact on US insurance companies is not expected to be heavy, analysts said. Most US insurers have relatively little exposure to Asia and those that do, pass on a lot of the risk to reinsurance companies or special catastrophe funds. Insured damage could be a fraction of the "billions of dollars worth of destruction in Sri Lanka, India, Thailand, Indonesia, the Maldive Islands and Malaysia," said Prudential Equity Group insurance analyst Jay Gelb. "US insurers are likely to have only minimal to no exposure. It's more likely the Bermuda based reinsurance companies might have some exposure," said Paul Newsome, an insurance analyst at AG Edwards Co. Many of the affected countries, such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka or the Maldives, do not usually buy insurance for these kinds of disasters, said a US based insurance expert. Early estimates from the World Bank put the amount of aid needed for the worst affected countries including Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia and Thailand, at about 5bn ( 2.6bn), similar to the cash offered to Central America after Hurricane Mitch. Mitch killed about 10,000 people and caused damage of about 10bn in 1998. But the cost of the tsunamis on the individuals involved is incalculable. "We cannot fathom the cost of these poor societies and the nameless fishermen and fishing villages ... that have just been wiped out. Hundreds of thousands of livelihoods have gone," said Jan Egeland, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Tourists cutting short their holidays in affected areas may suffer a financial impact too. The Association of British insurers warned that travel insurance does not normally cover cutting short a holiday. It said loss of possessions will usually be covered, but the Association stressed the importance of checking the wording of travel policies.


The BBC News website takes a look at how games on mobile phones are maturing. A brief round up follows but you can skip straight to the reviews by clicking on the links below. Part two will follow on Monday. Reviews of Call of Duty, Splinter Cell Pandora Tomorrow, Lord of the Rings and Pocket Kingdom will follow on Monday If you think of Snake when some mentions "mobile games" then you could be in for a bit of a surprise. This is because mobile games have come a long way in a very short time. Even before Nokia's N Gage game phone launched in late 2003, many mobile operators were realising that there was an audience looking for something to play on their handset. And given that many more people own handsets than own portable game playing gadgets such as the GameBoy it could be a very lucrative market. That audience includes commuters wanting something to fill their time on the way home, game fans looking for a bit of variety and hard core gamers who like to play every moment they can. Life for all these types of player has got immeasurably better in the last year as the numbers of titles you can download to your phone has snowballed. Now sites such as Wireless Gaming Review list more than 200 different titles for some UK networks and the ranges suit every possible taste. There are ports of PC and arcade classics such as Space Invaders, Lunar Lander and Bejewelled. There are also versions of titles, such as Colin McRae Rally, that you typically find on PCs and consoles. There are shoot em ups, adventure games, strategy titles and many novel games only found on handsets. Rarely now does an action movie launch without a mobile game tie in. Increasingly such launches are all part of the promotional campaign for a film, understandable when you realise that a good game can rack up millions of downloads. The returns can be pretty good when you consider that some games cost 5. What has also helped games on mobiles thrive is the fact that it is easier than ever to get hold of them thanks to technology known as Wap push. By sending a text message to a game maker you can have the title downloaded to your handset. Far better than having to navigate through the menus of most mobile operator portals. The number of handsets that can play games has grown hugely too. Almost half of all phones now have Java onboard meaning that they can play the increasingly sophisticated games that are available even the ones that use 3D graphics. The minimum technology specifications that phones should adhere to are getting more sophisticated which means that games are too. Now double key presses are possible making familiar tactics such as moving and strafing a real option. The processing power on handsets means that physics on mobile games is getting more convincing and the graphics are improving too. Some game makers are also starting to take advantage of the extra capabilities in a mobile. Many titles, particularly racing games, let you upload your best time to see how you compare to others. Usually you can get hold of their best time and race against a "ghost" or "shadow" to see if you can beat them. A few games also let you take on people in real time via the network or, if you are sitting close to them, via Bluetooth short range radio technology. With so much going on it is hard to do justice to the sheer diversity of what is happening. But these two features should help point you in the direction of the game makers and give you an idea of where to look and how to get playing. TOO FAST TOO FURIOUS (DIGITAL BRIDGES) As soon as I start playing this I remember why I never play driving games because I'm rubbish at them. No matter if I drive the car via joystick or keypad I just cannot get the hang of braking for corners or timing a rush to pass other drivers. The game rewards replay because to advance you have to complete every section within a time limit. Winning gives you cash for upgrades. Graphically the rolling road is a convincing enough evocation of speed as the palm trees and cactus whip by and the city scrolls past in the background. The cars handle pretty well despite my uselessness but it was not clear if the different models of cars were appreciably different on the track. The only niggle was that the interface was a bit confusing especially when using a joystick rather than the keypad to play. FATAL FORCE (MACROSPACE) A futuristic shooter that lets you either play various deathmatch modes against your phone or run through a series of scenarios that involves killing aliens invading Earth. Graphics are a bit cartoon like but only helps to make clear what is going on and levels are well laid out and encourage you to leap about exploring. Both background music and sounds effects work well. The scenarios are well scripted and you regularly get hints from the Fatal Force commanders. Weapons include flamethrowers, rocket launchers, grenades and at a couple of points you even get chance to use a mech for a short while. With the right power up you can go into a Matrix style bullet time to cope with the onslaught of aliens. The game lets you play via Bluetooth if others are in range. Online the game has quite a following with clans, player rankings and even new downloadable maps.


Cyberspace is becoming a very popular destination for Christmas shoppers. Forecasts predict that British people will spend 4bn buying gifts online during the festive season, an increase of 64% on 2003. Surveys also show that the average amount that people are spending is rising, as is the range of goods that they are happy to buy online. Savvy shoppers are also using the net to find the hot presents that are all but sold out in High Street stores. Almost half of the UK population now shop online according to figures collected by the Interactive Media in Retail Group which represents web retailers. About 85% of this group, 18m people, expect to do a lot of their Christmas gift buying online this year, reports the industry group. On average each shopper will spend 220 and Britons lead Europe in their affection for online shopping. Almost a third of all the money spent online this Christmas will come out of British wallets and purses compared to 29% from German shoppers and only 4% from Italian gift buyers. James Roper, director of the IMRG, said shoppers were now much happier to buy so called big ticket items such as LCD television sets and digital cameras. Mr Roper added that many retailers were working hard to reassure consumers that online shopping was safe and that goods ordered as presents would arrive in time for Christmas. He advised consumers to give shops a little more time than usual to fulfil orders given that online buying is proving so popular. A survey by Hostway suggests that many men prefer to shop online to avoid the embarrassment of buying some types of presents, such as lingerie, for wives and girlfriends. Much of this online shopping is likely to be done during work time, according to research carried out by security firm Saint Bernard Software. The research reveals that up to two working days will be lost by staff who do their shopping via their work computer. Worst offenders will be those in the 18 35 age bracket, suggests the research, who will spend up to five hours per week in December browsing and buying at online shops. Iggy Fanlo, chief revenue officer at Shopping.com, said that the growing numbers of people using broadband was driving interest in online shopping. "When you consider narrowband and broadband the conversion to sale is two times higher," he said. Higher speeds meant that everything happened much faster, he said, which let people spend time browsing and finding out about products before they buy. The behaviour of online shoppers was also changing, he said. "The single biggest reason people went online before this year was price," he said. "The number one reason now is convenience." "Very few consumers click on the lowest price," he said. "They are looking for good prices and merchant reliability." Consumer comments and reviews were also proving popular with shoppers keen to find out who had the most reliable customer service. Data collected by eBay suggests that some smart shoppers are getting round the shortages of hot presents by buying them direct through the auction site. According to eBay UK there are now more than 150 Robosapiens remote control robots for sale via the site. The Robosapiens toy is almost impossible to find in online and offline stores. Similarly many shoppers are turning to eBay to help them get hold of the hard to find slimline PlayStation 2, which many retailers are only selling as part of an expensive bundle. The high demand for the PlayStation 2 has meant that prices for it are being driven up. In shops the PS2 is supposed to sell for 104.99. In some eBay UK auctions the price has risen to more than double this figure. Many people are also using eBay to get hold of gadgets not even released in this country. The portable version of the PlayStation has only just gone on sale in Japan yet some enterprising eBay users are selling the device to UK gadget fans.


Jade Johnson is undecided about whether to contest next month's European Indoor Championships in Madrid despite winning the AAAs long jump title on Saturday. The 24 year old delivered a personal best of 6.50m to win the European trials but had to wait until her final jump after four failures. "I don't want to go if I am not going to get a medal," said Johnson. "I will have to see how I am jumping in the next competition and I'll have to have a conversation with my coach." Johnson, who finished seventh in last year's Olympic Games, has not competed indoors since 2000. And the Commonwealth and European silver medallist believes her lack of experience in the early part of the season has knocked her confidence. "It's the stress," said Johnson. "I am not used to feeling this, this early. I am just used to training. "But if I'm doing this kind of thing, then I will have to see how it goes." Johnson next competes in the high class Birmingham Grand Prix on 18 February.


He called it his "masochism strategy" in the run up to the Iraq war and now Tony Blair has signed up for another dose of pain. The idea is simple the prime minister goes head to head with an often hostile group of "real" voters in the full spotlight of the television cameras. The theory is that talking to the great British public, even if they are the "great unwashed", is better than having the media filter what voters hear from politicians. It is also the most effective way of showing that he is aware of real people's concerns and on occasions of their outright fury. Mr Blair used the tactic before the Iraq war to try to show he really was engaging with public concerns and you can expect to see it much more in the run up to the election. Labour knows it has been damaged by accusations of spin, "control freakery" and over slick presentation sometimes from within the ranks of its own MPs. Tony Blair himself has said people complain he does not listen. Mr Blair's latest bout of flagellation came with a series of questions sessions on Five television throughout Wednesday. The trouble began on the Wright Stuff show, with Maria Hutchings marching up to him, saying "Tony, that's rubbish" as she tried to complain about her autistic son's school being threatened with closure. A few "don't worries" as Mrs Hutchings was led back to the audience averted a public slanging match he spoke to her privately after the show. But that was only the start and later sessions produced the type of grilling not even the toughest television interviewer could produce. Writer Neil Coppendale, from West Sussex, asked of the Iraq war: "Tens of thousands of innocent men, women and children died how do you manage to sleep at night?" On immigration, London teacher Diane Granger said: "Where are you going to put everyone?" And can you imagine even Jeremy Paxman putting the question posed by Brighton nurse Marion Brown: "Would you wipe somebody's backside for 5?" Mr Blair tried to use the questioners' first names and sometimes threw them off their stride by asking what they would do about the problems. Many of the newspapers have branded the exercise a PR stunt which backfired. Indeed there is a danger Mr Blair simply ends up looking "embattled". Conservative Michael Howard and Liberal Democrat Charles Kennedy are to be offered chances to appear in similar slots on the channel next month. Labour strategists believe more of the sessions will mean the hecklers no longer become a story and the real issues take prominence. James Humphreys, ex head of corporate communications at Number 10, says the strategy shows frustration with the media. "They feel they don't get their voice across and going direct to people is clearly their game on this occasion," he says. There are risks but the prize is tackling the trend of lower turnouts at the polls, he argues. The prime minister knows full well the potential hazards . He must remember with gritted teeth his confrontation with Sharron Storer, the Birmingham woman who harangued him over the state of her local hospital in the 2001 election campaign. "All you do is walk around and make yourself known, you don't do anything to help anybody," she told Mr Blair before stomping off, refusing his pleas to discuss the issue privately. Former Downing Street media chief Alastair Campbell has described the episode as a "bit of a disaster" as it meant the launch of Labour's election manifesto received little coverage. But it was seen as one of the few moments when that election campaign came alive, not least because it coincided with John Prescott's even more direct contact when he punched an egg throwing protester. Former prime ministers too have come to grief at the hands of a persistent member of the public. The undoubted highlight of years of election phone in shows was Margaret Thatcher discomfort on Nationwide in 1983, when viewer Diana Gould put her on the spot about the sinking of the Belgrano in the Falklands War. John Major reaped the benefits of street campaigning during the 1992 election campaign with his famous soapbox. It may have left him splattered with eggs and engine oil at times but he felt it added "fizz" to his campaign. In his memoirs, he also argues the strategy contrasted with Neil Kinnock's "contrived photo opportunities" and attempts at an artful campaign. "He wanted to look like a prime minister. I was prime minister and I wanted a flesh and blood fight," says Mr Major. Mr Blair told prospective Labour MPs on Thursday that taking part in phone ins and public meetings could "enthuse and engage and give the public a sense of empowerment". But he also wants to counter complaints that he has spent too much time on international affairs and foreign trips. Mr Blair recalls how Bill Clinton once advised him: "Always remember that what people see of you in the news in the evening is how they think you spend your day." His hope must be that voters watching him on the rack will bear out for Labour the old maxim: "No pain, no gain."


Four British athletes have been pre selected to compete at the World Cross Country Championships in March after impressive starts to the season. Hayley Yelling, Jo Pavey, Karl Keska and Adam Hickey will represent Team GB at the event in France. Yelling clinched the women's European cross country title last month and Pavey followed up with bronze. Keska helped the men's team to overall third place while Hickey finished in 10th place on his junior debut. "Winning the European cross country title meant so much to me," said Yelling. "And being pre selected for the Worlds means that I can focus on preparing in the best way possible." The 32 year old will race alongside Olympic 5,000m finalist Pavey in the women's 8km race on 19 March. Keska, who has made a successful return from a long term injury lay off, contests the men's 12km race on 20 March, while 16 year old Hickey goes in the junior men's 8km on the same day. The rest of the team will be named after the trials at Wollaton Park in Nottingham, which take place on 5 March.


Hunts in England and Wales have begun on the last day that hunting with dogs is legal, with more due out later. Thousands of supporters are expected to turn out at more than 250 meets, many of which have altered their normal schedules to be out on a Thursday. The ban on hunting with dogs comes into effect from 0001 GMT on Friday. The Countryside Alliance had its latest legal bid to block the ban thwarted on Wednesday when the Appeal Court ruled the Hunting Act was lawful. But the group says hunting will continue in some form after the ban comes in, with hunts expected to test the new law to its limits. Others are expected to defy the ban by continuing to hunt illegally. Anti hunt organisations, for whom the ban is the culmination of years of campaigning, say they hope most will stay within the law. Mike Hobday, of the League Against Cruel Sports, told BBC News: "We've long urged them to go drag hunting to follow an artificial scent and that is what we hope they do. "But if they continue to chase foxes, to chase wild mammals around the countryside, that's against the law and we're confident they'll be brought to justice." At the headquarters of Quorn hunt in Leicestershire, feelings were running high as hunt enthusiasts prepared for their final legal hunt. BBC correspondent Sarah Mukherjee said hunt supporters were in tears. She said many people did not share the Countryside Alliance's optimism that hunting would be able to continue. Farmer Geoff Brooks, a senior member of the Quorn hunt, told BBC News people's lives "revolved around hunting". He described the ban as "ridiculous" and "badly thought out" but said it would be hard for most people to defy it as they would not want to risk their incomes by getting a criminal record. At the Court of Appeal on Wednesday, the Countryside Alliance failed in its attempt to have the Hunting Act ruled invalid. But it says the ban is unenforceable because the law is unclear and impossible to police. The alliance says hunt supporters will go out and test this law to its limits on Saturday. The League Against Cruel Sports and the RSPCA say they will monitor hunts and assist police in bringing prosecutions. The Association of Chief Police Officers has issued guidance to forces on how to deal with the new rules. A spokesman said: "Basically, it's not going to be police officers chasing about in cars across fields, it will be based on intelligence and information received as well." The decision on how to police individual hunts will be left to local forces, with more officers sent to hunts where disruption is expected. He said police would consider evidence submitted by anti hunt organisations on its merits.


European leaders say Asian states must let their currencies rise against the US dollar to ease pressure on the euro. The European single currency has shot up to successive all time highs against the dollar over the past few months. Tacit approval from the White House for the weaker greenback, which could help counteract huge deficits, has helped trigger the move. But now Europe says the euro has had enough, and Asia must now share some of the burden. China is seen as the main culprit, with exports soaring up 35% in 2004 partly on the back of a currency pegged to the dollar. "Asia should engage in greater currency flexibility," said French finance minister Herve Gaymard, after a meeting with his German counterpart Hans Eichel. Markets responded by pushing the euro lower, in the expectation that the rhetoric and the pressure is unlikely to ease ahead of a meeting of the G7 industrialised countries next week. Early on Tuesday morning, the dollar had edged higher to 1.3040 euros. The yen, meanwhile, had strengthened to 102.975 against the dollar by 0730 GMT.


Irish publishing group Independent News Media is buying up a 26% stake in Indian newspaper company Jagran in a deal worth 25m euros ( 34.1m). Jagran publishes India's top selling daily newspaper, the Hindi language Dainik Jagran, which has been in circulation for 62 years. News of the deal came as the group announced that its results would meet market forecasts. The company reported strong revenue growth across all its major markets. Group advertising revenues were up over 10% year on year, the group said, with overall circulation revenues are expected to increase almost 10% year on year. This was helped by the positive impact of "compact" newspaper editions in Ireland and the UK, it said. "2004 has proven to be an important year for Independent News Media," said chief executive Sir Anthony O'Reilly. "Our simple aim at Independent is to be the low cost producer in every region in which we operate. I am confident that we will show a meaningful increase in earnings for 2005." Meanwhile, the group made no comment about the future of the Independent newspaper despite recent speculation that Sir Anthony had held talks with potential buyers over a stake in the daily publication. He has consistently denied suggestions that the Independent and the Independent on Sunday are up for sale. Buy it is understood that the recent success of the smaller edition of the Independent, which has pushed circulation up by 20% to 260,000, has prompted interest from industry rivals, with Daily Mail General Trust tipped as the most likely suitor. The loss making newspaper is not expected to reach break even until 2006.


One of the world's largest manufacturers of HIV/Aids drugs has launched an initiative to combat the smuggling of cheaper pills supplied to poorer African countries back into Europe for resale at far higher price. The company, GlaxoSmithKline, is to alter the packaging and change the colour of the pills, currently provided to developing nations under a humanitarian agreement. It is estimated that drugs companies are losing hundreds of millions of dollars each year as a result of the diversion of their products in this way. This is a very sensitive area for the big drugs companies. They want to maintain their profits, but have been put under tremendous pressure to provide cheap anti Aids drugs to the world's poorest nations. The result is that drugs supplied to Africa are now more than thirty times cheaper than those sold in Europe; bringing these medicines within the reach of millions of HIV positive Africans through their government's health care systems. But the wide difference in price also means that there are big gains to be made from illegally diverting these cheaper drugs back into wealthier countries and re selling them at a higher price. GlaxoSmithKline believes that by coating the pills destined for Africa in a red dye and adding new identification codes both onto the pills and on the packaging, then this trade can be substantially reduced. The company says that it will then be possible to identify specific distributors in Africa who have re sold humanitarian drugs for profit, as well as those suppliers in Europe that have also been involved in the trade. Glaxo says distribution of the new look drugs has already begun and that their chemical content is identical to those currently being sold in Europe.


The rewards of leaving front bench politics are shown in the latest annual register of members' interests. The register shows former Tory leader William Hague earning up to 820,000 on top of his MPs' salary, much of it from speaking fees. His former shadow chancellor Michael Portillo makes up to 560,000 a year partly because of speeches and TV work. Ex health secretary Alan Milburn earned up to 85,000 from speeches, articles and advice while not in the Cabinet. Mr Milburn was away from the frontbench for just more than a year between stepping down as health secretary and becoming Labour's election supremo. His declared interests include 20,000 from newspaper articles and fees of up to 35,000 for four speeches. He also commanded a salary of between 25,000 and 35,000 for being on investment company Bridgepoint Capital's European advisory committee. His time out of office will, however, have lost him his 71,433 minister's salary. Mr Hague's work outside Parliament included two one man shows, which with other speaking fees netted him up to 480,000. He also earned up to 195,000 for a weekly column in the News of the World, and between 5,000 and 10,000 for presenting BBC'2's Have I Got News for You. Mr Hague was also paid an undisclosed amount for the newspaper serialisation of his biography of William Pitt the Younger and up to 135,00 for work as an adviser to various companies. Former Defence Secretary Michael Portillo makes some of his money as a non executive director of BAE Systems. He is to stand down as an MP at the next election. And former Foreign Secretary Robin Cook was paid between 45,001 and 50,000 for the paperback edition of his book about his resignation from government. His declared income of up to 205,000 also includes payments for being a consultant to the Tote and for his regular column in the Guardian newspaper. The register also shows former Home Office Minister Ann Widdecombe declaring a 100,000 advance for her third and fourth novels. She also received up to 30,000 for acting as the Guardian's agony aunt and between 5,001 and 10,000 for appearing on ITV's Celebrity Fit Club. David Blunkett has become a paid adviser to Indepen Consulting Limited now he is not home secretary he helps them with seminars about the relationship between government and business. He earns between 5,001and 10,000 for the work. Tony Blair's entry confirms that King Abdullah of Jordan paid for him to fly from a holiday in Egypt to official discussions and for a sightseeing tour to Wadi Rum. Tory leader Michael Howard's only fresh entry is a Christmas hamper from the Sultan of Brunei. He also declares a trip to Mexico last year to address executives of News International, and helicopter and private jet travel paid for by supporters. Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy registered donations to his office from supporters, a free ticket to last year's Bafta awards and rent from a single bedroom flat in London. The register only contains new information for December 2004 but Monday saw the publication of the annual review of the register, with the year's details. The payments are shown in bands of up 5,000, making it difficult to calculate the exact earnings.


Munster's Heineken Cup quarter final tie against Biarritz on 3 April has been switched to Real Sociedad's Paseo de Anoeta stadium in San Sebastian. Real's ground holds 32,000 whereas the Parc des Sports Aguilera in Biarritz has a capacity of just 12,667. The Irish province will be given at least 8,000 tickets. "The decision to move was a difficult one, but as we considered the fans as one of our primary objectives," said Biarritz chairman Marcel Martin. "We hope we will be rewarded as a huge crowd behaving in the best rugby tradition." The match will be the first Heineken Cup fixture to be played in Spain, and is expected to attract the biggest ever attendance for a rugby match in the country. Ulster were the last Irish team to play at the Paseo de Anoeta stadium where they faced a Euskarians side during a pre season tour in 1998.


The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is planning to announce a preferred takeover by the end of the month, newspaper reports claim. The Sunday Telegraph said the LSE's plan was further evidence it wants to retain tight control over its destiny. Both Deutsche Boerse and rival Euronext held talks with the London market last week over a possible offer. A 1.3bn offer from Deutsche Boerse has already been rejected, while Euronext has said it will make an all cash bid. Speculation suggests that Paris based Euronext has the facilities in place to make a bid of 1.4bn, while its German rival may up its bid to the 1.5bn mark. Neither has yet tabled a formal bid, but the LSE is expected to hold further talks with the two parties later this week. However, the Sunday Telegraph report added that there are signs that Deutsche Boerse chief executive Werner Seifert is becoming increasingly impatient with the LSE's managed bid process. Despite insisting he wants to agree a recommended deal with the LSE's board, the newspaper suggested he may pull out of the process and put an offer directly to shareholders instead. The newspaper also claimed Mr Seifert was becoming "increasingly frustrated" with the pace of negotiations since Deutsche Boerse's 1.3bn offer was rejected in mid December, in particular the LSE's decision to suspend talks over the Christmas period. Meanwhile, the German exchange's offer has come under fire recently. Unions for Deutsche Boerse staff in Frankfurt have reportedly expressed fears that up to 300 jobs would be moved to London if the takeover is successful. Others claim it will weaken the city's status as Europe's financial centre, while German politicians are also said to be angry over the market operator's promise to move its headquarters to London if a bid is successful. A further stumbling block is Deutsche Boerse's control over its Clearstream unit, the clearing house that processes securities transactions. LSE shareholders fear it would create a monopoly situation, weakening the position of shareholders when negotiating lower transaction fees for share dealings. LSE and Euronext do not have control over their clearing and settlement operations, a situation which critics say is more transparent and competitive.


Two time Olympic 10,000 metres champion Derartu Tulu has confirmed she will take part in the BUPA Great Caledonian Run in Edinburgh on 8 May. The 32 year old Ethiopian is the first star name to enter the event. Tulu has won the Boston, London and Tokyo Marathons, as well as the world 10,000m title in 2001. "We are delighted to have secured the services of one the most decorated competitors the sport has ever seen," said race director Matthew Turnbull. "Her record speaks for herself and there are few other women distance runners who would dare compare their pedigree with Tulu's," he added. "She might be 33 next month, but that didn't stop her winning the Olympic 10,000m bronze medal last summer. She's an ultra consistent championships racer."


Madagascar has completed the replacement of its Malagasy franc with a new currency, the ariary. From Monday, all prices and contracts will have to be quoted in the ariary, which was trading at 1,893 to the US dollar. The Malagasy franc, which lost almost half its value in 2004, is no longer legal tender but will remain exchangeable at banks until 2009. The phasing out of the franc, begun in July 2003, was intended to distance the country from its past under French colonial rule and address the problem of the large amount of counterfeit francs in circulation. "It's above all a question of sovereignty," Reuters quoted a central bank official as saying. "It is symbolic of our independence from the old colonial ways. Since we left the French monetary zone in 1973 we should have our own currency with its own name." The ariary was the name of a pre colonial currency in the Indian Ocean island state.


Gordon Brown has delivered a rousing speech to Labour's spring conference setting out the government's agenda for the next general election. The chancellor said he was proud of his party's record on the economy, and would strive for continuing stability if elected. The Gateshead conference was told he would help young people who were struggling to buy their own homes. And the chancellor vowed to continue the fight against child poverty. Later, Prime Minister Tony Blair will answer questions sent by the public via text and e mail. Analysing Mr Brown's position before the speech, BBC correspondent James Hardy said Mr Brown would draw "sharp dividing lines" with the Conservatives for the forthcoming election campaign. He would contrast Labour's plan to invest 60bn in services with a Tory plan to cut spending by 35bn. "Mr Brown will lay out his credentials as a reforming chancellor determined to take on and beat the Asian tiger economies which increasingly dominate world trade," our correspondent said. On Friday night, Mr Brown confirmed he would not make any tax commitments until the Labour manifesto had been published after the Budget, expected in March. But commentators will listen to his speech closely for hints on whether, as the Conservatives claim, he plans to raise tax after the election. The Tories accuse Labour of raising taxes 66 times since coming to power in 1997. Following the chancellor's keynote speech, the prime minister will face interactive questioning from ordinary voters on Saturday. Mr Blair is thought to be deliberately putting himself on the line in a bid to engage the electorate ahead of an expected May election. Capital Radio DJ Margherita Taylor will select questions to put to him from thousands e mailed and sent by text. The prime minister's enthusiasm for the job remains undimmed, Alan Milburn, Labour's election strategist told Radio 4's Today programme on Saturday. Mr Blair has "the same passion and the same commitments for the job" as when Labour came to power in 1997, he said. And he confirmed Mr Blair's insistence that no poll date had yet been set. He said: "I'm the General Election co ordinator and I don't know, and Tony has not made up his mind." On Friday, the prime minister completed a whistle stop tour of England, during which he unveiled his party's six pre election pledges. Starting in London, he visited marginal constituencies pledging to build on what he said were Labour's achievements on the economy, crime, education and public services. The Conservatives and Lib Dems said the pledges set to underpin Labour's election campaign were "worthless".


Zambia's technical director, Kalusha Bwalya is confident and cautious ahead of the Cosafa Cup final against Angola on Saturday in Lusaka. Bwalya said: "Nothing short of victory will do." However Bwalya warned his side not to be too complacent. "I don't want my team to be too comfortable or too sure of victory as it is going to be a difficult game. "For me the main aim of the game is to enjoy and to win." Zambia have shown their determination to win this final by recalling nine of their foreign based players. However the 41 year old Bwalya, who became the oldest player to appear in the competition when he played and scored against Mauritius, is uncertain whether he will take to the field or not. The Chipolopolo fans however are not being so cautious with a 'victory' concert already scheduled for after the match featuring some of the country's top musicians. Both sides are hoping to win the competition for a record third time, and so keep the trophy for good. The Chipolopolo won the first two editions of the regional tournament for Southern African nations in 1997 and 1998. They were prevented from a third straight win by Angola who knocked out the Zambians at the semi final stage in 1999. That victory for Angola also marked a first defeat in 14 years for Zambia at Lusaka's Independence stadium, where Saturday's game is being played. Angola named just four overseas based players in their preliminary squad. The Palancas Negras have been unable to secure the release of many of their Portugal based players.


Georgia is offering a one off 'tax amnesty' to people who hid their earnings under the regime of former president Eduard Shevardnadze. The country's new president, Mikhail Saakashvili, has said that anyone now willing to disclose their wealth will only have to pay 1% in income tax. The measure is designed to legitimise previously hidden economic activity and boost Georgia's flagging economy. Georgia's black market is estimated to be twice the size of its legal economy. Mr Saakashvili, elected president in January after Mr Shevardnadze was toppled, has urged the Georgian Parliament to approve the amnesty as soon as possible. It is one of a series of proposals designed to tackle corruption, which was rampant during the Shevardnadze era, and boost Georgia's fragile public finances. The new government is encouraging companies to pay taxes by scrapping existing corruption investigations and destroying all tax records from before 1 January, three days before President Saakashvili was elected. "There are people who have money but are afraid to show it," the president told a government session. "Documentation about where this money came from doesn't exist because under the former, entirely warped regime, earning capital honestly was not possible." By declaring their assets and paying the one off tax, people would be able to "legalise their property", Mr Saakashvili stressed. "No one will have the right to check this money's origin. This money must go back into the economy." The amnesty will not extend to people who made money through drugs trafficking or international money laundering. Criminal investigations in such cases thought to involve about 5% of Georgian businesses are to continue. Mr Saakashvili has accused the Shevardnadze regime, which was toppled by a popular uprising in November, of allowing bribery to flourish. Georgia's economy is in a desperate condition. Half the population are living below the poverty line with many surviving on income of less than 4, or three euros, a day. The unemployment rate is around 20% while the country has a 1.7bn public debt.


China's efforts to stop the economy from overheating by clamping down on credit will continue into 2005, state media report. The curbs were introduced earlier this year to ward off the risk that rapid expansion might lead to soaring prices. There were also fears that too much stress might be placed on the fragile banking system. Growth in China remains at a breakneck 9.1%, and corporate investment is growing at more than 25% a year. The breakneck pace of economic expansion has kept growth above 9% for more than a year. Rapid tooling up of China's manufacturing sector means a massive demand for energy one of the factors which has kept world oil prices sky high for most of this year. In theory, the government has a 7% growth target, but continues to insist that the overshoot does not mean a "hard landing" in the shape of an overbalancing economy. A low exchange rate China's yuan is pegged to a rate of 8.28 to the dollar, which seems to be in relentless decline means Chinese exports are cheap on world markets. China has thus far resisted international pressure to break the link or at least to shift the level of its peg. To some extent, the credit controls do seem to be taking effect. Industrial output grew 15.7% in the year to October, down from 23% in February, and inflation slowed to 4.3% although retail sales are still booming.


Your child or grandchild may want the latest toy this Christmas, but how about giving them a present that will help their financial future? Gifts of the financial variety might have a longer lasting impact. It may encourage children to save or start a fund which could count towards university costs, for example. The government is trying to encourage saving at an early age, through its new Child Trust Fund. The first vouchers, worth 250 or 500 for low income families, will be distributed from January. All children born after 1st September 2002 will be eligible. Parents will need to decide which financial institution will manage this gift in time for the start of the scheme in April 2005. Parents and relatives will be able to top up the fund with up to 1,200 a year, which will grow free of income and capital gains tax. As the Child Trust Fund will not be in force in time for Christmas, relatives could invest their gifts in a higher rate children's deposit account, and use this as a feeder fund. There are accounts designed to start children off in the savings habit and they often pay a higher rate of interest. Some of the best instant access accounts currently available include the Ladybird account from the Saffron Walden Building Society, paying 5.35% for a minimum balance of 1 and the Alliance Leicester FirstSaver which pays 5.25%, also starting at 1. Interest earned by children is subject to income tax. However, children, like adults, have a personal income tax allowance ( 4,745 for the current tax year). If the account holds money gifted by friends and relatives but not parents any interest earned from the savings account may be set against the allowance. As long as the total amount of interest falls within the allowance, then no tax will be payable. When the account is opened a form "R85", available from the bank or building society, should be completed. This confirms that the account holder is a non taxpayer and allows interest to be received without the deduction of income tax. The tax rules are different for parents who save on behalf of a child. Only 100 of interest (per parent) can be tax free. Where interest exceeds this level, the whole of the interest will be taxed on the parent. This is to prevent parents from holding their own cash savings in their children's names and taking advantage of the tax allowances. Where both parents and other relatives are saving on behalf of a child, consideration should be given to opening separate accounts one for parents' gifts and one for gifts from other relatives. Therefore, it may be preferable for parents to contribute to the Child Trust Fund which is tax free, with any gifts from relatives that take the total above the annual 1,200 limit being directed to a deposit account. Another favourite solution is Premium Bonds. With the promise of riches far greater than a mere deposit account, they make great presents. The parent or guardian will be responsible for the Bonds and will receive notification of the purchase. Any prizes will be sent to the parent or child's guardian. The minimum for each purchase is 100 and Bonds are sold in multiples of 10. There are gift opportunities beyond cash accounts and these should not be ignored. Over the longer term, stock market funds have outperformed other types of investment, although in the shorter term they can be volatile. One of the benefits of investing for children is that investment is generally for the longer term more than ten years which helps to reduce the risks associated with investing in shares. One way to spread the risk is to invest in the stock market through a unit or investment trust. These are pooled investment funds which give access to a wide range of shares. These funds may be actively managed, where a fund manager picks individual stocks based on a view of their future potential, or passive, where a manager invests in all the shares that comprise a stock market index, for example, the FTSE 100. Exchange Traded Funds offer an alternative way to track a stock market. These are single shares that give the return of an underlying index (so are really another form of tracker). The difference is that the charges are quite low. The only drawback with all financial gifts is that the children gain an absolute right to the money at age 18, and parents will have no control over how it is spent. For larger gifts it may be worthwhile taking professional advice on the establishment of a suitable trust that will allow ongoing control over the capital and income.


Tony Blair has rejected a Conservative compromise offer that could have eased the passage of anti terror legislation. The Tories wanted a sunset clause inserted in the Anti Terrorism Bill that would have forced ministers to revisit it in November. Mr Blair said the bill, which brings in house arrest for terror suspects, had time limiting safeguards already. The Tories say they will vote against it unless changes they want are agreed. The Lib Dems also oppose the plans. The government has already given way over the role of judges in house arrest cases. Mr Blair's refusal to accept the Tories' sunset clause proposals means that the government faces concerted opposition from all sides in the Lords. Peers begin three days of detailed deliberation on the bill on Thursday. The bill proposes "control orders", which as well as placing terrorism suspects under house arrest could mean curfews, tagging or bans on telephone and internet use. These would replace current powers to detain foreign terror suspects without trial, which the law lords have ruled against as a breach of human rights. The Tories want judicial oversight of all control orders, not just house arrest. Shadow Home Secretary David Davis told BBC Radio Four's the World at One his primary concern was potential miscarriages of justice. He said if someone was wrongly given a control order it would act as a "recruiting sergeant" for terrorists. He went on to say: "If we don't get the amendments we regard as essential, including the sunset clause, we will vote against the bill." In the Commons, Mr Howard said it would be "far better if the whole of the legislation was subject to a sunset clause so Parliament could consider it all in a proper way instead of it being ramrodded through". Mr Blair said the house arrest powers were already going to be subject to a sunset clause because it was annually renewable. The second, less stringent, type of control orders would be subject to a court appeal within 14 days and there would be a three monthly report on their use by "an eminent and independent person". "I believe (the new powers) are a proper balance between the civil liberties of the subject and the necessary national security of this country that I will not put at risk," said Mr Blair. The Lib Dems plan to oppose the Bill in the Lords on Thursday. Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Mark Oaten said: "There's a lot of talking left. I would be uneasy about supporting a very bad bill even if it was just for eight months." A spokeswoman for Human Rights Watch said it was a "basic principle" that people should only be punished after a fair trial. She added: "Having a judge impose those punishments without a trial does not sanitise them either."


Firms that flout rules on how ringtones and other mobile extras are sold could be cut off from all UK phone networks. The rules allow offenders to be cut off if they do not let consumers know exactly what they get for their money and how to turn off the services. The first month under the new rules has seen at least ten firms suspended while they clean up the way they work. The rules have been brought in to ensure that the problems plaguing net users do not spread to mobile phones. In the last couple of years ringtones, wallpapers, screensavers and lots of other extras for phones have become hugely popular. But fierce competition is making it difficult for firms to get their wares in front of consumers, said Jeremy Flynn, head of third party services at Vodafone. "If you are not on the operator's portal you are going to have quite heavy marketing costs because it's a problem of how people discover your services," he said. To combat this many ringtone and other mobile content sellers started using a new tactic to squeeze more cash out of customers. This tactic involved signing people up for a subscription to give them, for instance, several ringtones per week or month instead of the single track they thought they were getting. Mr Flynn said that the move to using subscriptions happened over the space of a few weeks at the end of 2004. Websites such as grumbletext.co.uk started getting reports from customers who were racking up large bills for phone content they did not know they had signed up for. "What made us uncomfortable was that these services were not being marketed transparently," said Mr Flynn. "People did not know they were being offered a subscription service." "We saw potential for substantial consumer harm here," he added. The swift adoption of subscription services led to the creation of a new code of conduct for firms that want to sell content for mobile phones. The drafting of the new rules was led by the Mobile Entertainment Forum and the UK's phone firms. "Everyone is required to conform to this code of conduct," said Andrew Bud, regulatory head of the MEF and executive chairman of messaging firm MBlox. "It's all about transparency," he said. "Consumers have to be told what they have got themselves into and how to get out of it." "The consumer has a right to be protected," he said. Christian Harris, partnership manager of mobile content firm Zed, said the new system was essential if consumers were to trust companies that sell ringtones and other downloads. "The groundrules must be applied across the whole industry and if that's done effectively we will see the cowboys driven out," he said. The new rules came in to force on 15 January and the first month under the new regime has seen many firms cautioned for not honouring them. Some have been told to revamp websites so customers know what they get for their money and what they are signing up for, said Mr Flynn. Also, said Mr Flynn, Vodafone has briefly cut off between eight and ten content sellers flouting the rules. "We have quite draconian contracts with firms," he said. "We do not have to say why. We can just cut them off." Under the rules consumers must be able to switch off the services by using a universal "stop" command sent via text message. He said the system had been designed to limit how much a consumer will pay if they inadvertently signed up for a service. "The mobile is so personal that people really resent the abuse of what is effectively part of their personality," said Mr Flynn.


Tony Blair has launched an attack on Conservative spending plans, saying they are a "ludicrous improbability". The prime minister has told a Labour Party gathering that the Tory policies would cause economic failure. Tory leader Michael Howard has said his party would cut 35bn in "wasteful" spending to allow 4bn in tax cuts. On Saturday, Tory shadow home secretary David Davis said the Tories would fund the cuts by removing "inefficiencies" which had "burgeoned" under Labour. In his speech, Mr Blair contrasted a reformed Labour party, which had learned to occupy the political centre ground, with a hidebound Tory party, which he said would turn the clock back with spending cuts. Mr Blair said: "The Conservative tax and spending proposals would put at risk, both Britain's hard won economic stability the lowest mortgages, inflation, unemployment, for decades and the key investment in public services. "I believe that the Tory plans are as plain a call to return to the past as it's possible to imagine," he said. "It's a recipe for exactly the same boom and bust economics and cuts in public services that were their hallmark in 18 years of Conservative government." Mr Blair added: "They, the Conservatives have learned nothing." By contrast, he said, New Labour had listened to its electorate and changed. Mr Blair went on to list his government's achievements and to issue a rallying call to the party. "So now we have a choice, we can defend this record and we can build on it and go on and fulfil the promise or give up and go back. And I say we have to fight." In response, David Davis said the Tories would make cuts, such as removing regional assemblies, but would bring in more police officers and match Labour's spending on health and education. "Everybody knows, having lived through this government the last seven years, that they faced lots of stealth tactics, lots of increases in taxes, but no improvement in public services," he said. Mr Davis said Labour had been responsible for "huge waste, huge overspending, not on the frontline at all but on bureaucracy". "The public face a choice between more waste and more taxes with this government, less waste and lower taxes with a Tory government," he concluded. Gordon Brown has addressed the conference behind closed doors. The Chancellor said the Conservatives' plans would see some 50bn in spending cuts by 2011, which the Tories deny. Mr Brown also issued call for party unity and warn of the dangers of allowing themselves to be "distracted or diverted". According to an advance text released by officials, he told delegates: "We must all show the strength and unity of purpose to take the long term decisions necessary to meet them." Mr Brown warned that the Tories were planning "the biggest cuts ever in the history of any election manifesto". Meanwhile, Tory shadow chancellor Oliver Letwin accused Mr Blair of "misrepresenting" the party's proposals and questioned how Labour would fund its own plans. "He still cannot accept the simple truth, which is that we will spend more on what matters to people schools, hospitals and police and that we will offer value for money and lower taxes," Mr Letwin said. "Once again Mr Blair and his Chancellor have failed to answer the question that lies at the heart of this election which taxes will they put up to fill the 8bn shortfall in their plans?"


Fifa president Sepp Blatter hopes Arsenal's Thierry Henry will be named World Player of the Year on Monday. Henry is on the Fifa shortlist with Barcelona's Ronaldinho and newly crowned European Footballer of the Year, AC Milan's Andriy Shevchenko. Blatter said: "Henry, for me, is the personality on the field. He is the man who can run and organise the game." The winner of the accolade will be named at a glittering ceremony at Zurich's Opera house. The three shortlisted candidates for the women's award are Mia Hamm of the United States, Germany's Birgit Prinz and Brazilian youngster Marta. Hamm, who recently retired is looking to regain the women's award, which she lost last year to striker Prinz. Fifa has changed the panel of voters for this year's awards. Male and female captains of every national team will be able to vote, as well as their coaches and Fipro the global organisation for professional players.


Former Northern Ireland minister Sir Nicholas Scott has died at a London hospice, his family has announced. The former Conservative MP for Kensington and Chelsea, died after a long illness diagnosed as Alzheimer's. The 71 year old served in Northern Ireland from 1981 to 1987 during the premiership of Margaret Thatcher. As a Northern Ireland minister he dealt with education and later security where he rode out the mass IRA escape from the Maze in 1983. In education, he encountered criticism over school closures and the future of the Catholic training colleges. He also merged the New University of Ulster and the Ulster Polytechnic to create the University of Ulster. Sir Nicholas was a strong defender of the Anglo Irish Agreement and was held in esteem in Dublin government and SDLP circles. But he experienced hostility from unionists some of whom dubbed him "Minister of Discord". After leaving Northern Ireland in a reshuffle, he became a UK disability minister. Sir Nicholas was replaced as the member for Kensington and Chelsea by the flamboyant Alan Clark, after being deselected by his constituency in December 1996. His deselection followed a series of scandals including being found slumped in the street by police during the Tory Party conference in Bournemouth and taken back to his hotel. Sir Nicholas claimed strong painkillers he was taking for a back problem had reacted badly with a small amount of alcohol. After his sacking, he bitterly said that despite the support of Cabinet ministers and Tory backbenchers, the Eurosceptics in his constituency were "absolutely determined to get rid of me". His colourful career also included a very public disagreement with daughter Victoria over civil rights for the disabled. Sir Nicholas admitted he misled MPs when he denied his department had been involved in wrecking tactics designed to kill the Disability Bill in 1994. Victoria, a lobbyist for disabled rights, denounced her father's actions and heaped insult on injury when she joined the calls for him to resign. He joined the backbenches two months later.


More than one million computers on the net have been hijacked to attack websites and pump out spam and viruses. The huge number was revealed by security researchers who have spent months tracking more than 100 networks of remotely controlled machines. The largest network of so called zombie networks spied on by the team was made up of 50,000 hijacked home computers. Data was gathered using machines that looked innocent but which logged everything hackers did to them. The detailed look at zombie or 'bot nets of hijacked computers was done by the Honeynet Project a group of security researchers that gather information using networks of computers that act as "honey pots" to attract hackers and gather information about how they work. While 'bot nets have been known about for some time, estimates of how widespread they are from security firms have varied widely. To gather its information the German arm of the Honeynet Project created software tools to log what happened to the machines they put on the web. Getting the machines hijacked was worryingly easy. The longest time a Honeynet machine survived without being found by an automatic attack tool was only a few minutes. The shortest compromise time was only a few seconds. The research found that, once compromised machines tend to report in to chat channels on IRC servers and wait instructions from the malicious hacker behind the tools used to recruit the machine. Many well known vulnerabilities in the Windows operating system were exploited by 'bot net controllers to find and take over target machines. Especially coveted were home PCs sitting on broadband connections that are never turned off. The months of surveillance revealed that the different 'bot nets which involve a few hundred to tens of thousands of machines are used for a variety of purposes. Many are used as relays for spam, to route unwanted adverts to PC users or as launch platforms for viruses. But the research team found that many are put to very different uses. During the monitoring period, the team saw 'bot nets used to launch 226 distributed denial of service attacks on 99 separate targets. These attacks bombard websites with data in an attempt to overwhelm the target. Using a 'bot net of machines spread around different networks and nations makes such attacks hard to defend against. One DDoS attack was used by one firm to knock its competitors offline. Other 'bot nets were used to abuse the Google Adsense program that rewards websites for displaying adverts from the search engine. Some networks were used to abuse or manipulate online polls and games. Criminals also seem to be starting to use 'bot nets for mass identity theft, to host websites that look like those of banks so confidential information can be gathered and to peep into online traffic to steal sensitive data. "Leveraging the power of several thousand bots, it is viable to take down almost any website or network instantly," said the researchers. "Even in unskilled hands, it should be obvious that 'bot nets are a loaded and powerful weapon."


David Blunkett has been accused of using the "politics of confusion" to disguise new EU immigration measures. Tory spokesman David Davis told MPs the UK was losing its power of veto over who was allowed to come to Britain. The EU has opted to adopt qualified majority voting in this area previously measures needed unanimous agreement from all member states. Mr Blunkett told MPs the UK would still be able to reject proposals on immigration it did not agree with. He argued closer co operation with Europe over asylum and immigration was crucial to controlling the flow of people into the UK. "If we don't like what other EU countries do on immigration and nationality we have the right to opt in or out to suit the British people," he said. The home secretary was responding to an emergency question from his Tory opposite number Mr Davis. "The government is employing the politics of confusion I think, deliberately," argued Mr Davis. "By confusing the country it hopes no one will notice the disappearance of the asylum and immigration veto." On Monday Tony Blair insisted closer co operation did not mean losing control of British borders. He said an enlarged 25 member EU needs a streamlined decision making process. Mr Davis said once Britain had opted into policies then it could not opt out leaving the UK open to unfavourable interpretations of what those policies actually meant. He accused the government of being "pathetic" when it came to its efforts over immigration and asylum and of "surrendering" on the issue. And he asked why the government was agreeing to the measure on asylum and immigration now when the whole issue was part of the EU constitution, which voters in the UK had been promised a referendum over. Mr Blair told his monthly news conference Britain had the "best of both worlds" and would keep the veto. "There is no question of Britain giving up our veto on our border controls," he said. "With the Treaty of Amsterdam seven years ago, we secured the absolute right to opt in to any of the asylum and immigration provisions that we wanted to in Europe." Mr Blunkett met his EU counterparts in Luxembourg on Monday to consider proposals aimed at streamlining decision making on the issue. The 25 member states are expected to scrap the requirement for unanimous agreement on immigration policy, in favour of the qualified majority voting (QMV) system. Under this scheme larger states such as Britain are expected to have more power than the smaller EU states. Britain is expected to retain an "opt in" right which will allow it to ignore any measures it disagrees with. Liberal Democrat spokesman Mark Oaten called the change pragmatic and argued it gave a better chance of producing a European asylum solution. "If we don't work together it means some countries can ignore their responsibilities at the expense of their neighbours," said Mr Oaten. "The Liberal Democrats have long argued that Britain should be a safe haven for asylum seekers but it's right that we don't do this in isolation."


Wales are hopeful that openside flanker Martyn Williams could be fit for Saturday's RBS 6 Nations championship opener against England in Cardiff. Williams was expected to miss the match with a disc problem in his neck, but has been making a speedy recovery. "He will have tests in the next 48 hours and we are pretty optimistic he is getting there," Wales' team physiotherapist Mark Davies said. "It has been frustrating but he is on the mend, he has made good progress." Last week Williams, along with fellow flanker Colin Charvis who is unlikely to play for at least a month while he recovers from a foot injury was all but ruled out of the Millennium Stadium clash. With Williams initially thought to be struggling, the signs pointed towards Wales coach Mike Ruddock handing a first cap to former Wales Under 21 skipper Richie Pugh. Cardiff Blues flanker Williams, 29, offers considerable experience and if he is declared fit then Ruddock might be tempted to include him in the back row. Charvis will be reviewed by the Wales medical staff next Monday, but Davies admitted that there was only an "outside chance" of him being fit to face France in Wales' third championship game on 26 February. Wales' other injury concern is Pugh's fellow Neath Swansea Ospreys player Sonny Parker, as the centre has a trapped nerve in his neck. "Sonny's injury is still an issue," Davies said. "It is still painful and irritable. We will run the rule of thumb over him in the next couple of days." Ruddock will name his starting line up for the England game at 1830 GMT on Tuesday evening, as Wales target their first victory in Cardiff over the world champions since 1993.